Daisy, Have you looked into the lemmon laws in your state?


__JOHN__Õ¿ö
Member-
"Crusin North" Car Club
Santa Rosa, Calif.
72 F-250
ICQ#6030753

 

I had a 1999 SD 350 Crew V-10. It was a great truck. I did have some problems tho. Drink holder broke. Squeaks and rattles. Cold start piston slap?. Dealer that dented it . I traded it with 31000 miles for a F350 4x4 Duelly 2001. Came with grease stains in the interior and the extended cab doors touched at the top. Thats normal I was told. Pulled to the left , they all do, had that fixed and came back greasier that the first time . There was 4 scratches on the paint afterwards also. I got the truck back with 30 more miles on it also. Lunch break???
Other than that, I love the truck. Drink holder works great too

 

Sign me up for your new club.I think you and I must own the same truck.I like the truck just hate all the problems with it.I have a few posts for your enjoyment on the problems I have had with my 1999 F350 crewcab 4x4 v10. Your new club member Richard

 

Well here is how it turned out.
Left my truck at dealer till this morning. It didn't move from where I left it a week ago. Tried to buy a new one from dealer, but they said sticker was best I could do, so I called Ford(no help). Found a dealer that was appauled at my former dealers policies(could have at least tried to get me a loaner). Went to old dealer and took my truck even though parts just came in (suprise) and took it and traded it in on 2001 F-350 4x4 v-10 5spd. Wow everything wrong with mine is different on new truck! Seems like all Ford dealers are not the same.
P.S. Holy crap this truck is awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hated to bite the bullet but I think 99 was a bad year for s.d. and a lousy dealership did not help.

 

Congrats on your new and improved truck. You are now a member of the Ford lemon survior club.

Daywalker
92' F-250 351 4x4 xlt 4.10 5spd sprcab lngbed

 

Although I've only had my 2001 for a couple of months I am extremely pleased with it. I know that isn't very long and problems could pop up but so far it seems like a well-built truck. It beats the heck out of the old lumber wagon-like ride of the old 3/4 tons. Maybe you got a bad one and I hope you're luck improves. I will probably never buy a new design on a vehicle just for the reasons you stated. Good luck.

 

Sign me up for the club also. Discovered an oil leak on the 5.4 today. Was planing to retire with the truck but looks like I am stuck. I see now why everyone buys a 4x4

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 12-Feb-01 AT 09:30 PM (EST)[/font][p][font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 12-Feb-01 AT 09:12 PM (EST)[/font]

I’m not posting to start crap nor do I want to get hate mail either but I decided to post to this thread after reading daisy’s post. My problems are not like hers but many of the problems I’ve encountered ARE in fact posted by others on this site.

I have a 1999 F350 with 46,000 miles but all or most of my problems occurred around 19,000 to 21,000 miles except for a broken leaf spring which I believe happened sometime around 36,000 miles.

1. CD player didn’t work the day I took it home (replaced)
2. Door Ajar Light staying ON (replaced switch)
3. Power Steering ‘THUD’ (replaced P-S pump)
4. Clutch Retainer Rod to Pedal broken (replaced)
5. Drivers Side Power Window does not work (needs fixed)
6. Clunking noise when turning left or right (fixed, didn’t say what it was)
7. Problems braking – no breaking power (fixed numerous parts and replaced contaminated fluids)
8. HydraBoost faulty – Another break related issue (ordered new) needs replaced
9. Rear End ‘Thud’ – Added 2 8OZ. FRICTION MODIFIER and REFI
10. Overhead Cab light trouble (fixed)
11. Broken drivers side Leaf Spring – Broken leaf and one missing
12. Faulty Firestone Tires – Side wall bulging. (replaced 2 rear tires)
13. Front Tires wore extremely fast (dealer replaced)
14. Trucks jumps left or right on small bumps in road (needs looked at) this will cause an accident, no doubt. Truck has a mind of its own and where it wants to go.
15. Front license plate bracket fell off. (order new – replaced)

Keep in mind, as I mentioned above… all this trouble with less than 21,000 miles? Seems very odd to me that my truck is as reliable as Ford would want it to be for me. Local dealership service is terrible. I actually took it to another dealership for a few repairs.

(edit)

Here is how I think... I owned a Honda civic SI 1989, (you know the ones) its the tiny little car that you can easily drive over with your 250 or 350. I had that car for more than 10 years and the ONLY thing that car went in the shop for was regular oil changes, batteries, brake pads, exhaust and tires. I dont care if Ford is making a car or a truck or a plane, ALL of them should be just as relaiable in my opinion. I will also add that I owned 4 other Hondas prior to that 89 Civic and they were the same when it came to being reliable. It upsets me to hear when people get ticked off about people buying non american cars but you know what???... its that reliable, dependable car that they are after. I seriously am way too busy to have my vehicles in the Shop all time. If Honda made a real truck, I would own one in a flash!
I bought my 350 for its looks only. I have no need to haul or tow anything and I am afraid that looks is all i got.

