Expired warranty issue

[clark22d]

My Mom has a 1998 Explorer, which is in MINT condition having 20 some thousand original miles on it. She keeps this thing in immaculate condition and is always garaged, fluids changed and so on.
She had what we thought was a lifter noise that turned out to be the timing chain assembly for the left side grinding itself into a metal shaving mess. I understand one of the toothed gears, which run on the chain, has no teeth on it and of course the metal would be all through the engine. We took it to a dealer to perform the repair not knowing what was in store before hand.
The dealers initial prognosis was that the left side has been get zero oil from day one since new.
Naturally we feel the factory should make good on this, but understand that it is outside of the warranty window time frame.
The question we have is there any resource for the factory to "do the right thing" here or is it set in stone as to their time frames regarding the warranty?
An impossible uphill battle or maybe some of you folks have had similar events requiring special handling considering the circumstances?
Where would a person go to get started on this project? We understand that one may need to get past the receptionist who answers the phone and get to the "right" person.
Thanks

 

[Ranger379]

well if its warrenty has expired i can think of just one thing, SOL. lol sorry but i dont think that any dealership would fix it for nothing, mihgt as well figure on paying for it, only way i can think of is if it was recalled, but i dont recall a timing chain recall, good luck

 

[NHale623]

You acknowledge the truck is outside of the manufactures warranty period, yet you feel Ford should fix it anyway because it's the "right thing"?

My '31 Ford has just over 90,000 miles on it. Do you think Ford should pay for the rust that is appearing at the bottom of my cowls?

Boy, just trying to wrap my head around what you are asking for makes my brain hurt.

 

[Ranger379]

ya sorry but once it has passed the limit either by miles or time, your pretty much screwed...

 

[VOATMJ1]

You say that the dealership is telling you that the affected side has been without oil since new from day 1. Are they willing to go to bat for you with Ford and explain their findings or help in any other way? That may be your only recourse, especially since Ford is nearly bankrupt so to speak having their worst financial lost since the inception of the Ford name. Or, is the dealership willing to provide you in writing that this is the case/factory screw up, if so, you may have a legal case against Ford to pay up. Good luck!

 

[davidmmm69]

My Mom has a 1998 Explorer, which is in MINT condition having 20 some thousand original miles on it. She keeps this thing in immaculate condition and is always garaged, fluids changed and so on.
She had what we thought was a lifter noise that turned out to be the timing chain assembly for the left side grinding itself into a metal shaving mess. I understand one of the toothed gears, which run on the chain, has no teeth on it and of course the metal would be all through the engine. We took it to a dealer to perform the repair not knowing what was in store before hand.
The dealers initial prognosis was that the left side has been get zero oil from day one since new.
Naturally we feel the factory should make good on this, but understand that it is outside of the warranty window time frame.
The question we have is there any resource for the factory to "do the right thing" here or is it set in stone as to their time frames regarding the warranty?
An impossible uphill battle or maybe some of you folks have had similar events requiring special handling considering the circumstances?
Where would a person go to get started on this project? We understand that one may need to get past the receptionist who answers the phone and get to the "right" person.
Thanks

warranty on a 1998???

 

[clark22d]

Thanks guys,
If we find an oil passage that was not drilled clear through or some obvious cause for the problem due to manufacturing is the reason for this inquiry.
We appreciate the feedback that is mature.

 

[Ranger379]

Thanks guys,
If we find an oil passage that was not drilled clear through or some obvious cause for the problem due to manufacturing is the reason for this inquiry.
We appreciate the feedback that is mature.

ya if there was an error in manufacturing then im sure ford will have to pay for it, might have to file a lawsuit but u shouldnt have to pay for something like that

 

[cfd911]

good luck

well i looked at all the replys and i have to agree and i think everyone hasbeen honest, i really don t think ford is gonna bend and repair your engine, and i don t think their gonna send an inspector from their hq to investigate your problem. good luck though!!!

