Warranty Denied. HELP!
 

:-arrghI purchased a 2008 F550 6.4 diesel box truck from a small dealer off ebay in Louisiana on September 3rd 2013. I knew by reading the carfax report that the motor had been replaced at 109,000 miles and it only had 110,000 when I bought it. The motor was replaced by Hollingsworth Ford in Baton Rouge, LA with a remanufactured one from Ford at a cost of $16,900 including labor. The previous owners, a fleet company put unleaded in the tank and ruined the motor and had to pay out of pocket for the work. Supposedly the block, injectors and turbos were all replaced. I had the same dealership, Hollingsworth, check out the truck thoroughly before I purchased it from the ebay dealer at a charge of $100 and they said that everything checked out great. On the drive home to Houston that afternoon, the wrench light came on and my truck went into limp mode limiting the speed to 50 mph. All of the gauges read good and I couldn't get a Ford dealer to clear the code because it was near closing time and they all told me it would be a few days. After a long slow drive to Houston I took the truck to a local powerstroke specialist that ran the codes and it showed engine overfilled (oil) and engine overspeed. They said the oil didn't look overfilled from the dipstick but changed it anyway and re-set the codes. It ran great for a few weeks and 3,000 miles and the wrench appeared again. I took it back to them and the same code appeared, engine oil overfilled. They cleared the code and were too busy to look at the truck further that day. I then took my truck to Joe Myers Ford off of hwy 290 for a full diagnostic. They changed the oil again and said it looked to be up to 5 quarts overfilled ( possibly fuel in the oil). They used their computer to do a manual DPF cleaning and said that may solve the problem. $450 and 4 days later I took my truck home and 300 miles later the wrench returned and once again went to limp mode. I brought it back to Joe Myers Ford and they ran the codes (didn't tell me what they were) and gave me the truck back so I could use it for deliveries the next day. After 150 miles the wrench came back and I crawled back to J.M.F at 50 mph. This was Christmas Eve. They looked the truck over and said that it has "Dusting" caused by a hose connecting the air filter to the turbo not being correctly installed. They said this allowed dust into the motor and damaged all of the cylinders (all of this in 4,000 miles since the motor was replaced) They contacted FoMoCo with their findings and were denied a warranty claim. I also spoke with two different people at Ford Motor Company customer care today and was told the same thing. They told me that it wasn't a part failure but a installation issue and I had to take it up with the dealer that installed the motor last May (Hollingsworth Ford in LA, 350 miles away) I am beyond pissed off with Fords lack of giving a damn. They said all dealers are individually owned and there is no way to prove that they were the ones that were to blame. I have spoken to everyone involved and the service manager at Hollingsworth is doing some calling around. Any ideas? I don't want to start a lawsuit against Hollingsworth or FoMoCo but will if that's my only option. A motor with only 4k should not have these problems. The motor has a 2 year unlimited mile warranty thorough Ford but does no good if they won't stand by their product or workmanship. I own 4 other Ford trucks and have owned may others in the past few years. Sorry for the long story and if you have any ideas I'd love to hear them.

Rules say that we can't talk legal issues.

You may want to talk with the Ford rep
here on FTE. She might have some ideas.

Sean ;-drink

Do they have the motor torn down?

I don't intend to pursue legal actions unless it is my last result. I don't know if they have the motor torn down or not. I received their message this morning, called them back and was completely shocked with what I was hearing. I was told that whatever problem it may be was almost surely covered under the warranty. I spent all day making calls and trying to devise a plan of action. The only one that worked on the truck, other than an oil change and code reset was a Ford dealership. Everybody wants to point fingers and nobody wants to accept blame. All I know is that I didn't cause this and Ford needs to step up and honor their warranty or take it up with the dealership that installed the motor. They shouldn't tell the customer, "its your problem now"

BE PREPARED TO IDENTIFY - WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, and HOW
 

With all due respect I sincerely sympathize with you. I am a former $10,000+ victim and certified member of the Super Duty 6.0 club. Prepare yourself to be receiving responses from Ford Motor Company in the following manner:

"Clearing a code" and continuing to drive the vehicle is considered an intentional act with possible and/or potential risk of causing significant engine damage by the deliberate act of ignoring an admitted and recognized engine trouble signal. You made a deliberate decision to ignore a clear warning signal (by clearing the code) and thereafter continued to operate the vehicle at your own risk.

