Recall Work Revealed Another Problem - Be Aware

[Maverich]

I
First time/long time. Been lurking here since I ordered back in August 2021. Received my Mav Feb 16, 2022. I love it. I wanted to make sure I got the recall fix done quickly so it didn't linger through the summer camping season. So, I brought my Mav to my local dealer/service center to get the fix for the engine fire recall completed this morning. They said maybe 3-4 hours, should be done by the afternoon. They called me around 3 to tell me that another problem had come up. I can't remember the specific name of the parts, but the photos are here, basically a piece welded to the from bumper that connects the front bumper to the rest of the truck broke off, according to the tech, he went to undo the bolts and the front bumper just fell off. The weld was shotty and failed. They have to order a new part, wait for it to come in, paint it, then reassemble the front end. Pictures are of the right front quarter. Said that it might be a week or more until the fix is completed. The service manager said he hasn't seen such a badly built piece, and blamed Ford for poor workmanship.

Wanted to let people know this might happen en masse as we go back to get our recall fixed. Maybe warn your dealer to be gentle or just aware of this possibility.

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[Hoagus]

Bad robot! No donut.

 

[Timothyd]

I
First time/long time. Been lurking here since I ordered back in August 2021. Received my Mav Feb 16, 2022. I love it. I wanted to make sure I got the recall fix done quickly so it didn't linger through the summer camping season. So, I brought my Mav to my local dealer/service center to get the fix for the engine fire recall completed this morning. They said maybe 3-4 hours, should be done by the afternoon. They called me around 3 to tell me that another problem had come up. I can't remember the specific name of the parts, but the photos are here, basically a piece welded to the from bumper that connects the front bumper to the rest of the truck broke off, according to the tech, he went to undo the bolts and the front bumper just fell off. The weld was shotty and failed. They have to order a new part, wait for it to come in, paint it, then reassemble the front end. Pictures are of the right front quarter. Said that it might be a week or more until the fix is completed. The service manager said he hasn't seen such a badly built piece, and blamed Ford for poor workmanship.

Wanted to let people know this might happen en masse as we go back to get our recall fixed. Maybe warn your dealer to be gentle or just aware of this possibility.

You should be glad it broke off now and is being replaced properly rather than breaking in the future. I couldn't see the broken weld in the pic. Perhaps it was a heavy handed mechanic?

 

[Maverich]

You should be glad it broke off now and is being replaced properly rather than breaking in the future. I couldn't see the broken weld in the pic. Perhaps it was a heavy handed mechanic?

I actually am glad it broke off now IF it had to break off at all, definitely saving me the hassle of arguing it's a defect and not a result of me doing something stupid. But Yeah the service manager said "it just fell off" - so who knows? They were super nice and apologetic and bummed out for me, and quickly got me in a loaner. As far as bad news goes, it was handled very well.

 

[Monty1719]

Perhaps it was a heavy handed mechanic?

Exactly, the person who took that bumper off did not know what they were doing. This is the very reason I avoid dealerships at all costs. The LARGE majority of techs at car dealers can barely loosen the oil filter or drain plug (most get confused which way is loosen or tighten - true story on several occasions). There are a very small amount of really good technicians who actually care and that number is getting smaller everyday. The real techs are retiring at a very fast rate and there is virtually no quality bodies coming into the auto repair industry to replace them. In 10 yrs we are going to be in a very sad state in terms of auto repair in this country.

 

[Trucklet]

Based only on these pics I'm not seeing anything that was even welded. That looks like a piece that bolts onto something, and then something else clips onto it by way of those plastic retainers. If it was welded to something, it wouldn't need both bolts AND plastic retainers because whatever mounts to this piece would only need 1 or the other.

I'd be very skeptical and make sure they put it back together properly.

EDIT: Could it be a BS line to force you to keep it there for a week so that the sales dept has a demo unit? Not to point fingers or start conspiracies, but... well actually that's exactly what I'm doing.

EDIT2: Have a friend call dealer asking if they have any Mavericks to test drive or check out.

