Car Maintenance - Page 4

alphabassettgrrl · 07-13-2008, 09:46 PM

We have no problems with the fires. Some hazy skies, but that's about it. I haven't been up to SB recently, though.

I wonder how far Hearst castle is from here. I've never been there. Hopefully I can join in once it gets closer to the time. I'd love to hang with the Lashes - I only got to meet them once at Disneyland and I feel deprived.

NirvanaMan · 07-14-2008, 09:49 AM

Ok if you are losing compression that is particularly bad and totally bizzarre at that low mileage. It is definitely covered by warrenty. If you aren't satisfied with the dealer, take it to a different one. Each dealer is totally independant. There are good ones and bad ones.

Those motors are put through severe tests for hundreds of thousands of miles of durability with proper use. Failure at 30k is beyond odd. But it could be as simple as a bad piston ring from a suplier. These things do happen, but it is odd and you ARE covered by warrenty. Don't take any crap from the dealer if they tell you otherwise.

MouseWife · 07-14-2008, 11:31 AM

Thanks, NM! Yep, they did cover it but, like you say, this is particularly odd at this mileage. I mean, at all, actually. I know we've had vehicles that have overheated and that caused problems with the head. But, that hasn't happened here. When the water hose broke, I actually had been parked and so I didn't lose water while driving, the car didn't overheat. And, this time, I was on 'E' so I'd been watching the gauges so I saw it the moment it came on. Pulled over.

I am pretty upset, even though they have covered the repairs. When we bought this car, it was a big expense for us but we put out the $$ for it so we could have a nice vehicle to travel in and I could use it to get the Boy back and forth to school. I don't cruise around myself much. So, yeah, this really makes us look at this vehicle as a possible problem. And, I worry that for the life of it, I will have problems.

I am thinking, thinking, what to do. I have all of the complaints documented but what will that do for me? Even the promise of always having this problem covered sucks because what if we are on a road trip? I mean, I've been lucky to have broken down just ten miles from home each time.

Sorry, I'm rambling. I've just been thinking and thinking what to do. I loved the thought that it was a pretty new car {bought brand new} and a pleasure to drive on vacations~we've bought a yakima, bike rack, snow chains, things to make it the perfect trip vehicle. Dah!

They said it is ready but we are going to keep the Mustang for our errands today. I don't want to drive the Escape and have it not be 100% while we are up in the mountains {going to visit Gramps}.

Thank you so much for your info, I never thought of going over the general managers head at this dealer, I've had problems before. And, I need to follow up on what BTD said about the warranty work being covered by a different place, like Firestone. Like this work I just had done, if I could do it elsewhere I'd be happy.

MouseWife · 07-30-2008, 10:12 PM

NirvanaMan~I had said I would forget you were a mechanic after you helped me out but....

Who do I contact within the Ford Company? I would rather have some direction instead of just getting something off of their website because I really trust no one!!!

Like I said, it was covered. I was pissed that my manufacturers warranty expired...on July 1st and I had it towed in on the 3rd. I do want to request they rethink that fairness of that, I had to pay only $100 but still, two freakin' days?

I told the the {crap, forget the real term they use...} guy who handled our car that it wasn't fair and what did the company have to say about that? It is a defect from the factory, at this low mileage. He said a car had less miles, sometimes it happens. I said from what I know, once a car has a problem like this, it always has problems. He said no that it was fine.

So...I have barely driven it. A tank of gas, really. And with the not to great gas mileage, not a lot of miles. I only have driven it to work and taken the boy to school, maybe once. So, no more than about 300 miles. In those miles, I felt the car was idling roughly. I had the Hubster drive it, he said 'Eh, don't really think that is anything but if you want to take it in, let's.'

Dropped it off this morning, the guy, to me, was a bit rude. Like, back again? And for what? No one listens to women!!!!!!! He barely spoke to us, and, didn't give us an estimate paper, just said he'd call. He did. Nothing wrong with it, come pick it up.

