Problems: Hesitation under 3k rpms, speedometer often cuts out- low fuel light comes on (common problem on the forum). Speedometer is also off by about 10 mph. Also asked them to do the fuel filler recall (pump hits auto shutoff)
Monday, last week:
Take car in. After a couple of days, they call me telling me that there is a misfire, but they can't tell which cylinder. Also say that the wiring is odd/screwed up. I have a 3L swap, but I'm almost positive that the wiring is completely fine in the car.
Days pass, they cannot determine the problem of the hesitation still. Guy says he will drive it home that night to try to determine the problem.
Today, Monday (a week later), they say I can pick up the car, but will have to return it on Weds. to put the a new Speedometer head in the car. (will this fix the problem?)
I take it for a drive, the car smells like smoke. Like cigarette smoke. Ask the guy I've been dealing with if he had smoked in car. He denys, saying that they smoke only outside the car in the shop. Also says that he put an additive in tank to try to fix hesitation. He suggests that I try to use 87 or 89 fuel, perhaps that will help. Hesitation is still there after 30 miles of driving. A/C works for a bit, then cuts out and is slightly cooler than the outside air. I get home, and find a cigarette on the floor of my car. GRR. Very unprofessional.
ANYWAYS....HERE's the juicy part: guy asks me to pay in cash, under the table ($300). Says something about the mechanics taking lots of time on the car (they went through the wiring, many hours) and he needs to pay them cash...(why? I have no [censored] idea). At first wont give us a receipt, but then prints one out, with the receptionist's name on it.
Thanks for listening...
Need it done don't take it to a mech. This at a Ford dealer?!!! Time to call a rep right now. Who takes a car home?! Hell mine have never ever left a shop in the days I took it in.
That could be a low voltage problem in one of the circuits. The problem could be caused by a loose or corroded connection. Sometimes a wire can go bad on the inside where the problem can't be seen but it can be measured with a multimeter.
Most auto technicians have a hard time finding electrical problems.
Two other things that can cause the speedometer problem are the speed sensor or the speed sensor gear. Sometimes the shaft and bushing are offset so that the parts can be rotated without having to replace the worn bushing.
Well- should I go to the head service manager tomorrow and tell them everything, including how one of the lower shop managers asked us to pay in cash, under the table?
That's a difficult decision. Dealerships charge a minimum of 1 hour for diagnostics. $300 isn't much money for a dealership.
Yup I agree. $300 sounded REALLY low to me. Not like they did much anyways...haha
Originally posted by todras:
Need it done don't take it to a mech. This at a Ford dealer?!!! Time to call a rep right now. Who takes a car home?! Hell mine have never ever left a shop in the days I took it in.
+1 those douchebags shouldent be allowed to touch a car again.
if your having concerns now, better to voice them before you get further into this project. go talk to the manager and explain to him why this is making you uncomfortable. if he handles it properly he will explain the situation more clearly to you, and maybe even offer you some sort of deal/discount for the unprofessional way it has been handled. definitely bring up the smoking issue. that is disrespectful and they are risking damaging your car and its value. if the manager does not put you at ease, its time to take it somewhere else, and i for one would refuse to pay even that full $300 if you walk out of there without any sort of fix.
Nate how bad is your hesitation? Is your speedo problem fixed now? I have noticed that a bad DPFE sensor can cause a slight bucking under constant throttle. Does it go away if you floor it? If it does unplug your DPFE and try to replicate it again. If it is gone then pick up a new DPFE. I don't have any extra DPFE's right now but someone on the board might.
it goes away above 3k rpms. at regular throttle there is no hesitation usually, but if i get on the pedal (half way down)/floor it, it hesitates noticeably. they havent fixed the speedo problem, since they didnt have the part. I think i'm just going to take it to another dealership...
Im going to get a new DPFE sensor tomorrow
could the throttle body have anything to do with this?
the car has a very sensitive throttle...i can barely touch the pedal and sometimes it will buck forward
you better take it to another dealership. Sounds like to me they just took it for a joy ride and said they worked on it. Am I also the only one worried that they suggested to use a lower grade octaine to try and fix the problem? I would personally go to the manager and firmly tell them what they did to your car...smoking in it, not wanting to give you a receipt, wanting only cash, and not fixing a damn thing on it. Drive it up here and I will have some good mechanics look at it for you. They don't charge for diagnotics even, only when they fix the car.
