frogman
Member
- Joined
- February 28, 2004
- Messages
- 19
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- Detroit Lakes, MN
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- '95 XLT 4x4
It has been a while since I have last posted to this board, so I though I would share my sad Explorer story. In the past, I changed my Explorer’s oil myself, but we all (or at least myself) seem to get busier and busier these days and therefore I have been relying on my local Ford dealer’s Quick Lube Express to do the job for me these past few years. One fateful June day last year was no different and off to the Quick Lube I went. That evening we were heading to a nearby city to attend a concert and while in transit the “check gauges” light illuminated and a glance down revealed my oil pressure gauge had dropped to zero. Upon slowing down and proceeding to the side of the road to shut her down, the “check engine” light illuminated and the motor died. I coasted into a gas station luckily and discovered the oil pan drain plug was nowhere to be found.
A quick call back to the dealership had a courtesy car on its way to get us and the truck would be towed back to the dealership the next day. I was reassured they would be taking care of me. My 1995 Explorer has 247,000 miles on her, of which 175,000 we put on. We have owned it since 1999. I have a file folder of repairs and records for this truck…it was well cared for. The next day I sat down with the dealership owner and it was revealed that the Quick Lube employee that began the oil change went to lunch and someone else “finished the job” which obviously they did not do very well. They told me that I needed a new motor, which I already knew and would have expected nothing less, but they could not justify rebuilding the original motor because of the high miles, so they would be seeking out a junk yard motor. “OK I guess” were my thoughts, but “what kind of warranty are we talking about on this junk yard motor with zero history?” This particular junkyard warranties their motors for 4 months I was told. You can imagine my response. Some discussion later, midway through which the owner had to close his office door because our “conversation” was spilling out onto the showroom, I walked out with a 1yr/12,000 mi warranty and was as happy as I could be at that point.
Until…the truck began to burn oil within the first 6 months. And I mean about a quart of oil every 500 miles. Then came the oil leak from the rear main gasket which was followed by an intake manifold leak spilling about a softball-sized antifreeze leak onto my garage floor every night. For about 4 months they replaced various sensors, etc… trying to track down the oil usage and finally this spring decided I needed another motor. So, a 2nd junk yard motor with zero history was found and installed. For a moment, it was thought we might have to go for #3 because this 2nd motor had what was described to me as a “miss” upon firing it up but magically the dealership was able to “fix” this with some fuel injection cleaner. Upon delivery it was also revealed that my fuel pump might have issues because the truck never starts on the first try but always fires during the second try of the key. I pointed out to them directly that the original motor and the 1st junk yard replacement never did this but they insisted that it was nothing related to this 2nd junk yard motor or their installation of it.
So, upon pickup of my truck, I told them I needed the same agreed upon warranty on the 2nd motor because obviously that extended warranty is what saved me. I was told “Sorry…” but this junk yard only warranties their motors for 30 days and that is all I was getting this time. The dealership owner absolutely refused to even meet with me this time and all discussions happened through his service manager. So, I told them that I would see them in court. Keep in mind this is a fairly large Ford dealership with which I had a 6 year relationship.
I took the case to small claims court and sued for $3000, the quote I had to rebuild a 4.0L motor to at least give me some piece of mind for a reliable truck once again. As an alternative, I agreed to receive a 1yr/12,000 mile warranty on this 2nd motor, because that is all I wanted in the first place.
As you can perhaps guess, I lost the case. I absolutely do not regret taking the case to court though because I finally had the owner face me on my terms, even if it cost me court filing fees. So, bottom line, when we get our vehicles serviced by “professionals”, we are taking a real risk each and every time. And it does NOT matter how old, how cared for, how valuable (both in terms of $$ or any sentimental value), the law apparently states that dealers just to have replace or cover the work to = that before the damage was done. They destroyed my 245,000 mile well-cared for motor, with most of those miles coming under my foot, in one afternoon and replaced it with a junk yard motor (that ended up being defective) with 180,000 miles on it with no history, and I was told by the dealership owner I was coming out on the “good end” of the deal because of the mileage difference.
