Jump to content
Do Not Sell My Personal Information


Fairly New Fiesta Giving Grief (Few Problems With It!)


Kai123
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hello forum.

Me and the wife bought a new Ford Feista (style) in 2012, brand new. We got a good deal on the scrappage scheme trading in our old 01 Nissan Micra.

The Micra was falling apart. The main attraction to having the new car was to look after it and make it last for years and have a hassle free car. We have had the car for two years now and it only has 14k kilometers on the clock.

There is a sound coming from the engine, like a spitting, splurting noise. If you rev the engine it drowns out the noise, you can only hear it on idle. One mechanic said maybe a cap inside the engine was loose but its a big deal to try and investigate it (this was before a full service. Afterwards they said the car is in perfect condition).

Secondly, and only in the last 4 months we can feel so much more on the road. The tires are good and I mentioned this to the mechanic but said they found nothing. I dont know if its down to age or not or the fact we had it brand new and now its beginning to get a few quirks.

Lastly, and only this week...the steering is very loose. It gets better after we fill the tank, but its very odd. Today the wheel is vibrating very, very slightly.

The car is 2 years old this month, and 14k kilometers. Should It have these kind of issues? Is it because we got it so new, that we will only ever really notice negative wear and tear over time? We cant afford anything major on the car and thats our biggest concern. It got the full service last month, but im tempted to getting them to replace the oil with the Castrol 5w30 oil (on the recipe the oil is only named as "classic").

Any ideas to any of these issues? I plan on taking it down to the garage next week and it would be great to be armed with a bit of knowledge so I know what im asking/what they are saying.

Kai.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Hello there,

sorry to hear you are having problems with your fiesta :( These issues are definately not supposed to come up on a new car.

First of all: Your car is within guarantee, so if the technician thinks it is a big deal to do his job ("try to investigate"), then I would definitely go to another service center. One with recommendations from friends or other users here. You wrote that they claimed the car being in perfect condition after the full service. Did you stop noticing the noise back then? Why did you not demand it fixed? You paid them for the service and despite that, you are still within guarantee. The issue whould have been dealt with.

The feeling you mention while driving, does it occur in high speeds (above 100kmph) or lower neighbourhood speeds too? You might have damaged your wheel(s) (alloy rims are more sensitive to sharp bumps) and having that could cause a slight vibration in higher speeds. That does make sense. So maybe you should check your wheels too. If the alloy is bent, it will be on the inside and that means the wheel will need to be removed to check it. You can do that at a tyre selling shop. When they install the tyres, they put (stick) some small weights in the wheel barrel to ensure even mass distribution and minimize vibrations during driving. There is a technical term for this, but I dont know the english word, some one else could help us here perhaps (I don't mean the allignment, that is a diffrent service). If for some very rare reason one/some of these weights is removed (usually manually and by putting a lot of effort), then a vibration in high speeds is to be expected. Of course this is an issue your technician would/should have let you know about. Check all your wheel barrels, see if there is any glue residue without a metal weight on it. If there is, you probably lost that small piece of metal. No big deal, a new can be installed in a matter of minutes.

Speaking about steering, some fiestas after 2008 had an issue with the steering wheel. They made a harldy audible grinding sound when steering in parking manuevers (minimal or zero speeds). This was/is fixed by lubricating the steering wheel column (got mine done within guarentee, no charge at all)

Last and definately not least, a good oil is a good investment. You can try the Castrol oil ford advertises, or you can also try another high end oil. I use Mobil1 5w-30 (fully synthetic) and I am totally happy with it. From the first service I had the technician put this in. They started saying "we don't know if this is compatible" and such bs, only to receive my reply, "yes it is, please put this in". And that oil is way better than the one they would use. I do pay more for it, but it is a good investment in my opinion.

To cut a long story short, look for another service center. You don't want these guys to start finding problems after your guarantee is expired ;)

Edited by Stoney871
minor swear words
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi welcome to the club. Your alignment/tracking could be very slightly out and this could explain why it sounds noisier and the vibration through the steering wheel although as said if one of your weights is missing. This can happen to any car at anytime imple by going over speed bumps or potholes or bumps in the road and new cars arent impervious to this. If the car is still under warranty i'd certainly push to get an repairs done while its still under warranty and dont put up with an crap some garages will try and put you off and put you off.

