[dhanushmenon]

Got the 60 K servicing done today with the Odo reading 61700 at Chennai Ford, Poonamalee.

Due to the grazing to the floor of the car (thanks to the low GC of 2010 model Figo), the oil sump had a major dent and it had caved inside. Due to this, oil was not pumped in sufficient quantity for lubrication. This further lead to clattering noise from the engine.

I changed the oil sump, brake shoes, and the fuel contamination sensor within the filter ( in addition to the standard servicing schedule).

The total bill was initially pegged at 14800. After some discussions with the service manager (a well accomodative man was he!), the bill was brought down to 12300.

If it had only been the normal 60k servicing, it would have been contained within Rs 5000

[venkyhere]

Originally Posted by icyspikey

This might come across as a shocker . But it happened a few days back to my figo . I was driving smoothly and all of a sudden i heard a metal screeching sound from the car . I immediately stopped the car and inspected . This is what i saw...........

this is something very important... thanks icyspikey for posting this.
The more such incidents come to light, it reinforces the doubts we often get from this thread :

"built to cost for aggressive pricing" - have they taken it too far ? when the figo goes on a 'normal drive' (typical indian tarmac with bumps & debri, at 40-80 kph) is it really 'at the limit' mechanically ?

We should remember that the figo's DNA can be traced back to the old-gen european fiesta. Mechanically, the car is subjected to far more abuse in indian conditions than in europe - didn't they tune/change/reinforce anything 'mechanically' to bear the greater abuse the car would suffer in india ?

[RSR]

Originally Posted by icyspikey

This might come across as a shocker . But it happened a few days back to my figo . I was driving smoothly and all of a sudden i heard a metal screeching sound from the car . I immediately stopped the car and inspected . This is what i saw . then the cra had to be put in a recovery van.( Which came in 45 minutes flat ) . The A.S.S Chennai Ford weren't very helpful and they answered in monosyllables for all my questions . The car having pretty low ground clearance has been hit in the underbelly quite a number of times softly . During my previous service ( ODO :40k . Current ODO : 41k) i clearly asked them to check the underbelly and they said its all fine and that they had rectified the sqeaky noise from the rear . Ford is no more a trustable car for long drives for me . Incidentally this happened the next day i returned from a 100KM drive .

Man, this is some seriously scary stuff! I hope Ford take urgent notice of this and immediately increase the GC and use extra and/or stiffened brackets/bracket mounts whatever and offer the replacement kits for existing customers, like what Fiat did. This kind of thing should not be happening in any car.

It's a nightmare as it is to drive a low GC car over Chennai's nasty speed breakers and on broken, potholed and ill-maintained roads.

Ford should learn a thing or two from companies like Maruti Suzuki. The 800 has low GC and would take underbody hits often when loaded. Just take a look at the new Alto 800. It not only has decent GC without sagging under load, but it also looks like it moves on the road with a huge gap between the road and the underbody. While this "look" has come under criticism for its aesthetics, it (high GC) is just what the doctor ordered and exactly what one needs to traverse the minefields that pass off as Indian roads.

[Parthasarathig]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Though I have availed 3rd year extended warranty, I decided to do this mod.

Chances are, there won't be any wiring/electrical issue, else the electrician wouldn't have done that job and it isn't a complex job IMO.

Afaik, 3rd year extended warranty doesnt cover electricals. Thats what my A.S.C told me. Can you find out from yours and let us know if they are covering electricals too??

Thanks.

[shineshine]

Originally Posted by neofromcapone

@icyspikey, that looks like your fuel tank broke its brackets. Not a major thing, scary yes, but not major.

Do keep us posted on how things turn out.

Not a major!?
It was his luck that the tank did not dislodge completely. If it had dislodged on high speed, the damage it can do on a trailing car would have been nothing less than disaster.

[icyspikey]

Originally Posted by blackfire_9

This is indeed scary & irrespective of how minor or major this problem is, it is a serious concern since such things have not been known to fail in cars, especially not in a car that's a maximum of 2 years of age.

