Brand new 09 Mustang smoking

[NewStangSmoking]

Hi, I'm new to the forums but not new to Mustangs -- I've owned classic Mustangs since I was 16 years old -- I'm 44 now.

Two weeks ago my husband and I bought a 2009 Mustang GT -- Anniversary Edition, over $31,000 before rebates. We bought it new, from the local Ford dealer that we've dealt with for many years. It had 46 miles on it. A few times right after I bought it, I thought I noticed it smoking, but shrugged it off, thinking it was just condensation, it was cold out, etc. Still noticing it, I asked my husband to come out and watch when I started it, and he confirmed -- it was blowing blue smoke out the exhausts when I started it. Revving the engine brought even more blue smoke and backfiring. I had him get in while I watched -- same thing.

Of course I called the service dept and they set up an appt. for us to drop it off. I waited for 2 days and finally called them. I knew it was trouble when I was told that I would have to hold for "my advisor" who was on another phone line. Advisor? I didn't join AA, I dropped a car off for servicing!

My "advisor" gets on the phone after about 10 minues of holding. I kid you not...this is what she told me.

First, she confirmed that it was blowing blue smoke, that it has used 1/2 of a quart of oil in 800 miles, but said they did not hear it backfiring. She also confirmed that the computer was giving a code -- which she looked up. Ford is aware of the "problem" which they say is not a problem at all.

She said that "these big engines aren't made for stop and go driving and for driving short distances." She said that if we continued to drive it under those circumstances, it will continue to burn oil and blow blue smoke. She said it is normal, and therefore not a repair issue...not a warranty issue.

Right now, my husband and I are so angry that we don't dare even think about driving up to the dealership to pick the car back up. I would rather be informed and level headed when I go up there. Which brings me to these forums for advice.

I have found many different forums and many references to GTs blowing blue smoke, however never any on a brand new GT fresh off the dealer's lot. This just can't be normal! Any advice is appreciated!

 

[dbowers]

I would tell them to make a spot for it cause they will be seeing it alot!!!!

 

[Satin07Stang]

Yeah it should not do that. My 89GT Mustang started doing that at 160kmiles but it was after I found that the PCV valve was disconnected somehow. definately an issue, I would call the Ford hotline and let them know about it. I wonder ifyou can file some kind of lemon law. I would be pissed too.

 

[DarkFireGT]

no way it should be burning through oil like that.

"These engines are not made for stop and go driving"... BS. These engines are extremely reliable. Many of us drag race them and they don't burn oil. All of my driving is in city/stop and go... They're crazy and they need to fix it or replace it.

 

[anthony05gt]

I would go in there and get loud. Raise some hell. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. My '05 doesn't burn any oil and yours shouldn't either.

 

[Randy 25]

What a bunch of crap. I have a new 08 with less than 2k miles on it and it doesn't smoke. Lemon Law maybe. I'd get real serious with them real quick. Don't even let them head this direction....

 

[gashog]

+1

Sounds like they are trying to get you to roll over and be quiet. Mine hasn't smoked like that ever.

 

[TBrad]

My GT has not burned one drop of oil since I bought it new. It is about to turn over 30k on the mileage. I drive short distance, long distance, slow, fast, it doesn't matter. The 4.6 Modular motor was built for reliability.

The "story" your Service Adviser/Writer has given you is total non-scents.

First... I would go there and ask to talk to the Service Manager. If they are not available, ask when they will be available and come back then. Tell them that you are not there to pick up the car and that this smoking issue will be fixed before you will pick the car up and that it is an obvious engine related issue.
For your own information... blue smoke is an obvious piston ring or valve stem seal problem.
If talking to the Service Manager does not work. Tell them you want to talk to their boss... usually the dealership Owner/Manager and explain to them you bought the car there and what is going on with your new car.

Second... if all else fails. Tell them that you will be calling and writing Ford to tell them of the extremely poor service you have received at that particular dealership service department.

When doing all this just remember to stay calm.

If it's an option, you can always try another Ford dealer....
Some service departments are good some bad. Sometimes it's just the Service Adviser/Writer.

Good luck...

 

[NewStangSmoking]

Thank you everyone! I will update you when I pick the car up tomorrow. It is not an option for me to just leave it there. It is our only car and even though they gave me a loaner car, they pretty much made it clear that they were making an exception...and that I should have bought the extended warranty with rental car reimbursement.

I am in Missouri and we do have a lemon law, but with their claim that this is normal, and saying it is not a repair/warranty issue, I really have no rights under the lemon law. They know exactly what they are doing. But I don't understand how the dealership could benefit in any way from this. It obviously has factory warranty so they aren't footing the bill.

