WS Fiesta- leaking!

brydie76 · 08-07-2012, 03:24 PM

Firstly, please no Ford dealer/company bashing, I have read it all before and am choosing to approach this with an open mind and not judge the dealership/Ford itself beforehand. I will give them every chance to do right with this, but am also prepared to take further action if needed- I am not silly!

So, long story short- my little Fiesta is flooded! Was getting into the back of it last night, and the drivers side back footwell is a puddle! Pics don't really show it (will post some later), but you press on the carpet and a little puddle of water forms around your finger (also very wet to the touch). Had a look this morning and it turns out the front drivers section is also wet, except it hasn't seeped through to the carpet yet (lifted up a flap of carpet and the insulation underneath is drenched). Needless to say, I am devastated!

Called the dealer service centre today, their after hours number is out of service and the other went to voicemail. Taking it in very early tomorrow morning so they can see it before it starts drying out (doubt it though, it's a flood in there essentially!). Think the problem has been there for a while now, car has been fogging up at the drop of a hat over the last couple of months, but there wasn't enough water there yet to get through the carpet (and as such be diagnosed without ripping it all apart).

I am mainly posting this as a record of my first observation of the issue (within 12 months of purchase), however was just wondering if anybody else had experienced this? I noticed that a few people in the UK have posted about the same issue, and it turned out to be a lack of sealant or something in the A-pillar. Took a look this morning, and there does appear to be a couple of gaps that don't have sealant where there is on the other side (again, will post pics soon). Either way, there looks to be a LOT of work to do- carpet and insulation is beyond saving, already has that slightly "damp" smell to it (only when you touch it/get really close) and I want it fully replaced (along with my floor mats- they are gone too it seems!)

Thanks guys!

GoesLikeAZetec · 08-07-2012, 04:30 PM

make sure you take heaps of photo's.... and write down every call you've made to the dealer, who you spoke too, what time etc..

this all helps when it comes time to show the ombudsman in the next week or two...

vhcbm · 08-07-2012, 06:26 PM

That is devastating. Luckily it's under warranty so you can be a little at ease when it comes to costs. Make sure they give you a free loan car as well assuming you use yours for work etc.

If you do have issues with your dealer let me know I might be able to put you onto another one who can help (in sydney though). All the best!

brydie76 · 08-07-2012, 08:04 PM

Ok, pictures as promised-

Picture of rear footwell when I noticed it last night. Obscure, but the shiny stuff is the water

Picture of the front insulation stuff, me pressing down on it. You can see the water somewhat with me pressing on it (apologies for the fuzzy pics and the yucky front footwell. Was going to clean it today, the photography is a lost cause)

Finally, some pics of the A pillar for comparison-

Drivers side. Can see slight gap in curvy section right in the middle of the pic.

Passengers side. Same curvy bit has insulation. My dad picked this out right away, not sure if it is the direct cause though

Drivers side again. Can see the sealant-y stuff just stops, with the flap in the middle of the pic not being sealed (has a slight gap, the angle of the pic doesn't allow for seeing it very well sorry!)

Passenger's side for comparison. Again, it appears to be sealed.

Apologies for all the pics, just want to keep a record (as I mentioned) and also see if anybody more knowledgeable than me can confirm our suspicions re the sections highlighted.

greenfoam · 08-07-2012, 09:24 PM

I had a reasonably bad leak in my VP Commodore for years before I found out it was a tiny crack in the floor through which water was being pushed in from the front wheel, it probably happened one day when it fell off a jack. Just something to remember that sometimes you have to think outside the box to find a leak

brydie76 · 09-07-2012, 01:59 PM

Update-

Took car into service centre at 7:15 this morning, they were really good about it. Not sure if they can water test it today, but hopefully at worst they will get to it tomorrow. Also not sure if they are going to replace carpets or just try drying it all out and decontaminating it, hoping for the former- as I've said, the problem evidently has been around for a while, so I think a lot has been in contact with water for a while now (think it will be up to the warranty manager to decide by the sounds of it, should know today or tomorrow what they plan to do). Couldn't get a courtesy car either, which is a major issue, but at least for today I am ok. Can only hope they have one soon- mentioned the car could be in for up to 2 weeks!!!

Hopefully can update this afternoon/evening once the service guys call me. Glad I've got it in, I could barely drive it this morning with all the fogging up- it has become a real issue since the last lot of rain obviously!!!

Feathers · 09-07-2012, 02:17 PM

Read about your problem on the FG forums, hope you can get it all sorted out quickly and to your satisfaction.

