2011/12/13 Limited 3rd Row Power Fold Seats

[Spengracin]

Thanks Peter! Phreaky many folks added to this list and passed it to each other, I guess we should post the additions to the list. Where did I place that list?

 

[FordService]

...Cory, I'll send a PM but I don't need any of this information going to atammy the regional rep...

Thanks for letting me know, Perry. I see the PM in my inbox; I’ll send a response within the next few days.

I was at two dealers and both said it's normal...

harlenm,

I have your contact details from previous messages; please drop me a line via PM with your current mileage and I’ll arrange a follow-up call.

Cory

 

[harlenm]

harlenm,

I have your contact details from previous messages; please drop me a line via PM with your current mileage and I’ll arrange a follow-up call.

Cory

I'm not doing anything with it right now. I notified Ford that I plan on filing a lemon law complaint, as required by the State of CT. Will wait for their response and then proceed with filling out the paperwork and submitting it. I'm done with trips to the dealer to fix things. Now I found the mounts for one of the rear headrests are broken and the headrest is barely supported in the seat, and the car also has developed a very loud and annoying rattle that I cannot pinpoint.

 

[FordService]

...Will wait for their response and then proceed with filling out the paperwork and submitting it...

I appreciate the update, harlenm; I also replied to your PM.

Cory

 

[Bob71]

watch this -- an then ask Ford if the seats should fold flat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vd4co3hMK8A

 

[ynig7676]

I tried to stow them while a dog toy was in the seat... the result was what you described. The seats also were off when I tried to stow them with too much stuffed under them. I'm sure you have cleared all debris from the seats, but maybe something is wedged where you cannot see it... or maybe your seats have a different amount of foam.

 

[Spengracin]

watch this -- an then ask Ford if the seats should fold flat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vd4co3hMK8A

Cory; show this to the Ford Engineers, and please send this to Tammy, the regional person

 

[Spengracin]

Here's the end of the story everyone! ( Remember "its Normal or an acceptable variance")
Received a call from Tammy C. (regional), she stated she forwarded the pictures I sent to techincal (whoever that is, she wont say). She said (he said), that minor variences are normal, his Flex is the same way, really? Nothing she can do anymore, that I should contact consumer affairs or better buiness buerau, thats it! I just said thank you and hung the damn phone up.


1) Since i make the decision (what manufacture to go with in our fleet department for the county), I sign the purchase agreements. You guessed it, it wont be Ford (even though our fleet is completly Ford for exception of larger construction or public works vehicles.The contract is sitting on my desk, Im rejecting based on (Fords new standards for consumers). It will not be hard to convince the Board of Supervisors, since they hear my stories and see that my Ex is always in the shop.

2) I'll take Tammies advice, Im walking up stairs to the District Attorneys Office, (consumer Affairs), I will petition for a 9 Bay area (which we are part of) memorandem of purchase from Ford. This I can do, them I file my complaint about this dealer, regional, ( your safe Cory!), and Ford Motor Company. This results in (BlacK Balled in the Public Sector)

3) it will be small, but arguios process, but the end will result, with its media coverage, in the papers, and news will be a fitting process for a large company, who has lost its way with the consumers, Fords new motto "these are acceptable flaws or issues" with no repair needed.
SO what Ford is really saying, go ahead consumer, pay 50,000.00 for a vehicle, if it has flaws, well just tuff, its acceptable, live with it, because that is our standard.

No wonder, folks buy from other non U.S manufactures, the demise of our county.

I more than likely I will not be on the forum anymore, we have nice folks on this site, that help a great deal. Im no longer a loyal Ford consumer, MY EXs days are very short. In my almost 50 years (23 of them being a Ford owner) of owning a car/truck, I have never been treated with such disrespect for being a consumer from one single manufacture.

Thanks Cory for all your help, and thanks to everyone on the forum. I'll hang for a few weeks before I sign off for good. (Takes a bit to find a new vehicle)

P

 

[RonJrSVCMGR]

I can see the headlines now..... "Man's Explorer Rear Fold Down Seats being three quarters of an inch off leads to entire State of California not buying Ford products"....

While I see your issue, Ford still makes the best and most reliable fleet vehicles on the market. You should not take one personal situation into your work and bully everyone out of the sandbox. When the next manufacturer triples your operating budget in repairs, you might be looking at a job change... All over three quarters of an inch? There is a reason your entire fleet is Fords.... Past history and reliability.

If you feel that strong about it, seek arbitration, but keep your work out of it. Those decisions are just a knee jerk reaction to not hearing what you wanted to about your situation, IMHO.

 

[GWA1]

I can see the headlines now..... "Man's Explorer Rear Fold Down Seats being three quarters of an inch off leads to entire State of California not buying Ford products"....

