That number wont get you anyone, it is a call back line, you have to call 1-800-392-3673 to get the ball rolling.

 

SSharbor, I wouldn't be too concerned about the transmission. The transmission takes 19 quarts of fluid, so 3.5 quarts isn't a whole lot to these trannies. Mine was down quite a bit when I had the output shaft seal go bad, and I never saw any adverse affects.

I've been told that as long as there's enough fluid for the transmission to operate properly it shouldn't cause any damage. I'd keep a close eye on it but I don't think you'll have any problems with it.

 

Thanks Tom, and thank you Texas. I love Texas. I was following a guy in a Beamer on the interstate one day and he was from Texas and he had the hammer down. He would let me draft with him, safely of course. If traffic caught me up I would see him up ahead slow down til I got back behind him and then he'd hit her again. When he finally went a different route he flashed his lights. Classy. I think about that alot. Texas drivers are awesome. Anyway, sorry to ramble, just had a flashback. I understand you Tom, but you know and I know that if you or I had let our trannys go 3.5 quarts low we would get not a darn thing out of Ford. My transmission MAY be ok. But what they did was flat out wrong and negligent. Ive never gone back there since. What if they were to forget to put the frickin oil in on a oil and filter change? I mean if they can be so stupid to say they did a multipoint inspection, which they always say they do, which covers checking fluids and topping off, they are either ignorant or liars. I just want some insurance that if theres damage caused by this further down the road Ill be covered. Its like that guy who had his warranty revoked because he put on bigger tires. COME ON! They will hit you and I for the least infraction but they can leave close to 25% of my tranny fluid out of it and they wont own up to it. All I can say is if you ever see an Alexander Ford youre better off pulling into a Honda dealership.

 

I'll never disagree with you about the negligence demonstrated by your dealer! Did you purchase the truck from them? If so I'd see if they're willing to cover part of the cost for an extended powertrain warranty. Explain that they screwed up and could have damaged your transmission, and that you wanted them to make it right. Also explain that if they do not do something to make it right by you that you would share your experience with any potential new Ford customer and ensure they never set foot on that dealer's lot. Maybe bring a printout of this thread...

 

There are laws that govern this. The Ford rep was right, they legally can't do anything about this. It is between you and the dealer.

It is true for ALL manufacturers. Dealers are franchisees of the parent company and the laws that govern franchises prevent the company from doing anything about what the dealer does.

Ford tried to fix this several years ago. They started to buy out dealers to make them company owned stores. Ford lost a lawsuit over this and were forced to sell the dealers they owned, so we're back to all franchises.

Please let me know what problems that will cause, I'd like to know.

What would they look at? What would be damaged inside the pan? I can't think of anything that you could see that would be damaged from low fluid that you could see with the pan off. You may as well have them take a wheel off and look for damage. You won't see anything there, either. They are refusing to do this because it is a waste of time and money. There is nothing to see inside the pan. If there is enough damage that it caused debris to be in the pan you would already know it because the trans wouldn't be working. If it is working there won't be enough in the pan for anyone to determine anything.

If there is damage, and I really doubt that there is any, it is going to be scored bushings and bearings, worn frictions, etc. None of that is visible with the pan off. The transmission would have to come out and be torn down to check.

I doubt that the trans was 3.5 quarts low. I never tried to run one that low, but I don't think it would operate that low. That is only my opinion since I don't have any testing to back it up.

 

Not to be off topic here, but early on in my truck I had a bad TCM. They put the wrong one on it. I did not find out about till about 10K miles later. Again there is really nothing that Ford could do about it except put the right one on it.

I have had no ill effects and don't really believe there will be any.

 

I doubt that the trans was 3.5 quarts low. I never tried to run one that low, but I don't think it would operate that low. That is only my opinion since I don't have any testing to back it up.[/QUOTE]

mark, I don't mean to be disrespectful but if a tranny engineer wouldn't know that who the heck would?

 

the workshop books says that ford does not recomend the use of after market parts. its in the body section.
Next find out who the bumper is made by and get there 800#.
call them up and ask them what the warranty is on the part... they will tell you life time.
ask them how to submit a claim... that will get you put on hold.
when off of hold ask them if they can fax you a letter that says that there product meets or exceeds the factory requirements, and as well as the written waranty information.
you wont get it from them. Note the day and time you called along with whom you spoke.
the law on repairing damage is pretty clear. You should be no worse off then prior to the claim and no better off.

So far as the trans goes all should be fine there. A torqshift will take some abuse and will go in to limp mode if it gets to hot.

 

Mark, while I appreciate your input, I think it is wrong of you to doubt that what I am saying is true, in that the tranny was 3.5 quarts low. This is what the dealership told me, and I also watched as they put 3 and a half quarts in it til it came up. I have no reason whatsoever to bash a company over something they themselves admitted. In fact, I even have a voicemail from the service manager stating his apologies that the tranny was let go with that much fluid missing. As far as me suggesting dropping the pan, I dont know about tranny's like you do. You make it a point to let everyone know that you are a former Ford certified transmission specialist. I can respect that. But I dont brag about my being a LifeFlight Paramedic/Flight Nurse who has saved countless lives because Im humble and dont feel the need to brag about my abilities. I can do things 1000 ft in the air that might save your life, but I wont brag about it here or make disparaging remarks about why someone would want to drop a pan when it would do no good. Now that I know it would have done no good to do that, thats great. Ive learned something. And I appreciate you telling me that. But please dont try to make me look ignorant because Im not a transmission specialist. I certainly wouldn't call you out if you questioned something in my line of expertise. I choose to come here because I have met some fine people like senix and crazy and stanley and countless others who offer advice without trying to make me look stupid. I think its great that this place exists so that all of us can experience the issues others have gone through and LEARN from them. Its just uncalled for to make light of someone's lack of knowledge about something you are more experienced in. I just try to treat everyone like I would want to be treated. Thanks to all who have listened and offered advice, and thank you also Mark for teaching me something I did not know about automatic transmissions.