Yellow_Festiva · 09-07-2012, 02:44 PM

My Focus took 3 visits to find a leak in the hatch area... Turns out water was getting in from the right hinge recess.

Hope it is fixed the first time properly... going back and forth for the same thing is a waste...

Fez WQ · 13-07-2012, 12:05 AM

Had a mitsibusihi sigma that leaked from new , but that was normal back then. The boot would almost fill up the floor level if I left it in the rain for a few days

brydie76 · 13-07-2012, 11:38 PM

Update time- there is a Fiesta in my driveway!!!

... except it's not mine. At least I have a loan car for this weekend, that has been a major hassle all week (but the service centre has been trying to get me something, and hopefully I can hold onto it for a bit longer).

As far as my Fiesta goes, saw it and nearly cried. It is in PIECES. As in, headlight out, front right panels off, interior stripped. Very sad to see her like that : (. Service centre manager says they have sealed one leak, but looks like there is another, maybe more. Took them 2 days to find them- called the car a major hassle, poor thing!!! One thing though, he has said he is going to keep it there until he is sure he got all of them sealed properly- I am grateful for that. 2 weeks is beginning to looks like an optimistic estimate though...

Yellow_Festiva · 14-07-2012, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brydie76

Update time- there is a Fiesta in my driveway!!!

... except it's not mine. At least I have a loan car for this weekend, that has been a major hassle all week (but the service centre has been trying to get me something, and hopefully I can hold onto it for a bit longer).

As far as my Fiesta goes, saw it and nearly cried. It is in PIECES. As in, headlight out, front right panels off, interior stripped. Very sad to see her like that : (. Service centre manager says they have sealed one leak, but looks like there is another, maybe more. Took them 2 days to find them- called the car a major hassle, poor thing!!! One thing though, he has said he is going to keep it there until he is sure he got all of them sealed properly- I am grateful for that. 2 weeks is beginning to looks like an optimistic estimate though...

Good news.... hopefully they put the bits back together correctly ;)

Caydus · 14-07-2012, 07:03 PM

Im glad it's all working out well there. The dealership isn't faffing about and is really putting down the man hours to get it fixed for you.

Good luck with it!

Although you know there's always going to be bits left over...

GoesLikeAZetec · 14-07-2012, 07:45 PM

good to see they are doing the right thing...

dont let them take the loan car off you....

robjh80 · 15-07-2012, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brydie76

One thing though, he has said he is going to keep it there until he is sure he got all of them sealed properly- I am grateful for that. 2 weeks is beginning to looks like an optimistic estimate though...

We have all been guilty of dealer bashing at one time or another ... sometimes warranted and sometimes perhaps not so much ... but this is the sort of service that people want, expect and more importantly deserve from big car dealerships when something goes wrong.

Big thumbs up to the dealership that is helping you with this issue! ...

Perhaps a bit of naming and "praising" might be in order.

brydie76 · 15-07-2012, 07:25 PM

Thanks all! Few answers-

- these guys have a body shop too, so they may send it there to be chucked back together. Not sure though...

- have to give back the car on Monday if they want it back (this is one of the loan cars for when people get their car serviced), but the service manager is going to keep an eye out and if there are any cancellations, shuffle cars around so I can keep this one longer. Could be annoying having it day by day though, but a temp car is better than no car- actually got out of the house for something other than work yesterday and today!!!!

- will definitely name and praise the dealer, but only at the end once I am satisfied with the outcome (not pre-empting anything yet!!!). If they continue to do well by me, I will definitely take it back there for servicing and such too. Will also write to Ford and the dealership letting them know how happy I am too. So some incentives there for the dealer!!!!! : )

brydie76 · 16-07-2012, 11:05 PM

Today's update- car has been sent to body works department to be pulled apart even more, service guys water tested it again today after sealing some more leaks but can't get to the one/s that are left. It's pretty depressing to hear, but I'm glad they are being so thorough- I can't imagine what the repair bill would be up to at this point!

Still have the loan car too, which is awesome. Have it on a day to day basis at this point, which is a bit of an inconvenience to chase up and organise contingency plans each day, but still better than no car. Hoping that they eventually just say to keep the loan car until my car is fixed soon, especially if I don't get Fezza back by the end of this week- am working in Sydney next week, and not having a car will be a bit of an inconvenience there!!! : (

greenfoam · 17-07-2012, 12:15 PM

Sounds like the man sealing the panels on the line fell asleep the day yours went down the assembly line.

