New guy, new to forums too. - Mismatched Mirrors?

[CharmBall]

My new 2018 Explorer Base model came with two different outside mirrors. One of them was painted black and the other was painted the body color. The body color mirror has the lighted turn signal in it, but it doesn't work.

I went to my dealership and was told by service that the lighted mirror was not supposed to come on the Base model. My question is can the lighted mirror be made to work?

 

[shucker1]

You bought a new car without matching side mirrors?

I would pitch a fit and ask for the better mirrors that do work.

The body side harness connection is there but its just a matter of the right connector to get it to work at the mirror.

P.S. Welcome to the Forum!

 

[gmcv893]

Welcome, and I agree with Shucker1. I would be throwing a fit if I bought a new Explorer, and the thing had mismatching mirrors!

 

[peterk9]

My new 2018 Explorer Base model came with two different outside mirrors. One of them was painted black and the other was painted the body color. The body color mirror has the lighted turn signal in it, but it doesn't work.

I went to my dealership and was told by service that the lighted mirror was not supposed to come on the Base model. My question is can the lighted mirror be made to work?

Welcome to the Forum.
I'd try to see if they would replace the black one with a body coloured mirror and get it to work but I think the most likely outcome would be that they would install another black one. Does the body coloured mirror have the BLIS feature or a small convex mirror? The black one probably has the convex mirror and therefore your Explorer likely doesn't have the required radar sensors installed to enable the BLIS feature. Keep an eye out for the other owner with the opposite problem.

Peter

 

[gmcv893]

Keep an eye out for the other owner with the opposite problem.

That's funny!

 

[KayGee]

Base and XLT should come standard with non painted mirrors (mic = molded in color) The XLT has optional gloss black mirrors, std on sport (not sure if mic or painted). Limited should be body color and platinum should be satin chrome.

If you have 2 "painted" mirrors on your base, both mirrors could be wrong. Or, you are mistaking the molded in color for paint.

Whatever mirrors you have, it never should have made it out of the plant, nor should it have passed the dealer pre-delivery check. At best, I think you are going to get whatever mirrors were supposed to come on your car in the first place. I see little point in asking for an optional mirror that wasn't supposed to be on your vehicle and can't imagine Ford or any dealer accommodating such a a request. However, you currently have the upper hand, and in the age we live in, you may find that you get faster and better customer service by taking your case to social media and posting pics of Fords' and your dealers incompetence. While not as scandalous as some of the activities that have gone on at CAP, an autoblog may pick up on it and your story could go "viral".

 

[shucker1]

At one time Ford had a motto "Job 1" I don't think it was ever "Job 1\2"

Kinda what we have going on here.

 

[JAPeterson]

I can just hear the guys on the assembly line.

Hey Joe, I don't have anymore XLT mirrors.

Joe: Well just grab one of those Limited mirrors and put it on, no one will ever notice. Who is going to buy the first beer tonight?.


As for the pre -delivery inspection I don't believe that half of the stuff is actually checked when they go through the check list. Perhaps if it is one of the first to be done they might check all the items but as the day goes on they might start to skip stuff. I know that when I picked up my XLT that there were a few items that stuck out so bad that you could see them from the showroom floor. I brought them to the attention to the salesman and he got it taken care of very quick.

 

[blwnsmoke]

Welcome, and I agree with Shucker1. I would be throwing a fit if I bought a new Explorer, and the thing had mismatching mirrors!

Ridiculous!! Pitch a fit? They will order a replacement mirror.. no issue with paint match since they are not body color. 5 minutes and it is swapped out.

Guess I should have pitched a fit when my armrest in my F350 was not all leather on the passenger seat when it was supposed to be.

Sheesh..

 

[blwnsmoke]

You bought a new car without matching side mirrors?

I would pitch a fit and ask for the better mirrors that do work.

The body side harness connection is there but its just a matter of the right connector to get it to work at the mirror.

P.S. Welcome to the Forum!

Ridiculous as well. Ford will not pay to upgrade the mirrors. They will warranty what is supposed to be on there. On top of that, even IF they upgraded him (which they won't), there will no longer be any warranty on the upgraded mirror as it is not original equipment.

The entitlement these days is absurd.

 

[shucker1]

I can just hear the guys on the assembly line.

Hey Joe, I don't have anymore XLT mirrors.

Joe: Well just grab one of those Limited mirrors and put it on, no one will ever notice. Who is going to buy the first beer tonight?

It wasn't the guys on the assembly line.

It was Robot #1 saying to Robot #2...

"How about a can of oil tonight?"

Robot #2 says "Nope, I'm going to check Rosie's bolts out"!

P.S. For you younger folks Rosie was the maid on an old cartoon called "The Jetson's"

 

[CharmBall]

Thanks for the welcome guys.. Happy to be here..

