Letter to VIBRANT FORD for returning in the DANGEROUS vehicle - No Response

PLEASE TAKE VEHICLE BACK!

We have been giving opportunity over opportunity to Ford and it's dealers. But now, there is no way I and family or going to get on this car. My kids are scared. We are deeply concerned on the road safety and people on the road.

PLEASE...PLEASE...TAKE THIS FAULTY DANGEROUS (THAT FORD MANUFACTURED AND VIBRANT FORD SOLD) VEHICLE BACK.

FAULTY VEHICLE...Conclusive!

Based on all the events, facts and expert opinions it is now pretty much conclusive that this vehicle is faulty and dangerous to be driven on the road. I and my family or scared to get on this car for the safety of us and people on the road.

Email back to IOCL on what transpired

I have sent the email back to IOCL on the case opened describing what transpired at the pump.

Response to complaint - Invited to be pump by officer

Feb 6th 2015:

I was invited to the pump by IOCL officer based on my complaint. I was told that the fuel in my car wouldn't be tested according to the company rules. Once in the car and road they say anything can happen. I identified the nozzle. That day's sales were provided. And they did not receive any other complaints. Of the 4,800 liters that went out into the vehicles on that day from that nozzle ONLY my vehicle, Ford Ecosport got stalled. 

Complaint letter to IOCL

Feb 4th 2015:

Here are excerpts:

One more fuel pull from the vehicle - WHITE DIESEL

Feb 3rd 2015:

YES...THIS IS THE DIESEL..WHICH WAS COMING OF THAT CAR!!

Dropped in at the service center to extract the fuel one more time. Fuel was pulled from the pipe near engine. It is white in color. WOW! you can never see this kind of diesel coming out of the car. 

The inspection report they provided me before was only based in the look and smell of the liquid and no testing was performed.

Again to police station

Feb 2nd 2015:

Headed back again to police station with the report from dealer. Inspector summoned IOCL representative from the bunk to the station. Lengthy discussions took place in front of police officers, in which I have to provide the entire vehicle history up to that point and same with IOCL officer about his bunk in regards to any other complaints etc.  The pump was No 1 selling in whole of Telangana, it did not have any other complaints, it is not privately owned but company owned and operated. In my case this vehicle stalled for two adulteration cases in just space of 3 months from two different pumps right in the heart of commercial/IT hub. However, I was told by the officer that according to Ministry of oil and gas norms, I can register an official complaint with IOCL and they will take up internal investigation by there rules. Also, got advise from police officer to take up the matter with Ford & dealerships.

Complaint at the pump with manager

Jan 31^st 2015:

Taking that report and my bills I went to the IOC petrol bunk complaining that the fuel filled up was adulterated. I was connected to IOCL officer in-charge of that bunk. Actually that is COCO (company owned and operated bunk).  I was told that they can send the fuel from that particular nozzle for testing. I did not want that as the fuel in my tank was from 3 days ago. 

Vehicle inspection report saying fuel is adulterated again!

Jan 31^st 2015:

The next day after the car was towed, I obtained a report from Fortune Ford service center saying that they found the diesel in the car to be adulterated. 

FORD ECHOSPORT TOWED AGAIN!!!

Jan 30th 2015

No these are new pictures...car TOWED again!! because car STALLED again!! In the space 4 months for a new car bought 7 months back. No fault of customer!

Towing the car to Fortune Ford again. Because it is the nearest dealer for me. 

Submit complaint at Police Station

Jan 29th 2015

!!!YES ...that is the DIESEL pulled from my Ford Echosport!!!

On the same day, I went to submit a complaint at the police station. I have mentioned in my complaint the events  that happened past two days. At that moment I my complaint was directed towards the fuel and hence at IOC pump in HITECH city. I was suggested to add a vehicle/fuel inspection report too. 

The fuel receipt

Jan 28th 2015

This is the Fuel receipt from the petrol pump.

