HELP! Ford not honoring warranty with 311 miles on car

[rreddy3]

Regarding the Ford-branded charger issue:

Sometimes people who work at dealers—and people who don't work at dealers—just say stuff that is convenient to them, something known as bullshit. They neither know nor care about whether the thing they say is true. It seems to be more and more common, and someone wrote a formal philosophy book on the topic in 2005. The book is a bit highbrow, but very well written.

I'm sure that's true. What's the name of the book? Could make interesting reading. It might be required reading for politicians ...

edit: my bad, I just noticed your link, thanks

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[Lonesparrow67]

This is absolutely insane, and as someone else pointed out, a clear violation of the Magnusson-Moss Warranty Act (highly illegal.) I would promptly send said dealership a strongly worded letter via regular and certified mail (even better if you can have an attorney help you draft it), threatening a civil lawsuit if the repairs are not promptly addressed, free of charge, and covered under the warranty...

 

[HuntingPudel]

Not all Ford dealers are EV certified, nor are all Ford technicians trained to work on EVs.

While this is so, the closer dealerships should have told him that they weren’t EV certified instead of directing him to “the purchasing dealership.” It would have been much more clear that they weren’t trying to blow him off.

 

[Mach1E]

At the risk of stating what others have said, or appearing to be piling on, the problem is none of these dealers want to be bothered, for whatever reason, working on the car. The warranty issue is bull, pure red herring tactic, it’s simply not in play as far as EVSE used. And as OP noted, it had been days since he charged. No causation there.

The fact the non selling dealers are all saying, take it to the selling dealer, has an odor to it. That odor being the setting of turf limits or territories where they don’t and shouldn’t properly exist. There could of course be other reasons for their conduct.

As others have noted they did, I also bought my car at “dealer A” and have had service at “dealers B and C” with no problem at all.

I hope Ford can bring some sense to the dealers involved. Other options might include a chat with a local or state level consumer advocate, perhaps with the county or commonwealth attorney’s anti-competitive practices folks…

Just a guess, but it’s probably a capacity issue.

My local dealer for example only has 1 main EV tech and a couple loaners. So they’re going to prioritize customers who bought from them. Not sure if they turn away “outsiders” or not. But if they do give priority to people like myself who bought from them it means less wait time for service and more likely to get a loaner.

Especially since the loaner thing is dealer specific, that may play into it, prioritizing people who bought from them.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

While this is so, the closer dealerships should have told him that they weren’t EV certified instead of directing him to “the purchasing dealership.” It would have been much more clear that they weren’t trying to blow him off.

Most dealers suck. For every good one there are dozen of bad ones. And that’s not exclusive to Ford.

 

[Tampamike]

Regarding the Ford-branded charger issue:

Sometimes people who work at dealers—and people who don't work at dealers—just say stuff that is convenient to them, something known as bullshit. They neither know nor care about whether the thing they say is true. It seems to be more and more common, and someone wrote a formal philosophy book on the topic in 2005. The book is a bit highbrow, but very well written.

Some people just call it lying.

 

[Mach1E]

Simply pull up the MME owners manual and have the SA point to the language where it says only a Ford-branded L2 home EVSE must be used to charge the vehicle or else the warranty is voided.

Actually that won’t really help their case.

Specifically it says “damage caused by…..a non-Ford branded part…..is not covered.”

While the whole concept of “voiding a warranty” is garbage, there is specific language about using aftermarket parts that cause damage and how that could lead to a warranty claim being denied.

That said, they have a burden of proof to prove that the aftermarket part CAUSED the damage.

Example- you put a supercharger in your Mustang 5.0. Your window motor goes out- covered. You blow up your transmission- denied.

If an improper installation of the charger occurred or a faulty charger, it’s possible for the OP to get denied and have to go after the installer or charger company for coverage. Or possibly an insurance claim.

But more likely Ford is just going to fix the car because proving the above is….. difficult and the burden of proof is on them.

Examples of some language-
https://performanceparts.ford.com/download/PDFS/fpp-warranty.pdf

Page 13 and 14 of our warranty guide explain what’s not covered-
https://www.fordservicecontent.com/...-E-Warranty-version-2_frdwa_EN-US_06_2021.pdf

 

[HuntingPudel]

Most dealers suck. For every good one there are dozen of bad ones. And that’s not exclusive to Ford.

