Mach-E Service Experience

[DevSecOps]

I appreciate the guidance. I do have a case open with the Ford Social Media team, and am waiting to hear from the BEV team.

If you don't hear from someone call in. No offense to the social media team, but they are a bit slow sometimes.

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[jbirdzee]

You have a P07E4 in the SOBDMC which means the park pawl is not engaging. This is more than a software update, they might have to drop the rear motor to replace the park lock actuator. That's a major job that takes several days FYI.

Make sure you use your parking brake in the meantime since the car could roll in park.

I'm deleting my post from this thread as a result. I don't want to spread misinformation.

 

[SignMD]

I beg to differ, and I have receipts.

If I buy a $70,000 Lexus, I get a loaner.
If I buy a $70,000 Lincoln, I get a loaner.
If I buy a $70,000 Audi, I get a loaner.
Go down the list.
Drop that number to $65,000, I still get a loaner.
We bought a $40,000 used Lexus with an extended warranty..... Got loaners every time we took the car in for service.

Loaners are definitely not a thing of the past.

I agree, I get a loaner from Audi and Porsche all the time, but it does take a little longer to get an appointment with a loaner. My friend brought in her 2018 Q3 (40K vehicle) and they gave her an e-tron loaner. I just think Ford service overall but I am not an expert with Ford as it's my first Ford ever.

 

[Fixbear]

I understand, but that's every dealer out there right now. There's a labor shortage. Everyone has to wait. It sucks but there's nothing that can be done about it. Some of the dealers are booked out for over a month around here. If they can service 20 cars a day (let's say), that would be 600 loaners if they gave a loaner to everyone waiting in that month period. It's just not possible. If it is P07E4, the car is safe to drive, and driving it for the 3 days before they can check it shouldn't be an issue.

Once it's confirmed to be a warranty claim then they should get you a rental car. You can call Ford corporate and get a case started with the BEV team which will ensure you are taken care of. They have to get the diagnostics done before they will give you a rental however.

(800) 392-3673 - USA



With that DTC the car should automatically apply the parking brake when shifted into Park. That would be a very easy way to tell if it's the actual issue. Manually applying it shouldn't be necessary.

Not all dealers are like this. I took our MME to my local dealer this morning at 8:30 AM for a 10,000 service. They said it had 3 recalls to do and it would take over half a day. So, they gave us a loaner instead of waiting. we were willing to wait, but they insisted that they either shuttle us or provide the loaner. Took the loaner and got a call that the car was ready at 4:30 PM. Brown ford is great this way. Took the time to go over my punch list of problems. Even gave it to the Tech to use. He in turn made notes on it for us if we had questions.

 

[DevSecOps]

Not all dealers are like this. I took our MME to my local dealer this morning at 8:30 AM for a 10,000 service. They said it had 3 recalls to do and it would take over half a day. So, they gave us a loaner instead of waiting. we were willing to wait, but they insisted that they either shuttle us or provide the loaner. Took the loaner and got a call that the car was ready at 4:30 PM. Brown ford is great this way. Took the time to go over my punch list of problems. Even gave it to the Tech to use. He in turn made notes on it for us if we had questions.

Yes, I shouldn't have said "every". That dealership is in a town with a population of 8,200 people. I would certainly hope there's not a 1 month backlog in a town that size.

 

[Fixbear]

Yes, I shouldn't have said "every". That dealership is in a town with a population of 8,200 people. I would certainly hope there's not a 1 month backlog in a town that size.

They actually serve a population of about 75,000. Montgomery county, Fulton County and part of Saratoga County. They have 2 locations and a large body shop at a third. I forgot about Hamilton County as well. Our North country requires a bit of travel for any services.

 

[DevSecOps]

They actually serve a population of about 75,000. Montgomery county, Fulton County and part of Saratoga County. They have 2 locations and a large body shop at a third. I forgot about Hamilton County as well. Our North country requires a bit of travel for any services.

So put that into perspective. We have 4 dealerships that service about 650,000 here. Either way, I shouldn't have said "everywhere" since yes there are some areas that don't have a labor shortage. But in general it's an issue for many people.

 

[Fixbear]

So put that into perspective. We have 4 dealerships that service about 650,000 here. Either way, I shouldn't have said "everywhere" since yes there are some areas that don't have a labor shortage. But in general it's an issue for many people.

I agree with the labor shortage. But that's when the dealers that take care of their personnel shine. In my younger years I worked for 5 different dealers. Management can be good or bad. I chose to become an independent due to the politics and pay inside a dealership. But that was 60's and 70's. Technology has come a long way.

 

[kennethjk]

I owned 5 Audi's over the last 12 years and no matter what dealer, I never got a loaner unless it was a multi-day repair. For all of the "Audi Care" service appointments I sat in the lounge. The OP has a GSM update that needs to be performed, most likely, which takes a whole 30 minutes at most. There's no reason to provide a loaner for that. I would also argue (maybe because I'm in California) that 70k for cars (especially EVs) is the new 40k.

I can tell you that here at my local dealers northern NJ and NY, BMW and Porsche will give you a loaner even if it’s only an oil change.


several years ago BMW tried to stop loaners for an oil change or something simple. That didn’t last long.

now I may have to wait a week or so for a loaner to be available but you do get them for just about anything that needs to be done

 

[DevSecOps]

I can tell you that here at my local dealers northern NJ and NY, BMW and Porsche will give you a loaner even if it’s only an oil change.


several years ago BMW tried to stop loaners for an oil change or something simple. That didn’t last long.

now I may have to wait a week or so for a loaner to be available but you do get them for just about anything that needs to be done

You can get a loaner here as well for an oil change at Audi, but like you said it'll be a couple weeks at least before you can get one. I think the point got lost in my statement.

