12-02-2004, 20:40
|
#1 (permalink)
|
|
Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Sydney Australia
Posts: 2,154
|
XR6T problem in SMH
This was in todays Sydney Morning Herald Fri 3/12/2004
Quote:
HELPLINE
TIM COLQUHOUN
DRIVE DOCTOR
The car Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo.
The owner Aaron Mihe.
What seems to be the problem The engine loses power momentarily when the car is accelerating at speeds above 80kmh. Purchased new in October 2003, the problem was initially intermittent, occurring four times in the first 15,000km. It now happens every time he drives the car.
The treatment Mihe says new engine software was installed at the 15,000km service in April but this made the problem worse. On a trip to the Gold Coast the car's Electronic Control Unit (ECU) cut out 11 times between Sydney and Coffs Harbour. The owner stopped at Mike Blewitt Ford in Coffs Harbour, where he was told it was a known problem and a fix was at least two weeks away. More than a month later, the problem is yet to be rectified. Despite filling out numerous customer feedback forms and leaving messages at Ford's customer helpline, he says he is no closer to getting the car fixed. He now drives it infrequently as he does not believe it is safe.
The dealer says The car has been serviced at Gregory's Ford in Canberra. The dealer principal, Trevor Steenholdt, did not return our calls.
The manufacturer says "We are aware of the issue; there are approximately 100 reports. It [is] a small calibration issue that is too sensitively tuned to recognise potential turbo overboost," says Sinead McAlary, Ford spokeswoman. "There's a containment action in the field, so anyone who has reported it and taken their car to a dealer should have had the fix in place already." She says the fix has been available for several weeks and was rectified on the the production line this week. "There is a fix there for it ... [any XR6 Turbo owners that still have the problem] should contact the Ford Customer Relationship Centre [on 133 673]. If they're not getting good enough service from their dealer we can put them on to another dealer, because there is a fix there and there should be no reason why they're not getting the issue resolved."
Would the owner buy another Ford, or recommend one to friends? "I would,
but I would never let the software be reinstalled again."
|
|
|
|
