My first visit to a Ford service centre after Ford's exit

After this experience, I felt reassured that I will continue to get the support, spares & technical attention that I need for my Ford Aspire.

BHPian rahul4321 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

So I went to the Ford Service Station on Saturday and had a technician test drive the car. The technician acknowledged that there is definitely a harsh sound coming from the front right suspension - 90 per cent of the time and the remaining 10 per cent of the time from the front left suspension. The noise was the metal-on-metal grinding/sometimes clattering which could be felt through the steering wheel.

They told me that owing to the large number of cars in the workshop, they would like to keep the car until Monday evening or I could drop it off on Monday morning. I chose the latter as I needed the car over the weekend. Before leaving, I reminded them that in case they need to order suspension parts, they should do so for the S variant.

Monday morning - I go back and drop the car at the dealership and take an Uber back home. Around 4:30, I get a call stating that my car is ready to be picked up but the receptionist had no clue about what was wrong with the car.

Reaching the dealership, I found out that it was not actually the suspension but the steering rod which had worked itself loose inside the engine bay. It had come out of its casing and was banging away merrily every time the car went over potholes. No wonder, the knocking was felt on the steering; it was the steering rod itself that was clattering. They first took apart the entire front right suspension and did not find anything wrong with it, then investigated the other elements which could be creating this loud noise.

Test drove the car and it felt just right - they not only reinserted the steering rod into the casing but also greased the moving elements of the joint where the rod meets the casing. I had an extended warranty and while they didn't change any parts, I was still anticipating labour charges. To my pleasant surprise, the bill came to be 0.

I would have gladly paid up whatever labour charges they had billed. But the fact that they didn't, made me happy to know that the dealerships are not on a charging spree knowing fully well that the Ford HQ now doesn't care. Maybe a very small signal, but I felt reassured that I will get the support, spares and technical attention I need for the car.

So that was the end of the story. My first visit to the service station after their exit announcement - for what was a significant issue that required investigation, technical knowledge and spares (if necessary). Glad to state, they got all of it right the very first time. The Aspire is now a silent car again at roughly 49,200 kilometres.

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