Problems with Ford

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RyanNJ

Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2010
Messages
780
Location
Burlington, New Jersey
On 12/2/2010 my dad was driving to work, about a mile from our house the engine in his explorer shut down. He Brought it back to the house (pulled it back) and while trying to diagnose the engine issue the truck lost all power so we had it towed to the dealer. On 12/3/2010 the dealer looks at is and says they solved the electrical problem and after testing the engine it has no compression. But they cant explain why the engine failed with only 52k on it. They also stated the the truck is 12 days out of warranty. Yesterday, the tech at the local dealership said we need to call Ford headquarters about it and gave us a number. We tried calling the number and it was out of service... So we called anther ford dealer and they gave us a working number and person at the customer relations center looked up the truck and said all warranties expired and that there was nothing they could do, and refused to transfer to a supervisor
On 12/14/2010 we had the truck towed to a local auto repair center to have rebuilt engine installed
On12/23/2010 The work was completed and the mechanic called to have us bring a camera
On 12/24/2010 we went to pick up the truck and the mechanic showed us the engine and said vibration dampener bolt that was not torqued which caused the crank key to strip and caused the cam to stop
On 12/28/2010 we called ford again with the mechanics findings and they said "our engineers have determined that all failures should occur within the first 5 years. so we are sorry but there is nothing we can do"

we bought the truck in 2008 with 17,000 miles on it when the failure occurred the engine had ~52,000 miles


Any Suggestions
 
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I had the same type of response from FORD when I took in my wifes Mustang with raised/bubled corrosion from under the paint on the hood. It was obviosly their problem but I didnt notice it till after the warranty ended.:mad::mad::mad:
 
Notify your state DMV, consumer protection, atty general, largest newspaper, local tv station, etc. Need to find a way to get their attention. Squeeky wheel gets the grease.
 
There may be a recall on it and if there is then they will have to pay for it then. PM me the make, year and model and I might be able to find out from my Dad. He is a mechanic by trade.
 
I used to work in a Ford service department. If you had bought it new, you might have been offered some assistance. If you bought it used you're likely SOL. When the economy and car sales went in the crapper, one of the first places they cut (right after warranty labor times) is after warranty assistance. The programs are there, but it's totally at their discretion after the basic warranty period. You bought it used. But, if you got it from a Ford dealer, go to that dealer's service manager and tell him you want an in person meeting with a Ford zone service rep, which he should arrange without argument. If you have your facts and documentation straight, he may offer you some assistance. Good luck.
 
I suggest you start communicating with Ford via email so you have a written record. Be polite and professional and stick to facts. Get a response from them in writing. It is a big repair and most likely the people on the phone are not authorized to approve it anyway.

Many years ago when the air conditioner went out on my Grand Cherokee I emailed Chrysler. Even thogh the warrantly was past by 6 months they agreed to refund me half the cost of the repair. I thought that was very fair.
 
I think there are laws geared for just such a problem called Lemon Laws. May wanna look into it, as you can probably legally do something, barring a window of opportunity that expired or something.
 
The mechanic assumed the Balancer bolt wasn't torqued? Might be true, but there would of been a pretty nice vibration and would of probably came apart long before 52,000 miles. Also if the bolt had come loose the balancer would have just came off. The likely hood of the keyway stripping is very small. The keyway is still held in there by the crankshaft pulley that's connected to the timing chain.

Not trying to ruffle feathers, but Ford will probably have some of these explanations to offer.
 
EBorraga said:
The mechanic assumed the Balancer bolt wasn't torqued? Might be true, but there would of been a pretty nice vibration and would of probably came apart long before 52,000 miles. Also if the bolt had come loose the balancer would have just came off. The likely hood of the keyway stripping is very small. The keyway is still held in there by the crankshaft pulley that's connected to the timing chain.

Not trying to ruffle feathers, but Ford will probably have some of these explanations to offer.
Click to expand...

He said all of the other engines he has worked on he has struggled to get this bolt off and on this engine he took it off by hand it should have been torqued and then 85 degrees according to the specs
 

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Just so you know...

the balancer (vibration dampener) has nothing to do with the cam stopping. The crank pulley is not connected to the timing chain/belt either. If the balancer did come off, it could have sheared the key. It would have been fairly obvious that it came off from the noise, and the accessories (alt., water pump, a/c) becoming in-op. from the belt slinging off. The engine wouldn't have just stopped, it would have overheated or battery went dead, but it would have still ran until that happened.

If the cam had stopped, it would cause some bent valves and pushrods and possibly piston damage. This could explain the loss of compression. No reason to replace the engine.

Without inspection and diognostics of my own, I can't speculate on the problem.
 
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RyanNJ said:
I can not find an email address for ford. I have a well written letter just dont know where to send it
Click to expand...

I usually start with the president of companies I need to get the attention of... they don't like to have complaints from customers come directly to their office... the president, vice president and all major officers of the company are public knowledge and should be on the FORD web site... copy in as many of the officers as you need.. individual letters, addressed directly to the officers... it will get their attention.
 
I would concurr with Chuck. I just saw a special on TV about Ford. It addition, some local news programs sometimes have segments about people getting bad deals. If they think it warrants it they might go to the dealer with a reporter and camera crew. I think trying to get something on the airwaves in conjunction with writing the President with copies to the officers that are in charge of quality, sales, dealer relations, etc. would be a good idea.

The reason the 'big guys' at companies are kept so insulated from the customers is because they have a tendency to want to make bad things 'go away'. Best way to get you to go away is pay for the repairs to the truck or give you a new one.
 
are both of the pics from the bad engine? Sure looks like the keyway is there in both of them.
 