The OP wanted a last minute loaner, someone said Audi does that, then my comment was, not here unless it's multi day and warranty. If you're willing to wait weeks for a loaner then I think Ford or anyone else would get you one. Your just in the queue.

 

[Rfehl62]

That's fine, a rental, while less convenient, still works. They didn't offer that though.



I just double-checked the brochure, and PremiumCare does list rental coverage up to 10 days. I specifically brought up the PremiumCare benefit, and the dealer's response was 'doesn't matter, there's a 3 month wait for an appointment with a loaner'. If they had said, 'we can't provide a loaner but here's the process to get rental reimbursement' I would have been nearly as frustrated.

My last 3 cars were all Subaru's, with Toyota before that — in all of those situations if a warranty repair went longer than a day, a service loaner was provided. That was before the supply chain issues, so things certainly could be different now but it feels like service loaners, or rentals, are a necessary offering from an dealer doing multi-day service.

So, that is a benefit but the dealer is not the one who acquires the rental. Some do as a courtesy but most don't. You basically have to go to an Enterprise and get your own rental. Just be sure to keep the receipts for when you send your claim to Ford. Also be warned that the daily amount is sometimes very low. Like $35-$50 depending on the warranty.

 

[Rfehl62]

@Ford Motor Company,
Regrettably, things like this seem to be common. It's GREAT that you are active and respond/reply in forums like this. That said, you generally are asked or get involved after a Ford customer has already had a bad dealer experience.
Granted, many of these dealers are also of the mind to use ADM's of $5k, $10k, $15k.... A short sided, dealer 1st, customer 4th approach.

1. Dealer Profit from Sale
2. Dealer Profit from Service
3. Reduction of all costs, including customer service, service staffing (BEV techs), etc.
4. Customer Satisfaction at minimal cost (not any cost)

So they mark up Ford vehicles and provide sub-par service. These are service levels that are sub-par compared to the Ford customers' past car purchase experiences, sub-par compared to experiences at Ford competitors, sub-par experiences when compared to local tire shops....etc.
Granted, these are BEV's, BUT.... Ford chose to sell them. Will Ford choose to service them? If the dealers can't be expected to do the job, I've suggested Ford owned regional BEV service centers.
I live in Florida, so I'll use that as an example:
- Tampa Bay Ford BEV Center
- Miami Ford BEV Center
- Jacksonville Ford BEV Center
- Orlando Ford BEV Center
etc.

If you're going to go to a direct/online sales model, dealers will become reticent to service cars that they did not sell. Yet another reason for regional centers.

That's just one idea, but something's got to change. So where is Ford on the importance of the customer experience, Before AND After the sale?

Whats funny is Ford is the one charging the ADM now. They took a page out of Tesla's book for sure.

 

[connoisseurr]

My last 3 cars were all Subaru's, with Toyota before that — in all of those situations if a warranty repair went longer than a day, a service loaner was provided. That was before the supply chain issues, so things certainly could be different now but it feels like service loaners, or rentals, are a necessary offering from an dealer doing multi-day service.

Ford has been, and will always be behind the curve on providing loaners. I've received superb loaner experiences with Subaru, Nissan/Infiniti, and VW/Audi in the past - even through the times of vehicle shortages. Heck, we had a 2009 Subaru Outback at the dealership getting close to a full engine reseal - it was a paid, out of warranty, service that took about 14 days. We had a loaner from day 1. Same goes for Audi - went in to get the infotainment updated. Same day drop-off, loaner provided for a day.

With Ford, it's always a headache. Weeks and months booked out for service and repairs, zero loaners, and service departments that simply DGAF. I needed an alignment for my 22 Mach-E and asked 3 dealers around me if they could squeeze me in, even if it was a 7AM appointment before any other work gets started - nope. Earliest available was Oct 19 for an alignment appointment, which should take no more than 45-60 minutes. Absolutely absurd.

 

[Jppumper]

Was told I had to leave it for 3-4 days before their one Mach-E tech could be look at it.

I HAVE GOTTEN THE SAME STORY< 3-4 DAYS BEFORE A LOOK AT.

Is this the expected and accepted service experience right now? Is it worth trying another dealer?

YOU WILL PROBABLY GET THE SAME STORY FROM ANOTHER DEALER

 

[Southern92]

I worked in a tavern for a while & observed the waitresses. Most were ok-ish to down right bad, with 1 or 2 good ones. The good ones were usually gone in 3-6 months with the ok-ish ones sticking around for 1-2 years before management "parted ways" with them. I asked the shift manager about it once & he told me that the tavern was Not looking for long term employees, that they wanted (semi) competent employees who would gain experience & then move on.

I feel that Ford is similar to the tavern with respect to many positions. (Repair shop, salesmen.)
Of course the customer has a better experience with the upper echelon car dealers. Their cars cost more (in part) because one is paying for that service! I would get a loaner for my BMW even if the service was going to be 1 day (or less).
I do not have the same expectations for Ford as I did from BMW. Doesn't matter the price of the Ford.

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