[Tgo]

I had raised this issue in another thread

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

but its better to have a separate thread for each issue so that focus of the thread does not change. We bought our Figo in December 2010 so it is just close to 8 months old now. This is a major problem that I have been facing.

The front seat Sliding mechanism doesn't lock in properly. Whenever there is pressure applied onto the seat back above mid level eg. pulling out a wallet from your trouser pockets, the seat just slides back the maximum it can. This happens immediately after the adjustment is made for a short or tall driver. It also happens sometimes under hard acceleration .
One setting if not fiddled with remains fine for some time, until the day you decide to clean the carpets in your car.

I got one more reply from a fellow forumer about this issue and he also though it to be a one off problem. Please share you inputs on if you have faced a similar problem or on how you got it fixed, if you have.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by Tgo

The front seat Sliding mechanism doesn't lock in properly. Whenever there is pressure applied onto the seat back above mid level eg. pulling out a wallet from your trouser pockets, the seat just slides back the maximum it can. This happens immediately after the adjustment is made for a short or tall driver. It also happens sometimes under hard acceleration .
One setting if not fiddled with remains fine for some time, until the day you decide to clean the carpets in your car.

I got one more reply from a fellow forumer about this issue and he also though it to be a one off problem. Please share you inputs on if you have faced a similar problem or on how you got it fixed, if you have.

Has this issue been brought to the the service centre notice. Maybe something is fouling the lock mechanism not allowing to lock properly. If you identify yourselves the better or else take it to the workshop for a detailed look. This issue needs attention ASAP since seat movement during running can be very dangerous.

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by Tgo

The front seat Sliding mechanism doesn't lock in properly. Whenever there is pressure applied onto the seat back above mid level eg. pulling out a wallet from your trouser pockets, the seat just slides back the maximum it can. This happens immediately after the adjustment is made for a short or tall driver. It also happens sometimes under hard acceleration .
One setting if not fiddled with remains fine for some time, until the day you decide to clean the carpets in your car.

I got one more reply from a fellow forumer about this issue and he also though it to be a one off problem. Please share you inputs on if you have faced a similar problem or on how you got it fixed, if you have.

The problem you have stated is likely problem with your car only IMO. This is not a small problem and if seat position changes under hard acceleration, its very unsafe. I am sure that if this was common problem, we would have found data on other threads on Figo.

Get your car checked and mostly the seat replacement would be needed. I wonder how you are able to drive the car with a rather malfunctioning seat. This rarely happens in any car, bet it Alto or S-class. Get this seat repaired as its a serious safety issue.

Also does this movement happen in other front seat also ?

[Tgo]

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

Also does this movement happen in other front seat also ?

Yes this happens on both the front seats. Less on the driver seat though.

As posted in the thread in my opening post (Read post # 29, Page - 2). One other person (forum id: racerme) has also agreed that this is a problem faced by him too. I just wanted to confirm if he had seat covers put on from accessory shops instead of the Figo specific seat covers sold by the dealership. He has confirmed that he got them from an accessory shop and that the service people told him that the problem was because of incorrect installation of these seat covers. We both doubt it. Seemed more like a playing the blame game thing just because you don't have certified accessories.

[gostel]

My seat would suddenly jump the lock and slide backwards. This became a safety problem as I would lose a momentary control over the car. Thankfully, no accident occurred. The ASS recommended a change of slider mechanism but they did not have one in stock. The MGP outlet too could not help as there was no stock at the warehouse. So, I went looking for a solution to neighbourhood garage. The guys there were quite enthusiastic, unlike the MASS guys. The seat was taken out and we began tinkering with the operating mechanism. Soon, we found an almost broken straight wire spring whose function was to push a lever that kept the slider teeth in locked position. The garage guys got hold of a jugaad spring and it did the job well. I am now looking for a straight spring wire SWG #16 (1.6 mm dia) to form the correct spring. The selling price of this spring would be like 20 rupees. A replacement slider pair would cost 3,600 had it been in stock.

I have written this post to point out that the slider mechanism failure could often be traced to a simple spring wire that is either corroded or just lost. ASSes are pretty bad at providing repairs as they only replace parts and refuse to even take a cursory look at the mechanism. The FNG is a better bet if we know how to get the work done. I had to pay just 200 rupees for the enthusiasm of the mechanics in trying different approaches. I felt very good interacting with them, in contrast to sipping insipid coffee at a Maruti workshop.

[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by gostel

ASSes are pretty bad at providing repairs as they only replace parts and refuse to even take a cursory look at the mechanism. The FNG is a better bet if we know how to get the work done.

Glad that your issue is pretty well addressed with a cost effective solution. Since the right spring is not used, keep an eye once in a while. If possible, get it replaced with the correct part (used market or totaled vehicle)

Almost no A.S.S will entertain these repair jobs for below reason
1) They make more money in replacing the part
2) More money for the same time in working on a different vehicle / service
3) Certain repairs couldn't match the factory workmanship / quality
4) With FNG we (mostly) don't expect any warranty / guarantee on such repairs, where as the expectation with A.S.S is other way round

[gostel]

Originally Posted by Mr.Boss

Glad that your issue is pretty well addressed with a cost effective solution. Since the right spring is not used, keep an eye once in a while. If possible, get it replaced with the correct part (used market or totaled vehicle)

Almost no A.S.S will entertain these repair jobs for below reason
1) They make more money in replacing the part
2) More money for the same time in working on a different vehicle / service
3) Certain repairs couldn't match the factory workmanship / quality
4) With FNG we (mostly) don't expect any warranty / guarantee on such repairs, where as the expectation with A.S.S is other way round

Thanks for your response. I agree with your points and that is why for the past 9 years I have been putting blind faith in the A.S.S. The only turn off is that they have broken my trust. After the annual service, I went for tyres change and discovered that the A.S.S. had omitted to clean my wheel rims from the inside. Went for a battery change and discovered that the battery housing was full of muck on the inside.

Regarding the slider, I was not exactly hinting at the cost effectiveness of the solution, rather at the callous attitude of the A.S.S. You may appreciate that I was forced to go to an unauthorised garage because even the replacement part was not available. Whereas the A.S.S. declared that my slider had worn out teeth, the actual problem was a corroded spring. Just one of the several similar springs was corroded at one little point. I am on the look-out for a spring wire that I can form into the required spring (I am an engineer) as a permanent solution.

I hope my post will be useful for fellow enthusiasts to understand that the seat slider assembly may not be worn out but could merely have a defective spring. Cheers.