[naga.sid]

Hi,

I was driving down Old Airport Road in Bangalore y'day, when my car (a lovely silver Ford Fiesta SXi - where I can see the hood when on the driver's seat) made a noise much like a a volvo bus lowering its steps. For a moment I was on Cloudnine assuming that there was some genetic evolution and my car had developed evolved abilities.

The next moment saw white coloured mist and vapours arising from the left front side of the hood. Narada walking across would have completed the scene for a Mahabharata serial re-take!

Sensing that it could be A/C trouble, I switched off the HVAC and drove with wind in my face. Reaching home, observed presence of greenish liquid near the radiator. Switched on the A/C and it smelt like I was sitting next to the drunk security guard in my apartment complex.

Car was ER'ed to Metro Ford who diagnosed it as a "a/c tube rubbing on the body had leaked", but refused to admit the patient - citing appointment problems! wow!

It is now on it's way to Cauvery Ford in Bangalore who should be able to inpatient it and carry out some surgery.

Given that I have neither chased canines nor do I negotiate ravines in this car, I am curious - is this a recurrent issue in the FIESTA and should I hold Ford accountable to it?

The only other similar thread I could find is the following.

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

I invite the group members' advice and help.

With best regards
Naga.Sid

[Jaggu]

If its green liquid near radiator is indicating towards coolant leakage, so mostly the heater circuit has got raptured OR the diverter valve gone kaput. Wait for the final diagnosis is all i can say. If car is under warranty you can definitely push for it.

[Ford5]

Did the drive back home take long? Because if the drive back when the radiator was leaking was long it could be problematic. Ford guys can easily make out the damage (if any).

General advice is whenever radiator leakage or damage occurs never drive the car. Just tow it to the service centre quickly as possible.

When I bumped in to a truck a few years ago in my ikon, luckily the service centre was 100 metres ahead (lingarajpuram ford a.s.s). The Ford s.a who came to diagnose my car had a very serious look as if i went wrong doing a nuclear experiment or something & very clearly mentioned that engine damage occurred due to driving when radiator is damaged does not get covered under warranty.

[trave11er]

Oh man!! Why did you continue to drive even after seeing smoke/mist coming from the bonnet? Considering the large number of incidents of car catching fire, one should come out of the car at the earliest.
What is the cost of repairs?

[Rehaan]

Oh man, that is the funniest troubleshooting post i have read here

I'm with Jaggu on this one. What you've described sounds more like a coolant hose bursting, rather than any A/C leak. Reasons below:

Originally Posted by naga.sid

... made a noise much like a a volvo bus lowering its steps. ...The next moment saw white coloured mist and vapours arising

Pressurized gas releasing. This could apply for both A/C and Coolant (heated water = steam).

Originally Posted by naga.sid

...observed presence of greenish liquid near the radiator.

Usually the colour of the coolant mix.

From what i know :
a) A/C coolant isn't green
b) It probably wouldn't be left behind in liquid form (i might be wrong on this)
c) You saw it near the radiator!

Originally Posted by naga.sid

...it smelt like I was sitting next to the drunk security guard in my apartment complex.

Not sure what he smells like, but maybe you should take a whiff of some coolant mix and see if it matches up.

Originally Posted by naga.sid

...Car was ER'ed to Metro Ford who diagnosed it as a "a/c tube rubbing on the body had leaked"

A/C tubes don't swing around down there. Its unlikely that it "rubbed against the body". I think these guys might just have given you a hypothetical evaluation based on what you told them (since they didn't have time to take your car!).


Just make sure you don't end up paying for an A/C issue when in reality all it is is a burst coolant pipe, or one whose mouth has slipped off its mount.

If you had kept an eye on your temperature gauge, a rise would have indicated a disfunctional coolant system (after the incident).

Like others said - always best to asses the damage before driving on, as it could do some serious further damage in some cases!

cya
R

[blackfire_9]

Though this is probably off-topic, but don't Fords come with red/pink dyed OAT coolants? Or was something different earlier?

[rajeev k]

If it is green it ought to be the coolant. Is green the colour of the coolant in your car? There is blue coloured coolant too.

[trave11er]

Originally Posted by blackfire_9

Though this is probably off-topic, but don't Fords come with red/pink dyed OAT coolants? Or was something different earlier?

Yes I agree. The coolant in Ford cars is pink coloured. I guess it is green coloured in Maruti cars.

[mayankk]

How long was the drive with the wind in your face?
Did you notice the temp gauge at all during this?

I hope it wasnt long, else you may be in for a sizeable amount of money going out.

[naga.sid]

Hi,

Sorry for the delay in replying.

The issue was a a/c coolant leakage and was fixed by Ford under warranty. I was almost shocked when I heard I didn't have to pay for anything.

As for the temperature gauge, I had noticed no change in the temperature before or after the "mist".

Really appreciate that Cauvery Ford took the car and closed the issue within 6 hours.

Best regards
Naga.Sid