I purchased a brand new 06 F250 in Sept 06. I thought by buying brand new I wouldnt have to deal with break downs and if there were any they would be covered on warranty.( If I was not at fault).
In Jan 08 my truck started bogging down when putting on the gas. It felt like a fuel pump issue.( I know 3 other 05 f350 drivers that had the same thing happen and warrenty covered them.) I took my truck in for overnight service thinking that the warranty would cover the truck and hotel expenses (like it states in the warranty).

Man Was I Wrong...

Here are the details of the interaction with Ford of Ft McMurry Alberta:

Got my truck in for 7pm appointment for a pick up of 3am.
Went to pick up at 5 am and nothing had been done but I was told that the fuel pump was only pumping 8psi instead of 50psi and needed to be replaced (they wanted to make sure I knew I would have to pay and it would most likely not be warrantied; they wont even send them out).
I told them I needed it fixed because my wife is pregnant and due in couple weeks and I have to drive home.
They dropped the gas tank and pulled the fuel pump and told me it wouldnt be covered because the pre filters (mainly the fine filter)on the fuel pump were clogged with a fine dirt. I had a look and there it was, a fine dirt on the filter. They wanted to show me if there was contaminated fuel in the tank so we looked in the gas tank with a flashlight to see small amount of fine silt.

Heres the kicker... In the channel of the seal on the tank there was a fine silt like wet dust. It was built up on the inside and outside edges of the interior of the channel. There was also a smattering across the bottom where the o ring is supposed to be tightly seated.

I asked why there was dirt on the inside of the seal as I pointed out where the build up was located. They tried to blow it off as dirt the tech got on it from taking the tank off.(this could not because the dirt was compressed in the channel and had been there for some time.)
I was told that the seal couldnt be faulty or the check fuel cap light would go on on. I told them I had seen that warning come on a few times but I thought it was a glitch because I checked and the gas cap was on just fine each time the warning came on.
I was then told by the sevice manager that they wouldnt send it in for warranty because they were afraid of having it "kicked back and how are we suposed to get payed"and "it would tie up three people in the warranty dept." I offered to give them my MC # and they could bill me if it wasnt warrantied. I was told "No" I was also told that the particular tech that did my repair replaces 3 or 4 fuel pumps every day and Ford wont warranty them. The service manager told me that he got stuck with $70,000 worth of fuel pumps that Ford would not warranty.
So I had to pay to have it done and for the new fuel pump.

$1,264 for a fuel pump from an authorized Ford Dealer and Service Dept????On a truck with around 38,000 kilometers. (23-24 thousand Miles)
$1,264 for the pump and $214 for the room.

Almost $1,500 for a a faulty seal on the gas tank that caused fine dust to enter the tank and clog the filter.

On the way out I asked the tech if they knew if the fuel pump was burnt out or if the filter was just clogged and he told me he didnt know if there was anything wrong with the fuel pump it could have just been the filter... NICE!

$1,478 nice. with no waranty.


What do you think ??????
I was told by someone who worked at Ford that it should have be warantied but Ford customer service tries to tell me that Its my fault for putting in contaminated fuel.
I only fill up at reputable gas stations and I dont think any are using dirt as a new additive. I also steer clear of any gas station that is being fueled up by a tanker truck to avoid contaminants.
Dirt in the channel of the gas tank/fuel pump seal I think is a bit of an indicator that therin lays the faulty part.

Give me some feedback. Has this happened to anyone else. Do you think Ford is not being honourable? I kinda feel screwed and that I'm being told to just bend over and smile by anyone I talk to at Ford.

I still loved my 95 PSTD f250. But I dont think Ford is stepping up to help remedy this problem with my 2006. Mabe its time to look elsewhere for a decent truck.

 

How much for a pump? Sounds alot high to me. Usually silt will go through the pump and end up in the filter..whats the part number of that pump?


Dick

 

I would call the dealership manager and explain what happened. If he can't help or won't, I would call Ford customer service and ask for their help. I would not rest until my money was refunded for the repair bill. You were not treated fairly!

Good luck

 

There are two prefilters before the fuel goes through the fuel pump one for large particles and one for fine particles. It was the fine particle prefilter that was clogged. I have all my old parts in a box. I wouldnt mind finding out if its actually burnt out or just had a clogged filter. I'll have to look for that part number; itll be on my bill.

