Ford Failure....

[Lloyd_E]

Why I may never buy a FORD again and "buy local" sometimes doesn't work: Replaced alternator(Ford product - purchased from Ford dealership in Cape Brenton when car broke down last year) failed within 10 months. Cape Breton mechanic sent his repair bill plus ford invoice for product and local dealer will not honour warranty... interesting conversation about purchasing 2 vehicles($75,000 over 4 year period) there and having repair work on three vehicles at one point did not change their attitude... kicker was when he said he doesn't care and hung-up... Well when you loose market share and sales fall... you will care!!!!!

My argument was that is was a Ford product going on a Ford vehicle. It shouldn't matter if Ford did the actual repair...

This local dealership played this game with me before: had an issues with belt pulley being replaced 3 times. I was commuting at the time and the warranty was almost up - two months left. Had three workers including owner discussing whether it would be repaired under 60,000 kmh warranty or not... one of the reasons why I didn't return there for service. Instead of saying Yes, we repaired it twice before and Yes, you have warranty left don't worry about it... you had to fight to get it fixed... duh...

Rant off!

 

[forgeblast]

Send a message with what they are doing to corporate. It may not get you anywhere but its always better to send a complaint to someone higher. I had similar problems with a ford product, and ford dealership.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

It sounds like a dealership problem more so then a Ford problem. Sad as it is you will find bad dealers with all brands.

 

[Lloyd_E]

You both are correct...

Just frustrated with the foolishness you have to go through...

We have a ford focus SW. In fact, have had 3 over the last 9 years.
They are great little cars. Had repairs but nothing major. All and the present one has
over 165,000 kmh. Unfortunately Ford stopped making the Focus wagon a few years back.

This car was originally designed and sold in Europe and brought to NA in late 1999. In europe they make a turbo diesel model that rivals the Volkswagens... too bad it didn't sell in NA.

We have a large truck for hauling stuff... but these little wagons are great for getting around.
Easy to park, lots of room for a family of 4 etc.

Chevy has moved away from the little station wagons too...

I guess everyone is moving to these crossover things.

 

[psj12]

They can't sell their Euro diesel products here because of Environmental regulations. Forget that they have higher MPG than the gas engine. The polutants are actually less per mile but not per gallon. Go figure?

 

[deepNdirt]

You could have trade it back in,........
similar story with me when buying from a local Ford dealership, I have dealt with this business for many years, when the ford Expeditions hit the market in '97 the wife wanted one, I told her to hold off for 1 year until all the recalls and bugs were got out of them and find out just what kind of customer reviews the Expeditions were receiving, all seem good with only a few minor issues that were resolved under factory recalls,
So in July of '99 we purchased a used low miles '98 model XLT and saved about 5-k from buying new, The wife loved it, in Oct. we took a trip to FL and all went well, By November we had accumulated 30,000 miles on it, when we purchased it we had also purchased an extended 100,000 mile warranty,

We always parked it inside the garage, when the first cold morning of the year came it was about 35* inside the garage my wife went to start the SUV and came to me saying it sound like it needed oil, I checked the oil and was full, she said it only sounded that way for 1/2 minute, the next morning I went to crank it and sure enough it sound off like a diesel, OK this is when we contact the dealership and advised them of the engine noise we heard,
The Salesman who we dealt with had us to bring it in, although could not "Duplicate the noise" at the time, of course it only did it on cold startups,
They had us to leave it with them over night and return the next morning,
the dealership got the head tech and a couple of reps. out gather around when we started it..... Sure enough sounded worst than ever and went on rattling for over 1 minute..... they told us to leave it with them and would get back with us later that day with the results, the techs has some sort of hot line connections with other techs across the country that has same issue and told us it wasn't anything to worry about, was a typical thing with the Triton engines and overhead roller rocker's this and that,........
So I ask them if they had plan to fix it? their reply was " No " and reminded me that I had 100.000 mile warranty, if it were to break down they would then fix it, So I became Irate and ask them did they think I was going to Waite until my wife was stranded on the side of the road from a mechanical breakdown before the SUV would be repaired, if so they are crazy, Plus the fact that each time the engine starts up this way it would be putting excessive wear and tear on the internal parts, Doubt that it would make it to 40,000 miles, .... I then told them if they didn't fix it they would get it back in a trade and would for sure have to fix it before they could put it back out to re-sale it...
They still refused to do anything about it, only if the SUV were to break down would they fix it, I contact FMC about the issue and what my plans were, they of course understood and wanted to satisfy me, So they agree to give me 2-k off of any choice of another vehicle, plus all my investment back from the cost of the SUV, I've now been driving my '99 ford super duty f-250 crew cab for almost 12 years and 158.000 miles later,

