khyros
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #1
Hey all,
Just thought I'd add a new failure mode to the list. We were one day into our 3,000 mile vacation (that we specifically timed the purchase of the Ranger to support since my old vehicle had 115k miles on it and I didn't trust it for long journeys anymore) when the transmission went out. My truck was 2 weeks old, and had ~1,100 miles on it (400 of those from the night before).
The symptoms I felt were that the trans shifted into neutral. The engine was freely revving, and the cluster matched the gear state of the shifter itself, and park would engage the parking pawl, but RNDS were all acting as if it was in neutral. A wrench light also popped on the cluster. Once at the dealer, they pulled the codes, where there were 14 PCM codes, all dealing with transmission shift solenoids and pressure.
That was the morning on 7/12. At the time, the dealership told me that Ford would cover $30/day of a rental car, for up to 5 days, but the only rental car available in the area was a midsized sedan, and cost $80/day. My vacation was going to bring me back to the area the following Sunday, so I would need it for 10 days, so it would cost me $650 for a rental sedan, and Ford would pick up $150. I didn't go this route, but I bring it up because I've recently learned from the Ford Customer Service Dept that this is an outright lie, and that since I was on vacation Ford will provide me with a Ranger or better vehicle for however long it takes for me to get my truck back, no expense to me.
On 7/17, after the dealership had heard from the hotline, the plan was to replace the transmission, which arrived at the dealership on 7/19, except they didn't have the right fasteners in stock to make the swap.
Yesterday, I made contact with a Customer Service Supervisor in regards to my situation, who informed me that it's going to be another 2.5-3 weeks before the dealership has time to put the transmission in my vehicle, and that they will then be able to use their existing infrastructure to basically re-deliver the truck to me at my home dealership.
So if you figure another week for delivery, I'm going to have picked up my truck on 6/28, and had it for less than 14 days until it's delivered back to my dealership on an estimated date of 8/23 - by which time I will have made 2 payments on it for those 2 weeks that I've had it (and 42 days in the shop).
So, lessons learned from all of this for other people:
1) When you're on vacation, you are 100% provided an equal or better vehicle for you to continue your vacation. Don't let the dealership tell you that you're screwed and it's up to you to cover the cost.
2) If a family member offers to provide you a loaner truck (because what the dealership told you wouldn't actually work for your vacation), deny it because Ford is going to say "sucks to be your family that you put 2,500 miles on their truck. You should have gotten a rental through us instead."
3) Don't listen to the dealership that says that you have to come back to their dealership to pick up your truck when it's fixed. Ford is capable of shipping it back to your home dealership.
4) IMMEDIATELY open a customer service request. This was my biggest mistake and listening to what the dealership said.
Just thought I'd add a new failure mode to the list. We were one day into our 3,000 mile vacation (that we specifically timed the purchase of the Ranger to support since my old vehicle had 115k miles on it and I didn't trust it for long journeys anymore) when the transmission went out. My truck was 2 weeks old, and had ~1,100 miles on it (400 of those from the night before).
The symptoms I felt were that the trans shifted into neutral. The engine was freely revving, and the cluster matched the gear state of the shifter itself, and park would engage the parking pawl, but RNDS were all acting as if it was in neutral. A wrench light also popped on the cluster. Once at the dealer, they pulled the codes, where there were 14 PCM codes, all dealing with transmission shift solenoids and pressure.
That was the morning on 7/12. At the time, the dealership told me that Ford would cover $30/day of a rental car, for up to 5 days, but the only rental car available in the area was a midsized sedan, and cost $80/day. My vacation was going to bring me back to the area the following Sunday, so I would need it for 10 days, so it would cost me $650 for a rental sedan, and Ford would pick up $150. I didn't go this route, but I bring it up because I've recently learned from the Ford Customer Service Dept that this is an outright lie, and that since I was on vacation Ford will provide me with a Ranger or better vehicle for however long it takes for me to get my truck back, no expense to me.
On 7/17, after the dealership had heard from the hotline, the plan was to replace the transmission, which arrived at the dealership on 7/19, except they didn't have the right fasteners in stock to make the swap.
Yesterday, I made contact with a Customer Service Supervisor in regards to my situation, who informed me that it's going to be another 2.5-3 weeks before the dealership has time to put the transmission in my vehicle, and that they will then be able to use their existing infrastructure to basically re-deliver the truck to me at my home dealership.
So if you figure another week for delivery, I'm going to have picked up my truck on 6/28, and had it for less than 14 days until it's delivered back to my dealership on an estimated date of 8/23 - by which time I will have made 2 payments on it for those 2 weeks that I've had it (and 42 days in the shop).
So, lessons learned from all of this for other people:
1) When you're on vacation, you are 100% provided an equal or better vehicle for you to continue your vacation. Don't let the dealership tell you that you're screwed and it's up to you to cover the cost.
2) If a family member offers to provide you a loaner truck (because what the dealership told you wouldn't actually work for your vacation), deny it because Ford is going to say "sucks to be your family that you put 2,500 miles on their truck. You should have gotten a rental through us instead."
3) Don't listen to the dealership that says that you have to come back to their dealership to pick up your truck when it's fixed. Ford is capable of shipping it back to your home dealership.
4) IMMEDIATELY open a customer service request. This was my biggest mistake and listening to what the dealership said.
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