Ford 'de-tuning' while servicing?

[myles]

An article from 'The Sunday Telegraph' motoring section on 24 April, 2005, reports Ford XR6 Turbo owners are victims of a 'sneaky recall' that is recalibrating owners' cars with less power while in for servicing.

Access article by clicking here (http://www.fordxr6turbo.com/forum/index.php?act=Attach&type=post&id=12797)

From this latest thread (http://www.fordxr6turbo.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=17171&st=0)

Original 'where's the power gone?' thread here (http://www.fordxr6turbo.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=16714)

[OLS108]

Thats Just plain WRONG :mad:, we all know they need all the power they can get. :lol:

[plonkerchops]

tis funny cos if you read the MOTOR magazine comparo even they state that the XR6T was a little off colour in comparison to the test that theyd done before.................. :confused:

[crisso]

I just got rid of mine, 500kms shy of its 45K service, so can't comment from my own experience. I can however report several members over on the T forum have reported this to be the case, WTF???!!!

crisso

[pagey]

perhaps the better question to ask the Ford reps would have been if there would be any variation in advertised power AND/OR performance after their "improvements".

IF this story is on the money & by all reports it is.. I don't think you could get much lower than that - advertising performance figures etc.. then reverting to a safer/warranty friendly tune that reduces the original performance of the vehicle at your 1st service... Shame on you FMC :limpy:

[M&Ms]

It can all be fixed with a tune :cool:

[clixanup]

It's times like these, I'm glad I bought a Holden.

:lol:

[pagey]

It can all be fixed with a tune :cool:

Far from the point...

[Chris52]

Definite way to piss off customers. By the way ,whats to stop Holden from doing it?

Cheers

Chris.

[cosmo vyss]

An article from 'The Sunday Telegraph' motoring section on 24 April, 2005, reports Ford XR6 Turbo owners are victims of a 'sneaky recall' that is recalibrating owners' cars with less power while in for servicing.

Access article by clicking here (http://www.fordxr6turbo.com/forum/index.php?act=Attach&type=post&id=12797)

From this latest thread (http://www.fordxr6turbo.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=17171&st=0)

Original 'where's the power gone?' thread here (http://www.fordxr6turbo.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=16714)

I was e-mailed a picture of this car parked outside aford dealership a while ago and i originally thought it was a photochop jobie. now seeing it in sundays paper it only validates what i had seen earlier. We ls1 ppl cannot throw rocks either there was a story not so long ago about a munro or gts that had the same sort of fate. It is dissapointing to say the least.
jb

[myles]

Cosmo, the guy with that ford does exist and posts on their forum.

You're right, it's nothing to laugh at, could happen to either brand.

[GUN V8]

This is the story. Ford Has a new program which is currently being uploaded to xr6t's which have not got the program. It reflashs the whole computer. For those that dont give their xr's a hard time, they wont notice the difference, however for those that do, they will cause the flash resets the memory as well. which means that the car will take some time of (the hero driving it) to go into frenzy mode. Whenever i get a new xr6 turbo, i get the flash done after 3000km service.

[SV99]

that is just rude plain and simple.

My next car is going to be a commodore after getting ****ed around by a ford dealer in Parramatta. :mad:

[Patrick]

Gee, if I was a XR6T owner, I'd feel duped and very pissed off !!!

Really, there's nothing quite like a V8 :booty:

[HRT Stroker]

one wonders if this is related to the Typhoon / clutch issue??

[fatas]

get you in take your money then piss you off seems like both brands are good at this. :(

[Ghia351]

one wonders if this is related to the Typhoon / clutch issue??
Not the same clutch to start with so not really. And the cause for the delay in solving the F6 problem was due to the fact that absolutely thrashing the gearbox was not the cause of the failure but rather a harmonic from the engine resulting in a small component failure as described in a Muscle Car magazine article referred to by Smitty a while back. The harmonic was discovered by Prodrive in the UK and as the cause was not due to gearbox abuse or failure under high torque loads discovering the problem and finding a solution took frustratingly very long.

