Didn’t get a warm fuzzy feeling dropping my car off for the 10000 mile service

kdonnel

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I wanted to use my Ford Pass points so I opted to take the car to the dealer for the first service.

I refuse to return to my purchase dealer because of my purchase experience. My goal is to never give that dealer anymore money.

There is a different dealer that is across the street from my office so I made an appointment.

I arrived and was greeted by the service writer. I handed her the keys as she needed to scan the VIN and get the mileage.

She had no idea how to open the door. Strike one.

She insisted I needed more than a tire rotation and multipoint inspection. Strike two.

It was not until another service writer came over to explain that there was no oil to change that she completed checking the car in for service.

The service departments don’t appear to be ready to service the cars Ford sells.
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tannerk89

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I wanted to use my Ford Pass points so I opted to take the car to the dealer for the first service.

I refuse to return to my purchase dealer because of my purchase experience. My goal is to never give that dealer anymore money.

There is a different dealer that is across the street from my office so I made an appointment.

I arrived and was greeted by the service writer. I handed her the keys as she needed to scan the VIN and get the mileage.

She had no idea how to open the door. Strike one.

She insisted I needed more than a tire rotation and multipoint inspection. Strike two.

It was not until another service writer came over to explain that there was no oil to change that she completed checking the car in for service.

The service departments don’t appear to be ready to service the cars Ford sells.
I second that. I’ve been thinking about switching to a Nissan or Chevy dealer for service because they’ve had EV’s for quite some time now… would have loved to keep it with Ford but really depends how my next apt goes tomorrow because it’s a different dealership than I used before and they were actually able to fix my HVBJB so hopefully they can service and install tires too!

My reluctance of going to a different dealer or regular garage is the lift points issue, Ford has special attachments to their lift that makes it much safer, although a competent shop could probably figure it out.

Getting a basic EV service or tow shouldn’t be a scary experience… oh well, “opportunities”
 

RickMachE

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I wanted to use my Ford Pass points so I opted to take the car to the dealer for the first service.

I refuse to return to my purchase dealer because of my purchase experience. My goal is to never give that dealer anymore money.

There is a different dealer that is across the street from my office so I made an appointment.

I arrived and was greeted by the service writer. I handed her the keys as she needed to scan the VIN and get the mileage.

She had no idea how to open the door. Strike one.

She insisted I needed more than a tire rotation and multipoint inspection. Strike two.

It was not until another service writer came over to explain that there was no oil to change that she completed checking the car in for service.

The service departments don’t appear to be ready to service the cars Ford sells.
I guess I don't understand this. It's pretty obvious in reading the forum that many are unfamiliar with the Mach-E. Wouldn't you schedule your appointment and say "I'm bringing in my electric car, the Mach-E. Please make sure you schedule the appointment with a certified EV tech"? And say "can we go over what the 10,000 miles service includes" while you have the manual open?
 

Logal727

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I guess I don't understand this. It's pretty obvious in reading the forum that many are unfamiliar with the Mach-E. Wouldn't you schedule your appointment and say "I'm bringing in my electric car, the Mach-E. Please make sure you schedule the appointment with a certified EV tech"? And say "can we go over what the 10,000 miles service includes" while you have the manual open?
Seems like a lot of effort for the business that sells the vehicles. Isn’t that what the appointment system is for anyways?
 

Vulnox

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Seems like a lot of effort for the business that sells the vehicles. Isn’t that what the appointment system is for anyways?
Agreed, I am normally with Rick on things, but this is a company offering a service on your $60k+ vehicle. Anyone that might be involved in handling that vehicle should be familiar enough to reassure the owner that the vehicle is going to be properly cared for.

Even if you took the steps to make a note that it was an EV, that only covers your first interaction and may hide the fact that after that first interaction it is going to someone on the tech side that may have no clue what to do.

Sometimes it's best to get an honest first impression, and the OP didn't get a great one. The MME isn't even that new at this point, production has started on the third model year.

When we were shopping for a C-Max Energi back in 2016, the first one we checked at the salesman was saying he had not spent much time with it. I said we were just excited to try something that can run on electric for our short commutes. He chuckled and said none of the Ford vehicles are hybrids/PHEVs and the C-Max was just a slightly different shaped Focus essentially. We... did not buy from that dealer in the end.

I don't think it's too much to ask that people be at least base line aware of the limited product portfolio of the company they represent and even if I know the vehicle well enough, it shouldn't be my responsible to handhold them.
 


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kdonnel

kdonnel

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I guess I don't understand this. It's pretty obvious in reading the forum that many are unfamiliar with the Mach-E. Wouldn't you schedule your appointment and say "I'm bringing in my electric car, the Mach-E. Please make sure you schedule the appointment with a certified EV tech"? And say "can we go over what the 10,000 miles service includes" while you have the manual open?
I don’t feel like I should have to do their job.

At a minimum service writers should be trained on the service requirements for the current cars sold by Ford or at least know where to look to know what is recommended.

