I don't think I'll ever buy another Ford outside of a Mustang (toy) or a truck again.
Yesterday the wife called me after she got to work. Apparently while on the highway she smelled something burning and then the heater blower stopped working. She turned the switch to the lowest setting. Now it is totally frozen there. I'm thinking that the internals melted and now the plastic has fused into position.
What is involved in replacing this switch? Cost? Special tools? Is there a recall on this (see sig for my vehicle)? If not, there should be, as this could cause a serious fire....
No offense to any Ford employees here, but Ford sucks.
It might be covered under the recall. If it is then your Ford Dealership Service Department will repair it. They Like getting recall work.
I like Ford Quality but I try to stay away from the Service Department except for recall work.
Here are a list of the recalls for your car:
Safety Recalls
TSB Number Issue Date TSB Title 00S44 JAN 01 Recall - Engine Cooling Fan Electronic Fuse Installation
98S26 OCT 98 Recall - Gear Position Indicator Deterioration
97S95 JAN 98 Recall - Throttle Cable Defect
95S31 DEC 95 Recall - Front Seat Belt Anchor Plate Reinforcement
95S30 DEC 95 Recall - Fuel Tank Inspection/Possible Replacement
94S97 SEP 95 Recall - Fuel Tank Inspection/Replacement
95S06 MAR 95 Recall - Passenger Side Air Bag Inspection
95S05 FEB 95 Recall - R/H Rear Door Window Glass Replacement
94S92 OCT 94 Recall - Fuel Filler Pipe Ground Strap Installation
Emissions Recalls
TSB Number Issue Date TSB Title 97E61 APR 98 Recall - Cat Converter Replacement
96E60 JUL 97 Recall - Catalytic Converter Replacement
95E56 JUN 95 Recall - PCM Replacement
General Recalls
TSB Number Issue Date TSB Title 01M07 AUG 01 Campaign - Blower Motor Switch Extended Coverage
99M03 OCT 99 Campaign - Under Hood Wire Harness
99M07 SEP 99 Campaign - Defective Blower Switch or Resistor
99M06 SEP 99 Campaign - Heater Blower Switch/Wire Replacement
98M04 JAN 99 Campaign - Front Coil Springs Sagging/Broken
95B79 JAN 95 Campaign - Keyless Entry System Transmitters
All those recalls just go to illustrate my point. Ford quality sucks. In addition, take a look at the 95 3.8L V6 issues (head gaskets). Ford did not bother to notify owners of these vehicles (Taurus, Windstar, and possibly Mustang) that there was a problem with the engine; rather Ford decided to quietly authorize repairs if the vehicle had less than 100,000 miles in order to appease complaints and avoid very bad press.
Well, my 95 Windstar started experiencing symptoms of a very slow coolant loss at 80,000 miles. Because I knew nothing of the problem at the time, and because I have through experience learned not to trust dealerships with my car, I tried to find the leak myself. I never could identify the source. Eventually, at 120,000 miles, the #4 cylinder let go. I was lucky to recognize the white clouds of smoke and burnt brown sugar smell as a blown head gasket and shut the engine down prior to major internal damage. Ford wanted $1700 to repair it. They refused to cover it, even though the parts used were clearly defective when they left the factory. I did it myself for about $400 parts and tools cost (was away from home, and hence my tools, at the time).
Additionally, my 95 had the transaxle replaced under warranty. It would shudder into 2nd gear about 30% of the time. Now my 2000 Windstar, with the same transmission, is doing the same thing. They can't fix this problem in 5 years????? Give me a break.
I am also a police officer. Every Crown Vic I have had as a patrol car has had engine pinging issues, getting worse with age. Eventually, as the car approaches 100,000 miles, it gets so loud as to be embarrassing. The transmission in my 2000 CV PI sucks too. Something is wrong whereby it lurches in first and second gear at anything over 2/3 throttle. It feels as if someone else is mashing the brakes every other second as the car accelerates. (no, it doesn't have traction control)
In short, Ford is becoming nothing but a big dissappointment to its customers. I suspect that Ford will soon have fewer customers to dissappoint, however.
Hopefully Ford is like a broken heart, it will go away with time...
I consider the recalls as being good.
