[Mustang.101]

Congrats Gemi, I am still closely following this thread. It is probably the only figo ownership thread that i am still following because of the time constraints etc. i am only able to follow the general figo thread and this one.

[jayded]

21K in 1 year? Great going
And the lights after the bulb upgrade still looks yellowish, though I was expecting it to be more whitish. Any experience driving with the lights in rain yet Gemi? Keep your Reddy eveReddy!

[lamborghini]

Gemi,
can you give me more details about the car stopping by itself.
Our Fiesta TDCi has completed 70Kkms, and off late there have been a few instances when the car shuts off at speed. This is always when the gears are being changed, and if I am quick to revv the car when I feel it beginning to die, it manages to stay on.
I believe it could be due to the idle rpm dropping low, but I have not noticed the rpm when this begins to happen. Also, I do not know if that is a possible reason as well.

[neoonwheels]

21K in one year is really what diesel is for. I guess we both bought our cars more or less at the same time (Mine on 12th Mar 2010), and I could only manage 11K. Wish you a happy 2nd year of ownership

[sumathindra]

Originally Posted by Captain Slow

From what the SA told me all the first batch figos need this wiring. I got my car towards the end of march 2010. Was one of the first petrol cars here. They added the wiring kit for my car.

@Captain what is this wiring about. Today I gave my car for a free service camp they are doing in celebrating the aniversary of the figo and in the repair order i see that they have mentioned a part code DNPP1003 - Figo New wiring addition and routing. What is this? I got my car in April last year...

[sumathindra]

Originally Posted by gemithomas

WoW! That explains why mustang had told me that the Figo comes with Fog lamp wiring already done (Its there in one of my early posts) but none of the initial owners got the kit with their cars. So this surely is one thing that was missed out in the First Batches of cars. I guess this was included after the price hike they had had. Anyways thanks for the update. So maybe the new price list would be applicable to only owners of the newer models. Thats just one of the risk of buying out of the first lot.

Well today i have left my figo (one of the first lot owners) at lathangi ford for a free service camp. I also told them to fit fogs and i was told that the headlight switch needs to be replaced to accomodate operation for the fog lamps. Then i guess they will have to remove the bumpers and will involve some time and work. Hope they do a good job. Keeping fingers crossed.

[RGK]

Congrats Gemi - leader of Figo owners and great going. What was the labour cost (only labour) during 20k Service.
Even though had one of worst experiences, the car is a real VFM product.
I want to add one more positive is the A/C vent designs ... off course the best of its class.
Now a days I feel less stability when I drive other hatch backs.
Have a wonderful 2nd year with your red baby..

[PerfHuman]

Congrats Gemi. Your thread has been a real real help.

Its a great car and even after more than 4 months, i still feel the same excitement to take it to office everyday, listen to the wonderful audio system or take it to the highways on weekends. Not to mention the good diesel FE , chiller AC and ample space.

[gemithomas]

Sorry for the late reply. Was quite busy with work. And there has been some BAD new to share too. Will post about it after the replies.

Originally Posted by shubhodeepdas@g

Really love the Boman Irani quote. Although I have the Petrol I can definitely say its a great VFM car, specially after driving the others, even the 1.6 ones. It's a joy to run around in it in the city. Just the right amount of "Car".

Congrats on the 1 year and 21,000 km (wow!) bit. Will be posting the Long Term + Short Term ownership of both the Fords soon!

Thanks. Sure it is "The" VFM car. Looking forward to the reviews.

Originally Posted by rohing

Congrats Gemi! Great balanced reviews!

- The point about the car stopping by itself (Jayded, you and few others mentioned this), isnt this more than a small niggle? Did you ever bring it up to your SA?

I really like the RED figo, it looks great. Good luck with year-2.

Thanks rohing. Actually i never realised it was an issue with the car until jayded put it up here and i realised that its the very same thing that happened to me. I had ignored it as an error in judging the clutch/gear.

I did mention it to the A.S.S guys but did not want them to experiment on my car on how to solve such things. My experience with FIAT A.S.S has taught me to let such people touch the bare minimum parts of your car.