We have a fairly large Ford Dealership here in Amherst Ohio and I can tell you - if you go there any day of the week at 7am, you will see about 20 cars/trucks in line for service not to mention all the ones that come in the remaining 9 hrs of thier service hours. I can remember when I took my Honda in for wiper blades a few times because it needs this funky shaped blade for the rear window, the service garage had one car in it. I noticed that every time I went thier over the 10 years. There service is minimal.

1999 F350 SuperCab, SuperDuty 7.3 Diesel 4x4

 

Oh, Not to mention the RECALLS too... I really feel like charging Ford for my time when I take it in for repairs.

 

UPDATE: I just got off the phone with Ford Customer Care Department. The lady I spoke with told me that these trucks are assembled by machine for the most part and problems will happen or should be expected.

I guess what she is saying on behalf of technology, as a whole is that because Ford uses machines to build their cars and trucks - everyone should expect problems. Obviously this lady needs a lesson on what to say and what not to say to customers. I think my toaster is machine made, I use it everyday to make toast and it seems to be reliable. I know my Honda was machine made; it was reliable beyond my expectations.

Out of all the problems I've had with my 350 - the one single biggest annoyance is the way they built the lid for the console between the seats. They use three 1/2" wood screws to mount the hinge to the wood plate in the lid. If Ford cant come up with a better means of mounting this simple 'fly about the cab' lid then how am I suppose to feel safe about how the rest of the vehicle is put together. AND, with all the problems I've had - it just goes to show my thinking is pretty well inline with how they build their trucks which in my opinion is not so “Ford Tough”. My Tonka trucks are built tougher than this truck. That’s no joke! I guess it’s obvious my next truck wont be a Ford and I regret going against my will of never in my lifetime owning one. Everyone I know who has a Ford complains about how often they visit the service department. This was the sole reason I remained Ford free for the first 16 years of my driving. The very minute I leave Honda and step foot in my new 99 Ford truck, the darn CD Player didn’t work. It should have been a warning to me. 15 more problems later and counting…

Bitter to the end because Ford thinks my 16 problems are normal. Well normal for Ford no doubt, but NOT for someone with higher expectations than I feel Ford will ever care to meet. I can see it now, me getting in an accident because I cant drive that truck in a straight line or the breaks not working and that console lid comes flying off the hinge and POPS me in the head or pokes out my eye. Sounds funny but I think it’s more of a reality.

 

This is the First ford Product I owned and possibly the last. I now know why I didn't like fords but after living with one for the last two years and 38,000 miles. If they could put that Chevy Motor in this thing it would be a good truck.

 

These message forums are not a good judge of how good a product is. It's standard for people to post problems they are having in order to find solutions. This might lead you to believe that all of product X is junk.

I've also had a few Ford trucks and all have had some problems. The only vehicle I've had with no problems was my wife's Nissan Maxima. But a Maxima won't do a very good job of hauling my slide-in camper, so I'm stuck looking at American made full size trucks. I don't have any data to prove this, but my perception is that Ford has a better product than D*dge or Ch*vy. If someone built a truck that made everyone happy, then everyone else would get out of the truck business (but it hasn't happened yet). BTW, this is my second Super Duty and I'd buy another if needed. Now if only I could have heated seats, heated mirrors, a CD changer and get rid of that annoying suspension noise I'd be really happy

----------------------------------------
2000 F350 CC DRW Lariat 4x4 LWB 4R100 V10 4.30ls with Torklift tie-downs/Superhitch and Rancho RS9000 and Ride-Rite air springs.
1998 Alpenlite Pendelton 11'10" Slide-in camper with all options.

 

harald,

I agree, I shouldn’t be so selfish as to say all Fords are built lousy. I should have clearly just stated that mine was or it wouldn’t be falling apart. I guess in my opinion if a product is built right then the repairs would be very minimal. Like my Honda lasting 10 years and 100,000 miles without one single thing breaking on it. That’s built tough. You would think that a $9,050 dollar car wouldn’t last long. Boy did Honda prove me wrong on that. I remember saying to my friends way back then that I picked up this cheap Honda and I just hope it gets me by for a few years. 10 years later I hated to sell it. Now if my F350 was built like that and nothing broke on it but normal break pads, wiper blades, tires, batteries and exhaust then I would screaming to the world how great my Ford truck is instead of wasting my time trying to get to the bottom of my problems.

