Hi gang,
I purchased my 2014 XLT SCREW last Nov from a Ford dealer (about 45 minutes drive away from me, instead of one much closer). One of the major decision points was the fact it was Ford CPO and had low miles, and I was also able to afford getting a bumper-to-bumper extended warranty (with 100 deductible) as well. I was a happy camper (literally, I use it to tow my travel trailer )

My expectation was that, since it was CPO, I shouldn't be getting a vehicle that would need more than the usual "wear and tear" items for quite some time, as CPO clearly states it goes through an inspection that includes a large number of items (I'm vaguely recalling it saying over 100 specific items are inspected).

That expectation extends to the brakes, as I'm sure it's one of the inspection items. I don't mean pads, as they are wear and tear, but the rotors (and by extension the other brake components).

So imagine how I feel after taking my vehicle to the local dealer (not the same I purchased it from) and having them tell me that the rear rotors need to be replaced. They are rusted and worn down to almost legal limit. This is on a vehicle with around 40k miles, and I've put less than 10k miles on it since last year. Front brakes are fine and will be good for a while.

Am I expecting too much? Doesn't this seem like something that should have been addressed before the vehicle was put on the market as CPO? I don't blame any dealership, unless they are the ones that do the inspections, which I doubt. I'm fairly certain that is done by some Ford rep(s) that do not work for a dealership.

Thanks for any feedback.

 

I always had the impression that the service department at the selling dealership did the CPO evaluation ............. using Ford's standards for each of the evaluation points.

Will see what others say.

 

CPO inspection is generally done by the dealership and is ultimately a ploy to get more money out of the vehicle. People get a sense of comfort buying a CPO (As you did OP) vehicle because they think it will be better when generally a non CPO vehicle is just outside of the mileage limits or year limits. Most of the time it is the same inspection done on every vehicle, this one just "qualified" to be called CPO.

Also, have you checked the rear brakes yourself? I can see front brakes being needed at 40,000 miles, but rear is unusual. However, you did say you tow your travel trailer. How often or how many of those 10,000 miles is pulling that trailer? This will cause accelerated wear.

 

Thanks for the replies.
As far as looking at the rears myself, I will have to do that to be certain...
I agree with you that 40k is when I would expect to replace front pads and maybe the rears. It seems very unusual to me to have the rear so worn out, and especially the rotors.
I do tow, but not that frequently... in fact we only took three trips this year for a total of maybe 1500 miles, most of that highway. I'm not sure I understand how that would wear the rears more, unless I'm misunderstanding your point.
I guess it still feels to me that this is something should have been addressed, but the lack of responses kind of hints that I'm just going to have to be disappointed here.
Any other thoughts appreciated. Would be nice to hear from someone at Ford service on this as well.

 

If you are towing most of the miles, having to stop a trailer (even if it has trailer brakes it is extra weight on the truck brakes) will wear your brakes quicker. It wouldn't wear the rears more, just the truck brakes in general. They may have replaced the fronts prior to purchase and not the rears at that time as they weren't needed.

 

Just my experience, but every vehicle Ive owned that had rear disc brakes, the rears wore well before the fronts. Not sure of the rhyme or reason why. In your position, I would be inclined to pop the back tires off an have a look myself just to see whats really going on. It is possible that the servicing (not selling) dealer is trying to upsell a set of rotors and pads as well.

I recently traded my 2014 F-150, and though it didn't qualify for a CPO designation, whoever buys it will be driving around with new pads and rotors front and rear.

 

Are those the words of the dealer? If so that raises a huge red flag for me.

Rotors rust. Period. It has nothing to do with the functionality of the brakes.

Also there is no such thing as a "legal limit" for rotors. There are Ford specs for rotors, but not a legal limit. It would be HIGHLY unusual for rear rotors to be worn out of spec in 40,000 miles. Brake pads yes, rotors.... highly unlikely.

Just wanting to clarify from the OP about what info the dealer gave you.

 

Not sure about your areas of the country but, here in Virginia, brake rotor thickness must not go below the minimum thickness listed below or the vehicle will fail a state inspection.


It should not be more than 0.002 inch (0.050mm). If so, the hub should be replaced. All brake discs or rotors have markings for MINIMUM allowable thickness cast on an unmachined surface or an alternate surface. Always use this specification as the minimum allowable thickness or refinishing limit.

I had to replace the front rotors on my 2004 Expy because it failed inspection due to front rotor thickness. The truck has 125K on it now and the rear rotors are still in great shape.

I think I'd do my own inspection.

 

Yeah I keep forgetting that some states have safety inspections to register vehicles, so in those cases there may be legal requirements for stuff like that. All we have here in CO is smog tests, no one cares about rotor thickness going down a mountain pass and needing to stop...........

 

Question: What does CPO really mean?
Answer: Not very much.

Longer answer: What it DOESN'T mean is that the vehicle was in better than average shape when the dealership acquired it, or that it was "one owner", "low mileage" or anything like that. What it SOMETIMES means is that the dealership has done a slightly more detailed inspection and they have fixed any defects found. What it SOMETIMES means is that the dealership hasn't done anything to it, and they are simply providing more paperwork with it as a sales tactic, hoping nothing goes wrong.

I know a lot of people who say they'd never buy a vehicle that came from a rental company fleet, but in actuality, most of those vehicles get sold back to dealers and resold as CPO vehicles.

It's my opinion that CPO is good because when things go wrong you should have more recourse. I don't think your odds of things going wrong are lower though.

 

Thanks all for the discussion, everyone.
I really don't have a misconception of what CPO means - I get that it is a sales tactic, but the warranty provided made it worth the extra $$ to me. I guess I was just trying to figure out how much Ford was involved in the process to know whether I should be trying to take up this issue with them or not. I'm seeing here that I don't really have enough ammo to go to them and say that the inspection wasn't done to their standards.
Regardless, I was going to get the brakes fixed of course, just was hoping that I had a possible way where I could get them to cover some part of the job. What good is a warranty if nothing is claimable under it?
And yes, I should have noted that when I said "legal limit" I meant the minimum thickness and that PA also requires this for an inspection, which I just had done.
Oh, and I still need to look at the rotors myself. Still seems very odd that the rears are worn out like they claim.

 

 

Thanks, my truck is definitely a Ford CPO, got all the paperwork to prove it.

 

FORD CPO Vehicles





Comprehensive Limited Warranty Coverage

In addition to the 172-point inspection, every Ford Certified Pre-Owned vehicle comes with a comprehensive limited warranty covering more than 1,000 components for 12 months/12,000 miles.* Areas of coverage include:



• Engine

• Transmission

• Rear-wheel drive

• Front-wheel drive

• Steering components

• Brakes

• Front and rear suspension

• Electrical system

• Air conditioning and heating

• Technology components

• Emissions components

• Factory-installed audio system

• Safety systems