Blackout2017
Elite Explorer
- Joined
- February 11, 2016
- Messages
- 78
- Reaction score
- 51
- Location
- my desk
- City, State
- Vegas, baby!
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2017 Sport Shadow 401A
Aug 25 2022 – Driving to work in the morning, my 2017 Explorer Sport slows to a stop on the side of the freeway and the engine dies. I called CarMax, and they called for a tow. [Thieving Criminal Towing] called me for the location. When I told them where I was, they said that I was only authorized for a tow up to 30 miles, and since I was farther than 30 miles away from the shop authorized by CarMax, I’d have to pay the difference. I said okay and gave them my credit card info. It took the driver 8 hours to get to the vehicle. In that time, my credit card was used to attempt a purchase at an Apple Store in another state. Also, I checked the distance to the auto shop, and the vehicle was towed 6 miles. [Thieving Criminal Towing] charged me $37.50. My bank did not charge me to cancel my credit card and issue a new one.
Aug 26 2022 – Auto shop determines that the catalytic convertors are burned out and that is not covered by the CarMax warranty, but it is covered by the Ford warranty. I pay to have the vehicle towed to [Huge Procrastinator Ford Dealership]. [Apparently Honest Towing Company] charged me $89.40 to tow it 8 miles to [Huge Procrastinator Ford Dealership], who verifies that I need new catalytic convertors, which unfortunately are on backorder at the factory. I check online and see that there is a three-month hold on orders. I talk with a service rep at CarMax and ask why the cats aren’t covered. I said that when I bought the vehicle, I asked for the best warranty they had. They said “We don’t have a ‘best’ warranty, just a longer one.”
Nov 22 2022 – I get a text from [Huge Procrastinator Ford Dealership] that my vehicle is ready for pick-up. I call to verify and they say that they just switched to a new software program and it is sending out random messages to customers. Sorry about that.
Dec 01 2022 – I receive a voice mail from [Huge Procrastinator Ford Dealership] that the parts I’ve been waiting for have arrived. I call back to verify and my service tech says that it must have been a mistake because he’s looked everywhere and they aren’t there. Sorry about that.
Feb 20 2023 – My service tech calls me to say that the new catalytic convertors arrived and have been installed. I also need a Charge Air Cooler tube from the bank 1 turbo to the intercooler, which will arrive tomorrow. I also need a new battery. I told him the battery was brand new and fine. He said he’d look into it.
Feb 27 2023 – I receive a call that it’s “not shifting right” and they want permission to put $20 worth of gas into the tank to drive it around to test the shifting.
Mar 01 2023 – I stopped at the shop to have a face-to-face conversation with someone. My service tech says it needs a high-pressure fuel pump, and he can have the part tomorrow. He also says that the battery is fine and doesn’t need to be replaced. When I ask him to explain what has been happening with the vehicle up to now, he says “Hey, I’m just a service tech. I’m not a mechanic. I’m just reading what it says here in the file.” He printed me a two-page work order that included Skill 01 Tune - Approved, High Pressure Fuel Pump R & R (remove and replace?) - Submitted, and a note that it was observed that a CAC tube was “blown out” and recommended replacing. Also included was Labor Hrs 2.0 and Labor Price $385.86 (so $192.93 per hour? for all the work they’ve done in six months?). The shop foreman spoke to me and said that he would look into the situation and get back with me tomorrow.
Mar 02 2023 – The service tech called and said CarMax approved the high-pressure fuel pump but he has to wait for payment from them, and also I need to pay a $200 deductible.
Mar 06 2023 – The service tech called and said “I wish I had better news.” The high-pressure fuel pump is installed, but the Check Engine light is coming on and there’s “a noise” during the test drive.
Mar 09 2023 – The service tech called. The new catalytic convertors have burned out and need to be replaced again. It seems that the old high-pressure pump is what ruined the original cats, and they replaced the cats before they replaced the fuel pump, so the old fuel pump burned out the new cats. The parts department says they’ll have a new set by next week.
Mar 17 2023 – The service tech called. The new cats are in, and they’ll start the installation this afternoon. Assuming no more problems (ha ha), they just need to collect payment from CarMax to release the vehicle to me.
Mar 24 2023 – The service tech called. Everything is put together and they’ve received payment from CarMax… however the Check Engine light is back on and the vehicle doesn’t accelerate well at high speed. They have it in a bay, “high priority,” but they may have to take the engine apart to find the problem.