Originally posted by Nate S:
Problems: Hesitation under 3k rpms, speedometer often cuts out- low fuel light comes on (common problem on the forum). ..
This sounds like a bad battery/alternator wiring issue. At high rpms, the vibration is making the wires have good contact.
Or bad plug wires. Contours always do this with bad plug wires. Yea and recommending lower octane.
It definitely sounds shady and I would talk to the service manager asap. Tell him everything thats happened, especially about the money under the table and the smoke. They should make the situation right.
Lower octane, please
There is a chance regardng the cigarette, if they smoke outside the shop that a butt was stuck to their shoe when they got in the car and that is why your smelling smoke. however if the butt isnt smashed.....
I'd take it to another dealer and refuse to pay for anything, especially after the whole reciept issue.
If you have a misfire then you should be throwing a DTC code
P-0300 RANDOM MISFIRE
P-0301 CYL #1 MISFIRE
P-0302 CYL #2 MISFIRE
P-0303 CYL #3 MISFIRE
P-0304 CYL #4 MISFIRE
IT GOES UP TO CYL #12
IF YOU HAVE A MISFIRE THERE SHOULD BE A DTC
I've had miss's in both my cars and never had a code. The CE has to come on and be blinking to get it to come up in the PCM.
Update:
Apparantly the guy who we've been talking to at the dealership has driven 1,000-2,000 miles in my car over the one week period that they had it. The reciept he printed out for us shows that the mileage when the car entered the shop was 2,000 less than it is now.
Sounds like a FREE repair coming.....
I would be calling the Ford customer service line right now. There is no way in in a frozen hell that I would let that just go away and forget about it. [censored] getting a free repair, I want at least two peoples jobs. The tech and the service manager because that is some kind of BS there.
haha two words:
police
and possibly:
lawyer
Oh snap. You'll need a new trans and clutch soon. You didn't write the mileage down b4 it went in?!!!!! And who has a car for that long. Mine are in and out in a day.
i would be tempted to take the car and do burn outs until the tranny crapped out on you and blame it on them...free transmission, clutch, engine work, work out a warrenty for that work and free work for a looooooong time.
F_ck that sh!t man! Take thier asses to court! Definitely call Ford Customer Service! Ass's need to be fried at that dealer!
Originally posted by XKontour98:
F_ck that sh!t man! Take thier asses to court! Definitely call Ford Customer Service! Ass's need to be fried at that dealer!
+1
I took my new car to Marshall Mize Ford next to the Mall in Chattanooga to have some service work did. I walked to the mall and when I returned I could see them doing burnouts in my car. They appologized for doing burnouts.
Most Dealerships want to make all the money they can when selling a car. Service after the sale is usually not very good.
Originally posted by Tom Thumb:
I took my new car to Marshall Mize Ford next to the Mall in Chattanooga to have some service work did. I walked to the mall and when I returned I could see them doing burnouts in my car. They appologized for doing burnouts.
And........
Originally posted by todras:
Originally posted by Tom Thumb:
I took my new car to Marshall Mize Ford next to the Mall in Chattanooga to have some service work did. I walked to the mall and when I returned I could see them doing burnouts in my car. They appologized for doing burnouts.
And........
That was all. I learned a lesson to never trust dealerships.
No money back or charge for services?!!!!
Originally posted by Tom Thumb:
I took my new car to Marshall Mize Ford next to the Mall in Chattanooga to have some service work did. I walked to the mall and when I returned I could see them doing burnouts in my car. They appologized for doing burnouts.
Most Dealerships want to make all the money they can when selling a car. Service after the sale is usually not very good.
They would be buying me a new set of tires and paying for the work that was performed!
The triple B would have been notified and a letter to Ford would have been fired off!
Back in HS when I worked in the service dept at Saturn; we had people throw fits about dirty foot prints left on their floor mats or a grease mark on the door handle. We would end up detailing the car for free, no questions asked!
Customer service this day and age is non-existant anymore.