Agreed. And then there is the Dealership Group Who Shall Not be Named. No matter the manufacturer or the brand, they do the absolute best job at being worst.

 

[awp0]

I would ask them to point out where in the manual or warranty paperwork it states that a Ford-branded EVSE is required.

Your home EVSE is not a car's "part", any more than a gas station pump is a "part", so I don't agree that the language above regarding "non-Ford branded part" is relevant here.

 

[jgcom]

Some people just call it lying.

The distinction is made because in many ways bullshit is worse than lying. It leads to a perception that truth is irrelevant or unattainable. That said, I will now take off and put away the amateur philosopher hat …

 

[Mach1E]

I would ask them to point out where in the manual or warranty paperwork it states that a Ford-branded EVSE is required.

Your home EVSE is not a car's "part", any more than a gas station pump is a "part", so I don't agree that the language above regarding "non-Ford branded part" is relevant here.

It is if it caused the damage. If your gas station pump malfunctioned and put water in your tank and blew up your motor, that wouldn’t be covered by a warranty either.

But again, proving that the charger actually caused the car to brick would be difficult.

And even if it did, it would likely be an insurance claim.

 

[Garbone]

Make no sense. Charger just provides AC from the grid. If the juice out of spec the car should just not charge.

All technicians are not created equal. I appluad the dealership for standing behind their techs prognosis even though he is mistaken.

 

[Mike G]

I like my dealer and their sales and service staff. My dealership likes me. Having said that, they've told me that they will work on my EVs because I bought them from them. They won't, or are really reluctant to work on any other EVs that show up.

They have one guy who's EV certified now (used to be two of them)...and he's also their transmission specialist...and is always buried under a transmission work backlog.

The reason they only have one guy is that it's the minimum they are required to have to be 'certified', and anecdotally, the EV work doesn't pay well enough to make it worth staying certified.

I was told, again anecdotally by a member of staff, that the largest (Ford) dealership in my area had all of their techs not renew their EV certification....on purpose. So they wouldn't have to work on any. This was about six months ago. That situation could have changed by now...but you get the point. Ford corporate on one end, consumers on the other end...and the independently owned dealership service system in the middle between both of them. Unhappiness is passed down to the consumer.

 

[GatorGrowl]

Okay. So there is, as in all things, an official process for warranty disputes.
Ford participates in the BBB AUTO LINE warranty dispute resolution program. You may contact BBB AUTO LINE by calling 800-955-5100.
From there it depends on the state you live in, but generally they get three tries to fix it before they have to buy it back. You’ll want a lawyer if you end up going this route - Ford will have one I assure you.
I can find no specific text in the 2025 Owner’s Manual regarding using a charger brand other than the Ford mobile power cable. It implies that you can use any charger with an appropriate plug or an adapter, but doesn’t explicitly state it.
There is a line in the “What’s Not Covered” section of the warranty that excludes “the use of incompatible charging devices or methods” which may be what the dealer is thinking. Your charger is compatible (same one I have). That doesn’t mean the dealer knows that.
For my part, I’d call my insurance company and let them know the car is dead and cannot be driven. If you have rental coverage they should provide you a car. Even if you go past your rental coverage (usually 30 days) you’ll pay half the rate you’d pay on your own.
Look for a dealer that has lots of EVs in stock, call them and ask if they have an EV specialist in their service department. If so, have it towed there.
If you were out of warranty I’d tell you to get the hood open, pull out the trim panels, disconnect the 12v battery for 10 min or so (there is a little battery disconnect pull tab on the battery wire) and then reconnect it. This reboots your car. If still dead after that, charge the 12v battery. @Mach-Lee has a great tutorial on battery issues.

 

[shark]

I totally did this while working at a big chain home improvement store years ago. Someone called my department and asked if we had a particular item. I had only a vague idea of what it was, and no idea of where it might be. I had two choices:

1. Go walk up and down every isle to see if we MIGHT have this item while the person is on hold for several minutes.

2. Tell them, "Let me go check.", wait about 15 seconds, and then tell them we don't have that item.

Guess which one I picked?

Well actually that's some pretty shitty CS. They don't have computer systems to lookup items at this "big chain home improvement store"?

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