eyemdee Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 My 60 plate Fiesta 1.4 Titanium Auto went in for service & MOT 2 weeks ago before we went on a weeks break in Northumberland. All the way there and all the time we were there the cruise control would not work at all. Today, after deciding to ring the dealers when we got home, it started working when I tried it on the A1 and then worked faultlessly all the way home! I have had a look under the bonnet for any loose connections and cannot see anything obvious so I am looking for help with what might be loose or damaged. Has anyone else experienced this issue and got any tips for rectifying? I certainly don't want to book it into the dealers just to hear them say "we cannot find any fault sir"! Can the steering wheel buttons be cleaned or accessed without totally dismantling it? Any help appreciated :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil 87 Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 Sounds like the dealers broke it, I'd take it back to them and say it stopped working after you got it back from them. I don't think it'll be a matter of something being loose, someone correct me if I'm wrong but aren't these cars drive-by-wire so the cruise control and the throttle are controlled electronically? So unless the buttons on the steering wheel are broken, then it's a glitch in the software, or maybe a fuse? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eyemdee Posted October 11, 2014 Author Share Posted October 11, 2014 Sounds like the dealers broke it, I'd take it back to them and say it stopped working after you got it back from them. I don't think it'll be a matter of something being loose, someone correct me if I'm wrong but aren't these cars drive-by-wire so the cruise control and the throttle are controlled electronically? So unless the buttons on the steering wheel are broken, then it's a glitch in the software, or maybe a fuse? Yes, I was going to take it back to the dealers but now it is working again I could be wasting my time! It failed to operate for a full 4 days apart from once, just for a few seconds, then started working normally again yesterday. It doesn't appear to have its own fuse so I am thinking either a bad connection or dirt in the switches. I read somewhere about a CC fault being cured by replacing the steering wheel clockspring but I don't fancy attempting that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eyemdee Posted October 24, 2014 Author Share Posted October 24, 2014 Sounds like the dealers broke it, I'd take it back to them and say it stopped working after you got it back from them. Did exactly that - "Nothing to do with the service - the steering wheel switch is faulty". £84 for the diagnosis if I don't have it fixed or £190 to have the switch ordered and replaced. Think it is bye bye Fiesta time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil 87 Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Did exactly that - "Nothing to do with the service - the steering wheel switch is faulty". £84 for the diagnosis if I don't have it fixed or £190 to have the switch ordered and replaced. Think it is bye bye Fiesta time! Looks like it's outside of the warranty too, or did you buy it 2nd hand with a warranty? A warranty should cover that but otherwise it looks like you'll have to pay. But maybe you could get the parts from a breakers yard or something, and save yourself £100 or more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eyemdee Posted October 24, 2014 Author Share Posted October 24, 2014 Looks like it's outside of the warranty too, or did you buy it 2nd hand with a warranty? A warranty should cover that but otherwise it looks like you'll have to pay. But maybe you could get the parts from a breakers yard or something, and save yourself £100 or more. Yes, it is outside the warranty - 4 years old and immaculate with 15,500 miles on the clock. Problem occurred after 4 year service and MOT at Ford Dealer. The invoice for £84 for 1 hours labour says "Suspect switch to be faulty. Repair declined." I am not convinced that the switch is faulty as I got the cruise control engaged on the way back home and it disengaged itself after a few seconds. I am certainly not prepared to pay them £190 to replace the switch and then find it is not the cause of the problem. Not impressed with Ford service today!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil 87 Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 I am not convinced that the switch is faulty as I got the cruise control engaged on the way back home and it disengaged itself after a few seconds. I am certainly not prepared to pay them £190 to replace the switch and then find it is not the cause of the problem. Not impressed with Ford service today!!! I'm pretty sure you're right, unless the switches are damaged and sending signals to cancel the cruise control, but that seems unlikely. Unfortunately it's probably your word against theirs. It's clearly something they did though if it went wrong after the service, and they're just trying to fob you off. They obviously think one customer's poor experience isn't as bad as the small cost & time it would take to fix the problem for you. I say make them change their minds by not letting them get away with it, tell them you'll go to trading standards etc. You might even be able to get another garage to diagnose the problem and get a quote for free, at least then you'll know what the problem is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eyemdee Posted October 24, 2014 Author Share Posted October 24, 2014 I shall most likely now change the car for something else other than a Ford. I am considering a letter to Ford to vent my frustrations over a car which has been otherwise perfect and which I thought would have been fixed today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil 87 Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 I shall most likely now change the car for something else other than a Ford. I am considering a letter to Ford to vent my frustrations over a car which has been otherwise perfect and which I thought would have been fixed today. I guess you would have to let the buyer know that the cruise control is faulty, unless they just don't notice it. It's a bit dodgy though because once they find out it would be obvious that it was already broken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eyemdee Posted October 25, 2014 Author Share Posted October 25, 2014 Does anyone know if the cruise control uses the rear wheel ABS speed sensors? They charged me extra for "cleaning the rear brakes" during the service and I am wondering