When I did, I felt a bit foolish but reassured that my car had been looked over and it was safe.....They had driven it 15 miles and put it on the computer, right? So, we are good to go....into the driveway where the freakin' light is already coming on!!!!! WTF???? I call and am pissed. I ask how many times does my car have to have a problem for the company have to say 'it is a problem'? He said 6 or 7.

Anyways, I took it back {I live 3/4 of a mile from the dealer...I know the light did not come on for them because it would have stayed on, but, WTF}. He asks me to leave the car on, I show him it is the same motor light. I ask him if they put it on the computer? Yes, he said. Would that detect a problem?
Then he tried to put it back on me 'That is why I asked you when you dropped it off.....' and I shot back 'I told you when I dropped it off it was idling roughly. Did you put it on the computer????'

ARGH!!! I am soooo disappointed.

I do love my car. You know, if we had ignored the idling and driven it up to L.A. the other day, we'd have never made it to San Juan Capistrano. I am so upset that I have to deal with this. I did not buy a new car to have to listen to every sound, figure out every smell.

I'm sorry. But, can you advise me? Who do I contact?

Thanks if you can help me, and thanks also, if you can't.

Morrigoon · 07-30-2008, 10:16 PM

Takes quite a few issues before you can lemon law it

MouseWife · 07-30-2008, 10:24 PM

A few issues or one issue with a lot of reoccurances? I have had other problems, made other complaints, but, they always say 'put it on the computer, it didn't find anything/couldn't recreate that situation'.

We have all of the paperwork, all of our complaints.

Thanks for that info, Morri. :0)

MouseWife · 07-31-2008, 12:08 PM

Upon research, I have found a link to a site about the Lemon Law. It states that:

"that the defects complained of substantially impair the car's use, value or safety to the consumer.

Generally, under the California lemon law the more severe the problem with the car, the fewer repairs that may be needed to satisfy the reasonable number of attempts requirement. This requirement may also be satisfied if the car was out of service due to warranty repairs for an excessive number of days.

The California lemon law assesses whether the car’s defects substantially impair its use or value or compromises its safety from the view of the consumer who owns and operates the car.

As stated above, the California lemon law provides an extremely effective remedy for consumers who have experienced warranty repairs with their car. Please do not hesitate to contact our office to speak to one of our California lemon law attorneys with any question that you may have regarding your specific situation. Any advice or actual representation that we provide is done at no cost to you."

Really, the problems we've had have always made us feel insecure in this vehicle and I've always felt it wasn't worth crap because of them {I wouldn't sale it to anyone I know}.

Does anyone have any experience with this Lemon Law? Is that last paragraph true, if I go through the attorneys on the website that they will help me and the Ford Co has to pay? Should I contact the Ford Customer Service first or go through the Lemon Law people?

Today they told me a whole bunch of other things that are wrong....

NirvanaMan · 07-31-2008, 06:07 PM

It doesn't sound like a lemon to me, just some bad service from the dealer. Contact FoMoCo's customer service. Explain the issue. If that doesn't work, ask to see the field service manager for your area. He should be able to help straighten things out.

BTW, I am not a mechanic. I am a digital marketing exec.

alphabassettgrrl · 07-31-2008, 06:12 PM

MW- that stinks. I hope they straighten everything out for you.

madmonkeygirl · 07-31-2008, 06:30 PM

My mom had a problem with a Ford dealer when she bought her Ford Explorer. It had problems from the moment she drove it off the lot (it wasn't even brand new but used) so it was in the shop every single day or thereabouts with something else wrong. She made sure she brought it back to the dealership and demanded to trade it in for something more reliable which she ended up with a newer sport model (think Jurrasic Park) vehicle lol... FORD stands for Fix Or Repair Daily but i think you have might have a lemon.