I used to own a shop that did repair work. An engineer friend of mine bought a Nissan van. The van ran out of coolant and overheated when his wife was driving it. They paid the Nissan shop a huge amount of money to replace the water pump. The van still overheated and ran low on water after the Nissan Dealership replaced the water pump.
The engineers ask me to look at their Nissan Van. I told him there was a Technical Service Bulletin about one of the freeze plugs leaking on the side of the engine. The freeze plug leak was the problem and not the water pump.
If it was a Ford Ford would probably issue a recall for the freeze plug. Because it was a Nissan the owners would have to pay hundreds of dollars for the repair and the Nissan service department could not find the problem.
I have had better luck with domestic cars and the parts cost less.
Your Mileage May Vary
Originally posted by Cool Blue Mystique:
Hopefully Ford is like a broken heart, it will go away with time...
are u saying u want ford to go away? if so, a start would be to sell your 'stique and get off this site. u gotta help make a difference.
and sandman, i hope your crown vic patrol car doesn't explode on you (something ford should definetly recall).
Don't mess with me, today is NOT the day, got it? Good.
No, I think Ford would simply issue a TSB to their service departments, but would refrain from notifying their customers about a factory defect, much as they did with the head gasket issues on the 3.8L V6. That is completely unacceptable. They are hoping that these defective parts will last just long enough so that the vehicle will no longer be under warranty, and thus Ford will not have to pay for required repairs.
Part and parcel of this is Ford falling behind in new vehicle warranties. Ford offers 3 yr/36,000 mile warranties. Most other manufacturers are going beyond that.
Don't get me wrong. I used to like Ford. They are the only vehicle I have ever owned. However, it's Ford's quality issues and how they hide from them that is driving me away.
I believe recalls are released typically for safety related items. Such as the wheels will fall off.
I do believe that for mechanical problems, only TSB's are issued. So if there are problems with head gaskets, you won't see a recall, maybe a campaign to extend the warranty such as the fuel flapper valve on some 98+ Contours, but they won't recall the car.
I don't have a problem with cars that break, because stuff breaks. But how does the carmaker and the dealer network stand behind that purchase.
But remember, you and I don't buy cars from Ford, we buy from their dealers. So when you call the Ford Customer Service line you are not really considered Ford's customer, the dealership is.
I suspect that is why you hear so many times, you need to work this out with your dealership.
TB
Thankful I have a good independent mechanic for stuff I can't do.
If you find a good dealership service department they love to do recall work. The dealership gets paid by Ford for doing the work. Ford has to pay the dealership for the recall service work.
If I need repair work did, I usually call several dealerships on the phone and explain my problem to them. Sometimes one dealership will give me a price of repair of $500 and another will do the work for free under recall work. Before paying a lot of money check with more than one dealership.
I hate to interrupt this Ford Dealer hatefest, but I have a personal question for you, Tony.
Do you have any relatives in the Palm Springs/Cathedral City area of California? I was friends with a guy named Josh Boner when I worked down there. Last i spoke with him, I believe he had moved to Orange County...I lost track of him after the company we worked for fired me and disbanded our division a few months later.
Originally posted by tboner:
I believe recalls are released typically for safety related items. Such as the wheels will fall off.
I do believe that for mechanical problems, only TSB's are issued. So if there are problems with head gaskets, you won't see a recall, maybe a campaign to extend the warranty such as the fuel flapper valve on some 98+ Contours, but they won't recall the car.
I don't have a problem with cars that break, because stuff breaks. But how does the carmaker and the dealer network stand behind that purchase.
But remember, you and I don't buy cars from Ford, we buy from their dealers. So when you call the Ford Customer Service line you are not really considered Ford's customer, the dealership is.
I suspect that is why you hear so many times, you need to work this out with your dealership.
TB
Thankful I have a good independent mechanic for stuff I can't do.
A head gasket isn't a part that should ever wear out on a car. Well, maybe a blown top fuel dragster, but certainly not mom's minivan. I don't care how many miles, it should never break. It was a factory defect, and should have been recalled. How many other consumer products would get away with factory defects like that without being publicly shunned? We buy these vehicles because they are what is available. Well, I'm at the point where I'm going to spend a bit more money for quality (read: German manufacturers). Quality is Job 1? Well, not at Ford it isn't.
Nope, don't know any Josh Boners.
TB
Originally posted by tboner:
Nope, don't know any Josh Boners.