Sorry to hear about your problems. Hope you can come to a reasonsble resolution. On the other side of this I drive a 1996 F-150 that has 225,000+ miles on it. I can't complain about my experience with Ford trucks.
 
Boz said:
Sorry to hear about your problems. Hope you can come to a reasonsble resolution. On the other side of this I drive a 1996 F-150 that has 225,000+ miles on it. I can't complain about my experience with Ford trucks.
Click to expand...

Some of those older Fords just keep on going... I have a 1991 Ranger that I bought from the original owner, a friend of mine from Houston area... he was rear ended a year or so before I bought the truck... the left front fender is crinkled, the left front bumper is bent down, I have a special screwdriver tool I have to use to open the tail gate, the gas gauge hasn't worked since the rear-ender, Not sure if the oil gauge, heat gauge or the battery indicator gauge works, but the truck runs every time I get ready to go... I put about 50,000 miles on it the first 3 years I owned it.. commuting in Houston, since retiring the last 5 1/2 years, I've put only another 15,000 miles on it... I think total mileage is a little over 110K... it's been a good truck.
 
RyanNJ said:
.........
On 12/28/2010 we called ford again with the mechanics findings and they said "our engineers have determined that all failures should occur within the first 5 years. so we are sorry but there is nothing we can do"

we bought the truck in 2008 with 17,000 miles on it when the failure occurred the engine had ~52,000 miles


Any Suggestions
Click to expand...

I would suggest chocking this experience up to buying a used truck then when the warranty goes out, expecting Ford to cover the repair expenses. Also, to consider purchasing an extended warranty on your next vehicle if you plan on owning it beyond the factory warranty period.

Personally I think a 5 year/50,000 mile warranty is pretty decent, do you think they should offer you an extension period to your warranty?
 
mach9 said:
I used to work in a Ford service department. If you had bought it new, you might have been offered some assistance. If you bought it used you're likely SOL. When the economy and car sales went in the crapper, one of the first places they cut (right after warranty labor times) is after warranty assistance. The programs are there, but it's totally at their discretion after the basic warranty period. You bought it used. But, if you got it from a Ford dealer, go to that dealer's service manager and tell him you want an in person meeting with a Ford zone service rep, which he should arrange without argument. If you have your facts and documentation straight, he may offer you some assistance. Good luck.
Click to expand...


This is some good info. Ask for a meeting with the Ford rep and be professional and nice--the worst he can say is no.

John

P.S. I retired from Chevy Dealership and have seen many past warranty repairs bought by the manufacturer.
 
Texatdurango said:
RyanNJ said:
.........
On 12/28/2010 we called ford again with the mechanics findings and they said "our engineers have determined that all failures should occur within the first 5 years. so we are sorry but there is nothing we can do"

we bought the truck in 2008 with 17,000 miles on it when the failure occurred the engine had ~52,000 miles


Any Suggestions
Click to expand...

I would suggest chocking this experience up to buying a used truck then when the warranty goes out, expecting Ford to cover the repair expenses. Also, to consider purchasing an extended warranty on your next vehicle if you plan on owning it beyond the factory warranty period.

Personally I think a 5 year/50,000 mile warranty is pretty decent, do you think they should offer you an extension period to your warranty?
Click to expand...

I dont want to argue because that will get us nowhere but it is a workmanship issue, engineers said it should fail in 5 years or 50k.. the same engineers also said that it should be torqued. Also it sat on there lot so if it was being run during the time between when we bought it and when we traded it in it should have failed. i can not worrying about it if it was minor but catastrophic failure 12 days out of warranty luckily he was on a residential road, 5 minutes later he would have been on the interstate i cringe everytime i think about what would have happened then and how many people would have gotten hurt
 
That's a tough call!
Buying an extended warranty would have been a good thing but 20/20 hind sight is one of those Murphy's Law things.
I have always been a HUGE Mustang fan - hence my screen name.
Sounds like the truck lived up to its "name"
F ound
O n
R oad
D ead
I know bad joke!!!
At least on my 65' if something does happen on the side of the road, usually a crew driver - hammer or pair of pillars can get me back on the road to at least make it home. It's a lot easier to work under the hood of a car when you can just about crawl in and still have enough room to sit down. Lol
I have had several Fords - 5 have been Mustangs and mostly the older versions
Another response I saw about some bad paint on a mustang - I had a 94 coupe that had paint issues and have heard that Ford paint in general is not the best out there.
I would love to buy a matching 2011 GT to my 65 - But these pens seem to take up all my money. I wish someone would have told me in the beginning that buying the Lathe was the cheapest part of this type of woodworking LOL
​
 
I have a 1998 Chevy truck. The transmission went out at 50K, and with only a couple of letters GM paid half on the repair. Explain it all to the area rep, be NICE, hope for the best. And yes, everything that moves breaks, including Ford, Chevy, Dodge, and all the imports. Doesn't matter what you drive, sooner or later it will break. Good luck. I hope they help you.
 
One man's opinion, you have no legal claims against either the dealership or Ford. In your state, there might be some type of consumer law that would give you a claim against the dealership, but you would need to ask a lawyer about it. The warranty expired, and that's a tough break. The dealership could help you with it if they wanted to, but they don't have to. Most dealerships look for ways to get the warranty work because Ford pays them for the warranty work. My guess is that they are pretty certain Ford will not pay for this one, and that's why they aren't helping you. Ford is only liable for these types of problems through the warranty. If the car is out of warranty, Ford is off the hook. All you can do is try to work with the dealership. If they are listed with the Better Business Bureau, call them and see about filing a claim. Most businesses will respond to those types of claims.
 
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