 

I don't think that he was trying to belittle you when he said that there is no point in dropping the pan. When you drop the pan you will see the valve body and that is about it. There really isn't anything to see there if the transmission was run low on fluid. I wouldn't drop the pan either. Step back and take a breather and remember that on the internet it can be hard to determine a persons tone of voice. While you may have felt he was speaking down to you that probably is not the case. Just my 2 cents.

 

Scott,
Before you went the customer relations route, did you go as high up the chain of command at the dealer level? We run quite a bit of farm equipment and was a partner in a trucking company , and we have always garnered good results by staying 'in house' up the food chain to get things resolved.

 

Just my 2 cents.....
1. The dealer damaged the truck
2. The dealer may have caused longitivity damage to the trans as a result of their negligence.
3. The dealer appears to have installed a replacement bumper that is not equal to the original damaged component
4. Ford has no liability or authority on the issue and could be sued by the dealer if they did become involved.

This is what I would do.....

1. Send a certified letter to the dealer stating items 1 through 3.
2. In the letter, request the dealer demonstrate/provide documents the bumper and all related items are oem (the dealer might have even purchased a bumper directly from Ford supplier to reduce cost- not a negative, but it should be documented)
3. Request a 3rd party conduct an internal inspection of the trans for excessive wear/damage as a result of the fluid level.
4. I would also state that I want this issue resolved within 10 days of receipt of this letter (at least an agreement as to how this will all be made better). If no response is recieved, you will assume the request has been rejected and will proceed to recover all damages through legal venues.

IMHO...

If the bumper is made from the Ford supplier, I would be comfortable with that. If the revised shape of the bumper is really an issue, request the dealer send the bumper out to be straighten & re-chromed. This typically cost the same as a new bumper and some have fears regarding the chrome plating quality but a good chrome shop will make that bumper look even better than the oem unit.

With regards to the trans- a complete teardown will almost be required to inspect the entire assembly- which would cost the same as a rebuild from a labor aspect. I would be open to the dealer helping to offset the cost of a 100,000 mile extended warranty- if their cost was say $1,300- I would be willing to cover say $300 of the expenses.

 

Thanks Beech, Laredo, and everyone else. I appreciate all the advice, comments, and support. I went as far as I could go with the dealership, and they agreed to swap out a bumper from an '08 on the lot for the crappy one they installed on mine, but flat out refused anything concerning the trans. Maybe I'm worrying about something that, hopefully, will never be an issue. I pray that the trans is fine. I know I am not comfortable knowing it was shifting different and ultimately was found by the dealer to have left their lot 3.5 quarts low. Ive not had any problems with it but Ive only put 40000 on the truck. And who knows? Maybe I'll decide one day to put a Suncoast build in it and it may never BE an issue. The major issue, I guess, was that I felt I was treated unfairly and unprofessionally. Ford rejects warranty repairs daily to those of us who have remained loyal to them for minor infractions, yet when they scr*^ up, they refuse to take responsibility. Had they simply said, " If you have problems in the future that can be directly linked to our negligence, we will do the right thing", that would probably have been suffecient. But an arrogant, wealthy old franchise owner realized I was obviously not rich enough to bring a lawsuit against him and chose to do nothing. All he did was, in the long run, cause me to make sure everyone I know, and even those I dont know hears of the ignorance of their Service Dept. And if it costs him some business then he deserved it. If it keeps someone else from going through what I had to go through then it was worth it. Ive decided Ive spent enough time on it and I have more important things in life I choose to worry about than this. If in the future I have problems with it, Ill deal with it then. My grandfather once said you can worry all you want about something, but it wont change one single thing about whether it happens or not. All you've done is wasted time on something that might never be an issue. Hopefully this dealership learned that they need to be more careful and that ultimately if they continue to do business this way one day people will stop coming through the doors. I know Ill never go there for service, nor will anyone in my family. Life is too short for many of us and I believe in karma. This owner will one day realize he should have done the right thing. Maybe he already knows. But he's lost my business. He may not care and it may not hurt his pocket at all. But one day, if he doesnt change things, it just might come back to bite him. Thanks again for all the support and suggestions. You all are a great group of people and I appreciate all of you.

 

I see what you're saying, but think about it for a minute. Ford refuses to accept liability for damage caused by something the owner does to the truck. Based on that, why would they accept responsibility for something another business does to it?

Say they did damage your transmission by letting you drive out the door 3.5 quarts low. If, 30,000 miles later, your transmission were to go out and Ford would agree to cover the damage, how would they recoup their costs for something that was obviously not their fault? They'd be the ones hiring expensive lawyers and bringing the lawsuit, instead of you. But that's not their responsibility! Their responsibility is to pay for repairs due to factory defects, not dealer negligence!

If Ford, or any other manufacturer, made it a practice of covering for lousy dealers, they'd likely be out of business by now!

I'd suggest documenting everything you can and keep it in a safe place. If your transmission goes south in the future, get the shop to tear it down and attempt to discover the cause of the failure. If it can be explained by a low fluid condition, and there were no leaks when it died, I think you'd have a solid legal case against the dealer. One in which you wouldn't need an expensive lawyer because you'd be on solid ground when you went after them.

Just something to think about. Good luck!

 

going to have a hard time ever collecting on a tranny warranty with that Spartan DashDAQ on the rig.
i'm sure by now someone at the dealership has read your posts and noted your tuner.