[fiat_tarun]

Originally Posted by Endless....

I recently went for routine wheel balancing and alignment. The alignment guy was not able to remove the wheel nuts and said they are worn out. They advised me to have it changed at the Ford Service center. Anybody else faced this issue before ?

Originally Posted by arunphilip

...

You can replace any such damaged nuts with the wheel nuts for the old Figo, that do not have that cap, instead they are flat-topped. The nuts are functionally identical, just differ in the styling. A wheel nut for the old Figo costs about Rs. 200. If you do wish to buy the EcoSport-style nuts, they have a noticeably higher cost.

I have faced this issue on my old Figo. I have noticed that all Ford's with alloy wheels use the same bolts and they are very very sensitive to pneumatic tools. I replaced the first 2 bolts from the dealership and was charged Rs.400 per bolt ! (with proper MRP sticker on packaging). Later on bought similar bolts from a spare parts shop for Rs.90 !

[peterjim13]

Originally Posted by arunphilip

The EcoSport comes from the factory with wheel nuts that have a conical/dome cap. These wheel nuts are not meant to be removed by power tools, like the impact wrenches that tire shops use, instead they should be removed only by a handheld tool, like wrench that Ford give along with the spare tyre. Using a power tool will squash the cap, which will in turn also deform the nut.

This January I had 2 flat tyres. And one was damaged close to the sidewalls requiring something called as vulcanisation. Making the total number of tyres with sidewalls damaged to 2. The other puncture was a bit wide and had to get it sealed internally.

All the above in one single month

In the process, my wheelnuts have actually proven to be a bigger head ache than the puncture itself. The tyre shop near my house uses manual tools to remove, but they end up using pneumatic tools for fixing it back.

During one of the punctures which happened on the road, was probably the first time I had to use the tool in the kit. Which actually is not that handy to use, and could not grip as the nuts were already damaged.

Back during one of my wheel alignments some of the nuts got stuck in those tools and the workers had to break and remove the cap to get the nut out. I have 2-3 nuts in my spare wheel without covers which looks pretty good.

Here are my queries/pain points :

1. Dont you think it would be sensible enough to remove all the nut covers and get an 18" spanner as a part of the kit ?

2. I have Good Year Assurance tyres and they are pretty much close to 50 K Kms now. They have been giving me very loud road noise, but are they also prone to punctures and damages ?

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by peterjim13

.

1. Dont you think it would be sensible enough to remove all the nut covers and get an 18" spanner as a part of the kit ?

2. I have Good Year Assurance tyres and they are pretty much close to 50 K Kms now. They have been giving me very loud road noise, but are they also prone to punctures and damages ?

Firstly, I'm sorry to hear of the hassle you had, compounded by Ford's weird decisions!

I definitely agree with keeping a separate tyre wrench in the car, given the problem with the company-provided one, and removing the dome/cap from the lug nuts, or replacing them with flat tops.

The Goodyear Assurance tyres are not as tough as the MRF. That, combined with the amount of mileage on them might be contributing to the punctures. I know that in my Getz, when the tyres reached the end of their life, I had a spate of punctures, which went away on getting new tyres. Maybe its time to consider new shoes for your EcoSport?

[peterjim13]

Originally Posted by arunphilip

Firstly, I'm sorry to hear of the hassle you had, compounded by Ford's weird decisions!

I definitely agree with keeping a separate tyre wrench in the car, given the problem with the company-provided one, and removing the dome/cap from the lug nuts, or replacing them with flat tops.

The Goodyear Assurance tyres are not as tough as the MRF. That, combined with the amount of mileage on them might be contributing to the punctures. I know that in my Getz, when the tyres reached the end of their life, I had a spate of punctures, which went away on getting new tyres. Maybe its time to consider new shoes for your EcoSport?

Yep the thread is not as shallow as it should be. No issues with the grip.

But the punctures have been there forever now, I think the first one came before 4K (which is not the tyre to be blamed on) but almost in all cases the damages have been bad. They literally tear the tyre.

