Lucked out on a triple whammy

[blwnsmoke]

Got the Explorer back today. So as stated, PTU, Epas, alignment, oil change, valve cover and alignment all under warranty.

Water pump, timing chain and tensioner as well as spark plugs replaced and another coolant change

I was charged $300 in labor (about 2 1/2 hours) for the water pump/timing chain and plugs plus $300 for the parts (was $387 but he knocked off $87).

So all in all, $600 plus $100 deductible for all the work. Water pump is covered now for 2 years, unlimited miles since it was a paid repair.

Overall I am very happy at what I was charged for out of pocket parts/labor.

My service advisor who I know pretty well said the warranty work was $4,200 billed to Ford.

 

[blwnsmoke]

Seriously Ford??? Not even 24 hours later....

 

[613GT500]

Seriously Ford??? Not even 24 hours later....

View attachment 163493

Lol...
Did EPAS stop working?

 

[KayGee]

Hopefully it's something simple like they forgot to reprogram the PSCM or didn't update it properly or a loose connection.

I shudder to think how an RO like yours would be handled by my local dealer. They seem to struggle mightily on ROs with 2 or 3 minor/simple repairs. Your vehicle just went through the equivalent of open heart surgery with hip replacement and a side order of spleenectomy....

 

[blwnsmoke]

Lol...
Did EPAS stop working?

Yup, I knew the routine.. yellow warning means you are screwed as soon as you shut down. Told my wife who wqs driving my kids to school before heading to work to not shut it off till she gets to work. It had limited assist but driveable.

Got to her work to switch vehicles and the red warning was up when I started it with zero power steering. Always a fun trip to the dealer with a death grip on the wheel forcing it to turn.

On a side note, my SA said the racks are refurbs.. not new that Ford supplies. I will be calling Ford todsy or tomorrow to discuss.

 

[blwnsmoke]

Hopefully it's something simple like they forgot to reprogram the PSCM or didn't update it properly or a loose connection.

I shudder to think how an RO like yours would be handled by my local dealer. They seem to struggle mightily on ROs with 2 or 3 minor/simple repairs. Your vehicle just went through the equivalent of open heart surgery with hip replacement and a side order of spleenectomy....

Lmao, too funny!! My dealer is really good, thats why I travel further to them.. been going there for 11 years so know them well.

They have 9 diesel bays and around 20 gas service bays.

 

[blwnsmoke]

And it continues.... picked it up again on Thursday, drove 3 lights after another EPAS was put in.. and bamm.

Went back to dealer and been there since waiting on further investigation. #6 will be installed and I mentioned to them to look at the connections.. possible bad pin connection somewhere.

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

ouch, how frustrating!

 

[blwnsmoke]

Figured I would send out another update for those interested. Tech said it was a wiring issue and he was able to get it to clear and come back while he was playing with it. They claimed they fixed it so once again, sent my wife to drop of the rental and pick it up.

Good news!! She got further then 3 lights this time... but didnt make it home.


They had 2 different techs drive it.. put on about 40 miles and all seemed fine till my wife drove it. So last Wednesday as soon as she got home, she left it running so I could bring it back again with a little bit of power steering. Got into a 2018 Expedition Limited Max (another amazing vehicle.. like it more then the Navigator I had).

They have had it since then... lets see, Ford rental bill around somewhere around $1,000 over the past 3 1/2 weeks..

Very frustrating and I am now quite angry over this. Although we love the new rental vehicles, my wife just wants her car back. We are on I believe 5 round trips.. our time, our fuel.. I know they are extremely frustrated as well.. I could tell the SA that I always deal with is really pissed and frustrated.. they dont even want it back lol.

 

[613GT500]

Figured I would send out another update for those interested. Tech said it was a wiring issue and he was able to get it to clear and come back while he was playing with it. They claimed they fixed it so once again, sent my wife to drop of the rental and pick it up.

Good news!! She got further then 3 lights this time... but didnt make it home.


They had 2 different techs drive it.. put on about 40 miles and all seemed fine till my wife drove it. So last Wednesday as soon as she got home, she left it running so I could being it back again with a little bit of power steering. Got into a 2018 Expedition Limited Max (another amazing vehicle.. like it more then the Navigator I had).

They have had it since then... lets see, Ford rental bill around somewhere around $1,000 over the past 3 1/2 weeks..

Very frustrating and Inam now quite angry over this. Although we love the nee rental vehicles, my wife just wants her car back. We are on I believe 5 round trips.. our time, our fuel.. I know they are extremely frustrated as well.. I could tell the SA that I always deal with is really pissed and frustrated.. they dont even want it back lol.

View attachment 163960

Wouldn't it be easier this time around to swap out the wiring harness, which I assume is it's own set of wires running down the steering column?

 

[blwnsmoke]

So what I think will be a final update on this.

So the 5th failure happened a little over a week ago after going bout 5,000 miles on the last repair attempt. Dealer working with the Ford Hotline found that both lower ball joints were complete junk and causing binding. They basically said the ball joints were seized and they could barely turn the front wheels left to right with their hands. This is putting major strain on the EPAS and causing it to overheat and go into a fail mode. They replaced ball joints, both lower control arms and both tie rods. Reset the EPAS and all is good.

On another site, a tech very familiar with the EPAS issues stated that front suspension parts could be a cause of the failure as these can overheat when put under stress. He said it is very unlikely to get a new EPAS that fails let alone several in a row... Not sure why they didn't figure this out the past 3 or 4 times but hey, I think I'm finally good.

 

[thefranchise713]

Congrats on the fix.

I hope.