Ford Fiesta Sport

[commie]

After reading through this topic I am wondering what to do. In June 2015 we bought a Fiesta Ecoboost that daughter drives. I know that it was built late 2013 or early 2014.

I used it for a short holiday once and had to drive slowly up a fairly steep rough road with four up … what a problem it couldn’t make up its mind what gear to use it was like GO-STOP –GO-STOP something like a learner driver with a manual clutch.

I basically never get to drive it now as it lives away. Should I pester Ford to put the latest software in??....

Really wish I’d chosen something different as it’s to be kept long term. Definitely going to do the extra two year warranty.

Take it to Ford and ask them to update TCM+PCM software, then see how car behaves.

[JAS21]

Should I understand that Ford Garages get 'bonus points' for fobbing off customers ie don't tell them that they can have updated software free to make their car run better

Edited April 27, 2016 by JAS21

[Goldieinkathu]

As I understand it they are supposed to update the software when they do a service. Make sure you push them next time you take it in. It would seem you have to get right in their face to get anything done!

[Familyonthemove]

Should I understand that Ford Garages get 'bonus points' for fobbing off customers ie don't tell them that they can have updated software free to make their car run better

It's a good small car - but the gear change system was new and it needed some after sales care. This is where the real problems started as the dealers seem to need to pushing.

But when we had the office car serviced we insisted that they look at the gearbox under the warranty (took a bit of effort and contrary to everything we hear about Thai culture I understand there were some raised voices between Food Service Manager and our Office Manager) - and the gear change is smoother now. The dealer said that they have some sort of 'sliding scale' of gear change issues. If the cars seems OK, then they do nothing, if slightly rough they will update the software and give it a rub with an oily rag, if really bad they will replace the shift system. Not sure what they did to our car - but it was slightly jerky at slow speeds before, and now it's smoother.

Ford dealers just seem to need some encouragement before they offer good service, which is a shame as the Ford products seem to be superior to the equivalent models from Toyota and Honda.

[kkerry]

Thousands of Aussie Ford owners could take part in class action over ‘defective automatic gearboxes’

Ford’s twin-clutch automatic... is fitted to its Fiesta hatchback, Focus small car and Ecosport SUV.

According to Bannister Law, which is proposing the class action, the transmission is “defective” because it “slips, bucks, jerks, and harshly engages when driven”.
The proposed action only includes Fiesta, Focus and Ecosport models made from 2011 to 2014...
“Customers who’ve contacted us believe there is clearly a problem with this particular gearbox, some people have returned to dealerships to get their cars fixed up to 10 times for repair or replacement"

[Goldieinkathu]

An update on my OP. The Ford office in Bangkok called yesterday and agreed to do the work for free as a "claim" , this was after we told them we were going to Consumer Protection. They have assured us the part has been updated and to take pics of the new one before fitting and also of the one that is removed, I"ll post both when the work is completed.

For some reason they will not pay for a few small parts although they are related to the main problem, so we have a bill of about 4.000B to pay. The last time this work was done we were able to claim a refund for the same small parts but at that time it was under warranty.

They say the work will take 3 days to complete. I'll also post a report on how the car handles after the completion.

We were told that the new parts will have no guarantee as it's a claim , but if we do have problems we will head straight to CP as I can't see them seeing it that way.

For now we will repair the car and cross that bridge if and when we come to it.

[PeteCM]

Everyone has different experiences, so here's mine:

I bought a new Ford Fiesta Ecoboost S with the Powershift transmission (DSG) at the end of 2014. After having driven 30,000km, and at the risk of sounding like some Ford fanboy, I can honestly say that its been the most reliable and trouble-free car I have owned in 30 years of motoring.

Perhaps the gods have been smiling on me, or I just got lucky, but I have yet to experience any issues at all with the car. The gearshifts are smooth in auto mode, and the rest of the car has been faultless. Fuel economy has been very good, averaging 16.87km/L over 30,000km.

My only criticisms would be:

1. The gearchange is smooth but a bit lethargic, and tends to only change up at around 3,000rpm when cold or driving up a gradient. Even in manual mode, the gearchanges are still very slow.

