Dealing with the dealership, any thoughts?
07-05-2006, 08:01 PM
#1
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Join Date: Jul 2005
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Dealing with the dealership, any thoughts?
After having dealt with Friendly Ford in Las Vegas with less than favorable interactions I am now in Connecticut at the Bob Venlenti dealership and am equally frustrated. I don't know if it is a corporate issue but every time I bring the car in for something it is either always supposed to be like that or the mechanic can't replicate the problem.
Most recently I brought the car in for a rattle in the passenger side door, a popping and sqeaking coming from the rear suspension, and driveshaft vibration. On all three counts they couldn't find anything wrong, much less replicate the problems.
Well after leaving it for a day I went in and took a mechanic for a drive. First problem, the rattling. It is most apparent when sitting still, and isn't always happening but it caused by vibration in the car. So we're sitting at a stop and it starts making the noise, he says it's the ac fan, I turn it off and of course it stops b/c the vibration from the a/c is no longer causing it. It happens a few more times while cruising with the a/c off, I hear it but he claims he hears nothing. Ok fine, it's the least of my three issues, but what really started to annoy me was he started blaming my MRT exhaust for everything.
Second problem, the suspension. When going over uneven pavement I get a popping type noise from the rear as the axle shifts, and on occasion when stopping or accelerating, whenever the rear compresses, I get a sqeak. He claims the popping noise is normal for these cars and happens at the pumpkin, where the driveshaft meets the differential. When we got out and he pushed at the rear so it moved side to side the noise was replicated, fair enough, but it only started to happen the past 1,000 miles and has been getting worse. I explained this and he just said it happens. As for the sqeak, he sia dhe couldn't hear it with the exhaust making so much noise.
At this point I was getting pretty annoyed, so the one unquestionable problem, the driveshaft vibration, I replicated. I got to about 80-85 and let off the gas and sure enough I got the vibration. He first blamed it on exhaust resonance, but when I explained it happens when I stick it in neutral and it can't be the exhaust he said he probably wouldn't be able to diagnose it with that exhaust b/c it was too loud. Well I clearly replicated the problem in front of him, and quite frankly I don't think he knew what he was doing b/c he said he'd have his service advisor take it for a ride tomorrow. What almost made me take my car right then and there was when we got back he told the service secretary to mark me down for a tire alignment tomorrow, and she explained there would be a fee since it wasn't covered under warranty. I explained I knew it wasn't an allignment problem, rather an issue with the driveshaft. So I'll wait and see tomorrow, but I'm left with a very sour taste in my mouth from every Ford dealership I've encountered. At every turn they have blamed something that isn't their doing in an attempt to seemingly avoid warranty work.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to anything I can print out and bring with me to the dealership documenting the driveshaft problem mainly, or reassurance that I'm not the only one with these problems? On a side not I went out front and pushed some of the cars in the lot from the rear like he did to replicate the sound and none of them made the popping noise.
Most recently I brought the car in for a rattle in the passenger side door, a popping and sqeaking coming from the rear suspension, and driveshaft vibration. On all three counts they couldn't find anything wrong, much less replicate the problems.
Well after leaving it for a day I went in and took a mechanic for a drive. First problem, the rattling. It is most apparent when sitting still, and isn't always happening but it caused by vibration in the car. So we're sitting at a stop and it starts making the noise, he says it's the ac fan, I turn it off and of course it stops b/c the vibration from the a/c is no longer causing it. It happens a few more times while cruising with the a/c off, I hear it but he claims he hears nothing. Ok fine, it's the least of my three issues, but what really started to annoy me was he started blaming my MRT exhaust for everything.
Second problem, the suspension. When going over uneven pavement I get a popping type noise from the rear as the axle shifts, and on occasion when stopping or accelerating, whenever the rear compresses, I get a sqeak. He claims the popping noise is normal for these cars and happens at the pumpkin, where the driveshaft meets the differential. When we got out and he pushed at the rear so it moved side to side the noise was replicated, fair enough, but it only started to happen the past 1,000 miles and has been getting worse. I explained this and he just said it happens. As for the sqeak, he sia dhe couldn't hear it with the exhaust making so much noise.
At this point I was getting pretty annoyed, so the one unquestionable problem, the driveshaft vibration, I replicated. I got to about 80-85 and let off the gas and sure enough I got the vibration. He first blamed it on exhaust resonance, but when I explained it happens when I stick it in neutral and it can't be the exhaust he said he probably wouldn't be able to diagnose it with that exhaust b/c it was too loud. Well I clearly replicated the problem in front of him, and quite frankly I don't think he knew what he was doing b/c he said he'd have his service advisor take it for a ride tomorrow. What almost made me take my car right then and there was when we got back he told the service secretary to mark me down for a tire alignment tomorrow, and she explained there would be a fee since it wasn't covered under warranty. I explained I knew it wasn't an allignment problem, rather an issue with the driveshaft. So I'll wait and see tomorrow, but I'm left with a very sour taste in my mouth from every Ford dealership I've encountered. At every turn they have blamed something that isn't their doing in an attempt to seemingly avoid warranty work.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to anything I can print out and bring with me to the dealership documenting the driveshaft problem mainly, or reassurance that I'm not the only one with these problems? On a side not I went out front and pushed some of the cars in the lot from the rear like he did to replicate the sound and none of them made the popping noise.
07-05-2006, 08:55 PM
#2
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Join Date: Sep 2005
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Posts: 184
RE: Dealing with the dealership, any thoughts?
Sounds like to me you should go to a more friendly dealer... Not sure if that is an option. I'm guessing they think you are being nit picky, but IMO that is your right. Everyone on here has issues with Rattles out of these cars. I haven't heard any complaints about the other stuff.
07-06-2006, 01:17 AM
#4
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Join Date: Apr 2006
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Posts: 250
RE: Dealing with the dealership, any thoughts?
I feel your pain, my dealer simply tried to tell me that the blue smoke (enough to blow by the windows) was normal.....
Of course it's not ever normal for a car to blow blue smoke new, but they insisted that it was. Being an ex-technician, I simply diagnosed it myself and fixed it. To this day it hasn't smoked again..... wooohooo!
Dealerships are just trying to save money by rejecting warranty claims. If your familiar with KPI's and what they are for, then that is what the dealership is doing, they are just trying to keep thier KPI's in line with what Ford tells them they need to be.
In your case, you will need to go to another dealer and if you can, take the new mufflers off and put the original back on, just so they don't use that against you.
Your situation is identical to the one I had with my 03 Lincoln Town Car. I finialy had to go to another dealer to get the rattles fixed...and they did it on the first visit. Good luck
Of course it's not ever normal for a car to blow blue smoke new, but they insisted that it was. Being an ex-technician, I simply diagnosed it myself and fixed it. To this day it hasn't smoked again..... wooohooo!
Dealerships are just trying to save money by rejecting warranty claims. If your familiar with KPI's and what they are for, then that is what the dealership is doing, they are just trying to keep thier KPI's in line with what Ford tells them they need to be.
In your case, you will need to go to another dealer and if you can, take the new mufflers off and put the original back on, just so they don't use that against you.
Your situation is identical to the one I had with my 03 Lincoln Town Car. I finialy had to go to another dealer to get the rattles fixed...and they did it on the first visit. Good luck
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