The Maruti Zen was another car that had terribly low clearance but then it never managed to break anything.

I am seriously starting to doubt the quality control that Ford has in place for the Figo. They say that quality comes at a price & so, are we wrong in putting our faith in Ford?

Drive safe.

Mine is a 2010 model. We've run alot of cars in the family but this is the first car to create such an issue. Highly Disappointed. Note the fact the roads are decent near the places I live.

Ha! One can only 'drive' safe. If things fall apart from the car nothing can be done ;-)

Originally Posted by dhanushmenon

Due to the grazing to the floor of the car (thanks to the low GC of 2010 model Figo), the oil sump had a major dent and it had caved inside. Due to this, oil was not pumped in sufficient quantity for lubrication. This further lead to clattering noise from the engine.

I changed the oil sump, brake shoes, and the fuel contamination sensor within the filter ( in addition to the standard servicing schedule).

Has the GC changed for '11 models onwards ?

Clattering on the the engine is a problem here too. But the Chennai Ford claimed that my Car's underbelly looks good. Should check it somewhere else i guess.

Originally Posted by venkyhere

this is something very important... thanks icyspikey for posting this.
The more such incidents come to light, it reinforces the doubts we often get from this thread :

"built to cost for aggressive pricing" - have they taken it too far ? when the figo goes on a 'normal drive' (typical indian tarmac with bumps & debri, at 40-80 kph) is it really 'at the limit' mechanically ?

We should remember that the figo's DNA can be traced back to the old-gen european fiesta. Mechanically, the car is subjected to far more abuse in indian conditions than in europe - didn't they tune/change/reinforce anything 'mechanically' to bear the greater abuse the car would suffer in india ?

I guess with they have done some real cost cutting with FIGO.The vehicle makes a lot of squeaky noises. And the TDCi gets pretty rough after 45k. Having owned the IKON 1.6 for 4 years I used to vouch for Ford everytime. The driving DNA of the Ford is impeccable. This incident has makes me question their product quality. Which is the priority of any buyer.

Originally Posted by shineshine

Not a major!?
It was his luck that the tank did not dislodge completely. If it had dislodged on high speed, the damage it can do on a trailing car would have been nothing less than disaster.

Definitely! Thank god nothing of such happened.

It would've been a high risk for me if it happened the previous day where I was driving to my native (80+ kmph). Fire hazard.

Originally Posted by ajnagpur

Hi BHK,
Mine is a Aug 2010 model & had the same issue with brake clipers but then Ford addressed it & they officially replaced both the calipers.

There was an issue in the older mechanism of the calipers & they changed that mechanism later & later Figos came with sorted brake calipers.

Mine is also a 2010 model. I'm also facing similar problems. Are you still hearing the annoying noises after changing your brake callipers?

Mod's Note Please use the multiquote button to respond to everyone at one go. Do not make a single post for every response.

[mxx]

Originally Posted by icyspikey

Mine is a 2010 model. We've run alot of cars in the family but this is the first car to create such an issue. Highly Disappointed. Note the fact the roads are decent near the places I live.

Ha! One can only 'drive' safe. If things fall apart from the car nothing can be done ;-)

What was the service center opinion about why it happened? breakage due to impact? rusting of brackets?

[supertinu]

Originally Posted by icyspikey

This might come across as a shocker . But it happened a few days back to my figo . I was driving smoothly and all of a sudden i heard a metal screeching sound from the car . I immediately stopped the car and inspected . This is what i saw . .

This is scary especially if it was a petrol car. The scraping of the tank would create sparks which can potentially ignite the fuel and create a really horrible situation.

A.S.S needs to look at this very seriously and find the root cause. If its rusting then it should have been caught during servicing and under body inspection. I would recommend you should send this incident details to Ford India as well along with the pictures. Figo is ~3yr old in the market and this can be a potential issue on other cars as well if the bracket fails after rusting or with age.

[icyspikey]

Originally Posted by mxx

What was the service center opinion about why it happened? breakage due to impact? rusting of brackets?