So, now about 3 months into the 2nd junk yard motor, I start the truck with 2 turns of the ignition each time, I have a quarter size oil leak each night that recently began, and I now get about 12 mpg on the highway so I cannot help but feel I am on borrowed time with this truck. But…what is one to do? I am sure there is a lesson to be learned somewhere in here, but other than not letting your local Ford dealership work on your Ford Explorer, I am not sure what it is. Thanks for reading…
A quick call back to the dealership had a courtesy car on its way to get us and the truck would be towed back to the dealership the next day. I was reassured they would be taking care of me. My 1995 Explorer has 247,000 miles on her, of which 175,000 we put on. We have owned it since 1999. I have a file folder of repairs and records for this truck…it was well cared for. The next day I sat down with the dealership owner and it was revealed that the Quick Lube employee that began the oil change went to lunch and someone else “finished the job” which obviously they did not do very well. They told me that I needed a new motor, which I already knew and would have expected nothing less, but they could not justify rebuilding the original motor because of the high miles, so they would be seeking out a junk yard motor. “OK I guess” were my thoughts, but “what kind of warranty are we talking about on this junk yard motor with zero history?” This particular junkyard warranties their motors for 4 months I was told. You can imagine my response. Some discussion later, midway through which the owner had to close his office door because our “conversation” was spilling out onto the showroom, I walked out with a 1yr/12,000 mi warranty and was as happy as I could be at that point.
Until…the truck began to burn oil within the first 6 months. And I mean about a quart of oil every 500 miles. Then came the oil leak from the rear main gasket which was followed by an intake manifold leak spilling about a softball-sized antifreeze leak onto my garage floor every night. For about 4 months they replaced various sensors, etc… trying to track down the oil usage and finally this spring decided I needed another motor. So, a 2nd junk yard motor with zero history was found and installed. For a moment, it was thought we might have to go for #3 because this 2nd motor had what was described to me as a “miss” upon firing it up but magically the dealership was able to “fix” this with some fuel injection cleaner. Upon delivery it was also revealed that my fuel pump might have issues because the truck never starts on the first try but always fires during the second try of the key. I pointed out to them directly that the original motor and the 1st junk yard replacement never did this but they insisted that it was nothing related to this 2nd junk yard motor or their installation of it.
So, upon pickup of my truck, I told them I needed the same agreed upon warranty on the 2nd motor because obviously that extended warranty is what saved me. I was told “Sorry…” but this junk yard only warranties their motors for 30 days and that is all I was getting this time. The dealership owner absolutely refused to even meet with me this time and all discussions happened through his service manager. So, I told them that I would see them in court. Keep in mind this is a fairly large Ford dealership with which I had a 6 year relationship.
I took the case to small claims court and sued for $3000, the quote I had to rebuild a 4.0L motor to at least give me some piece of mind for a reliable truck once again. As an alternative, I agreed to receive a 1yr/12,000 mile warranty on this 2nd motor, because that is all I wanted in the first place.
As you can perhaps guess, I lost the case. I absolutely do not regret taking the case to court though because I finally had the owner face me on my terms, even if it cost me court filing fees. So, bottom line, when we get our vehicles serviced by “professionals”, we are taking a real risk each and every time. And it does NOT matter how old, how cared for, how valuable (both in terms of $$ or any sentimental value), the law apparently states that dealers just to have replace or cover the work to = that before the damage was done. They destroyed my 245,000 mile well-cared for motor, with most of those miles coming under my foot, in one afternoon and replaced it with a junk yard motor (that ended up being defective) with 180,000 miles on it with no history, and I was told by the dealership owner I was coming out on the “good end” of the deal because of the mileage difference.
So, now about 3 months into the 2nd junk yard motor, I start the truck with 2 turns of the ignition each time, I have a quarter size oil leak each night that recently began, and I now get about 12 mpg on the highway so I cannot help but feel I am on borrowed time with this truck. But…what is one to do? I am sure there is a lesson to be learned somewhere in here, but other than not letting your local Ford dealership work on your Ford Explorer, I am not sure what it is. Thanks for reading…