TB
Thanks anyway. I should have explained that the reason I asked is that he has lots o' family in Illinios, especially in coal country.
I had to have the switch and resistor pack replaced. It was done under a recall and no charges were involved.
Ford sucks ... Want some cheese with that whine ???
Ford is no worse than the other brands . All cars are made to wear out so you go buy a new one.
Even the foreign cars have problems But they like to hide their problems .
Originally posted by starsky:
Ford sucks ... Want some cheese with that whine ???
Ford is no worse than the other brands . All cars are made to wear out so you go buy a new one.
Even the foreign cars have problems But they like to hide their problems .
Wow, you didn't even read what I wrote, did you? If you had, you would see an example of how Ford hides its problems. As far as initial quality, Ford is behind most other manufacturers. I just spent a good deal of time on some VW forums, and there are no where near the number of quality complaints as there are on every Ford site I've been to (very many). Ford does suck, and it sounds to me like you are blinded by brand loyalty rather than looking at their quality problems objectively.
Starsky, yes, a heater switch that breaks years after IS Ford's fault, why? Because it's a recall, it happened to me, and it's happened to many other people. Car companies, and ESPECIALLY Ford, don't "just fix things" for free, it has to be THEIR FAULT and they have to admit it for them to fix things. Ford's just not that nice...
Well, the forum has a new tard. Congrats dude! Again, if you would bother to read my posts (probably too difficult for you, considering your inablility thus far to accomplish that simple task), you would see that Ford is all I have owned. My
experience with Ford's lack of quality and tendency to wash their hands of any problem is what is driving me away from Ford.
He's another one, hero:
I took my 'Tour in to the dealer to have some warranty issues resloved (one was oil leak). Long story short, the dealership faked up the engine. They wanted to put it on my warranty and have me pay for the rental. I called Ford, who had a tech out to the dealership the
next day to inspect the car. They told the dealership to replace the engine, and not on the warranty. Then, when the dealership broke some items on my car, I called Ford again to ask that they authorize me to take the car to another dealership to have repairs made, as I didn't trust dealership #1. Their official response was that they didn't get involved in issues of dealer workmanship. Well, they sure got all involved when it was going to be their dime, didn't they?
Now, I made an objective comparison between complaints on VW forums and Ford forums. These are customers who won't hesitate to complain if something is faked up (on both manufacturer's forums). If anything, I'd be driving BMW if I could afford it. So much for your theories, hero.
And, FYI, I take very good care of my car. I can't afford not to. I haven't "beat" on anything. If you weren't too busy being such a tard, you would realize how utterly stupid your statement was. Do you have anything at all constructive to offer here, or did you merely sign up for CEG to see how many ppl you could piss off.
The heater switch (along with MANY other parts on the 'Tour) is well known as factory defective. I called the dealer today and there is a recall on it. So much for the problem being my fault, eh tard?
Think before you post next time, and you won't look so much the fool.
Originally posted by Sandman333:
A head gasket isn't a part that should ever wear out on a car. Well, maybe a blown top fuel dragster, but certainly not mom's minivan. I don't care how many miles, it should never break. It was a factory defect, and should have been recalled. How many other consumer products would get away with factory defects like that without being publicly shunned? We buy these vehicles because they are what is available. Well, I'm at the point where I'm going to spend a bit more money for quality (read: German manufacturers). Quality is Job 1? Well, not at Ford it isn't.
Normally, a head gasket SHOULD last on a car, unless you never flush the coolant (like most Americans don't) every 2 years minimum. Antifreeze turns acidic after running for years, and then becomes corrosive. Not saying that's the cause but just saying it doesn't help a head gasket to never change the coolant.
But I DO agree with you on the tranny bug from Ford in your van. That's pretty pathetic that in 5 years they still couldn't fix that bug. They must not feed sufficient R&D money into many of these departments or something? I almost have found with the Contours, that the later ones are built worse and have more bugs in them than earlier ones (due to production cost cutting in the later years), since I see many problems, complaints, and bulletins regarding the '98-on models, and I've had hardly any problems with mine. Mostly just routine maintenance
First off, go find Hutch and get him to pistol-whip you a couple of times to knock some sense into you. Then come back and get a dose of reality.