Thank for all the replies.. I believe I'll take pitch a fit approach.. I've been buying Fords since the the late '60s and I remember "at Ford quality is job #1".This was no fault or action on my part. So far I've had to go to my dealership for service twice on this matter. My dealership is 40 miles from my home. I have now burned up 160 miles that should have been unnecessarily put on my new truck. And that's at $3.00 a gallon.

Sorry about rambling on like this but I get more peeved the more I think about how they've treated me so far. They still expect me to do the round trip again to downgrade a feature that came factory installed on my new truck. It's my opinion that I've already paid for a matching mirror and for them to be activated .

I'll get back to you after whatever happens.

Again I'm thankful for all you guys support for me..

 

[shucker1]

Perhaps a nice sharp pointed letter to Ford Corporate would assist you better?

After all it did leave their assembly line like that...

 

[blwnsmoke]

Lol, it is a side view mirror.. it is a $400 mirror that comes unpainted when ordered and would need to be painted. I doubt the dealership is going to pay $400 for the upgraded mirror and then pay to have it painted. Ford will not replace it under warranty with an upgrade. Warranty covers the VIN.. the VIN is what is entered and they can only warranty parts assigned to the VIN.

If it was me, I would have taken a picture and emailed it to them and told them to call me when the mirror comes in so I only do one trip.

And again, the "upgraded" mirror would not be covered under any future warranty claims (esp or bumper to bumper).

Entitlement....

 

[CharmBall]

Lol, it is a side view mirror.. it is a $400 mirror that comes unpainted when ordered and would need to be painted. I doubt the dealership is going to pay $400 for the upgraded mirror and then pay to have it painted. Ford will not replace it under warranty with an upgrade. Warranty covers the VIN.. the VIN is what is entered and they can only warranty parts assigned to the VIN.

If it was me, I would have taken a picture and emailed it to them and told them to call me when the mirror comes in so I only do one trip.

And again, the "upgraded" mirror would not be covered under any future warranty claims (esp or bumper to bumper).

Entitlement....

I agree under normal circumstances. The thing that trumps that it's no fault of mine that the factory let it ship.

It's a $400 part but it's not my cost. What's going to be done about the 80 mile round trip to my dealership? What's going to happen when I've been told to return twice and being told that I must make the trek again at my expense.

Yeah I'm going to pitch a fit and I better be compensated to my full satisfaction no matter how anybody feels. At $3.00 a gallon and the mileage put on my new truck so far I'm owed something.

 

[peterk9]

Just call and have them order the correct mirror that is supposed to be on the Explorer in the first place and see if they will install it when you go for your next service appointment. I realize that you've spent time and money on your trips but if that is the only dealership in the area, then you don't really have any choice. Perhaps they'll agree to a free oil change, but don't expect anything positive coming out of 'pitching a fit' now or in the future.

Peter

 

[JAPeterson]

I would talk to both the service manager and the salesman and if you can get a hold of him the general manager of the dealer. As was mentioned take a few pictures and be prepared to send a email to them.

If you do it right you might only have to make one trip.

My selling dealer is 120 miles away so I feel your pain, but it can be handled in one trip.

 

[blwnsmoke]

I agree under normal circumstances. The thing that trumps that it's no fault of mine that the factory let it ship.

It's a $400 part but it's not my cost. What's going to be done about the 80 mile round trip to my dealership? What's going to happen when I've been told to return twice and being told that I must make the trek again at my expense.

Yeah I'm going to pitch a fit and I better be compensated to my full satisfaction no matter how anybody feels. At $3.00 a gallon and the mileage put on my new truck so far I'm owed something.

If anything they should offer you a free service. Your fuel cost you $25 round trip tops.. that does not equate to a $400 mirror plus paint costs and labor for it (the painted version) as well as the time it takes to program the vehicle if all the wiring is there for a other mirror.

A free service (oil change, tire rotation, inspection) and MAYBE a tank of fuel is far more then one should get. Going down the line, one person works on the left, one works on the right side so they would t have caught it as all they do is take the next part in line (they are all sync'd up). However final inspection should have caught it but things to slip by.

Your dealer should have been the one to catch it. Especially when washing and detailing it.. Then again, why didn't you catch it at the time of delivery? Because things slip by...

They are entitled to make you whole and if they choose to go above and beyond making you whole, then great. But if I was them and had someone like you acting the way you are, I'd laugh you all the way out and replace your mirror with the correct one.

Being nice and courteous buys people a lot more then being difficult or demanding.

And as Peter said, have it ordered and have it fixed during your 1st service to save you a $25 fuel bill.

 

[peterk9]

My new 2018 Explorer Base model came with two different outside mirrors. One of them was painted black and the other was painted the body color. The body color mirror has the lighted turn signal in it, but it doesn't work.

I went to my dealership and was told by service that the lighted mirror was not supposed to come on the Base model. My question is can the lighted mirror be made to work?

Any update on this?

Peter