I coudn't personally go to the service centre but my dad went . They had told him that it was due to highly rash driving ( No Way ). I inspected the brackets and found no rusting . If the brackets had hit the ground the black paint would've scraped off , but it hadn't . A nearby mechanic also inspected it and told me that the bolts had broken as there were marks .

Originally Posted by supertinu

This is scary especially if it was a petrol car. The scraping of the tank would create sparks which can potentially ignite the fuel and create a really horrible situation.

A.S.S needs to look at this very seriously and find the root cause. If its rusting then it should have been caught during servicing and under body inspection. I would recommend you should send this incident details to Ford India as well along with the pictures. Figo is ~3yr old in the market and this can be a potential issue on other cars as well if the bracket fails after rusting or with age.

I agree with you totally . Mine is a diesel though . I Will do the same as soon as possible .

[blackfire_9]

I just want to request you to write an email to Ford highlighting the details of this problem. If you have those brackets, send them the images of the brackets & ask them why they failed when there was no hit.

Ford should be answerable to this sort of a problem & as most have already said here, this can be a potential issue for other owners as well & one that can put lives at risk.

Originally Posted by icyspikey

I coudn't personally go to the service centre but my dad went . They had told him that it was due to highly rash driving ( No Way ). I inspected the brackets and found no rusting . If the brackets had hit the ground the black paint would've scraped off , but it hadn't . A nearby mechanic also inspected it and told me that the bolts had broken as there were marks .

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by icyspikey

I coudn't personally go to the service centre but my dad went . They had told him that it was due to highly rash driving ( No Way ). I inspected the brackets and found no rusting . If the brackets had hit the ground the black paint would've scraped off , but it hadn't . A nearby mechanic also inspected it and told me that the bolts had broken as there were marks .



I agree with you totally . Mine is a diesel though . I Will do the same as soon as possible .

This is ONE standard trick these guys use to wash off their resposnsibility.

Originally Posted by blackfire_9

I just want to request you to write an email to Ford highlighting the details of this problem. If you have those brackets, send them the images of the brackets & ask them why they failed when there was no hit.

Ford should be answerable to this sort of a problem & as most have already said here, this can be a potential issue for other owners as well & one that can put lives at risk.

+1. A mail to Ford MD's mailbox should see some action. As said, please use the pics of the brackets too. Atleast if they recall all the vehicles from the batches, it would be nice.

[icyspikey]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

This is ONE standard trick these guys use to wash off their resposnsibility.

+1. A mail to Ford MD's mailbox should see some action. As said, please use the pics of the brackets too. Atleast if they recall all the vehicles from the batches, it would be nice.

It's impossible to argue with them. Plus my dad had his own doubts on me I guess :P

I'll definitely send a mail and get. Back to you with their reply guys!

[Deep Blue]

As per the Figo manual, 40k servicing includes replacing brake and clutch fluid. Do they do it?. That was there for 20k as well, but my SA said they are only topped up if found less. If not done, any consequences?

[blackfire_9]

There is a common misconception about fluids such as those meant for brake & power steering assembly, which is that they are only ever topped up & not replaced. I have seen this happening at a lot of garages, both company authorized or independent. But please put your foot down on getting these fluids replaced as per the service manual since just like any other type of fluid/oil, these also undergo deterioration. If your SA's trustworthy, you may extend the period but do get them replaced eventually.

Lastly, please note that draining of brake fluid as well as clutch fluid is not as simple as draining the engine oil & thus, I urge that this be carried out at the ASC & under the hands of an experienced technician.

Originally Posted by Deep Blue

As per the Figo manual, 40k servicing includes replacing brake and clutch fluid. Do they do it?. That was there for 20k as well, but my SA said they are only topped up if found less. If not done, any consequences?

[Deep Blue]

Originally Posted by blackfire_9

Lastly, please note that draining of brake fluid as well as clutch fluid is not as simple as draining the engine oil & thus, I urge that this be carried out at the ASC & under the hands of an experienced technician.

That is my worry. I am going to the ASC, but since they don't seem to do it regularly, I hope they know how to do it.