i come out the other morning to find my car absolutely dead. I had to use the emergency key to get in and couldn't find anything obvious to solve the mystery of why the battery had flattened. Called out the AA and he also couldn't find the problem but did say that this was happening to alot of new fiestas with one owner local to me having 4 call outs for the same reason in a very short time. My question is, has anyone else had this problem at all? since recharging i haven't had the problem again, YET!! i must admit that it wasn't something i had recently thought about but what a pain when this happens to a powershift model as you physically cant do anything with it at all.

Parasitic drain ?

I recall reading on here that there was a problem with the radio and ford were updating software. But in the meantime they were advising owners not to turn the radio off with the off button but turn it off on the key.

Yeah, never turn the radio off . If you don't want to listen to it turn the volume to zero, this is the temporary fix recommended by Ford. I think they now have a software update for this, ask next time you have the car serviced.

Is this an issue with the Ford or Sony radio, or both?

I've always just turned off the engine and opened the door which turns the radio off.

Thanks for the info Chaps, Yes there is a software update for this problem, it takes 15 mins to complete and i'm booked in to my dealer next Monday. This must be a very new as the service dept were unaware of it but after checking their system they confirmed one had been issued and in time all customers affected will be notified.

Parasitic battery drain on Fiestas especially isn't new, it has been an issue for a while - glad you're sorted :)