So I took my 2001 B4000 4.0L 4x4 to have a serpentine chirp worked on at a dealer in Richmond, VA. Along with that, the bulb behind the headlight switch needed replacing, and a couple other noises/issues needed to be looked at. Took off work on a Thursday to drop off the truck at the dealer. Got to be 4:30 and no call about the status. Turns out they couldn't find a new belt tensioner (with about 6 Ford dealers and 4 Mazda dealers in the area I was a little surprised). So they gave me a free rental (covered by the warranty) for Friday. Had to call at 5pm to get update (again no call from them). They never ordered the part. I was told it was usually overnighted to them for warranty work. So I went to pick up my truck, still chirping away. I dropped it back off on Monday night and got another rental for free. This time they had the part. Picked it back up on Tuesday night. Drove it to work today and everything was fine except for a metal on metal grinding noise when going 40mph or turning left. So I go home for lunch today, get on the interstate and hit the slightest bump in the road (same bump i hit every day) and the steering wheel begins shaking violently and turning side to side. I slow down to about 40 and it stops. So i speed up again to 55, hit a bump and it does it again. Now i pull over to check to see if i might have a flat. Nothing visible. I drove immediately to the dealer (about 5 more miles at 40mph) with the grinding noise increasing the whole time. So I got another rental and it's now 5:30 and havent had an update. I will let everyone know what happened as soon as they let me know. Anyone else ever had these problems?

 

Sorry to hear about that, might be time for a new dealer.

 

Go to another dealer!

 

Look in your owner's manual for the toll free number for customer service. Call em up and let them know of your experience. I had a problem with my local Mazda dealer. I informed customer service of my experience . They took care of the problem. If you don't complain Mazda has no way of knowing how customers are treated. It is in their best interest to treat you right. Also request the most knowledgeable and experienced mechanic they have to offer. This reduces the likelihood of incompetence. Good luck.

 

I though I read in a previous post somewhere that one of the symptoms of air in the power steering was when the steering wheel shakes when you go over a bump. Maybe the dealer disconnected a power steering line for some reason doing their "repairs"?

Well anyrate, good luck, and I hope it works out for you!

 

It's funny you mention the power steering because the girl in the service department mentioned that she had seen that problem before and it was the power steering pump. I'm sure when they removed the belt to replace the tensioner they messed that up. I guess that also makes sense since I heard a grinding noise when turning. Thanks for the help everyone. I'm not going to sweat it because luckily everything is under warranty until Dec. 12

 

So the truck is still in the shop. Turns out it was the power steering. Girl at the shop said the part should be in today and it's a 4-hour job. Sounds like more than just the power steering pump...Seems a little sketchy that this wasn't happening until after I took it in for the other minor fixes. Am I right to suspect that they might have messed up the power steering on purpose to get more money out of Mazda?

 

It's now over a week later...truck still in the shop, getting entire power steering rack replaced...

 

Hope you get it back soon.

 

Supposedly, Ford (it's not a Mazda aside from badges) cheaps out when it comes to paying for warranty work. So, I doubt that the stealership was trying to rip Ford off, but is just flat-out incomptetent.