Ford India had launched the updated EcoSport back in November 2017. Along with a facelift, the compact SUV was also given a new petrol 1.5 liter 3 cylinder engine. This engine replaced the older petrol engine from the line-up. It was more powerful, and fuel efficient.
It is this engine which has been affected by the latest recall. A total of 7,429 EcoSport SUVs which were manufactured in the period from Nov 2017 to March 2018 have been recalled by the company.
The issue is with the petrol engine’s Powertrain Control Module (PCM) software, which needs to be updated. Owners of the affected cars will be notified, or can get in touch with a local dealer for the update.
Once the update is patched, it will eliminate issues of sudden deceleration and battery drainage which were notified by EcoSport owners. Many owners have posted video on YouTube detailing the issue of starting and acceleration dropping.
One of the owners – Mr Praveen Kumar Agrawal says, “While car is on the running mode sometimes engine shuts off in middle of the road mostly on the 1st and 2nd gear, and when I try to restart the engine it will not switch on immediately when press START BUTTON even though ignition is on. I have made the video of this issue, which you can see here.”
“I have shown this issue to ELITE FORD BANGALORE service center couple of times, but they are not accepting this as an issue at all. I spoke to Service Manager in Elite Ford Bangalore and he refused to accept this as issue. According to his comments this is working as per the expected and this is how it’s programmed, ignition needs to switched off and switch it on every time and then start the engine. Tell me guys who will do all this drama in middle of the road. First switch off the ignition, then start the ignition and then start the engine. I drove other cars as well and I don’t think so this is right.”
“I am very scared to drive this vehicle with my family with such type of issue. If it will switch off in middle of the road and will not start immediately then it more prone to accidents. And Please don’t think Ford India will help you on this issue. They will not even listen to you, not even reply to your mail.” – adds Mr Agrawal.
In spite of updating the car’s design and engine, Ford did not manage to increases sales of EcoSport in India. This is largely due to launch of rivals like Tata Nexon and Maruti Brezza. Both, Brezza and Nexon have managed to overtake EcoSport in terms of sales. EcoSport sales averages at about 4,000 units a month.
Ford EcoSport is also the most expensive car in the segment. It is priced from Rs 7.82 lakhs to Rs 11.89 lakhs, ex-showroom Delhi. In comparison, Nexon is priced from Rs 6.29 lakhs to Rs 10.7 lakhs, while Brezza (only diesel), is priced from Rs 7.73 lakhs to Rs 10.58 lakhs.
