[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by mayankk

Could be the fuel pipes from DTE downward are emptying when you turn off the car, and when you start it, they refill.
The corresponding fluctuation 50-60 km, ie, 5-6 litres, corresponds to that volume.
could be.

Ask the ford guy if there is valve which stops the fuel lines from emptying in the fiesta, and could it malfunction?
I am getting mine serviced this sunday, I could ask them for you.

I spoke to the SA (whom I have rapport) and he suggested to have a look at the issue. However due to my commitments for tomoroow for which I need the car, unable to take the car to the workshop. Would be a great help if you could dig some info about the issue. Thanks in advance.

Will the ECM restart be of any help in this case? I was thinking of disconnecting the battery to check if the problem persists.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Will the ECM restart be of any help in this case? I was thinking of disconnecting the battery to check if the problem persists.

wouldn't cost anything, and would take hardly a minute, eh.
Do you also get that ghost-in-the-machine thing, where somethings start working after a restart?
I remember once my left parking lamp just went out.
I just removed the key, and restarted, and it worked!

other bit, I will ask on sunday and let you know.

[ghodlur]

Completed the 24 month/40K service of my Fiesta last week. The odo read 21302. It was done at Planet Ford in Pune on Satara road. The usual - Engine oil changed, engine oil filter replaced, spark plugs replaced, battery water topped up, Brake & clutch pad inspected, Brake/Clutch oil replaced, Brake system was bleeded (Whats this?).

My Ashtavinayak trip resulted in one of the rear right shock absorber going bad (again?). Upon inspection it was found that the oil from the shockobs was leaking, cause not known. This was replaced under warranty (thank God I had taken the extended warranty). Even the left shockobs was showing signs of giving away, hence was replaced. This is the second time in less than a year that the shockobs have been replaced, earlier it was replaced in March 2011 as below:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...ml#post2275030

Dont know the reason for the damage - Is it my driving? Bad roads? or the Bad quality of shockobs (Due to Ford localising the parts)? Will be writing to Ford in this regards.

The visit to Planet Ford was an OK experience. The car was given at 9.15 am and was collected at 6 pm, had to remind thrice for the status.

[ghodlur]

An update:

I had written to Ford regarding the second time failure of the shock obs to asking for the reason of failures. A couple of followups and I recd a call from Ford, Chennai who got the Planet Ford rep in conference call. I was expecting Ford to come up with the answer but it was the Planet guy who was doing all the talking/answering. The reason given for the failure of the shockobs is the soft suspension tuning of Fiesta and any hit due to the potholes when in speed may cause the shockobs to go bad. The solution - drive over the potholes at very low speeds and min impact. I wish I knew where the potholes on the Thane/Mumbai roads are. Temporary solution - observe the perfomance and revert back in case of any suspected issue.

Fiesta owners - Can you comment on the explanation given by Ford. Should I write back to them giving my confirmation of satisfied reply, I have been asked to reply.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

An update:

I had written to Ford regarding the second time failure of the shock obs to asking for the reason of failures. A couple of followups and I recd a call from Ford, Chennai who got the Planet Ford rep in conference call. I was expecting Ford to come up with the answer but it was the Planet guy who was doing all the talking/answering. The reason given for the failure of the shockobs is the soft suspension tuning of Fiesta and any hit due to the potholes when in speed may cause the shockobs to go bad. The solution - drive over the potholes at very low speeds and min impact. I wish I knew where the potholes on the Thane/Mumbai roads are. Temporary solution - observe the perfomance and revert back in case of any suspected issue.

Fiesta owners - Can you comment on the explanation given by Ford. Should I write back to them giving my confirmation of satisfied reply, I have been asked to reply.

Sorry, I did not see this before. I think Ford is b.u.ll. shxxing you! I think even Suman's shocks were replaced when the odo was around yours.

Ask Ford to list out all potholes so that you can drive carefully.

They need to set things right instead of pushing things under the carpet.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Sorry, I did not see this before. I think Ford is b.u.ll. shxxing you! I think even Suman's shocks were replaced when the odo was around yours.

Ask Ford to list out all potholes so that you can drive carefully.

They need to set things right instead of pushing things under the carpet.

@vnabhi - I had told the Ford guys to give me the list when they had called up for which they had no answer.

But is it a fact that Ford has soft tuned the suspensions for Fiesta? Can the suspension be altered to suit the Indian road conditions. I would not want any changes that would do away with the FTD factor of Fiesta.

[vnabhi]

No idea what they are comparing with when they say the've 'soft tuned' the Indian Fiesta's suspension. AFAIK, the 1.6 S has stiffer suspension.

By the way, what were the symptoms of the shocks going bad? I need to keep a watch on mine, hence the question.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

By the way, what were the symptoms of the shocks going bad?

The one obvious symptom is the noise coming from the rear which is heard on every jump. This noise is too distinct to be missed or disregarded. Secondly check for any oil leakage visible on the shock obs. Thirdly if the ride seems to be very different from the present when passing over speedbreakers or minor potholes then the shock obs can be a suspect.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

The one obvious symptom is the noise coming from the rear which is heard on every jump. This noise is too distinct to be missed or disregarded. Secondly check for any oil leakage visible on the shock obs. Thirdly if the ride seems to be very different from the present when passing over speedbreakers or minor potholes then the shock obs can be a suspect.

