mjhpadi Posted September 5, 2012 Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 Not surprised that there is a core charge. Heck, there was even a core charge for the lower front molding! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h1h0silver Posted October 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2012 Its been a while since an update. 2 months, still no car. The PCM did get replaced under warranty and the transmission is now on teardown #4. So the dealer wanted to save money by rebuilding in leiu of replacement. Well, all the parts they needed to replace the broken stuff, parts needed to make adjustments each time it didn't shift properly and a rental at $30/day for 60 days, waiting on backorders....they could have bought 2 new transmissions. I have picked up the car twice since initially getting it serviced. Round 1 pickup lasted about 1/2 a mile at the gas station where there was a significant click coming from the steering. Turned right back around and said fix it. Solution=loose bolt on the rack assembly. SAFETY issue! Round 2 pickup lasted 3 days only because at 545pm on friday I got the car, turned in the rental and 558pm noticed a noise coming from drivetrain (similar to a playing card in the spokes of a bicycle wheel), service dept closes at 600pm. So I had the whole weekend to drive the heck out of it. Results: The noise is prevalant mostly when engine is not loaded (off the gas). On throttle is hardly noticeable, steady speed barely noted. Let off gas, noise Something rattling under the plastic cowl area can be heard in cabin Severe hood vibration at highway speeds Sluggish normal takeoff from a stop, kinda creaks as if power-braking Something occasionally happens to power loading during steady speed which causes the AC to briefly blow hot (similar to WOT and AC cycles off) Rained on the way home, wipers don't get all water, i.e. driver side only wiped the upper half of windshield. Both arms sweep proper, strange Solutions: Wiper arms were swapped after changing out the PCM. SAFETY issue! I believe hood shake was due air turbulance. The chin skirt connected to front air dam was not clipped to lower radiator support, because fasteners were NOT there They probably won't find that loose screw in the cowl... Who knows why the tranny makes that noise. Its at all speeds/gears, drive or manual Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h1h0silver Posted October 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2012 My wife (cuz she has more time and access to a phone during working hours) has contacted Regional Ford for a claim on this situation. We explained it all and requested 2 months of car payment reimbursement and to pay the difference of trade-in value. I plan to get rid of this nightmare but owe about 28k and might get 22k on trade. If the trans hadn't failed, I would keep the car. Love it, but feel as I am being forced to get rid of it like a running back with a blown knee. They called us back saying that they will continue talking to the dealer about repairs and keep sinking money into the car. They will NOT give us payment back because we accepted the dealer offer of a rental. Had we declined the rental, then Ford would say, "since you didn't want a rental then why should we pay you" - thats what I would expect at this point. We got a rental that is nowhere near the quality/quantity of my car because they don't have much more than a PT Loser. Ford said they would not assist in the trade difference either because they would never call my car as a "loss". I want to fight them so bad, but I am running out of options and time. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crash712us Posted October 7, 2012 Report Share Posted October 7, 2012 look into the lemon law. Or give another dealer your business. Sorry to hear you are having such a difficult time getting this fixed. But when they don't even assemble the car correctly with the nuts and bolts and fastener gives me serious doubt about there competency. There just no excuse for 2 months for this type of repair. But if you want out hire a attorney. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blaine109 Posted October 7, 2012 Report Share Posted October 7, 2012 I would demand that an engineer get involved and that they get one down to the dealership to get it sorted out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h1h0silver Posted October 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2012 I am outside Lemon Law rights of less than 24 months and less than 24k miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thePUNISHER Posted October 10, 2012 Report Share Posted October 10, 2012 the dealer doesnt decide on how to repair based on whats cheaper for them.... ford requires that dealers perform a costcap analysis to determine if its cheaper to repair or replace the trans. this info is submitted to ford then they decide on which route the dealer takes. if this instruction is not followed the dealer is not paid for the warranty claim. i know this because im a full time ford transmission tech.... im not sure what happened with your car but it sounds like a real mess.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h1h0silver Posted October 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2012 Very true. I may have worded it as if the dealer is at fault for not making the proper decisions. They did do the cost estimate and that is how I have a rebuild instead of replace. But Ford should also listen to what the dealer's involvement is going to be. If the trans looked like it was thrown into park at 70mph (thats how they described initial damage, lol) and dealer recommend a replacement, Ford should say well its only $$ difference vs. time and troubleshooting with rental fees (which is $$). Oh well, still warranty. Update as of Tuesday (now its Friday with no word yet): Dropped it off the Tuesday before, had a tech ride with to listen to the noise during deceleration. Obvious, he heard it before I explained it but he couldn't describe it. A week later, the dealer tells me that a field engineer took it for a test drive on Monday and told the techs what he thought. Whaddya guess? Now they have to replace the PTU...which should have been