Love my truck, hate the company

[MMaverick]

To clarify: If I could buy the part and have it fixed myself I would. The dealership I bought the truck from was very transparent and told me the parts needed for the recall repair are in very very short supply. You can only get the parts if you take the truck to a dealership and the inspection has to show that you are experiencing the no start issue to get the part to correct the no start issue. Then you are put on a list of other truck owners who also have vehicles that don’t start and wait for the part to show up. Which they told me may take anywhere from two weeks to a month.

I last saw the Ford rep on the transmissions threads. He asked one of the people in the thread who had a "bad" tranny to message him privately. This was at most a few days ago here: https://www.mavericktruckclub.com/forum/threads/rough-clunky-transmission.23476/

Sponsored

 

[rlynncorbett]

Couple of takeaways/lessons.
1) Don't take unproven vehicles to remote locations
2) If you do take a warrantied vehicle to a remote location where a dealer is unavailable, be prepared to pay for your own parts and labor or bring a lot of zip ties, duct tape, and bubblegum to McGyver your way out of a jam.

I ain't saying it's right, but it is reality.

The issue is that I cannot buy the part…Ford doesn’t have enough for everyone. You have to have it inspected at a dealership to get the correct part. Though I have seen quite a few post of people making up their own solutions

 

[rlynncorbett]

I last saw the Ford rep on the transmissions threads. He asked one of the people in the thread who had a "bad" tranny to message him privately. This was at most a few days ago here: https://www.mavericktruckclub.com/forum/threads/rough-clunky-transmission.23476/

Thanks! I will give it a try.

 

[rlynncorbett]

I have to wonder though. What company would have covered shipping your truck off island for recall service or would have sent a Ford teck to your island to remotely service it? Granted they could have just sent you the part. I also wonder if calling around to different service centers around the country if they couldnt send you the part without going through Fords recall and then have your guy install it and once you leave the island if you ever do have a check on the recall performed at a official service center? This is coming from a guy on a island. A bigger island, but still stuck with island issues.

That my issue. At this point I just want the part. But I’ve been told I can only get the part by having it inspected at a dealership to confirm that I actually need it, they currently only have enough parts to fix the cars that don’t start. So if your car starts you have to wait for it to not turn on to get the recall work done.

 

[rlynncorbett]

Never said a janky shop.

Maybe I should have clarified that it needs to be AUTHORIZED by FORD. I'm sure the chances of them doing it outside of their own dealership network are slim to none, but the warranty is with the manufacturer, not the dealer. Any authorized shop should be able to do the repairs. Sorry for the confusion of my use on the word "certified"... but I'm not referring to anyone that can print out a piece of paper with the word on it and a fake stamp, I'm referring to certified FORD technicians. They do exist outside of the dealership network. Fordtechmakuloco and his BSG Automotive shop is one for example. He's mentioned performing warranty work numerous times on his videos after dealerships have failed to address the issues.

I agree about the location issues which is why I asked for clarification on the location to find the closest location because it's obviously not the one on the island OP is on.

You’re right about the mechanic. There used to be a ford dealership on island, so our mechanic is a master technician with Ford. But they will only give the part to people whose cars are inspected by a dealership. Supposedly they don’t have enough for everyone so is a by need basis. Our mechanic is amazing and trying to work with a dealership in Seattle to help us but that’s just because he’s a really good guy that feels bad about our situation. I posted here because I figured if anyone would know a work around it would be another maverick owner.

 

[rlynncorbett]

This is the kind of ridiculous story that the book Catch-22 was written about. The rule says it has to be done by a Ford mechanic but the truck is owned by a serving military member on a remote island so it must come to the mechanic. Because no one has the initiative or brains to figure out that it's a lot cheaper and a whole lot better for the corporate reputation to send the part and a mechanic to the truck.

The selling dealer has nothing to do with this unless they are still the closest dealer. This should be Ford picking up the phone, calling the nearest dealer to the customer and arranging for the customer vehicle to get fixed under warranty or having their tech walk the local mechanic through the repair. This isn't when anyone should start quoting rules and pretending it's a situation for which the rules were written.

This is why I’m so frustrated. Every time I talk to customer service, I ask the question: how do you not have a policy for dealing with owners in remote locations? America is huge and you’re an American company. We cannot be the first to have this issue or the last.

 

[Old Ford Guy]

This is the kind of ridiculous story that the book Catch-22 was written about. The rule says it has to be done by a Ford mechanic but the truck is owned by a serving military member on a remote island so it must come to the mechanic. Because no one has the initiative or brains to figure out that it's a lot cheaper and a whole lot better for the corporate reputation to send the part and a mechanic to the truck.