07-13-2008, 09:46 PM	#31
alphabassettgrrl Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 4,978	We have no problems with the fires. Some hazy skies, but that's about it. I haven't been up to SB recently, though. I wonder how far Hearst castle is from here. I've never been there. Hopefully I can join in once it gets closer to the time. I'd love to hang with the Lashes - I only got to meet them once at Disneyland and I feel deprived. __________________ Why cycling? Anything [sport] that had to do with a ball, I wasn't very good at. -Lance Armstrong
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07-14-2008, 09:49 AM	#32
NirvanaMan Making Change Happen Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 990	Ok if you are losing compression that is particularly bad and totally bizzarre at that low mileage. It is definitely covered by warrenty. If you aren't satisfied with the dealer, take it to a different one. Each dealer is totally independant. There are good ones and bad ones. Those motors are put through severe tests for hundreds of thousands of miles of durability with proper use. Failure at 30k is beyond odd. But it could be as simple as a bad piston ring from a suplier. These things do happen, but it is odd and you ARE covered by warrenty. Don't take any crap from the dealer if they tell you otherwise.
	Submit to Quotes

07-14-2008, 11:31 AM	#33
MouseWife Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Da' Beach Posts: 2,957	Thanks, NM! Yep, they did cover it but, like you say, this is particularly odd at this mileage. I mean, at all, actually. I know we've had vehicles that have overheated and that caused problems with the head. But, that hasn't happened here. When the water hose broke, I actually had been parked and so I didn't lose water while driving, the car didn't overheat. And, this time, I was on 'E' so I'd been watching the gauges so I saw it the moment it came on. Pulled over. I am pretty upset, even though they have covered the repairs. When we bought this car, it was a big expense for us but we put out the $$ for it so we could have a nice vehicle to travel in and I could use it to get the Boy back and forth to school. I don't cruise around myself much. So, yeah, this really makes us look at this vehicle as a possible problem. And, I worry that for the life of it, I will have problems. I am thinking, thinking, what to do. I have all of the complaints documented but what will that do for me? Even the promise of always having this problem covered sucks because what if we are on a road trip? I mean, I've been lucky to have broken down just ten miles from home each time. Sorry, I'm rambling. I've just been thinking and thinking what to do. I loved the thought that it was a pretty new car {bought brand new} and a pleasure to drive on vacations~we've bought a yakima, bike rack, snow chains, things to make it the perfect trip vehicle. Dah! They said it is ready but we are going to keep the Mustang for our errands today. I don't want to drive the Escape and have it not be 100% while we are up in the mountains {going to visit Gramps}. Thank you so much for your info, I never thought of going over the general managers head at this dealer, I've had problems before. And, I need to follow up on what BTD said about the warranty work being covered by a different place, like Firestone. Like this work I just had done, if I could do it elsewhere I'd be happy. __________________ Summa' time....when the livins' easy.........
	Submit to Quotes

07-30-2008, 10:12 PM	#34
MouseWife Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Da' Beach Posts: 2,957	NirvanaMan~I had said I would forget you were a mechanic after you helped me out but.... Who do I contact within the Ford Company? I would rather have some direction instead of just getting something off of their website because I really trust no one!!! Like I said, it was covered. I was pissed that my manufacturers warranty expired...on July 1st and I had it towed in on the 3rd. I do want to request they rethink that fairness of that, I had to pay only $100 but still, two freakin' days? I told the the {crap, forget the real term they use...} guy who handled our car that it wasn't fair and what did the company have to say about that? It is a defect from the factory, at this low mileage. He said a car had less miles, sometimes it happens. I said from what I know, once a car has a problem like this, it always has problems. He said no that it was fine. So...I have barely driven it. A tank of gas, really. And with the not to great gas mileage, not a lot of miles. I only have driven it to work and taken the boy to school, maybe once. So, no more than about 300 miles. In those miles, I felt the car was idling roughly. I had the Hubster drive it, he said 'Eh, don't really think that is anything but if you want to take it in, let's.' Dropped it off this morning, the guy, to me, was a bit rude. Like, back again? And for what? No one listens to women!!!!!!! He barely spoke to us, and, didn't give us an estimate paper, just said he'd call. He did. Nothing wrong with it, come pick it up. When I did, I felt a bit foolish but reassured that my car had been looked over and it was safe.....They had driven it 15 miles and put it on the computer, right? So, we are good to go....into the driveway where the freakin' light is already coming on!!!!! WTF???? I call and am pissed. I ask how many times does my car have to have a problem for the company have to say 'it is a problem'? He said 6 or 7. Anyways, I took it back {I live 3/4 of a mile from the dealer...I know the light did not come on for them because it would have stayed on, but, WTF}. He asks me to leave the car on, I show him it is the same motor light. I ask him if they put it on the computer? Yes, he said. Would that detect a problem? Then he tried to put it back on me 'That is why I asked you when you dropped it off.....' and I shot back 'I told you when I dropped it off it was idling roughly. Did you put it on the computer????' ARGH!!! I am soooo disappointed. I do love my car. You know, if we had ignored the idling and driven it up to L.A. the other day, we'd have never made it to San Juan Capistrano. I am so upset that I have to deal with this. I did not buy a new car to have to listen to every sound, figure out every smell. I'm sorry. But, can you advise me? Who do I contact? Thanks if you can help me, and thanks also, if you can't. __________________ Summa' time....when the livins' easy.........
	Submit to Quotes

