Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting GRRRR.. Ford's lack of quality (heater switch)

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.