The joys of a first-series vehicle

[351]

I took mine back complaining about a few minor things but generall happy so far :lol: and hey lets put it into context if you buy a bmw ,merc or audi with similar levels of performance as xr's and cabin space and interior equipment you are looking at $120 000+ sure they wont have these ongoing probs but look at wat your paying you would hope so. if hassle free motoring is wat you are looking for buy one ,I know I aint williing to pay that much more for a few less probs.

p.s I aint having a go at anyone who is whinging about there probs because I would too if I had diff clunk , misaligned doors , hanbrake screeching etc but small minor things are not worth making a huge deal about how ford are hopeless etc, cos plain and simply you get wat you pay for. it is just that some cars off the same production line may be a bit more than others.

[aaronmihe]

I generally use Gregorys in Mitchell, they're a bit (make that a lot more) about fixen' cars there compared with Braddon in my opinion, although lacking a WDS does prevent them from chasing software dramas that I've had.

However - both have missed loose intake pipes and stuff which didn't help make things any better. But we all stuff up that kind of thing every now and then.

Mitchell for me in more convenient, and results wise I've been happiest with their approach .... Parts guy seems to know his stuff too

A.

[XRBloke]

I wouldnt be so sure that you would get much better Quality with BMW at the moment from what im hearing from a few clients who have paid big bucks and only got trouble.

As for the Diff whine make sure its not your Dunlop tyres, if you have dunlop Sps and Diff whine take the tyres off and see if its still there.

[lachlanj]

Dees anyone know how to fix the noise comming through the sterio? I have the noise with the lights on and off. Ford claim they know nothing about it.

[YOOT]

Hi all,

I've now had my first ever 'new' car, a BA Falcon XR6 Turbo (in Mercury Silver, awesome!) for 6 months/20000 km's.

It just seems that I have problem after problem, my car seems to spend an inordinate amount of time at the dealer, and they don't seem to give a hoot about the number of times I've been returning there. Not sure whether I can name the dealership, so I'll just say 'I live in Canberra and work in the city'.

I've had:

Handbrake scraping sound (x 5).

- happened at 4500km's and I happened to be in Victoria at the time, had Wignall Ford of Mornington sort it out, it was nice and quiet until 14500km's.

- 14,500km's, let the noise go until the 15000 service (at my local dealership). Asked for the noise to be fixed and mentioned that Wignall had sorted it out for 10000km's. Got the car back, still made the noise, the service manager said that it would take 1000km's to 'bed in'.

- 16,000km's, the noise was still as apparent as ever, took it back to local dealership, they 'adjusted' it again, and the same guy said 'give it 1000km's to bed in' again.

- 18,000km's, sound still there (the whole time from 16-18K), happened to be in Victoria again, took it back to Wignall's in Frankston this time, drove our, dead silence.

- 18,800km's, sound returns (lasted 1800km's this time!). Let it go to 20200 until I took it to local dealership. Made them aware that this was my 5th trip back in 20000k's (4th in the last 5000). Was actually told by another service manager that the 'let it bed in' spiel was actually a lie.

Heatshield rattle (x 3).

- from day 1, had the heatshield rattle. It's lasted no more than a week each time it has been fixed.

Dead fuel pump.

- from day 1, had a whistling/sucking sound from the engine bay, told that the fuel pump was faulty, replaced under warranty.

Shuddering steering (x 3).

- this just seems to happen after almost every service. Told to remove the cap on the steering fluid bottle overnight to let the air bubbles out. Then told last week that this was 'made up by the service manager' (this was from one of the local dealerships techs).

Wind noise

- OK had this sorted just this Monday. They pulled the doors in tighter against the rubber seal, but when I picked up the car, it was difficult to open the doors, and I had to slam them to close them (they used to just drop closed)

- Took it back on Tuesday, had the seals lubricated and the doors were once again 'adjusted'. Now the wind noise is mostly gone, the doors open OK (still hard to close) but they're REALLY out of alignment, the centre rubber strip between the doors is about three times the distance from the front door than it is in the back door, and the front door is about a 1/4" higher than the back. Noticeable from 20 metres away.

- Took it back yesterday, they said that they'd get the doors even, got back at 5 and picked up the car, I took the manager out and said 'this looks like it hasn't been touched' and he agreed that the doors were way out of alignment (FFS!). Given the card for their panel beating shop to have the doors properly aligned (!). Booked it in this morning for this coming Monday.

Windows 'sticking' in cold weather

- had this since day one but never bothered to mention it until this last Monday, it's now all good (they lubricated the windows or something)

Metal-on-metal sound when braking after 30 minutes of driving

- found this new problem last night when I got home. Didn't have the problem when the car was cold this morning. Will see how it goes

Diff whine at 95km/h

- new diff now ordered

Massive feedback when headlights are on, sound through Premium Sound system

- spliced the earth at dealership but didn't make any difference, it's terrible when driving at night, sound goes up and down with engine revs. It's possible that they didn't do a damn thing, of course.