It would still stay well for another 10K for sure, I have been doing enough of rotation and alignments though. And I have not seen punctures damaging the tyre so bad, in any other car/tyre !

[Endless....]

Are the quality of the bolts you bought from the spare parts shop of good quality as compared to the OEM bolts ?

Originally Posted by fiat_tarun

Later on bought similar bolts from a spare parts shop for Rs.90 !

[Eyas337]

Friends -
I'm glad to be writing this post, nearly missed a fatal accident while overtaking a crazy lorry during past weekend.

Driving on the highway (2 lanes on one side with dividers) during night hours, a lorry on the left lane ahead of me just changed his lane. I was almost at the tail of the lorry, trying to overtake him on the right lane. There was no sort of indication from the lorry driver regarding lane change and it just happened within a second (despite me signalling - flashing my low & high beam of my custom projectors).

I was well within speed limits (nearing to 3 digits) and I think Ecosport's brakes, ABS, and decent horn saved me from colliding into the back of lorry / pushing into the divider. My left side ORVM just kissed the rear of the lorry and was able to control the vehicle without panicking (thanks to some sane drivers behind, who didn't bump into me from rear).

Later found that there was another vehicle halted (probably broke down) in same lane as that of lorry and the driver just took an instinctive turn to his right, without checking or signalling. Ideally lorry driver should have noticed the vehicle halted ahead of him much earlier and must have made a safe lane change by signalling, but yes - crazy drivers do exist on the road and i'm glad that I bought Ecosport (over Brezza or any other car out there in this price range).

Questions:
1) On night driving using low & high beam -
While on low beam - we can switch to high beam, hold it there for a second or so and come back to low beam. But the vice versa isn't possible? Need to first come back to low beam and then use this feature.

2) Tyre pressure -
Manual says 30 psi for normal load and 35 psi (front) and 40 psi (rear), at full load.
I generally maintain at 32 psi on all 4 tyres (normal or full load), as per recommendation from others Ecosport owners.

Even tried 30 psi on all 4 tyres. Its fine for normal load (driver and passenger only) but with full load, car was pulling to either left / right and was hard to drive or steer. I think 35 (front) and 40 (rear) might make the car a lot bouncier, any recommendations please?

3) Nitrogen vs regular air -
Usually fill up with nitrogen air, sometimes due to varying load (number of passengers varying between 2-5) during a trip (multi city trips) - might have the need to adjust the tyre pressure and its hard to find a gas station with nitrogen air available on the highways.

Is it okay to fill up with regular air to adjust tyre pressure and drive long?
or
Strictly for emergencies only?

[vijayvelprakash]

Originally Posted by Eyas337

Friends -
I'm glad to be writing this post, nearly missed a fatal accident while overtaking a crazy lorry during past weekend.

Glad that you managed to get out safely.

Ideally lorry driver should have noticed the vehicle halted ahead of him much earlier and must have made a safe lane change by signalling, but yes - crazy drivers do exist on the road and i'm glad that I bought Ecosport (over Brezza or any other car out there in this price range).

Yes. He should have noticed this unless he either was driving with a poor headlight or he was asleep. Driving in night always require that additional/extra caution.

1) On night driving using low & high beam -
While on low beam - we can switch to high beam, hold it there for a second or so and come back to low beam. But the vice versa isn't possible? Need to first come back to low beam and then use this feature.

The vice-versa is not possible as the purpose is just to flash and drive when needed. I dont think manufacturers would provide the option of flashing when in high beam.

3) Nitrogen vs regular air -
Usually fill up with nitrogen air, sometimes due to varying load (number of passengers varying between 2-5) during a trip (multi city trips) - might have the need to adjust the tyre pressure and its hard to find a gas station with nitrogen air available on the highways.

Is it okay to fill up with regular air to adjust tyre pressure and drive long?
or
Strictly for emergencies only?

