[vivekgk]

Is it really that complicated to add accessories to a car with CANBUS, like the Ecosport? I would like to add a reversing camera and some fog lamps to my ES 1.5D Titanium.

I also have an active subwoofer box that I would like to add to the existing setup, and also a couple of tweeters for the front. I would also like to convert the interior lighting and number plate lamps etc to LEDs.

The stock tyres that cabe on my car are MRF ZV2K. They're pretty awful, noisy and skittish, on all road conditions. I can hear the ABS struggling to maintain grip under hard braking, and the tyres squeal under hard cornering. The front centre rib send to have worn out about 3mm in just 5000 kms. I maintain a pressure of 30psi at most times, occasionally reducing it to 28, if I'm alone. I use nitrogen as it's free at my pump.

My car has now covered 6800kms. No rattles other than from lose items left in a door pocket or in the boot. Had a mild issue with the audio system refusing to recognize my USB drives, but that got sorted out after a system reset.

After driving my cousin's Innova Crysta for a day, I wish there were power/eco modes. I'm even thinking of going for a tuning chip or a remap..

[shibu]

Anurag, when are these updates coming?

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by BB311

My Ecosport's (19 month old) battery is dead. Just found out about it after returning from a 7 day vacation.

A battery flattening out that quickly in just a week is definitely unusual, not just for an EcoSport, but for any car.

Is there any chance there was something that was draining the battery, such as an improperly closed boot door that left the boot light on, or any accessory plugged into the always-on 12V socket?

Its good you've not immediately replaced the battery, since we don't know yet if its a problem with the battery, or something else. It'll be good if you keep an eye on things in general, while paying attention to whether there is any hesitation while starting. Alternatively, go to a Ford service centre and ask them to perform a battery test and give you a report of the same - this takes only about 15 minutes and produces a report like a lengthy credit card receipt, which will show you the battery health and give a lot of technical info (such as CCA).

I seem to have been lucky in the draw of the battery lottery - on multiple occasions I've left my 41-month old EcoSport unused for 2/3/4 weeks at a stretch - the most recent being 3 weeks around this New Year through what passes for a Bangalore winter - and the car has always unlocked with the touch sensor and fired up without any fuss.

This is despite having a spare cell phone serving GPS duties plugged in continuously on at least some of those occasions. The only things I do to treat the battery right are to never use any lights/ICE when the engine is off.

[BB311]

Originally Posted by arunphilip

A battery flattening out that quickly in just a week is definitely unusual, not just for an EcoSport, but for any car

I guess, the primary reason for this might have been the heavy duty ICE modifications I have done. Although all the amps remain off unless the key is in ON position however, I found out that even when the keys are off their is some current flow in the battery as tested by plaing a bulb circuit on the positive terminal and car's body. It seems that battery is in always On mode in ecosport (the reason 12v is always active) and as such I might need to re-circuit the amplifiers to have a manual cut switch. I will be visiting motor concepts this weekend to see if something can be done.

[arunphilip]

3rd Year / 30,000 km Service Costs for 1.0L EcoBoost

The amount of ~5000 is before tax. Taxes added a further 750 to the bill.

Air filter replacement is not part of 3rd year service (it's only cleaned), so I asked for it to be replaced, which added 200 to the bill. Further, 4 wheel nuts were deformed, so those were also replaced at a total cost of 750.

The battery also got a clean bill of health despite being 41 months old:

As there were no issues to report, I was able to take advantage of the quick lane service. Servicing done at Metro Ford, Lingarajapuram, Bangalore. Kudos to them, they did not push any unwanted services (contrary to Hyundai, whenever I serviced my Getz until selling it!). Some months ago, I had decided not to patronize Lathangi Ford, and my good experience with Metro Ford has won them a customer who will return to them.

I wish my problem-free ownership of the EcoSport continues in the coming years.

[k.sumit]

Originally Posted by arunphilip

3rd Year / 30,000 km Service Costs for 1.0L EcoBoost

Hi Arun, I see that 5W20 oil was used in your Ecosport but when I checked with my SA here in Indore, he informed and they use 5W30 from Mobil as per Ford's recommendation. Were you able to check if they used Mobil or Castrol? I own a Trend + variant of Ecoboost.

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by k.sumit

Hi Arun, I see that 5W20 oil was used in your Ecosport but when I checked with my SA here in Indore, he informed and they use 5W30 from Mobil as per Ford's recommendation. Were you able to check if they used Mobil or Castrol? I own a Trend + variant of Ecoboost.

Hey Sumit, that's an interesting question.

