Help! On side of highway… trans issues

[Cmar]

A rock like that might well break a cast alloy one too.

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[DukeCanBuildit]

The dealer is right to be uncomfortable working on it.

You replaced the pan because it took a hit - the transmission also took that hit. They see the damage to the rest of the underside and can tell it was a hard hit. When they determined there was too much fluid in the transmission, that would have sealed the deal for them.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the shop that overfilled your transmission simply brings the fluid to the correct level and because of the circumstances around needing the new pan, tells you you’re on your own for anything else that‘s wrong with the transmission.

There’s nothing wrong with playing hard but sometimes, you have to pay to play.

 

[GhostStrykre]

to exacerbate the OPs battle with Ford, there's been a bit of a shift in Ford's warranty policy (supposedly).

i've got one main guy i've bought my vehicles from over the past 15 years. i recently caught up with him and he was telling me that warranty coverage from Ford has become really painful. Ford tightened up the steps required to get a warranty approved. procedurally it has my particular dealership feeling like they're steps to avoid paying a warranty vs the more "no questions asked" procedures of the past.

all of this is conjecture as Ford would never admit it, but hearing from someone working at the dealer with his service techs who says it's been tough getting simple warranty coverage done... yikes. Ford made news with how much their warranty coverage costs were soaring.. one way to deal with the problem is to cover fewer warranties (as opposed to making products that require fewer warranty coverages).

good luck OP. i really wish you the best!

 

[tygr2007]

I can see where the dealer is possibly coming from in not wanting to warranty it. The OEM pan was damaged in an “accident “ ( not a warrantable failure). Repair was done at a non authorized Ford shop and was overfilled. The dealer has no way of telling if the transmission was damaged in the “accident “ and what the repair shops replacing of the pan and overfilling did to the transmission ( not a warrantable failure). It would be different if you had the dealer swap the pans as a precautionary step prior to any “accident “ damage “. Sounds like the repair shop is the source of all your issues not Ford warranty. Just my opinion and probably not what you want to hear. Hopefully the repair shop steps up for you.

Well, I would like for them (at the very least), demonstrate to me that this specific issue caused the transmission to practically puke on the highway, and have rough shifting throughout it's entire life. If they come to me with actual evidence that this caused the issue; ie vehicle statistics, engine logs, etc: then I would be more than happy to say. "Hey, I get it; I fucked up, let's fix it. $$$"

 

[tygr2007]

A rock like that might well break a cast alloy one too.

Well yeah, but I figured I would give myself a bit of extra reassurance.

 

[tygr2007]

to exacerbate the OPs battle with Ford, there's been a bit of a shift in Ford's warranty policy (supposedly).

i've got one main guy i've bought my vehicles from over the past 15 years. i recently caught up with him and he was telling me that warranty coverage from Ford has become really painful. Ford tightened up the steps required to get a warranty approved. procedurally it has my particular dealership feeling like they're steps to avoid paying a warranty vs the more "no questions asked" procedures of the past.

all of this is conjecture as Ford would never admit it, but hearing from someone working at the dealer with his service techs who says it's been tough getting simple warranty coverage done... yikes. Ford made news with how much their warranty coverage costs were soaring.. one way to deal with the problem is to cover fewer warranties (as opposed to making products that require fewer warranty coverages).

good luck OP. i really wish you the best!

Lol "Built Ford Tough" apparently not.

Thanks for the info; that helps me understand a bit more on what I was going through at the dealer. Tech said he would talk to the service manager, I waited a week; got a call back from the tech saying he spoke to the service manager and said it's not covered under warranty. Within the hour I called the service manager, he never spoke to that specific tech and said it would be under warranty; until he looked under my vehicle and saw damage. Which, I fixed the thing that had the damage. Come on Ford, a plastic transmission pan on a truck that has a offroad trim package?

Maybe I should've bent those metal crossmembers back to the original position and painted them...

 

[Jhbryaniv]

Well, I would like for them (at the very least), demonstrate to me that this specific issue caused the transmission to practically puke on the highway, and have rough shifting throughout it's entire life. If they come to me with actual evidence that this caused the issue; ie vehicle statistics, engine logs, etc: then I would be more than happy to say. "Hey, I get it; I fucked up, let's fix it. $$$"

All they have to do is point to the underbody damage and say you abused the vehicle.

It sucks. But at the end of the day, these trucks are not intended to land on rocks. There is no way for you to determine the damage from the original hit didn't cause additional damage that caused the tranny to puke.

 

[Glocker]

to exacerbate the OPs battle with Ford, there's been a bit of a shift in Ford's warranty policy (supposedly).

i've got one main guy i've bought my vehicles from over the past 15 years. i recently caught up with him and he was telling me that warranty coverage from Ford has become really painful. Ford tightened up the steps required to get a warranty approved. procedurally it has my particular dealership feeling like they're steps to avoid paying a warranty vs the more "no questions asked" procedures of the past.

all of this is conjecture as Ford would never admit it, but hearing from someone working at the dealer with his service techs who says it's been tough getting simple warranty coverage done... yikes. Ford made news with how much their warranty coverage costs were soaring.. one way to deal with the problem is to cover fewer warranties (as opposed to making products that require fewer warranty coverages).

good luck OP. i really wish you the best!