 

I will be happy to post an update in a few weeks when I get the oil leak fixed on SD with 38000 miles. My sd is a $30,000 vehicle and when I bought it I expected it to perform that way. I paid $7000 for that s-10 and now I have over 250,000 on it and it is still going. I paid $16,000 for that Saturn and have 112,000 on it. Should I keep going on after owning over 25 new cars I think I am a pretty good judge of what is going on. As a consumer I have the right to expect more and should receive it and not be happy with just a so so product. I work hard for my money.

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 14-Feb-01 AT 06:52 PM (EST)[/font][p]I came across post on another website and it fit my story so well that I made a few changes to fit how things were in my situation and posted that version below. Its great reading and almost perfectly describes some very important issues. If anyone wants the original post, ask me. I will send you the URL.

I asked my girlfriend to drive up to the lumberyard and pick up some more 2x10’s

I couldn’t help but noticed her holding her hand when she ran back into the house. She got her finger caught behind the door latch. I know it hurts from experience because I’ve done that more than a few times. She had a few nasty words to say and left again. Two seconds later she was back in holding her head. She had hit the sun visor with her forehead when stepping into the truck (I had left it down). The stiff edge caught her just right and left a bruise. She exchanged a few more select words then asked, "Is there anything else I should know about your dam truck?" I figured I better tell her everything because perhaps it might not be such a good idea to let her drive the rig after all but I figured I would let her decide.

So I said, "Let the truck warm up real good in this cold weather about 15-20 mins. Don’t be alarmed when the truck revs up automatically real high sitting there. It just does that. That way the front window will be defrosted. Don't worry about the frozen winter wipers or that top right-hand corner of the windshield that never defrosts. No there is nothing blocking the vent, I checked. It just does that. If everything ices up when you are driving, just pull over and let her defrost for about 15-20 mins. Don't worry about the rear window or the rear side windows. They never defrost because there are no vents back there. One more thing, don't bother scraping the mirrors they just frost back up and besides they move at the slightest touch. Oh and that little mirror on the bottom doesn't adjust anyway. And you won't be able to see behind even if the things are defrosted because the backup lights are worthless. They just shine enough light to light up the plate. No honey, they didn't have heated mirrors when I bought the truck. Just get out and take a good look before you back up. And keep your headlights on high beam so you can see better going forward. Don't worry, no one will flash you."

"Make sure your seat belt is on right. It gets caught in the bottom of the door or around the seat adjustments all the time. If you don't jerk it lose it breaks free from the door during an accident. Now when you start out be careful of the surging caused by the warm up device. Try not to run into anything when the truck is going back and forth. Just compensate for it with the "gas" pedal. Watch out for the intersection at 113 and 57. if you hit those bumps to fast you may end up in on coming traffic. If the truck stalls - don't worry, it starts right back up. Now once you do get rolling again, try not to use the brakes too much. If you do the truck will pull to the left and you will have to push real hard on the pedal to get them to work. Don't worry about that vibration and shaking Ford assures me that’s normal but I'm having the rotors turned again because it seems to help. No honey, that rotor upgrade doesn't work for my early build truck. I did have the brake shield recall done, but I need to ask yet another dealer why I can't use the brake and the steering at the same time when the truck is stationary or in a skid. You might just want to drive in the right hand lane when possible because if you get in an accident from the truck pulling to much to the left at least you wont collide with oncoming traffic. Oh yea, you're not strong enough to make the parking brake work. It has to go all the way to the floor. Just push on it as hard as you can" and don't be surprised if the truck rolls ahead 3 or 4 inches before it catches. And whatever you do - don't park the truck on an incline."

"Sweetheart, you will also notice that the truck seems to wander wherever it wants to go. Ford says that’s normal. For some reason there is too much play in the steering. Yes, I did have the steering shaft recall done. Just make sure you pay close attention when driving. Keep a eye open for any bumps or potholes in the road. Keep close attention on bumpy roads because my model didn't come with the steering stabilizer. Don't worry; if you do go in the ditch, just throw it is four wheel drive and hope it works. Just be careful not to turn the steering wheel too far because the truck with start bouncing so hard it might throw you about the cab. Make sure the sun visor is down because you will definitely hit your head on it again. You can tell when it does because you can hear all those vibrations. Oh yeah, let me grab a screw driver and tighten that console lid again. If you get in an accident and that lid comes flying off it just might poke out your eye. Just remember passenger airbags and 4-wheel anti-locks weren't standard equipment on the '99's but I have them just in case."

"By the way honey, I would like to have the truck back home by Friday do you think that’s possible?. I need to take it in for the fuel tank recall. I had the truck in there about 5 times since that recall was issued but Ford doesn’t have anything in place that flags whether a vehicle has had or not had the recalls done when they show up at their doorstep. It didn't meet the safety standards again. Yes, I'll tell them about all my problems again and call FMC again".
She decided not to go after all.