GoesLikeAZetec · 17-07-2012, 12:42 PM

As long as they follow through to the end to fix the problem, they'll be the only dealer to get a thumbs up in here for ages..

brydie76 · 17-07-2012, 09:01 PM

Well, the car is a Friday build!!!

Had to give the loaner back today, but a temp car was better than no car. They are hoping to get her back to me tomorrow/Thursday, the panel shop has sealed a body seam today and they think that will do it. From there they just have to check it again and re-do the interior with the new carpets and that. Could have my baby back soon!!!

Dealer is still being great so far, another apology for the time it has taken and thanks for my patience. Honestly, I don't care how long it takes, they obviously want to get the problem done 100% (can see why- finding leaks and pulling apart the car sounds like a real nightmare!!!). It has been good dealing with the one service manager too, but it seems like everybody there is pretty cluey- one asked the other how "Brydie's Blue Fiesta" was going, and they knew who in the panel shop was working on it, what had been done and what they were doing once they got it back. Hope these are the guys who do services- I will know them all by the end of it!!

brydie76 · 19-07-2012, 11:14 PM

Today's update-

Picked the car up at 5pm today- as promised, everything has been replaced, save the floor mats (which I am fine with, they are the premium ones they don't sell any more so I will get them professionally cleaned myself). Got home however, and found this (certain I did not do it either!!!)-

Understandably I'm pretty upset, but again I'm going to keep an open mind. And I'm going in first thing tomorrow so it is identified ASAP. As far as when I get it fixed, not sure, I am so busy at the moment not having my car again isn't really an option. Will try and get them to book it in at a time when I can get a loan car (not at my expense hopefully!)

I think this will be the defining thing that will cement their reputation in my mind. I accept that mistakes are made by everybody, so I'm not upset by that. It is pretty obvious, so I am a bit annoyed it wasn't identified before I did, but if they are more than willing to fix it, I am happy to forget that, and continue with my plans to name and praise, write the letters, etc. Again, I am not a little pushover however, so if I am not satisfied with the outcome, I will not be sitting idly.

Just some more stress I didn't need!!! : (

EDIT- will note that i rang the service department and spoke to somebody (recorded their name) at 6:50pm tonight, and they said I could bring it in tomorrow morning. So I have made sure they knew about it ASAP.

And apart from that, the car is great so far. I was so happy to get her back!!!! She has a bit of tape over one of the little triangular windows at the front at the moment, so she looks all bandaged up- getting a lot of funny stares!!!

brydie76 · 20-07-2012, 09:13 AM

Sorry for all the posts, but another update-

Took it in this morning, they are going to repair the bumper- can get a mobile repairer to do it at the service centre. Service manager wasn't happy about it (the scratch being done by one of his staff), so he is going to try and see when it happened and get back to me. Pretty happy with that, hopefully can get her patched up soon!

Few other little bits and pieces I am noticing too (some show marks, the gear knob was a bit loose at first), but they are either things I don't really need to argue or I'm not going to. I was expecting something to happen to it, so little things like the scuff marks I'm going to let slide- for all I know, they could have been there for months!!! : (

Fiesta_Man69 · 18-08-2012, 09:35 PM

A few things:
Sorry to hear of your predicament..
You do realise you now need to check for rust every few months for the rest of your Fiesta ownership. I should know: after the initial repair for rust I've had more rust removed on two occasions. Once on the car it's hard to ever get rid of.
With the damage your car received while being repaired.....
Yes, accidents happen (tho how were they treating your car for that damage to happen in the first place?) We all know that. But what is truly concerning is that after it happened you weren't told: how could the dealership have the gall simply to pretend it didn't happen and hope you wouldn't notice it? I think that they didn't tell you when you went to pick the car up says alot.
Sure they'll fix it now (but it will be noticeble in some lights, unfortunately all patch ups are to some extent and I doubt Fords going to respray your fairly new car), but you should have been told, and would have been by a decent and honest dealer.

AU_Steve · 24-10-2012, 10:19 AM

Hi, haven't been on the forums for a while but just saw your post. Hope everything got sorted out OK.

I too have a WS Fiesta that more resembled the boat it came out in other then the great little car it is. I had the rear passenger side floor well fill up with water. First I thought that the kids left the rear window open a little (a usual thing) or one of their sports drink bottles had leaked. After a few nights of rain, as my car lives outside, the puddle was now more of a lake.