I see this possibly being the case. During my short stint as a service writer at a Ford dealership, it was clear that production quality was taking a huge nosedive. The service manager cracked me up by saying they were kind enough to draw a circle around the problem...

​

I was shocked when my wife's 2023 Bronco Sport battery started to show evidence of dying already, and the dealership was able to get it replaced under warranty!

 

[Grumpaw]

All they have to do is point to the underbody damage and say you abused the vehicle.

It sucks. But at the end of the day, these trucks are not intended to land on rocks. There is no way for you to determine the damage from the original hit didn't cause additional damage that caused the tranny to puke.

Have to totally agree.....
You bring your truck in with damaged cross members, damaged skid plate, and a replacement trans pan.....and try to claim a warranty fix for the tranny. Not gonna happen.
Even trying to "fix/straighten" the cross members probably would not have worked.....these service writers are not stupid
Possibility that just a replacement pan by itself might void a warranty claim....something several of us, me included, may have to put up with in the future as some have gone with the deeper cast pan (minus the damage)

 

[subquark]

The shame, too, is that anything is so expensive to do on any cars.

My 1972 Land Cruiser had it's oil pan torn off while doing geological surveying in Colorado in 1974. They limped back to a road and the engine seized. So they stuck in a 1969 engine for $200 bucks and it's run great ever since.

$200 won't even buy you a non-BLIS, halogen Ranger taillight!

Speaking of, after I ripped off both FJ40 taillights in the late '70s, I replaced them with $5 tractor lights that still work today!

Sorry your where you are with the tranny and long gone are the" good old days" when people, and companies, went the extra mile to keep a customer happy. =(

 

[leanit]

I think we found the issue. Maybe its not the truck, but the driver. Its not a sports car its a truck. Wring them out all day and they fall apart. I know from experience. This is why I will never buy used again.....

Modern vehicles should be able to run at that speed effortlessly. Not a bulldozer, but any road vehicle. If you're cursed (as many of us) to use the interstates in California, 80 MPH will get you rear-ended.

 

[Ronbo]

I don’t rock crawl, so forgive my ignorance, but is rock crawling supposed to be a speed race or a technical obstacle run? It would seem to me that if the cross members and skid plate are smashed, and the oil pan was damaged, then the driver was clearly on a rock trail going too fast. A skid plate is meant to “skid” to protect what is protects, not to take full weight of the vehicle while smashing down on a rock. Also, the claim for the clunky transmission before the mishap becomes moot once you smash the undercarriage and oil pan. No way to know, or even prove, that the transmission was damage prior to the crash. The transmission issue should have been tended to, or at least documented before the undercarriage damage, and even then it would be a tough fight.

I will always use a Ford dealer for any of my routine or warranty maintenance, as well as for aftermarket parts installment, for as long as there is a warranty on the truck. It may be a bit more expensive, but worth it when it comes to situations like this. They can’t argue that somebody else messed up the truck. Sorry to say, but like someone else already said, if you’re gonna play, you’re gonna pay.

 

[Cmar]

to exacerbate the OPs battle with Ford, there's been a bit of a shift in Ford's warranty policy (supposedly).

i've got one main guy i've bought my vehicles from over the past 15 years. i recently caught up with him and he was telling me that warranty coverage from Ford has become really painful. Ford tightened up the steps required to get a warranty approved. procedurally it has my particular dealership feeling like they're steps to avoid paying a warranty vs the more "no questions asked" procedures of the past.

all of this is conjecture as Ford would never admit it, but hearing from someone working at the dealer with his service techs who says it's been tough getting simple warranty coverage done... yikes. Ford made news with how much their warranty coverage costs were soaring.. one way to deal with the problem is to cover fewer warranties (as opposed to making products that require fewer warranty coverages).

good luck OP. i really wish you the best!

Wow this is how companies get themselves into downward spirals. Ford need to be careful, this is not the message you want to send to your customers.

 

[tygr2007]

I don’t rock crawl, so forgive my ignorance, but is rock crawling supposed to be a speed race or a technical obstacle run? It would seem to me that if the cross members and skid plate are smashed, and the oil pan was damaged, then the driver was clearly on a rock trail going too fast. A skid plate is meant to “skid” to protect what is protects, not to take full weight of the vehicle while smashing down on a rock. Also, the claim for the clunky transmission before the mishap becomes moot once you smash the undercarriage and oil pan. No way to know, or even prove, that the transmission was damage prior to the crash. The transmission issue should have been tended to, or at least documented before the undercarriage damage, and even then it would be a tough fight.

I will always use a Ford dealer for any of my routine or warranty maintenance, as well as for aftermarket parts installment, for as long as there is a warranty on the truck. It may be a bit more expensive, but worth it when it comes to situations like this. They can’t argue that somebody else messed up the truck. Sorry to say, but like someone else already said, if you’re gonna play, you’re gonna pay.

I was going slow, and I actually didn’t even see the rock. Shit just appeared in front of me. It was under me before I hit the brake.

 

[Cmar]

Well yeah, but I figured I would give myself a bit of extra reassurance.

Sometimes I think a heavy duty stamped steel unit might be better for off-road. ie a built in skid plate.

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