Your car's running flawlessly on OEM everything after 117K miles on it? Congratulations. You have what is called in most people's books an exception to the rule. Contour's seem to come in 2 batches:
1) Those that need little if no attention
2) Prepackaged lemons on wheels
In my experience, Ford HAS been worse than most other manufacturers at playing "hide the problem" game with customers. I' won't even go into the saga of my '89 SHO and the problems it had. The ONLY thing on it that ran flawlessly for 140K miles was the Japanese-built 3.0 V-6 YAMAHA engine. I swear it just kept getting stronger and stronger the older it got. To this day I love that engine better than any other I've ever had.
Everything else around it was either made state-side, hecho en mexico or somewhere else where the QC department was either playing "slap and tickle" with each other or hitting the bong while doing QC samples. In short, the whole danm car tried to fall apart on me. Again, feel free to find the recall list for the '89 Taurus SHO. Also feel free to talk to folks that had 'em and put up with piss-poor designs on brakes, undersized clutches, horrible A/C clutch/line issues, gasket leaks around the oil pan, etc., etc.
I'll also spare you the transmission problems I had with my '93 ATX SHO. I think I went through 4 before it quit "stutter shifting" or shifting so hard that you looked in the rearview mirror every gear change just waiting to see the gears, torque converter and other internals bouncing down the road chasing after you in an angry shower of sparks...
All of these were known problems to Ford and their techs, given the massive number of complaints that I remember SHO folks pushing to their dealers. A lot of good it did us, as I recall...
Lastly, do yourself and your car a favor and change your freakin' plugs. It sounds as if you've bought into the whole Duratec/Zetec marketing thing about having the engine go 100K without any major tune-up work done. It's precisely that:
Marketing hype.
Your ignition probably sucks to hell and back if you've gone this long on OEM plugs...
If you believe the hype, though, I've got a 40HP Borla exhaust off of an '89 SHO I can sell you. I can even give you the advertisement from Borla stating that gain as well!
Originally posted by starsky:
........By the way my zetec is tour is 100 % original at 117,000 miles and even has the original... spark plugs.
Now that is stupid.....
Beating a dead horse here....tboner I hate to tell you that recalls are not just for safety reasons. In fact, that is my one gripe, well one of MANY, with Ford. A safety recall (aka: fan fuse) is a must change regardless of miles/years. A NON-safety recall is NOT changed unless broken and if said part breaks after "time limit or miles/years listed" then YOU have to pay for it. Namely, heater blower switch (which was the original post), heater blower resistor (which I had to pay b/c my 6yrs/76K was up on), dashboard warping...I could go on. So before you make that assumption, check the facts (and yes I am VERY bitter about it). I paid 14K for a car with a working blower switch and resistor, normal dashboard and the 10 other recalls that were issued on my car (not including the 6 safety ones), I shouldn't have to put out extra money. We're not talking brakes, engine, tranny, and other 7 year maintenance issues, you know, these are parts that Ford knows there is a problem with and I shouldn't have to pay for it.
Originally posted by 7999:
If you find a good dealership service department they love to do recall work. The dealership gets paid by Ford for doing the work. Ford has to pay the dealership for the recall service work.
If I need repair work did, I usually call several dealerships on the phone and explain my problem to them. Sometimes one dealership will give me a price of repair of $500 and another will do the work for free under recall work. Before paying a lot of money check with more than one dealership.
I was told by my local dealership that the mechanic prefered not to work on recalls because they didn't make money off the deal. Ford only pays a set amount regardless of the time he would have to spend to change my wire-harness for example. Only take your car to a dealer if necessary, or if you have a good dealer. If you do..congrats! Can I move by you?
As for the TBS...if I ONLY would have known that in 1998, when I brought my car in for an AC leak in the passenger floor, that Ford had released a TBS stating that they had redesigned the evaporator box and it was covered under the bumper to bumper warranty. I had NO idea...Ford didn't bother to change it...and 4 years later I put out $400 for the box and $360 for the labor (my mechanic did the work). Ford does not in ANY way advertise that there may be problems with the vehicles and furthmore, I wasn't notified that there were outstanding recalls on the car since I bought it used and the previous owner didn't have the car serviced. Had I been told that my car had 16 recalls and 106 service bulletins on it, I probably wouldn't have bought it, regardless of how much fun is was (and still is) to drive.
Like I said..beating a dead horse...sorry guys!
