[Steppenwolf1978]

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

If AT is not a must have then go for the Diesel Freestyle. Even though your running is not high, once you own a Ford or VW diesel you bound to go for drives just for Fun

Thanks for the reply, My problem is i need an AT for my wife, I dont want to go for Maruti as they are not safe, Tata engine is puny and i just dont like Hyundai, VW is out of budget, Figo seems like a good compromise between power and safety.

Dilemma .......

[VWAllstar]

Short Mumbai - Pune - Mumbai Drive

Car : Ford Figo S TDCI
KMs : 340
Avg. FE : 25.9 KMPL

As always it was exciting to drive the Figo S on Mumbai - Pune Expressway and then on Lonavla Ghat. Left early morning from Chembur and it was an easy drive with nearly no traffic on the expressway. Trucks as always were driven on the right lane causing some bottlenecks at Lonavla entry point. Overall it was memorable especially driving the Figo S on the expressway after nearly 5 months. There was no checking on the expressway. The ever mesmerizing curvy road leading to Tiger and Lion Points in Lonavla was shut with barricades by the Police.

Major Issues

1. It was raining heavily since few days in Mumbai. Figo was parked and unmoved for 5 days straight. Once the car was set in motion, there was a loud sound from the brakes (especially right one) as if it broke in several pieces. This is not the first time I have experienced this. It happens everytime it is parked for more than 5-7 days. Entire journey I had a grinding sound from the right brakes. Had got the brakes cleaned a month ago from Ford ASS. I am unhappy with the quality of parts used by Ford in Figo. Ecosport is much better since it is also exported to international markets.

2. Hand brake makes weird noise. May be connected to the same issue mentioned above. Moreover, I have less confidence that the car will remain unmoved on a slope with the hand brake pulled. I tried it on the Khandala Ghat decline and the car did not move however was making weird sounds when co passenger sat in the car and when it was pulled down.

3. There is a lot of dampness inside the car. An uncomfortable smell which feels like fungus. The ac filter was changed in February. There has been no eatables in the car.

Please help share your thoughts on the concerns. Apart from these issues, I am very happy with the Figo S. On good roads it handles even better than Fiats and it takes on corners with good confidence albeit the braking is not very good.

Below are few pics from today's drive

[tharian]

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

Short Mumbai - Pune - Mumbai Drive

Car : Ford Figo S TDCI
KMs : 340
Avg. FE : 25.9 KMPL.

Please help share your thoughts on the concerns. Apart from these issues, I am very happy with the Figo S. On good roads it handles even better than Fiats and it takes on corners with good confidence albeit the braking is not very good.

Below are few pics from today's drive

It sounds like the handbrake needs adjustment.
Probably it was adjusted too tight and is not releasing the rear brakes fully when disengaged.

The rear shoe sticking issue was there on my previous gen Figo after leaving it parked for long. I haven't experienced it on the Aspire and I am guessing it is related to the handbrake.

As for the damp smell inside, I haven't experienced it either although my car has seen no use for 3 weeks once. Maybe you can air it out by leaving the doors open on a sunny day for few hours.

[samaspire]

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

3. There is a lot of dampness inside the car. An uncomfortable smell which feels like fungus. The ac filter was changed in February. There has been no eatables in the car.

Physically check for dampness in the car. The base floor mat, especially near the doors, in the boot, inside the spare wheel well, front footwell and under the seats. There are a couple of documented issues of water ingress from the ac drainpipe and through the window winder.

[VWAllstar]

Originally Posted by tharian

It sounds like the handbrake needs adjustment.
Probably it was adjusted too tight and is not releasing the rear brakes fully when disengaged.

The noise is so scary, like a thick metal breaking into pieces by some untamable force. Had asked the Ford ASS to check it and they said it is alright. They even cleaned the brakes and said pads would need replacement in another 5K Kms. Will check with them again.

Originally Posted by samaspire

Physically check for dampness in the car. The base floor mat, especially near the doors, in the boot, inside the spare wheel well, front footwell and under the seats. There are a couple of documented issues of water ingress from the ac drainpipe and through the window winder.