In regards to the spluttering noise im not realy sure but id certainly make them check it out while the car is under warranty.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

cant really add much to whats already been said...but

disagree with regards to oils.

mobil/castrol etc are undoubtedly excellent oils, but doesnt necessarily mean they are suitable for every engine...

oil goes beyond just the grades, they also need to meet/exceed the specs of a particular grade, in other words, every grade is available in various specs. ie: ACAE A1/B1 ACEA A3/B3 etc,etc

more modern the engine, the more important it is to use correct grade and spec

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As long as its 5w 30 itll be ok this is what ford recommends anything else sticks to all the components like glue apparently

Link to comment
Share on other sites


wasnt implying oil wasnt suitable for your engine, just saying that when technician said they were not sure if Mobil was suitable, its not b/s unless they knew the specs of the oil and spec needed for the engine....its a minefield and unlikely they knew both off top of their heads...

quite often find, under the specs on oil container, it will state 'not suitable for............' even if those engines listed require 5w/30

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the replies!

I got the tires tracked and it fixed the loose steering. The loose nuts were actually caps to make the nuts look pretty (the mechanic sighed in relief, lol).

The engine noise is fairly prominient, but guess when its not! When a mechanic is looking at it. I had shown a mechanic before and he said he would investigate but told me after the service that its fine. This mechanic told me he would hear if something was wrong inside the engine.

The tapping noise thats slightly more audioble over the engine noise was the cambelt. He said he could replace it for me and it would fix the noise, but there was actually nothing wrong with it.

Maybe I have the new-car syndrome. My only ever car before this was a old Nissan Mirca and compaired to the brand new Fiesta, it was a dream. I would feel much better if I knew what oil they were using but since the car was only serviced last month, I think I might wait. Next time I might buy my own oil and filter and find a rural mechanic to do it for me.

If the noise gets worst (the engine noise, not the cambelt) I will try and get a video of it and upload it here.

Thank you for the replies.

Kai.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

wasnt implying oil wasnt suitable for your engine, just saying that when technician said they were not sure if mobil was suitable, its not b/s unless they knew the specs of the oil and spec needed for the engine....its a minefield and unlikely they knew both off top of their heads...

quite often find, under the specs on oil container, it will state 'not suitable for............' even if those engines listed require 5w/30

We had the last service in Altas. Some branches around Dublin are highly recommended but never really heard anything about the one local to me (Blanchardstown).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

noise from cambelt???

personally, would be worried about that, cant think of any reason why a cambelt will be tapping yet have nothing wrong with it...especially at that low mileage....

would have that rechecked and explained better

Link to comment
Share on other sites

wase16ll, you are right about the oil specifications its more than the 5w30. As far as I remember the specific oil meets the Ford requirements, I'll chack and repost.

Kai123, if the cambelt is making noises, I would replace it, or see if it just needs adjustment. A serious technician would definitely have made sure of that. If it needs changing then you'll probably get it within the guarantee. If not, the charge should not be very high.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ford specification WSS-M2C913-A, WSS-M2C913-B, WSS-MSC913-C. It just depends on your car which one of the 3 it is but your owners manual will tell which is suitable for your car. Castro magnates 5W-30 A1 Fully Synthetic coimplies with all 3 specifications.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

WSS-M2C913-B is for my fiesta, Mobil 1 ESP meets 5w30, acae c2/c3. Doesn't seem to match the numbers on the pages, so I will have to research how acae c2/c3 compare/relate to acae a1/b1.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

exceeds requirements....

but this is where personal preference comes in..

if you consider that the recommended oils is the one the engine was fully tested on for durability and economy etc...

now although Mobil oil exceeds those requirements, i would still opt for exact, be it ford oil or any other..

im no oil officianado, in fact i cant even spell it :)

but as far as im aware, the c2/3 oils were predominatly designed with particulate filters in mind [what they refer to when they state lower saps)

so what your looking at is fully synthetic oil that is thinner when under stress, not as bad as it sounds but does that make it suitable for an engine tested on a3/b3 for eg when under stress....as i said before, although the brands are a quality oil without doubt, i still prefer to stick to what was recommended....but thats just personal choice

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks mate, you got a good point there. (and sry for such a late response)

I'll rethink of it next year thoroughly :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I took a video on my phone trying to get the noise but forgot about it. If I can hear it on the video I will upload it.

I have been listening to other Fiestas and they make the same noise. It must be normal ware and tare.

Still dont like it though after a year of near silence from the engine, but I think its normal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Our 2009 1.25 Fiesta sounds like a sewing

machine on idle, especially with the bonnet up. I was initially concerned when I owned the car from new, but nearly 4 years on it's the same. An engine will inevitably bed in over the years, and the sounds it makes will alter... I wouldn't worry about it, it is still in warranty after all :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been trying to think of a word to describe it but a sewing machine is spot on!

Thanks Jimrex and everyone else whos chipped in on this thread.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share




×
×
  • Create New...

Forums


News


Membership