[qr20de]

I wanted to share an experience I had a couple of days ago with my Figo (2012 Exi Petrol, 30,000km).

My wife and I were driving back home at about 830pm when my Figo's transmission went lifeless. I tried moving from third to fourth but the gear lever just kept 'floating' longitudinally in the box. There was no lateral movement at all.

Luckily for us, we were on a quiet street with not much traffic and next to a police station. We parked the car on the side and cabbed it home. I searched online for any similar cases and I found a post on team-bhp by @deepblue about the same issue he had had.

But what puzzled me was that most of these failures were reported between the 70 to 80k range and mine had only done 30k. But at least I knew what the problem was.

The next morning, I got back to the car, removed the plastic cover and found the bush had literally disintegrated and was almost powder inside! This caused the gear cable to pop out of the lever.







But what I had also noticed was that there was a hole at the top of this plastic cover, caused by battery acid leaking onto it. I assumed that the bush got eaten so early in car's running because of the acid too.



This bush, which is about half a thumb size costs 515rps. When I asked the Ford parts shop why it was so expensive, he said that it originally costed 1100 but because many customers complained about it, they reduced the price! Great job Ford at ripping customers off. I guess they didn't find the need to issue a recall.



I drove the car to the service centre about 5km away in 2nd gear, having stuck the cable to the lever with surgical tape. The service centre fixed it for free and took less than a minute.

I would highly recommend all figo/fiesta classic owners to have this bush checked during their routine services. It's so much of an inconvenience and even dangerous if this bush just pops out during highway or ghat driving.

Take care and drive safe!

[tharian]

Originally Posted by qr20de

I would highly recommend all figo/fiesta classic owners to have this bush checked during their routine services. It's so much of an inconvenience and even dangerous if this bush just pops out during highway or ghat driving.

Take care and drive safe!

Thanks for posting the pictures. I will check the bush on my car since it is over 6 years old and from the posts on this thread , I assumed the issue was affecting only diesel Figo's.

[KiloAlpha]

Originally Posted by tharian

Thanks for posting the pictures. I will check the bush on my car since it is over 6 years old and from the posts on this thread , I assumed the issue was affecting only diesel Figo's.

No, both petrol and diesel Figo's are affected. It is a rubber part prone to failure, so I guess it is a good idea to just proactively replace it if your car is over 5 years old?

[qr20de]

Originally Posted by KiloAlpha

No, both petrol and diesel Figo's are affected. It is a rubber part prone to failure, so I guess it is a good idea to just proactively replace it if your car is over 5 years old?

Yeah def. I also forgot to mention that, I noticed a 2 or 3 inch longitudinal play in the shifter in every gear. I knew that that wasn't normal considering the Ford gearbox is quite tight and crisp.

I guess this was a sign of the bush failing.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by KiloAlpha

No, both petrol and diesel Figo's are affected. It is a rubber part prone to failure, so I guess it is a good idea to just proactively replace it if your car is over 5 years old?

Originally Posted by qr20de

Yeah def. I also forgot to mention that, I noticed a 2 or 3 inch longitudinal play in the shifter in every gear. I knew that that wasn't normal considering the Ford gearbox is quite tight and crisp.

I guess this was a sign of the bush failing.

Yes, that was the sign. I check occasionally for play in gear, on the lever. It is fine as of now.
But I guess I will buy and keep the bush just in case.

[r_devakumar]

For the last one moth, the cooling fan was running with high speed / noise. Last week the fan stopped working. I have taken to the nearby garage and replaced the blown fuse.

Now the cooling fan high speed and noise problem continues. Also, if the a/c is not switched on, the cooling fan never works. It results increase in engine temperature when the engine is running idle. What could be the problem? I am planning to take to ford service next month and check.

[r_devakumar]

Originally Posted by petrolhead_chn

MPL is going to be taken over by TVS after which after the service standards are expected to heighten up, at least till the internal transition excitement lasts

Any update on how MPL is doing now? Is the Pallikaranai and OMR service centers are with them or taken over by some one? How good is the service level now? I want to take my Figo this week for the cooling fan issue. Want to check if they are doing better now or should I take it to any other local garage.