You have to take the good with the bad. You might pay a lot more just for routine maintenance on a Porsche, Mercedes, or BMW than you would ever spend on repairing your Contour.
I think the Contour was built better than most Fords. Ford wanted to market the Contour worldwide so they built it with very good quality and craftsmanship. I think the Contour was built for a thrifty type of person.
Originally posted by 7999:
........they built it with very good quality and craftsmanship.
No they didn't. I have replaced the water pump (precautionary), front and rear sway bar links and have to change the handbrake cable on my car. My gearbox is on it's way out. All this with ~54k on the clock. Many other CEG's have hada lot more problems than I.
My previous car had 102k on the clock and apart from oil/filters/plugs/pads/discs required no other repair other than a burst shock from a pothole.
There again, that was a german car, not a UAW hack job.
Originally posted by MarkO:
Originally posted by 7999:
........they built it with very good quality and craftsmanship.
No they didn't. I have replaced the water pump (precautionary), front and rear sway bar links and have to change the handbrake cable on my car. My gearbox is on it's way out. All this with ~54k on the clock. Many other CEG's have hada lot more problems than I.
My previous car had 102k on the clock and apart from oil/filters/plugs/pads/discs required no other repair other than a burst shock from a pothole.
There again, that was a german car, not a UAW hack job.
My Contour has about 100,000 miles with hardly any problems. My sisters Plymouth acclaim had 250,000 miles before the head gasket went bad. When the cylinder head was removed the engine cylinders looked like new (no wear at all). My dad has a 1977 Ford truck with the original engine and clutch. I guess quality must vary.
I buy my cars used and usually pay about $5000 for a 2 or 3 year old car with low miles. I usually keep the car 3 or 4 years and spend very little or nothing for repairs. I would have to spend 2 or 3 times that price for a non domestic car. I might could buy a Yugo or Excel for that price but I don't like the quality of the Yugo or Excel.
Originally posted by MarkO:
No they didn't. I have replaced the water pump (precautionary), front and rear sway bar links and have to change the handbrake cable on my car. My gearbox is on it's way out. All this with ~54k on the clock. Many other CEG's have hada lot more problems than I.
My previous car had 102k on the clock and apart from oil/filters/plugs/pads/discs required no other repair other than a burst shock from a pothole.
There again, that was a german car, not a UAW hack job.
I am a mechanic by trade, and I have replaced like 6 or so waterpumps this year in VW New Beetle/ Jetta cars that had LESS than 75k miles. They ALSO have plastic impeller. One of the New Beetles I did, got so hot that it melted the plastic thermostat housing cover too. So you see, it really doesn't matter who builds the car. They are ALL trying to save money. I even see a lot of the German's truly good ideas implemented onto many Ford cars too.
PS- If your previous car was so good, why don't you sell your Mystyque and buy another one of those like you had?
Originally posted by Josch:
PS- If your previous car was so good, why don't you sell your Mystyque and buy another one of those like you had?
They don't sell Opel's in America. (No, I don't consider the Saturn L series an Opel) Next question ???
BTW, just because other manufacturer's are cutting costs by using inappropriate materials in inappropriate places (ie plastic w/pump impellers), it does not make it right. Instead of it being shame on Ford, it's shame on Ford and VW.
A lot of cars now come with plastic intake manifolds. I think you will probably see more and more synthetic plastics used for new car parts.
That is bad that you are having so many problems. What repairs have you had to have done? How much did the repairs cost? Do you think Ford prices are too high?
I must be very lucky. I haven't had any major problems with my cars.
I did take a vacation in Florida. I stayed at a hotel one night. When I came out of the hotel my car was sitting on blocks with no tires or wheels.
Opel huh? AKA Cadillac Catera. Built the in the same plant and all. My mom had a 1998 Catera before her 1999 Tahoe, it was a fun car, but the reliability issues were one of the worst she's had (there's a reason why we didn't even have it a year...) First, transmission went, new one under warranty. Power rear sunshade died, replaced under warranty, transmission again, it constantly went into "winter mode" and would not get out of it, meaning it was impossible to go into first gear. at 3000 miles, the engine blew while driving ~70mph on the freeway, at this time my mom told the dealer to take the POS and shove it where the sun don't shine. Like I said, it was a very fun-to-drive car, but it had MAJOR issues. Between electrical issues, engine issues, transmission issues and everything else, it was just not worth the price. When you pay nearly 40K for a vehicle, you expect it to last more than one year!!