Yes, will check it thoroughly once the rains cease. Moreover, I have those OEM fabric floor mats which are useless. Wet footwear damps them and cannot be dried easily. One of the reason I feel there is so much dampness inside the car. Another are those fabric seats attract dust at corners. Thinking to get them foam washed and put on some good seat covers to avoid getting any fungal issue later on.

[abhinav.s]

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

Once the car was set in motion, there was a loud sound from the brakes (especially right one) as if it broke in several pieces.

This is not specific to Figo but common in most cars if left unused in wet weather. Have faced this in the Fiesta, Figo and Alto. After a drive in the rains, if you park with the hand brake engaged fully, and dont use the car for extended period of time, then you will have the brake shoe sticking issue. The trick is to try and reverse the car first and then move ahead if your parking allows for it.

2. Hand brake makes weird noise. May be connected to the same issue mentioned above.

Hand brake may require adjustments for this. This will ensure your worries about the car not holding up on the slopes as well. You just have to ensure the hand brake is fully engaged when parking on the slopes.

3. There is a lot of dampness inside the car. An uncomfortable smell which feels like fungus. The ac filter was changed in February. There has been no eatables in the car.

I am guessing due to rains, you will certainly be using the car with the AC on most of the time. While parking, when idling to allow the car to cool down, use the heater on high setting and good fan speed for some time and check if it works.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

The noise is so scary, like a thick metal breaking into pieces by some untamable force. Had asked the Ford ASS to check it and they said it is alright. They even cleaned the brakes and said pads would need replacement in another 5K Kms. Will check with them again.

If the sound persists and is not going away, you can take it to a FNG and check by opening the rear drums and get the shoes adjusted.
I am assuming you use the handbrake while the car is parked.

[VWAllstar]

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

The trick is to try and reverse the car first and then move ahead if your parking allows for it.

The worrysome part is, I always reverse first and still it gives out that loud sound.

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

Hand brake may require adjustments for this. This will ensure your worries about the car not holding up on the slopes as well.

Will be checking it personally with the Service Advisor. There is definitely some unwanted play in the handbrake.

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

I am guessing due to rains, you will certainly be using the car with the AC on most of the time. While parking, when idling to allow the car to cool down, use the heater on high setting and good fan speed for some time and check if it works.

Will do this. Somehow it skips out of my mind when I idle the car after it has been parked for the day.

[@dr_figo]

Own a 2016 figo 1.5D. Finally going for upsizing from present 14".Got a good deal on a set of freestyle alloys (original owner had exchanged these for MOMO alloys). Will purchase tyres next month. Originally was fixed on going for 195 55r15. But after reading bhpian jayakumarkp's post I am in a dilemma. Confused between 195 55 r15, 195 60 r15 or even 185 60 r15(stock freestyle). Feedback from fellow owners would be most welcome. Thank you.

[VWAllstar]

Originally Posted by tharian

If the sound persists and is not going away, you can take it to a FNG and check by opening the rear drums and get the shoes adjusted.
I am assuming you use the handbrake while the car is parked.

Dont use the handbrake much, post idling switch off the engine and slot it in 1st gear for parking. Sometimes Dad pulls the handbrake and more often than not the noise is heard post this event.

As mentioned by few, I checked the floor and the spare wheel section. The floor is dry and could not see any dampness or water. However something very strange was observed in the spare wheel well. There were few droplets and water at right side. More strange was the plaster which looks weird to me. Is it factory pasting and on all Figo's/ Aspires? Check the pictures below.

