This is the last time I take my truck to the dealer for service

[dguffin]

Ok so this morning I go to get in my truck and take it back to the dealer. I decided to check the turn signals before I left and now it is working fine... wtf? I decided to take it in anyway because I had a suspicion that there must be a loose connection, I mean why else would it not work on the ride home yesterday and then magically work this morning. So, to make a long story short, yes there was a "connection that was not seated properly" according to the dealer and they have now seated it correctly. As for the oil change, it was explained to me that they have to put it in the computer as the synthetic blend since that is part of the free maintenance package, but he assured me that they used full synthetic. I'm still skeptical but I just let it go because I wouldn't know how to prove it anyway. So all in all, I think everything is fine now, but I'm going to keep an eye on the blinker and see if it goes all superspeed again. I won't be taking my truck to that dealer again.

I will let you know that are dealer has to do the same thing with the computer and synthetic blend wording with free maintenance package. Maybe that will help ease your enxiety and you can move on in life.

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[outdoorphotog]

Curious... why did you change the rear diff fluid? Manual says every 150,000 miles..

John,

There was a post on here where someone had changed the rear diff fluid and noticed quite a bit of metal on the magnet. I had changed mine to after seeing that and saw a lot of metal on the drain magnet for my rear diff to.

 

[HenryMac]

John,

There was a post on here where someone had changed the rear diff fluid and noticed quite a bit of metal on the magnet. I had changed mine to after seeing that and saw a lot of metal on the drain magnet for my rear diff to.

Thanks Ian. Looks like I'll follow your lead and change it when I do the next oil change.

 

[aeroshots]

Okay, my turn for a war story. Toyota recall for piston rings premature wear. Work complete and ready for pick up. Invoice shows charge for oil change, oil filter, spark plugs, rags, cleaning fluid. Okay, I say, may I have the parts you removed minus the oil of course. No, we can't do that. I inspect my truck and call over the service writer. Hey, we've got a big problem. Someone stole the parts you put on and replaced them with the same exact plugs and oil filter I put on two weeks ago. UHHHH, sir there will be no charge for our service today. Thank you so much I say. BUTTWIPES!

 

[HenryMac]

Okay, my turn for a war story. Toyota recall for piston rings premature wear. Work complete and ready for pick up. Invoice shows charge for oil change, oil filter, spark plugs, rags, cleaning fluid. Okay, I say, may I have the parts you removed minus the oil of course. No, we can't do that. I inspect my truck and call over the service writer. Hey, we've got a big problem. Someone stole the parts you put on and replaced them with the same exact plugs and oil filter I put on two weeks ago. UHHHH, sir there will be no charge for our service today. Thank you so much I say. BUTTWIPES!

Worth your time to help out future customers and call the Regional Service Manage and the local better business bureau.

 

[aeroshots]

Worth your time to help out future customers and call the Regional Service Manage and the local better business bureau.

I did.

 

[Cmar]

Dealerships must be the same the world around. A few years ago I bought an ex lease Kia Sorento. Really nice example and in beautiful unmarked condition inside and out. However, power train was a little rattly and rear slippery diff a bit chattery but the price was good.

Full log books and service history from one of let us say, one of our less well regarded dealerships for any of the makes they sell.

I do my own services so soon after taking delivery, started working through the 100,000 Km service list.

Engine oil, mmn -no way was that only 10,000 Km old, filthy colour, and nicotine stains on the dipstick
Transfer case ( 4x4 model) -Filthy
Gearbox (auto) -Brown
Rear diff - like treacle
Front diff - not too bad but I don't think it ever saw any 4x4 work.

I truly wonder if that dealership EVER changed any of those fluids, or if they did did they use fish oil or something.

I used HD diesel oil in the engine to clean it out, first change came out filthy, second much cleaner

However after a month or two of all fluids changed with good quality ones, engine lifter noise gone, gearbox smoothly shifting, power train noise gone, and significant mileage improvement.

I owned that car for another 5 years and 100,000 km and it never missed a beat, in fact when I finally traded it on a Sportage for my wife, it was running better than when I first bought it.

 

[ryyck]

The boss, bulldog, and myself went down to Atlanta to help our son redo some bathroom tile. He helped me change the oil.
He had just changed his diff fluid and told me it was really dirty. He asked if I wanted to change the Ranger's. I saw on this forum the metal shavings and sludge on the magnetic plug...and I did haul some fairly hefty loads of cinder blocks, dirt, and rock.
I really wanted to see what 2k miles can do. I was really impressed with the minimal wear. The fluid wasn't clear, but was in decent shape. He picked up the diff fluid at a great price - so it wasn't that expensive. We didn't really need to, just did it in the moment. We kinda thought we have more crud...manufacturing and all...that's why the early oil change.

