[Garipagol]

Originally Posted by KARMAniac

Sorry for replying to you so late. Thanks for the suggestions though. How do one arrive to a misaligned car? I never had abused the car so far nor had any accident ( touchwood!!) to have a misaligned car. I have done wheel balancing and alignment not once but twice but to make sure. I also had done tire rotation and there is no unequal worn-out of tires too. Now, I am not sure if my mind is playing or not but i think the ply ( to use your term) angle is increasing ever so slightly. I didn't expect this kind of problem from such a relatively new car ( into 2 years of possession). Believe have to check other mechanical components.
Any other points I should look for before going into the s**t-hole of Tata servicing?
Drive safe

Wheel Alignment and Balancing and an off-center steering wheel are two issues. It seems that your steering wheel is off center so when you keep it tilted a little the car goes straight. An alignment problem will force you to make small corrections continuously to keep going straight. Have the steering wheel looked at and centered. Then balance & align your wheels.

This can happen due to an accident where the wheel assembly take a hard smack. It can also happen due to worn parts.
Rgds

[KARMAniac]

Off-centering of the steering wheel was rectified and it was working fine for a day or so. Anyway will have to take the car to service center but then the so called best service centre is about 250kms away. I believe it will be more than a couple of months before the problem is sorted out. Hope riding the car in this manner won't affect it adversely.

Drive safe

[mayankk]

I was dissappointed when i saw the start date for this thread, thinking that i'll have start a seperate one.
but the responses here are fairly recent.
So let me take shot at getting some suggestions.
My fiesta petrol, there were a few problem, and i fixed them but one has persisted.
1. wobble when braking at any speed, 20 or 100.
fixed by skimming the discs.gone.
2. not very confidence inspiring in corners/highway speed direction change through traffic.
Fixed with tyre change.
3. post change - large amount of tyre roar at 90+ .
apparently NCT5 have this problem(comeone can concur?)
4. Now this i havent been able to fix.
The roar is still there, but osmehow its just doesnt sound like its all down to the tyres.
People have driven other fiestas at 130-140 consistently and with not a lot of noise.
mine makes such a drone, that it becomes a pain.
The revs are still going at roundabouts 3k at 110, and i can feel the engine has a lot of grunt left, but the noise...it feels like its resisting the effort somewhere.
and then there's the steering vibration that comes in dot on 111kmph.
not under braking, just at speed.

Tyres are just 4-5k old, and wheels were balanced right then.

and then there's this grinding noise when coming to standstill(from any speed).
it just comes in under braking in the final 2-3 seconds before the stop.
also, sometimes there's a clunk when i launch a little aggressively.
ford, and independents have said the discs/pads etc are fine.

now, from what i have read so far here, this could be a wheel bearing.
has anybody faced similar issues?
can someone tell me how to describe this to the mechanic guys, or tell them where to look?

[wild child]

Originally Posted by mayankk

I was dissappointed when i saw the start date for this thread, thinking that i'll have start a seperate one.
but the responses here are fairly recent.
So let me take shot at getting some suggestions.
My fiesta petrol, there were a few problem, and i fixed them but one has persisted.
1. wobble when braking at any speed, 20 or 100.
fixed by skimming the discs.gone.
2. not very confidence inspiring in corners/highway speed direction change through traffic.
Fixed with tyre change.
3. post change - large amount of tyre roar at 90+ .
apparently NCT5 have this problem(comeone can concur?)
4. Now this i havent been able to fix.
The roar is still there, but osmehow its just doesnt sound like its all down to the tyres.
People have driven other fiestas at 130-140 consistently and with not a lot of noise.
mine makes such a drone, that it becomes a pain.
The revs are still going at roundabouts 3k at 110, and i can feel the engine has a lot of grunt left, but the noise...it feels like its resisting the effort somewhere.
and then there's the steering vibration that comes in dot on 111kmph.
not under braking, just at speed.

Tyres are just 4-5k old, and wheels were balanced right then.

and then there's this grinding noise when coming to standstill(from any speed).
it just comes in under braking in the final 2-3 seconds before the stop.
also, sometimes there's a clunk when i launch a little aggressively.
ford, and independents have said the discs/pads etc are fine.

now, from what i have read so far here, this could be a wheel bearing.
has anybody faced similar issues?
can someone tell me how to describe this to the mechanic guys, or tell them where to look?

whoa mayankk

those are too many complaints.

as far as i can understand from your message,

1. the groaning noise while cornering is sheerly tyre dependant. my i20 has the same issue and my shoes are apollo made. you'll have to live with the noise till you wear off your shoes or if you can't tolerate it, change all of 'em.

2. the grinding noise at the fag end of each braking stop can be due to glazed out front brake pads. If i'm right, you might feel that off late ( after you started hearing the grinding noise)your vehicle doesn't decelerate as it used to. A couple of rubs with some rough emery paper on all four pads will do the job. no worry.