Originally Posted by Mustang.101

Congrats Gemi, I am still closely following this thread. It is probably the only figo ownership thread that i am still following because of the time constraints etc. i am only able to follow the general figo thread and this one.

Thanks Mustang. Having you here is a relief to all owners / prospects. Seriously its gives us some kind of reassurance.

Originally Posted by jayded

21K in 1 year? Great going
And the lights after the bulb upgrade still looks yellowish, though I was expecting it to be more whitish. Any experience driving with the lights in rain yet Gemi? Keep your Reddy eveReddy!

No experience in rain yet. I am keeping my fingers crossed. The light is not very whitish. But its not yellow either. The pics i put are with the park lights on. The colour should be due to the camera or maybe my photography skills

Originally Posted by lamborghini

Gemi,
can you give me more details about the car stopping by itself.
Our Fiesta TDCi has completed 70Kkms, and off late there have been a few instances when the car shuts off at speed. This is always when the gears are being changed, and if I am quick to revv the car when I feel it beginning to die, it manages to stay on.
I believe it could be due to the idle rpm dropping low, but I have not noticed the rpm when this begins to happen. Also, I do not know if that is a possible reason as well.

In my case the car stopped while shifting gear. I press the clutch and the car just goes off with the chimes and all the dashboard lights. On both occasions i was doing speed of nothing more than 30km/hr and the a/c was turned on with fan speeds around 2-3. The cars starts back normally at the first crank itself.

Really dont know what it could be. I did some reading on the net and it turns out that there could be quite a large number of reasons for such behaviour. There is a thread on this in the technical section by jayded.

Originally Posted by neoonwheels

21K in one year is really what diesel is for. I guess we both bought our cars more or less at the same time (Mine on 12th Mar 2010), and I could only manage 11K. Wish you a happy 2nd year of ownership

Thanks neonwheels. Good to see that you are also enjoying your Punto. I would have "LOVED" to have the Punto if it was not for how FIAT has been consistently able to scare me off!!!

Originally Posted by sumathindra

@Captain what is this wiring about. Today I gave my car for a free service camp they are doing in celebrating the aniversary of the figo and in the repair order i see that they have mentioned a part code DNPP1003 - Figo New wiring addition and routing. What is this? I got my car in April last year...

Please try to collect info on that wiring and update.

Originally Posted by sumathindra

Well today i have left my figo (one of the first lot owners) at lathangi ford for a free service camp. I also told them to fit fogs and i was told that the headlight switch needs to be replaced to accomodate operation for the fog lamps. Then i guess they will have to remove the bumpers and will involve some time and work. Hope they do a good job. Keeping fingers crossed.

I think they have come up with a way to fix it without removing the bumpers. Though they told me that they have to remove the bumper i really doubt they removed it on my car. The last day i was at the a.s.s i saw another car being fitted. Though the Fogs were already fitted and they were doing the wiring part. I somehow felt that they never removed the bumper. They however remove the right headlight and the coolant container.

Originally Posted by RGK

Congrats Gemi - leader of Figo owners and great going. What was the labour cost (only labour) during 20k Service.
Even though had one of worst experiences, the car is a real VFM product.
I want to add one more positive is the A/C vent designs ... off course the best of its class.
Now a days I feel less stability when I drive other hatch backs.
Have a wonderful 2nd year with your red baby..

Thanks RGK. Will have to check the bills for that break up. Let me see. Will update later. You are right about the a/c vents. The 360 degree turning vents are really good. Have been liking it from our Fusion. That was one thing i was not so impressed on the New Fiesta Interior Pics i saw.

Originally Posted by PerfHuman

Congrats Gemi. Your thread has been a real real help.

Its a great car and even after more than 4 months, i still feel the same excitement to take it to office everyday, listen to the wonderful audio system or take it to the highways on weekends. Not to mention the good diesel FE , chiller AC and ample space.

Thanks Perfhuman. The Figo really has some good strengths. ENJAY!



Now for the Updates Its going to be slightly long.