 

[trucku]

Well if you can get the dealer to put their claims to you on paper and then maybe you can get the factory to fix your truck. I don't know if any dealer would do that, but good luck.

Sorry you didn't catch that earlier. I am stickler for noises, smells etc. I would hate to miss something like that.

Good Luck

 

[gijoecam]

Indeed, I highly doubt Ford is going to do anything, even with such low mileage. The extended warranty on the timing chain tensioners expired more then two years ago for your engine, so you're well outside their limits.

I'd start with a call to customer service... it can't hurt to ask. With the low mileage, they *may* be willing to work with you as that's around the mileage some of the issues started to surface. The worst they can tell you is no, and then you're in the same boat you were in before.

Sorry for the bad news...

-Joe

 

[davidmmm69]

Indeed, I highly doubt Ford is going to do anything, even with such low mileage. The extended warranty on the timing chain tensioners expired more then two years ago for your engine, so you're well outside their limits.

I'd start with a call to customer service... it can't hurt to ask. With the low mileage, they *may* be willing to work with you as that's around the mileage some of the issues started to surface. The worst they can tell you is no, and then you're in the same boat you were in before.

Sorry for the bad news...

-Joe

how about just eating it and realizing it isnt fords problem and it is yours.. just fix it your self..

when i bought my 2002 2 days later i had to spend $400.00 to replace a wheel bearing that fell apart..

should i have contacted ford and said it was their problem..

stick it in your garage and repair it yourself..

 

[trucku]

when i bought my 2002 2 days later i had to spend $400.00 to replace a wheel bearing that fell apart..

should i have contacted ford and said it was their problem..

stick it in your garage and repair it yourself..

His is different, if it turns out that from day one it was not getting oil (dealer claim). If they are the original owners I think maybe they would have some kind of consideration towards them from factory. If you buy it used an something breaks after you leave the lot and you had no warranty agreement then your SOL.

I bought my truck used, and had 30 days bumper to bumper from dealer, but also bought a extended bumper to bumper warranty. It has already fixed my 4x4 control module. Instead of paying for things as they break, my worries are drive train, which will cost 2-3 times my extended warranty, so its "relatively" cheap insurance.

I agree, if you have a garage fix this yourself. That's what this forum is for, its not the "go pay for it forum". Fix it yourself take pictures during the process and post them.


Good luck

 

[clark22d]

Great feedback folks thanks for yo' time!
Will have to see what shakes out down the road.

 

[stup]

how about just eating it and realizing it isnt fords problem and it is yours.. just fix it your self..

when i bought my 2002 2 days later i had to spend $400.00 to replace a wheel bearing that fell apart..

should i have contacted ford and said it was their problem..

stick it in your garage and repair it yourself..

ya, that doesnt make sense. if the dealer is claiming it was a factory defect from day one, when they bought it back in 98, and they are just now seeing the problem, its not the customers fault. the engine only lasted as long as it did because of how few miles were on it. the engine would have been replaced if it was still inside the warranty period because its a manufacture defect. this isnt a wear and tear issue, its a defect.

 

[gijoecam]

Regardless of what claim the dealer may make, it doesn't change the fact that the unit is out of the OEM's warranty period, both in terms of the original 3/36, and the extended coverage of 7/72. (75?? brain fart...)

While I agree that yes, it is a manufacturing defect, the customer also had an obligation to ask to have it repaired within a reasonable period. Manufacturer's defect or not, is it realistic to expect the manufacturer to warranty their product forever? I don't know about that....

Think about it like a microwave.... say you bought a microwave, and the manufacturer discovered that the handle falls off after 2 years. So, they send all the owners a letter that says, "We'll replace the handle up to 5 years later. Al you've got to do is ask." But, you don't ask until 7 years later when, your handle falls off. Is the manufacturer obligated to give you a new handle? Nope. Would they? Maybe... depends on what kind of mood the customer service rep is in that day, the tone of voice you use when you ask them ever-so-politely to help you out, and maybe even whether or not it's raining in Bangladesh that day.... The point is, it can't hurt to ask politely, for Ford to help out, but if you get nothing from them, don't be surprised.

