1 Year Review of my Fiesta

[MGREEN11]

Just a few more weeks and I will have owned my Fiesta for one year. By then, I'm guessing the odometer will have almost 20,000 miles on it. My driving is 70% highway, 30% city (driving 80 - 100 miles daily). I've averaged approximately 34 - 35 MPG. On the highway, I easily achieve 45 MPG and gotten as high as 49 MPG at 55 MPH. The car is still tight, runs great, and performs really well.

Aside from what I really bought the car for, which is for gas mileage, I've been becoming increasingly irritated by the continued small problems that pop up on this car. For one, I've never seen so many TSBs issued for a car. What can be more irritating is my dealer's dumbfoundedness in knowing how to address the issues I've brought to their attention as it seems I've been ahead of the curve on some of the TSBs that Ford has issued to correct the very problems I've found (before they have).

Unfortunately for me, many of the little issues I have experienced so far have now tempered my enthusiasm for the car. Problems like:

1. Bearing noise in reverse (unknown to dealer until addressed by a TSB)
2. Wacky shift (Powershift) (ultimately corrected by TSB & reflash)
3. Loose windshield molding (ultimately glued on as recommended by Ford; TSB forthcoming?)
4. Weather gaskets coming off rear door frames (addressed by a TSB)
5. Corrected time loss on clock (by a TSB)

Now, I need to go back to the dealer to have the following looked at:

1. Squeeky rear brakes. Problem was addressed with my dealer before 18K miles, but now with over 18K (Ford only warranties for 1 year, 18K miles whichever comes first).
2. Leaky rear washer nozzle (I see there's a TSB on this which is timely because mine just started leaking).

Design quirks included in priority:
1. No TCS Off button. Ended up purchasing new tires
2. Wind noise in pillar areas between front and rear side windows.
3. No rear disk brakes
4. SYNC has issues from time to time
5. No center arm rest (I installed an aftermarket armrest)
6. No light in glove box
7. Lethargic horn (replaced with an aftermarket dual-note horn)
8. No volume control on steering wheel.


I hope Ford is taking note of this. Now that gas is going down again, I may be re-considering something different.

[jthj]

You can turn off the the traction control in the vehicle menu.

[Captainmorbid]

Originally Posted by jthj

You can turn off the the traction control in the vehicle menu.

Nope. Not on our early builds.

[jthj]

Originally Posted by MGREEN11

3. Loose windshield molding (ultimately glued on as recommended by Ford; TSB forthcoming?)

Can you describe how yours was. I did notice the rubber trim on the outside of my front windsheild seemed kinda loose.

[WTF]

Seems like a lot of problems...

I'm still keeping an eye on whats happening with Ford's new Dual Clutch Transmissions. Most of the reviews on them have not been too good, and I'm just wondering if Ford should have went with a traditional automatic trans. Even the Focus is getting criticism for theirs as well. Are they made in China? I noticed the Mustang's new trannies are made in China and people are having problems with the manual transmission cars.

Thanks for your honesty OP! The new Hyundai Elantra is still winning me over in what I may be driving a few months from now. But, there still is quite a few cars I'm anticipating.. Rio, Veloster, Yaris, ...

[Corvair]

Originally Posted by jthj

You can turn off the the traction control in the vehicle menu.

I can't. Even if I could, I'm susposed to go through several menu's while I'm driving IN SNOW, loosing speed, fighting to keep forward progress. Hardly a safe solution.

Note to Ford: I will never buy another car without an actual T/C off switch.

[billnchristy]

Originally Posted by Corvair

I can't. Even if I could, I'm susposed to go through several menu's while I'm driving IN SNOW, loosing speed, fighting to keep forward progress. Hardly a safe solution.

Note to Ford: I will never buy another car without an actual T/C off switch.

You could always turn it off in your driveway?

[jthj]

Originally Posted by Corvair

I can't. Even if I could, I'm susposed to go through several menu's while I'm driving IN SNOW, loosing speed, fighting to keep forward progress. Hardly a safe solution.

Note to Ford: I will never buy another car without an actual T/C off switch.

FWIW I do have the off switch in my VW and I've tried it in the snow and honestly it usually made the sitaution worse.... The VW manual indicates you should only turn it off if you're already stuck and trying to get out.

[MatteoLC]

Originally Posted by Corvair

I can't. Even if I could, I'm susposed to go through several menu's while I'm driving IN SNOW, loosing speed, fighting to keep forward progress. Hardly a safe solution.

Note to Ford: I will never buy another car without an actual T/C off switch.

Does anyone else see the irony in someone who owns a Corvair ("Unsafe at any speed") complaining about the TRACTION CONTROL functionality of a 2011 IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK?

I guess safety's importance has an on/off switch for you, eh?

Wow...

[psi chick]

this car actually does not have an abnormal number of TSBs, this is probably simply the first time you're aware of them. TSB's are issued all the time for various reasons, and don't necessarily mean there's a problem, they're more for information for the dealer, hence Technical Service Bulletin. they are not recalls or mandatory work that should be done. and very often drivers of cars do know more about TSB's than the dealer, as often dealers tend to work with certain types of cars and are not fluent in every single vehicle. if the dealer you go to doesn't handle a lot of fiesta's, they aren't going to know about all the TSBs, as there is no reason for them to.

sorry to hear that you're having these issues. but i'm sure the dealer will fix it. it's not uncommon for a first year vehicle to have some hiccups, that's part of the game.

i still don't understand why people make such a big deal about turning traction control off. i drove around in a few blizzards and storms this winter and never once got stuck or felt the need to turn off traction control. in fact i've found that without the traction control on i probably would have been stuck a few times. i've had the option on other cars and it doesn't help. i think it's a mental thing with most people.