Frustrated With Ford Dealers (RANT)

[Henry Ford]

Sure, you’re right. I am overreacting. I should go ahead and pay the $1k for software related issues just so they can tell me it’s a software related issue and then tell me what the cost to repair will be….. that’s after I paid for extended warranty that would supposedly cover said issue.

Im not trashing the truck or Ford. I just needed somewhere to vent. That’s it. I’ve had nothing but praise for what Ford is doing and for what the Lightning is.

I don't think it's a software related issue based on what you have posted. I'm assuming you've tried a Sync reset?

I don't care if you trash Ford, I do it all the time. Their customer service sucks by any metric. They have dealerships all over the country (and world) with a giant blue oval on the side of the building but as a customer you have no clue what kind of experience you'll get when you walk in the door because they aren't owned by Ford. Even if Ford had more control over the dealers I'm not sure much would change. Based on my interactions with Ford customer service employees, customer service is not a high priority.

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[Henry Ford]

Ford is not McDonald's. At McDonald's you can get a Big Mac at any location that will cost the same and taste the same, and likely take just about the same amount of time to get through the drive through. Ford doesn't have that kind of control over it's franchise dealers. So a truck may cost wildly different amounts from one location to the next, same thing in the service department; costs vary by location. So does the customer service. The dealer you're going to does not want you there, so take your truck to a dealer that does. It's not easy to find, but ask the specific question of the service advisor you talk to: "Will you have it diagnosed today?" if they say anything but yes, hang up and try the next dealer.

This

 

[F150ROD]

Sarcastic sentence followed by over dramatic read on the situation. Maybe you didn't intend the sarcasm, but it reads that way.

Are they charging you the $760 that you're rounding up to $1k up front? Doesn't sound like it, sounds like he's giving you fair warning that in case this turns out to not be a warranty issue, this is what you're on the hook for. Is that price ridiculous? yes, and it should be negotiated if it does have to come out of your pocket. It's also ridiculous they want your truck to sit there for a week before even diagnosing anything. I've had the same experience at 2 dealers in my area, I found that bad reviews on Google will sometimes get them to suddenly find room in their schedule and oh look we also have a loaner car for you. But the fact of the matter is that a service center that is treating you like this doesn't want your business.

Last time I used a dealer service I drove 30 minutes across town to a new place. They seem to care, had me diagnosed and resolved in about 4 hours, bundled my 10k service cost into whatever they charged the warranty for the repair and I was out the door with nothing out of pocket. THEY want my future business. The guys 5 mins away do not.

Ford is not McDonald's. At McDonald's you can get a Big Mac at any location that will cost the same and taste the same, and likely take just about the same amount of time to get through the drive through. Ford doesn't have that kind of control over it's franchise dealers. So a truck may cost wildly different amounts from one location to the next, same thing in the service department; costs vary by location. So does the customer service. The dealer you're going to does not want you there, so take your truck to a dealer that does. It's not easy to find, but ask the specific question of the service advisor you talk to: "Will you have it diagnosed today?" if they say anything but yes, hang up and try the next dealer.

Agreed. Again just venting.

 

[invertedspear]

Agreed. Again just venting.

And you've been handed a shitty deal, you have plenty to vent about, but get out of that abusive relationship with that dealer and find one that is at least less abusive.

 

[Scorpio3d]

I agree with almost everything that is said before this post! It does not matter what business it is… what matters is the people that work for that business! You can go to many places throughout the country and have much different experiences whether that’s Walmart, Target, Home Depot, McDonald’s, Ford, GM, your local grocery store chain,Starbucks etc. some people are there because they truly want to make a difference or at least care about customer service, others just want a paycheck. This is also true even with different people at the same location! Different service advisor, different mechanic, etc. Some people just don’t seem to give a crap and others are willing to even go out of their way to help you!
I hope you are able to find that person that will go out of their way and get your problems resolved quickly!!!

 

[Pioneer74]

Chimes when you get in the truck and the battery drain fault could be the headlight switch. Turn the switch from automatic to off. It will recycle to automatic on the next start.

At 44k miles you might also consider replacing your 12V battery. The factory LVB isn't known to be a quality product.

I'm rooting for you. Mine just passed 40k miles last week. I'm right behind you.