3. Ford fiestas fitted with alloys ( company fitted / others ) are prone to steering vibration at 100+ speeds. i've experienced the "birth" of steering vibes when i swappd the steel rims of my EXI durtorq with OE alloys. I had been complaining ever since to the SA, but in vain. luckily one day when i swapped back to my steel rims.... all vibes vanished !
incase u have alloys on, then try driving the vehicle after changing to steel rims. it will improve the ride qulity.
if you don't have alloys on, then check for the front knuckle mounting. they could be loose.

good luck amigo !

[mayankk]

let me get that checked out, especially your 2nd point.
100+?

Thats too low a figure for this car, man!!
It's got to be fixable.

[wild child]

Originally Posted by mayankk

let me get that checked out, especially your 2nd point.
100+?

Thats too low a figure for this car, man!!
It's got to be fixable.

sorry

but i dont get you. what do you mean " that's too low a figure" ?

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by wild child

sorry

but i dont get you. what do you mean " that's too low a figure" ?

I mean, 100 comes up with the least amount of effort.
quite quickly.
As i have heard people tell me.

and you dont even realize it.
As people have told me.

plus, i would like to be comfortable knowing that i could punch it to 150, as claimed by people, when i want to.

[jaguar.runs]

@mayankk
Insulating the tire well can help reducing the noise to some extent. There are different coating in the market. Total insulation would help a lot, not only with the noise, but with the cooling also. New tires would reduce the tire noise, but it will be back as the tire wears out.

[rideon]

Originally Posted by mayankk

4. Now this i havent been able to fix.
The roar is still there, but osmehow its just doesnt sound like its all down to the tyres.
People have driven other fiestas at 130-140 consistently and with not a lot of noise.
mine makes such a drone, that it becomes a pain.
The revs are still going at roundabouts 3k at 110, and i can feel the engine has a lot of grunt left, but the noise...it feels like its resisting the effort somewhere.
and then there's the steering vibration that comes in dot on 111kmph.
not under braking, just at speed.

Tyres are just 4-5k old, and wheels were balanced right then.

If the tyre "ROAR" is more the like the noise of truck tires (something which my Safari has developed of late) and also because you say there might be some resistance, try looking at the wheel bearings. I have similar issues and was told that wheel bearing could be the culprit ( with TATA known for under-bearing).
The noise on my vehicle starts at 70+ kmph and then becomes irritating with increase in speed.

[mayankk]

@jaguar.runs: thanks man.seems doable for a later date, first o gotta figure where the noise is soming from.

Now this was innovative.This is from my unsponsored research.
Apparently, after you've driven for a while, stop and check the bolts on the wheels.
all four.
If one wheel's bolts are inordinately hot, compared to all others, you have a wheel bearing problem.

Any comments on this guys?

EDIT:
@rideon: Ditto, sir!!going to get it checked out this weekend (what with ford, and their american custom of not being an "uninvited" guest!!got to get an appointment!)

[ankan.m.blr]

From the last 3 months, my Ritz has developed a problem. The steering wheel wobbles/vibrates at speeds 40+ KMPH. Have done wheel alignment/wheel balancing twice, but the issue still persists. Any idea ?

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by ankan.m.blr

From the last 3 months, my Ritz has developed a problem. The steering wheel wobbles/vibrates at speeds 40+ KMPH. Have done wheel alignment/wheel balancing twice, but the issue still persists. Any idea ?

Could be uneven wear on your tyres.

[Karthik1100]

Issue with a 6 months old Fiesta Classic Petrol:

When driven in potholes, a little deeper ones, i can feel the vibration on the steering a lot and the vibration is so hard that the dashboard rattles a bit. This happens not when the tyre goes in the pothole, but while coming out of it. Every small bad patch on the road can be felt on the steering.

When asked the SA, he said something like steering column is close to the suspension arm, hence the sound. Is this normal?

P.S: Not other issues with the car be it the braking or any other suspension issues.

[SirAlec]

Originally Posted by Karthik1100

Issue with a 6 months old Fiesta Classic Petrol:

When driven in potholes, a little deeper ones, i can feel the vibration on the steering a lot and the vibration is so hard that the dashboard rattles a bit. This happens not when the tyre goes in the pothole, but while coming out of it. Every small bad patch on the road can be felt on the steering.

When asked the SA, he said something like steering column is close to the suspension arm, hence the sound. Is this normal?

P.S: Not other issues with the car be it the braking or any other suspension issues.

how much has the car run. did you upsize the tyre/alloy or its running on stock ones.

[lohithrao]

In my case it was the suspensions which was the main culprit, getting them fixed solved majority of the issue. esp the vibration.

You may want to get your suspensions checked.

Originally Posted by Karthik1100

Issue with a 6 months old Fiesta Classic Petrol:

When driven in potholes, a little deeper ones, i can feel the vibration on the steering a lot and the vibration is so hard that the dashboard rattles a bit. This happens not when the tyre goes in the pothole, but while coming out of it. Every small bad patch on the road can be felt on the steering.

When asked the SA, he said something like steering column is close to the suspension arm, hence the sound. Is this normal?

P.S: Not other issues with the car be it the braking or any other suspension issues.