A Rant About Ford Motor Company

[ramco]

I have a 2017 F250 6.7L with 21,000 miles on it. It's still under warranty. It's been a great truck as have all my other Fords going back to 1983 when I bought my first new truck.

I understand complicated machinery sometimes breaks. It happens to all brands at some point or another so no need to tell me how good your Dodge/Ram/Chevy/Toyota/Nissan is. They all have problems on occasion. My rant isn't about the truck. It's about Wilmes Ford in Altus and Ford Motor Company (corporate).

Three weeks ago the check engine light (CEL) came on and I got a notification the engine power was being de-rated. I managed to get it to Wilmes Ford. They diagnosed it as a bad turbo. It took them a week to replace a turbo. OK, whatever. I got the truck back. Seemed fine on the way home though I could definitely hear the turbo whine. I never heard that before it was replaced. The next time I drove it was to go to Granite, OK. Just north of Altus the CEL came on again. Nothing odd about how the engine performed and I made it home without incident. I went out of town for a week then drove the truck to Wilmes Ford as soon as I got home. On the way the engine was surging, stalling and hesitating. I wasn't actually sure it was going to make it there.

I brought it in late in the afternoon on Fri and told the service advisor what was wrong. He said, "We don't have a diesel tech so we can't do anything for you." I thought he meant there wasn't a diesel tech on duty at that time. No. They don't have one. At all. No diesel mechanic at a Ford dealership in the heart of farm/ranch country in Oklahoma where everyone and their dog and their cat drives a diesel truck. He offered me two options: 1) leave the truck until they hired someone and then they could fix it or, 2) talk to the service manager. Neither of those options were gonna help me out. Aside from that he simply told me there was nothing the dealership could do. The truck did the same thing on the way home.

I called the dealer in Vernon, TX. Sure...bring it in...2nd week of October. Great.

Called Doug Gray Ford in Sayre. No problem. They can fix it. Problem is the way the engine was acting I didn't think it would make it there and I didn't want to do any damage to it by driving it more. It's 65 miles from my house to Sayre.

I called Ford Roadside Assistance. They told me they would only pay for the first 35 miles if the truck needed to be towed. I called Ford Customer Relations and explained the problem. I talked to perhaps the world's dumbest person. She assured me Ford wanted to fix my truck but they couldn't help me if I was unwilling to bring it to my local dealership for service. I told her I had brought it to my local dealership and was told they couldn't help me. "Sir, you have to bring it to the dealer." FFS...I brought it to the dealer. I finally hung up out of frustration. She didn't bother to take my name, number, nothing.

I waited till Monday and called back. I did manage to get a case number for my problem. Aside from that I've gone from Customer Relations to Roadside Assistance to a supervisor and now I have to wait until the original girl who gave me a case number calls me back tomorrow. Nothing is resolved. All I want is for Ford to tow my truck the ADDITIONAL 30 miles to the dealership in Sayre. Apparently that's not an option.

I've been buying Ford trucks since my first new truck in Dec 1982...a 1983 Ranger when I was a Staff Sergeant stationed in Chandler AZ. I can't even remember how many I've bought in between. I can tell you how many I'm going to buy in the future, though. Not because I don't like them...but because of how Ford has handled this problem. I had something similar happen with a Chevy. Completely different experience when I called corporate and complained about a service I received from a dealer. My problem was resolved before I hung up the phone.

Ford corporate sucks. Wilmes Ford in Altus sucks just as bad.

Get on the dealers website and ROAST THEIR ***. Had a problem concerning a warranty issue with a dealer. After getting on their website, I started getting calls from service, web master, even the GM and the problem was fixed forthwith. Bring your problem public to a larger audience that just Oklahoma shooters.

 

[MacFromOK]

You might check your insurance and credit card agreements for perks such as free towing and/or roadside assistance. IIRC, Farm Bureau has a list of stuff like that, along with discounts at several major retailers.

Just a thought.
___

 

[jakeman]

I'd probably find a local independent guy that could work on it, have him fix it and then sell it the first chance I got, and go buy a different truck.

But that's just me. Recurring issues are a deal breaker with me on a vehicle of any kind. Hey, **** breaks from time to time, but when it's the same **** over and over again, it's time for someone else to own it.

 

[shotty]

I bought a new Ford in 2019. This problem is why I kept my AAA membership. If I ever need a tow, AAA will tow it 100 miles in any direction. The last time I used AAA, had a truck towed from Purcell to North of Edmond, the money saved paid for about 5 to 6 years of membership

 

[Okie4570]

I'd probably find a local independent guy that could work on it, have him fix it and then sell it the first chance I got, and go buy a different truck.

But that's just me. Recurring issues are a deal breaker with me on a vehicle of any kind. Hey, **** breaks from time to time, but when it's the same **** over and over again, it's time for someone else to own it.

The two best diesel guys I know were Ford diesel techs that started their own businesses.

 

[BobbyV]

Dang . . . this sounds like a nightmare.

 

[OK Corgi Rancher]

My insurance will cover the tow. Hell...my insurance will cover the repair if I want to pay a $250 deductible. I don't want that. And I don't want a new truck. This has been a great truck and this isn't a recurring problem. It's one problem that wasn't fixed correctly the first time by Wilmes Ford. What I want is for Ford to step up and take responsibility.

 

[Ryan500L]

I had trouble with Ford on a V-10 F-350 that I bought new years ago, it pinged and clattered all the time and I could not get them to fix it, so I traded it for a new Dodge diesel. Seems like they have problems standing behind there products, I even tried to take to several different dealers around Okc. I know when the 6.0 diesels were being made seemed like when they got past a hundred thousand they started having all the problems with injectors and things, just right out of warranty wouldn't you know. I heard Chevy would replace the injectors in the Duramax's even if you were over your warranty by a few thousand miles because they knew there were issues. Ford would not do anything like that, and I think they only have like a 50 or 60 thousand mile warranty on these 6.7's now. That right there is enough for me to stay away from a Ford, that much money for a pickup and they only warranty it for a short time. They have had so many issues the last 17 or 18 years with there diesels it's crazy, been sued I don't how many times. The 6.7's were supposed to be best motor but I'm not sold on them, I have friends that run them and they have had expensive trouble. I had a 6.0 that was actually the best truck that I've had, drove it for 12 years and put about a 150 thousand on it and had a few issues but nothing crazy like all the stuff you here about. I like the Ford truck the best as far as driving and the ride but I like the Cummins engine better than the Ford engine.

 

[jakeman]

What I want is for Ford to step up and take responsibility.

Well, now you're just being unreasonable.

 

[OK Corgi Rancher]

After leaving Wilmes Ford a scathing Google review I received a reply today from the owner asking me to contact the service manager in order to give them a chance to rectify the situation. Guess I'll call tomorrow and see what they have to say.

Ford Customer Relations was supposed to contact me today and never did.