[joshiviv]

Hi where did you get the V-belt from? In my 40k done ford I am also getting a recommendation to replace the belt and pulleys for 12k. I would rather replace the belt for 1k and get some peace of mind. Is there a standard size or brand of belt to go for?

Originally Posted by Ragavsr

Changing the entire pulley assembly...11 years old when we sold it.

[null]

Originally Posted by qr20de

I would highly recommend all figo/fiesta classic owners to have this bush checked during their routine services. It's so much of an inconvenience and even dangerous if this bush just pops out during highway or ghat driving.

Can you please share more details (steps with photos if possible) on how to access & remove this plastic cover to check the bush status?

I have come across multiple posts on this topic, but assumed that we need to get underneath the car to access it (which apparently is not the case). I have not opened the bonnet of my Figo for last one+ year now and its time to inspect once myself (for my satisfaction).

[batterylow]

Another view of the same part taken when I got the selector seal replaced.

[qr20de]

Originally Posted by batterylow

Another view of the same part taken when I got the selector seal replaced.

@batterylow: seems like the bush on yours is quite different to the one I have. Did you get a special fitting? Also, I observed the oil in the plastic case. Are you leaking transmission fluid by any chance?

[qr20de]

Originally Posted by null

Can you please share more details (steps with photos if possible) on how to access & remove this plastic cover to check the bush status?

I have come across multiple posts on this topic, but assumed that we need to get underneath the car to access it (which apparently is not the case). I have not opened the bonnet of my Figo for last one+ year now and its time to inspect once myself (for my satisfaction).

I'll be glad to help, although I don't have pictures of the fitting process, but it should be fairly straightforward. But before get under the car, I would recommend you evaluate the play in the longitudinal movement of your shifter in each gear. If the shifter moves about 2-3 inches in every gear, the bush might be wearing out.

1. I recommend that you jack up the left side of the vehicle behind the front wheel. It just makes things much easier to work with but its not necessarily required (will be quite a squeeze under the car)

2. Just in-front of the left front wheel to the right you will see a black plastic box. It's an extension of the transmission housing. Just to get an idea of the location, please do have a look at the fourth picture in my initial post. You can see it right below the battery and protruding from the aluminium transmission housing.

3. Its very simple to remove the cover on this plastic box, because it's only grooves with embedded clips. There are approximately 2 on each side. You will have to reach around the box to access the clips on the right side and also over to reach them at the top.

4. Once you have detached the cover from the plastic housing, it will be a little tricky to remove it completely because of the cables coming into the box from the shifter. Just wiggle it out considering it's a little flexible.

5. Once you are directly under the plastic box, you will send the cables and shifter mechanism similar to the pictures I posted. @batterylow's pic is the front view whereas mine are the bottom view

6. You can easily access/check the bush from here.

Hope this helps.

[batterylow]

Originally Posted by qr20de

@batterylow: seems like the bush on yours is quite different to the one I have. Did you get a special fitting? Also, I observed the oil in the plastic case. Are you leaking transmission fluid by any chance?

I don't know about the special fitting but I was leaking oil and that was what lead me to visit the service center and notice the damaged seal. After the change of seal there is no subsequent leakage.

[r_devakumar]

Hi,

I am having cooling fan issue with my Figo. When I called MPL Pallikaranai, they said they are not taking vehicle for servicing. They gave me number for Eureka Ford in Perungudi (taken over from MPL perungudi). Anyone done their servicing from Eureka Ford please share your experience.

Also, please suggest any local garage around Tambaram/OMR which is doing good work on servicing Figo. Since my Figo is out of warranty now, I am open to do the servicing outside Ford authorized service stations.

Regards
Devakumar

[Musa]

I had a gear shifter problem recently on my Figo while on a trip out of station and to my luck, some jugaad solved the problem. Came back to Bangalore and started looking for solutions as the very simple part to replace is Rs 3,600 + labour according to Ford service.

While searching on the net found this which might be helpful to quite of few of us who have suffered from a stranded vehicle due to the gear bush problem.

https://youtu.be/HPiUTCKWJJQ