The owner's manual for the Indian EcoSport states that the EcoBoost engine can use either the 5W-30 or 5W-20 grade of oil, as shown below:

However, I recall that Ford worked with Castrol to specifically formulate oil for the 1.0 EcoBoost engine, so I've always insisted on 5W-20 oil during my services, particularly since the timing belt is bathed in the engine oil (I assumed that since this oil is specific to the EcoBoost it is the special formulation). Until now, there's never been any confusion on this point, and the service advisor always confirmed it was 5W-20 because of the EcoBoost engine (and it was always Castrol).

Internationally too, the general opinion on forums is that the 1.0 EcoBoost goes with 5W-20 (example 1, example 2). Checking a copy of the owner's manual for the UK EcoSport also shows that 5W-20 is the only compatible oil for the EcoBoost engine (as well as the 1.5 petrol engine!). So maybe the recommendation varies based on country, due to generally prevalent temperatures, emission norms, etc.

However, if you are running 5W-30 in your EcoBoost, there might not be too much cause for concern. If you look at this link, the users there mention that there's not much difference between the two grades.

I don't think any harm will come of using 5W-30, and Ford India can't deny warranty coverage. That said, as far as possible, I'll stick to 5W-20 as long as its available with Ford's service centres.

[k.sumit]

Originally Posted by arunphilip

I don't think any harm will come of using 5W-30, and Ford India can't deny warranty coverage. That said, as far as possible, I'll stick to 5W-20 as long as its available with Ford's service centres.

Thanks for the prompt response Arun. Will insist on 5W20 when its due for an oil change and see how it goes with them.

[nishantbhatia84]

Hello Bhpians! I've been getting the pesky 'change engine oil' message on my Ecosport AT even though there's at-least 3000kms before the actual change is due.
Tried checking online for methods to remove this message - but haven't been successful.
Don't want to visit the service centre for such a small thing as it's an absolute waste of time and energy considering they'll still take around 1-2hrs from start to end!
I've got an obd2 adapter with the Torque Pro app but don't see any option to reset this message - as it doesn't register as a fault code.
Anyone here who's faced the same issue - please let me know how you managed to get rid of this message!
Thanks in advance!

[BB311]

Originally Posted by nishantbhatia84

Tried checking online for methods to remove this message - but haven't been successful.

If you are trying the method of pressing the pedals make sure you have removed the foot mats as it requires a 100% press on pedals, and in most cases while doing this the foot mat is the culprit.

[nishantbhatia84]

Originally Posted by BB311

If you are trying the method of pressing the pedals make sure you have removed the foot mats as it requires a 100% press on pedals, and in most cases while doing this the foot mat is the culprit.

It worked! Thanks a ton man! It was my mat which was preventing the pedal from getting fully depressed! Tried after removing the same and the message is gone.

[Ecosporter]

Hi fellow Ecosporters,
My car battery started showing signs of fatigue. I experienced a flat battery 3 times (all due to my slight negligence of course, like keeping the blower on) but still, 42 months is pretty much the age for my OEM battery to lose its youthfullness I guess. Owing to the fact that its among the first batch diesels on road, does anyone else from the same period started developing battery issues? What are your suggestions for buying a new one, viz. brand, ampereage, other suggestions..please spread some light..

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by Ecosporter

Owing to the fact that its among the first batch diesels on road, does anyone else from the same period started developing battery issues? What are your suggestions for buying a new one, viz. brand, ampereage, other suggestions..please spread some light..

On the previous page, uneet mentioned replacing the battery on his diesel EcoSport at 39 months. Uneet - could you let us know how much you paid to replace the battery, and was it from Ford or some other brand?

Originally Posted by uneet

I replaced the battery of my Diesel Titanium a few days back after 39 months and 24k km on the ODO

Get a quote from Ford for their Motorcraft-branded battery, and compare it to the prices on BatteryBhai for EcoSport diesels (image below shows prices in Kerala).

You'd need a 45 Ah battery, but the site also offers a 55 Ah battery (which might be relevant only if you have added accessories like ICE, amplifiers, etc.). Otherwise, stick to the standard 45 Ah, which will cost about 4000 after trading in your old battery.

Based on how much Ford's Motorcraft battery costs, you can choose to go either for Ford's own battery, or a battery from outside.

[BB311]

Originally Posted by arunphilip

You'd need a 45 Ah battery, but the site also offers a 55 Ah battery (which might be relevant only if you have added accessories like ICE, amplifiers, etc.).

55 Ah Amaron battery is slightly big in size and when I tried installing it I was not able to fix the black box (I think its ECU) back (It's just above the batter) Please verify that before ordering. As such I had to stick with Amaron Flo 45 Ah battery which costed my 3800 after original Battery's buy back.

[cdmanju]

I got the delivery of my petrol ecosport ambient variant today. Hate ford for not providing head rests for the rear passengers. Not sure how much they saved money by skipping this

Kinetic blue looks awesome with the full-black bumpers. No chrome on this variant which is blessing for the blue+black combination