AAAAND It's Leaking.... Again...

[Porpoise Hork]

It took multiple trips to multiple dealerships, Contacting Ford Customer Care and nearly 9 months before they finally fixed this fricken thing. All the leaks (driver's door and rear window) were supposed to have been fixed. Several months went by since I got it back from the leak fix and multiple rain storms with blissfully no mildew smell. Then I take it in so they can fix the rattle in the dash and...

The mildew smell is back now even with the lightest of rain showers...

We have gone a couple of months with out rain in south Texas so I never washed the truck since getting it back after the dash rattle fix. Then last week the first rain shower blows over, maybe at best 1/8" hit. I go out a few hours later and am greeted with that old familiar mildew smell. Thinking it a fluke, but I make sure all the windows are completely closed and proceed to check the carpet. Nope. Nothing. No damp spot to be found anywhere. The next day another light rain shower again maybe 1/8" and an even stronger mildew smell that persists for about a day.

So here I get to take it in... AGAIN... For them to see if they can find the leak... AGAIN....

Depending on what they say this time I may push Ford for a buy back or file for lemon as it has been in multiple times for leaks and they can't seem to find/fix them.

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[NotBudule]

I would think the carpet/padding would have to be wet to smell ? But no wet spot ? Could you be getting that smell through the AC ducts perhaps ?

 

[Porpoise Hork]

I would think the carpet/padding would have to be wet to smell ? But no wet spot ? Could you be getting that smell through the AC ducts perhaps ?

The mildew smell hits you as soon as you open the door when the truck and AC have been off. Same as the first time.

The last time the main leak was the rear window. Water was running down the back wall under the seat and getting the jute liner wet. Because it has a rubberized backer it wouldn't soak through to the carpet. The driver's door weather seal was letting water past it and dripping onto the weather tech floor mat so the carpet never got wet there either. They only found the leak on the rear window after pulling the carpet and liner out when they found the leak in the door. As they were leak testing it after replacing both weather seals on the door they noticed the puddle forming in the back driver's floorboard coming from the rear glass. It took Ford over a month to get the replacement rear glass in only to have their tint guy destroy the rear defrost, which meant another rear window had to be ordered and installed. That second one Ford took nearly four months to deliver it to the dealer....

I have no idea where it is leaking at this time, nor have I spent the time trying to find it like I did last time. Just strikes me as odd that it was fixed for months then they pull the dash back out to fix it and now it's leaking again. Makes me wonder if they messed up the accumulator housing under the dash and caused a leak there.

 

[9zero1790]

lemon law it! its not worth the headache if they will buy it back or replace it that would be awesome. surely they can get in the truck with a hygrometer and search around for the source. it should have been a simple find the first time.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

lemon law it! its not worth the headache if they will buy it back or replace it that would be awesome. surely they can get in the truck with a hygrometer and search around for the source. it should have been a simple find the first time.

One would think so.

The dealerships went round and round could verify the mildew smell after it rained but could not locate the leak. The first/last dealership I took it to called the phone Engineers on multiple occasions and they suggested replacing the accumulator first off thinking that may be the issue. After that they gave up stating they had no other options to fix it stated it a normal occurrence. It was only my persistence with this that the dealership finally took the time to start pulling the interior apart and found it the last time...

 

[Progeny2021]

My experience has been the musty/mildew smell usually comes from the evap housing not draining the condensation correctly, trash in the evap housing/outside intake vent or from vehicle age - thinking we can rule the last one out.

I got in the habit long ago (living in the humid South all of my life) to turn off the compressor but leave the fan running for the last 1/2 mile or so from my house. Thinking you have something on your evap coil - Lysol or commercial cleaners for the purpose.

 

[SigOris]

It took multiple trips to multiple dealerships, Contacting Ford Customer Care and nearly 9 months before they finally fixed this fricken thing. All the leaks (driver's door and rear window) were supposed to have been fixed. Several months went by since I got it back from the leak fix and multiple rain storms with blissfully no mildew smell. Then I take it in so they can fix the rattle in the dash and...

The mildew smell is back now even with the lightest of rain showers...

