[Ellipsis]

Thanks a lot all! Did one more check (should have done yesterday itself). I put the car in 1st gear after starting, and released the clutch without accelerating- the car is not showing any jerks/jumps as it should have and revs as though it is in neutral. Seems like a clutch issue. The service man is coming in couple of hours.

[Ellipsis]

Update: The Ford Service Center Personnel came and inspected the car. He says the clutch and pressure plate are gone and needs to be replaced (he started the car and tried driving it and it was immobile) and will cost ~15k. It is strange considering that the car has done only 25000 Kms so far.

I am waiting for the dealer to send a person to tow the car. These services are a little painful from Ford. It is an external agent and the charges are 1500 rs. without bill (need to settle it outside the dealership)

[sansvk]

Originally Posted by Ellipsis

Update: The Ford Service Center Personnel came and inspected the car. ....

It would have been best to start a separate thread.
Coming to the issue, if it was the clutch did you notice any symptoms earlier like shuddering, slip etc. Get it to the service, ask them to open it up in your presence, ask them to show a new parts so that you can verify the worn out parts. They will charge 3K atleast for opening the clutch assembly, hence get other possible reasons eliminated.

[Ellipsis]

Thanks a lot. It was a separate thread to begin with, however someone seems to have moved it into the Punto thread, which I still don't understand why.

I am going to the service now. They are opening the gear box and have already said that bearing, pressure plate and clutch will have to be replaced. Only thing that can potentially be salvaged is flywheel. Around 22k is the high level quote.

[Ellipsis]

Originally Posted by sansvk

It would have been best to start a separate thread.
Coming to the issue, if it was the clutch did you notice any symptoms earlier like shuddering, slip etc. Get it to the service, ask them to open it up in your presence, ask them to show a new parts so that you can verify the worn out parts. They will charge 3K atleast for opening the clutch assembly, hence get other possible reasons eliminated.

Dear all,

Closing the query formally - I went to the Ford service center and they opened the clutch assembly in my presence. The clutch plate had worn out completely and there were multiple lines/ scratches on the pressure plate, hence both have been replaced. While the service engineer was unsure about the flywheel, the mechanic assured me that it need not be changed. Got these repaired and the car is good now! The clutch is feeling great, no shuddering (which I had observed the day before it failed).

The overall costs came to ~15k - of which the labour costs were ~50% (it is a shocker for me honestly!).

Thanks a lot for the pointers shared on the thread.