[novicefreak]

Originally Posted by novicefreak

@AKTRACK,indeed thanks for your initiation this post regardin MRF tyre on Asprire!

I am yet to find time to visit MRF for thorough investigation.

In the mean time, at Service center, tyre rotation, WA, WB were performed.
Some niggles like alignment is still present, obviously due to uneven wear out of tires.

As such there is no such issue for long travel etc, except for the noise.

I haven't taken any photographs, the service centre guys took photographs and forwarded to their team.

Will keep updating from my end.

Thanks!!

Friends just a small update on this topic.

My Aspire got new shoes "Goodyear Assurance" replaced 4 tires under warranty/good will, I really donot know., but I am super happy!!!

I have clocked around 1500 km on new set of tires.
Here are totally my personal observations in reference to Goodyear<->MRF

1. Aspire itself is a very good car with good set of brakes
2. Top of it I felt Goodyear to be grip-ier, softer & handles better
3. MRF too had good run, I am no expert in this area either, just that I am happy with new tires!

One area of concern, I find marginal increase in cabin noise, is it related tires, I am not sure & hence I asked FASS to check, so they did extensive TD, WA & WB, I insisted on Bearings check too. The results are in limits and say all is fine. They conclude that cabin noise is normal and not related to tires.

I am wondering whether my senses suddenly became more active and susceptible to noise that I am trying to pinpoint!! / Is it related to (bad) roads thanks to poor quality roads, post/during monsoon rains!!!

Any suggestions most welcome.

Will have to go for a long drive and check!!!
enjoy TDCi-ing!!!

thanks!

[AKTRACK]

Originally Posted by novicefreak

Friends just a small update on this topic.

thanks!

Hey congratulations ! novicefreak, your update could not have come at a better time. I was anxiously waiting for what solution they come up with and to be honest it is a great one.I can understand your happiness here. On second thoughts, one should deserve new tyres here, it should be kind of our right but in our country sometimes getting something that is our right is itself heartwarming :-)

My car is with the FASS and they have changed the axle and bearing within warranty. I dont know have much details as i have not visited them in person. This they say has reduced the abnormal noise that was coming. Good that they did it but i am not too happy here. They have taken hell lot of time to diagnose the thing and now all my tyres are crap which to begin with were crappy already. I am yet to drive the car though and see the difference for myself.

I will talk to ford as i dont think it was my fault that the tyres got worn out now that the problem is diagnosed (more detail on this later)

I was expecting a positive response from ford (given their newfound interest in customer satisfaction) but your update has given me some encouragement.

Happy miling!

Originally Posted by samaspire

This is the first I'm hearing of this latch replacement recall. More details please.

They are doing this in US as well, this is a major recall. I was reading on this and sometimes doors have come open themselves or bouced back and hit the person outside.

[jowes]

My petrol Aspire has done 8500 kms now. On our last week trip from Bangalore to Wayanad and back, we were quite surprised at the overall mileage we achieved. This was with 4 adults and 2 kids, fully loaded boot, AC being on most of the time and speed limiter set to 100 kmph. We had done the same trip last year in October just 15 days after the purchase and we achieved only 14.5. Just before the recent trip I had done tyre rotation, wheel alignment and balancing.

While the car showed no problems whatsoever during the trip, when I started the car again yesterday, the ABS and Front Airbag warning was on in the display. It could probably be due to rats. Took it to Lathangi Ford which is very nearby, but they had a severe shortage of staff due to training and can only troubleshoot it on Monday. So decided to get it serviced with Cauvery Ford again as I also had some painting work also to be done for some scratches and dents, for which I had already received valuation from them.

[novicefreak]

Originally Posted by AKTRACK

Hey congratulations ! novicefreak, your update could not have come at a better time. I was anxiously waiting for what solution they come up with and to be honest it is a great one.I can understand your happiness here. On second thoughts, one should deserve new tyres here, it should be kind of our right but in our country sometimes getting something that is our right is itself heartwarming :-)
...............................

hi AKTRACK, thanks for kind words.

I guess, only two of us are facing this uneven tyre wear out issue?

Yes, if there is a problem of uneven wear out of tires, FASS / FORD should get them replaced(warranty).

Basis my understanding, FASS is the one who should take that extra care and I am lucky in my case, this is because with out FASS support it cannot go forward as they are the first point of contact whom we can reach.

FORD(read email) would redirect the requests/issues to nearest FASS.

If I may suggest, contact FASS, (which you are already in the process) and request them to replace tires under warranty!!!

Hoping that you get satisfactory response from FASS!! Best!!!
enjoy TDCi-ing!!!

thanks!

[novicefreak]

@samaspire

here is something interesting related to ICE, you may check this out.

http://www.amazon.in/Speedwav-Konnec...eywords=aspire

Its basically a Centre Console Frame where in a Unit(Android) can be placed and its ready to rock.

thanks!
P.S. although on ebay the price seems to be on lower side.

[samaspire]

Originally Posted by novicefreak

@samaspire

here is something interesting related to ICE, you may check this out.

http://www.amazon.in/Speedwav-Konnec...eywords=aspire

Its basically a Centre Console Frame where in a Unit(Android) can be placed and its ready to rock.

thanks!
P.S. although on ebay the price seems to be on lower side.

I've seen this item on eBay and it looks interesting. If it comes with the MyFord Dock then it's worth the eBay price of 3700. But 4700 for the same product on Amazon

[modisan]

Originally Posted by novicefreak

hi AKTRACK, thanks for kind words.