Originally posted by Cool Blue Mystique:
Don't mess with me, today is NOT the day, got it? Good.
Phhhffffffff
What are you going to do,reply to him with caps on?
HAHAHHAHA.
Originally posted by Journie:
Originally posted by Cool Blue Mystique:
Don't mess with me, today is NOT the day, got it? Good.
Phhhffffffff
What are you going to do,reply to him with caps on?
HAHAHHAHA.
lol, that was funny, it reminds me of this stupid kid at skool, lol,, it wouldda been too easy to "mess" with him, so i didn't, i hope he's feeling better,, it's fun to "mess" with him.
Originally posted by Kremithefrog:
Originally posted by Journie:
Originally posted by Cool Blue Mystique:
Don't mess with me, today is NOT the day, got it? Good.
Phhhffffffff
What are you going to do,reply to him with caps on?
HAHAHHAHA.
lol, that was funny, it reminds me of this stupid kid at skool, lol,, it wouldda been too easy to "mess" with him, so i didn't, i hope he's feeling better,, it's fun to "mess" with him.
Was this kid in your spelling and grammar class?
remember, i be just a dum southernnern from da south dat don't no how to speil or right. i know how internet forums really like to follow grammar rules (or maybe just one 15yr old on the forums).
i won't be reading this post anymore so PM me if u wanna talk about my grammar.
Originally posted by Cool Blue Mystique:
Opel huh? AKA Cadillac Catera.
There are more than one type of Opel, ok kid ??
Originally posted by Sandman333:
I
What is involved in replacing this switch? Cost? Special tools? Is there a recall on this (see sig for my vehicle)? If not, there should be, as this could cause a serious fire....
After reading this really fascinating
thread, I try to answer your question:
You need to replace the switch and most probably the resistor too. I had to do the resistor only, so I just guess on the switch: it shouldn't be difficult to remove if you've ever done dash work. All you might need is Phillips screwdrivers of various length.
Cost: dunno, should be around $20.
Resistor: it's in the passanger footwell below the glove box, next to some kind of plastic housing (blower ?) It requires some acrobatics and finger skills to remove it, but not too hard.
Was $21 IIRC at the dealer.
By the way, the problem with mines was that the original screws holding the resistor were loose, and the electrical connector could move back and forth a bit. I guess that resulted in sparks one nice day and the thing burnt through.
One local dealership simply refused to do the recall (I was told they examined it and the problem was not related to the resistor or switch - my God, what else is there), the other dealer gave an appointment in 2 weeks. It was less than an hour to do it myself, although this way I had to pay for the part.
Tiv
Got it done for free at the dealership today, open recall. They screwed up the dimmer switch when the put it back together, it's all crooked and contacts the dash trim now. Sigh.... I hate dealing with service departments. Never have I taken my car in where they haven't screwed something up.
The reason for that is that the technician gets paid what the book calls for regardless of how long the repair takes. If the book says the job takes 2 hours and it takes the technician 4 he only gets paid for 2 hours. If the book calls for 4 hours and he finishes in 2 hours, he gets paid for 4 hour.
They have to be fast if they want to earn a living. The slower technicians always leave to find a better occupation.
When I took my Contour in to have the blower switch replaced, they left the radio disconnected. It only took about a minute to connect it.
I would never work as a technician at a dealership. They push the technicians to go faster and faster. Thatâ??s just not my cup of tea. I think I failed about every speed test that I ever took.
I owned a small repair shop a few years ago and I set my own pace. I made more money parting out cars than servicing them. People would drive 200 miles to get a used transmission for $375 to $500. People almost give the cars away if they are wrecked or have a bad engine or transmission. No shops where I live will service the imports so that was where I made most of my money.
One person drove 215 miles to pick up a Taurus transmission. We put the Taurus transmission into his compact hatchback car and the rear bumper was almost touching the ground when he left. He had his tools and coveralls. He was planning on removing the transmission himself but I had already removed the transmission.
I would still like to do repair work but my back started going bad and I had to quit repair work.
