[Fordmanchau]

Originally Posted by Damu

I think most Ikon owners will agree the braking is really scary in emergency stops, although to be honest I've never actually had a problem stopping.

Frankly, even I have never had any trouble stopping safely. It's more about the way you drive the car. One major panic braking situation for me was when I was on the Annavaram trip.Speeds above 80kmph, lashing rains, overtaking a truck, when it suddenly swerves right to overtake another truck in front of it. Braked hard, heart in mouth, but the car stopped in time straight without any swerves or skids.

Originally Posted by Damu

Ford forever!

Amen!!

Originally Posted by Damu

Now here's the big surprise: this is the first battery change! The original battery that came with the car in March 2004 has being doing duty since then flawlessly! This is Ford's own brand, Motorcraft.

I think by any standards a battery life of nearly 7 years is something worth recording. Even the Ford guys were surprised.
Coming to costs, the battery cost Rs. 2320

That's stupendous by any standards. The cost of the battery gives me hope. I have Exide battery in my car, which is more than 2 years old now considering my car is a September 2008 model.

Originally Posted by Damu

Car is fine, now of course being used by my son (and his new bride!).

Congratulations to your son and the whole family!!

P.s: what happened to your hyd trip?

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by Damu

Now here's the big surprise: this is the first battery change! The original battery that came with the car in March 2004 has being doing duty since then flawlessly! This is Ford's own brand, Motorcraft.

It was replaced with another Motorcraft battery.

I think by any standards a battery life of nearly 7 years is something worth recording. Even the Ford guys were surprised.

Both the duration the original battery lasted, as well as the cost of a new one is surprising! Good to know.

Wonder how the battery life has been for other Ikon owners.

[Damu]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Damuji,

Truly well written post, it seems that you are head over heels in love with both the beauties. Good to know that you still trust the Ford Engines and their maintenance costs.

I hope both cars live more than your expectations. Time for Ford to stand up, take notice and felicitate you for your inclination.

Hello Ghodlur,

Thanks for your kind wishes!

I've never really had an issue about maintenance costs, it's been perhaps a little higher than others like Maruti, but the performance has been better as well.

Yes, I guess this is a Ford family because my Mom has just bought a petrol Figo! And she loves it.

But the #1 Ford fan has to be Siddesh!

Originally Posted by siddheshb

Aaah, Damu, that was so sweet, almost got tears in my eyes.. and I mean it. If I am ever down in Bangalore, I wanna come and see your babies. I know the feeling, man, ...It's remained that way, to this day, across 4 Fords, 3,00,000 kms and 10 years later!

Hi Siddesh,

Thanks for the nice mail. You are most welcome to see the pair of Fords and also drive them. Please PM me if you come to Bangalore.

4 Fords are really speak a lot about your confidence in and enjoyment you get from the Ford machines. Right now I'm blissfully happy with my Fiesta. Lucky me, I don't have to miss the Ikon, she right here at home!

Originally Posted by Fordmanchau

That's stupendous by any standards. The cost of the battery gives me hope. I have Exide battery in my car, which is more than 2 years old now considering my car is a September 2008 model.

Hi FM,

The battery cost left me thinking if they made a mistake so I asked the SA again. He laughed and said no mistake, it's just Rs. 2320! Happy days for Ikon owners - IIRC, my battery for my M800 years ago cost me more. Ask for the Motorcraft battery from Ford service centre itself.

Originally Posted by Fordmanchau

Congratulations to your son and the whole family!!
P.s: what happened to your hyd trip?

My Hyd trip, well..(please pardon the OT folks!)

My younger son was suddenly transferred back to Bangalore and my elder son and his GF equally suddenly decided to marry, so the Hyd trip went for a six! Will make it sometime next year though. Crikey! I'm a F-i-L now

I'll convey your wishes to the couple, thanks!

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Both the duration the original battery lasted, as well as the cost of a new one is surprising! Good to know.

Wonder how the battery life has been for other Ikon owners.

Hello Ben!