Incidentally: later on after doing some research I found out that there was an ongoing problem with the '98 Triton engines, and in some cases the engine had to be recalled and replaced,
Most reputable Ford dealerships will work out the problems, but if Not. just make a call to the higher athorities,:thumbsup:

 

[Robert_in_NY]

You could have trade it back in,........
similar story with me when buying from a local Ford dealership, I have dealt with this business for many years, when the ford Expeditions hit the market in '97 the wife wanted one, I told her to hold off for 1 year until all the recalls and bugs were got out of them and find out just what kind of customer reviews the Expeditions were receiving, all seem good with only a few minor issues that were resolved under factory recalls,
So in July of '99 we purchased a used low miles '98 model XLT and saved about 5-k from buying new, The wife loved it, in Oct. we took a trip to FL and all went well, By November we had accumulated 30,000 miles on it, when we purchased it we had also purchased an extended 100,000 mile warranty,

We always parked it inside the garage, when the first cold morning of the year came it was about 35* inside the garage my wife went to start the SUV and came to me saying it sound like it needed oil, I checked the oil and was full, she said it only sounded that way for 1/2 minute, the next morning I went to crank it and sure enough it sound off like a diesel, OK this is when we contact the dealership and advised them of the engine noise we heard,
The Salesman who we dealt with had us to bring it in, although could not "Duplicate the noise" at the time, of course it only did it on cold startups,
They had us to leave it with them over night and return the next morning,
the dealership got the head tech and a couple of reps. out gather around when we started it..... Sure enough sounded worst than ever and went on rattling for over 1 minute..... they told us to leave it with them and would get back with us later that day with the results, the techs has some sort of hot line connections with other techs across the country that has same issue and told us it wasn't anything to worry about, was a typical thing with the Triton engines and overhead roller rocker's this and that,........
So I ask them if they had plan to fix it? their reply was " No " and reminded me that I had 100.000 mile warranty, if it were to break down they would then fix it, So I became Irate and ask them did they think I was going to Waite until my wife was stranded on the side of the road from a mechanical breakdown before the SUV would be repaired, if so they are crazy, Plus the fact that each time the engine starts up this way it would be putting excessive wear and tear on the internal parts, Doubt that it would make it to 40,000 miles, .... I then told them if they didn't fix it they would get it back in a trade and would for sure have to fix it before they could put it back out to re-sale it...
They still refused to do anything about it, only if the SUV were to break down would they fix it, I contact FMC about the issue and what my plans were, they of course understood and wanted to satisfy me, So they agree to give me 2-k off of any choice of another vehicle, plus all my investment back from the cost of the SUV, I've now been driving my '99 ford super duty f-250 crew cab for almost 12 years and 158.000 miles later,

Incidentally: later on after doing some research I found out that there was an ongoing problem with the '98 Triton engines, and in some cases the engine had to be recalled and replaced,
Most reputable Ford dealerships will work out the problems, but if Not. just make a call to the higher athorities,:thumbsup:

I'm sorry for the bad experience, I had a 98 F-150 with 4.6 Triton and ran it to 135k miles without an issue. It always started fine in cold or hot weather thankfully. It was a good truck and I regret selling it. The 2002 F250 though has been one problem after another

 

[Soundguy]

i agree.. probbaly a dealer problem moreso than ford.

I'd drag corporate into it if at all possible. even if only to bring the heat down on the dealer.

soundguy

 

[sandman2234]

Trading a vehicle back to FMC when they refuse to fix it, to buy another one from them simply does what they want, which is sell cars...not repair them! They make more money selling cars than fixing them under warranty, so what did they loose?
David from jax

 

[PapaPerk]

Buy Toyota. Many are American made! In fact the Camry is the most American made vehicle in the US! :thumbsup:

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Buy Toyota. Many are American made! In fact the Camry is the most American made vehicle in the US! :thumbsup:

Toyota doesn't have any problems with vehicles or dealers?

 

[deepNdirt]

I'm sorry for the bad experience, I had a 98 F-150 with 4.6 Triton and ran it to 135k miles without an issue. It always started fine in cold or hot weather thankfully. It was a good truck and I regret selling it. The 2002 F250 though has been one problem after another

Our Expedition had the 5.4 triton engine, and as far as I know this problem was only known to the '98 year model,

 

[JESSE1]

Worst experience I've had with a vehicle was with a new '96 Tahoe. The 350 engine had a knock on start-up. Talked with the shop foreman and he recommended using 30wt oil. I tried it but naturally that didn't solve the problem. Since it was a 4x4 they had to pull the engine in order to drop the oil pan and check the bearings. Found out one of the bolts on a main bearing cap was stretched during engine assembly, too much clearance causing the knock. No telling how many SBC engines GM has produced and the first one I ever bought had been assembled with a stretched bolt. It happens.