07-30-2008, 10:16 PM	#35
Morrigoon I throw stones at houses Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Location: Location Posts: 9,534	Takes quite a few issues before you can lemon law it __________________ http://bash.org/?top "It is useless for sheep to pass a resolution in favor of vegetarianism while wolves remain of a different opinion." -- William Randolph Inge
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07-30-2008, 10:24 PM	#36
MouseWife Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Da' Beach Posts: 2,957	A few issues or one issue with a lot of reoccurances? I have had other problems, made other complaints, but, they always say 'put it on the computer, it didn't find anything/couldn't recreate that situation'. We have all of the paperwork, all of our complaints. Thanks for that info, Morri. :0) __________________ Summa' time....when the livins' easy.........
	Submit to Quotes

07-31-2008, 12:08 PM	#37
MouseWife Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Da' Beach Posts: 2,957	Upon research, I have found a link to a site about the Lemon Law. It states that: "that the defects complained of substantially impair the car's use, value or safety to the consumer. Generally, under the California lemon law the more severe the problem with the car, the fewer repairs that may be needed to satisfy the reasonable number of attempts requirement. This requirement may also be satisfied if the car was out of service due to warranty repairs for an excessive number of days. The California lemon law assesses whether the car’s defects substantially impair its use or value or compromises its safety from the view of the consumer who owns and operates the car. As stated above, the California lemon law provides an extremely effective remedy for consumers who have experienced warranty repairs with their car. Please do not hesitate to contact our office to speak to one of our California lemon law attorneys with any question that you may have regarding your specific situation. Any advice or actual representation that we provide is done at no cost to you." Really, the problems we've had have always made us feel insecure in this vehicle and I've always felt it wasn't worth crap because of them {I wouldn't sale it to anyone I know}. Does anyone have any experience with this Lemon Law? Is that last paragraph true, if I go through the attorneys on the website that they will help me and the Ford Co has to pay? Should I contact the Ford Customer Service first or go through the Lemon Law people? Today they told me a whole bunch of other things that are wrong.... __________________ Summa' time....when the livins' easy.........
	Submit to Quotes

07-31-2008, 06:07 PM	#38
NirvanaMan Making Change Happen Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 990	It doesn't sound like a lemon to me, just some bad service from the dealer. Contact FoMoCo's customer service. Explain the issue. If that doesn't work, ask to see the field service manager for your area. He should be able to help straighten things out. BTW, I am not a mechanic. I am a digital marketing exec.
	Submit to Quotes

07-31-2008, 06:12 PM	#39
alphabassettgrrl Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 4,978	MW- that stinks. I hope they straighten everything out for you. __________________ Why cycling? Anything [sport] that had to do with a ball, I wasn't very good at. -Lance Armstrong
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07-31-2008, 06:30 PM	#40
madmonkeygirl Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 764	Car Maintenance My mom had a problem with a Ford dealer when she bought her Ford Explorer. It had problems from the moment she drove it off the lot (it wasn't even brand new but used) so it was in the shop every single day or thereabouts with something else wrong. She made sure she brought it back to the dealership and demanded to trade it in for something more reliable which she ended up with a newer sport model (think Jurrasic Park) vehicle lol... FORD stands for Fix Or Repair Daily but i think you have might have a lemon.
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