Rust looking dirt under the car

Hi Bros,

This was my email to Ford malaysia through [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], i hope they will get back to me, other owners with similar problem please log a complaint as well as, as with more people, they will do something about it faster.


Hi Ford Malaysia,

Recently I have filed a warranty claim for the drive shaft of my Ford Fiesta. There are signs of rust formation on the drive shaft as well as parts nearby. The warranty claims was rejected and i wasn't given a reason of why it was rejected.

Firstly, why would there be rust forming on my 3 week old car? Apparently the person from the service center told me it is not a factory defect. So why would it rust? The paint? The anti-rust spray? The conditions the cars are kept while being registering the car? The fiesta, as I know is transported from Thailand to Malaysia by sea. The method you maintain and keep the vehicle while it is being transported may have something to do with the rust. Please do explain why a brand new car would have rust on them. I'm sure Ford has a quality control and a quality assurance for a reason. Why is the car delivered with such problem at hand? Please check on your quality control team and your products.

As everyone knows, rust is dangerous and hazardous; rust will eat into the metal in time and weaken the drive shaft. In case of an emergency, such as an emergency brake maneuver, one side of the drive shaft would be moving and the other side stationary due to the emergency brake. Would the torsional load of the driving end to the stationary end be high enough to shear the drive shaft? Will this still be safe on the road? If you say this is safe, would u guarantee my safety while driving the car? Would you want an accident to occur before any replacement is made?

Is Ford Malaysia waiting for the warranty period to be over, so that the suckers who buy the Ford Fiesta have to replace all the rusted parts with their own hard earned money? Rusts are like cancer, they spread. For a company like Ford, I would assume the build quality and quality of the cars produce would surpass the local made cars but i was wrong. It’s all the same. I am pretty fed up with the amount of time and effort I have spent on the problems caused now or in the future. There are other issues with the car such as the knocking sound from the steering wheel but I am not as concerned as the drive shaft. I do not wish to take time from my work to fix all the problems this car will create in the future. Please check on the post sales problems the customers are having and do rectify it.

I really hope I don’t regret putting my hopes in Ford in fulfilling their promises with the warranties and services. Ford Malaysia should be solely responsible for the quality check, quality assurance, delivery and warranties of the vehicle. The customer should not be responsible for the negligence or the lack of quality checks and assurance by Ford. I'm not the only disgruntled customer who is seeking my right to obtain a reliable and quality assured vehicle, not car with rust. I have spoken to some of my friends, colleagues, workshop owners and even families about the rust issue and ALL of them are appalled by it. They do not believe rust will appear on a car just one week after collecting.

If u do not wish to replace the drive shaft of all the affected cars please do something about it, repaint, reinforce or do what is necessary, it’s ugly, unsafe and unfair to your customers.

I will be waiting for your call or feedback on this complains. If you need to further clarify to me about the warranty claim and why it is not claimable, please provide a number I could call or call me and discuss this matter. I am just practicing my consumer rights. If this complain is neglected or ignored, I will have to go to the higher authority. I hope I don’t have to resolve to that. So much for “Feel the difference”, I do feel very different with the service, warranty and reliability of this car.

Thanks,

Melvin Goh
0173884012

dear all
i also fired them a email last nite after they has replied me on Ford Malaysia on facebook. And, i was not positive on their feedback about our request. Hence, I suggested that all the Fofi having this issue united together and pressure to them on our consumer rights with below action plans
1) raise our complaint to Pusat Khidmat Aduan Pengguna Nasional
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
2) public our issue to Press-media like Star, sinchew, Utusan
3) submit ticket to Ford Inc, USA

Please feedback.

p/s: for those having this issue, pls spent 5min and fire a email to [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] with Melvin template.

TQ

Rgds,jas

dear all,
just received their email replied ,,below is the email content :-
"I will direct this email to the relevant department. Will keep you posted."

didnt mentioned which dept, and when feedback to me,,,,,!!!

TQ

Melvin, tqvm for ur info !!!

hi Melvin
any update on your issue , pls shared with us ?

btw, has sent email to pauline but yet received any call from Ford !!!

TQ
nosaj

Hi Nosaj08,

I just got off the phone with a guy from sime darby autoconnexion. He said surface rust is normal for under the chasis but for customer satisfaction wise, they will brush off the rust and repaint it matte black when I send for my first service. But I asked him if it will throw off the balance of the drive shaft and he said no. I don't mind them just repainting it. Its better than rust. Hope u get your call soon bro.

