[batman]

Originally Posted by GTO

Worse still, forget any investigation from Ford or the dealership, the service center coolly sends an estimate of Rs. 3.4 lakh across!

Looks so scary; especially the shearing of alloy wheel!

Will this claim be compensated by insurers? or would they pass the buck saying reasons like 'manufacturing defect'?

[Dry Ice]

Scary! Glad to know the passengers are safe. It would have been a tricky situation not just the Ecosport but anyone who was following it. Another reason not to tailgate.

Originally Posted by arunphilip

The repair estimate looks like its been padded on the assumption that insurance will pay for it. For instance, it includes a headlight unit, when its clear that there's been no frontal impact/damage, it includes a speaker/radio, when the door's damage seems to be only to the sheet metal

Very true, I have seen this with almost all the ASCs across manufacturers.

About the headlight, there is no visible damage but the mounts may have broken off.

[AutoNoob]

Originally Posted by aerohit

I believe this is a classic case of Tie Rod failure

Chain of events-
1) Left side Tie Rod snaps!
2) As a result wheel twists outwards
3) As a result lower arm sheers off
4) As a result cv axle also pops out
5) As a result suspension collapses, rim drags and cracks

Being a new car its possible that someone worked on wheel alignment and forgot to tighten the Tie Rods properly.

Its also possible that Tie Rod was defective from the factory itself.

Originally Posted by rusticnomad

Analysis of fracture would reveal few facts.... the owner can take possession of all the fractured components and send it over to any Material science lab (IIT/IISc etc) and I am sure they would list all probable cause for all shearing. Fatigue failures are not unheard of, but not in a new car that has barely clocked any mileage -- unless there was an obvious manufacturing defect in some parts/sub-parts that skipped through QC lines....

You are spot-on !!

I am aware about premature failure of tie rods (below 5K kms) and similar consequences in other vehicles (which might not be reported on public forums). In my experience sometimes due to raw material defect, during thread rolling on tie rod, fine crack(s) are developed in thread area. If these cracks are at the root of thread (least cross section area), chances of failure are high. Inspection weeds out such defective parts but still there are cases where such parts have slipped to assembly line.

Material analysis is key in these cases. If tie rod failed first, the fracture surface will show complete story leading to failure. Even if tie rod failed due to improper torqueing of the check-nut, it will reflect in the analysis.

If tie-rod failure caused the consequent suspension failure, the tie-rod fracture surface should have signs of fatigue fracture [cyclic crack propagation (smooth zone) ending with ductile fracture (rough zone) without significant elongation]. On the contrary, if the tie-rod failed as result of other failure, surface will have ductile fracture [cup & cone shape with certain elongation].

However, I am not sure if the customer has access to an accredited lab and if failed part can now be taken from dealer.

Source

Specimen image for Fatigue Fracture :



Specimen image for Ductile Fracture :

3) As a result lower arm sheers off

In my opinion, the lower arm has not sheared, it is bent from the huge force and ball stud is pulled out of socket.

Originally Posted by kaushik51094

the impact wouldn't have triggered the airbag sensors

Right !! Airbag sensors detect sudden deceleration and, as the photographs indicate, the vehicle was dragged on for few meters before it came to stop. So, deceleration rate would be far below the threshold to deploy airbags.


Moreover, assuming the customer was not at fault, with such extensive damage is it OK to accept repairs or demand for full vehicle replacement ? In my opinion, the structural integrity of the car is severely compromised and no one can predict any consequential problems even after full repair, coz anything repaired cannot be as good as the factory built new product.

[nitheeshsreeram]

Originally Posted by akshat15

This simply qualifies as gross negligence on part of the assembly line people. This sheds a light on the quality of 'OK testing' done at the factory end and the P.D.I done at the dealer level. I'm sure Ford aren't subjecting their vehicles to rigorous testing after a car is manufactured. According to me this matter should be escalated to the consumer forum without thinking twice as this incident could have endangered the lives of passengers, moreover the mental trauma associated with it.

In manufacturing generally all products wont be and cant be tested rigorously, usually a sample gets tested and this is a accepted practice. What could have gone wrong and this is pure speculation that a defective part from one of the vendors could have caused the issue. But Quality checks are done on samples of every batch of parts received so its just surprising that such a catastrophe failure happened. Ford really needs to do a thorough investigation, it will do themselves a whole lot of good.

[rselva]

What has Ford done so far? Please update. It would be instructive to see how the manufacturer deals with such unique (hopefully unique) cases.

[harpreetsubhi]

Well with my experience with Ford, they are worst at Customer Service. A company representative will not talk to you and will always ask to you talk to service station. In case somebody talks they are illiterate customer call center people who do not understand even the basics of a car. I'm not surprised by the fact that Ford did not reply to any of your emails. I sold it off and now I'm really happy.