My dealer in Canberra was great. He checked over the car and found that the problem was a seam that was not sealed properly in the front firewall. He said that with the angle the car was parked on (I have a really steep driveway) the water would have pooled, seeped in and then tracked its way back into the rear floor well. I have since found out this was also an issue in some earlier model Fiesta's as well.

After a week in the shop having the carpet replaced, everything dried out and put back together, all is now great again. As with everything in this world, sometimes it is not the most likely places that you need to look in to find the solutions to your problems.

brydie76 · 30-01-2013, 03:06 PM

Update.

Car is now leaking into the boot/back cargo area it seems. After the heavy rain on the weekend I went out to my car and found the rubber mat with quite a bit of water in it, as well as the underside of the mat and carpet damp and a couple of small (less than 5 cent piece, but still there) spots of water in the spare wheel well. The car is back at the dealer.

At this point I have no confidence in my car, and would not be surprised at all if it has been damaged previously prior to me buying it/has had some other issue repaired that I am unaware of that is linked to these issues. I will be contacting Ford (and if applicable Fair Trading), as again I am begging for lifts, having leave work early, chase the dealer up to do anything/call me/help me out in any way and generally dealing with a lot more stress than I need. This is not what I would expect from any car, let alone a fairly new one. Very upset about my Ford experience being ruined : (

Pursya · 30-01-2013, 08:18 PM

You've unfortunately got a lemon.
No more stuffing around, you need to go to fair trading. And I would advise you seek a solicitors advice. The first consultation should be free.
While most of us don't have a problem with our cars, there is little doubt that yours has major problems that make it unfit for its purpose. That's against the law and you should have legal options.
I would ask the solicitor, and fair trading, if they could approach Ford with the offer of them replacing your vehicle with one of the same model with similar kilometres. This should be more palatable to them than stumping up a refund or a new replacement.
Pity we don't have the US of A's lemon laws.
Good luck.

Spinner77 · 31-01-2013, 01:01 PM

I think you will find that Fair Trading will want you to go to Ford first, not just the dealer.

If you have not done so, phone Ford and get the complaints dept. Extract an email address for the person you speak to. This may not be easy, since they prefer to do it orally.

But you need a paper trail. Stage a tantrum if given the run-around.

brydie76 · 31-01-2013, 02:08 PM

Nope, Ford are not having anything to do with this as my contract was between the dealer and myself. Called the customer service centre, and noted they said this in my enquiry to Fair Trading. Aiming to go to the dealer ASAP. Feel a bit sorry for them, as they are being fairly good about this. Hopefully they can get cash or something back from Ford if I do get what I want.

But is there a seperate complaints dept at Ford apart from the 13 FORD number? Details if so please!

Spinner77 · 31-01-2013, 04:43 PM

Apologies if this is a duplicate, but I got a 404 when last I tried to send it.

Apart from 13 FORD, I see from the company's website that Ford's customer relationship centre has an email address:

customers@fordcrc.com.au.

Franco Cozzo · 31-01-2013, 08:22 PM

This is what ***** me about Ford is that dealers will make your life hard, same thing happened to the guy with the rust in his WS.

It could be the way cars are put together these days, we noticed recently that our Mercedes Sprinters we work on are pretty much spot welded and sealed up with some sort of sealant, thats it, thats how the car is put together.

We've busted the welds and split open the sealant when we've been walking on the roof to fit all the flashing lights to them etc, and the car then leaks water into it.

brydie76 · 31-01-2013, 10:15 PM

Got the car back, part of the rubber at the back had pulled away and the sealant had broke a bit. Fortunately an easy fix for this one hopefully, they did say they tested it thoroughly afterwards.

At this point don't believe I will take any further action, obviously if I have another issue I will be seeking a remedy to begin with. My issue here is not at all with the dealer- they well and truly recognise the issues here and are working with me quite well now to ensure that the car stays fixed- I now deal only with the service manager for all work, and he is very good. I think he understands too that if anything else happens to the car, it will be high time for a replacement/buy back. I am pretty frustrated that I will have to pursue them if I do go that route, but hopefully they can go after Ford for any loss they incur- these issues are not their fault and so far they have been very good with helping me out (especially second time around!)

So long story short, I will likely not buy a Ford again (still a fan of the brand in racing though), but would buy from the dealer again. Ford also just lost themselves a potential customer- one of my coworkers was going to get a Fiesta based on how much I loved mine, but now after this week they arelooking elsewhere. Even though I still praised the car for features and such, these sorts of issues with a "go to the dealer" only attitude (be that legally correct or not) from the manufacturer scares people off. Did recommend the dealer though!!!!