Mar 30 2023 – The shop foreman called (29 days after saying he’d call me the next day). Everything is done, all parts installed. He took it for a test drive and got it up to high speed, and it started throwing codes and it went into limp mode. It’s misfiring on three cylinders. He wants to close out the work order and start a new one. I owe $660.50 in deductibles for the first work order, which needs to be paid before he can open the new one. He texted me a link to make the payment and a link to the invoice to see what work needs to be done. I clicked on the invoice link and the link is broken.
Mar 31 2023 – I clicked on the payment link sent yesterday and that link is also broken. They texted me a new link and I made the payment. They texted me a link for a feedback survey. I clicked and the link is broken.
Apr 14 2023 – They texted me a link for me to approve a $1,081.59 + tax charge for “EXTRA TIME TO TEAR DOWN FOR INSPECTION OF FUEL RAIL AND BANK 1 INJECTORS.”
Apr 17 2023 – The service tech called to ask if I was going to pay the fee for the tear-down. I said it’s been eight months and they keep finding new problems for me to pay for. He said that most of that time was waiting for the catalytic convertors. I reminded him that they showed up eight weeks ago. I said that I’d come in later today to talk with the shop foreman.
Later that day… The service tech called back. Good news! He said he’d spoken with the shop foreman and they’re going to cover the $1,081.59 (+ tax) tear-down fee.
May 02 2023 – I called and spoke with the shop foreman. He said that they’d tested for metal in the fuel, even though he felt it was unlikely, and sure enough there was none. Now he’s going to inspect the cylinders to see if they are leaking. He said the test should take a day or two.
May 10 2023 – I asked for a private meeting with the shop foreman. I asked him if a Ford vehicle in a Ford service shop at a Ford dealership being worked on by Ford certified mechanics having access to all Ford parts and the entire database of Ford information should take most of a year to fix, and didn't he consider it a point of pride that if he is the foreman of the shop that maybe he should assign as many mechanics as needed to get it diagnosed and fixed as quickly as possible and back to the owner. I said that even not knowing what could possibly be the problem, an entire vehicle could be built by hand part by part in less time. He said that he has hundreds of vehicles on the lot and there are at least half a dozen in the same boat with me. I did not find this reassuring. Getting back to the actual issues, he said the cylinder leak test showed 5%, which is well below concern as brand new vehicles can show up to 20%. Now he’s going to switch the three fuel injectors which are throwing codes, and he should know if that’s the fix by end of day in two days (Note in the large edit below that a mechanic actually recommended this two months ago). He’s also calling a Ford Field Service Engineer to come take a look if that’s still needed after that. He also hooked me up with a loaner vehicle. He also gave me a coupon for a free car wash.
May 12 2023 – The shop foreman called. Everything’s fixed. Rather than switching the three fuel injectors to see if the codes followed them, he just replaced them and they’re working properly now. He said she’s putting out a “s**t ton of power.” He’ll test drive it some more tomorrow and Monday. He didn’t get prior approval from CarMax before replacing the fuel injectors so he needs both approval and payment from them.
May 22 2023 – I called the shop foreman and left a message to ask about the status. No return call from him.
May 24 2023 – I got a call from the service tech. The vehicle is done and ready to go. All remaining costs are covered by either CarMax or the extended Ford warranty so there are no additional costs other than what I’ve already paid. I told him exactly what time I would be there. Knowing that a customer was coming to pick up a vehicle that had been on their lot for most of a year, neither my service tech nor the shop foreman made themselves available. After waiting several minutes for anyone to acknowledge my presence, I approached a service tech unknown to myself. She called for my vehicle to be brought up and then handed me a final screen-print from the service department software. No invoice, no receipt, no signature required. I handed over the keys to the loaner, which of course now had a full tank of gas, and drove off in my vehicle which was freshly washed and with an empty tank. I filled her up on the way home: $74.36.
265 days at [Huge Procrastinator Ford Dealership].
Work I was told was done but is not necessarily mentioned on any documents that I've been given:
- Replaced two catalytic convertors, twice
- Replaced CAC tube
- Replaced O2 sensor(s?)
