Rear Window

[Exploder99]

ok, the darn window has been leaking since the day i got the car. of course my dealer says this is normal and pays no attention to this matter. after heavy rains i find water in the back of my car. i dont want my stereo getting wet, especially the stealth box. i checked the weather strip, its ok, the rr-defrost wires are out of the way and dealer supposedly adjusted the hinges. anyone else have this happen? what should i do?

 

[Tim K]

Have the dealer replace the weatherstrip. Mine leaked within a couple of months of buying it new in 1997. The dealer replaced the weatherstripping and it has been fine ever since. The weatherstripping looked perfect to the eye, so just because yours looks OK doesn't mean it is. Get tough with the dealer!!! YEAH!!!

 

['96explorereddiebauer]

I don't know if this would help or not, I doubt it would. Anyways...do the news stations there do some sort of investigation about stuff that concerns the consumers?? ie: Chrysler liftgate latch problems. You should call them and let them do the dirty work.
There was one investigation report talking about a Chevy Cavalier convertible pours in water when there was rain. The consumer called the news station and after the report, Chevy bought back their car and got a new one. I think you should do that.
Just call in and tell them you have a lemon and Ford kept telling you that it's normal to do all that kind of stuff such as water leaks, poor gas mileage, etc... I know this is no help so sorry I bothered ya reading this nonsense.

 

[Stephen]

Mine sprays a little up onto the inside of the rear window after a carwash or something, but not that bad.

 

[Exploder99]

long one, sorry i needed to vent

Stephen.. its not a bad leak, its just annoying. i mean how would you feel if your brand new car didnt start, had bad brakes and leaked on top of many other problems.

96expEb... the dealer has me on speed dial, they are doing alot but not helping much, if that makes any sense. i cant lemon law cause i bought the car in NY and registerd it in Florida, or as my friends from brooklyn call it "Flowda". the best that they can do is give me $800 credit towards a new ford/linc/merc since they dont consider my car deffective. the car is scary and unreliable, you drive for a while mr service mr service manager. meanwhile they went 45 miles on 1/2 tank and told me that my gas consumption is normal(my major complaint) what the heck can i do with 800 bucks? my car is leased but its paid off, im a college kid and i dont want to worry about working and making payments every month when i should study. hey i dont have a 3.67 GPA for nuttin. anyway, if they pro-rate me, which would be ok cause i did use the car, i will have enough loot to get another car, if they are gonna give me the 800 and take my pretty orange POS then they can blow it out their ass. its a never ending battle and its changed my views on ford. my family goes wayyy back with ford/linc/merc and this just turned it all butter side down.

 

[Stephen]

Its like I always say, Ford is an awful company and I hate doing business with them. I just happen to really like the Explorers.

You definately have a bad truck, have you tried contacting Ford Customer Service directly or have you been going through the dealer?

 

[01EB5.0]

Try another dealer if that one won't cooperate. We had a bad dealer out here, but I went somewhere else and found a really good service writer and he makes sure everything is done well. He even is giving me half off the bill fixing my cruise control lights because it is 1,500 miles out of warentee. (He told me he would have told ford the truck had 1,500 less and done it for free, but I brought it in for a recall 2 weeks ago and they recorded the mileage with ford...DOH!)

 

[Exploder99]

ive switched dealers like 3 times, the last one stole our e-150 conversion van for july 4th weekend, racked up 700 miles and broke the windshield while they were at it. oh yes, they denied it too. umm, my service writer is ok, he finds me annoying constantly complaining about the brakes and gas mileage. ivge contacted attorney general, beter business bureau, customer service who just refers me to a local dealer and nobody seems to want to help. ive also spoke to an attorney up in west palm who solicited me when i sent in my defect notice, he agreed that i had a good case but he also wanted to bang me in the head for a $750 retainer and like 28%. i dont know guys, i cant win, and im sooo fustrated, ive been in the process since spring 1999!!! i hope being persistant pays off.

 

[Stephen]

It probably will eventually. Hang in there, I know its frustrating.

 

[01EB5.0]

Can you just trade it in at a dealer that doesn't know about the problems and get a similar 99 2 door?

 

[Exploder99]

nahh man, i wouldve traded a month after delivery but is a lease. not to mention i did advanved payment. hey, the car is $30k in NY, i figured i had a nice new car for 3 years and didnt have to worry about payments, i had the cash handy so it really made sense at the time. dang, regret really IS the most expensive mistake!!

 

[01EB5.0]

Jeeze..that sux. i was looking into leasing also, but thought buying a truck that was a bit older and actually owning it was the route I would take for now. Sorry to hear of all your problems.

 

[Stephen]

Leasing really isn't a good idea for a younger person. I lease the Lexus, but I lease it for business and write it off my taxes. If you dont have the ability to write it off, then leasing doesnt make much sense. Its a good way to get lower payments, but anymore they arent THAT much lower, and as you can see in this case there are pitfalls. I had a 93 Lincoln Continental that was a big problem so I bought out of the lease a year early in 95. I was glad to be rid of the car, but that was a pretty costly thing to do.

 

[arsoul]

As I read about all the problems with dealers I just have to tell my story.
My 94 was T-boned by a joy-rider a year ago so I had it towed to the local Ford dealer for the MASSIVE repairs that were needed. It was 3am when I dropped it off, so I called the next day. They said to come in the next day, so I did. When I got there, no one seemed to know what I was talking about. Long story short...they lost it! They had no idea where it was. Two weeks later as I was beginning legal procedings (my uncle is a lawyer) I get a call from a body shop asking if it was my Explorer they found in their lot. All said and done, Berge Ford wrote me a check for $1000 for my troubles and I haven't been back to a dealer since.

 

[kebber]

arsoul

So basically the Ford dealership did want anything to do with your truck, when the bodyshop mgr. arrived at work the next day and saw your truck sitting there he figured I don't want to deal with that thing, not sure who's it is, so presto, call Jim Bob's down the street and have them take it off my hands. After they had to write you the check he probably got his peepee slapped pretty good. I betcha he won't do that again! At least we can hope! I hate to hear of such treatment from a Ford dealership especially to a Ford customer. Thats awful. There are some honest one out there keep looking!

 

[Stephen]

This is the problem with Ford, they just do stuff like that. Fortuantely they're trying to step up their customer service maybe that'll help some aspects of it. I'm not going to hold my breath though.

 

[Exploder99]

ive noticed somewhat of an improvement in their service dept but the customer servise is just ishy. it would help to talk to someone with the least bit of automotive knowledge. "What's a rotator splint?" hehe Road trip- great flick. anyway, all in all i must say that i am somwhat pleased with the sales people and how they are so laid back and dont care about selling, well, in florida anyway. it kinda eases the pressure.

Leasing? made sense at the time and like is said i had the cash handy. if i can get out of this pro-rated ill be happy. will i lease again? probably not, you have no idea how bad i want to cut holes for the tweeters in the front doors =). im gonna write another letter and hand deliver it to the dealer when i pick up my measly refund certificate. ill keep you guys posted.

 

[Stephen]

Good luck!

 

[IAmTodd]

I have a leak in my back window too. It leaks right around the hinge area on the window itself. The night i found it i couldn't see anything wrong. Tonite as i washed it i noticed 2 screws that attach the hinge to the hatch have rubbed 2 holes in the weath stripping. The leak isn't bad, so I'm just gonna say F it for now and since its cold, it'll freeze and i won't have to worry about it till spring