There's always the lawsuit route... but I wouldn't expect much to come of that either... Ford offered a warranty, then extended the coverage to those pieces that failed, a warranty that went well beyond the reasonable and customary warranties of the time, (and informed all registered owners of that extended coverage), and the product lasted until a full 2 years past the extended warranty's time period.... I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a judge that would rule in the customer's favor.... but again, it can't hurt to ask.

-Joe

 

[stup]

Regardless of what claim the dealer may make, it doesn't change the fact that the unit is out of the OEM's warranty period, both in terms of the original 3/36, and the extended coverage of 7/72. (75?? brain fart...)

While I agree that yes, it is a manufacturing defect, the customer also had an obligation to ask to have it repaired within a reasonable period. Manufacturer's defect or not, is it realistic to expect the manufacturer to warranty their product forever? I don't know about that....

Think about it like a microwave.... say you bought a microwave, and the manufacturer discovered that the handle falls off after 2 years. So, they send all the owners a letter that says, "We'll replace the handle up to 5 years later. Al you've got to do is ask." But, you don't ask until 7 years later when, your handle falls off. Is the manufacturer obligated to give you a new handle? Nope. Would they? Maybe... depends on what kind of mood the customer service rep is in that day, the tone of voice you use when you ask them ever-so-politely to help you out, and maybe even whether or not it's raining in Bangladesh that day.... The point is, it can't hurt to ask politely, for Ford to help out, but if you get nothing from them, don't be surprised.

There's always the lawsuit route... but I wouldn't expect much to come of that either... Ford offered a warranty, then extended the coverage to those pieces that failed, a warranty that went well beyond the reasonable and customary warranties of the time, (and informed all registered owners of that extended coverage), and the product lasted until a full 2 years past the extended warranty's time period.... I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a judge that would rule in the customer's favor.... but again, it can't hurt to ask.

-Joe

i understand your argument, however, from what i understand, they didnt know about the failure until they took it in recently. based on what the OP has said, i think it should be factory coverage. we arent talking about a part that is known to go out after 2 years. we are talking about a part that was bad from the begining. ive had issues like this at work, where a failure occured on a vehicle well outside of the 3/36, but it was obvious there was a problem from the begining, we went ahead and covered the repair, and the manufacturer supported it. now, i do work for a saturn dealership, but i would think other companies would want to treat their customers similarly. this doesnt sound like the cam chain issue, so the recall has no effect here.

oh, and the chains/sprockets only lasted as long as they did because of the low mileage. they arent even at the mileage where the timing chain tensioner and guides normally go out.

 

[CDW6212R]

If this is really about the SOHC V6 engine, that's a known deficiency in all of those engines. If so it is possible that Ford could be forced to do something to help, regardless of the age. Having warantee done after time limits is rare, but does happen. Contact the high up service rep, have all available documentation of diagnosis, be courteous and persistant. Good luck,

 

[indecloudzUA]

i think that all they will say is that if it was from day one than you should have noticed it and brought it back, but without doing that you neglected it cause the problem to get worse..or at least, thats what i would think they would say..but, it never hurts to try..hopefully you can get it squared away..

 

[clark22d]

Still good input...concidering all the options is obviously important for the final outcome.
She has been preped' to be emotionelly prepared for the worst case scenerio.
Even if she has to pay for the whole thing, (we're figuring around $5000) She'll still have a pretty darn new vehicle with a new engine in it for less than she can have a new vehicle if she decides to go on to a different rig.
BTW, I have a '96 that is running strong with 111,000 on it. We don't concider the unit to be representative of the whole.
Thanks again for a good discussion