The Saga Continues...My Engine is Still Out of My Car
Just to update the status with everyone....
Engine was pulled on Dec 7th, it is still out and they still don't know what is wrong. Waiting on a tool to do a leak down test on my now rebuilt engine.
One word of good news about the forums and posting. A Ford representative from Michigan called my dealer today based on my post in these forums! I try and celebrate the small victories because this still sucks. I don't know what that means or what he will do, but the Ford people do see the forums. Keep posting.
I figure why not post the message I sent to Ford about the current state of my car. It is long, but it lets everyone see my account of this situation. If nothing else please read the first two paragraphs to see what this means to a new Ford Mustang owner!!!!
MESSAGE TO FORD MANAGEMENT:
December 14, 2004
Mr. Roman J. Krygier
Ford Motor Company
V.P. Manufacturing and Quality
16800 Executive Plaza
P.O. Box 6248
Dearborn, MI 48121
Dear Roman:
I am writing to express my deep dissatisfaction regarding the response from Ford Motor Company relative to the failure of the engine in my brand new 2005 Mustang GT, and to request that Ford buy back my failed one immediately. I purchased a new 2005 Mustang GT off the dealer lot with less than 20 miles on it. I drove it for just over a week and less than 1,000 miles when the engine failed. I have owned this vehicle for less than three weeks and, in that time, it has been towed, the engine has been pulled, every connection under the hood has been disconnected, it has been scratched and it has sat out in the weather for more than half of its life.
The service department has been unable to determine what is wrong with the engine, and Ford is unwilling to replace the engine or the car until someone can tell them what is wrong with it. The fact that the cause of the problem has not been determined is just more reasons for Ford to buy back the vehicle. I have been robbed of my “new car experience” by Ford Motor Company’s lack of commitment to customer satisfaction. This is a high performance, signature automobile for Ford Motor Company and I expect Ford to stand behind their product.
The following if a timeline of events to date related to this incident:
11/24/04 – purchased 2005 Mustang GT from Larry Hill Ford in Cleveland Tennessee.
12/3/04 (Friday) – In route from work, vehicle quit running. Called Ford assistance vehicle was towed to Larry Hill Ford.
12/4/04 (Saturday) – Received a rental car at the dealer’s expense.
12/6/04 (Monday) – The service manager called and reported that, according to the computer, the vehicle jumped time on right bank of cylinders. This event occurred at approximately 900 RPM according to PCM data. In addition, the engine failed compression tests on two of the right cylinders. The valve covers were removed and showed no evidence of jumped time. However, the engine man was out sick, so it will have to wait until he gets back to inspect the engine.
12/7/04 (Tuesday) – The dealer decided to pull engine. At noon, I called the Ford Resolution Hotline to file a complaint but the computers were down, so I was asked to call back later. I called back at 4:30 and the system was still down. I should call back tomorrow.
12/8/04 (Wednesday) – Spoke with Alicia at the 800 number and filed the issue and requested a replacement vehicle as a solution. I called the service manager at the dealership, Clyde. He said they were waiting to get approval from the district manager to replace the engine. He would call me back as soon as he got the answer. He did not call.
12/9/04 (Thursday) – I received a courtesy call from Larry Hill Ford asking how I was enjoying my newly purchase vehicle, to which I responded that he should probably check with the service department on that matter.
I called Clyde to check on the status of the engine replacement. He had not heard anything yet but should definitely hear today. Still no answer as of the end of the day.
I went to the dealership on the way home. Due to the fact that the battery had been disconnected, the driver’s side window, which automatically adjusts into the seal using battery power, was jammed up against the seal. Just one more small thing that will never be new again.
When I arrived home from work, there was a recording on the answering machine at my home from Loyd Luketin , the F1 Zone Manager for Ford. He said that Ford would work to repair the vehicle as quickly as possible, but that they would not replace the vehicle. He commented that he wished he could have spoken to me in person, but did not leave me any way to contact him.
