Recentrly purchased an 05 F150 Lariat w/ 15500 miles on here. I love the truck, but it has a ticking/knocking sound on start-up when its cold. Sound lasts till truck has warmed up and is more noticable first thing in the morning...

Took the truck to the local Ford dealer (not going to mention any names till this plays out) and they said it would not be covered under warranty because the dealer I purchased the truck from did not use a Ford oil filter! Is this true? I never had any warranty issues in the past for using an aftermarket filter!

Any one experiance a situation like this, both w/ the warranty and the sound my truck is making? What to do??

Thanks in advance for any help,
-AL-

 

The sound yes, I think it's pretty common on our trucks. But the filter I'm not too sure about...?

 

You don't have to use a ford motorcraft filter. Any filter that meets specs will do. call the regional Ford service rep in your area and complain

 

Check the brand of filter that was used and check thier website to see if they say warranty approved. And if any dealer is going to try this excuse as a cop-out, DONT USE THEM!!!!! In 15 years working for dealerships I've had to deny warranty once for a bad off-brand filter, but only because the filter failed and collapsed causing engine damage. This noise is common enough that for a dealership to deny warranty for the use of an off-brand filter is just ignorant.

 

Man I hate reading stories like this. It makes me completely lose faith in human spirit and sincerity and just proves that Ford has little control over their dealers with respect to protecting their customers from predatory service departments. They can't void your warranty over an aftermarket, non-motorcraft filter. I'm willing to bet the filter used by the used dealer was probably a Wix or Fram, both of which meet standards for these engines. That ticking and hard start condition is well known and documented with the 5.4L engines. So, unless you had a filter purchased from the local dollar store that was physically sucked into the engine I'd say you have every right to have a conversation with Ford Customer Service and the service guys supervisor.

Laws were pasted in this country long ago to protect consumers from being forced to buy an auto makers consumable products (consumables are those items that must be replaced periodically like filters and tires). If that were the case there would be no competition and we'd be paying $100 for an oil filter and several thousand for a set of Ford Brand F150 Tires.

It would be nice if we could start keeping record of the dealers and personnel that try to bilk consumers with these types of issues.

All of that being said, use the Motorcraft FL-820S...it's only a few bucks at Wally World. Good luck to ya.

 

Cam phazers..... more prevelant if you listen through the passenger wheel well??

 

Thanks for the quick replies ppl...

Like I said, this all took place maybe three weeks ago... Normally, I would just go to another dealership and say the hell with it. But this place is just down the road from my work and makes dropping it off for service so convenient...

I am giving them one more chance to make right. I am dropping it off Monday for an oil change and again asked them to address the issue. I also told them if they were not going to fix it because of the filter, that I wanted it in righting! So I can either talk to the higher ups at Ford or to take the truck back to the (cough, cough) Chevy dealership where I purchased the truck from...

They are also supposed to be addressing another issue for me. There is a small paint bubble forming on the hood. It is where the top corner edge of the grill meets the hood. I know once rust starts to form, it has to be treated properly (i.e., not just using touch-up paint)... How should they properly fix this problem?

Again, thanks for the info posted already..
-AL-

 

Bingo! That is exactly where I hear it the loudest... If they will not warranty it, is it an expensive fix?

Would this also cause the engine power to be inconsistant? seems sometimes my truck launches VERY strong, other times it seems like im pulling a trailer...