#1 - "All of the gauges read good and I couldn't get a Ford dealer to clear the code because it was near closing time and they all told me it would be a few days".
FORD - YOU CHOSE TO CONTINUE TO DRIVE THE TRUCK BACK TO HUSTON.

#2 - "After a long slow drive to Houston I took the truck to a local powerstroke specialist that ran the codes and it showed engine overfilled (oil) and engine overspeed. They said the oil didn't look overfilled from the dipstick but changed it anyway and re-set the codes".
FORD - LOCAL POWERSTROKE SPECIALIST EQUALS A NON-FOMOCO CERTIFIED FORD DEALERSHIP TECHNICIAN.

#3 - "It ran great for a few weeks and 3,000 miles and the wrench appeared again. I took it back to them and the same code appeared, engine oil overfilled. They cleared the code and were too busy to look at the truck further that day".
FORD - YOU ONCE AGAIN CHOSE TO CONTINUE TO DRIVE THE TRUCK.

#4 - "I then took my truck to Joe Myers Ford off of hwy 290 for a full diagnostic. They changed the oil again and said it looked to be up to 5 quarts overfilled (possibly fuel in the oil). They used their computer to do a manual DPF cleaning and said that may solve the problem. $450 and 4 days later I took my truck home and 300 miles later the wrench returned and once again went to limp mode. I brought it back to Joe Myers Ford and they ran the codes (didn't tell me what they were) and gave me the truck back so I could use it for deliveries the next day. After 150 miles the wrench came back and I crawled back to J.M.F at 50 mph. This was Christmas Eve. They looked the truck over and said that it has "Dusting" caused by a hose connecting the air filter to the turbo not being correctly installed. They said this allowed dust into the motor and damaged all of the cylinders (all of this in 4,000 miles since the motor was replaced)
FORD - A FOMOCO CERTIFIED TECHNICIAN DIAGNOSED THE ISSUE AND ADVISED YOU THAT SPECIFIC PROBLEM HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED.

#5 -"They contacted FoMoCo with their findings and were denied a warranty claim".
FORD - DID A FOMOCO CERTIFIED TECHNICIAN IMPROPERLY INSTALL THE HOSE CONNECTING THE AIR FILTER TO THE TURBO? IF SO PLEASE IDENTIFY WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, and HOW.

I understand your frustration, but you have to look at it through Ford's eyes. The Company and Dealers are two different people, and why should they be expected to pay for something that they didn't do. Certainly it can be frustrating what happened because of an improper install, but I suspect that it will show and you should get your motor warrantied. I would absolutely take it up with the dealer and exhaust all possible options, before taking the action you stated above. Please keep us posted, we'll want to know how it ends up.

I guess my question would be. "Did the warranty on the engine include labor and installation?" as none I have ever seen do. Some dealers offer lifetime warranties on their labor or installation work. But all I have ever seen are only good for the original purchaser and would be void once the truck was sold to a new owner (you).
Secondly, was this a transferable warranty? And did you fill out the paperwork to have the warranty transferred to you upon purchasing the truck? Does Ford require warranties to be registered? I know I had to physically go and fill out a "Warranty Transfer Form" at my local Dodge dealer to transfer the warranty on the Dodge truck I bought... It had a replacement transmission that had a 3yr/36,000 TRANSFERRABLE warranty, which had been installed only 6 months/4,000 miles prior to my purchasing it. The warranty stated that in the event of sale, a new owner had 30 days to transfer the warranty, or the warranty would be voided.
And lastly, Did the warranty cover fleet/commercial usage? 99% of dealer warranties specifically exclude, or severely limit warranties for any vehicle used for fleet or commercial use. (You stated it was owned by a fleet, and the work was done while they owned it.)
Please don't be mad at my questions. I just feel like these are three things that need clarifying.