12/10/04 (Friday) – According to Clyde, Ford has refused to approve a replacement engine because there the dealer has not reported any visible damage to the engine. The district manager said that the dealer must perform a leakdown test on the engine before a decision will be made. According to my discussion with Larry Hill and Clyde, this test should have been done before the engine was pulled, but since the engine has already be removed from the car and opened, it will have to be rebuilt in order to perform this test. The dealer does not have the parts required for the rebuild and has ordered them, but will not be received until Monday at the earliest, costing another three days at least.
At this point, I placed a second call to the Ford Resolution Hotline, which is the action to take when you have exhausted your options with the dealer. However, when I explained the situation to Lito, he said that decisions made at the dealer and the district level can not be overturned by anyone at that number. He said I must deal with the dealer. I requested the address or contact information for the district manager which he stated I should get from my dealer.
I placed a call to Larry Hill Ford and asked for Mr. Hill. I was told he was in a meeting with Clyde. I then placed a call Clyde on his cell phone and asked him if Mr. Hill was in. He said that he was not. I asked him for Mr. Hill’s cell phone number, to which he replied that he did not know what it was. He said he asked the receptionist, but she didn’t know it either. I told him that I was on my way down there with the title to my car and want them to make this right.
My wife and I met with Larry Hill and Clyde and asked Mr. Hill to make the situation right, since Ford is not. I asked him to either order a replacement engine or trade my Mustang for a black 2005 Mustang GT he had on his lot. He said he could not afford to order an engine, and it would cost me $4,000 plus tax, tag, etc. and my Mustang to buy the black one, which has a list price of $1,000 less than mine did. He said that, short of that, we would just have to wait until they could run the test on the old engine and see what Ford will do.
We asked Mr. Hill where we can go from here. The dealer is unable to make a decision without the zone/district approval. The problem resolution hotline is unable to overturn the decisions at the dealer/district level. We are not satisfied with the response at the district level, so we asked for the next level. Mr. Hill indicated that he was unable to get us on the phone with the district manager, and that he did not know who was next in the chain of command above her. Both Clyde and Mr. Hill indicated that they felt like this was the last thing Ford would need to make the decision to order a new motor. So we wait, again. Mr. Hill and Clyde both assured us that they would call us on Monday and let us know the status of the situation.
During this visit, I inspected the engine bay on my car. I found that the passenger inside fender well was scratched from the removal of the engine. This is just one more small thing that will never be new again.
12/11/04 (Saturday) – I found an article on Blue Oval News’ website related to an issue with the 2005 Mustang GT engine having low compression. I sent Larry Hill an e-mail containing the article and requested comments.
12/13/04 (Monday) – I received an e-mail from Larry Hill at 8:15am indicating that he would discuss the article with Clyde and with Ford. At 4:30pm I received an e-mail from Mr. Hill. He stated that he was sure we had already heard from Clyde, but the parts needed for the rebuild were received today. My wife immediately called the dealership to tell Mr. Hill that we had NOT heard from Clyde at all today. She did not get through to Mr. Hill, but left him a voice mail stating the same and asking him to call her back.
The service manager called to discuss the state of progress today. The engine has been completely rebuilt, but a tool required to perform the leak down test was still not available. He expects to have the tool tomorrow. I requested a mailing address from him for Loyd Luketin, the F1 Zone Manager, and he responded they are not allowed to give out that information.
Current summary to date end******************************************
In the past 5 years I have been a loyal Ford owner. My purchases over that time have been 4 new vehicles including a F150 Lariat Super Crew, Explorer Sport Trac, Taurus, and the Mustang. This represents a personal investment of well over $100, 000 from a single consumer. Over a lifetime, I am unsure as of yet.
Thank you for your consideration of this matter. I look forward to hearing from you very soon.
Sincerely,
Charles W. West
Cc via email: Larry Hill, Dealership Owner
Loyd Luketin, Zone Manager
Kristen Kinley, Manager, Ford Customer Service Division