Disappointed With Ford Sevice

[texasrancher]

Hey,

New member as of yesterday.

We have a 2015 Sport that we leased new and bought out at the end of the lease.
When we bought the car from the dealer we took every warranty option available.
We have always brought in on time for service, maintenance, and repairs and only to Ford dealers.

Since we bought the car the service has been awful. Under lease they were johnny on the spot with recalls and repairs, even going out of their way to notify us of things that needed to be repaired or replaced.

Now they cannot find a single element of the warranty that covers anything that goes wrong with the car and they cannot even find the source of half the difficulties we are having.

This is our first Ford, we bought it because I had heard many and only good things about the engine, all of which are true. However, the rest of the car is a relative mess and either they cannot fix it or everything they can fix is just out of warranty; "missed it by this much."

So my question is does Ford simply have substandard, nearly anti-customer service or have we simply encountered some dealer that is substandard?

I would like to buy a Raptor and the wife wants a Navigator, but if the service we are encountering is normal then we are going somewhere else.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[Mike65]

First, welcome to the forum. Look in the back of the owners manual there should be an 800 toll free number for Ford customer service. Call & complain they will probably have the local Ford representative contact you or the dealer will get back to you with either you meeting the rep, or with what Ford will do to repair your Explorer. I had purchased a 2000 Ranger used back in 2003 & in 2005 the trans went bad Ford paid for the parts & labor & I paid $100.00 deductible. Call Ford the worst they can say is no, then all you wasted is a phone call.

 

[texasrancher]

First, welcome to the forum. Look in the back of the owners manual there should be an 800 toll free number for Ford customer service. Call & complain they will probably have the local Ford representative contact you or the dealer will get back to you with either you meeting the rep, or with what Ford will do to repair your Explorer. I had purchased a 2000 Ranger used back in 2003 & in 2005 the trans went bad Ford paid for the parts & labor & I paid $100.00 deductible. Call Ford the worst they can say is no, then all you wasted is a phone call.

Thanks for the warm welcome and the advice. Will be sure to give them a call in the morning.

 

[Michael Lopour]

Just bought my first Ford in March after many years of Audi and a Hyundai. I would say my main impression of Ford service has nothing to do with the quality of the work but rather the willingness to do it, which may match up with your experience. I have a squeak in my driver side door that I would be willing to bet would be rare amongst other vehicles on the lot. It's nothing major but I can't even get two different dealers to either drive with me to hear it, or do anything except look for a service bulletin. That's it - they don't really even try and diagnose the issue. I also am having an issue with the perpendicular parking assist. What did the dealer do? Checked the sensors and called it good. Told me to follow up with sales. That's fine - but did someone try to use the feature alone or with me? No. I don't necessarily think there's anything wrong with the car, but the difference between ensuring there are no mechanical issues vs. the customer is satisfied is a pretty vast difference in my eyes. Audi service was never cheap but it was always very good.

 

[Halwg]

My dealer has had my 2018 for a week to repair a speaker and the rear window defroster. I'd say that is pretty poor service.

 

[Michael Lopour]

I forgot to mention that I unknowingly drove off the lot with a "dead" DRL. However it turns out they didn't realize it was a relay and not the entire bulb housing until after they'd installed a new housing. I wasn't impressed with that level of troubleshooting.

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum texasrancher.
If there is another Ford or Lincoln dealer in the area I would suggest going to them with an explanation of why you are looking to switch dealerships. Each is individually owned and operated so you are bound to get a different experience at each one. Mine has been exceptional during the 9 years I've been a customer.

Peter

 

[SuperGreg]

This is why I do all my own work!

 

[DMG632]

ALL the dealers near me suck! This is why I will not be buying a new Explorer ST.

I went in for the rear toe link replacement, the dealer aligned the rears but not the front (I asked for the print out after the work was done and the "printer was broken"). I talked with the general manager of the dealership, he arranged to do the 4 wheel alignment at no cost about 2 weeks later. They did the work and once again I asked for the print out... guess what no working printer.

 

[peterk9]

I can't comment on the printer but only a 2 wheel alignment was called for.

Peter

 

[DMG632]

I can't comment on the printer but only a 2 wheel alignment was called for.

Peter

Yes Peter you are right, what I didn't say; while checking in the sport I told the service writer that I would pay for the 4 wheel alignment if it was needed. 3 days after picking up the car, I went on the freeway and I could tell it was out of whack, Always moving the steering wheel left and right just to stay in my own lane.

You spend an hour or two in the sales department buying a new car.... BUT you spend way more time in the service department over the life time of your new car! That's why it's important to me to find a dealer that has a good service depart over a dealers that has a nice sales department. Ford's weakest link is the dealers service department or lack of service department.

 

[texasrancher]

Welcome to the Forum texasrancher.
If there is another Ford or Lincoln dealer in the area I would suggest going to them with an explanation of why you are looking to switch dealerships. Each is individually owned and operated so you are bound to get a different experience at each one. Mine has been exceptional during the 9 years I've been a customer.

Peter

Thanks, gave the 800 number a call. For one issue, the peeling door panels on the inside of the front doors, they said that the dealer had tried to repair the panels under their repair program already. Not sure the dealer did this but if they did it did nor work enough to repair the panel until we got the car back from the service guys.