It was a pleasant surprise Ben. The SA told me the average battery life is about 3 to 4 years. I guess I am more careful about battery drain as I learned lessons from my Dad in the old school Amby days when the battery needed a great deal of care.

Cheers to all!

[siddheshb]

When I bought my Ikon, I remember seeing a pic of a Shetty family in Mangalore, I think, posing with their 14 Ikons Now THAT was a sight to behold!

[Catalyst_delhi]

Sorry to bring this old thread to life , I want to know the normal temperature for ford ikon 1.6. I have changed the coolant bottle and red coolant 50- 50 and water pump , belt . The temperature has dropped from a steady middle or a notch above middle to 1/3 to half gauge. I wanted to know if this is the norm or if my thermostat is going out. thanks and apologies for bringing up this old thread.

[lancersfx]

Hello CAtalyst_delhi,

My Ikon 1.8D here's what i observed. Initially it goes up for about 5-6kms then it stays at 1/3rd mark and maybe even lower as I cross 100/150kms over time on highway. Most of the times I don't go over 80 so it never really goes beyond the halfway mark unless the coolant is reducing due to leaks (happened twice). Hope this helps

[Damu]

Originally Posted by Catalyst_delhi

Sorry to bring this old thread to life , I want to know the normal temperature for ford ikon 1.6. ..
The temperature has dropped from a steady middle or a notch above middle to 1/3 to half gauge. I wanted to know if this is the norm or if my thermostat is going out. thanks and apologies for bringing up this old thread.

Hi Catalyst_delhi,

If you can hear the fan working then it would mean your thermostat is working.

Cold ambient temperatures can also affect it - it would take longer to reach optimal operating temperature. I guess in Delhi it is still pretty cold?

As I recall, my Ikon would also show different temperatures at different times, unlike my Fiesta (1.6 Duratec) which stays constant just under the half mark.

Congrats on owning this great car! Wish you all the best!

[Catalyst_delhi]

Originally Posted by Damu

Hi Catalyst_delhi,

If you can hear the fan working then it would mean your thermostat is working.

Cold ambient temperatures can also affect it - it would take longer to reach optimal operating temperature. I guess in Delhi it is still pretty cold?

As I recall, my Ikon would also show different temperatures at different times, unlike my Fiesta (1.6 Duratec) which stays constant just under the half mark.

Congrats on owning this great car! Wish you all the best!

Thanks Damu , About the same in the ikon , takes a while to normal out. My next car is a fiesta.

[benbsb29]

On my Ikon, the temperature needle used to always stay within the 1/3 rd mark, right from the time we bought it to date.

[siddheshb]

I remember my Ikon, and now my Fiesta, stays below the half mark. A little above or below should be ok - no cause for worry. Especially now in the winter in Delhi. If it gets consistently hotter, then I would check for coolant leakage.

By the way, I envy you for your Ikon. I had to sell mine so I could accomodate my Endy and my Fiestas, but I miss my Ikon like hell. Dont sell it

[ramzsys]

Well, this temperature gauge is puzzling me.

There's three ikon D in the family;

In the first car, the needle stays at quarter mark position: city or highway or high speed or whatever. It is just above that white patch.

In the second, it went way over the 3/4 position; car was sold, the buyer did overhaul the engine.

In the third, it is like this

[vnabhi]

Generally speaking, in older generation cars, the temperature needle used to hover around the 1/3rd mark. But after MPFI cars came in, the needle always sticks to the middle position.

I remember that when I had my M 800, we used to brag that despite torrid summer, the temperature needle did not cross the 1/3rd mark. But when I got my WagonR in 2001, I was a trifle worried becaase it used to quickly go to the center position and stick there. No more bragging rights .

I asked this question in the 1st interaction with MASS personnel deputed to the dealer from New Delhi, and they said not to worry, and that it was a symptom of new-generation MPFI cars.

Even my Fiesta stays at half mark. I'm not sure of the Ikon though.

Hope this helps.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by Catalyst_delhi

The temperature has dropped from a steady middle or a notch above middle to 1/3 to half gauge.

This is a good sign. Your engine is running cool.

