New Ranger Muffler Spatter Warranty Issue

[Hulk337]

Hi Everyone - Just got my new Ford Ranger after a 6 month wait time. Was looking it over and noticed all this spatter on the muffler seen through the rear wheel well. Can I bring this back to the dealer for them to warranty fix and replace the muffler? It's a defect right? Sloppy work like this makes me wonder what else is wrong. What would you do?
Thanks,
Jon

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[Jason B]

Sloppy work indeed, but only cosmetic. Maybe they will do something, my guess is just buff it off with a grinder. The way things have been going with Ford services, they will probably tell you to leave it there for a week (or two) for when they have time to get to it.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

Hi Everyone - Just got my new Ford Ranger after a 6 month wait time. Was looking it over and noticed all this spatter on the muffler seen through the rear wheel well. Can I bring this back to the dealer for them to warranty fix and replace the muffler? It's a defect right? Sloppy work like this makes me wonder what else is wrong. What would you do?
Thanks,
Jon

Hi Jon,

You can try to get it replaced as it shows the welding gun needed attention as there should not be any splatter, but I doubt due to the cosmetic aspect the dealer will likely decline. What you might do is open up a formal complaint with Ford Customer Care and see if that leads anywhere.

Best,
Phil

 

[Blmpkn]

?

 

[landiscarrier]

I would drive it and not worry for 1/2 a second about that. My 2 cents..

 

[OFC Ranger]

 

[TORQUERULES]

Cut it off. Go loud.

 

[Apples]

Buy Ford's Borla-made sport exhaust. Problem fixed!

 

[Muddy Fenders]

Yup, she's a lemon, I would look into the buy back program in your area.

 

[Jhbryaniv]

Yup, she's a lemon, I would look into the buy back program in your area.

I was just thinking they could trade it in... I'm sure for a profit... And get back on the waiting train...

 

[NoTacos]

I would drive on some muddy back trails and you won’t notice it all once it is covered in mud?. But in all seriousness, I would not care to take the time to bring it and leave it till they could look at it and then tell me it’s not covered under warranty (which I think there is some vague consensus on that) But that is just my opinion. Not right or wrong.

 

[Hulk337]

Well, fair enough and if it wasn't visible I wouldn't care either, but it looks like crap and its really sloppy - why not just clean it up or do it right in the first place? If I do the work I do the work correctly and would never pass that off. I expect more for 40 G's....but maybe nobody care about their work anymore?

 

[Hulk337]

I would drive on some muddy back trails and you won’t notice it all once it is covered in mud?. But in all seriousness, I would not care to take the time to bring it and leave it till they could look at it and then tell me it’s not covered under warranty (which I think there is some vague consensus on that) But that is just my opinion. Not right or wrong.

Agreed - it might not be worth the time or frustration. That's the worst spatter I saw - but all the exhaust welds look ugly on this brand new truck like I could do a much better job myself. To me it was like an 8th grade shop class put on the muffler. Not impressed.

 

[Hulk337]

Question - Does anyone else here have exhaust welding defects visible on their Ranger?

 

[Rinn69]

MIG welding produces splatter, as does stick (SMAW). (sh) it happens....even with a properly set machine and/or robot. You could take a putty knife or any wide,flat blade and knock off some of the little splatter beads, and wash the area to get rid of the "smoke". A small file will remove them too, but then you'd have to grind and polish the whole thing....

From what I can see, the welds are fine--plenty hot (no cold-lap). The likely cause is the fitment of the pieces may have had a larger than normal space between them, likely causing the "excessive" splatter. If it were me, I'd be MUCH more concerned with the weld quality vs a little splatter that can only be seen when looking for it....under the truck....through the wheel well.....

EDIT: I wouldn't call what is pictured above as a "defect"....it's normal, especially for a muffler. If 2 pieces were fit together and the joint wasn't fully welded or the weld was offset from the joint (missed it completely), THAT would be a defect.

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