The selling dealer has nothing to do with this unless they are still the closest dealer. This should be Ford picking up the phone, calling the nearest dealer to the customer and arranging for the customer vehicle to get fixed under warranty or having their tech walk the local mechanic through the repair. This isn't when anyone should start quoting rules and pretending it's a situation for which the rules were written.

i couldnt agree more. in any large orginisation if u go high enough up the food chain there is ALWAYS someone in the coporate structure that has the requisite authority to just ship the needed part to a shop that Ford can authorize to do this 'one off' recall repair.

the hard part would be identifying a shop on the island in question and letting them do the repair or just send a Ford tech on a all exspences paid trip to the island to do the repair in the nearest available facility.

 

[Maverickman74]

That my issue. At this point I just want the part. But I’ve been told I can only get the part by having it inspected at a dealership to confirm that I actually need it, they currently only have enough parts to fix the cars that don’t start. So if your car starts you have to wait for it to not turn on to get the recall work done.

Im not familiar with the issue or the part that causes it, but I would bet that part is available on a escape or a corsair. Might be a different part number but if you can squeeze some clarification on what it is out of em. Then maybe you can cross reference and get what you need. Just dont tell em you fixed it on your own until they are ready to do it somehow. Just throwin ideas at ya.

 

[Senior Master Ford Guy]

It shouldn't matter who services it and most states have laws to protect the consumer so that any shop can do said repairs especially under warranty.

We are not talking about a minor issue like an air bag recall that does not necessarily have to be done... the vehicle is "no start" and it's a 100% FORD related issue. At that point, for such a huge company, it shouldn't matter where the person is. Any certified shop should be able to do the repairs.

Sorry, but I chose the side of the consumer. Especially one that is serving their country and has no real choice on their location.

FYI-The only "shops" " certified" to perform Ford warranty repairs are Ford(and /or Lincoln) dealerships, and at that we have enough problems with some(so-called) technicians not performing the work properly.

 

[YazYaz]

I absolutely love my Ford Maverick hybrid. However, I am in the military and was required to move from California to a tiny island in Alaska. The truck handled Alaska like a champ.

Then we were issued a no start recall. No problem! There’s a ford mechanic on the island. However, 8 months later still no part for the recall. One day our truck doesn't start.

Now ford customer service says that we MUST take it to a dealership to receive the part which you only get when your car doesn't start. It’s $2,000 to ship a car off the island one way. 20 days later no help from ford customer service, just two closed cases files because our issue was “resolved”. Also, no alternate means of transportation. I was forced by necessity to buy a beater. Great truck, bad company. It’s a real shame because my grandpa taught me to always go Ford. But never again.

I may have missed it but what exactly is the part needed?

 

[Red Ryder]

FYI-The only "shops" " certified" to perform Ford warranty repairs are Ford(and /or Lincoln) dealerships, and at that we have enough problems with some(so-called) technicians not performing the work properly.

In my case, I took it to two sizable Ford dealerships (there are 14 within 60 miles), but I couldn't get acknowledgement that I had the problem identified in TSB-22-2340 or the follow-up overlay fix.
As you know, full voltage at the 12V battery vs. none to little at the underhood jump points is worth consideration. Unfortunately, I had a 12V accessory installed early on that got incorrectly documented as problematic and it stuck for life regarding this issue. Each time I took it back for the overlay issue, they blamed it on a nonexistent current draw from a nonexistent accessory. It had been removed long before, but apparently, customers are idiots. This went on and on, even the Ford account on the forum (which I believe just collects metrics) was ineffective, as nothing was ever resolved.
The isolated service-member's situation sucks, but I question whether it would be any better where I'm located.

 

[Senior Master Ford Guy]

In my case, I took it to two sizable Ford dealerships (there are 14 within 60 miles), but I couldn't get acknowledgement that I had the problem identified in TSB-22-2340 or the follow-up overlay fix.
As you know, full voltage at the 12V battery vs. none to little at the underhood jump points is worth consideration. Unfortunately, I had a 12V accessory installed early on that got incorrectly documented as problematic and it stuck for life regarding this issue. Each time I took it back for the overlay issue, they blamed it on a nonexistent current draw from a nonexistent accessory. It had been removed long before, but apparently, customers are idiots. This went on and on, even the Ford account on the forum (which I believe just collects metrics) was ineffective, as nothing was ever resolved.
The isolated service-member's situation sucks, but I question whether it would be any better where I'm located.