Fuel filled up one day before at Indian Oil pump at HITECH City

Jan 28th 2015

Diesel in the vehicle is filled up on the previous day at HITECH CITY INDIAN OIL CORPORATION petrol pump. The fuel in the tank was almost bottomed out, we have filled the tank completely. It was a busy bunk and when we were filling up we had to wait for two cars to clear in front of us at out nozzle. 

Immediate call to Ford dealer service center

Jan 29th 2015

Made to call to the dealer service center immediately, who performed the repairs previously. Service manager sent couple of mechanics to check it out. They pulled the fuel from the engine pipe opening into a bottle, This looked white in color, definitely adulterated. 

I was dumbstruck! What the hell was happening?

Car stalled AGAIN dangerously on road!!!

Jan 29th 2015

It's been less than 2 months since I got this vehicle, Ford Ecosport from the Fortune Ford dealer service center (after they kept the vehicle with them for more than 2 months), it stalled again on the road dangerously.

(Just to recap, if you did not read the posts preceding this, vehicle was bought in June 2014, it stalled Sep 2014, returned to me Dec 2014, failed again Jan 2015)

Ford to recall nearly 21,000 Eco Sport SUVs over faulty parts

Excerpts from RECALL news, these are the very issues my car faced and I was fighting for with no avail

NEW DELHI: Ford India will recall nearly 21,000 units of theEco Sport SUV over potential problems related to airbag deployment as well as concerns on fuel and vapour line corrosion.

....to replace a faulty part that could cause problems in starting of diesel engines.

The vehicles that are being called back are those manufactured between January 2013 and September 2014 at the company's Chennai plant. Ford said there were concerns of fuel and vapour line corrosion in the long-term.

RECALL Ford Ecosportl...Dec 16th Times of India

On Dec 16th, about 11 days I got my car back. I saw this recall news in Times of India news paper. For me it just looked like it is very much related the problems I was facing with the car. Here is the URL.

Ford Ecosport Recall

Run like a normal car..please!!

Dec 5th 2014 - Jan 28th 2015

In the initial days after I got my car back, I was skeptic and on the edge. I just wanted it run like any normal car would. After 2-3 weeks I settled in, I got more comfortable, just felt that I should put the saga behind me, forget about it and give back my confidence to the car. 

Finally...finally...I got that vehicle.

DEC 5th

After two and half months, one day I got the call that my vehicle is ready. Huuuuush!! I went there, took a test drive, It looked ok. But my conscious was still not at right place. After that much time in the workshop, with so many trail and errors, ripping that vehicle apart, so many wrong diagnosis, I was real suspicious. But I had to trust Ford. Because I asked several times, and they stressed that many more times that vehicle would work as new going forward. But at this time I and my family were relieved.

Email: This is final..I am exhauseted

Dec 1st 2014

No car and it is 64th day

You can only imagine this. 64 days, the car was at Fortune Ford dealership service center and I was struggling like hell. At this point I shed out excess of 40,000 rupees on private vehicles and alternate transportation. It was grave inconvenience effecting all family. My kids were repeatedly asking where our car was. People in the colony wondering what happened to car. 

Please take the vehicle back!!

Dec 1^st 2014:

After all this.....isn't this a genuine demand?  

This is what I conveyed to Ford and Vibrant Ford.


This is what transpired yet again.

Did we say..it was HPP Pump..oops!

Around 50 days of diagnosis and tons of calls and emails later, now I am being told that it was not correct diagnosis. I am being told now that pump is good. Actually they said new pump was making the problem worse. Now they say that four fuel injectors are the problem and they should be replaced. 
And they cost double the amount of the cost. Wow!!

Three things:
First, how can I believe, if this diagnosis is true, can you believe?
Second, how can you justify that much cost on a new vehicle? A vehicle that just stops working one day. 
Third, After so much rip-off of the vehicle, how can I trust it will work as new.