- Replaced high-pressure fuel pump
- Replaced 3 fuel injectors
I paid $860.50 in deductibles. I declined paying for a new battery, and I had a $1,081.59 tear-down fee waived after I questioned it. The vehicle was driven 140 miles while in-shop. They waited 8 ½ months to give me a loaner vehicle, and I only had it for two weeks. Service History on the FordPass app shows $4,058.14 in services provided since 08/31/2022. The “invoice” I was given at pick-up appears to be another screenshot from the in-house service tracking program; the work shown as done is “Ford MPVI Tracking,” “Check engine light/loss of power during fast acceleration,” “EXTRA TIME TO TEAR DOWN FOR INSPECTION OF FUEL RAIL AND BANK” (billed at $1,081.59) and “NEED TO REMOVE AND REPLACE ALL FUEL INJECTORS ON BANK 1” (billed at $1,116.45); because of the way the form is printed, I cannot see labor hours, labor rate, bill rate, or bill hours, but total labor price is shown as $77.00 (or 23 minutes of labor per previous calculations for all work done since the last work order was closed out on March 31); the only other work shown as done is the car wash. There is no receipt for any payments that I made. There is no comprehensive invoice or list of all work done, or parts replaced, or who paid for it, which is needed for complete maintenance records. The Ford 5-year extended warranty expired while the vehicle was in the shop.
Bonus:
- Last year I had a 5-year-old vehicle with 38k miles. This year I have a 6-year-old vehicle with 38k miles.
- Lotsa new parts, whether I needed them or not.
- Free car wash.
Super Fun Time Edit:
[Huge Procrastinator Ford Dealership] has a customer portal on their website. Checking there I found four documents that I was never provided copies of:
The first is an invoice for $2,289.95 for the Skill 01 Tune, $1,080 in labor, remove and replace fuel injectors (two months before they remembered and actually did it), and several small parts that were never mentioned to me (gaskets, hex nuts, fluids, etc.). "Promise Time: Sat Apr 1, 2023 | 7:00 PM" - haha. On this invoice is a place for my signature. That line is oddly blank.
The second document shows the results of a multi-point inspection, with a repair estimate of $5,037.59. On this estimate is a place for my signature. That line is also blank.
The third document is a receipt for a payment from a credit card that I don't own for a payment of $2,289.95 that I did not make, and a remaining balance due of $55.78 that as far as I am aware I do not owe. Also another blank signature line.
The fourth document is an estimate for $240.67 for the Skill 01 Tune, which is possibly my deductible for either the $2,289.95 for the tune or the $1,080.00 labor cost, or both, mentioned on the first document, and is not the actual amount that I paid for the deductible. Please note that none of these or any other numbers add up.
If anyone can make any sense out of this, I'll buy you a hot pretzel at the mall.
Aug 26 2022 – Auto shop determines that the catalytic convertors are burned out and that is not covered by the CarMax warranty, but it is covered by the Ford warranty. I pay to have the vehicle towed to [Huge Procrastinator Ford Dealership]. [Apparently Honest Towing Company] charged me $89.40 to tow it 8 miles to [Huge Procrastinator Ford Dealership], who verifies that I need new catalytic convertors, which unfortunately are on backorder at the factory. I check online and see that there is a three-month hold on orders. I talk with a service rep at CarMax and ask why the cats aren’t covered. I said that when I bought the vehicle, I asked for the best warranty they had. They said “We don’t have a ‘best’ warranty, just a longer one.”
Nov 22 2022 – I get a text from [Huge Procrastinator Ford Dealership] that my vehicle is ready for pick-up. I call to verify and they say that they just switched to a new software program and it is sending out random messages to customers. Sorry about that.
Dec 01 2022 – I receive a voice mail from [Huge Procrastinator Ford Dealership] that the parts I’ve been waiting for have arrived. I call back to verify and my service tech says that it must have been a mistake because he’s looked everywhere and they aren’t there. Sorry about that.
Feb 20 2023 – My service tech calls me to say that the new catalytic convertors arrived and have been installed. I also need a Charge Air Cooler tube from the bank 1 turbo to the intercooler, which will arrive tomorrow. I also need a new battery. I told him the battery was brand new and fine. He said he’d look into it.
Feb 27 2023 – I receive a call that it’s “not shifting right” and they want permission to put $20 worth of gas into the tank to drive it around to test the shifting.