I guess, only two of us are facing this uneven tyre wear out issue?

Yes, if there is a problem of uneven wear out of tires, FASS / FORD should get them replaced(warranty).

Basis my understanding, FASS is the one who should take that extra care and I am lucky in my case, this is because with out FASS support it cannot go forward as they are the first point of contact whom we can reach.

FORD(read email) would redirect the requests/issues to nearest FASS.

If I may suggest, contact FASS, (which you are already in the process) and request them to replace tires under warranty!!!

Hoping that you get satisfactory response from FASS!! Best!!!
enjoy TDCi-ing!!!

thanks!

I faced lots of issue with my Fiat Punto 2 years ago w.r.t. uneven tyre wearing on rear tyres (lost a set of Yokohama in 20k, stretched 2 of them to 35 k as solution not found till then). Visited 2-3 FASS (Fiat, not Ford) as well as tyre shops but nothing was found. I was suggested that I change the entire rear axle costing about 25k which I did not give a very serious thought.

Then one tyre shop suggested me a local mechanic who proved quite something. He gave a good look at everything, opened rear tyres and finally suggested that the wheel hubs be changed as they were bent. Job done, problem gone!

Not necessary that it could be the reason for your case but do get the wheel hubs checked. My mechanic checked them with a simple thread - a DIY job and could see a 2-3 mm difference in radius from centre to various edges of the hub.

Total cost was about 4k for Fiat, it should be much less for a Ford, I believe. (Switched to Michelin XM2 - 2 at a time)

(And yes, I am considering Aspire Automatic as a replacement to our 2nd car i.e. a Spark, and so visiting the thread.)

[samaspire]

Anybody notice this in their Aspire!!




It's RUST - the whole steering rod has got a coating of rust on it. Is this normal; is it only me?

[pixantz]

Originally Posted by samaspire

It's RUST - the whole steering rod has got a coating of rust on it. Is this normal; is it only me?

Its normal. Dont know why this particular part does not have any rust protection like paint etc on it but it's the case with all cars I have seen so far. You are one of the very few people, like me , who have noticed this out-of-sight thing. Maybe some wise tech behind it....

[dragonov007]

Originally Posted by samaspire

It's RUST - the whole steering rod has got a coating of rust on it. Is this normal; is it only me?

I looked down below in my car today and couldn't see any rusting yet.Maybe it will develop down the line when the car faces more rains.Here are the pics-

Originally Posted by pixantz

Its normal. Dont know why this particular part does not have any rust protection like paint etc on it but it's the case with all cars I have seen so far. You are one of the very few people, like me , who have noticed this out-of-sight thing. Maybe some wise tech behind it....

Indeed a quick google search shows that this light surface rust thing over steering rod is not a very uncommon thing.The parts look like uncoated mild steel and I think a little bit of surface oxidation is expected in the long run.Maybe some experts here in Team BHP can shed more light on these things.

However you can show that to your Ford ASS and ask for their opinion.Also you can check if there is any minor water leakage from anywhere near the windshield mountings(But of course in that case you would have already noticed any wet spots on your carpet near the steering linkage rod)

Interestingly came across a similar incident in a fellow BHPian's Santro-

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...dashboard.html

[samaspire]

So I paid another visit to the bodyshop as I wanted to check the steering rust issue. All the other Aspires had it but not as much as mine. Guess it's more in mine because of the extra moisture inside my car - the mat has still not fully dried.

While I was there, I got confirmation that Ford has not strayed too far from the Ford DNA with the Aspire. It is just as safe, if not safer, as the other fords.

Aspire vs Tree








The tree won.

But the Aspire did not lose. All the passengers were safe. Notice that there is absolutely no intrusion of any kind into the cabin. The front absorbed everything. Apparently it can be repaired as there is no engine damage.

This impact looks like the typical NCAP crash test, and if this is the result then the Aspire will pass with flying colours

[iffi]

Thanks samarth for the unofficial ncap test results :-)

Good to know that the passengers and the car are both safe. I for one always believed that the cage structure is much more important then the flimsy door closing sound, which many link to the safety of the car.
Hope this beauty is tested soon for the ncap test to reassure all about the ford DNA.

[sudhirnam]

Originally Posted by samaspire

So I paid another visit to the bodyshop as I wanted to check the steering rust issue. All the other Aspires had it but not as much as mine. Guess it's more in mine because of the extra moisture inside my car - the mat has still not fully dried.

While I was there, I got confirmation that Ford has not strayed too far from the Ford DNA with the Aspire. It is just as safe, if not safer, as the other fords.

The tree won.

But the Aspire did not lose. All the passengers were safe. Notice that there is absolutely no intrusion of any kind into the cabin. The front absorbed everything. Apparently it can be repaired as there is no engine damage.

This impact looks like the typical NCAP crash test, and if this is the result then the Aspire will pass with flying colours

Good to see that the cabin of the car survived the crash and airbags were deployed during the crash. Hope this proves that the cage structure of car is solid. .

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by samaspire

The front absorbed everything. Apparently it can be repaired as there is no engine damage.

This impact looks like the typical NCAP crash test,

The most important information missing is the speed at which the crash occurred. Without which it is difficult to conclude such results.

[sudhirnam]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

The most important information missing is the speed at which the crash occurred. Without which it is difficult to conclude such results.

From the damages of the front end (as seen in the images), it looks like the car had a serious crash with the tree indicating that it was travelling with sufficient speed. I am glad at least the airbags were deployed and the driver+passengers were protected.