Beware: Heat Exchanger not covered under warranty

[Freeb22]

Posting this as a caution to anyone considering a hybrid. This is concerning the heat exchanger which seems to be a common issue. I took delivery of my truck 3-28-2022. Around September with 20,000 miles I had an appointment scheduled for an engine shield recall. Days before my appointment, I began to get notifications in the app that battery power was low and all remote systems were disabled. Dealer found no issue causing this. Now at 38,000 miles, I have a check engine light with codes 237c and 237d. The cause was deemed to be the heat exchanger in the hybrid system (GREAT! Should be under the hybrid system warranty). Wrong. Sent home with the vehicle and told it is safe to drive. After speaking with the warranty department, I’m on my own for a $1500 repair on a part that should be covered under warranty. I have a shake at idle that started when the check engine light came on also. I was told that sometimes they’d offer to cover the cost based on circumstances but since I’m not a loyal ford customer, I’m out of luck. Mind you, I’m 26 and this is my first new vehicle ever owned. Just beware that after the 36,000 mile warranty, it’s a crapshoot whether anything (including power train) will be covered. Despite being maintained based on the maintenance schedule and services being done at the dealer, ford doesn’t care. Mine will be for sale after this repair and I’ll be Toyota shopping again based on solely customer service. My dealer’s service manager told me that this seems to be a common theme with ford’s warranty department in the last year. He told me that they thought it would be covered without question and he even requested it be covered again to no avail.
I don’t see this vehicle making it to 100,000 miles without extensive repairs and costs.

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[thevol]

That does suck but not surprising. Most warrantys suck and they are gonna find a way to get out of them after 36k, or even before it possible. Ford has openly admitted they are getting hammered with warranty/quality problems.

 

[shadowthrone]

Between working with a good dealer and asking nicely at the warranty department, this kind of thing would typically be covered. Though going into a new model it would be recommended buying an extended warranty, cause you know - we are the beta testers.

 

[LVMaverick]

That sucks especially with that expensive of a repair. I know many people don't like buying extended warranties but something many should consider for the Maverick, especially the Hybrid. Ford ESP is not extremely expensive. Just one repair like this could easily pay for the warranty.

 

[Freeb22]

Didn't you just post the same exact whiny thing in another thread?

I wouldn’t call it whiny, just beware that this is my experience as one of the higher mile mavericks at this time. I did make a separate forum post just because this one may get buried. I have been pleased with the effort from my dealer but it seems they’re having the same issues with ford as I am.

 

[Sirk]

Ford's powertrain warranty is 5 years/60,000 miles. The warranty book doesn't specifically spell out what component are covered by that part of the warranty, but I would tend to think a heat exchanger would be considered a powertrain component. Maybe @Ford Motor Company can give you some guidance.

 

[jahl]

This is a good thing for people to read when considering purchasing an extended warranty. You can get a 10 year 100k miles Premium plan for about $1600 ($1400 if you apply $210 of your fordpass points earned for buying the truck).

Not to mention repairs in 5-8-10 years will be more expensive than they are now.

 

[pa-outdoorsman]

Well, I do feel bad for you. Then again, at 36,001 miles, you are OUT OF WARRANTY. So, while it would be awesome if Ford would step up to the plate and take care of you, they are not obligated to do so. And while your frustration is understandable, it is what it is.

Buying an extended warranty, or not buying one, is a gamble. Either way, there's a 50 percent chance you wasted money. If you buy the extended warranty and never need a major repair, you lost. If you don't buy the extended warranty and do have a major repair, you lost.

We all have to decide which side of that gamble we want to be on when the time comes.

 

[Scupking]

Well, I do feel bad for you. Then again, at 36,001 miles, you are OUT OF WARRANTY. So, while it would be awesome if Ford would step up to the plate and take care of you, they are not obligated to do so. And while your frustration is understandable, it is what it is.

Buying an extended warranty, or not buying one, is a gamble. Either way, there's a 50 percent chance you wasted money. If you buy the extended warranty and never need a major repair, you lost. If you don't buy the extended warranty and do have a major repair, you lost.

