Ford cannot get a replacement axle for me; going on 3 months...

[Glocker]

On July 11, I brought my Ranger into the dealer to hear the axle noise I just started noticing. They deemed the front axle bad and ordered a replacement. I was told it wasn't expected to become available until Aug 28. Aug came and went. They are now telling me they expect it to become available Sept 28.

What good is a warranty when they cant get replacement parts in? What actions would you all recommend I take?

This is ridiculous. On Sept 28, they'll probably tell me they cant get the part until Oct or Nov.
Edit: I have started a case with Ford CSR back in July. They email from time to time just to say hey sorry still no news on your part.

It's not ridiculous. Is it inconvenient? Surely. But it is in no way ridiculous. The WHOLE of the automotive industry is still struggling with supply chain issues that are out of their hands.

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[Rocketeer61]

I'm very happy with my truck... but, I'm also thinking about buying a warranty, something I have never done and thought I never would. The main reason is I'll probably keep this truck for many more years, and don't want to have to replace something out of pocket. There's too many stinky winds blowing around that makes me nervous. I'll have 3 years ownership in March 2024, so I guess I still have 2 years on drive train after that.

I only drive about 8K a year, max, so it will be very low mileage after 5 years which makes it hard to justify a warranty.

But, with that said, if they can't get parts, then.....what?

Then the warranty carrier gets to keep your money.

 

[Rocketeer61]

I don't remember who but I remember someone solving this exact problem by doing that. Got lucky, found one sitting around, and the other dealer was willing to ship it over.

You would think they would have some sort of inventory but dealer to dealer... ehh..

LEAN is everything these days. No inventory means no manufacturing cost for them but no parts for you. When I was painting C-130s for the Air Force they ran on this idiotic model and one day the entire B-52 landing gear line ground to a halt because they had a run of defective parts and there was no bench stock to draw from. Stupid is as stupid does.

 

[Wytchdctr]

LEAN is everything these days. No inventory means no manufacturing cost for them but no parts for you. When I was painting C-130s for the Air Force they ran on this idiotic model and one day the entire B-52 landing gear line ground to a halt because they had a run of defective parts and there was no bench stock to draw from. Stupid is as stupid does.

Yep.

The company I work for is doing the opposite. Vertically integrating like crazy - build it all in house - with our own warehouse for storage if something dumbs outside of our control. Like key raw material. Easy for us since we already have everything people wise; design engineers, machinist, and assemblers. Got burned too many time recently by vendors running out of X stalling major projects.

 

[Rocketeer61]

Yep.

The company I work for is doing the opposite. Vertically integrating like crazy - build it all in house - with our own warehouse for storage if something dumbs outside of our control. Like keybraw material. Easy for us since we already have everything people wise; design engineers, machinist, and assemblers. Got burned too many time recently by vendors running out of X stalling major projects.

Exactly, and since the gov't runs on low bidder contracting what can go wrong?

 

[rydfree]

It's not ridiculous. Is it inconvenient? Surely. But it is in no way ridiculous. The WHOLE of the automotive industry is still struggling with supply chain issues that are out of their hands.

I think 3 months is kinda ridiculous. It was inconvenient that I had to wait 7 weeks to get a front axle back in Sept '21 . I'd bet that if Ford credit has the loan they would think it was ridiculous if they did not get payment for 3 months. Everyone seems to be using the supply chain excuse for everything now. Even if it's not the cause they know they can spit that out and it's not going to change anytime soon.

 

[Glocker]

I think 3 months is kinda ridiculous. It was inconvenient that I had to wait 7 weeks to get a front axle back in Sept '21 . I'd bet that if Ford credit has the loan they would think it was ridiculous if they did not get payment for 3 months. Everyone seems to be using the supply chain excuse for everything now. Even if it's not the cause they know they can spit that out and it's not going to change anytime soon.

The supply chain issue is not an excuse. It's an actual reason.

Hypothetically - there are 6 Ford Rangers in the United States parked at dealerships with broken axles. There are 4 axles available in the whole country. The manufacturer is not slated to build more axles for allocation to stock repair for another 6 months. The 4 people who have waited the longest get the axles first. Meanwhile, the axle manufacturer has carefully planned build schedules for part numbers that have been planned months if not years ahead, and can't be adjusted.

And just to throw a wrench in the works, now the axle manufacturer's bearing vendor is behind a month on fulfilling their obligation on a necessary part - knock that schedule back even more.

There is a rubber band effect in the sense as the supply chain catches up, it depletes itself quickly, fulfilling previous orders that were unfulfilled BEFORE your truck broke down.

Working at the dealership, we'd get excited to see notices that parts were going to possibly be delivered just to have that crushed when all of the orders got caught up, and the supply was depleted on other customers' orders that had been waiting longer. It really sucks!

It actually has gotten to the point where dealership parts departments search online for used and non-OEM parts to get customers back out on the road.

I can understand it's a frustrating and probably an infuriating situation for you. Is it "ridiculous" though? Hardly. It's a sad, frustrating, inconvenient reality of today for people like you and me that will probably take several years for automotive manufacturers to dig out of.

 

[Justin says...]

I should clarify, they released the truck back to me to drive on the bad axle (back in July). Sure, they offered a loaner when they said I can pay $30/day for a max of 10 days and after that, Ford may or may not reimburse me. No thanks!

So I'm driving the truck when I must, but I don't like driving it knowing that something is broken/in need of replacement. I told the service person and he said, "What the big deal; it's still well under warranty?"

