Ford EcoSport Delivered With EXPIRED Battery - PDI Gone Wrong!

PDI stands for pre-delivery inspection. This process is performed at various levels before a car is delivered to the customer. Starting from the very first PDI, it is done by the carmaker before the vehicle is dispatched to the dealer. Following this, the dealer conducts one before delivering the car to the customer. Likewise, a customer should also conduct a pre-delivery inspection before accepting the car as the risk of human or machine error is persistent at every level of PDI. However, not every car buyer conducts a PDI at a personal level. Here’s an incident which highlights the importance of the PDI. In this case, a Ford EcoSport owner has been seen seeking advice from social media users after being troubled from an expired battery that his EcoSport came equipped with. 

While it isn’t completely a fault of the carmaker as cars, in general, spend some time at the stockyards and in transit before finding an owner. Therefore at times, the battery or certain parts which have a small shelf life, tend to get past their shelf-life. The case seems to be of a similar kind here. The owner of this Ford EcoSport has mentioned that he got the battery checked with the OEM part supplier’s authorized service centre and they confirmed that it to be expired. 

However, the owner hasn’t mentioned the response that he has got from Ford’s authorized service centre. While this incident doesn’t sound like a deal-breaker in case you are considering buying a Ford car (or any car, for that matter), it does shed light on the importance of a pre-delivery inspection. Furthermore, it also highlights how sheer carelessness from a dealership can affect the user experience, regardless of the car being mechanically sound. 

Talking of the Ford EcoSport, it is the oldest model in the segment but continues to enjoy some fan-following. It is offered with two engine options – 1.5L petrol and 1.5L diesel. The petrol motor here is a 3-cylinder naturally-aspirated unit, and it is capable of producing a peak power output of 122 PS and a max torque of 149 Nm. The oil burner, on the other hand, dishes out a rated power and torque output of 100 PS and 215 Nm, respectively. The gearbox options on the EcoSport include a 5-speed MT and a 6-speed AT. The latter, however, is only available in the petrol variants. Prices of the Ford EcoSport start at Rs. 8.19 lakh and go up to Rs. 11.70 lakh.