I was emotionally and physically drained out.

No..No..don't leave..NOT over yet!

This could match the drama of some of the Indian prime time soaps. I eagerly called up on Saturday for my car. I was told they replaced the HPP pump but they found it was not the issue with HPP pump and the car is still not getting pick-up. 

Really I did not know what to say, I was at loss of words. 

Well it was no use..so I caved in

Nov 11 to Nov 24, 2014:

Yes, I caved in. What can I do? As a middle class person in this country, like millions of people, my resources are limited, I cannot go on. I am spending more money, my kids are missing classes, I am struggling to keep up with my work, kids are not able to meet their grand parents. 

I was called by GM of fortune ford for a meeting. My hopes raised just to be dashed as usual. He was friendly but he did not help with one thing, it was a waste of time. I accepted even though it is a great financial hit to my family. At this point I just wanted the car. 

So, I called up and mentioned that I approve and have that fixed. Previously when I talked to dealership, customer service at Ford and customer service manager, I stressed the fact that the car is new one and after the repair it should be like that. I stressed the point over and over again. Because I became very suspicious. One after other they said that, I shouldn't worry about that part at all, and I would get the vehicle as new with no problems.

So, I was to get the car in three days. I remember it was Saturday, the day I was to get my car. With new HPP pump problem completely resolved, vehicle running as new. 

One more time...

Good will?..wow!!

New car...no fault of mine..strong reasons to believe it is a manufacturing defect...car was ripped apart and done all sort of things on that...expensive part...and I have to pay half the amount...discount only on cost...wow!!...what a great good will? I did not whether to laugh or cry.

45 days without car...and no end in sight

You both work, your kids go to school, you have one car...how many days can you survive? 2 days, 4 days..a week maximum..perhaps. Not to mention about the gross inconvenience, I had spent upwards of 15,000 rupees till now. Weekend trips out of town, kids to activities, shopping, work...will anything stop because we don't have a car. Now, I also requested if they can give me a loaner, they outright rejected that. 

What about EMI's? Do they stop..of course not. I was paying hefty EMI's for the car, without the car. 

And one more plea..

Nov 11

Plea after plea, day after day, it continued. This is one more plea to everybody who can make something happen but nothin happened. Ford motor company, Vibrant Ford and Fortune Ford. No consideration...

Customer service from Ford

Automatic emails are prompt. Then, mails originating from customer service specialists more or less look the same. It just looks that everybody in there takes predefined templates and fills in few details like their name etc. and sends them to customer. When I requested to talk to their supervisor, I got connected once. 

The discussion was cordial at first, I did raise my concerns (for the nth time). One of the response I got was, this how she put it, "we will support our customers for their genuine concerns". I was shocked to hear that. Hear I was struggling for absolutely for no fault of mine. For putting in so much money to buy their product, their dubious product, I should add, I was being told that my concern was not genuine. They could have easily hurt me and my family or anybody on the road and she has the audacity to say that my concern was not genuine. And this person was playing the role of customer service lead. She however back tracked on the statement later.But this is the treatment I got from the supervisor.

President's desk...don't get too excited.

It say's you can reach President's desk, I mean an email that can reach President's desk but it's diverted to customer support. Fair enough, President can't read emails but why publicize, I did not get that.

Complaint content highlights 1

Nov 11 to Nov 24, 2014:

Complaint content highlights

Nov 11 to Nov 24, 2014:

Complaint content

The email: Sub: XXXX Echo sport serious safety defect

Nov 11 to Nov 24, 2014:

Had enough....a complaint letter to Ford motor company

Nov 11, 2014

Things have reached to a point that I had to take up the matter with company. As dissatisfied I was with Fortune Ford, Ford motor company's reaction and attending to customer's complaint shocked me. I still wanted to put all this behind me and move on just wanted some deal, at this point 'fair deal' to me was out of question. I have raised with Fortune Ford service center, they said they are talking to company but I don't think it reached Ford. Common, this could have been a major safety issue with the vehicle, I was shouting roof top but nobody was listening. Anyhow it was time that they should be aware of the havoc their product is causing in customer's life.  