Thanks. Looks like my shocks have held well so far.

By the way, what kind of sound were you getting from the rear---a thud, or a creak?

In my case, my steering was behaving oddly after WB and WA, but a couple of months later it was detected as a power steering hose leakage. After that was replaced, things have been good so far.

[mitrajdeep]

As I had mentioned earlier I too got one of the shocks replaced under warranty.

Point to be noted is that my car is 2 years old and only done 10,000 kms. on good roads and mostly with just me or one front passenger.

The sound that came from my shocks were a sort of rumbling and that too not very loud. One has to drive with the windows up and no music to actually
hear it. There was no drop in performance or any oil leakage.

At that time I had insisted on them changing both, but they did only one. Now my car is out of warranty and the other shock is acting up. To top that up the service center that I used to go to and built up a rapport with the staff was cancelled by Ford India.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Thanks. Looks like my shocks have held well so far.

By the way, what kind of sound were you getting from the rear---a thud, or a creak?

Good for you. The sound heard was a clear thud rather than a creak. One thing to be noted is if one of the shock obs is gone bad, always insists on the other to be checked too coz that might be on the verge of collapse

Originally Posted by mitrajdeep

At that time I had insisted on them changing both, but they did only one.

What was the reason for not changing the both, was it diagnosed to be OK.

[mitrajdeep]

@ghodlur,

At that time I was made to believe that the other one was ok.

Just after that I went on vacation and the car was left unused for 6 days. When I started using it again I found that the noise was coming from the other shock, at that time did not get the opportunity to visit them.

Now my car is out of warranty and the service center is also cancelled by Ford.

So will wait for some more time and at the time of next service will have to replace it at own cost from new service center.

[sv1976]

i'm not surpised. last year when I had a similar issue (within 18 months and less than 30k on Odo) my SA told me this was a common issue. They replaced 3 of them under warranty without giving any specific reason for such a fast wear out. No issues so far on the new ones.

[ghodlur]

Had the first breakdown on the road since owning the Fiesta. The AC fan belt snapped all of a sudden. Pulled over to the safe area and inspected the fan belt, found one of the smaller fan belt to have given away with a rupture although the entire belt did not break and fall off. This was causing a strange noise. Called up Shreeji Ford, Thane and explained them of the situation, they suggested to get the car to the workshop with the noise persisting. Dialled the Ford Road Side Assistance services and they promised to pick up the vehicle within a hour (luckily had the RSA for 4 yrs). Waited patiently twidling thumbs and the towing van came 90 minutes after the call. Loaded the car on the flatbed and reached the workshop 15 mins after their closing time.

Shreeji Ford refused to entertain saying all of their techs had gone home. Cajoled them to take up the job as it was just a fan belt replacment. One of the techs agreed and the belt was replaced within 25 mins. Costed me Rs 1126/- including service tax, Vat, labour cost and cost of the belt. Paid the amount and got the Fiesta home. If Shreeji had persisted to replace the belt next day, then I was planning to get the 6 monthly service done also. I am now planning to get the checks done in first week of July.

One thing that confused me was should the belt have been replaced in warranty (i have 2 yr EW)? I suggested the same to Ford , but in that situation I was not able to put it across strongly since Ford had agreed to replace the belt during after workshop hours.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Had the first breakdown on the road since owning the Fiesta. The AC fan belt snapped all of a sudden. Pulled over to the safe area and inspected the fan belt, found one of the smaller fan belt to have given away with a rupture although the entire belt did not break and fall off. This was causing a strange noise. Called up Shreeji Ford, Thane and explained them of the situation, they suggested to get the car to the workshop with the noise persisting. Dialled the Ford Road Side Assistance services and they promised to pick up the vehicle within a hour (luckily had the RSA for 4 yrs). Waited patiently twidling thumbs and the towing van came 90 minutes after the call. Loaded the car on the flatbed and reached the workshop 15 mins after their closing time.

Shreeji Ford refused to entertain saying all of their techs had gone home. Cajoled them to take up the job as it was just a fan belt replacment. One of the techs agreed and the belt was replaced within 25 mins. Costed me Rs 1126/- including service tax, Vat, labour cost and cost of the belt. Paid the amount and got the Fiesta home. If Shreeji had persisted to replace the belt next day, then I was planning to get the 6 monthly service done also. I am now planning to get the checks done in first week of July.

One thing that confused me was should the belt have been replaced in warranty (i have 2 yr EW)? I suggested the same to Ford , but in that situation I was not able to put it across strongly since Ford had agreed to replace the belt during after workshop hours.

Sorry to know about this. I am not sure if fan belt is covered by warranty as it is a rubber part, but there is no harm trying. My power steering hose was replaced free of cost even beyond warranty period of 4 years.

What happens when an AC fan belt snaps? Is the car still driveable?