If the plug loosened up and cost you an engine, the fault would lie with whoever last installed it. A record of a cross-threaded plug thousands of miles ago wouldn't help a thing.

 

I'm easy to please. I live by the "You broke it, you fix it motto". The dealer "broke" (stripped) my oil drain plug as they are the only people to have ever touched my truck. It is entirely possible that they damaged my oil pan also but the damage has not revealed itself yet.
For the service advisor to come to me in the waiting room to tell me I have to buy a new oil drain plug because mine is stripped means either he never looked at my service records to see his dealership has done all my oil changes or that he did look at it and decided to try to charge me for the new drain plug. Let's assume he didn't do the due diligence of looking at my service record before talking to me as that is the lesser of two evils. If that is the case, is he a service advisor or just a cash register attendant? Second, once determined that they would cover the $15 oil drain plug I asked him if they checked the pan and is there cause for concern to damage to an oil pan (slightly more costly than a $15 plug). His answer - "Nope. The oil drain plug is aluminum and the oil pan is metal. Ford does this so the plug is softer and would strip but the pan would not". So here I come to this forum to be told (and believe more than Ford Service ADVISOR) that the plug is not made of aluminum. Did I catch him in a lie? He said he checked with the mechanic who told him this. Or do I have now a Ford Service ADVISOR and a Ford trained dealer MECHANIC who are both incorrect? I'm thinking I have one or two employees doing a CYA and hoping I won't do anything about it. After all, with no record, if my oil pan leaks a year from now do you think someone from the dealer will step up and say "No charge repair. It's our fault" or do you think the Service Advisor will then be advising me I need a new oil pan because mine is leaking?

I am insulted at your comment that I am not easy to please. I am more than disappointed in the employee(s) at the dealer lying to me or not knowing the truth to begin with. I am more than disappointed that the dealer has yet to reach out to me when I responded to their electronic comment card with my concern/request. There is too much competition in business for businesses not to take care of their customers and follow up with them. If this was the 1980's when I bought my first new Ford and I was not happy, at most I would be telling my friends and family about it which is not a huge number. Flash forward to today and this thread has been viewed by over 750 people, from all over, all reading the same posts and answers. Information, both good and bad, travels quickly today and the dealers/manufacturer need to understand this.

 

MG250 - I am with you here. I'd be upset if I always had my oil changed at one place and they said my drain pan/plug was stripped out too and they wanted me to pay for it.

I'd like to see the old drain pan bolt, not saying they can't be aluminum - but mine sure isn't.

This is common issue and is why they make #1 and even #2 upsize plugs. Even if the pan stripped out those seem to fix it. Why you want it documented is when the pan needs replacing...

 

I didn't mean to offend you, but you seem to be making a mountain out of a molehill. Stripped and cross-threaded drain plugs are extremely common, and as long as the oil pan threads are in good condition, you will have no problems in the future. I haven't yet seen stripped oil pan threads, but I'm sure it happens. The fix for that is an oversized drain plug that only costs a few dollars, and the truck is good for another couple hundred thousand miles.

This has been a constant for decades, and it's really not a big deal as long as the issue is identified and properly dealt with at the time of the oil change. All the time you've spent getting worked up over this is time you could spend dealing with something more important.

 

Thank you for your concern for my time.
I spent time getting to the truth since the dealer's representatives tried to charge me for their damage and then lied to me.
Let's look at it from a different point of view and pretend the dealer backed a truck into your truck as it's visual.

Service Advisor: There's a dent in your new truck. You must pay us to fix it.
You: I just saw your employee back another truck into mine.
Service Advisor: Oops. You are correct sir. We will bondo and paint it and you'll be all set. No charge.
You: What happens if the bondo cracks or the paint peels. Will you be comping that repair as well.
Service Advisor: No need sir. I checked with our body technician and he said your truck will be fine. In fact, this happens all the time. It's common so there's no need to bring this to anyone's attention or mark it in any record. Please make sure to rate our service high when you get your survey from Ford. Have a nice day.

Tom - We shall agree to disagree. Please note this thread has been viewed 814 times now and the dealer still hasn't reached out to me. That's 814 "reviews" read about the Ford dealers service that could have a positive ending any time the dealer wants to reach out and show me their damage has been noted in a file for any future reference. I will be happy to post the name of the dealer in Massachusetts if allowed.

 

I can tell you that I would make a big deal out of it. It's one thing that they tried to make you pay for an issue that they caused. It's another thing that they stripped it out in the first place. There's no excuse for it. It is a large, coarse thread, well lubricated fastener that likely could only be stripped out by someone cross threading or over tightening it. This is most likely caused by someone trying to go fast and not paying attention to what they are doing. Total rookie move. The bigger issue is that, any time you strip a thread, you end up with loose metal. There's a possibility of some of that loose metal ending up in your oil pan, where it can't get filtered out without going through the engine.

A little aver a month ago, while my 5th wheel was at the dealer for repair, I got a call from the service advisor. She tells me that my camper must have been hit by someone in their lot, and that I should file an insurance claim, so they can repair it for me. So I know just how you felt when they told you that you should pay for a new drain plug.

 

Stripped oil pan threads are "extremely common"? Really?

Maybe the gorillas in the lube dept. need some training before they are let loose. Second, don't try to make me pay for it.

It would be really interesting to see what the actual torque is when threads strip out. Gotta be a hell of a lot. Stupid ****ers.

 

Are the mods here all on Ford payroll or something?

 

Was gonna bow out of this one. But alas...

Seriously? I'm on nobody's payroll, bud. I'm a volunteer who spends his free time trying to keep his favorite internet forum a welcoming place for people to come and discuss their trucks. My only "payment" is trash talk like this from people who think anyone who disagrees with them must have an agenda. Thanks for that.

 

You sound like a tough guy to please.....BUD

 

Closing in on a week with over 1,000 people reading this thread and no response from the dealer. Perhaps PRIME FORD - AUBURN MASSACHUSETTS would like to reach out to me to discuss this as their service department caused this damage.

 

Huh, small world. Bought my '13 from them back when it was Langway Ford. Only had one experience with their service department, but they didn't find anything wrong at the time.

 

Update - I contacted Ford on Monday morning via their chat. They noted my issue, gave me some guidance, sent me a copy of our transcript, and said they would reach out to the dealer. It's Thursday...no call or contact from PRIME FORD - AUBURN yet. I don't know what their SLA is for customer concerns but I do know they will reach out to you same day for a sale.

 

the drain plugs are steel and pan actually is aluminum.very comon on ford engines that the threads eventually wear out due to over tourguing the plug and in time will remove the thread's of pan when removing plug.i see these issues quite a bit on vehicles with steel plugs and aluminum pans when they come into my shop for oil changes after last one was at a quick lube place.norjing wrong with pulling out a tourq wrench and tightening to factory spec.good practice when metals are different type from each other.

 

If that was true then why does a magnet stick to the pan?