I scheduled the appointment online selecting tire rotation and inspection.

If Ford and the dealers are going to offer online appointments, they should work.
 

Logal727

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Agreed, I am normally with Rick on things, but this is a company offering a service on your $60k+ vehicle. Anyone that might be involved in handling that vehicle should be familiar enough to reassure the owner that the vehicle is going to be properly cared for.

Even if you took the steps to make a note that it was an EV, that only covers your first interaction and may hide the fact that after that first interaction it is going to someone on the tech side that may have no clue what to do.

Sometimes it's best to get an honest first impression, and the OP didn't get a great one. The MME isn't even that new at this point, production has started on the third model year.

When we were shopping for a C-Max Energi back in 2016, the first one we checked at the salesman was saying he had not spent much time with it. I said we were just excited to try something that can run on electric for our short commutes. He chuckled and said none of the Ford vehicles are hybrids/PHEVs and the C-Max was just a slightly different shaped Focus essentially. We... did not buy from that dealer in the end.

I don't think it's too much to ask that people be at least base line aware of the limited product portfolio of the company they represent and even if I know the vehicle well enough, it shouldn't be my responsible to handhold them.
Would have loved to asked him to explain what the charging port was for lol
 

JamieGeek

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Pulled my Focus Electric in to service at our dealer (I think it was just for a rotation at the time) and the service writer walked up: "How about an oil change today?" I stepped aside so that he could now see the "Electric" on the door... "oh I guess not!" LOL.

Ford has been selling an EV (on and off) since 2012 and plugins since then. The dealers should know about them--they've had to have Level-2 chargers there since 2012 to be EV certified anyway.
 

RickMachE

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I don’t feel like I should have to do their job.

At a minimum service writers should be trained on the service requirements for the current cars sold by Ford or at least know where to look to know what is recommended.

I scheduled the appointment online selecting tire rotation and inspection.

If Ford and the dealers are going to offer online appointments, they should work.
I totally agree that service writers at Ford dealerships should know what an EV is, and know a specific model's recommended service before they open their mouths.

However, given that we know it's an issue, I wouldn't waste my time going through this. I have a specific service writer for my car, but contact the Service Manager for all my issues because I don't want to waste my time. I also haven't had any schedule maintenance yet as I sold the 2021 before it hit 10,000 miles and the 2022 isn't halfway there yet.
 
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kdonnel

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I totally agree that service writers at Ford dealerships should know what an EV is, and know a specific model's recommended service before they open their mouths.

However, given that we know it's an issue, I wouldn't waste my time going through this. I have a specific service writer for my car, but contact the Service Manager for all my issues because I don't want to waste my time. I also haven't had any schedule maintenance yet as I sold the 2021 before it hit 10,000 miles and the 2022 isn't halfway there yet.
In actuality it would have taken me longer and be more of an aggravation to get ahold of the service manager before going in than it did to just let the service writer figure it out the day of.

I was fully expecting the drop off to not be as smooth as it should and it did not disappoint.

It was almost more difficult.

I left the house without a fob and had to go back home to get one. I contemplated using a valet code but decided that would just be too hard for the service department since my expectations for competency are set so low.
 

Jim622

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Service writers have never been worth anything, in my opinion. They have almost no mechanical knowledge. Their job is to upsell and make money for the dealership.
 

21st Century Pony

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I just passed 10K miles last week. Similar experiences trying to schedule a 10K service, ranging from "oil change" questions to "oh, all we do for EVs is a tire rotation". However, I am a bit concerned that a lack of recorded service at recommended intervals in Ford's OASIS might potentially risk my warranty coverage down the road, should I need it for something heavy-duty.
 
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kdonnel

kdonnel

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I just passed 10K miles last week. Similar experiences trying to schedule a 10K service, ranging from "oil change" questions to "oh, all we do for EVs is a tire rotation". However, I am a bit concerned that a lack of recorded service at recommended intervals in Ford's OASIS might potentially risk my warranty coverage down the road, should I need it for something heavy-duty.
I just got the call that my car is ready. I am curious what will be listed.

The HVBJB recall is still shown as outstanding for my car. I was expecting them to ask if they could apply the recall.

I know I have applied it using FDRS so it is not really outstanding but was disappointed the service writer didn’t seem to look for outstanding recalls.
 

Maquis

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I guess I’m just fortunate. I live in a rural midwestern area where diesel pickups outnumber EVs 100 to 1. I have the first Mach-E here (there are now 2).

My service experience has been exceptional. They know what they’re doing. When I have an appointment for anything, I know their EV tech will be available. They’ve always installed needed updates, including getting BC activated on the first try. My windshield/roof recall was flawlessly executed. 10K service cost me $14 for the tire rotation and I was given a copy of the completed inspection check list.

I guess I just wanted to say that it’s not all doom and gloom out there. Bad dealers need to be called out, for sure, but it’s only fair to give props to the good ones.
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