Hollingsworth Ford should either pay for the correction of their installation error to be performed by another dealer close to you or they could pay to have the truck transported to and from them. Typically if you can prove they did something wrong upon install they can reimburse you, but you will need to talk to a general manager or owner. Service advisors tend to be programmed to say only certain lines and most likely not be able to approve a repair reimbursement at another dealer.

Otherwise if they are uncoorperative you could threaten to park on the street outside their dealer alerting their customers that their service dept does not stand behind their work with a giant sign :). Been there threaten to park with a giant sign that says this dealer sells lemons when the rotors kept warping on my 99.

Wow, really sorry to hear about the truck aggiect. I amended the title of your thread to remove mention of legal action. We are a truck forum, not a legal one, and therefore discussing legal action here is against the rules. If someone wants to offer you advice on how to proceed down that road they should do so via PM.

The engine would be covered by Ford's 2-year, unlimited mileage diesel engine warranty. You can read the specifics HERE. It's fully transferable and covers 100% parts and labor. No exclusions here.

You should tow the truck back to Hollingsworth and have them take a look at it. Do you have another truck capable of towing it out there? I know it's a drive, but when a $15,000 repair is on the line it may well prove worth it.

On the face of it, that sucks ! Bad for ford's engine sales, bad for the dealership's service and rep, and really bad for you the individual !!!

But be patient, document EVERYTHING, when, who, what, etc...
Ask to speak to GM's and owners and approach it like "If this were your truck what would you expect...?"

fyi, Delivery services can get it back to BR if that's what you decide to do, but I'd wait until you identify that will be good to do....

We had a car delivered from Memphis to Dallas for < $300 iirc... just call around or do a google search to get pricing and specifics...
oh, and take pics before, after and during delivery...

Will ask my friends in BR about that dealership...

Also, call Ed Wallace's radio show on Saturday morning or check his insideautomotive website, he might have some insight...

good luck... and expect to be in this for the long haul.... maybe your auto insurance may cover it under vandalism ? who knows what that bad diesel did to it...

My 2 cents with 15 years experience as a service advisor. Definitely not a FoMoCo problem. Ford warranty covers defects in manufacture/material. Not the case here. Its all on the dealer that installed it. Their guy messed it up therefore the dealer needs to be the one that makes it right.

I truly feel horrible for you, Ford has had problems since the 6.0 then your 6.4 and haven't stepped up to fix their mistakes nor tell their dealers how to properly diagnose and fix these modern Diesel engines. Then a buyer like yourself comes along and he's given all this paperwork saying everything is replaced to OEM spec and good to go then you buy the truck and drive away and not x miles away the truck quits and you get the run around that your getting. This is the reason SO MANY people and companies have left Ford and looked at Dodge and GM, I love my 04 but I am seriously discouraged to ever buy another Ford since they try and deny ever warranty claim Sent from my iPhone using IB AutoGroup

Hi,

Aggiect01, Your mailbox is full.

You may want to contact this user
FordService
Official Ford Rep
I think this link will take you to her info
Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums - View Profile: FordService

Sean :-drink

Thanks for all of your responses and advice. I am still waiting to hear back from the service manager at Hollingsworth Ford. He is the one I dealt with before the purchase and told me about the 2 year warranty and gave me receipts from the work performed on it. Ford is baseing their decision to deny my warranty claim off of the opinion of one tech at Joe Myers Ford which is the same tech that thought cleaning the DPF would solve the problem at first and recommended the fuel in oil problem be solved by changing the oil every 3k. FoMoCo may not be to blame if it was truely an installation error however they should be willing to work with the customer to force the dealership to stand by their work. The reason people take their trucks to Ford dealerships is to get supposed top rate technitions and nationwide support. It surely isn't because of the low prices or fast service. As far as driving it afterthecodes were cleared, the oil was changed 2 different times in 4k miles to address the engine oil overfilled code and Joe Myers didn't know what the problem was based off the codes given. I will clear my mailbox for any private advice or help. Thanks

I'm in the process of discussing the matter with Hollingsworth ford. I own another f550 box truck but have no way of towing such a large truck, it has a 16 ft box and weighs 11,700 lbs empty. It will cost a ton to have it towed there if they refuse to cover it.