Problems with catalytic converter and Ford warranty dept

[hawks06]

In August i took my Explorer in to the dealer because i was having problems accelerating. If i was driving from about 0-60 you would feel the power coming in spurts and car just felt like it was dragging its feet. They said nothing was wrong with it and that there wasn''t an problem. I asked if they could clean out the MAF and they said that theres no such thing as a MAF cleaning service and i had to argue with them about that for a while. At th time my warranty was coming to an end. Now im 3,000 miles past my warranty and i hadn't driven the car in a few months. A week ago i was on the freeway and my check engine light came on and all the power felt like it was lost. I made it to where i was going but the car wasn't drivable after that. I took it to a garage and they said the car needed a tuneup and that caused the Catalytic converter to go out. I don't think ford wanted to acknowledge the problem since my warranty was ending soon.

Also i was having transmision problems before my warranty ran out and a shop told me i needed my transmision rebuilt because they saw metal shavings in the fluid. I took it to ford to get this problem checked out and they again said nothing was wrong. This was before my warranty expired.

Do you think i can get them to cover the catalytic converter since the problem started under warrranty and they didnt do anything about it?

 

[Donner]

Hawks06, bad news... You should have had the dealer do a maint'nance service for whatever the mileage was at that time - let's say an 80,000 mile service. There isn't a MAF cleaning service, but they could have and should have inspected this for you if it was a concern of yours - any concern you had should have been addressed regardless of how you described it - the service department knows this.

The good news is that you can take your vehicle to the dealership... they should have proof of your visits and requests in their system. If nothing was done to your vehicle, no service, and you requested it, discuss this with the service mgr (the top service mgr) mgr (as always, take someone with you).

You mentioned that another shop was involved... If they had recommendations, and you took that to the dealer at that time, they should have been addressed. If you feel that the dealership neglected to provide coverage as stated under the warranty, you will need to discuss this. You should have them address why they didn't provide service - as far as the Cat Converter, don't stop there... let them address everything they should have when you brought it in for service - lastly, call your local department of insurance for advice if the dealership does not comply.

But mostly, if you have proof of visits with record of your issues - bring those too.

 

[BrooklynBay]

It's a simple process to clean the MAF sensor. There is a TSB about this. Check # 42 in my list of useful threads for more information.

 

[muzzymaniac]

As for mileage you didn't post any. Federal law gives you until 80k for cats and I think California goes beyond that. Your tranny request should be on file with Ford as well as their note claiming no action was needed. If you still have a problem with the dealer - go to another and explain your issue. They maybe more willing to help you out. All their service records should be linked so any dealer can look it up. Or you can ask for the District Service Manager.

 

[hawks06]

yeah lucky me my car just hit 86,000 so the federal law wont help me now. But the problem was going on back before 80,000 miles.

 

[Donner]

But you have proof you were there with these issues before 86k miles, right?