Here's a story that might raise some eyebrows among you fellow Ford owners. In March, we bought a 2002 Hyundai Sonata to replace my wife's 91 Grand Am. The car comes with an incredible warranty, and for an additional $4.00 per month, we were able to extend the warranty to 10 years/100,000 miles bumper-to-bumper. When we bought the car, we were given a tour of the dealer's service area and introduced to the Hyundai service manager. We have already had a minor recall service done, and since then we've received numerous thank you cards and surveys from Hyundai and our dealer asking for our opinion of their performance. But the real kicker is the letter I recieved from Hyundai last week.
It seems that the company advertised the Sonata as being equipped with a 149 hp 4-cylinder. But they discovered later that the engine could only be rated at 138 hp. They apologised up and down for any "inconvenience" this error may have caused and then automatically extended our powertrain warranty to 12 years or 120,000 miles! I was floored. Even if the Sonata turns out to be a complete piece of garbage (which is far from the truth) it won't cost us anything but for routine maintenance as long as we own the car.
Can anyone imagine Ford doing something like this? I love my Contour to death or I wouldn't be posting on this site. But if the small problems with it get to be way out of hand, I'd be seriously tempted to dump it for a 5-speed 2003 Elantra and drive with a lot more piece of mind than I have now.
An extended powertrain warranty 12 years 120,000 miles is a good idea. Those parts are expensive.
Will the warranty cover electrical items like the fuel pump, radio, and headlights or does it cover the engine and transmission mechanical parts only? Does the warranty cover brakes and worn out suspension parts?
I was disappointed when my powertrain warranty did not cover head lights not working, a ignition module, and worn out inner tie rods & alignment. The rate was $60 per hour to diagnose the head light problem.
Originally posted by 7999:
I was disappointed when my powertrain warranty did not cover head lights not working, a ignition module, and worn out inner tie rods & alignment. The rate was $60 per hour to diagnose the head light problem.
You're joking right ?? A powertrain warranty is just that : a powertrain warranty. Nothing else !!!
I almost bought a extended warranty but then I read the fine print. Items that can wear out suspension parts, brakes, fuel pump, and most parts were not covered. I think a warranty should cover everything. If your car will not get you to where you want to go then it is not much good.
Originally posted by 7999:
I almost bought a extended warranty but then I read the fine print. Items that can wear out suspension parts, brakes, fuel pump, and most parts were not covered. I think a warranty should cover everything. If your car will not get you to where you want to go then it is not much good.
You have an official Ford ESP or some knock off cheap warranty?
Ford ESP also has different packages. They usually must be purchased before the car's original 3year/36,000 warranty expires.
I bought my Ford ESP Premium Care about 5 days before my warranty ran out. For this one, they list what it does not cover because the list is rather small. I have a $50 deductible.
In two months under ESP, I have had 2 (yes two) new transaxles put in and a new strut.
Our Sonata has a 10 year/100,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty that covers everything except normal wear items (brake pads, wiper blades, batteries, etc.) Hyundai just extended our powertrain warranty to 12 years/120,000 miles, which covers the engine and transmission against major failures, but does not cover things like oil filters or other consumable parts that are replaced regularly.
Come to think of it, everytime my Contour makes a new noise or something else stops working, I'm getting more and more tempted to chuck it for a 5-speed Elantra and live a stress-free life for the next 10 years. But what's the fun in that right?
Originally posted by dennym:
Our Sonata has a 10 year/100,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty that covers everything except normal wear items (brake pads, wiper blades, batteries, etc.) Hyundai just extended our powertrain warranty to 12 years/120,000 miles, which covers the engine and transmission against major failures, but does not cover things like oil filters or other consumable parts that are replaced regularly.
Come to think of it, everytime my Contour makes a new noise or something else stops working, I'm getting more and more tempted to chuck it for a 5-speed Elantra and live a stress-free life for the next 10 years. But what's the fun in that right?
But you fail to address the underlying fact that Hyundai is ghey.
Wow! Hyundai extended the warranty because they sold a car that didn't live up to it's horsepower standard that they advertised. And I can't even get Ford to reimburse me for a rental car because they took a week for "their" recall fix. That is simply amazing! Ghey are not, I'll take reliability ANYDAY over a company that refuses to fix or even acknowledge their customer service (and mechanical) faults. What a fantastic deal you got, dennym! Gotta love bumper to bumper!
Originally posted by MotorCity:
You have an official Ford ESP or some knock off cheap warranty?
