Well, I got my DSB results. I'm on vacation in Florida with my son so I haven't actually seen them but my wife read most of it to me on the phone. Ford is being forced to buy it back. So I'm one of the lucky thousands (IMO) that have had to suffer through making Ford do the right thing with this motor.

I have the option of either trading for one in stock or that they can get in a dealer trade for the difference in year-to-year MSRP or get my money back. I have to pay about $200 for mileage in either case, which is not bad for a truck with 12k on it. Thanks goes to the MN Lemon Law for that one. I was a little surprised I won it this round as Ford has never driven the truck since I filed my DSB paperwork. They never asked to although they said they had in their response, one of the several things I had to correct.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do at this point as I need to gather more information. I'm glad the DSB found in my favor but it's a shame Ford didn't step up before the hearing and do the right thing. To anyone who thinks this means that Ford is somehow making good on the truck, remember that Ford fought this and is being forced into this action. It is not voluntary on their part in the least. DSB is NOT the same as customer service. It's suppose to only be used in extreme cases.

 

Send a message.

Take the money and buy a different brand.

 

Jeb, Read the owners manual or Warranty Manual on the dispute process. It is a Ford process made up of members Ford and non-Ford. Even when they do what they say they will do, you are banging on them. They say you must go through the process before replacement or repurchase. If you are going to gripe at least get your facts straight.

 

You love the trucks, buy another one.

 

Oh, trust me, I've read the manual and all the DSB paperwork/information. Having just gone through the entire process, I feel I have a good handle on it. Have you been through it?

This is a not ford's process. It's a state by state process at least somewhat defined by lemon laws. There are 4 people on the board and 3 of them are industry experts having no affiliation with any manufacturer. A fourth member is appointed by ford. However, at least with MN LL, that rep can not speak or submit things at the DSB hearing if I don't attend the hearing in any way. So my case was decided by 3 non-Ford folks. Ford may have to share the cost of the DSB's with the other manufacturers but MN law says that any company that sells vehicles in our state must use the process.
They are not doing what they said they'd do. What are you even talking about with this one? They are being FORCED to buy my truck back. They did NOT volunteer this action, it was mandated by the DSB.
That's not true. You can go straight to lemon law, at least here in MN. You're better off going the DSB process first as it's free and you loose some rights in your LL dispute if you don't. Also, many folks have had ford volunteer to buy back the vehicle before the hearing ever took place. In some instances, before DSB paperwork was even discussed or filed. Now, if ford had done something like the latter 2 options in my case, I'd be saying they stepped up and did the right thing. But by letting it go to the hearing stage, which I understand them doing and all, they choose NOT to stay on the side of customer service.
Seems you need to get your facts straight.

 

OK guys keep this above the board!!!

and clean!

 

I'm thinking about it but ford really doesn't make it easy to do. If I decide to just exchange it, I have to take one off the lot or one they can aquire through a dealer trade. This option would be a lot more attractive if I could order one out, an 05. I guess they're forcing me to take my money back, really. At least it seems the best choice at this point. I'll talk to my local dealer when I get back to town and see what other possibilities exist, though.

I don't love the truck but I've grown to like it pretty well. It's a great looking truck but so is the suburban. Man, I wish they'd put a dmax in that. Oh well. If I do get a new one, I still have to address the poor towing stability issues with the Ex, which is a huge drawback to me. I didn't fix it in my current truck because I figured this DSB day was coming a long while back. The up side is that they'd have to transfer my mud flaps, rear door storage bins, trailer brake controller, etc to my new one for free but that's a nit, really.

It'll be fun to look around a bit in any case.

 

OK. So you got a bad one. It happens.

But what does Ford do? Does Ford say:

No. Ford says:

So please explain to me why you are even considering another Ford?

Is the Ford product so unbelievably good that you just have to have another?

If I thought for a minute that my X was going to give me trouble out on the road, I'd be in a 3/4 ton gasser 'Burb in a heartbeat.