 

[RANGER_MARC]

There is such a huge difference in Ford dealerships (and, I presume, car dealerships generally). Mine is a family-owned, second-generation outfit that seems to have high standards for sales, parts, and service, which is why my present Ranger is the second vehicle I have bought and serviced with them. I have never had any trouble with them; on the contrary, they sometimes do more for me than they have to, like fixing minor stuff for free, washing the vehicle, etc.! Keep looking, not all dealerships are owned by idiots!

 

[Motorpsychology]

Yea there is another ford dealer near where I work. They are bigger and advertise more, not sure if that means they are any better though.

Same here. I live 6 miles from my nearest Ford dealer; one I used to sell at back in the 80's, which changed hands around Y2K. Had a '99 Cougar I bought from there while it was still under the original ownership. I brought it in for a bad fuel pump some years later, and they fixed it. I needed gas a few days later and when I went to open the filler door, the neck was so far out of alignment with the hole in the fender that I couldn't get the pump nozzle in the neck. Back to the store, got a loaner car, took over a week, but it was fixed right. I also had a 2000 Focus at the time and took it in (with some trepidation) for brake pads and shoes. I go to pick up the car and the car seems sluggish as I drove off. As I'm going down the road I smell a hot brake smell, and look out the right mirror and there is smoke rising from the rear wheel. so I pull over and stop to call them, put it in Park and pull up on the hand brake as is my habit: no resistance. pulled right up to its full travel.
Fool me once shame on me; fool me twice shame on you. I since have dealt with another dealer 17 miles away and have been happy with all departments: Sales, Service Quicklane, Parts. I have bought or leased three new vehicles from them and do all my service work there.
They are th #1 Ford dealer in Wisconsin operating out of a town of 15,000. "People come from miles around" is really true for them.

 

[caprtaineddie]

I also deal with a small, family-owned Ford dealership and get excellent service in all respects. It seems that the larger corporate-owned dealerships are more apt to be primarily after your money and once they've taken you to the cleaners, don't care if you never come back.

 

[Michel Jeanneau]

I am lucky to have not one but three Ford dealerships within 15 minute drive from where I live, however, I have had enough bad experiences with dealers of all flavors (Ford, Hyundai, Subaru, VW...) that I will do all my maintenance work. When I bought my truck, the salesman was like: "you're not gonna do your own maintenance on that truck"...like Dr. Evil said: rrrrrriiiiiiiiigggggghhhhhtttt!

 

[scoot]

I used to have a 2013 Fiesta ST. One of the tires had a leak after I picked it up from the dealership, but I was driving it halfway across the country (long story) so I couldn't have it fixed immediately. Once I was able to, I took it by the nearest Ford dealership. They refused to fix it under warranty, but whatever.

I picked it up and went on my way. It still had a leak. When I went to inspect it, I noticed the tech MOUNTED THE TIRE BACKWARDS.

I was pissed. I called the service writer and bitched them out. Then I took it to a local tire shop and had them fix it.

Ridiculous.

 

[Knothead]

I watched my local Ford dealer doing a full synthetic oil change on my Ranger. He used Motorcraft Full Synthetic, that's what it said on the quart bottles anyway.

On the subject of small town dealerships. When I had a 1999 Dodge Dakota which was from 2006 to 2009, I found this little out of the way Dodge dealer in a local little town here in Texas. There were three employees in the entire dealership. They were, the owner, his son and the mechanic. That was it.

The owner was very tight with his money and kinda stubborn. He had cars sitting around going back to the mid 1980's that were BRAND NEW, they had simply never sold. Two of them were mid 80's turbo Dodges, a Daytona and a 5 speed 4 door Lancer. They had always been kept under cover. The Daytona had an issue though, it had the windows rolled down and a cat had kittens on the back seat. lol He even had a 1984 Ford Conversion van that was brand new, story with it was that someone back in 1984 was determined to buy the van from that Dodge dealership. The owner setup a deal with the local Ford dealer to get it new. As soon as he got it, his customer changed his mind on it. You guessed it, so it sat for decades.

The place was like a museum. lol I wish I had thought to take pictures of the place at the time.

A local businessman offered him 1.9 million dollars for his Dodge Franchise. Not the property or anything, just to buy the Franchise so that the guy could open his own Dodge dealership in town. The owner came back with a counter offer of 2.1 million dollars. The businessman turned him down and that ended the discussion.

Less than a year later is when Dodge started having financial trouble and started closing under performing dealerships. His franchise was one of the first pulled by Dodge. Not taking that offer of 1.9 million dollars was a huge mistake as it turned out. He kept the dealership open just selling used cars for a few years until he died.

I don't know what happened to all of those new cars. I'm still curious though.

 

[MagnetiK]

After reading yelp reviews I didn't trust taking it in to the dealer.

Super easy just a little messy. Motorcraft oil and oil filter under $40 bucks.

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