[zRoYz]

get you in take your money then piss you off seems like both brands are good at this. :(

spot on, once they have your money they don't really give a rats & would rather sweep things under the carpet like kids cleaning up.

i have always had holdens & only 1 ford which is a XR6 AUII ute (bought due to cab space) & i've had more problems with the ford than any car i've ever owned so i'll never buy another ford again.
problems:
when new it beeped for some reason ford didn't know why until i discovered it stoped with a full washer bottle (it was low level alarm).
have had 2 front end smashes due to shit ABS & both times no air bag deployed.
power windows are just useless, they stick & you have to pull up manually.
computer died & took 7 days to fix due to dumb smart sheild security.
6 stack cd is just useless.

on the other hand all my holdens have been fine with just minor faults here & there & my 04 Monaro hasn't had any faults.

[Chris52]

spot on, once they have your money they don't really give a rats & would rather sweep things under the carpet like kids cleaning up.

i have always had holdens & only 1 ford which is a XR6 AUII ute (bought due to cab space) & i've had more problems with the ford than any car i've ever owned so i'll never buy another ford again.
problems:
when new it beeped for some reason ford didn't know why until i discovered it stoped with a full washer bottle (it was low level alarm).
have had 2 front end smashes due to shit ABS & both times no air bag deployed.
power windows are just useless, they stick & you have to pull up manually.
computer died & took 7 days to fix due to dumb smart sheild security.
6 stack cd is just useless.

on the other hand all my holdens have been fine with just minor faults here & there & my 04 Monaro hasn't had any faults.

Trade the ford ute on a Crewman - really big space cab with the right badge. :lol:

Cheers

Chris.

[BlueVZSS]

From reading through the threads I suspect that the flash of the PCM doesn't actually affect performance unless the owner is running a piggyback chip. It seems that the majority of affected users are in this category with some paranoid "me too" types thrown in.

I must say however that the sudden improvement in the 0-400M performance times achieved by Motor for the GT etc are interesting, particularly when the Holden and HSV recorded times went backwards. Either Ford are improving performance via PCM software upgrades or the conditions favoured Ford more than Holden, something that I find unlikely.

[Chris52]

From reading through the threads I suspect that the flash of the PCM doesn't actually affect performance unless the owner is running a piggyback chip. It seems that the majority of affected users are in this category with some paranoid "me too" types thrown in.

I must say however that the sudden improvement in the 0-400M performance times achieved by Motor for the GT etc are interesting, particularly when the Holden and HSV recorded times went backwards. Either Ford are improving performance via PCM software upgrades or the conditions favoured Ford more than Holden, something that I find unlikely.


Maybe the GT got a factory edit :rolleyes:

Cheers

Chris.

[Rod]

Definite way to piss off customers. By the way ,whats to stop Holden from doing it?

Cheers

Chris.

admittedly my experience is only with 2 LS1's, but it seems Holden does the opposite since I've noticed the engine seems to be "unleashed" by the 10000k service and feel a whole lot better. Something my wife has commented on both times too, without my saying anything

[Redfox]

i've had more problems with the ford than any car i've ever owned so i'll never buy another ford again.
problems:
when new it beeped for some reason ford didn't know why until i discovered it

How exactly is that a problem? If anything it's a early defect warning system! Ahhh imagine how many less 'empty washer bottle defect' horror stories there would be if other cars had this feature!




have had 2 front end smashes due to shit ABS & both times no air bag deployed.

Hrmmm could be due to shit driver... hehehe no offence tho... I take that back, just being cheeky.

And regarding the airbag not deploying "BOTH TIMES" ummmm that's actually a good thing. If you car survived the first accident and was not severely damaged enough allowing it to be repaired and driven and crashed again, then clearly the airbag shouldn't have gone off the first time. Airbags only deploy in serious impacts which generally end up in writing off the whole car.




power windows are just useless, they stick & you have to pull up manually.


Yeah they are pretty crap. My old ZH LTD had exactly the same problem. Has anyone noticed that on the BA XR6 they have rear wind up windows? Must be because the driver can't reach them to pull up the glass manually! HAHAHA :D

[Venom XR]

Hrmmm could be due to shit driver... hehehe no offence tho... I take that back, just being cheeky.

I suppose both crashes weren't his fault either...

Without being rude either, there are good and bad ways to use ABS brakes. Anyone who has done a half-decent driving course should have been shown that you should modulate your braking, even if you have ABS. If you are flat to the floor, the hammering of the ABS can actually lengthen your stopping distance, as opposed modulating the brake, reducing the amount and intensity of the hammering and therefore pulling you up better.