We all have to decide which side of that gamble we want to be on when the time comes.

It's the hybrid components covered 8 year 100,000 miles? I would think this is part of the hybrid systems.

 

[Freeb22]

Well, I do feel bad for you. Then again, at 36,001 miles, you are OUT OF WARRANTY. So, while it would be awesome if Ford would step up to the plate and take care of you, they are not obligated to do so. And while your frustration is understandable, it is what it is.

Buying an extended warranty, or not buying one, is a gamble. Either way, there's a 50 percent chance you wasted money. If you buy the extended warranty and never need a major repair, you lost. If you don't buy the extended warranty and do have a major repair, you lost.

We all have to decide which side of that gamble we want to be on when the time comes.

Out of warranty? Bumper to bumper, yes. I’m not out of powertrain or hybrid warranty for a while. There has been other cases where this was covered under the powertrain warranty. I’ll update if anything changes.

 

[Greg_in_GA]

You are lucky in that you can likely sell it for about what you paid for it once it is fixed so that sounds like a good option since you have lost confidence in it. Be sure to have an independent mechanic look at it since it may not really be that problem or it could be a lot less expensive to fix especially if you can get a salvage part for it. You can also ask the dealership how much they would pay you for it.

It was decades ago with a Nissan Sentra but I had lots of problems with it including having the transmission replaced under the warranty. It was before the lemon laws was in that state. It was getting near the end of the 3 year full warranty so I was getting worried.

In the manual it had an defined escalation process to go through if you dispute something like the warranty repair. It went something like talk to the service manager, talk to the general manager, then escalate it to the Nissan corporate office. Until you had gone through the prior steps the corporate office would not take a complaint seriously. They had a corporate department for warranty issues. I went through the process by sending each of the people on the list a certified letter stating the problem then calling them or talking to them in person.

It took a about two weeks but I eventually got to right corporate person who had the job title of something like Regional Warranty Manager. He was actually very reasonable and more important he had the power to do something. He agree the situation was unacceptable and we agreed that a reasonable solution was for them to give me an extended warranty and to call him directedly if I had more problems and we would "work something out" and it sounded like he had the authority to do a buyback in extreme cases.

The service department knew that corporate was involved and I think I only had it in the shop one more time under the extended warranty. I suspect that when the car was in the shop they may have done more work than what was on the service sheet.

I would suggest calling the Ford 800 number and asking for details on their warranty escalation process, not just a way to complain about the dealer. They may also have an arbitration process that you could look into.

Be polite and business like in dealing with them since the people you will be dealing with have a lot of discretion in how to handle it.

Do not threaten a lawsuit since that may automatically get your complaint turned over to the legal department once you say that.

 

[dags1207]

I had a similar issue with a Honda Accord (leaking sunroof). The part was usually not covered under warranty, but a call to Honda corporate and explanation of the issue (that it was due to manufacturing defect), the part and labor was covered. Sometimes a little bit of legwork is needed to have items approved under warranty.

 

[Nw_adventure]

Isn't this covered under the 8 year Hybrid component warranty like someone else mentioned ?

 

[BradnChristine]

This is a good thing for people to read when considering purchasing an extended warranty. You can get a 10 year 100k miles Premium plan for about $1600 ($1400 if you apply $210 of your fordpass points earned for buying the truck).

Not to mention repairs in 5-8-10 years will be more expensive than they are now.

I usually hate extended warranties, but there is no way I would forego buying a 10 year warranty for my Maverick. They only had 8 year max for my C-Max, which was less than $1k. The Maverick will be about the same price, as I will only need 48k miles.

I've had nothing but oil changes for my C-Max, but that 8 year piece of mind is well worth it. CHEAP insurance at less than $100 a year!

 

[Chris_G]

It's the hybrid components covered 8 year 100,000 miles? I would think this is part of the hybrid systems.

If the Ecoboost doesn't have this part, point well made!

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