In your case it's not the customer who is the idiot. The literature clearly states that the dealership is to replace it whether or not there is a present problem with the vehicle, and although there has been a delay in parts availability since this was released, emergency orders of the part can be placed for downed vehicles( a V.O.R. order-vehicle off road) and those are typically filled as soon as the part stock is available( ahead of a normal order for stock or a vehicle still drivable/not experiencing the problem) . I encourage any and all Maverick owners with trucks that meet the following criteria to get this replaced prior to June 30 2024 for free, obviously if it becomes a problem under warranty (3/36) it will still be free but once vehicle is out of 3/36 this becomes a customer pay issue. From what I can see this is not considered a " hybrid powertrain component" and is not covered by the 10 year/150000 hybrid powertrain warranty. The vehicles that fall under this customer satisfaction program are listed as follows:

 

[Red Ryder]

The literature clearly states that the dealership is to replace it whether or not there is a present problem with the vehicle, and although there has been a delay in parts availability since this was released, emergency orders of the part can be placed for downed vehicles( a V.O.R. order-vehicle off road) and those are typically filled as soon as the part stock is available( ahead of a normal order for stock or a vehicle still drivable/not experiencing the problem) . I encourage any and all Maverick owners with trucks that meet the following criteria to get this replaced prior to June 30 2024 for free, obviously if it becomes a problem under warranty (3/36) it will still be free but once vehicle is out of 3/36 this becomes a customer pay issue.

Thanks Mike. Just as Ford's products represent the brand's value to the customer, so do the experts that provide the ongoing service and repair for the product. I don't know what's going on in my area, but it was almost surreal trying to find resolution, and yet it seems so obvious to those who understand. This wasn't a daunting technical issue. There are others on the forum that likewise had issues "proving the condition" even after the TSB evolved to the CSP. I know Ford likely wanted to avoid an all-out recall due to cost concerns, but some owners paid dearly due to the dealership experience resulting in no action/no resolution.
Hopefully, Ford will learn to identify owners struggling with issues like the OP, and intervene with some genuinely helpful and useful support.

Wish you would have been involved with my Maverick's situation.

 

[1929]

I absolutely love my Ford Maverick hybrid. However, I am in the military and was required to move from California to a tiny island in Alaska. The truck handled Alaska like a champ.

Then we were issued a no start recall. No problem! There’s a ford mechanic on the island. However, 8 months later still no part for the recall. One day our truck doesn't start.

Now ford customer service says that we MUST take it to a dealership to receive the part which you only get when your car doesn't start. It’s $2,000 to ship a car off the island one way. 20 days later no help from ford customer service, just two closed cases files because our issue was “resolved”. Also, no alternate means of transportation. I was forced by necessity to buy a beater. Great truck, bad company. It’s a real shame because my grandpa taught me to always go Ford. But never again.

Forgive me if I'm restating the obvious. Is the nearest Alaska Ford dealership aware of your situation and refusing to work with you to resolve your problem? I'm retired military now. I faced a situation similar to yours many years ago with Toyota. Arranged for dealer to provide needed part at my cost and then shipped failed part to them and they reimbursed me for part. Unfortunately labor was on me. My service took me to area where there were no Toyota dealers.

I would expect one of the Ford dealers in Alaska would listen and understand the situation and be amenable to a solution.

In respect to labor costs submit to Ford corporate for reimbursement.

 

[mav_kev]

Sympathies to OP, but here is a modern word that causes modern problems: liability. There would need to be an exception of the highest order made by Ford for a non-dealer to perform a factory warranty repair, regardless of their pedigree. Has the island mechanic had training on how to perform the inspection/repair? That's generally step #1 for a dealer to be allowed to perform the recall. Beyond that, has he had factory training on the Maverick? Or the related hybrid system? The fact that he can 'figure it out', which I'm sure he could, is irrelevant to Ford's legal team. They're not going to casually give an exception to a service member stationed in the geographical equivalent of a foreign country - nor would any other vehicle manufacturer for that matter. What if your guy zaps himself and dies while making the repair? What if the truck catches fire and burns the building down? What if he makes the repair and you have a failure on the road and crash into a bus full of kids?

Not to say there isn't a way to navigate this through Ford, but understand it will be an uphill battle. Bigger issues at play here and it would be nice if logic would prevail, but it won't. Good luck, you're likely on your own here.

Sponsored