2. The fascia is horribly dated, with a tiny screen that wouldn't look out of place on an '80s handheld game console.

During the car's recent 30,000km service, the dealer informed me that the gearbox software had been updated. Can't say I've noticed any difference, as it has always worked fine for me.

I'm inclined to speculate that the low-speed jerkiness issue may have been caused by the calibration of the adaptive software controlling the gearchange. In my experience, this software takes a few kilometres to adapt to my style every time I drive the car. Could this be the cause, as the software struggles to 'learn' to the user's driving style every time? Perhaps the recent software update addressed this issue?

All in all, if I had to chose again, I would definitely make the same decision to buy the Fiesta. For me, its been a pleasure to drive and own so far. My only caveat would be related to the dealers: please check that they use the correct oil viscosity when servicing. They offer fixed-priced servicing that uses the wrong grade for many vehicles!

I hope the others here that have had problems can get them remedied quickly and that they may also have a similar experience to mine.

Best regards,

Peter

Edited May 7, 2016 by PeteCM

[JAS21]

Have just booked our EcoBoost in to have the latest TCM software downloaded. The car was purchased last year but built in early 2014 ... it was one of those with 100K thb off the purchase price.

The garage is 'full' for software update work until 26th of this month! ... it suits us to have it done on 28th .. so after that it should be even better. The only problem I noticed was when I was driving slowly up a steepish rough road ... trying to pick my way through ... it couldn't decide which gear I needed!

It's a nice little car just used by step-daughter. TBH not for me I like the feel of the big SUV.

Edited May 7, 2016 by JAS21

[siamcrut]

"2013 Ford Fiesta 1.6L A/T Sport Ultimate" asking price 399.000,--

My wife will need soon a little commuter car for her job (daily mileage ~40km) so we r looking for a second hand city car.

She showed me an ad on baht&sold, which I found quite interesting, also like the little fiesta, especially that the car has 7 airbags. (missus is still a novice driver!!)

But after reading all these post here about the auto gearbox issues on ford cars, I'm not even sure, if I should bother the seller with some detail questions at all.

I drove only Vigo and D-max over the last decade, so my knowledge on city cars is insufficient.

Any advice of some Ford owners regarding the dual clutch gearbox would be really appreciated. How much would actually a replacement cost. If out of warranty?

Cheers Guys!

http://www.bahtsold.com/view/2013-ford-fiesta-1-6l-a-t-sport-ultimate-252618

[PeteCM]

Hi, I would check with the owner, but I believe this model doesn't have the Powershift gearbox. The Mark 7 has a conventional auto box, whereas the facelifted Mark 7.5 has the DSG box.

Cheers,

Peter

[Ace of Pop]

Everyone has different experiences, so here's mine:

I bought a new Ford Fiesta Ecoboost S with the Powershift transmission (DSG) at the end of 2014. After having driven 30,000km, and at the risk of sounding like some Ford fanboy, I can honestly say that its been the most reliable and trouble-free car I have owned in 30 years of motoring.

Perhaps the gods have been smiling on me, or I just got lucky, but I have yet to experience any issues at all with the car. The gearshifts are smooth in auto mode, and the rest of the car has been faultless. Fuel economy has been very good, averaging 16.87km/L over 30,000km.

My only criticisms would be:

1. The gearchange is smooth but a bit lethargic, and tends to only change up at around 3,000rpm when cold or driving up a gradient. Even in manual mode, the gearchanges are still very slow.

2. The fascia is horribly dated, with a tiny screen that wouldn't look out of place on an '80s handheld game console.

During the car's recent 30,000km service, the dealer informed me that the gearbox software had been updated. Can't say I've noticed any difference, as it has always worked fine for me.

I'm inclined to speculate that the low-speed jerkiness issue may have been caused by the calibration of the adaptive software controlling the gearchange. In my experience, this software takes a few kilometres to adapt to my style every time I drive the car. Could this be the cause, as the software struggles to 'learn' to the user's driving style every time? Perhaps the recent software update addressed this issue?

All in all, if I had to chose again, I would definitely make the same decision to buy the Fiesta. For me, its been a pleasure to drive and own so far. My only caveat would be related to the dealers: please check that they use the correct oil viscosity when servicing. They offer fixed-priced servicing that uses the wrong grade for many vehicles!

I hope the others here that have had problems can get them remedied quickly and that they may also have a similar experience to mine.