[COMMUTER]

I got my condenser changed at an FNG today. It was pilfered at FASS when I visited it for 40k service. My crazy schedule slackened (thankfully)because of the pandemic and I was able to set about replacing it after almost three years of having gone without AC. Yes, complicated.

https://youtu.be/7GzgcC-13jk

It happened when I left my car reluctantly at the nagging of the ASS guys on a Saturday and picked it up on Monday. The FASS never mentioned anything about the AC or condenser when I took delivery from the last service I ever had from them. It was winter and all my 8+ hour night drives were with just the blower on which in itself was sufficient and I was crazy about T2T FE readings and tapped on about them in many whatsapp groups proudly boasting that I hadn't used my ACin a long while. . I remember mentioning that to the ASS guy too. That must have marked me as being sweet enough to get conned there. I came to know that my AC is not cooling after a few weeks of that service. I had stopped going there after they botched up my oil change which I had posted in detail here.Link (All about diesel engine oils) .

I came to know about it in an interesting manner. I was at a FNG fitting some horns.(I have 5 pairs of them, no smilies left!) . I noticed a guy filling up AC gas and asked for that to be done to my car too. He tried and it emptied with a hiss. He asked me to come to his place for an inspection. I fixed a few appointments which I couldn't keep. Finally, when I was pestering him for the Nth time, he slipped up out of frustration and told that he knew the issue. He said that the condenser is damaged and was ineffectively sealed up with mSeall and requires replacement. I came to know later that he is the go-to guy the all brand ASSes in the area call in for any issues with AC.


That aside, we can clearly see that the damage had been from a drill bit going through the cross member during some fitment in some other car. We can see that my cross member is not having any damage and that a stone can't hit it at that angle with that velocity. Furthermore, I am reasonably sure that no thief broke in to my house just to try rectifying it with Mseal before trying to steal it.

First, I wanted to check the serial number, collect fingerprint sample and feed them into CODIS in addition to call for a mDNA search but, in spite of losing 8k in addition to countless hours of pure self-torture with added ridicule, I feel that I can't do anything about it now.

What do I have to tell about Ford in general? My dream car is the Unimog/Zetros but I am still in an equal awe of F450 too. I am still passionate about doing a ford 572 engine swap in my Figo and it is still a keeper. I still recommend Ford to folks but just caution all against going to any brand's ASSes and ask them not to get entangled with ASSes through extended warranties.

[VWAllstar]

My Figo has a new issue now. The gears do not slot at first when the engine is turned on. The clutch was completely depressed so no issues there. On switching off the engine, the gears slot perfectly. Then second time, the gears slot properly. I believe it is only if the car is stationary for more than few hours then this issue surfaces. Spoke to few friends and they said, it may be an issue pertaining to pressure plate. However, my car is only at 14500 odd KMs. Will have to take it to Ford ASS again. Mumbai guys, please suggest a good FASS and preferably if you have made any SA a good friend So far use to take it to Bhavna Ford, Kalina and really not very impressed with their work.

[NaXal]

I have this gear slotting issue with my 2017 Aspire TDCi from the day one.

But it's with reverse gear only.

Exactly like yours, mine too happens in the morning, for the first time only.

I park my car in a way that I need to reverse it out & there if I am not using the car for couple of days, it simply refuses to slot into reverse gear on first start !!

One option is like yours to shut the engine down & slot it in reverse then start it or in my case, just slot it into first then neutral & release the clutch & again press the clutch to slot it into reverse

I could never replicate the issue at Ford ASS so I have learnt to live with it.

[CARDEEP]

My 2015 Aspire does not have gear slotting issue. I have run 88k Kms till date.

@VWAllstar if you're told that it could be pressure plate issue, I have a gut feeling that it's beating around the bush, & it needn't be corrected diagnosis.

[VWAllstar]

Originally Posted by CARDEEP

My 2015 Aspire does not have gear slotting issue. I have run 88k Kms till date.

@VWAllstar if you're told that it could be pressure plate issue, I have a gut feeling that it's beating around the bush, & it needn't be corrected diagnosis.

Had given the car for warranty work 2 months ago. They had skimmed the brakes and since then it is giving out screeching sound. Gear slotting issues wasnt there untill then. Definitely the Gear Cables or something need immediate attention. Have got in touch with another BHPian Frank Mehta and shall take the car to another FASS - Rudra Ford for proper check up and diagnosis.