While I see your issue, Ford still makes the best and most reliable fleet vehicles on the market. You should not take one personal situation into your work and bully everyone out of the sandbox. When the next manufacturer triples your operating budget in repairs, you might be looking at a job change... All over three quarters of an inch? There is a reason your entire fleet is Fords.... Past history and reliability.

If you feel that strong about it, seek arbitration, but keep your work out of it. Those decisions are just a knee jerk reaction to not hearing what you wanted to about your situation, IMHO.

 

[182RG]

Here's the end of the story

Drama Queen much?

 

[VinceL]

Fairfield, California? Nice place, I stayed there for a night on vacation a couple of years back.

 

[FordService]

...Thanks Cory for all your help, and thanks to everyone on the forum. I'll hang for a few weeks before I sign off for good...

That’s a shame you weren’t able to see this resolved, Perry. I’m sorry to lose such a loyal Ford fan like you. Please don’t hesitate to send me a PM in the future, so I can assist in restoring your faith in Ford.

Cory

 

[phareous]

You're calling Spengracin a drama queen but the fact is Tammy sucks at her job. Ford should be willing to do whatever is necessary to keep a customer and make them happy. They would rather lose a customer, future business, and get bad rep than pay to replace a seat, which is messed up due to their engineering anyway.

(And the reason I say this is because the seat being misadjusted IS Ford's fault. They should just own up and fix it.)

 

[phareous]

That’s a shame you weren’t able to see this resolved, Perry. I’m sorry to lose such a loyal Ford fan like you. Please don’t hesitate to send me a PM in the future, so I can assist in restoring your faith in Ford.

Cory

Ford really ought to look into getting a customer retention group in their headquarters that could help customers when the regional service manager can't

 

[13Sport]

Cory I see you reply like this to everyone who says they are leaving Ford...but the fact is you are powerless to restore her faith or offer her anything if the regional manager has told her to kiss off. Ford really ought to look into getting a customer retention group in their headquarters that could override the stupidity of their regional managers

Or more people should sue Ford like I did. . . I guess I'm only allowed to say "I sued Ford and they have resolved the dispute to my satisfaction"... i can also say that I'm very uneasy to satisfy. Unfortunately until there are more ramifications in terms of monetary settlements, Ford has no reason to make any changes. Their cars, the explorer's in particular, aren't seeing any decline in sales... What motivation would Ford have to make any changes when there is no visible problem when looking at the financials?

While I agree that a 3/4" variance in a seat height might be a little extreme to be recommending an entire city change it's primary fleet manufacturer, I can also see how an entire city making such a move could stir up a media story that would force Ford's hand (at least in that region) to evaluate its customer service practices.

I've never been a litigious person, but I must say that the process was far and away more pleasant than trying to deal with Ford customer service. It's unfortunate that Ford has made it that way. What I tried to get accomplished through Ford's "recommended" channels of support for over a year, I was able to get accomplished through litigation in just a few months.

 

[phareous]

By the way I just wanted to say I know Cory does his best..it is not his fault that his hands are tied in many cases. I think he is a valuable asset to have here

 

[RonJrSVCMGR]

Most of the cases like yours, Sport, are a one-time only thing and the next time Ford will bring this one up and it will be denied. Chances of you getting two bad ones in a row are like winning 4 lotteries in a month... (in the eyes of arbitrators)

 

[phareous]

By the way I was thinking...I bet these seats are made by a third party company. Ford engineers probably have no idea or clue why they might not be flat, and nobody at Ford probably wants to deal with getting the 3rd party company involved

 

[13Sport]

Most of the cases like yours, Sport, are a one-time only thing and the next time Ford will bring this one up and it will be denied. Chances of you getting two bad ones in a row are like winning 4 lotteries in a month... (in the eyes of arbitrators)

Well, I had issues with my Nissan 350z. The dealer refused to fix the issues, Nissan customer service, much like Ford, said "there is no issue" .... After a year and a half dealing with Nissan, my lawyer had the car repurchased in under 60 days.

The explorer is riddled with issues, many of which the dealers will refuse to fix, or are denied warranty from Ford to fix. If you can prove that those issues are real, and you have undeniable records that you've reported the issues and were denied service or that service did not resolve the issues after a reasonable number of times, there's no arbitrator or judge in the world that is going to deny you restitution. in both of my cases the manufacturer's lawyers immediately recognized that they had no case and did whatever I asked to "make me happy", and like I said before, I'm not easily pleased.

Ford's response is to deny any claims and also deny anything is wrong, until a legal argument is brought forward and they can no longer deny it. I went through dealership, management, regional management, and a letter to customer relations with no resolve to my issues. My lawyer filed a lawsuit, and I no longer have an issue. Tell me that there's not something wrong w/ that mentality.