My view is, the atmospheric air contains more than 70% of nitrogen and filling with nitrogen will not increase/decrease comfort, performance, etc.. The only difference i have noticed is, filling with nitrogen can hold the pressure for a little longer.

Yes. It is difficult to find nitrogen filling stations. Even if you find one, there is no guarantee that it is nitrogen (could be compressed air).

My suggestion is just stick with normal air for your drive.

[arunphilip]

Firstly, glad to hear you're OK and safe.

This is a general rant, nothing specific to Ford or the EcoSport: While it is nice to see manufacturers starting to offer airbags across the range, what always frustrates me is why ABS comes in fewer variants than airbags. Somehow, from a marketing perspective airbags have gotten greater value than ABS. Your instance is just one of many examples where ABS potentially kept you out of harms way.

Originally Posted by Eyas337

1) On night driving using low & high beam -
While on low beam - we can switch to high beam, hold it there for a second or so and come back to low beam. But the vice versa isn't possible? Need to first come back to low beam and then use this feature.

By vice versa, do you mean holding the stalk to go to low beam for a short period (to avoid blinding oncoming traffic)? If so, then no, you have to click the stalk back to low, and after some time, click it back to high.

On the other hand, if you mean flashing your lights when in high beam (to signal oncoming traffic, or a vehicle ahead), then as vijayvelprakash said, that can't be done without clicking the stack back to low, flashing, and then clicking back to high.

I do find the operation of Ford's stalks for this purpose a little harder to use than Japanese/Korean brands, since those have a distinct position/stop for low and high beam, whereas Ford uses a single position to toggle between low & high.

Then again, in your case, if the lorry didn't really notice your high beams, the odds of him noticing your flashing headlamps are quite low. Even in the dark, I don't mind honking when people fail to notice my headlights. I think people are simply more attuned to reacting to a horn.

Originally Posted by Eyas337

2) Tyre pressure -
Manual says 30 psi for normal load and 35 psi (front) and 40 psi (rear), at full load. I generally maintain at 32 psi on all 4 tyres (normal or full load), as per recommendation from others Ecosport owners. Even tried 30 psi on all 4 tyres. Its fine for normal load (driver and passenger only) but with full load, car was pulling to either left / right and was hard to drive or steer. I think 35 (front) and 40 (rear) might make the car a lot bouncier, any recommendations please?

I run with 35 psi on all tyres. While it is a little bouncy (particularly when the rear is unloaded), I like it because it feels "tighter" under hard braking. With lower pressures, I find the front to be "squishy" under hard braking (and by hard braking I mean unexpected braking, not something done on a day-to-day basis, probably once a month in some manner of emergency).

If you often switch between 2 passengers and full load, it might make sense to set the pressures to one set of intermediate values (like my 35 psi, but try other values too), so it can serve both loads. On the other hand, if you are often with just 2 passengers (or often full load) then use the pressures for those frequent situations, and adjust the pressure for those few instances where you are faced with the rarer situation.

Originally Posted by Eyas337

3) Nitrogen vs regular air -
Usually fill up with nitrogen air, sometimes due to varying load (number of passengers varying between 2-5) during a trip (multi city trips) - might have the need to adjust the tyre pressure and its hard to find a gas station with nitrogen air available on the highways. Is it okay to fill up with regular air to adjust tyre pressure and drive long?

Again, its probably better to find an intermediate value (either same for 4 tyres, or different for front/rear) that can cope with both light and full loads.

If you cannot settle on an intermediate value, and you find the need to adjust pressures - please do so irrespective of whether you get nitrogen or not. The right tyre pressure is far more important for safety and comfort than introducing any air into your tyres.

Having said that, if you use air in tyres that have nitrogen, you'll need to flush and refill the nitrogen (and this costs more than a nitrogen top-up). If you find yourself doing this reasonably often, it might be better to switch to using air in your tyres instead.

Hope this helps you.

[wilful]

Originally Posted by Eyas337

Friends -
I'm glad to be writing this post, nearly missed a fatal accident while overtaking a crazy lorry during past weekend.