First of all, you, Ford, make these low quality, defective vehicles and your dealer, Vibrant Ford sells this vehicle. You, Ford, have these delicate parts in your car not at all fit for Indian conditions. You, Ford, produce these sensitive vehicles. You, Fortune Ford, provide sub standard service. You, Fortune Ford, do not posses technical expertise on the cars you sell. You, Ford and Vibrant Ford make tons of money on the margins. You, Fortune Ford make good money on parts and services. And I the customer, who has to endure all and sundry from you guys, has to make hefty payment on a brand new vehicle? 

Please...please...please...where is the justice?

It is new vehicle..what about warranty?

The worst news did not stop. Initially when they said the pump needs to be replaced, I was worried, who would want their new car to be taken apart like that but at least I was bit content that they said it should be covered under warranty. The news next day was that it wouldn't. Why? they said Ford wouldn't cover. So, what was the cost? Whopping 65,000 rupees. (upwards of $1000). 

When I heard that, I had to take a long pause. It did take a while to sink in. It was a bummer, after all this this was not I was expecting.  

But why should I pay? Why is the company escaping from paying the warranty costs? Well, like everything else, it is fuzzy too. I had to find out, hope I do.

What is a HPP Fuel pump?

"In many modern cars the fuel pump is usually electric and located inside the fuel tank. The pump creates positive pressure in the fuel lines, pushing the gasoline to the engine. The higher gasoline pressure raises the boiling point." - Wiki

Bad to Worse...it is the HPP pump

Nov 9th - Nov 10th, 2014

It was bad enough that I was with out a car for few weeks now subjected to all kinds of  confusing messages from the dealerships but worst was yet to come. I have now idea that bad is going to turn to worst. I was told that HPP fuel pump is not working and has to be replaced. Alas!..what is this vehicle?

Frankly, at this point,  I am loosing confidence at a significant rate in the dealer service center and Ford brand itself. I questioned their expertise on the vehicle, for which I got a reply that they worked closely with Ford engineers in Chennai. So, about 10 days of opening a hot line with Ford in Chennai, the combined "decision" (Ford motor company and Fortune Ford dealership) decided that the "HPP fuel pump" has to be replaced.

Many questions...but wanted to get over with

Sep 25th - Nov 10^th, , 2014: 

Even though I had several questions raging in the mind, I did not want to entertain them at this point. My immediate priority was to get the vehicle as I was struggling with alternative transportation. And, more over the whole episode was not the one I expected from Ford, I just wanted to get over with and get on with my life. I have wasted several days on this already, effecting my work and our plans were put on hold. I just thought I would get that call asking me to come and take the vehicle back paying for the fuel and labor for cleaning as told to start with. Well, that call never came.

But why only this vehicle manufactured by Ford stopped?

Let's say fuel was indeed adulterated. As I said it is not uncommon in India it is rather rare in bunks in the heart of a city. But still, why only Ford vehicle failed? How come other vehicles did not get affected? How come this vehicle is so sensitive? Was it not built for Indian roads? Was it not built for Indian conditions? If it was not, why was I not told that this was built for western conditions as this company is US company? I wouldn't think that would happen but in trying to save costs by having one assembly line and sell the vehicle all over the world, there could be some compromise in quality which probably will be felt by developing countries as regulations are not so strict here.

Matter not taken up with the HP bunk?

I would liked to take up the matter and find out from the petrol pump but I could not, for the lack of any concrete fact.
a. Car failed after few days after filling up
b. The fuel in the tank was emptied out, sample was taken but no proof.
c. Several days passed while all this went on.