Few days after the 21K service I did a tank fill and was horrified to see the DTE reading of just 560km. That was the first time i had got such low readings. Thought it would be since the ECU was reset when the battery wire must have been removed while they fixed the Fog lamps. The following 2 weeks the engine was unbelievably smooth even during morning runs before the engine reached its optimum temperature. But the F.E had drastically fallen to the 13 km/l range. It was so smooth / silent and free revving that i called up the service engineer and asked him if they had "changed" anything on my car. He said no and also confirmed that the wiring for the brake fluid thingy had been done on my car much earlier (probably during 1st or 2nd service). The engine sadly started getting back to its normal noise levels and harshness by the time i covered 800-900km.

1500KM later i realised that my front tyres were having abnormal wear. Suddenly everything started coming back to my mind...

[TheFlashBACK]: During the service i had in mind to ask them not to do any wheel alignment since my car was not having any issue but somehow forgot to mention it to the SA. In the evening when i went to get my car i saw a wheel alignment report pinned to the Job Card. I told the SA that i forgot to mention not to do that. He said it was done and was free anyways and i wont be charged for it. It was not mentioned in the bill and he did not even give me the report (which i realised only after reaching home). During the last two service visits their alignment machine was not working and hence i did not do the alignment and still i was not having any issues.

...[Back2 Present]: I now realised that probably it was something wrong in the alignment that had affected the tyre wear and had been affecting my F.E too. I went to a nearby alignment shop (since i live around 100km away from the a.s.s. i visit) but they did not have the Figo setting. I immediately called up the service engineer and he asked me not to do it on Fiesta setting as the people at this shop were suggesting to me. Anyways i was planning a trip sometime that week and hence i told the SE that i would visit the A.S.S to get it corrected.

Made a visit to the A.S.S yesterday. They took the car on the ramp and were like i have hit my underbody even on the cross member and there is a bent to the cross member and the stabilizer bars are not in correct place now. [cross member is the part that comes between the two front wheels and which hold all the wheel / steering related parts].

They took photos of the whole underbody. They showed me scratches and a dent on the cross member. They said its this hit that has cased he uneven wear and that i will have to change the whole thing. They also showed me that the stabilizer bars where not in the position it should actually be. The good news (according to them) was that i could claim insurance for the part that comes to around 12K and i would have to pay only under 4K from my pocket!!!

I took them around their own workshop and showed them 3 new Figos that came in for service and a Fiesta that were raised on the lift. They all had the marks on the cross member and atleast one of the stabilizer bars on these cars where in the positions simmilar to mine.

I asked them to check my alignment and also to get the report of the earlier alignment they had done. The first request was granted and though they said they will get the earlier report it never happened. The car was moved to the alignment machine and it was turned 'on'. The machine showed readings that were out of the tolerance levels. The alignment was corrected based on what the machine said and when they tried to take a print out i was just too lucky that the printer was not working.

They managed to get another printer from some other room and connected it. In the process i got extremely lucky again and the computer went off. So they lost all the data form the earlier work done. The car had not moved from there too. So all they had to do is turn on the computer and get the reading again and take a print out. The reading was supposed come out as within tolerance levels since the alignment was already done.

Surprisingly the machine gave out readings that were close to what it showed originally. Way out of tolerance levels!!!

They agreed that there was some problem and agreed to get it checked elsewhere. Since i had quite a lot of work to finish they gave me a spare car (company owned) to go out and get my things done. My car went to a nearby alignment specialist shop and got its alignment redone. I got the car back at around 6PM. They still held up that the tyre wear issue will crop up again since the cross member is hit.

Drove around city for a few km and on my way back home i got a tank fill. My DTE readings are back to the 670 levels. I really cant comment about the tyre wear thing unless i run more kms. But i am hoping it is also solved.

Got a call from Ford Chennai today. He called to inform me about the underbody hit being the only reason that could have caused the tyre wear. I told him my story. We both agreed that only some more running could bring out the truth.