Blew an indicator bulb, had to book the car in for a week and a half's time to have it replaced.

- eventually spoke to someone with a clue, they replaced it in 5 minutes

That's all I can think of so far. My 14 year old Mazda 626 Turbo didn't have these sort of problems! Oh, and the woman at the service desk is a cow, she always treats me like sh*te whenever I rock up (and I've always been polite and quiet when having the car in for the nth time - I don't want to make a scene and have them deliberately scratch the car or something).

Time to change dealerships, I think, but are there any good ones in Canberra? 30,000 service is getting done elsewhere, that's for sure.

Cheers all, thanks for letting me get it all off my chest!

So really the only mechanical problem you've had is the fuel pump.

The electrical noise is normal, but if its louder than usual than you've got an open circuit somewhere, may have blown a fuse in either of the two boxes. I had a small amount before I completely swapped my entire audio system for a custom 800watt jobby. Now its completly silent.

The diff thing, that's normal and your new one will mos likely do the same thing in time. Fortunatly mine doesn't do it.

An indicator bulb is not a fault, that's like saying your tyres have worn out, I want a warretny claim...

The handbrake noise is not a Ford thing or your car in particular, many makes and models do this, its normal, untill they invent a better handbrake.

heat shield rattle, just take the farkin thing off then. Or by a ute!

Power steering shudder isn't a fault, Ford power steering has always done it, and is made worse by wider tyres and heavier cars, eg BA with 17" rims etc.

And wind noise! Come on! What do you expect when you push a lump of steal through air at speed that has hinged doors, gaps and seals. Just because the car cost $45K doen't mean it can defy the laws of physics. Geese.

Next you'll be complaining because you have to keep putting fuel in the tank every 600kms. After all, an XR6 Turbo being as dear as it is shouldn't use fuel. You piad enough for the car as it is...

Ia m not having a go at you really, just annoys me that the things that get winged about on here are the silliet of things, the BA isn't perfect, and never will be. Nore will a 7-Series BMW. If there was a BMW forum, you'd be suprised to see just as many people winging about the same stupid things. Like the Last M5 they built used oil like the LS1 did, did it make a dick of difference to the world or those owners? No.

I hope it all works out for you in the end, just try to keep things in perspective.

[cmdwedge]

rednut99: Sorry mate, I just cannot agree with you about the handbrake. It's not normal (not every BA Falcon does it, just a 'significant number'). And they can 'fix' it for a period of time, so surely something is wrong? Have you had the sound yourself? It's REALLY loud and really embarassing in carparks (sorry, that sounds really snobby of me, but it does). And the wind sound was annoying but I let it go for 20000K's because I figured that it wasn't such a big deal (just crank up the stereo), but I mentioned it to my lease provider, and they submitted it as a fault to my local dealership.

I agree with you in principle, there will be niggles about a new car, and it won't be perfect ever, but most of the things I've complained about are really annoying considering my sh*tty little 14 yr old 626 didn't have that many problems. And the sheer number of times I've had to return for the SAME PROBLEM is really what I'm talking about, not the number of problems. I know that there are guys here with undriveable cars being towed in, and I'm thankful that my problems have been minor and mainly cosmetic in nature.

[Mr Turbo]

cmdwedge I know what you mean in regards to the handbrabe noise. Its very embarrassing especially when u cruise down a well know shopping strip like Chappel st in Melbourne and all you hear is a loud scapping noise reflecting off the buildings either side. Sorry to sound like a whinge but unless you have this problem then you will understand where im coming from.

I take so much pride in my turbo and make sure it looks 100% each time its on the road from washing it down to tyre shine on the tyres. So to hear this noise it is embarrassing. Im sure Ford will rectify this small problem as I have faith in them.

Other from this Its been a pleasure to own a Turbo, great car WELL DONE FORD!

[Turbo6man]

rednut99> You sound like the kind of guy we'd like to have working for us down in Lonsdale St. Next time you're driving past pop in for an interview - I reckon we could find a spot for you as a Service Advisor, oops sorry I mean Customer Service Advisory Officer. Yours, Gregorys Motors.

[Guest rabbit]

is rednit99 sleeping with someone at Ford?

[GlennAUII]

Dees anyone know how to fix the noise comming through the sterio? I have the noise with the lights on and off. Ford claim they know nothing about it.

we have the same noise when on phone calls (genuine nokia 6100 car kit) on the standard sound sys. Anyone else have troubles with audible noise through car kits?