 

[texasrancher]

Just bought my first Ford in March after many years of Audi and a Hyundai. I would say my main impression of Ford service has nothing to do with the quality of the work but rather the willingness to do it, which may match up with your experience. I have a squeak in my driver side door that I would be willing to bet would be rare amongst other vehicles on the lot. It's nothing major but I can't even get two different dealers to either drive with me to hear it, or do anything except look for a service bulletin. That's it - they don't really even try and diagnose the issue. I also am having an issue with the perpendicular parking assist. What did the dealer do? Checked the sensors and called it good. Told me to follow up with sales. That's fine - but did someone try to use the feature alone or with me? No. I don't necessarily think there's anything wrong with the car, but the difference between ensuring there are no mechanical issues vs. the customer is satisfied is a pretty vast difference in my eyes. Audi service was never cheap but it was always very good.

funny story, all of my grandparents drove Fords exclusively, my parents never owned one, then I decided to buy this one. I wanted to own something American and Ford did not take the bail out money so, that was our choice.

Our experience is mostly with high end german cars. The service with these has always been great. You take it in and they fix everything and you never have a problem like the door panel peeling off. I have never encountered door panels peeling of of any car that I owned or rode in. I cannot believe that Ford is not all over fixing this.

 

[texasrancher]

We have had other issues with the same Ford.

When you drive in snow or slippery conditions the heater fan increases and decreases in strength and the headlights dim on their own. It happens around the 50 mph range. If you slow down or speed up the issue goes away.

Was able to get one of the service guys to go for a ride with me and he observed the issue. Left the Explorer with the dealer for just over a week. They had said they were going to have their expert mechanic or master mechanic, there are only a handful of them in the state, look at it and figure it out.

When I came back a week later the problem was not resolved, the guy they had working on it was barely a Ford mechanic, spent his spare time working on japanese tuners, and was not able to recreate or solve the issue. The master mechanic never even got asked about the issue.

The issue continues to occur but no one has any idea why or interest in figuring out why.

My guess is that it has something to do with the instant awd or whatever they call it. When I was driving the loaner it had lights that indicated when the instant awd was switching on and off. The areas where it was switching on and off were the same areas where my heater fan would start increasing and decreasing and the headlights would dim.

Lots of other issues with airbag wiring, paint and other things.

I would very much like to give Ford money but do not like the service.

We have every warranty and coverage that was available to purchase and we are well withing the limits.

 

[RobbyAz]

Like what was mentioned earlier, each dealership is independently owned so the experience at each of them is bound to differ. I, for instance, will not longer take my EX to my purchasing dealer after they told me I needed new tires because mine where "out of date." This was lie and the tread at the time was still at 7/32's. Anyway, I have switched to the Lincoln dealer that is close to my house. They are great up there at Sanderson Lincoln. Just had the toe link recall done, and they realigned the rears, and checked the front and told me it was fine (even showed me the print out). Since I also have an F-150, Sanderson has become my "servicing dealer." I know it can be hard to find a good one, but there are some out there.

 

[texasrancher]

Like what was mentioned earlier, each dealership is independently owned so the experience at each of them is bound to differ. I, for instance, will not longer take my EX to my purchasing dealer after they told me I needed new tires because mine where "out of date." This was lie and the tread at the time was still at 7/32's. Anyway, I have switched to the Lincoln dealer that is close to my house. They are great up there at Sanderson Lincoln. Just had the toe link recall done, and they realigned the rears, and checked the front and told me it was fine (even showed me the print out). Since I also have an F-150, Sanderson has become my "servicing dealer." I know it can be hard to find a good one, but there are some out there.

Sure, do not disagree that there is variation in dealers, however, that is not an experience I have had with other manufacturers. If it is under warranty they cover it without me having to force the issue or investigate online.

If there is something wrong, under or warranty or not, they figure out how to fix it.

The dealer I have been going to is the largest in the state. They definitely have the resources to fix these issues they merely seem not to care.

I do not want to have to, and should not have to, spend my time hunting around for a good dealer.

Not that any of this is your fault.

As mentioned in my initial comment, it is disappointing. I would like to buy more of their vehicles, however, I do not want to spend my time dealing with nonsense issues like peeling door panels and even more, I do not want to have to spend more time figuring out who the good dealers are.

sigh.

 

[RobbyAz]

I certainly hear what you are saying texasrancher. The dealer I bought my EX from touts being the largest in sales in Arizona. Their service is terrible. I think part of the issue too is that many of the dealers don't have mechanics, they have "techs."

As an example, my dad had a 2013 F-150 he bought new from a dealer in Oklahoma. The truck had a master cylinder issue when it was 2 years old, resulting in both front rotors being damaged. His dealer replace the master cylinder and both rotors, and bleed the brakes. However, afterwards the truck had a terrible case of brake fade. The pedal would go straight to the floor if you had your foot on it for then 30 seconds. The dealer could never get it fix. After quite a bit of research on my part, I found out that the service manual leaves out the step of bleeding the ABS controller first before the brakes are bleed, and that was all that was needed to fix the problem. Unfortunately, my dad had become impatient with the problem after 2 months and traded the truck in before the problem was fixed.

I found the answer to the issue from a Level 2 Ford tech who writes a blog post. I think Ford only has a few of the Level 2 techs for each state and they field calls from all the dealers in that state. I would say, too, its difficult to compare the service one gets from a high end German automotive dealer to that of a Ford or GM dealer who probably sells and services 3 to 4 times the vehicles. That is also why I went to Lincoln dealer. They are never as busy as my selling dealer, so they take a little more time with their customers and seem more geared to getting things right the first time. Just my opinion though.....