 

[NeedForSteve]

Not at the dealer anymore so I haven't put hands on a maverick yet; but that looks more like it bolts through and then the plastic clips hold the bumper cover. Willing to bet the guy thought the bumper was supposed to pop off with a firm pull and didn't take those bolts out first.

Most dealers nowadays are having their lube techs and less experienced line techs do recalls. The experienced guys usually won't take these because the pay is so low. It's almost expected that plastic will get broken until guys figure out how to work on these...

 

[Monty1719]

Not at the dealer anymore so I haven't put hands on a maverick yet; but that looks more like it bolts through and then the plastic clips hold the bumper cover. Willing to bet the guy thought the bumper was supposed to pop off with a firm pull and didn't take those bolts out first.

That is exactly my thought. The blue plastic flange section was torn off the bumper cover.

 

[SLINGSHOT]

Looks like the hood latch assembly. The two black parts are the bumpers to keep the hood from moving. How that would hold the bumper on is a mystery to me. The bumper is a foot or more below that.
I think your having sand pounded up you @$$.

 

[Maverich]

Not at the dealer anymore so I haven't put hands on a maverick yet; but that looks more like it bolts through and then the plastic clips hold the bumper cover. Willing to bet the guy thought the bumper was supposed to pop off with a firm pull and didn't take those bolts out first.

Most dealers nowadays are having their lube techs and less experienced line techs do recalls. The experienced guys usually won't take these because the pay is so low. It's almost expected that plastic will get broken until guys figure out how to work on these...

Yeah, it's very possible they broke it by accident because they don't know what they're doing, but given what they told me, I figured I'd let people know in case they have this come up, or wanted to say something to their tech like "be careful, it's delicate" - basically I' posted hoping other people won't go through this and maybe can avoid it by letting their techs know.

 

[Maverich]

Based only on these pics I'm not seeing anything that was even welded. That looks like a piece that bolts onto something, and then something else clips onto it by way of those plastic retainers. If it was welded to something, it wouldn't need both bolts AND plastic retainers because whatever mounts to this piece would only need 1 or the other.

I'd be very skeptical and make sure they put it back together properly.

EDIT: Could it be a BS line to force you to keep it there for a week so that the sales dept has a demo unit? Not to point fingers or start conspiracies, but... well actually that's exactly what I'm doing.

EDIT2: Have a friend call dealer asking if they have any Mavericks to test drive or check out.

I will make sure it goes back together correctly. He did tell me they could repair it now (I assume they'd use some sort of adhesive to hold it in place) but he said "this is a new car, you deserve a new part" so here we are! I don't think they'll be using it as a demo vehicle, I've got my crap all inside the vehicle (including a small trash can that has trash in it) and it's a small dealer 5 minutes from my house, there's a very good chance I'd see them driving it around if they do!

 

[PDM33]

Exactly, the person who took that bumper off did not know what they were doing. This is the very reason I avoid dealerships at all costs. The LARGE majority of techs at car dealers can barely loosen the oil filter or drain plug (most get confused which way is loosen or tighten - true story on several occasions). There are a very small amount of really good technicians who actually care and that number is getting smaller everyday. The real techs are retiring at a very fast rate and there is virtually no quality bodies coming into the auto repair industry to replace them. In 10 yrs we are going to be in a very sad state in terms of auto repair in this country.

The level of ignorance in this statement is beyond words. 0% truth to this.

 

[Maverich]

Looks like the hood latch assembly. The two black parts are the bumpers to keep the hood from moving. How that would hold the bumper on is a mystery to me. The bumper is a foot or more below that.
I think your having sand pounded up you @$$.

lol, they might be, but the front pieces were not fastened as they normally would be. we'll find out!

 

[Monty1719]

The level of ignorance in this statement is beyond words. 0% truth to this.

35 years in the business. Believe every word of that. Where do the people on this forum come from? The amount of people with no idea what they are talking about on this forum is unbelievable to me. It is actually scary seeing the thought process of the large majority of posts on this forum.

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