 

[Glocker]

I should clarify, they released the truck back to me to drive on the bad axle (back in July). Sure, they offered a loaner when they said I can pay $30/day for a max of 10 days and after that, Ford may or may not reimburse me. No thanks!

So I'm driving the truck when I must, but I don't like driving it knowing that something is broken/in need of replacement. I told the service person and he said, "What the big deal; it's still well under warranty?"

The loaner program absolutely blows with Ford and dealerships. It was TERRIBLE last year. Loaners are typically new cars off the lot. The problem with that was there was no inventory of new cars on the lot! Compound that with shoddy build quality and you have more people needing loaners with fewer cars available. We managed to get a fair number of rentals covered by Ford, but it's always a crap shoot.

What is ridiculous is how far Ford has dropped in vehicle build quality and the customer experience. Yes, the supply chain problems are largely out of the manufacturer's control to a degree. But how they've faced the customer has been dismal.

 

[rydfree]

The supply chain issue is not an excuse. It's an actual reason.

Hypothetically - there are 6 Ford Rangers in the United States parked at dealerships with broken axles. There are 4 axles available in the whole country. The manufacturer is not slated to build more axles for allocation to stock repair for another 6 months. The 4 people who have waited the longest get the axles first. Meanwhile, the axle manufacturer has carefully planned build schedules for part numbers that have been planned months if not years ahead, and can't be adjusted.

And just to throw a wrench in the works, now the axle manufacturer's bearing vendor is behind a month on fulfilling their obligation on a necessary part - knock that schedule back even more.

There is a rubber band effect in the sense as the supply chain catches up, it depletes itself quickly, fulfilling previous orders that were unfulfilled BEFORE your truck broke down.

Working at the dealership, we'd get excited to see notices that parts were going to possibly be delivered just to have that crushed when all of the orders got caught up, and the supply was depleted on other customers' orders that had been waiting longer. It really sucks!

It actually has gotten to the point where dealership parts departments search online for used and non-OEM parts to get customers back out on the road.

I can understand it's a frustrating and probably an infuriating situation for you. Is it "ridiculous" though? Hardly. It's a sad, frustrating, inconvenient reality of today for people like you and me that will probably take several years for automotive manufacturers to dig out of.

I've worked at a tier 1 supplier for Ford , MB , Stellantis , Samsung , GM and BMW for 12 years now . I'm aware of how the supply chain functions . It's an excuse at this point.

 

[myothercarizahearse]

The supply chain issue is not an excuse. It's an actual reason.

Hypothetically - there are 6 Ford Rangers in the United States parked at dealerships with broken axles. There are 4 axles available in the whole country. The manufacturer is not slated to build more axles for allocation to stock repair for another 6 months. The 4 people who have waited the longest get the axles first. Meanwhile, the axle manufacturer has carefully planned build schedules for part numbers that have been planned months if not years ahead, and can't be adjusted.

And just to throw a wrench in the works, now the axle manufacturer's bearing vendor is behind a month on fulfilling their obligation on a necessary part - knock that schedule back even more.

There is a rubber band effect in the sense as the supply chain catches up, it depletes itself quickly, fulfilling previous orders that were unfulfilled BEFORE your truck broke down.

Working at the dealership, we'd get excited to see notices that parts were going to possibly be delivered just to have that crushed when all of the orders got caught up, and the supply was depleted on other customers' orders that had been waiting longer. It really sucks!

It actually has gotten to the point where dealership parts departments search online for used and non-OEM parts to get customers back out on the road.

I can understand it's a frustrating and probably an infuriating situation for you. Is it "ridiculous" though? Hardly. It's a sad, frustrating, inconvenient reality of today for people like you and me that will probably take several years for automotive manufacturers to dig out of.

all i hear is excuses

 

[Rp930]

I should clarify, they released the truck back to me to drive on the bad axle (back in July). Sure, they offered a loaner when they said I can pay $30/day for a max of 10 days and after that, Ford may or may not reimburse me. No thanks!

So I'm driving the truck when I must, but I don't like driving it knowing that something is broken/in need of replacement. I told the service person and he said, "What the big deal; it's still well under warranty?"

Then drive it. If it breaks demand a loaner.

 

[Ronbo]

On July 11, I brought my Ranger into the dealer to hear the axle noise I just started noticing. They deemed the front axle bad and ordered a replacement. I was told it wasn't expected to become available until Aug 28. Aug came and went. They are now telling me they expect it to become available Sept 28.

What good is a warranty when they cant get replacement parts in? What actions would you all recommend I take?

This is ridiculous. On Sept 28, they'll probably tell me they cant get the part until Oct or Nov.
Edit: I have started a case with Ford CSR back in July. They email from time to time just to say hey sorry still no news on your part.

I had a front axle failure on mine and the dealership was able to get a replacement from another dealership and they had me fixed and back on the road on the 3rd day. I guess I was lucky.

 

[9zero1790]

Man Farley did an interview the other day...the unions must really be bleeding Ford dry cause the dude can't even afford a decent toupee.

anyone else notice that farley kinda looks like janet reno from the Lewinsky? administration??? same damn hair piece too. one of them may be a man. idk which.

 

[9zero1790]

I had a front axle failure on mine and the dealership was able to get a replacement from another dealership and they had me fixed and back on the road on the 3rd day. I guess I was lucky.

thats good service! i wish i had a dealer like that near me.

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