Ford Australia has issued a recall for 2804 units of the EcoSport SUV to rectify a faulty wiring issue with the curtain airbags, seatbelt pre-tensioners and side impact sensors.
It is a known fact that every 1 out of 5 Ford EcoSports produced in India was meant to be exported overseas. Ford India exports a lot of vehicles to Australia and with the recent trend of every manufacturer recalling their vehicles to solve issues, Ford too is not far behind. Ford Australia has issued a recall for 2804 units of the EcoSport compact SUV and these units have been manufactured in India. The units have been produced between 15th June 2013 to 26th August 2014.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has stated that the recall is for a faulty wiring issue. The seatbelt pre-tensioners, curtain airbags and side impact sensors have been wrongly configured in the vehicle’s wiring harness and this could lead to major problems in the event of an unfortunate crash. Ford Australia has contacted customers of the vehicle and asked them to report to the nearest Ford service centre where the issue will be rectified free of cost. Ford offers side airbags on the Titanium (O) variant of the EcoSport in India.
Apart from this, Ford has also extended warranties on 50,000 units of the EcoSport, Fiesta and Focus models (to 5-years). The 6-speed DCT that comes equipped on these vehicles is likely to suffer from excessive shudder during light acceleration. According to Ford, this issue may be occurred by a fluid contamination of the clutch due to leaking transmission seals. The company offers the same automatic gearbox on the Indian EcoSport as well.
Since these vehicles have been manufactured in India, there is a high chance of some units in the Indian market with the same issue too. Ford should try to get to the root of the issue and check whether the vehicles sold in India too need a similar recall. The Ford EcoSport is sold in India priced between Rs. 6.46-9.71 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi) and it comes with three engine options – 1.5-litre petrol, 1.5-litre TDCI diesel and 1.0-litre turbocharged EcoBoost petrol engine.
