Hail mary for help... Ford is screwing me

[ProllyDieWaiting]

TLDR: Ford corporate refused to make their service center honor their warranty and now the dealership wants $3100 to fix an issue that started while under warranty because my car is now 456 miles out of warranty.

2 years ago I posted about getting the "stop safely now" message and my 2022 Mach E not starting because I had it happen multiple times in a short period and the dealership repeatedly just erased any error codes and told me everything was fine. I opened a case with Ford corporate and the BEV team was able to look at the vehicle history and identify a problem requiring a repair. Due to the repeated issues at the dealership I took it to before (including them refusing to follow the diagnostic steps Ford BEV gave them to do) I reached out to the other area BEV Ford service center. They refused to take the car on the grounds they were too busy, and when my Ford case rep reached out via group email they continued to refuse, citing a growing number of cars at their shop (so they were taking somebody's cars...) and refused to even schedule an appointment for a future date. Ford also refused to tell me exactly what was faulty and what repair was needed. After about 2.5 months of back and forth with no resolution, they just closed my case. I confess that after the stress and fighting, I just gave up because the car was drivable and I didn't know what else to do.

Now my car recently gave the stop safely now message and wouldn't start, but is 456 miles out of warranty. It took them 2 weeks to diagnose a short that caused the "high voltage AC compressor" to fail and want $3100 to fix it. I opened a new case with Ford and they won't even acknowledge or address the previous episode. Even if there hadn't been a previous issue, a $3100 repair on a less than 3 years old car seems... pretty wrong to me. I would really like to avoid getting a lawyer, and am not even sure they'd be able to do anything although I do still have alllllll the records, emails, names, dates, case numbers, etc. @Ford before you lose a customer for life, can you make this right? Anyone else have any thoughts?

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[ChasingCoral]

@Ford isn't listening here anymore.

OK, correction: @Ford Motor Company isn't listening here anymore.

 

[MonkeyNutz]

$3100 repairs on less than 3 year old cars sometimes do happen, unfortunately. From your description, the issue has been there for a while and should have been handled under warranty. Dealerships, especially those with busy service departments, are notorious for not putting effort into warranty repairs. Warranty work just does not pay that well vs. all the other billable hours.

You can keep trying with Ford, but they really leave it up to the dealerships to handle such issues, and face consequences when they don't if someone is able to hold them accountable. If you're in a state or area where dealerships are bound by arbitration you should seek that route. Some states' dealership associations are set up to adhere to arbitration rulings with the BBB. This is like the only ting in the entire world that the BBB is actually good for. If they're not bound, the dealership may just refuse to play ball and not agree to arbitration, they'll just stonewall and tell you to pound sand.

You should also try to speak with the GM at this dealership and see if they'll reason with you. Often times, the GM can be more accommodating than their underling managers.

An attorney will be able to do something for you, but this would be a small-claims case. In some jurisdictions you may not be able to have an attorney representation at small-claims, but one can guide you and assist with filings. Some jurisdictions also allow you to seek compensation for legal expenses. You may find it difficult to find an attorney willing to take this on if you're going to end up spending $1500+ and a bunch of time to recover $3100. But you should be able to at least get a consultation for some advice. If you have all the documentation you say you do, this shouldn't be difficult to sort out. Also no reason the dealership can't still bill it as a warranty repair because warranty repairs post-expiration are a thing as long as the issue is documented and attempted to be fixed before the warranty expires. There's a good bet the prior service records don't exist and were never created as when you brought it in prior they gave it a quick once-over or reset things to see if the warning went away. Didn't show in a simple diagnostic or whatever, so they just gaslight you and send you on your way.

Do your best to keep all communications in writing from here on out. If the repair has not been made yet, you may want to speak to an attorney before you go have it done and pay for it.

 

[AZMMESTAR]

Contact your local TV station if they have a "Consumer Help" featured program.

 

[roamtheworld]

Contact your local TV station if they have a "Consumer Help" featured program.

I second this approach.
Since it's a dealership, not Ford corporate, small claims court might be a good option as well.

 

[heisnuts]

I think the problem here will be you do not know what caused the SSN message 2 years ago so there is no way to tell if the HV A/C compressor was acting up then or not. Also, 2 years is a long time for the light to stay off if there was really a constant fault with the compressor. I hope I am wrong here, but I do not see were Ford would have any obligation to cover this under warranty. I am usually not an advocate of extended warranties, but with all of the components in the MME that are very expensive to replace and dealers like Granger here who sell the Ford factory extended warranties close to dealer cost, I do not see why one would not buy a policy (and add the LED light coverage as well).

 

[Tampamike]

There is a procedure in your warranty information to appeal warranty isssues with the Better Business Bureau. I did it once when Ford didn’t want to pay to replace my panoramic roof which had, to the mechanic and supervisor’s eyes, a stress crack with no evidence of of a rock chip. I found the process to be surprisingly easy and quick. Ford ended up replacing the roof except for about $200 to me. I took that deal and the dealer honored it.

 

[SanoBeach]

Unfortunately it’s probably time to swallow your pride, strike the $3,100 check and sell the car or buy a 10 year warranty from Granger (and drive it with piece of mind). Lawsuits aren’t usually worth the effort. That’s what I did, first time in 30 years I ever bought an extended warranty and it already paid for itself and then some.