 

[deepNdirt]

Trading a vehicle back to FMC when they refuse to fix it, to buy another one from them simply does what they want, which is sell cars...not repair them! They make more money selling cars than fixing them under warranty, so what did they loose?
David from jax

I'm not sure what FMC lost in my deal, if anything at all, I figured they probably broke even, No salesman commission fee when selling me the truck, Plus I got back every penny I paid for the Expedition, Yes I'm sure they make more money off sales than do off having to service through warranty cost,

something else I remember about the Expedition, one day while giving it a good waxing I noticed in the grill a large black wire, I was able to get a hold of it and traced it to a plug end, One just like you would plug into a household /110v wall socket,
I remember bringing this find up during one of my many conversations with the Ford reps. they didn't have a clue as to why it was there, I told them I had seen them before on diesel engine cars to help warm the oil, but never had i seen one on a gas engine,
N0 one would take credit for this, but it was my suspicion that someone knew about the cold startup and lifter rattle, and this must have been the fix, ( Unacceptable fix )

 

[Bird]

I don't think you can just blame, or even really praise, a particular make of automobile. They've all made a few bad ones, but mostly good ones. In 1966, I bought a new Ford sedan that was probably the worst lemon Ford ever built. No lemon laws in those days and I couldn't blame the dealer. The salesman was a personal friend and the dealership owner used to loan me his personal car while mine was in the shop. Two years and 24,000 miles and I traded it for a Plymouth. For the next 23 years, you couldn't have given me a Ford, but now I've been driving Fords (8 of them in all) for the past 20 years and have had good luck with all of them.

 

[PapaPerk]

Toyota doesn't have any problems with vehicles or dealers?

Not as many as Ford and GM! Read the posts. :laughing:

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Not as many as Ford and GM! Read the posts. :laughing:

Which ones? The ones in this thread or the ones in other threads dealing with Toyota's recalls and problems?

The point is any company making as many vehicles as these guys are going to have problem vehicles and when they do that's what you hear about and remember.

 

[sandman2234]

Which ones? The ones in this thread or the ones in other threads dealing with Toyota's recalls and problems?

The point is any company making as many vehicles as these guys are going to have problem vehicles and when they do that's what you hear about and remember.

Yeah, I bet Ford wishes they had never decided to build their own diesel engine as a replacement for the 7.3 International motor. The bad rep and loss of customer base had to hurt. Even if they made a perfect engine, I know at least one person who will never drive a Ford again. He went to Chevy after Ford refused to fix, and then refused to trade in, his 6.0 while he was on vacation. He went down the street and traded it in on a Chevy and stuck his nose up at Fords. Bet there are a few people that won't buy Toyota vehicles somewhere...
David from jax

 

[Bird]

Bet there are a few people that won't buy Toyota vehicles somewhere...

I've never had any desire to own anything with Toyota's name on it. Primary reason . . Consumer Reports tried so hard to sell Toyota's for so many years and I found Consumer Reports so wrong on so many things that I wouldn't really trust them on anything.:laughing: I've believed for many years, and still do, that most car and pickup purchases are based more on emotion than on logic. And yes, that includes me. And perhaps to a lesser degree, the same is true for tractors, and most other items we buy.

 

[Chef Pa]

I've never had any desire to own anything with Toyota's name on it. Primary reason . . Consumer Reports tried so hard to sell Toyota's for so many years and I found Consumer Reports so wrong on so many things that I wouldn't really trust them on anything.:laughing: I've believed for many years, and still do, that most car and pickup purchases are based more on emotion than on logic. And yes, that includes me. And perhaps to a lesser degree, the same is true for tractors, and most other items we buy.

Bird,

Glad to hear you feel that way about Consumer Reports. I used to enjoy their unbiased opinions, etc. years ago, and they've gradually become nothing more than another advertiser - but worse as they pretend to be an outside testing/report source. When this year's mag runs out I am done. They recently did a report on 3/4 ton trucks that was an absolute joke. If I remember right it was about a 1/2 page of nothing, in the end saying 'this one's better' - no way they forked out $50k or better for three trucks and then put out a lousy 1/2 page... :shocked:

I'm in the no Toyota camp also, but due to a situation similar to OP's... Details aren't necessary, not here to bash. I know lots of people that have had good luck with them too...

I try to keep feelings out of the equation, but wonder myself sometimes :confused2:

Greg