Best regards,

Peter

Your easily pleased ,a Ford that can do such Lo Clicks over all those months ain't anything like working it.

[Goldieinkathu]

"They say the work will take 3 days to complete".

I didn't expect to find this thread on the first page, thought it would be long forgotten, anyway here's an update. I'll get to the point without the "I said,he said" as I don't want you all to suffer the headache that I have .

So the car went in on the 11th May. We were assured it would be ready by the 14th.

On the 13th we got a call to say they'd found it needed a "lever clutch release" (13.000B) but they needed to clear with Bangkok first to see if we could claim. That took all of that day.

Ford Bangkok couldn't speed things up and couldn't give an answer til the following Monday the 16th.

16th the go ahead was given. 17th the part arrived at Ford Phuket.

We were told it would take til the 19th to fit and on the 20th the programming had to be updated so it wouldn't be ready til 4/5pm.

Got the call at 3 to say it was ready so off I went to pick it up.

On arrival I was told that now there was a problem with the shock absorbers . How could this be when the car was OK when I took it in and had only had 11 kilometers difference to when I'd taken it in ( I assume today's testing).

I was told it was OK to drive but I'd have to pay a deposit of 2.000B for new absorbers to be ordered and they'd be here by next Wednesday.

This I did and finally got in the car to go home.

As I drove it out of the dealers it seemed to be bouncing a bit but I thought it must be the road. As I picked up speed I realised that I should have brought my motorbike helmet to wear in the car! It was bouncing and banging and all over the place and when I had to break the squeeling noise was terrible.

I did a u turn and went straight back to the showroom.

I'll not bore you with the details but first they asked me to leave it with them til Wednesday , I refused as God knows what they'd mess up by then. Anyway by the time I'd finished with them they had suddenly found some shock absorbers that were for another customer and promised to have them fitted by tomorrow at 3pm.

So my question to you all now is do shock absorbers just fail like a light bulb or do they normally deteriorate slowly?

Are they something that are removed in order to get to the clutch?

If the answer to those questions are no then how could my car be in such a terrible state if it had been static for 10 days?

So Siamcrut, if you're reading this, think carefully if you really want to go through all this .

Here are the parts that they took out -

Lever clutch release:

Clutch Assembly, Front and back:

How could they have released a car in such a condition, are they off their heads? It was dangerous!!!!

Anyone want to bet that there'll be something else when I pick up the car tomorrow?

Maybe the wheels will have fallen off

I dread to think what future problems have been caused by their tampering

[Goldieinkathu]

Sorry , I forgot to say that I've no idea if the clutch problem is now solved - hard to tell when you're heads banging against the roof and you think you're in a bouncy castle

I'll let you all know when or should I say IF it's ready tomorrow.

[tpthai2]

Goldieinkathu

Wow! Nightmare. Wonder if someone replaced the shocks? How many miles on it?

Did you cause anyone to loose face? There is a get even thing in the culture, often

silent. Don't dismiss it, in 20 years I have seen it played many times.

Parts left out? I had to take my Ranger back two times after finding abandoned forgotten parts

in the back seat or on the floor of the front seat that should have been put back in/on the

truck. That's 2 times out of 5 times in for service to date. Causes one to wonder what

parts I did not find.

Our Fiesta trans. is still running fine (3rd. one) but today I felt that trans. jerk one time. 75K and

no need of shocks at this time. Take a deep breath. Best, Tom

[tpthai2]

#2 More than you wanted to know:

[In the jungle]

1. Shocks normally fail in a manner that you would notice progressively.

2. It is almost inconceivable that all four shocks would fail at the same time.

3. They may have removed the front shocks (MacPherson struts I assume) to remove the drive shafts and thereafter the transmission. Not familiar with the Fiesta. Procedure varies from car to car.

[Goldieinkathu]

55.000 kilometers.

I actually asked the guy at Ford if they were short of money and had tampered with the shock absorbers in order to make some , I was so mad.

The pay back for loss of face will come after today no doubt.

I watched one woman in there answer the phone and continue scrolling through Facebook while the customer was talking to her, totally unprofessional lot all round!

I HATE having to go anywhere near the place.