We have gone a couple of months with out rain in south Texas so I never washed the truck since getting it back after the dash rattle fix. Then last week the first rain shower blows over, maybe at best 1/8" hit. I go out a few hours later and am greeted with that old familiar mildew smell. Thinking it a fluke, but I make sure all the windows are completely closed and proceed to check the carpet. Nope. Nothing. No damp spot to be found anywhere. The next day another light rain shower again maybe 1/8" and an even stronger mildew smell that persists for about a day.

So here I get to take it in... AGAIN... For them to see if they can find the leak... AGAIN....

Depending on what they say this time I may push Ford for a buy back or file for lemon as it has been in multiple times for leaks and they can't seem to find/fix them.

Research your states Lemon Law if they have one

 

[9zero1790]

Texas has pretty good lemon laws. typically consumer friendly too...

 

[Porpoise Hork]

My experience has been the musty/mildew smell usually comes from the evap housing not draining the condensation correctly, trash in the evap housing/outside intake vent or from vehicle age - thinking we can rule the last one out.

I got in the habit long ago (living in the humid South all of my life) to turn off the compressor but leave the fan running for the last 1/2 mile or so from my house. Thinking you have something on your evap coil - Lysol or commercial cleaners for the purpose.

The evap drains just fine. Leave it idle for a couple minutes and it will develop a condensation puddle under the truck. On days it doesn't rain I can get in and start it up and no musty scent at all from the AC. When it rains I can go out after 20-30 minutes, open the door and I'm again greeted with a VERY strong mildew smell. Best way to describe the strength of the smell is if you forgot the laundry in the washer (in a hot garage) for a day or two. It's that bad. Not the mild musty ac smell that clears in a few minutes. This lingers for several hours after a rain.

 

[JDowns]

There are a handful of spots you could spot check when its dry out to help pinpoint the source. Use a hose on specific spots.

Seal around antenna mount.
Seal around third brake light.
The two grommets behind the rear seat, spot check they are still there.
The two gutter rails on top of the truck.
Front windshield.

May take some time, but may help isolate the area where water could be leaking in. Try each area one by one and check for a musty smell after allowing time for it to bake in.

 

[bRaptor]

Did you try changing your personal laundry detergent or fabric softener? My wife has used All since the day I married her and everything i own smells slightly mildewy after a few years. I wish I could go back to tide

 

[got3fords]

After reading this thread, it started downpouring here. I quickly realized I left my windows cracked. I thought "crap! I don't want no mildewy truck!" Ran outside in the rain to close them.

 

[RangerTX]

There are a handful of spots you could spot check when its dry out to help pinpoint the source. Use a hose on specific spots.

Seal around antenna mount.
Seal around third brake light.
The two grommets behind the rear seat, spot check they are still there.
The two gutter rails on top of the truck.
Front windshield.

May take some time, but may help isolate the area where water could be leaking in. Try each area one by one and check for a musty smell after allowing time for it to bake in.

There is a soft rubber gromet under driver side carpet. You can get to it from under truck. Ensure that is on properly and not "cockeyed"....

By the way... that is the entry point I used for external wiring.

Also, its my understanding there is a recall on some of these Rangers for the windshield seal.

 

[deleriumtremor]

Along with what others have said on the lemon law route.

We had a lemon law return on a MBZ (EFI problem they couldn't fix, pretty cut and dried). MBZ didn't fight it at all because we had a car that just went into limp home mode randomly and was fully documented with numerous returns, fixes, returns, etc.

I think if I were in your shoes, I might give the lemon law route a try first within the normal channels at Ford. If Ford pushes back with "not our problem, NTF", maybe already have a good Lemon Law attorney all primed and ready to go (some will work on the come, taking part of the settlement, the percentage of which is totally negotiable upfront). Mold can be a really problematic health issue, so I wouldn't just blow it off if they stonewall you.

Good luck, never give up.

 

[puckdodger]

I got in the habit long ago (living in the humid South all of my life) to turn off the compressor but leave the fan running for the last 1/2 mile or so from my house. Thinking you have something on your evap coil - Lysol or commercial cleaners for the purpose.

I do the same as often as I can remember. I heard that it also helps extend the life of the life of the AC system.

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