 

[jetermeyer]

I have used the local TV station with their consumer reporter to get an airline to honor their ticket credits they had refused to honor. It took a while but they like to go after some of these large corporations. Local dealers will not like getting on the wrong side of the media because that reaches a lot of local people. It doesn't cost anything to try them. The worst that happens is they don't take up the case. With you having all the data to support it they might be more willing vs someone just complaining with nothing to back up their case.

 

[Eagertrader]

Needless to say it’s very likely that you wouldn’t be buying a Ford ever again, when you’re done with the one you own.
Your posting makes me question wether I would either, and others may feel the same way too.

 

[milepost1]

TLDR: Ford corporate refused to make their service center honor their warranty and now the dealership wants $3100 to fix an issue that started while under warranty because my car is now 456 miles out of warranty.

2 years ago I posted about getting the "stop safely now" message and my 2022 Mach E not starting because I had it happen multiple times in a short period and the dealership repeatedly just erased any error codes and told me everything was fine. I opened a case with Ford corporate and the BEV team was able to look at the vehicle history and identify a problem requiring a repair. Due to the repeated issues at the dealership I took it to before (including them refusing to follow the diagnostic steps Ford BEV gave them to do) I reached out to the other area BEV Ford service center. They refused to take the car on the grounds they were too busy, and when my Ford case rep reached out via group email they continued to refuse, citing a growing number of cars at their shop (so they were taking somebody's cars...) and refused to even schedule an appointment for a future date. Ford also refused to tell me exactly what was faulty and what repair was needed. After about 2.5 months of back and forth with no resolution, they just closed my case. I confess that after the stress and fighting, I just gave up because the car was drivable and I didn't know what else to do.

Now my car recently gave the stop safely now message and wouldn't start, but is 456 miles out of warranty. It took them 2 weeks to diagnose a short that caused the "high voltage AC compressor" to fail and want $3100 to fix it. I opened a new case with Ford and they won't even acknowledge or address the previous episode. Even if there hadn't been a previous issue, a $3100 repair on a less than 3 years old car seems... pretty wrong to me. I would really like to avoid getting a lawyer, and am not even sure they'd be able to do anything although I do still have alllllll the records, emails, names, dates, case numbers, etc. @Ford before you lose a customer for life, can you make this right? Anyone else have any thoughts?

You drove for 2 years with a SSN error? Or there has been no errors in 2 years? If your drove with the error for 2 years then, for 2 years car was telling you there was a problem. You had 2 years to do "something" under warranty. If there was no errors for 2 years, why is this related? Car for 2 years operated correctly, now there is an error, maybe same error, but hard to say that it wasn't fixed 2 years ago. Either way, think you will have an uphill battle.

 

[ProllyDieWaiting]

You drove for 2 years with a SSN error? Or there has been no errors in 2 years? If your drove with the error for 2 years then, for 2 years car was telling you there was a problem. You had 2 years to do "something" under warranty. If there was no errors for 2 years, why is this related? Car for 2 years operated correctly, now there is an error, maybe same error, but hard to say that it wasn't fixed 2 years ago. Either way, think you will have an uphill battle.

Well, I know for sure it wasn't fixed because... they never even looked at the car again after they told me they found a problem. The only information I got was that it was some type of powertain fault in one of the modules. Given that the AC compressor went bad due to a short in the electrical system, I don't think anyone could prove it's not connected either... So no, it hasn't had the SSN message since then. And I can't prove the issues are related, especially since they stonewalled me about the original issue. But they also can't prove they're not. Or at least haven't so far.

 

[ProllyDieWaiting]

Needless to say it’s very likely that you wouldn’t be buying a Ford ever again, when you’re done with the one you own.
Your posting makes me question wether I would either, and others may feel the same way too.

Honestly, I don't have a whole lot of hope this will get resolved, and frankly wouldn't be surprised if replacing the AC compressor doesn't even fix the problem and I end up paying thousands more to find and fix the real issue. But I think people should know this bullshit is happening because @Ford knows they can do this and there's nothing the little people like me can do about it. It's not like I can get comparison quotes from another mechanic. We are pretty much at Ford's mercy and they are showing that's a terrible position to be in.

 

[ProllyDieWaiting]

I think the problem here will be you do not know what caused the SSN message 2 years ago so there is no way to tell if the HV A/C compressor was acting up then or not. Also, 2 years is a long time for the light to stay off if there was really a constant fault with the compressor. I hope I am wrong here, but I do not see were Ford would have any obligation to cover this under warranty. I am usually not an advocate of extended warranties, but with all of the components in the MME that are very expensive to replace and dealers like Granger here who sell the Ford factory extended warranties close to dealer cost, I do not see why one would not buy a policy (and add the LED light coverage as well).

If I could go back I would definitely get that extended warranty.. hindsight *sigh*. Will have to settle for extended warranty on whatever I get next after I dump this POS and never look back

 

[ProllyDieWaiting]

I have used the local TV station with their consumer reporter to get an airline to honor their ticket credits they had refused to honor. It took a while but they like to go after some of these large corporations. Local dealers will not like getting on the wrong side of the media because that reaches a lot of local people. It doesn't cost anything to try them. The worst that happens is they don't take up the case. With you having all the data to support it they might be more willing vs someone just complaining with nothing to back up their case.

Thank you, great idea! I will look into this!

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