I will most certainly be talking to the service manager and the dealership owner. I'm just taken back by their excuse that Ford itself is claiming this is normal. They are not denying that it is smoking or that it is burning oil, they are just saying that is perfectly normal when you drive short distances.

 

[Randy 25]

Thank you everyone! I will update you when I pick the car up tomorrow. It is not an option for me to just leave it there. It is our only car and even though they gave me a loaner car, they pretty much made it clear that they were making an exception...and that I should have bought the extended warranty with rental car reimbursement.

I am in Missouri and we do have a lemon law, but with their claim that this is normal, and saying it is not a repair/warranty issue, I really have no rights under the lemon law. They know exactly what they are doing. But I don't understand how the dealership could benefit in any way from this. It obviously has factory warranty so they aren't footing the bill.

I will most certainly be talking to the service manager and the dealership owner. I'm just taken back by their excuse that Ford itself is claiming this is normal. They are not denying that it is smoking or that it is burning oil, they are just saying that is perfectly normal when you drive short distances.

I think you need to actually read the lemon law in your state. Can't believe you don't have rights under it - that's why it was created. Don't let them push you around. Be polite but firm, don't burn any bridges at this point. Also I would start documenting every meeting with them - who, when, why what, etc. Just may come in handy...

 

[NewStangSmoking]

Thanks Randy. My brother in law used to work for the MO Attorney General's office and worked on lemon law issues. I called him earlier today and he said that in MO they must be given a 'reasonable amount of time' to fix the problem. 4 attempts is considered reasonable. But, they are acknowledging the issues (smoking and burning oil) but saying it is normal. Sounds to me like double talk. if they didn't acknowledge the problem, then I could take the car in 4 times with the same complaint and would have rights under the lemon law. Or if they acknowledged it, tried to fix it, and the issue was not resolved after 4 tries, I would have rights under the law. But they are saying it is normal. It would be like me taking it in and saying the car is burning gas -- of course it is burning gas, that's how cars run. They are basically saying that burning oil is part of how these high performance engines run.

Of course, we all know this is BS, but I have to take everything slowly at this point so I'll just have to play their game for now.

I am excellent about documenting things. I have checked into MO recording laws, and will have a recorder with me when I pick it up, as well as make sure they give me the error code that the diagnostics is giving them, along with an explanation of the error code.

 

[NastyStang113]

Don't think this is just Ford, every car manufacture out there says in the owner's manual that it's okay for a car to burn a specified amount of oil. It really is true that short trips are actually harder on the car than long trips. I still don't think it should be smoking though. I mean how much smoking are we talking about ... Any way you could get a video of it?

 

[TBrad]

The rental car is covered under the 3 year 35K mile bumper to bumper factory warranty.

Any way they put it... a smoking new car is not acceptable.

Yeah... a video would be cool.
Is it smoking like in NastyStangs avatar?

Or is it more like this...

Mustang Burning Oil Video

 

[Five Oh Brian]

A loaner/rental car is NOT part of Ford's bumper-to-bumper warranty. You only get a loaner/rental if you purchase a Ford Extended Service Plan (ESP) or you buy from a dealership that promises a loaner with any new car purchase (get it in writing!).

Short trips do make a car (even our beloved Mustangs) more prone to blue smoke upon start up. This is from the crankcase pressure blowing oily vapor through the PCV valve and into the intake manifold where it pools up if the car isn't driven much, then shut off. That pooled oily vapor burns off as blue smoke the next time you start up the car. Is it pretty? Heck no! Is it normal? Kind of. Also, brand new cars may have a little more blowby (while the rings seat and "break in") which causes elevated amount of crankcase pressure blowing this oily vapor through the PCV valve and into the manifold. I'd bet that this issue will likely clear up after the car has a couple thousand miles on it.

To avoid this issue in my 07 GT (which is even more prone to this issue due to the supercharger I have installed), I recently installed an oil seperator inline between the PCV valve and intake manifold to prevent that oily cruddy vapor from getting into my manifold and burning off as blue smoke.

Lemon Laws are designed to protect consumers against issues that are safety or driveability related. Minor annoyances are not Lemon Law material in most states, but rules vary by state.

Oh, and you should get a second opinion from another Ford dealer. Results vary widely between shops as they are not created equal! Your warranty is good at any Ford, Lincoln, or Mercury dealer anywhere in the USA or Canada - so you don't have to go back to the selling dealer.

Keep us posted on your oil burner!

 

[NewStangSmoking]

It is EXACTLY like that video! Thanks for posting the link.

