Hi all great forum . I have an 02 navigator that lost air to rear airbags it is a 4x4 .Since i have an extended warranty and since the factory warranty expired March 27 I took it to the dealer to have it looked at. They wanted 1 hr. loabor at $88 an hour to check it out. OK after an hour they said it was electrial and needed 2 more hours to diagnose after all this it was the rear height sensor. Well my extended warranty would only pay half hour labor to diagnose they would pay 4 tenths to replace and the part. To make the story short I checked on Alldata and they give a block step by step to diagnose the system and said it shoud take half hour .Ok. the dealer needed to order the part so they just set the ride height turned off the system so i could drive it then made an appointment to have the sensor replaced. They tell me they need it for a day and will have a car for me to drive which my warranty will pay for.Alldata says 4 tenths to replace the part . Now i believe the dealer just want me in the loaner so they can get the money from warranty instead of letting it sit on the lot and no cash generated for it that day. I did pay the 249.00 for the extra they say diagnosing .Now what im asking after thinking how sore my butt is now should i print alll the info from Alldata and argue with the dealer about the HUGE charge for this or just accept the **** rape i recieved from them express my dissapointment with them and never go back to them for future problems. oppions accepted
Thanks allallso when id did walk back to my vehicle to see why this mechanic was having so much trouble with it he had taken my air compressor out for to me no apparent reason and he told me he put in his pump to check the system out when there was nothing wrong with mine no0w im wonder ing he switched pumps with mine to get futher work after it goes down the road I sure hope this isnt the case.

 

Is this a dealer repair? Also, what type (brand) of extended warranty do you have?

 

My 2cents is that I would argue it. Take it the full Ford complaint system if you have to. You paid good money for the waranty.

The mechanic obviously did not have any idea about what he was doing. Switching compressors as a test is certainly not SOP for a full service garage - maybe for a poor, ignorant home mechanic like me, but then I don't charge. Ask to see the shop manual procedure and verify that it was followed. It is pitiful that a dealer would have to stoop to remove and replace parts until the defective part is found.

 

Thanks for the replys my extended warranty is with warrantybynet seems like a very good one to me. They pay for parts and flat rate for labor I checked and ford pays 4 tenths hour for checking out the system my dealer took 3 hours so they charged me 2.5 hours labor at 88 bucks and hour for what i would call a very incompetent technecian . And would have been longer im sure if i hadnt walked back to my navi and asked him if he had checked the rear height sensor since it was setting on the frame in the rear he said he would check that next. bingo gee how could that be it. I have checked the ford service manual and they give you a block by block instruction with the scannar to check the intire system you know the kind check this did it work yes no go here or go to the next step i guess that why they only pay such a short time there is only like 16 parts and that includes air lines shocks and air springs. and no where did it say to pull the compressor unless that was the problem . And yes i plan to fight this all the way . I will be going back to the dealer Monday to have the part installed which ford pays 2 tenths hour to replace but they said they need it all day that i defently will not let happen.They told me they would have to reprogram the computer for ride height and it takes time.but what i have read all it is is moving the sensor up or down to get 2.6 volts on the scanner and thats about it i will print that page and present it to them and see what happens maybe i should have told them i have been in skilled trades for 40 years as an machine repairman and am somewhat knoladgable about air logic, hydraulics,electric, ect. i will keep you posted after Monday

 

You work hard for your money, you are doing the right thing. Knowledge is power.

 

Well, I know for a fact that if a tech at my dealer exceeds diag time specified by Ford, they do not get paid for it. There are very few exceptions when the dealer makes up the difference. My net advice is ask the dealer to not charge you for the additional diag time based on the flat rate.

I will at this time advise you and all other Ford owners that Ford's ESP Premium Care warranty is the only one to go with, if you want little/no excuses/surprises.

 

I had some repair work done once that was twice as long as what the service manual says it should take. They ate the extra labor. That is the way it shoud be. definately fight it.

 

I won the battle. went to the dealer today with print outs from alldata.com which i have a subscription for my 02 Navigator printed the whole diagnostic procedure for my rear suspension failure and ask the service wrighter how he could justify the 3 hours labor when Ford will only pay 4 tenths hour for the procedure he gave me a song and dance which i suspected would happen and i ask him why a service tech would have to pull my compressor and put another one in for the diagnostic test. and told the service rep we would lock horns if my compressor failed in the near future.OK well after a lengthly discussion he did agree to reimburse me 2 hours of the 3 he charged me for diagnostic. they put the new height sensor in it worked fine they pull my Navi outside i go out to leave start it up put it in reverse and the compressor kicks on and it sounded like everything under the hood was coming apart. and before i never hardly heard it run. Now im pissed to say the least.go right back in get the service rep he comes out listens to it pulls it back in has the tech look at it.Tech says compressor is bad he thinks. After much argueing with the service rep and the tech they put in a new compressor at no charge for parts or labor Idrive offa happy ma n With the help from this very knowagable forum and the wealth of info on alldata I was able to go to battle with the dealer and felt i won thanks all for your comments.