First time Ford Explorer Owner, UGH...

[EddieBauerNOOB]

So I received my income tax refund & was in real need of a vehicle.

I bought a 1998 XLT Eddie Bauer edition

It ran pretty decent but not more than 1 mile pulled off the car lot onto the highway everything went to hell.

I was doing 70mph & the Explorer started to knock faster and faster every time I hit the gas. When I let off the gas it wouldn't do that. I needed to get back home so I kept on the pedal with the knocking. Then the SUV bogged down, I couldn't accelerate or start it back up & I was in the far left lane with fast heavy traffic to boot, ahhhhh!! I pulled off safely, thank God & smoke was POURING from the engine. It now just clicks rapidly & won't start.

I had it towed home, only 8 miles away for $100, seriously...??? Well the tow truck guy said it looked like red oil sprayed all over the bottom but it was pitch black out so who knows...

I dunno if I should put a lot of money into this Ford ( btw it looks effing great, besides the mechanical issues) or just take a loss & sell it for next to nothing.

Help....

 

[Baddecision93]

Sorry to hear about your luck.
If it was less than a mile from the dealership when this happened had you considered taking it back and demanding they give you your money back?

I think any upstanding dealer would try to work with you on a problem that serious.

 

[Turdle]

JUst out of curiosity-did the check engine light illuminate?

if not--switch on the key to see if it does-

Some sneeky dealers will pull the CEL light bulb

 

[EddieBauerNOOB]

I didn't know what to do. I just didn't want the highway patrol to have it towed away.

I did call the man up that owns the dealership & his son is coming over this morning.

He said they'll fix it if the problem isn't major. Either way if it doesn't get fixed, Tennessee has a 3 day lemon law that will definitely be brought up.

 

[EddieBauerNOOB]

JUst out of curiosity-did the check engine light illuminate?

if not--switch on the key to see if it does-

Some sneeky dealers will pull the CEL light bulb

He said the bulb was burnt out and it would be only a $4 fix. Yes it was the check engine light.

 

[Turdle]

yeah--lemon law.

A burnt out CEL bulb tells a huge story.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! They should fix it regardless if it's a major or a minor issue, and reimburse you for the tow. The bulb was probably on for a long time, and that's why it burned out.

 

[EddieBauerNOOB]

Welcome to this forum! They should fix it regardless if it's a major or a minor issue, and reimburse you for the tow.

Thanks BrooklynBay, yeah I hope they do fix it. I had a 2010 Nissan Xterra & I honestly think the Explorer looks way better.

 

[Baddecision93]

I would think if they acknowledged the CEL was burnt out then they would be as helpful as possible moving forward.
It could be that they didn't legitimately know it had problems.
Either way, it's unfortunate to hear. I would think that if a dealer wanted to maintain a reputation as a good place to do business they would do everything in their power to remedy the situation.

Best of luck moving forward.

 

[EddieBauerNOOB]

I would think if they acknowledged the CEL was burnt out then they would be as helpful as possible moving forward.
It could be that they didn't legitimately know it had problems.
Either way, it's unfortunate to hear. I would think that if a dealer wanted to maintain a reputation as a good place to do business they would do everything in their power to remedy the situation.

Best of luck moving forward.

Thanks Baddecision93. I'm not mechanically inclined at all, so I had no idea that a bulb would result in this.

Hopefully they do fix the problem or at least refund our money. I really want to keep the SUV if they can at least keep it running for a couple months. I dunno...

 

[Baddecision93]

Well the bulb didn't result in the problem.
What it resulted in was no one being aware that there was a problem. That light indicates something wrong that needs to be fixed or at least looked into.
If it was burnt out before the dealer got it & it drove fine on the test drive neither them nor you were aware that the vehicle had a problem. That's the trouble .

 

[backfrmcolorado]

lol if i was he one who bought it and the dealer didnt want to fix or reemburse me....that truck would be stuffd up someones ass sideways with a lwasuite on them after. Im pissed off for you. Theres honestly no excuse for something like that. Its a used car dealership goal to make a vehicle look as good as they can while on there property and long enough to make it halfway home bfro it breaks down. Many times have i heard of people that bought a great looking and running car at the time just to find out its junkd a few miles to a few hundred miles down the road.

But on a lighter not after a lil venting (sorry), if the truck looks as great as you say i would look into getting another engine out of a wreckd X. I pickd up a complete 4.0 ohv for my 94 for $300. Good luck on everything and hope it goes the way i should for you.

 

[Sams01XplrSprt]

welcome and sorry to hear bout ur x

 

[wicsmith1997]

Keep a paper trail. If they stall till after your 3 days need to be able to show you notified them in that 3 days. Just in case you need litigation to resolve it.

 

[1Aauto]

welcome to the site

 

[EddieBauerNOOB]

lol if i was he one who bought it and the dealer didnt want to fix or reemburse me....that truck would be stuffd up someones ass sideways with a lwasuite on them after. Im pissed off for you. Theres honestly no excuse for something like that. Its a used car dealership goal to make a vehicle look as good as they can while on there property and long enough to make it halfway home bfro it breaks down. Many times have i heard of people that bought a great looking and running car at the time just to find out its junkd a few miles to a few hundred miles down the road.

But on a lighter not after a lil venting (sorry), if the truck looks as great as you say i would look into getting another engine out of a wreckd X. I pickd up a complete 4.0 ohv for my 94 for $300. Good luck on everything and hope it goes the way i should for you.

Thanks backfrmcolorado. Yeah the tow truck guy told me he has 30 of the same exact cases & he's only been with that tow company for 2 weeks now.

The father & son buisness sent his son over with a tow truck & towed it back to their place. He thinks the motor is shot. He said it's up to his father what they decide they can do for us. Hopefully they'll fix it because I don't want to give up my explorer. :roll:

 

[EddieBauerNOOB]

welcome and sorry to hear bout ur x

Thanks Sams01XplrSprt I appreciate it.

 

[EddieBauerNOOB]

Keep a paper trail. If they stall till after your 3 days need to be able to show you notified them in that 3 days. Just in case you need litigation to resolve it.

Thanks wicsmith1997, hopefully it doesn't have to go that way.

 

[EddieBauerNOOB]

welcome to the site

Thanks 1ATony

 

[EddieBauerNOOB]

Well I just received the phone call from the owner & he says it's the timing chain & will be fixed by noon tomorrow.

Now I'm not an expert on engines; but would a timing chain spray red oil all over the bottom of the engine?

The tow guy said it might be the transmission pressurized hoses. One of the hoses was clamped, but needed to be pressurized.

What do you guys think about this..?