I was well within speed limits (nearing to 3 digits) and I think Ecosport's brakes, ABS, and decent horn saved me from colliding into the back of lorry / pushing into the divider.
i'm glad that I bought Ecosport (over Brezza or any other car out there in this price range).


Tyre pressure -
Manual says 30 psi for normal load and 35 psi (front) and 40 psi (rear), at full load.
I generally maintain at 32 psi on all 4 tyres (normal or full load), as per recommendation from others Ecosport owners.

Originally Posted by arunphilip

Firstly, glad to hear you're OK and safe.

Then again, in your case, if the lorry didn't really notice your high beams, the odds of him noticing your flashing headlamps are quite low. Even in the dark, I don't mind honking when people fail to notice my headlights. I think people are simply more attuned to reacting to a horn.

Happy to know you came out of a dangerous situation unscathed! Good safety/braking system be blessed.
Like Arun Philip, I also use my horn at night esp in tricky situations like overtaking heavy vehicles. As he said, people are more attuned to this.

I also keep my tyres on 32 psi (nitrogen) like you - served me well thus far. But you could try changing it to suit your comfort levels.

[fiat_tarun]

Originally Posted by Endless....

Are the quality of the bolts you bought from the spare parts shop of good quality as compared to the OEM bolts ?

Oh yes, they seem to be more solid than the OEM one's and are one piece. They don't have the cap like the OE one's that is the cause of all our problems. I shall post a picture of these bolts later today.

Originally Posted by Endless....

Are the quality of the bolts you bought from the spare parts shop of good quality as compared to the OEM bolts ?

The OE bolts damaged, the OE bolts with the cover removed and the new bolts I got from a spare parts shop.

As can be seen the bolts i bought from the spare parts shop have a slightly longer head and hence stick out a little compared to the OE ones.

[manish_symc]

Dear Friends,

I am confused between Ecosport Ecoboost and 1.5 Diesel. Can someone please help me which one will be better in terms of

- Driving
- Mileage (what mileage Team BHP Ecosports owners are getting from Ecoboost and 1.5Diesel ?)
- Maintenance in long run since I will be keeping this car for next 8-10 years.
- My monthly running will be around 800kms.

This will be my second car. Currently I have Chevy Spark.



I got the on-road price list for both Ecoboost and 1.5 Diesel. For ecoboost, I have only option of (T+) and for Diesel, I can go with (T.)

Ecoboost Titanium - Not available

Ecoboost Titanium+ - 12,00,000/-

1.5Diesel Titanium - 11,84,000/-

1.5Diesel Titanium+ - 12,77,000/-


Thanks.

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by manish_symc

I am confused between Ecosport Ecoboost and 1.5 Diesel.

I'm quoting from my ownership review below, but to summarize, you should look at the diesel as the default option, and choose the EcoBoost only if it specifically tugs your heartstrings.

Originally Posted by arunphilip

I've driven my dad's diesel EcoSport and my EcoBoost in both cities and ghats (I'm from Coonoor). I have to say that in both cities and ghats the diesel EcoSport wins hands down. It is only on highways where you can feel the added power of the EcoBoost engine give it an edge over the diesel. Its not a significant difference, but you can feel the EcoBoost pulls harder than the diesel.

On ghats, when the EcoBoost drops out of the power band, the loss of power is very annoying and requires effort to require from (e.g. rev the engine up, slip the clutch a bit, etc.) So, if you suddenly come upon a slow lorry that is taking a hair-pin bend, then you'll be hit badly as you lose your momentum. The diesel fares infinitely better in this regard.

All put together, I will now recommend people look primarily at the diesel EcoSport.