[maverick.munish]

First the VW emission scandal and now this !!!
What is wrong with the cars being manufactured these days.
Had it been a Maruti or a Tata, people would have laughed it off..
However, Ford has a reputation for sturdy vehicles. Now looking at the pictures enclosed, the tarmac looks freshly laid (almost). Hence we can rule out any foul play.
Also, the fracture seems to be at the axle joint and hence there are chances of a manufacturing defect/ manual error.
Hope Ford shows up and pays the customer for the damages or better still a replacement vehicle (unheard off in India though) ??

[Jomz]

Looks like lower ball joint failure, not a fun thing.

Please see the link for what happens during a ball joint failure

http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/lowerballjoint/

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by Jomz

Looks like lower ball joint failure, not a fun thing.

Please see the link for what happens during a ball joint failure

http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/lowerballjoint/

No apparent damage to the rim! I still think our case discussed here, hit something without ever realising it.

there might have been a structural problem with a part, such as the tie rod or something that had come partially unstuck and made it all a lot worse.

Jeroen

[Rajeevraj]

Wonder what is the latest update on this. I think there would have been discussions happening between the owner and dealership. Since there has not been any further updates from GTO, assume that details about any discussions have not been passed on.

Also, has there been any response from Ford on this? I see that this story has been picked up by several other automotive sites also.

Considering this is on the back of the official recall and the fact that the Aspire/Figo have just launched, I thought Ford would be more proactive in getting involved.

[GTO]

The response from Ford

I want an analysis on the suspension component failure, not a warranty rejection from Good Year!

From: Customer, Care (.) <custmail@ford.com>
Date: Wed, Nov 11, 2015 at 3:33 PM
Subject: FW: Ford Ecosport - Tyre Burst
To: "xxxx@xxxx.com"
Cc: "Servicemlr@cauveryford.com" <Servicemlr@cauveryford.com>,
"custcaremlr@cauveryford.com" <custcaremlr@cauveryford.com>

Dear Mr. Madhu,

Greeting from Ford India.

This mail is in subsequent to our earlier correspondence regarding
your vehicle bearing registration number MAJAXXMRKAFT82401.

Further to telecom we had with your goodself, we had performed a
detailed discussion on your concern with our dealership and with our
regional service team. Post receiving necessary documents related to
your concern from our dealership we understand that the tyre
manufacturer as confirmed the damage noticed is purely due to an
external contact which could not be supported under the purview of
tyre warranty. However to support the available customer, we request
you to claim through insurance and the difference amount after
claiming from insurance will be supported by Ford India. Hence contact
our dealership and provide your necessary approvals to proceed further
on replacement of the same under chargeable basis. We are also
attaching the tyre manufacturer’s report for your perusal.

Request your understanding on this.

Please feel free to contact Mr. Thilak-Service Manager (98457xxxxx)
/us for any further assistance.

Thanks & Regards,
Sri Vidhya
FIL - Customer Relations
Toll Free No 1800 419 2500 / 1800 425 2500 Add STD code of your state capital

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by GTO

The response from Ford
I want an analysis on the suspension component failure, not a warranty rejection from Good Year!

IMO, they are trying to divert the issue and buy some time.

The entire incident is shocking; my faith in quality offered to us Indians ( irrespective of make ) in mass market is now absent.

There are chances of steering knuckle failure, not tie rod. Tie rod failure cannot take the drive shaft out. The Lower arm seems to be in place, but drive shaft is dislocated, and alloy rim is broken. Tie rod broke, lower arm bent due to huge force, and the tie rod broke due to other failures.

The wheel was a point of failure or impact else the steering knuckle. This is my view, and a thorough investigation is required. Any external impact can give some indicators in driving characteristics or noise before simply giving away in a big way.

[Jomz]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

No apparent damage to the rim! I still think our case discussed here, hit something without ever realising it.

there might have been a structural problem with a part, such as the tie rod or something that had come partially unstuck and made it all a lot worse.

Jeroen

All cars in the link are older Honda's with Steel wheels. Those Steel wheels just bend - it is hard to break them.

Surprisingly, All broken ball joints are on the passenger side, even in this car!

[AstaAddict]

Originally Posted by GTO

The response from Ford

I want an analysis on the suspension component failure, not a warranty rejection from Good Year!



Attachment 1440840

This is hilarious from Ford India What was the Customer's initial query to Ford to which they responded? I'm sure it was not just related to the burst tire. I wonder what the customer service rep was thinking while drafting this reply. The line "the difference amount after claiming from insurance will be supported by Ford India." is like throwing some change to a needy person. Manufacturers need to come of age and stop throwing tantrums!!

[Engine_Roars]

The subject of the email says - "Ford Ecosport - Tyre Burst". There is no mention of Axle breaking any where. I am not doubting any one here but am just wondering why would someone chose Burst Tyre instead of Axle Breaking as the subject of his/her email.