The HP Petrol Pump

Sep 25th - Nov 10^th, , 2014: 

This petrol pump where I have filled my diesel was in Gachibowli opposite to a flyover. Now, area wise, it is a good one, in and around surrounded by technology companies, malls, shopping areas and good neighbor hood. This is close to my home and I pump here often. 

Still, to start with I have given benefit of doubt to what the technicians at the repair shop were saying, as, hearing about adulterated is not uncommon in India. But what is uncommon is that it is alleged to have come from a bunk is in a busy area, there were several vehicles filling up while I was in line. So, how come only one vehicle, mine was effected?

Adulterated fuel..what is it?

Adulteration of fuels mainly involves adding kerosene or diesel to petrol. As discussed before, diesel from my tank was emptied out and cleaned. They mentioned, some of it was taken and kept aside. I was told three different mixtures at different times. First, it was petrol mix. Then, I was told it may be kerosene, as this had smell of kerosene. Lastly it may be water. Now, I do not blame them as they are not fuel experts, although I expected them to have that fuel thoroughly inspected which would have aided them in diagnosis. It would be good to know, rather right to know what type of adulteration was it. Without telling me how it was adulterated just blatantly saying it was adulterated fuel would not abode well for any reputed business. When I looked at it, it looked like diesel. Anyway I am no expert.

If defect - its a serious safety issue

It very well was. The car stopped dangerously. I was scared for sure. As i discussed in the previous post, it stopped luckily where there was no traffic. But it easily could have been my worst nightmare.

Is this the vehicle defect?

Sep 25th - Nov 10^th, 2014: 

Ford dealer has opened up a hot line with Ford company, working for few days now, without any clue about the problem. It was shocking in itself for everybody but as the vehicle owner, for me, it was a deep concern. And the messages I was getting did not help either. I was told that is was a case of bad fuel, they went ahead and cleaned up the tank, changed the filter, then it was ready..wait it doesn't have expected pick up, then i was told it is very close (pick-up), if i run the vehicle for few kilometers it would be back to normal...wait no.it may be more..why don't we try few more things? Then I started inquiring around, some experts and some experienced people with these issues. There certainly was case for vehicle quality issue. So, this was indeed a manufacturing defect, I am more and more inclined to believe at this stage. Then I started my research too. Is my Ford Ecosport a defective vehicle?

Ford built the product..Vibrant sold the vehicle..Fortune servicing..CLUELESS!!

Sep 25th - Nov 10^th, , 2014: 

Company which built the product and dealership which sells the product, dealership which services...every body is clueless!!!

Next week or so, I was told that dealership was working with company opening up hot call with engineers at Chennai. I was really wondering at this time, how come even the people who built the car have no idea what was going in this vehicle. From what I gathered was that they were doing lot of trails on that car. Communication was extremely poor, for the most part I was not knowing what was going on. Actually, they themselves were not sure what was going on with that vehicle.

The next call..Good?...but where is the pick-up?

Few days passed by, after few inquiries, I got a call saying that they cleaned up the tank changed the filter but did not see the same pick up on the vehicle and they are working on it. After few more days I got a call saying that the vehicle is now running good and I can come and take a drive.

I was at the Fortune Ford service center, we did go for a ride. I was told just before we started that they suspect some lack in pick-up on the second gear. After the test drive, I was not comfortable at all with the pick up. But I did say that they should know better, they are the experts. They accepted the concern and even said that they knew before that it was not up there. Wonder the reason why they asked me to take the test drive in the first place. Anyway they said they will open a hot line and work with Ford Motor Company in Chennai. 

Next day - Call from dealer service center

I got a call the next morning saying that the fuel is adulterated, they have taken the sample fuel. They said it would cost me about 5000 rupees to clean up the tank and change the filter. I was not told of any procedures, protocols that have to be followed, I have not been told as to what would happen if that diagnosis was found incorrect or insufficient, I was not told as to what it would cost me or what parts would be affected if the car doesn't work by cleaning up the tank. I was told that there was a mix of petrol in that diesel.