Coming to your specific questions:

• For driving in the city and on hilly roads, between the two, the diesel is better than the EcoBoost, hands down. On the highway, when you really start pushing it is where the EcoBoost makes a strong case for itself, but I don't see this as a compelling reason in itself (it only makes sense if you're on the highway very often, and if you are, you're probably better off using a diesel!)
• Mileage in the city (Bangalore) varies between 11-13 km/L for the EcoBoost, depending on how bad the traffic is, and how gentle you are with your right foot. The EcoBoost's mileage is very sensitive to your right foot - use it heavily and you'll see mileage drop, use it gently and you'll see better mileage. In comparison, the diesel gives comfortably better mileage of around 15 km/L or even higher, and its mileage is less affected to heavy throttle inputs.
• Maintenance of all the EcoSports has been generally decent, no unexpected surprises for people who've had it for the last 3.5 years. I don't see any specific worries here. Ford is also controlling costs of scheduled services very well. There might be a difference of - say - a thousand rupees in service costs between different engines, but given its an annual service, such a small difference shouldn't matter.
• Given you intend to keep the EcoSport for 8-10 years, I wouldn't recommend the automatic. The long-term reliability of that automatic box is yet to be seen, and a few people have faced a few glitches with that transmission.
• Playing the devil's advocate here... but for a monthly running of 800 km, do you really need either the EcoBoost or the diesel? Since you're not particular about the Titanium+ variant, why not the 1.5 petrol Titanium? You should get roughly similar mileage as the EcoBoost, but at a cheaper initial price. Bear in mind that the 1.5 petrol doesn't have a turbo, so you won't get the excitement of a turbo kick, but its driveability will be very decent.
• From a safety perspective, consider the additional airbags you get in the Titanium+ variant.

In closing, my advice would be this - do one or most test drives of the EcoBoost, diesel, and potentially the 1.5 petrol to see which one suits your needs and your driving style the most. At the end of the day it is you who will be driving it, so pick the one you like the most.

How quickly do you need your new car? There are rumours that the facelifted EcoSport might be launched later this year, possibly around the Diwali period. Mechanically there are no changes expected, although the front appearance and the dashboard/stereo are expected to change. So if you're not in a hurry, you could wait for the fresher looking EcoSport. However, if you do want the car sooner, go in for it, given there are no mechanical changes expected.

[shivkumar19]

Dear All

Have noticed that my 3yr old ES (P) Titanium having a peculiar problem lately,
whenever I start the vehicle and switch on the A/C ,the knob is already at MAX towards heater (red side) I have to manually turn it down towards cooling for it to work normally.This is the third time its happening so i am reporting it here

Any inputs?

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by shivkumar19

Have noticed that my 3yr old ES (P) Titanium having a peculiar problem lately,
whenever I start the vehicle and switch on the A/C ,the knob is already at MAX towards heater (red side) I have to manually turn it down towards cooling for it to work normally.This is the third time its happening so i am reporting it here

Titanium, so its got automatic climate control, right? Are you saying that on start-up, the screen displays "HI" (short for High)? If not, what temperature is shown on the screen upon start-up, before you lower it?

Also, you've seen this problem occur three times. But is it consistent - i.e. has it been the last 3 times that you've started your car that you've seen it, or have there been times when it didn't happen?

In any case, it appears that the HVAC module is not storing your temperature setting between vehicle stoppage and restart. Take it to Ford for them to scan to see if they can find any errors logged (yep, this is yet another tiny computer/electronic control unit in our car). Ford technically refers to the climate control as Electronic Automatic Temperature Control (EATC), so that is how the options may be labelled in Ford's diagnostic tools.

Have you also noticed any other minor electrical glitches? Does your car start without hesitation, or does it struggle to start? Are your Sync settings stored between stoppage and restart (e.g. radio presets, etc.)? Any ABS warnings on start-up? I'm just trying to understand if your battery is weakening, which often manifests itself as various minor (and often unrelated) electrical glitches.

[satz581993Mille]

Guys, I've got this weird issue happening. The car runs perfectly normal. But after driving for like some 40+ KMs continuously with the AC on, I can hear some water moving noise from the driver seat. It starts only after driving for a while. Any ideas?