Been having many issues with Ford dealership staff. Many trips to fix something usually simple. Almost as if the techs had never worked on a Ford truck before. The intro is a little long, but here goes:

A recent incident involved maintenance gone awry, and began back in June. I took the truck in to replace the coolant since I found out Ford put in the wrong coolant additive, and refused to pay for the flush.
So after the service they forget to put the radiator cap back on (that was my own $400 to fix the wrong additive mistake). A bunch of it leaks out over the next week, before I put two and two together. This was around the fourth of July. After complaining again, they actually blamed me because I had been complaining about the consistently poor service, and they felt that was making them nervous, so it was a self fulfilling prophecy in their estimation. After I got them to pay for several gallons of lost coolant, I found an oil slick under the brake pedal. So back it went for service again.
Dealer said I needed an O ring on the hydroboost, but they would replace the whole hydroboost, because they didn't have an O ring (huh?). After the reapair, the brakes wouldn't release, and driving off the dealer's lot caused a brake fire within the first few miles. Back in it went again. After gutting the interioor and reassembling everything, I thought surely things must be right now?
Not long after that repair (new brakes, lines, re-ground rotors), and far from the dealership, I realized I no longer had heating/cooling/defrost capabilty. Back in it went. Tech said he broke the climate mixing apparatus during previous disassembly, but put it back in knowing it was broken because he said he was told to.
So then I made them order me a new unit. They said it was on national back-order. I waited 4 months. Truck was put in storage, and I got another vehicle to drive (at my expense).
So last week, after another bunch of calls by me complaining about the situation, they indicated they thought they could fix it, but I'd need to leave truck for a week. So I dig the truck out of storage (I'm paying $100 a month for this space), and drop it off again. Less than a week later, they call me and tell me it's ready. They were very nice about it. They even put in some fuel at no cost, and took care of some other non-warranty issues for me at their expense. I thought I had finally put all this behind me.
The next day when I remote started the vehicle to warm it up (it had snowed), and I climbed inside, the cabin was full of smoke and a caustic smell. I turned off the defroster, and wondered what it could be. Called the dealer, and they thought it might go away with time, but had no clue what it might be. Next cold day, same thing happened.
It takes about 2-3 minutes for the smoking to start. The heater is set to 90 degrees. Fan on high. Engine temperature still shows cold when smoking begins. The smell to me does not seem like coolant, but I have a cold, so my nose could be wrong.
Does anyone have any idea what could be smoking consitently from all the vents? The smell is bad, but I don't recognize it. Causes me to cough the whole time I'm driving. I usually keep the windows open, but that is exacerbating my cold. I'm going to call the dealer again tomorrow, but suspect they don't know anything either.
Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to paint a picture. I left out many visits to the dealer in this brief synopsis, but I think I covered the more important stuff. I don't think the dealer is deliberately doing this to keep me from buying their products. I've been to all the local dealers in the area, and almost all of them operate this way. I just don't trust them anymore, and wanted to do a little of my own research. Google was not helpful, and it doesn't seem like this particular problem occurs regularly.
The only thing I can think of is coolant, or electrical. But the floor on the passenger side is not wet, and the smoking begins well before the engine warms up. If I shut off the climate control, the smoking stops...

 

Without being there it sounds like something(maybe brake fluid) is leaking onto the exhaust manifold creating smoke that is getting sucked into the cab. Exhaust manifold will be hot very quickly, long before you think the engine is warmed up. Could be brake fluid from your previous repair still on the manifold, but that should only last a day or so of running before being burned off. If you have been driving several times, then it sounds like an active leak, vs residual from prior repair. Are any of the fluids low?

Reality is once you get through this, you need to find a different dealer.

 

Is it possible something was spilled on the electric supplemental heater element and is burning off slowly? Try pulling the fuse/relay for it and see if you still have the smoke.

 

WOW buddy, that is terrible.
I wish I could help.
Rob may be onto something with the electric heater.

 

It does sound about right.antifreeze in case and blower burning it. Perhaps.

 

Thank you for the ideas! This is exactly why I posted here.
I havent checked fluid levels, but will do so. I don't think it's coolant though (smell is more like burning oil or plastic & smoke is not "wet" or steamy).
I didn't know I even had a "supplemental heater"? It may be that, or some fluid leaking onto the exhaust manifold, as sugested. Good ideas all!

The volume of smoke has been the same for the last week+, so it isn't likely anything that was spilled and is just burning off. I was hoping this was the case, but it still smokes just as much. The previous time it was in I smelled cooking anti-freeze, so I thought that they spilled some and it was just burning off. So about a week after that, I had lifted the hood, and to my surprise the rad cap was missing! I am amazed that I was able to drive the truck for a week with no cap, and it never overheated. It did spit fluid, and I lost several gallons, but I was impressed at how well designed the truck was to be running in that condition! The dealer told me it was not possible to drive it that long without a cap, but I did, and in the heat of Summer!

So I just got off the horn with the service manager at the dealership, and they are sending someone to pick it up and leave a loaner car. I can tell they're frustrated with me, but the feeling's mutual! He said they'll look at it tomorrow. I'm going to go crawl under and see if I can see evidence of any leaks of any kind before they get here.

 

Wow...that stinks (bad pun intended). I hope they are able to trace the source. I agree that after a week, if it was spillage that was burning off, it should have been done. I also know that I usually know when I spilled something and expect it. It could be a leak or a crack somewhere. Definitely worth a trip to the dealership if you know you didn't spill something.

 

Bummer that is a rotten deal, I'm thinking that something like insulation maybe is laying on the supplemental heater. if the dealer your taking it to can't fix it right maybe it is worth a trip to a different dealer.

Good Luck

 

I mentioned leaking brake fluid earlier because of this repair they did. if I were a betting man, thats where I'd place my money. Brake fluid is not real heavy, so on a hot engine, it wouldnt take long to burn off. Just run your fingers along the low spots to see if there is any drips, wetness, etc.

Brake fluid may be low, depending on how fast it is leaking, but alittle makes a lot of smoke.

 

Great stuff guys! I was able to suggest to the dealer some of these ideas, since they had none of their own. They came and got my truck, which was nice (2 hour round trip) and left me with a little (con-)Fusion automobile as a loaner. I found no leaks when I looked under the truck, although coolant and power steering were slightly low. Brakes too. So it could be any of those...
They said they would look at it tomorrow.

 

I gather there is only one dealer where you live? I understand your frustration with them but sounds like they've dropped the ball more than once. You are perfectly within your right to be a little peeved with them. I would have.

 

Well, yesterday the dealer was unable to reproduce the smoking. So I took the day off and drove up there. After my input, some more experimentation and testing, we think it may be a combination of a leaking heater core that is leaking onto the supplemental heater. It was not cold yesterday, so we couldn't get the supplemental heater to come on...therefore no smoke in cabin. I am using propylene glycol coolant, so perhaps that's why the smoke smells different. The dash is coming out again today. Will report findings.

 

Good luck buddy.
You have had a real tough run over the last 2 years with that truck.
I hope things improve.

Merry Christmas

 

Problem solved, we think!

It looks like the supplemental heater itself is defective, and the contacts to the + battery on it are shorting? New one should be in tomorrow. They could not find any residual antifreeze in that area, so now we think there are no leaks. These systems have multiple drains, according to tech, so that leaks don't drip inside cab...but only heater shows a problem. Mileage is about 60K.
To celebrate the likely resolution to 6 months of nonsense, I ordered an SCT X3 with Torq 2.1!