done yesterday/today. No word yet, but they still have 3 hours left in the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h1h0silver Posted October 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2012 Update: no phone call for yet another week. Again I have to go ask what's up. Possible intermediate shaft bearing which requires...you guessed it, pull the trans AGAIN. I wish the car would fall off the lift at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j1mmyr1chter Posted October 17, 2012 Report Share Posted October 17, 2012 It boggles my mind that there isn't some legal recourse here, even if you are outside the Lemon Law time frame. This is the craziest 'monkey-f***in-a-footbal' service department story I've ever heard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h1h0silver Posted January 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2013 This never was fully resolved. It yielded more trips back to dealer and lots of rental car usage. I dropped it off not long after the last post, probably 4-6 days. After 2 weeks of no contact, I informed them of me being deployed for 2 weeks, back for Thanksgiving and gone for another week to stay in Virginia. This was the Monday before I was to begin my adventures and they told me the technicican was out sick for a few days - but what about the other 10 days. I told them they have until Wednesday to get my car back to me or they will be paying for a rental for minimum of 3 weeks. Behold, Wed I get a call saying car is ready. How, in 2 days, did they get a resolution that they've had for 2 weeks? Must suck paying for a rental for nearly the 3 months this issue has been going on. Anyways, they tell me they replaced the intermediate bearing (WTF that really means) and the "playing card in bike spokes" noise continued. Even the field engineer had no clue. Then they discovered that either a piece of bearing race or sleeve was jammed in a nook and ticking on deceleration. After the bodunk info they tossed at me, I took a look at my car that has been posted in their shop for over 2 months, still dusty/dirty and discovered more flaws. A dent in the driver fender near the hood seam, deep chunk in driver front wheel and scratch from passenger fender into the headlamp assembly. "Oh we'll see if the 'dent man' can get that out otherwise we'll take it to the body shop. The wheel, impossible it's our fault" F-you guys, you have to take that wheel off to service the trans. Stupid asses. So I test drove the car and all seemed well...until the next morning when I was supposed to deploy... Instead of going to work, I go to dealer and bitch hard. "I find it hard to believe the noise is back" Why the f would I waste my time coming to service then. Of course the ride with service, they couldn't hear it. So for the 2-4 weeks than I was on/off gone, dealer piddled around their concerns with the dent and trans. Playing phone tag with my wife but never actually following up on anything. Not to mention the deal they were trying to make with regional Ford to at least get me the ESP. Of course the 'dent man' was on vacation when asked (really? for all 3 weeks?). I said you will replace the fender before you repair it. All in all, nothing was ever resolved, mostly due to my unaccompanied relocation to Norfolk, Va. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h1h0silver Posted January 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2013 So I came back to GA to see my wife and kids after Xmas and got the low down on nothing other than phone tag from the dealer. 1 of 2 things was about to happen. Either they meet my demands on a new car with trade on SHO or it was about to be lawyer time. Luckily, they found me a car. Not exactly what I wanted but Im not color biased and needed to get this deal done in my 2 week visit. So now, that same dealership has my problem SHO (trans, blend door, tires, scratches/dents, cracked windshield, and family/baby wear/tear). I had to take a negative hit on the trade but dealed my way through that. Set I will deal on a $30.5k 2013 Focus ST3 package out the door for under 35k. They tried once at 38.5k due to 20k trade on a 27k owed SHO. Nope, 35k, I will go back to the other dealers that have offered 22.5k on trade. Came back to shake my hand "35k?" Hell yeah, take this headache from me. I did my research, knew what I wanted, all prices/availability and dealer salesman typically don't know shit, I ran the sale. So now I have lower payments, less time owed, more MPG and a real manual transmission! Gonna miss the AC seats though. Thanks for listening P.s. I know, 35k for a Focus is ridiculous...considering all, its not that bad. The ST is a great under-deal as is anyhow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGFOOT Posted January 1, 2013 Report Share Posted January 1, 2013 sorry you had to deal with this...sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHOdded Posted January 1, 2013 Report Share Posted January 1, 2013 Sorry about your experience with the dealer, hopefully you can find one that is customer- and service-friendly nearby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpfarrell Posted January 2, 2013 Report Share Posted January 2, 2013 Wow. Be happy this sad chapter is over. It sounds like a nearly random SHO problem magnified by an inept service department. I'd take the Focus elsewhere at any cost! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shenry500 Posted May 9, 2013 Report Share Posted May 9, 2013 So what was the outcome? Mine is a 2013 sho. Similar symptoms. .Left me stranded today at only 1600 miles . Some type of oil all over the under carriage and back of car. Awaiting dealer call....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crash712us Posted May 10, 2013 Report Share Posted May 10, 2013 So what was the outcome? Mine is a 2013 sho. Similar symptoms. .Left me stranded today at only 1600 miles . Some type of oil all over the under carriage and back of car. Awaiting dealer call......./QUOTE] The OP's car was eventually fixed, I don't recall if any details where offered as what actually failed. I know they had to rebuild the trans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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