Five Oh....you kind of sound like the service "advisor." I am having a hard time accepting that burning 1/2 quart of oil in 800 miles is normal. That would mean I have to drop a a quart in with every 4 gasoline fillups.

I've also been thinking about this "short drives" they say are the cause. We bought the car 11 days ago and it has been in the shop for 3 days, so I've only had possession of it for 8 days. One day I drove 200 miles to take my daughter to the doctor, so that leaves 7 days that we put 600 miles on it.

I don't even live in the city. At the very minimum, it is 10 miles, one way, to get to the nearest store, but it is 25 miles one way to the town that we do most of our shopping. And none of the towns that we drive to are "stop and go" driving. At most, I may have one stop sign and one stop light on a typical drive to town.

My '68 Mustang (289) has never used a drop of oil and I've had it almost 3 years. Granted, I only put a few hundred miles a year on it, and it is still in storage from the winter, but still...it is the original motor that has never been rebuilt and has well over 100K on it. I think it is downright embarassing to be driving a $32,000 car that's blowing blue smoke. At this point, I would not feel comfortable taking the new Mustang on a long trip.

I did take a video of the car before I dropped it off. I just don't have the software on this computer to download off the camera. I thought I should at least document it on the video camera before dropping it off, but now I guess I'll have to try to find that darn install disk that came with the video camera.

Thanks again everyone, it feels good to just vent. I have an audio recorder which I am taking with me when I pick the car up, and I will have them put it in writing also. I'll update everyone tomorrow -- well, I guess I mean today -- I'm so upset about this I could barely sleep, and what little sleep I got I had dreams about the confrontation to come. I will keep my cool, that's one thing I'm good at.

 

[browning_1]

thats messed up i just bought a 09 gt about 2 weeks ago and havent had any problems, just didnt take it above 3000 rpm for 800 miles or so, but no problems smoking or burning oil so far "knock on wood"

 

[sycd]

In some states it might even be illegal to have a car that makes smoke like this. You car may not even pass emission as it is depending on where you live.

The stop and go argument such complete BS. Cars today are designed to handle stop and go traffic as well as highway.

 

[Marc S]

Brian's explanation is 100% accurate and I agree with everything he said. However, your situation seems to be beyond the normal exceptable levels of engine oil consumption and I believe that you have reason for concern. My new 08 GT used about 1/8 of a quart of oil before the first oil change at 3,500 miles. I buy between 1 and 1.5 million in fleet vehicles from Ford every year and I have a very good realtionship with Ford because of this leverage. I just spoke to the service manager I normally deal with and he agrees that the oil consuption is not normal in his professional opinion and if your problem was mine, he would take care of it. However, Ford says that 1 guart per 900 miles is acceptable and this is in print. Your consumption of 1 quart per 1600 miles could be a difficult situation for you. The service manager I spoke with said you need to meet with the service manager at the dealer you bought the car from and ask him to start a oil consumption record. The dealer will change the oil at no cost to you and you need to bring the car to them everytime it needs oil. They will document the usage. He said you also need to ask the manager to fill out a form that will be sent to the Ford district manager so he can review your case.

Good luck.

 

[Randy 25]

A half a quart in 800 miles is not normal. I don't care what anyone else says. I have a 2004 F150 that only has 24K miles on it in 5 years (bought it new). Mostly only short trips as I live only about a mile from where I work, no oil burning. Same with my 2000 E320 Mercedes (wife drives), 62K miles in 8 years (bought it new), no oil burning. I have just put 1800 miles on my new 08 stang, bought in Jan 09, no oil consumption. I spent my whole AF career as an officer in the vehicle business. Started out running AFB vehicle maintenance shops and ended up at the Pentagon as the second in charge of the 157,000 USAF-wide vehicle fleet (height of cold war). I am not a mechanic, don't pretend to be, but like most of the folks here, have always been a "car guy" with lots of fun cars over the years and have always done lots of my own maintenance. Back to my opening sentence, burning a half qt of oil in 800 miles is not normal!

 

[ProfilerGT]

I purchased an 09 Mustang GT premium in the beginning of March and havent had a problem. Although I hadnt really looked for it either. You had me thinking so since I read your post I've actually gotten out of my car every time I started it since to check. There has been no excessive smoke of any color period. When I first start the car and it idles higher for a short bit some smoke comes out but thats it.

So if they are telling you its a normal thing for the 09's its not happening on mine. so I guess that means if nothings wrong with yours something must be wrong with mine? heh ....

Also I only have about 600 miles on it now (started with 6). I drive mostly short distances I work only 4 miles from my house and 5 miles from the gym both of which I go to daily. So if they are saying short distance is the issue I would say thats not on par either.