Mar 01 2023 – I stopped at the shop to have a face-to-face conversation with someone. My service tech says it needs a high-pressure fuel pump, and he can have the part tomorrow. He also says that the battery is fine and doesn’t need to be replaced. When I ask him to explain what has been happening with the vehicle up to now, he says “Hey, I’m just a service tech. I’m not a mechanic. I’m just reading what it says here in the file.” He printed me a two-page work order that included Skill 01 Tune - Approved, High Pressure Fuel Pump R & R (remove and replace?) - Submitted, and a note that it was observed that a CAC tube was “blown out” and recommended replacing. Also included was Labor Hrs 2.0 and Labor Price $385.86 (so $192.93 per hour? for all the work they’ve done in six months?). The shop foreman spoke to me and said that he would look into the situation and get back with me tomorrow.
Mar 02 2023 – The service tech called and said CarMax approved the high-pressure fuel pump but he has to wait for payment from them, and also I need to pay a $200 deductible.
Mar 06 2023 – The service tech called and said “I wish I had better news.” The high-pressure fuel pump is installed, but the Check Engine light is coming on and there’s “a noise” during the test drive.
Mar 09 2023 – The service tech called. The new catalytic convertors have burned out and need to be replaced again. It seems that the old high-pressure pump is what ruined the original cats, and they replaced the cats before they replaced the fuel pump, so the old fuel pump burned out the new cats. The parts department says they’ll have a new set by next week.
Mar 17 2023 – The service tech called. The new cats are in, and they’ll start the installation this afternoon. Assuming no more problems (ha ha), they just need to collect payment from CarMax to release the vehicle to me.
Mar 24 2023 – The service tech called. Everything is put together and they’ve received payment from CarMax… however the Check Engine light is back on and the vehicle doesn’t accelerate well at high speed. They have it in a bay, “high priority,” but they may have to take the engine apart to find the problem.
Mar 30 2023 – The shop foreman called (29 days after saying he’d call me the next day). Everything is done, all parts installed. He took it for a test drive and got it up to high speed, and it started throwing codes and it went into limp mode. It’s misfiring on three cylinders. He wants to close out the work order and start a new one. I owe $660.50 in deductibles for the first work order, which needs to be paid before he can open the new one. He texted me a link to make the payment and a link to the invoice to see what work needs to be done. I clicked on the invoice link and the link is broken.
Mar 31 2023 – I clicked on the payment link sent yesterday and that link is also broken. They texted me a new link and I made the payment. They texted me a link for a feedback survey. I clicked and the link is broken.
Apr 14 2023 – They texted me a link for me to approve a $1,081.59 + tax charge for “EXTRA TIME TO TEAR DOWN FOR INSPECTION OF FUEL RAIL AND BANK 1 INJECTORS.”
Apr 17 2023 – The service tech called to ask if I was going to pay the fee for the tear-down. I said it’s been eight months and they keep finding new problems for me to pay for. He said that most of that time was waiting for the catalytic convertors. I reminded him that they showed up eight weeks ago. I said that I’d come in later today to talk with the shop foreman.
Later that day… The service tech called back. Good news! He said he’d spoken with the shop foreman and they’re going to cover the $1,081.59 (+ tax) tear-down fee.
May 02 2023 – I called and spoke with the shop foreman. He said that they’d tested for metal in the fuel, even though he felt it was unlikely, and sure enough there was none. Now he’s going to inspect the cylinders to see if they are leaking. He said the test should take a day or two.
May 10 2023 – I asked for a private meeting with the shop foreman. I asked him if a Ford vehicle in a Ford service shop at a Ford dealership being worked on by Ford certified mechanics having access to all Ford parts and the entire database of Ford information should take most of a year to fix, and didn't he consider it a point of pride that if he is the foreman of the shop that maybe he should assign as many mechanics as needed to get it diagnosed and fixed as quickly as possible and back to the owner. I said that even not knowing what could possibly be the problem, an entire vehicle could be built by hand part by part in less time. He said that he has hundreds of vehicles on the lot and there are at least half a dozen in the same boat with me. I did not find this reassuring. Getting back to the actual issues, he said the cylinder leak test showed 5%, which is well below concern as brand new vehicles can show up to 20%. Now he’s going to switch the three fuel injectors which are throwing codes, and he should know if that’s the fix by end of day in two days (Note in the large edit below that a mechanic actually recommended this two months ago). He’s also calling a Ford Field Service Engineer to come take a look if that’s still needed after that. He also hooked me up with a loaner vehicle. He also gave me a coupon for a free car wash.