 

I've got an 06 and if that happens to me , I would start with the dealer and head to customer service and flip out.Ford dealers don't get their precious rewards plack for negative feedback

 

I've tried the service manager from the dealership and I tried Ford customer service. They dont really care what I have to say about how they have a flawed part or how the flawed part is how dirt got into the tank in the first place. All they say is that Its my fault the fuel pump had to be replaced because there is contaminated fuel... therefore no warranty.
They dont want to hear that its their fault there is contaminated fuel in my tank.


Thanks for the support mabe if enough people see this story they might start to actually care about their customers and honour thier warranty.

 

Being on the other end (my own shop) I can see it from both sides.

The tech's at any dealership get's 2 types of pay. CP (Customer Pay) and Warranty. Customer Pay is usually 40% more than warranty work. Therefore, it behoves the tech to prove the customer faulty. CP = more pay.

However, there's ways to deal with this and showing your *** needs to be the absolute last resort. Being very humble and appreciative will go alot further than **** and vinager. Trust me. I'd be much more apt to help a customer that was greatfull than one that's a PITA.

That said...

IF the Dealer insists that you pay and won't budge, just kindly shake his hand and pay. Ask for EVERY part removed and any and ALL documentation pretaining to your repair.

You want every bit of the diagnosis report, parts requested report and repair quote. All of it. You want signatures on every bit of it and you want the service manager to sign the work order.

Now you have a paper trail, parts removed and a starting point. Have the pump gone through by an Independent shop. Not a dealer. Take that report and start from the very top. Don't start at the dealer, start from the top of Ford's chain. You want to speak to the Managers Manager.

So far?

Let them know of your findings and ask them to do their own investigating. If infact there was contaminated fuel and infact was the catalyst of your problems, perhaps they'll meet you 1/2 way on the repair. Afterall, they didn't introduce the contamination into the fuel system, however they might be willing to help with the repair.

Just some food for thought. Don't **** off the people that have posession of your vehicle. Unless, of course, your pockets are as deep as theirs.

Cheers.

 

they won't remove the parts without an additional charge, if he approved the repairs in the first place. a nice letter from your counsel will likely go a lot further than taking the time, energy and/or money to go to an independant shop and start from scratch with documentation.

 

The parts he wants is what was replaced. Not asking them to remove the new parts, heh.

I've been approached from folks that have brought me various parts. (Injectors, IDM's, PCM's, etc...) and have been involved with simular debates.

Do what you will, it's your ride. However, keep in mind that you want nothing you don't deserve - you just want everything you deserve.

Cheers.

 

i obviously misunderstood what you were stating. got you now. yes, when i have had work done out of my pocket, i've asked for the old parts back a number times. i certainly wouldn't let $1500 walk away from me too easily!

 

I think you've hit the hammer on the nail... customer pay (or retail pay) is usually 40% more than warranty pay. The shop; this particulare shop charges a wopping $180 per hr.
So if retail pay on $60 an hr is 40%more than warranty... than warranty pay would only pay for 13% of what they are charging.

 

When you guys talk about wanting only what you deserve I think putting 23and a half thousand miles on a vehicle shouldnt leave you with a big bill.
What do I deserve for $50,000? I think it should be a vehicle free of problems and if there is a problem that is not due to misuse on my behalf than the company selling that vehicle would step up and fix their problem themselves.
If warranty doesnt want to pay for the dealerships shop rates and the dealership doesnt want to accept what warranty will pay than why should the customer get dinged for their disagreament.
I only want what is deservid and I would like for anyone else that runs into a simmilar senario to get a fair shake as well.

 

is this a diesel or gas motor--

 

Basically, it boils down to a question of fault. The dirt got into the fuel (according to you) because a seal failed on the fuel tank. The dealership says no, the dirt is from bad fuel.

You have to prove that the dirt was from a bad seal AND that the seal is bad due to a manufacturing defect if you want Ford to pay for this repair.

Never mind all this fluff about what you deserve how much you paid for the truck and all. You don't deserve any better service than a guy who buys a $14,000 Focus. Getting mad and hostile at the dealership does nothing to help your case, it probably hurts the case. Leave your emotions at home. If you can't, hire an attorney.

As for your assertion that you couldn't have gotten bad fuel because you "only fill up at reputable gas stations ", that's a load of horse excrement. I've gotten bad fuel at "name brand" stations.

There are other ways to get dirt on the fuel. Maybe a neighbor kid poured a cup of dirt into your tank because you yelled at him about skateboarding?

 

---DIESEL OR GAS?