[Goldieinkathu]

1. Shocks normally fail in a manner that you would notice progressively.

2. It is almost inconceivable that all four shocks would fail at the same time.

3. They may have removed the front shocks (MacPherson struts I assume) to remove the drive shafts and thereafter the transmission. Not familiar with the Fiesta. Procedure varies from car to car.

thanks for the info. I'm told it's the two at the front.

[Goldieinkathu]

OMG tpthai2, are you trying to push me over the edge?!

That video is the last thing I wanted to look at before sleep tonight

[siamcrut]

Sorry , I forgot to say that I've no idea if the clutch problem is now solved - hard to tell when you're heads banging against the roof and you think you're in a bouncy castle.

That's a nightmare indeed, but thx for sharing your story.

Maybe a second hand Honda Jazz will do the job, although they don't have 7 airbags...

Regarding the suddenly "broken" shock absorber in your car, that's a scam!!

4sure.

[Goldieinkathu]

7 airbags , I might just see if they work when I drive it off a cliff - no doubt there'll be something wrong with them too

[siamcrut]

555

[JaseTheBass]

If possible, wall away and get your money back.

It looks like they've taken a perfectly good car and ruined it.

You might have some luck with Ford's customer service dept as they have always made the right noises with us.

[Goldieinkathu]

If possible, wall away and get your money back.

It looks like they've taken a perfectly good car and ruined it.

You might have some luck with Ford's customer service dept as they have always made the right noises with us.

Not sure if you've read all the thread but "perfectly good car" it has never been

It's hard to ruin a heap of junk

"Walk away and get your money back" - if only life were that easy

[Goldieinkathu]

And so the news you've all been waiting for .

After receiving a call from Ford to say that the car was ready and that their driver was on his way to pick me up I waited an hour and a half for what was a 15 minute journey back to the Dealer - a good start

I had a meeting with 4 people in a private office which took over an hour to come to a conclusion that could have been made before I arrived there! The mechanic that had done the work, the chief mechanic who is also some bigwig in the company another lady who they said was the manager plus the translator.

The shock absorbers had been replaced and in the end they agreed to only charge for the parts although they couldn't come up with a reason for their sudden deterioration while it was in their care .They were all ears as I told them how unprofessional I thought they were and how disappointed I was with the car. I was assured that they would have a meeting and teach their staff to do better but I'm not holding my breath.

This time I took the car round the block before paying anything. The car drove like new and at last I had nothing to complain about, just the brakes had a bit of a squeak but I put that down to the damp weather as I picked it up and that it had not been driven for so long.

There is no noise as it changes through the gears, no grinding plus it kicks in immediately , it actually felt better than the fist day it was driven.The bouncy castle feeling was gone too.

How long this will last I have no idea but I made it clear that I didn't want to see them again as much as they didn't want to see me!

My advice to all with similar problems is to keep fighting and to take it to consumer protection if needed and don't put up with their BS

[tpthai2]

OMG tpthai2, are you trying to push me over the edge?!

That video is the last thing I wanted to look at before sleep tonight

Sorry......I thought it was the best of the bunch. And, yes, more than you wanted to know.

Best regards...

[Goldieinkathu]

tpthai2, I forgive you

[JaseTheBass]

The brakes squeak because copper grease hasn't been heard of in Thailand.

[Ace of Pop]

All Copers here are greased.

[Goldieinkathu]

So it's just 2 months to the day since we picked up the car and today it's in for the same problem yet again!!

It stared about 2 weeks ago, first not so much then by last weekend it was terrible. Between what would be 2nd and 3rd gear in a manual car it was juddering again as it changed gear.

We made an appointment for this morning at 9 and didn't get a call until 3.15pm.They tell us that it needs the gearbox readjusting to anyone who can't be bothered to read this whole thread this is the 3rd clutch since new. The mileage on this new clutch has been 1500 kilometers

So it will be yet another 2 days before it's ready ( 3 days in all to adjust a gearbox ) Sounds like BS to me and I'm going to bet that this will not be the end of it, anyone want to take up my bet that before the year is out it will be fitted with the 4th clutch?

I was told this morning that the Ford Focus has been redesigned with a new engine and transmission but not the Ford Fiesta yet so to anyone who is thinking about getting a new Fiesta think very carefully and do your research well.