*sigh*.

Getting ready to roll this thing down a boat ramp somewhere. Just got off the phone with my wife, it was just towed again for not starting. I'm 800 miles away at Fort Knox, so I can't deal with this myself.

 

Wow, that's unbelievable. Sorry to hear you all have to go through this.

 

So sorry to hear this, Tom....the Transit has to leave a bad taste in your mouth at this point. Out of about 45 vehicles I've owned, my '96 Savana was the only one I traded in because I could not in good conscience sell it to someone else and look them in the eye. I was ready to burn it down or put a brick on the gas pedal and have it go off a cliff.

Every mfr builds a few lemons; Ford is still my favorite American automaker, but they have had problems too. I would definitely suggest you get the ear of some regional technical heavies at this point. And maybe have the dealer use your van for a couple weeks as a service vehicle or something to give them some long term experience with it.

The dealer from whom I bought my Savana was exactly one mile from General Motors Tech Center, their international engineering center...and it took them 7 valve bodies and 3 transmission swaps to get my trans working...everything from internal problems to TSB's to electrical grounds...and it's not that they didn't try.

Good luck,
George

 

I've called Ford Customer Service twice, and just today they told me it was "referred to the dealer". I got a bit agitated and asked what their purpose was if that was all they were capable of. I know the dealer has been going back and forth with Ford Engineering on this. I asked if they could provide some kind of extended warranty for all the hassle, and he said he would call me back on Tuesday.

Definitely leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but the van is a mechanical object with something not working right. They just have to find the issue...which may be the end of us all. The good news is that the failure has gotten more consistent...in the past it would always start intermittently for them...now they can't get it to start at all. Easier to track down this way.

 

Now I'm pissed off.

Dealer called this morning and told me it needs new plugs. Pulled a plug and it's completely fouled out. They know I've run E85 from time to time, and they're blaming that for fouling out the spark plugs, and they think this is the issue. This thing has never had a misfire code, and nobody can explain why it runs just great when it starts. They also can't explain why this only happens between 30-40 degrees.

Best of all: they want $524 to do the job, and it's not covered under warranty since plugs are a maintenance item. The van has 37,000 miles, and plugs aren't due on the maintenance schedule until 100,000. Never mind the fact that I've run E85 for years in the fleet cars I drive at work without issue. I'm fairly certain the fouling is from repeated attempts to start the van while they unsuccessfully tried to diagnose it. Not a chance am I paying them to replace plugs. I called Ford Customer Service and explained my frustration, and they tell me they're asking for "out of warranty repair assistance" to help me with the cost. I'm waiting a call back.

I can change the plugs myself for around $20. I'm out of town with work at the moment, but at this point my plan is to drive or tow the van back home and replace the plugs this weekend. Then have it towed to another dealer when it fails again.

 

I feel your frustration, especially them coming back with plugs being the issue. Sounds like they don't have a clue.

 

Not to add to Tom's frustration nor pile on bashing new Transit's here's another guy with an on-going issue, one that scares the bejesus out of me: http://http://www.fordtransitusaforu...et-far-33.html Do keep in mind that thread so far stretches over 48 pages & encompassing the time from Nov 2015 through Jan 2017. Not all posts there are 100% relevant but its easy to see dealing with such an issue is more than a nightmare.

His situation is unique to a degree with cross border issues arising but still Ford should have worked quite a bit differently to resolve his issues. Then again he might have not accepted the vehicle as is having discovered some issue at first test drive after delivery to the dealership.

Because we have enforceable lemon laws here in the USA the financial parts don't trouble me nearly as much as the loss of use would.

BTW the OP in the linked thread has the patience of Job----in a similar situation and not being of sound, reasonable and rational mind myself not sure what approach I've have taken.

 

Well how 'bout that...

Dealer was butthurt that I called Ford corporate yesterday. I never consented to them replacing the plugs because it didn't make sense. Today my wife gets a call saying it's ready to be picked up. It started right up for them, and they put 60 miles on it without a hiccup. Guess it wasn't the plugs after all?

They continue to blame the use of e85. Said when it was failing to start the PCM was still inferring >80% ethanol content even though the tank was filled with regular gasoline. After driving it awhile, the PCM was correctly estimating mostly gas, and it continues to start right up. I think this is an issue with the PCM resetting and defaulting to previous ethanol content, but that's just a wild guess. Sure as hell doesn't need a $500 plug job, though.

Our daughter has been in the hospital since last Friday when she had surgery on the back of her brain, and will be there until the end of the week, so we don't need the van right now. I'm gonna leave it with them, and they'll see if it acts up as they move it around the lot every so often. Service writer confessed to never wanting to see this thing again. I guess the feeling is mutual.

 

Best wishes to your daughter, and hopefully your van will give you many miles/years of trouble free service!

 

Tom, I send you my prayers for your daughter; stuff like vehicles is so insignificant when compared to family health issues. But vehicle problems during times of illness can fray the nerves when that's the last thing they need.

I have never tried E85 although our new Grand Caravan is E85 capable. It might be worth your while to run regular gasoline for a while and see if that cures or minimizes your problems. It would seem to me that E85 would leave the plugs cleaner than gasoline, but I know that kicking an engine into life without enough gasoline in the mix is harder. I remember reading some forum where guys were talking about running a small tank full of pure gasoline for starting an E85 vehicle, then switching to E85 when the engine was warm and running.

May all your troubles resolve,
George

 

Thanks, guys, much appreciated.

I've been driving federal fleet vehicles for the last seven years. They're flex fuel capable, and by Army policy we are supposed to fill these up with E85 whenever it's available. I've probably run 30,000 miles on E85 alone, most of that in Wisconsin and here in Minnesota. The only times I've had a starting problem are at -10* and colder, otherwise all of the cars, trucks, and vans have started up just great 100% of the time. Mike(meborder) told me the other night that his truck ran over 50,000 miles straight on e85, and he's in North Dakota. This is why I don't accept the dealer's reasoning...

 

I have a 2015 Ford Transit 250 with the Flexfuel 3.7 the engine acted like it ran out of gas while driving it. But she cranked right up. The next day it did the same thing only this time it didn't start back up. It turns over but doesn't start at all. Replaced the fuel filter still didn't solve the problem. Check the old filter it works just fine outside the tank. All the fuses were checked...ok. put fuel down the intake the engine will start up and run until it empties. So the problem would be? This problem is driving me crazy I use the van for work and hadn't been able to use it for a week now.

 

Did you check fuel pressure? That would be my first suggestion.

My problem was related to using E85. After replacing a bunch of parts that never solved the issue, we just stopped using E85 and the problem disappeared. Don't think that is related to the issue you're having.

 

I'm thinking electronics. There would be no fuel pressure if pump in tank is not getting power. Which mine is not. No E85 is being used. What is telling the electronics to not send power to the pump? Could it be a relay? Could it be the main board be bad or needs a reflash? Idk. Need help.

 

It has been my experience that when a fuel pump is failing, that is how it acts. It may randomly die while driving or intermittently fail to start. It may run terrific one moment then dog out. A fuel pressure test will usually tell the tale.