Product loyalty is not passed down in a will. Continued purchase of one brand because "Grandpappy always bought XYZ" is just stupid. Product loyalty has to be earned.

Selling problematic products and then fighting with your customers is no way to do business.

Vote with your feet and wallet.

 

First,
congrats jeb !

And no matter who did what.... the results are the right results...
In your case you had to go thru DSB...
in two cases that I've done, neither went thru DSB...

my first a pontiac grand prix back in the day they were considered good cars - I got a check back from the dealer when they couldn't get their error corrected when they messed up the lights after putting in the radio as part of the deal...

in my second one with the 02 7.3L excursion... never went past the regional ford rep who offered a buy back... and waived the mileage charge of $2300+ AND waived $2000 of the MSRP upgrade from the 4x2 7.3 to the LOADED 4x4 6.0... AND discounted the MSRP difference for the add-ons and upgrades I had done to the truck...
even to the point of giving me a 5 yr 100K warranty...

so in my case Ford not only stepped up to the plate but FAR exceeded what I was steeling for and without any need for argument on my part !

I presented the well documented facts (calmly for once and completely out of character ) and they got me into the FABULOUS, FUN, beast of a truck I have now...

 

How long did it take to hear back from them initially??? I have been waiting for almost a month now to hear about my DSB.

 

It could be a bit longer....some have taken more.

It is very hard to sit and wait.

 

I think that is part of the problem. Ford has been all over the map.

Early purchasers were treated pretty good. After a while, I think that Ford figured out that there were too many problems and it could not afford to be so generous, so it cut way back.

In your case, Ford was working against a different year and a different engine. I bet that they had more money in the warranty kitty to play with.

 

jschira,
Always good questions. The only reason I'm thinking about another is the same reason I got one in the first place. I came from a long line of 'burbs into my 01 dmax CC 4x4. I got spoiled on diesels with that motor but I always wanted to go back to a full sized SUV. Unfortunately, ford is still the only player in that niche.

So if I go back to dmax CC, I'm afraid I'll quickly be disappointed in not having the full sized SUV. If I go to a gasser, I know I'll be disappointed by the mileage and somewhat by the towing ability. A strong possiblity at this point is to get a slightly used dmax CC and bide my time until GM puts the dmax in the 'burb. Another is an 02 or 03 Ex with the 7.3. Less power but a good motor, from all accounts. But then there's that somewhat troublesome tranny.

Brand loyalty has nothing to do with my decision, though. I'm looking at the Nissan Armada, burb, Avalanche and I even drove an H2. But they're all gassers. We currently own an Escalade, a Toyota, a Subaru and the ford.

Motown,
Once I sent the packet to the DSB, it took about 2 weeks for them to respond to me with an acceptance and DSB number. It then took about 30 days until I heard about my hearing date. In the 30 days, I was contacted by my local dealer for a few questions as they were filling out their forms. When I got my hearing date letter, it contained fords comeback to my filing to which I faxed in a response before the hearing date. The hearing date was about 10 days from the notification. So the whole process took about 2 months. But it could be another month yet until it gets resolved.

 

My cable went out for the umpteenth time. I guess I'll get rid of it and go to the satellite that go out in the rain. Well maybe rabbit ears then.

jschira: I know a lot of people that are brand loyal to something. Even with real or imagined problems. I can't think of a one of them that is stupid.

jeb: Congradulations on your hard work and tenacity to win against the big guys. And good luck on whatever you decide. I can't imagine the stress and don't want to.

 

The problems with the 4R100 are overblown. You have to remember that these trucks are used to pull heavy trailers and that many people waaaaaaay overload them. Pull 20,000 lbs. 5'ers all the time. Under these conditions, you are going to get more tranny failures that you will in a Honda Accord.

A 5000 lbs. trailer is not going to be a problem. Change out to Mobil1 and put in new fluid every 15,000-20,000 miles and you will go over 100,000 miles easy. Worst case, your tranny blows and you put $4000 into a beefed up aftermarket tranny.