Even though the response to my issue was sort of prejudiced and they always tried to push across the point of the underbody hit being the only reason for the tyre wear, the A.S.S guys were really friendly, helpful and responsive. Just accepting the fact that the wrong alignment "could" maybe be one of the reasons for the tyre wear would have left in me a much better impression about them and would have given me much more confidence in them. But then. Maybe their job does not permit that.

Anyways i would like to put on record the extensive help and support given to me by Mr.Reji, the SE and Mr.Aju, the CRM at Kairali Ford TVM. Its guys like them who could turn around customer experiences at service oriented businesses.

About my car. The immediate reflection in higher DTE has given me confidence that the tyre wear issue was because of a misalignment. But still i can be sure of it only after some more running. God forbid, but if it turns out to be a cross member issue. Its going to be one things all Figo owners would probably have to look forward to considering the GC /wheelbase combination of the Figo, our road conditions and what i saw in all 3 Figo's on the ramp. I really hope not but this "could" just be the beginning of a new revelation!!!

[figo_united]

Sad to read this update from you.
Really hope that the proper alignment solves the problem.
As usual, Thank you so much for keeping us all updated with everything about the figo!



Here is a pic of the underbody of my figo. If I'm not wrong, the part marked in red is the crossmember right? please confirm.
Actually, Even I have got a slight damage there (marked in blue) due to underbody hit
The SA saw that during the 2nd service and told that the damage is not too bad as of now, and if it is damaged more, it will have to be replaced, and it is covered under insurance. Remember him quoting a high price too, dont remember the exact price, but was surely more than 10k and made me

gemi: Is the problem you mention similar to this?

[anachronix]

@Gemi, How does alignment affect the DTE readings and also make the engine feel smooth?

I am getting confused with this part

[gemithomas]

Originally Posted by anachronix

@Gemi, How does alignment affect the DTE readings and also make the engine feel smooth?

I am getting confused with this part

The engine smoothness could be due to the new oil from the service or maybe even the temperatures in our place being slightly lower than usual during that time. Or maybe i got some really good fuel during the previous refill. Not sure.

I think the wrong alignment can affect the FE since the misaligned tyres could cause more friction / resistance. Not sure though. But the sudden fall and rise of the DTE made me think in those lines.

Originally Posted by figo_united

Sad to read this update from you.
Really hope that the proper alignment solves the problem.
As usual, Thank you so much for keeping us all updated with everything about the figo!


Here is a pic of the underbody of my figo. If I'm not wrong, the part marked in red is the crossmember right? please confirm.

gemi: Is the problem you mention similar to this?

Thats exactly the cross member and the marks on my car too are somewhere close to what you have.

I have marked two portions at each end. SOmething that comes out from a hole on the cross member in a U shape. Thats a part of the stabilizer bar. They said it is supposed to be positioned exactly in the middle of the hole on the cross member.

But on all cars i checked out there atleast one of these 'U' things were not exactly at the centre. IN your pic it looks its in the centre but cant really make out.

I dont think you need to worry much. I can bet you wont find any Figo/Fiesta that has done above 10K on varied road conditions without a hit mark on that part. During a casual discussion one of my friend who used to work with ford a.s.s told me that they are aware that this part would have some kind of markings in 90% cases and thats why they check for it in the first place.

PS: Thanks a lot for putting up the pic.

[Captain Slow]

Gemi, Your figo report is the most talked about. Great report!
Sad to hear the news about your car.
Here at metro ford all the figos has marks just like the ones posted by figo_united.
Dont replace the cross member just yet.

Does your call pull to the left or right ?

[shk 8896]

21000 kms this fast?We took 16 months for the same in our RITZ .Which is the next milestone?Your car is in great shape.Nice that you went for fogs.At least now you get alloys and door handles and ORVMs painted.
SHK

[Sheel]

After the fitment of after market alloy wheels, my Car is in need of an alignment and balancing job.

The steering vibrates post 120kmph and there is no trace of vibe till 110kmph. The SC and a very good alignment shop (independent) is some 175kms away. Should I get it done in an urgent basis or can lax it till a month?