RobertFord

Greetings,

Back in December 2013, I bough a certified 2011 Mustang with a 3.7 V6 and the 6 speed Getrag transmission. Toward the middle of April, the car developed a clutch chatter and would very rarely go into 5th without horrific grinding. I did some research on this and other forums and familiarized myself with the history of these issues. It currently has 32,000 miles on it and hasn't been abused at all.

Fast forward to today, my car has been sitting at a local dealership for warranty repairs for 3 weeks. The service manager has excuse after excuse as to why it isn't fixed and the Ford Customer Service people are of no help, do not return calls and have advised me that I am basically at the mercy of the dealership. The dealership also doesnt call, return calls or communicate with me in any way whatsoever. I have to keep going back to the dealership over and over again to find out what is going on and have asked them REPEATEDLY to call me, which they never do.

I stopped by this afternoon and my transmission is in 500 pieces and they are waiting for more parts because "Ford sent the wrong ones" .

I am ready to have the local Toyota dealer come get the thing as a trade in. Has anyone else ever experienced such a lack of customer support and focus on a warranty repair with Ford?

WindyMustang

Wow - bummer sir. I've had bad service experience with just about every car make at this point in my life...so while it shouldn't happen, it does.

Are they providing you at least something to drive?

You might want to ask for a face-to-face meeting with the CSR and the service manager. If they decline, have your lawyer ask politely.

The choice to rebuilt the transmission seems to be the key issue. If they can't get the parts, ask what it will take to get a new or reman gearbox (which might be more available).

Good luck and here's hoping it gets better soon.

RobertFord

Thanks for the reply.

The Ford customer service people are of no help. I have had a case open for 2 1/2 weeks and the only action they have taken is to recommend that the dealer call the tech hotline, which they did. They were advised to order and replace "everything having to do with 5th gear". They have since ordered and received the wrong parts, blaming Ford for shipping the wrong parts.

They are providing a loaner car as they are required to by the terms of the powertrain warranty, a 2012 Fusion.

I have asked for a new transmission but that decision is left up to the engineering people at Ford who I have no way of contacting. Since the Ford customer service people never return calls or contact me, I am just stuck.

Now, folks may be thinking "Yeah Yeah...first world problems, get over it",(and I have thought this myself) I keep coming back to the reasons I bought this car.. I have a lot of trips planned in the next couple of years and wanted a smooth, comfortable sporty touring car and the Mustang fit the bill. I shelled out almost $20,000 for this vehicle only to have to take a white 4-door family sedan on several trips, while paying for insurance, sat radio and all the other goodies on my Mustang.

It isn't even the matter of it taking so long, it's the lack of communication from an established dealership and the Ford Motor Company's complete disinterest in honoring the warranty. They seem to be of the mindset that once the car is sold, the warranty and customer good will are meaningless.

ronnie948

I'm sure it will be repaired but like everything. It is probably a back-order problem with the needed parts. These transmissions are made in China.by a German company "GETRAG" At least you do have a car to drive until you get your's back. Of course they are not going to keep calling you until they get your car repaired. It just does not happen that way. Your car has a very rare problem and probably caused by the previous owner. Or maybe even by your self. I'm sure it was fine when you test drove it or you would not have bought the car.
They probably will end up just replacing the transmission if they can't find out what caused the problem in the first place.
Just be calm and wait it out. It will be fixed.
Ronnie

PS: Do you really mean a Toyota? Wow, I'm sure they don't ever have any problems. I'm guessing you were just joking on "TOYOTA" the recall king of all cars ever made.

RobertFord

It wasn't a back order problem and like I said, I had no issue with the time. The issue was the complete lack of concern exhibited by Ford the dealer and Ford the corporation. Almost daily, I was told the car would be ready "tomorrow" or the "next day". the Ford "customer care people" told me they were on top of it when in fact they did nothing and eventually admitted they were powerless, and I was at the mercy of the dealership.

It was also plainly evident to me, a life long auto and aircraft tech, who is now in QA, that the dealership was in way over their heads. Tools had to be ordered, manuals procured etc. (Interestingly, I have several of the tools they had to order in my own box.)

Now I can understand a local dealership having issues with a repair such as this. It's not a simple job, but if you are in over your head, admit it and sent the trans out to a local guy who CAN handle it.

Also, as is clearly stated in my original post, I know all about this transmission and it's problems. They are well documented across the interwebs as well as in the Ford TSB database. The dealership failed to use available resources and Ford Motor Company failed in its obligations to their customer and their dealership to provide assistance.

Toyota actually offered me 18 grand on a trade for this car against a new Camry. I came close to taking them up on the offer, but what I wanted was the Mustang back in my driveway. Almost 6 weeks after I first brought the car to Ford for WARRANTY repairs, that is where it is finally sitting.

Happy to have the car back, but based on the customer service experience, it will be the last Ford I ever purchase under warranty.