Help: Should Leak at PTU Be Covered under 5 yr/60 Drivetrain Warranty?

[campjake]

Long story, but I'm having issues with the Ford dealership (not just on this issue), but my question: my truck has 46,000 miles on it. It has a leak at the PTU. The PTU is covered by the warranty. But Ford is denying covering said leak under warranty because the leak is not major enough. Is this a respectable position on Ford's part? Should I accept this answer?

My sense is no. A minor PTU leak is still a leak that should be fixed.

For greater context, I also had a transmission cooler line leak. Turns out that lines are not covered by the warranty. These leaks are correlated with an acceleration lag.

Please advise on whether or not the PTU leak should be fixed and covered by the powertrain warranty.

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[bgn]

Leak where? Coolant? RDU fluid? Look at their warranty definition of what is covered. Search for "Ford warranty guide" or something similar.

 

[campjake]

Leak where? Coolant? RDU fluid? Look at their warranty definition of what is covered. Search for "Ford warranty guide" or something similar.

The leak is at the PTU (power transfer unit). This IS covered by the warranty. But it is at the discretion of the dealer. Said differently, there is a leak at the PTU. PTU leaks are covered. But the leak has to be bad enoughf or them to cover it. It's a judgment call in the dealer's part. That seems quite suspect, as leaks will only get worse.

 

[bgn]

The leak is at the PTU (power transfer unit). This IS covered by the warranty. But it is at the discretion of the dealer. Said differently, there is a leak at the PTU. PTU leaks are covered. But the leak has to be bad enoughf or them to cover it. It's a judgment call in the dealer's part. That seems quite suspect, as leaks will only get worse.

The judgement is likely Ford's. Where is it leaking from on the RDU? Fill plug? Sensor?

 

[icegradner]

The leak is at the PTU (power transfer unit). This IS covered by the warranty. But it is at the discretion of the dealer. Said differently, there is a leak at the PTU. PTU leaks are covered. But the leak has to be bad enoughf or them to cover it. It's a judgment call in the dealer's part. That seems quite suspect, as leaks will only get worse.

Yeah the dealership warranty rep makes the call, unless they feel the need to have someone at Ford look. I suppose you could contact Ford customer support and see if they could help?

 

[campjake]

The judgement is likely Ford's. Where is it leaking from on the RDU? Fill plug? Sensor?

I don't know exactly. Here is a screenshot I took from the video the mechanic made. To add to all this, what's frustrating is that my truck has been at the dealership for 8 days, and it took them this long to diagnose a cooler line replacement. They are charging me $500 for the diagnostic alone (they needed to used dye) and the fix itself is $500. I'm just very frustrated with these people. The diagnosis price seems high, and the time it took to diagnose so long. Then they won't cover the PTU leak under warranty. Their communication is terrible.

I did contact Ford corporate, and they are following up. I couldn't even get someone to answer my questions, and when corporate called the dealer, they couldn't reach them either. Corporate didn't seem to care for that and the lady esclalated to her manager.

 

[Butterscotch]

Find out how many other complaints there have been about this leak
https://www.nhtsa.gov › vehicle › complaint

Then go back and say "There have over #### complaints about this issue...." and continue from there. I've argued with CIOs of corporations and they gave up they may do it.
But if you prove your point they may do the work. Otherwise, they will wait for warranty expiration and have you pay top dollar for it.

Good luck.

 

[campjake]

Find out how many other complaints there have been about this leak
https://www.nhtsa.gov › vehicle › complaint

Then go back and say "There have over #### complaints about this issue...." and continue from there. I've argued with CIOs of corporations and they gave up they may do it.
But if you prove your point they may do the work. Otherwise, they will wait for warranty expiration and have you pay top dollar for it.

Good luck.

Thanks. On the ninth day of my vehicle sitting at the dealer, I actually ended up pulling it before the work could be done. The dealer was so incompetent in so many respects that I lost confidence in their ability to fix my truck. I honestly couldn't trust them to do the work, and it felt irrational to let them proceed. I ended up just saying, let's please cut our losses, and requested that I take the truck to a proper transmission specialist.

To their credit, they didn't charge me for the absurd $500 diagnostic fee that they had originally charged. Truly nuts. I learned that none of the transmission specialists I contacted charge a diagnostic fee. So, I am going to get my non-warrantied transmission work done by someone legit, and then watch the PTU leak until my next oil change and try a different Ford dealer.

Damn, I learned a hard lesson about dealerships in this case. Sure, there may be exceptions, but they should be avoided unless warranty work is in question. Best to go to a proper mechanic that you can trust and really talk to, and that is focused on service. This was the second Ford dealer that I've experienced. The first one was problematic in several respects as well, but this one was a horror show. Just terrible across the board. Lesson learned.

 

[Butterscotch]

Be sure to report the dealership to Ford. Ford is shutting down lots of dealerships around the country due to lack of sales, service and complaints. One example is the Denver area.

 

[campjake]

Be sure to report the dealership to Ford. Ford is shutting down lots of dealerships around the country due to lack of sales, service and complaints. One example is the Denver area.

Yes, I did report them. Ford said they would give the dealership a call. I said good luck reaching someone. About an hour later, the Ford lady called me back and said she still couldn't reach the service department. The phone system had her on a loop. Yep, I said. She then escalated the matter to the next level and affirmed that the inability to reach them was itself a significant problem and unacceptable. There is a part of me that wants to name said dealership and publicize and expose them as much as possible. Maybe I should.

 

[matmondro]

Sorry to see the leak you have. The PTU is one of the last things I'd want going out.

In regard to the dealership though, I'm right there with you on that. My past experiences have me staying as far away as possible from any dealer.

 

[Geo8866]

On three separate occasions with three separate companies, when I got nowhere, I contacted the Better Business Bureau. The problem was addressed in my favor within days. You might consider contacting them.

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