Ford ESP also has different packages. They usually must be purchased before the car's original 3year/36,000 warranty expires.
I bought my Ford ESP Premium Care about 5 days before my warranty ran out. For this one, they list what it does not cover because the list is rather small. I have a $50 deductible.
In two months under ESP, I have had 2 (yes two) new transaxles put in and a new strut.
Yeppers, 70,000 miles and just had my rear struts replaces for $50.00 thanks to my extended warranty. I liked the price too bad thie service sucks. With the struts and the dash recall, I dropped my car off Thursday they said it would be done that day, they called me Friday to tell me I could pick it up Monday. Thats fine and dandy but they didn't
offer me a rental car, I had to ask for it.
well, if u want a cheap car that has a warranty that will be used often after a few years, and have a not so great car then a hyundai is for you,,, i'd rather have my 'tour though due to the fact that i see a lotta hyundais with smoke pouring from their tailpipes,etc. plus contour has more power, rides better, handles better, looks better, is better, smells better, even taste better (stupid korean paint, can't hang with american paint).
Originally posted by Sandman333:
All those recalls just go to illustrate my point. Ford quality sucks. In addition, take a look at the 95 3.8L V6 issues (head gaskets). Ford did not bother to notify owners of these vehicles (Taurus, Windstar, and possibly Mustang) that there was a problem with the engine; rather Ford decided to quietly authorize repairs if the vehicle had less than 100,000 miles in order to appease complaints and avoid very bad press.
Well, my 95 Windstar started experiencing symptoms of a very slow coolant loss at 80,000 miles. Because I knew nothing of the problem at the time, and because I have through experience learned not to trust dealerships with my car, I tried to find the leak myself. I never could identify the source. Eventually, at 120,000 miles, the #4 cylinder let go. I was lucky to recognize the white clouds of smoke and burnt brown sugar smell as a blown head gasket and shut the engine down prior to major internal damage. Ford wanted $1700 to repair it. They refused to cover it, even though the parts used were clearly defective when they left the factory. I did it myself for about $400 parts and tools cost (was away from home, and hence my tools, at the time).
Additionally, my 95 had the transaxle replaced under warranty. It would shudder into 2nd gear about 30% of the time. Now my 2000 Windstar, with the same transmission, is doing the same thing. They can't fix this problem in 5 years????? Give me a break.
I am also a police officer. Every Crown Vic I have had as a patrol car has had engine pinging issues, getting worse with age. Eventually, as the car approaches 100,000 miles, it gets so loud as to be embarrassing. The transmission in my 2000 CV PI sucks too. Something is wrong whereby it lurches in first and second gear at anything over 2/3 throttle. It feels as if someone else is mashing the brakes every other second as the car accelerates. (no, it doesn't have traction control)
In short, Ford is becoming nothing but a big dissappointment to its customers. I suspect that Ford will soon have fewer customers to dissappoint, however.
One question: if you complained so much about your 95 Windstar, why the hell did you go and buy another one??
Originally posted by Kremithefrog:
well, if u want a cheap car that has a warranty that will be used often after a few years, and have a not so great car then a hyundai is for you,,, i'd rather have my 'tour though due to the fact that i see a lotta hyundais with smoke pouring from their tailpipes,etc. plus contour has more power, rides better, handles better, looks better, is better, smells better, even taste better (stupid korean paint, can't hang with american paint).
As the regular driver of my Contour and our new Sonata, I'll agree that the Contour handles better. Everything else is nonsense. The new Sonata is a first-class car with or without the warranty. Besides, you won't see mine with smoke pouring from the tailpipe because Hyundai has agreed to fix it for the next 12 years no questions asked. Compare that to the three visits and one angry phone call I had to make to get my Ford dealer to replace my serpentine belt tensioner on my Contour
after it was out of warranty! Their first solution was to spray belt dressing on the serpentine
. Don't get me wrong, I love my Contour and I have since the day I bought it. It's as comfortable as an easy chair and handles like an extension of my arms and legs. But Ford has been an absolute horses**t company to deal with. I have some mechanical skills and the Haines manual with which I hope to become somewhat self-sufficient with the 'Tour because I'd rather pull out my own fingernails than deal with my Ford dealer's service department. I hate to say it, but I'm guessing the Contour will have gone to the big garage in the sky long before we'll have to pay for a major repair on the Sonata.