Next problem to tackle is the knocking sound from the steering wheel at low speeds. Anyone has found a solution or a reason why?

hi Melvin
congra 2 u , at last Ford look into the issue after knocking so hard on their door !!!
And,, pls describe more detail about 'knocking sound' scenario

btw, u r getting 1 car key only OR 2 car key(include spare key) when u getting ur new car ???

Yeah hope the rest gets it sorted as well. You kinda need to knock hard on their door, they are kinda deaf and oblivious. The knocking sound is basically when i drive slow and i turn my steering, there is some 'tak-tak' sound from the steering column which some other members have it as well. It becomes loud especially when i park and reverse. Do u experience the same problem? Trying to sort this problem out

And i got 1 key with the remote and 1 spare key, why bro? did u just get 1?

KNS,,,still not yet received any call from Ford after email sent to Pauline.

Melvin: same as u - 1key with remote, 1 key without.
nope, i dont has such 'tak tak' sound from sterling but only intermitten 'cla cla' sound during low gear speed from engine ,,i think so !!

btw, mr.melvin mind to share the contact person info who call u on the rusty issue ....think of personally call them instead. !!!

TQ
nosaj

Hi Nosaj08,

Did u sound nice on the email? Cause i wrote a long . grandmother story email and i sounded pissed. lol maybe that caught their attention. Well this is Pauline's telephone number. Give her a ring and see what is happening with your complaint. 03-77181216 im sure she will help u.

I think the noise from the steering is getting worst. Most prob i need to go SDAC to check.

Hope u get your problems settled soon.

hi melvin
will do do,,,thanks for the advise !!!

rgd,nosaj

I went to the Penang show room to look at the drive shaft of fiestas - all are rusty including ford focus. Thanks bros for the warning - I will make sure they fix the issue before I get my new car. They really ought to take your feedback seriously and make sure all new cars do not have this problem. It is a real shame, I went to my 9 year old camry to check the shaft and there was no rust.

melvin.goh wrote:Hi Nosaj08,

Did u sound nice on the email? Cause i wrote a long . grandmother story email and i sounded pissed. lol maybe that caught their attention. Well this is Pauline's telephone number. Give her a ring and see what is happening with your complaint. 03-77181216 im sure she will help u.

I think the noise from the steering is getting worst. Most prob i need to go SDAC to check.

Hope u get your problems settled soon.

i oso got the same problem wit my steering rack and went to SDAC for checking. mine got rattling sound when i maneuver left or right at low speed especially when i park my car...the problem seemed to not effect my level of maneuvering as i still can turn ledt or right easily or even make u -turn at tight space...the SDAC had tried to overcome the problem by adjusting the steering rack but it only last for 2 months...at last they took video of the problem and send it to the headquarters for warranty claim. they said i will get a new steering rack under ford warranty but i have to wait for the stock to arrive from thailand. now, its been a almost a month after the video been taken and send and still no news about it.. i've been living with this problem for almost 6 months now... hope there will be a light at the end of the tunnel coz i really lov my fofi.....

I having the same problem... Did u get got ur warranty?

I think im having the same problem too....started to have this rattling sound when i maneuver the steering till the last end whether left/right... I should check with the SDAC. Does this due to the rust?

I have check with few SC, as I've own Ford before...
That shaft is not coated during production, anyway for Prevention Better Than Cure, the simple solution is coated the drive shaft bar with paint..

You can either DIY or ask SC to do for you which take 2 days for completion

So anyone have send to PJ SDAC for the repaint works?

I got minor rust so I sprayed clear coat on it. I hope it can last. U all need to paint or spray ur power steering too. U may get rust too. Bcoz I seen that on the other owner.

Yup, I agreed... I sparay claer on the sunny day then hide under my house for less dirt enviroment.. Make it on Sunday

i malas wanna spray spray, so i just apply a very thin layer of heavy grease... LOL

apply grease also good idea jz need 2 touch up quarterly maybe

alamak, if like this need to check my ride too...scary issue

Initially i thought the rust is some kind of defect, but after seeing another different brand new car of mine also having the same thing.

I would assume that it is normal to have rust on the shaft