Sounds like just another Ford/Holden diehard who bought something from the other side once, and found a tonne of reasons to dislike it. But, yes, I had problems with my electric windows, including having both regulators changed, and the guides greased a few times. Sounds like the worst of your problems though. Thems the 'brakes'. :p

[dasko]

Well at least we know all the ford ads of them getting there photo taking was infact a crime stoppers add. But was a miss run , it should have said you would wanna :box: him to if you knew he was stealing 50rwkw out of your XR6T. Have you robbed by FORD latly :eek:

[Patrick]

tis funny cos if you read the MOTOR magazine comparo even they state that the XR6T was a little off colour in comparison to the test that theyd done before.................. :confused:

I read the article as well and was surprised how poorly the XR6T performed !!!! :confused:

[VX11SS]

I suppose both crashes weren't his fault either...

Without being rude either, there are good and bad ways to use ABS brakes. Anyone who has done a half-decent driving course should have been shown that you should modulate your braking, even if you have ABS. If you are flat to the floor, the hammering of the ABS can actually lengthen your stopping distance, as opposed modulating the brake, reducing the amount and intensity of the hammering and therefore pulling you up better.

Sounds like just another Ford/Holden diehard who bought something from the other side once, and found a tonne of reasons to dislike it. But, yes, I had problems with my electric windows, including having both regulators changed, and the guides greased a few times. Sounds like the worst of your problems though. Thems the 'brakes'. :p
Interesting Venom as there has just been a report out of the States saying people are having more accidents because they are actually modulating/pulsing ABS brakes. Something all car makers have said is that trying to pulse an ABS system is a definate no-no as the system works faster than u can, when you try and override the ABS you are likely to INCREASE your stopping distance
Jay

[Ausmartin1]

I agree, most people do not apply brakes sufficiently.
That why Brake assist is now becoming more popular by car manufactures.

This being said the newest systems by Bosch pulse twice as fast than compared to the VX.
Any ABS is better than none when in the wet and you wish to steer.
The only two places it works against you is
1) Dry Road.
2) Gravel Road - Where wheel lockup helps create a dam of gravel to help yo u stop faster.

It better to have ABS and be able to steer in the wet when it's most needed.

That brings me to another topic .....
4WD that car companies push as having "magical" properties for turning on slippery corners.
Lets say:
No power on / off while taking a slippery corner it does'nt matter if you have 2 or 4WD as it a mater of centrifugal force generated by the vehicle due to it's mass / velocity vs the grip of 4 tyre patches against the road surface.
So unless you have a fantastic rally car setup and professional driver skills to match exactly how does 4WD add any safety? - except taking of at the lights!

[muzza]

There is little doubt that AWD allows cars in track situations to lap faster by being able to get power down more effectively and earlier in/out of corners and still balance the car.

But AWD cars do not magically have more braking ability, better lateral grip or necessarily superior handling/steering despite the best efforts of many companies PR departments to flog the "security" of AWD.

Sure it might be better for the average driver in non-average conditions, but like many 4WD/soft-road drivers the security is all in the mind.

A classic was coming down Mt Buller last year. All 2WD cars had to fit chains, AWD/4WD's were exempt. How many vehicles had slid off the snow covered road?

7

What sort of vehicles were they?

Without exception, they were all 4WD's and soft roaders. :rolleyes:

[Venom XR]

Interesting Venom as there has just been a report out of the States saying people are having more accidents because they are actually modulating/pulsing ABS brakes. Something all car makers have said is that trying to pulse an ABS system is a definate no-no as the system works faster than u can, when you try and override the ABS you are likely to INCREASE your stopping distance
Jay

I wasn't shown to 'pulse' with ABS, but to know roughly where the 'sweet spot' when ABS just kicks in is and trying to brake there every time, as opposed to trying to push the pedal through the floor. With a damp Calder track (to help save our tyres...), there was a noticable increase in the stopping distance when the brake was applied fully, versus aiming for that sweet spot. After several attempts, it was easy to find every go, and is something I try to practise every now again to keep it in the back of my mind should I ever need to stop in a hurry.