 

[johnnyonetime]

Chimes when you get in the truck and the battery drain fault could be the headlight switch. Turn the switch from automatic to off. It will recycle to automatic on the next start.

At 44k miles you might also consider replacing your 12V battery. The factory LVB isn't known to be a quality product.

I'm rooting for you. Mine just passed 40k miles last week. I'm right behind you.

Good call on the LVB, replaced mine less than a year old with Ohmmu. No issues since.

 

[F150ROD]

Chimes when you get in the truck and the battery drain fault could be the headlight switch. Turn the switch from automatic to off. It will recycle to automatic on the next start.

At 44k miles you might also consider replacing your 12V battery. The factory LVB isn't known to be a quality product.

I'm rooting for you. Mine just passed 40k miles last week. I'm right behind you.

Yeah this is a good call. I’ll be looking into this and hopefully it will help.

 

[gregoryhcain]

I am going to go out on a limb here and say EV diagnostic is the perfect space for AI. I have been a physician for 44 years and always enjoyed new technology introduce to my field. I was a Chemistry major with pre-engineering pathway in Bio-engineering years back. Medicine, other than anatomy, is unrecognizable from what I learned in medical school. I am still practicing part time and started using AI this year as a beta tester for a new system. AI "thinks" thousands of times faster than a human, comes up with ideas, potential solutions and diagnostic pathways that our human minds just can't match in the equivalent time span. Vehicle software glitch diagnostics seems like the perfect place for an AI assist; more so than medicine. It is happening in my field right now; it will be coming to EV repair shops in due time and has the potential to greatly enhance speed and accuracy of diagnosis.

 

[Formerly]

It sounds just as terrible as our healthcare system

 

[chl]

I agree, sounds like a 12v battery issue.

When the LVB in our Prius went bad, all hell broke loose.

Replacing it restored things to normal. A pricey little B that thing was because it is compact - smaller is more expensive? WTF

The 12v LVB is the power supply for the "computer" on board today's vehicles, a derivative of the HAL 9000 probably.

Without a good 12v battery, my 2012 Leaf cannot even be moved out of my garage without knowing the secret procedure, the shifter won't budge to neutral. I had to buy an extra long jumper cable to jump start it. I had left it in the garage for a long multi-week trip. Now it is on a trickle charger when not being used.

I am an EE and have had that experience with repair people of all stripes where you tell them what is wrong and they f-ing ignore you. My furnace blower fan died one time. I called the furnace repair folks to replace it. They send the guy out without a motor, to diagnose it instead. Yep, its the motor. So then they charge me for 2 repair visits. I called them up and gave them what for and they dropped the first visit charge, but only because I went to HS with the owner's son probably.

With my 2001 Ford Ranger, I smelled gas, have the loose gas cap warning on the dash, replace the gas cap, still warning stays, the dealership wants $90 just to read the OBD, says their OBD equipment tells them more than mine does. So I take it to the local gas station mechanic, he looks at it and finds the problem without using any diagnostic equipment - some animal had chewed up the gas lines on top of the fuel pump and chewed the pump up a bit too, so gas fumes were escaping under there. It had sat for a long time during the COVID lock down when everything was closed and the critters took advantage.

As for warranty BS, when the Ranger was still covered, the truck wouldn't start one day when I was at a shopping center, it turned over but no go. Turns out my fuel pump stopped working because I had let the gas tank get too low in hot weather, in other words, it was my fault so the B-to-B warranty did not apply! OMG, give me a break!

Other than the 12v battery going dead, I have had zero issue with my 2012 Leaf. Not a lot of range, but very reliable car.

My experience with Fords over the years...not so much.

But who else has an EV truck in my price range?

Fingers crossed.

 

[Hank42]

On another note, where, on this forum, can I post a positive comment about a dealer? I can't seem to find the right thread.

 

[BennyTheBeaver]

On another note, where, on this forum, can I post a positive comment about a dealer? I can't seem to find the right thread.

I didn't know positive experiences with FORD dealers exist.

In all seriousness, I'd post about it in the regional forums. That way people in your area get the pertinent information.

https://www.f150lightningforum.com/forum/forums/regional-forums.56/

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