May 12 2023 – The shop foreman called. Everything’s fixed. Rather than switching the three fuel injectors to see if the codes followed them, he just replaced them and they’re working properly now. He said she’s putting out a “s**t ton of power.” He’ll test drive it some more tomorrow and Monday. He didn’t get prior approval from CarMax before replacing the fuel injectors so he needs both approval and payment from them.
May 22 2023 – I called the shop foreman and left a message to ask about the status. No return call from him.
May 24 2023 – I got a call from the service tech. The vehicle is done and ready to go. All remaining costs are covered by either CarMax or the extended Ford warranty so there are no additional costs other than what I’ve already paid. I told him exactly what time I would be there. Knowing that a customer was coming to pick up a vehicle that had been on their lot for most of a year, neither my service tech nor the shop foreman made themselves available. After waiting several minutes for anyone to acknowledge my presence, I approached a service tech unknown to myself. She called for my vehicle to be brought up and then handed me a final screen-print from the service department software. No invoice, no receipt, no signature required. I handed over the keys to the loaner, which of course now had a full tank of gas, and drove off in my vehicle which was freshly washed and with an empty tank. I filled her up on the way home: $74.36.
265 days at [Huge Procrastinator Ford Dealership].
Work I was told was done but is not necessarily mentioned on any documents that I've been given:
- Replaced two catalytic convertors, twice
- Replaced CAC tube
- Replaced O2 sensor(s?)
- Replaced high-pressure fuel pump
- Replaced 3 fuel injectors
I paid $860.50 in deductibles. I declined paying for a new battery, and I had a $1,081.59 tear-down fee waived after I questioned it. The vehicle was driven 140 miles while in-shop. They waited 8 ½ months to give me a loaner vehicle, and I only had it for two weeks. Service History on the FordPass app shows $4,058.14 in services provided since 08/31/2022. The “invoice” I was given at pick-up appears to be another screenshot from the in-house service tracking program; the work shown as done is “Ford MPVI Tracking,” “Check engine light/loss of power during fast acceleration,” “EXTRA TIME TO TEAR DOWN FOR INSPECTION OF FUEL RAIL AND BANK” (billed at $1,081.59) and “NEED TO REMOVE AND REPLACE ALL FUEL INJECTORS ON BANK 1” (billed at $1,116.45); because of the way the form is printed, I cannot see labor hours, labor rate, bill rate, or bill hours, but total labor price is shown as $77.00 (or 23 minutes of labor per previous calculations for all work done since the last work order was closed out on March 31); the only other work shown as done is the car wash. There is no receipt for any payments that I made. There is no comprehensive invoice or list of all work done, or parts replaced, or who paid for it, which is needed for complete maintenance records. The Ford 5-year extended warranty expired while the vehicle was in the shop.
Bonus:
- Last year I had a 5-year-old vehicle with 38k miles. This year I have a 6-year-old vehicle with 38k miles.
- Lotsa new parts, whether I needed them or not.
- Free car wash.
Super Fun Time Edit:
[Huge Procrastinator Ford Dealership] has a customer portal on their website. Checking there I found four documents that I was never provided copies of:
The first is an invoice for $2,289.95 for the Skill 01 Tune, $1,080 in labor, remove and replace fuel injectors (two months before they remembered and actually did it), and several small parts that were never mentioned to me (gaskets, hex nuts, fluids, etc.). "Promise Time: Sat Apr 1, 2023 | 7:00 PM" - haha. On this invoice is a place for my signature. That line is oddly blank.
The second document shows the results of a multi-point inspection, with a repair estimate of $5,037.59. On this estimate is a place for my signature. That line is also blank.
The third document is a receipt for a payment from a credit card that I don't own for a payment of $2,289.95 that I did not make, and a remaining balance due of $55.78 that as far as I am aware I do not owe. Also another blank signature line.
The fourth document is an estimate for $240.67 for the Skill 01 Tune, which is possibly my deductible for either the $2,289.95 for the tune or the $1,080.00 labor cost, or both, mentioned on the first document, and is not the actual amount that I paid for the deductible. Please note that none of these or any other numbers add up.
If anyone can make any sense out of this, I'll buy you a hot pretzel at the mall.