whether a speed sensor could have got clogged up in the process. Probably clutching at straws but it would be nice to solve it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eyemdee Posted November 20, 2014 Author Share Posted November 20, 2014 I'm pretty sure you're right, unless the switches are damaged and sending signals to cancel the cruise control, but that seems unlikely. Unfortunately it's probably your word against theirs. It's clearly something they did though if it went wrong after the service, and they're just trying to fob you off. They obviously think one customer's poor experience isn't as bad as the small cost & time it would take to fix the problem for you. I say make them change their minds by not letting them get away with it, tell them you'll go to trading standards etc. You might even be able to get another garage to diagnose the problem and get a quote for free, at least then you'll know what the problem is. UPDATE You hit the nail on the head here. They are just not bothered! After getting no reply to letters sent to Ford Customer Relations or the Dealer Principal, I contacted the credit card company who didn't take long at all to refund the £84 charged for the "diagnosis". I was so annoyed by the whole episode I part exchanged the Fiesta for a new Toyota Yaris Excel Hybrid so I won't be around this forum so often now! In fact I won't be joining ANY Ford forums again! The Toyota Dealer has sold the Fiesta back to the servicing Dealer so they will presumably now have to fix it at their cost. Poetic justice! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil 87 Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 I don't blame you for wanting to change the car, and this just goes to show how a customer can be put off an entire brand just by one bad experience. What we need is something like trip advisor for car dealers, then the bad ones will be named and shamed, so there will be some incentive to treat customers properly. At the moment they can get away with this kind of terrible service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
normski1 Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 I have had the same intermittent fault with the cruise control. It went into the dealer yesterday to have it fixed. This is what was written on the report from them - "Checked operation of cruise control buttons on IDS and all working at present. Various fault codes for cruise control present but none current. Carried out ETIS checks and ascertain a known concern relating to corrosion with the airbag clock spring electrical contacts. Remove the airbag to gain access to connections. No corrosion present but the connection to the clockspring WAS loose. SLIGHT damage evident to connector but should not harm operation. Clean contact & lubricate & re-fit. Road test and all working correctly" This cost me £90.94 to have put right. I am concerned that they wrote "known concern relating to corrosion with airbag clock spring electrical contacts". If there is a known concern, and it is affecting the function of other things - like the cruise control - they should be sorting this out, not waiting for customers to come in and pay to have it fixed. Surely this is a safety issue to re the airbags. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eyemdee Posted November 12, 2015 Author Share Posted November 12, 2015 I have had the same intermittent fault with the cruise control. It went into the dealer yesterday to have it fixed. This is what was written on the report from them - "Checked operation of cruise control buttons on IDS and all working at present. Various fault codes for cruise control present but none current. Carried out ETIS checks and ascertain a known concern relating to corrosion with the airbag clock spring electrical contacts. Remove the airbag to gain access to connections. No corrosion present but the connection to the clockspring WAS loose. SLIGHT damage evident to connector but should not harm operation. Clean contact & lubricate & re-fit. Road test and all working correctly" This cost me £90.94 to have put right. I am concerned that they wrote "known concern relating to corrosion with airbag clock spring electrical contacts". If there is a known concern, and it is affecting the function of other things - like the cruise control - they should be sorting this out, not waiting for customers to come in and pay to have it fixed. Surely this is a safety issue to re the airbags. At least your dealer justified and explained clearly what they were charging for. This was probably the issue with mine. I was charged £84 for their "diagnosis" that they "suspected" the switch was faulty. I will never know, as I recovered the £84 from the credit card company and got rid of the car due to their apalling service. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winemart2 Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 Yes its a bit of a worry, my vol - button is playing up again, been perfect for 1 week since the service. Just wondering if I should drop it when it gets towards being out of guarantee. So much to go wrong that you can easily be hoodwinked, prob is, most makes are now the same complexity etc. Re: the OP, 4 years old, 15k? thats a new car ffs, most annoying. I increased warranty to 5 years (if its worth the paper its written on). EDIT: should I get OBD error codes for the vol button? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eyemdee Posted November 12, 2015 Author Share Posted November 12, 2015 Re: the OP, 4 years old, 15k? thats a new car ffs, most annoying. Even more annoying that it was working perfectly until it went in for service. The dealer insisted it was nothing to do with their work and that I would have to pay £190 to get it repaired - or £84 not to get it repaired! The credit card company saw my point of view and refunded me after I got rid of the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winemart2 Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 Worst part is, they might fix it with a new £10 switch. So easy to be hoodwinked. I wouldn't trust a typical greasemonkey with the wheel lock nut let alone an OBD analyser. This is where you're screwed, if you want it done properly you have to do it yourself. That brings another prob, jobs around the house I can't be bothered with but because I could do them I don't wanna pay someone else to do 'em, so, the jobs don't get done :D Your case is very sad, I kept my old XR2 for 16 years, any probs easy to fix, "progress" has dumped that idea outta the window. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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