I had a mixed bag with the Ikon I used to have (I drive a Linea now). A year 2000 model. It would fluctuate heavily depending on the conditions. Blasting down the highway, the gauge would be in the same range as seen in your car. In the city it would sometimes crawl slightly over half and stay there. It never over heated though.

It did once when the idiots a Ford forgot the reconnect the ground wire of the radiator fan when fixing a new air intake unit. I watched the needle crawl north slowly and touch the red zone and a little after, saw a hint of steam come up on the drivers side of the windscreen (where the coolant tank is located). I killed the engine immediately to avoid any serious damage. Gave it an hour to cool off and drove to Ford, keeping a eye on the temperature gauge. Lucky for me, the Ford service station was about 5km away so I could manage to reach there without the car over heating again.

My car was a little different though. I am not sure if it was due to the age of the car. Every time I sent the car to Ford for regular service which was done once a year (As running was low), I had them replace the coolant. When they did this and I took back the car once service was done, the temperature needle would head north and I could hear the radiator fan spin at high speed. No overheating though. There is a low and high speed radiator fan mode for the Ikon and most cars have this system. The fan would never spin down. To counter the problem, I would rev the car up to 3000 rpm in neutral for about a minute and the temperature needle would drop well below the half point and the fan would also spin down to slow speed. Sometimes, even turn off completely. This behavior would never come up again until next service no matter what the outside temperature. I suspect that when Ford remove the stale coolant and then refill with new coolant, the coolant has not passed into the tiny engine passages well enough for optimum coolant circulation and hence the temperature would rise. Increasing the engine rpm would speed up circulation of coolant as the circulation is driven off a water pump. The water pump speed is directly connected to the engine speed and this would result in drop in temperature. I know for sure that this is how the system works in a Ikon.

[benbsb29]

All this Ikon talk makes me want to take the Ikon out for a spin. It's comforting knowing that it's still here with us - exactly the reason why even the thought of selling it becomes difficult.

[Catalyst_delhi]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

This is a good sign. Your engine is running cool.

I had a mixed bag with the Ikon I used to have (I drive a Linea now). A year 2000 model. It would fluctuate heavily depending on the conditions. Blasting down the highway, the gauge would be in the same range as seen in your car. In the city it would sometimes crawl slightly over half and stay there. It never over heated though.

It did once when the idiots a Ford forgot the reconnect the ground wire of the radiator fan when fixing a new air intake unit. I watched the needle crawl north slowly and touch the red zone and a little after, saw a hint of steam come up on the drivers side of the windscreen (where the coolant tank is located). I killed the engine immediately to avoid any serious damage. Gave it an hour to cool off and drove to Ford, keeping a eye on the temperature gauge. Lucky for me, the Ford service station was about 5km away so I could manage to reach there without the car over heating again.

My car was a little different though. I am not sure if it was due to the age of the car. Every time I sent the car to Ford for regular service which was done once a year (As running was low), I had them replace the coolant. When they did this and I took back the car once service was done, the temperature needle would head north and I could hear the radiator fan spin at high speed. No overheating though. There is a low and high speed radiator fan mode for the Ikon and most cars have this system. The fan would never spin down. To counter the problem, I would rev the car up to 3000 rpm in neutral for about a minute and the temperature needle would drop well below the half point and the fan would also spin down to slow speed. Sometimes, even turn off completely. This behavior would never come up again until next service no matter what the outside temperature. I suspect that when Ford remove the stale coolant and then refill with new coolant, the coolant has not passed into the tiny engine passages well enough for optimum coolant circulation and hence the temperature would rise. Increasing the engine rpm would speed up circulation of coolant as the circulation is driven off a water pump. The water pump speed is directly connected to the engine speed and this would result in drop in temperature. I know for sure that this is how the system works in a Ikon.

Well said! Same here but got a spare thermostat anyways ( ford ikon parts have become cheaper now) , Getting rid of airpockets in the ikon is a pain. The high speed has only engaged maybe 2 times in about 10000 kms. Low speed is common in traffic jams. otherwise it is pretty cool. Thanks all for your inputs. Much appreciated!