Truck broke down! Front axle and transmission issue after 60 miles

[Sliphorn]

And i said "yall should wait untill they figure out the bugs in the Hybrid Mavs."

And ye the children didnt listen.

take her on back to the dealership. warranty claim.

..
Bugs in the hybrid Mavs? This was a one off.
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[Fish Truck Driver]

Looking for some advice from the knowledgeable people here on MTC. After 8 months of waiting I finally was able to pick up my hybrid XLT so I was super excited!

I was driving on the highway, going about 70mph, back from the dealership when all of a sudden the truck started shaking pretty violently. I used to own a Wrangler and it felt just like the infamous "Death Wobble" that my Jeep used to get on the highway.

At first I thought it was a flat tire because of the way it was rumbling, but the tire pressure indicator didn't go off. I pulled over and looked over all 4 tires, and they all looked good. No warning lights on the dash either. I got underneath the truck and saw reddish fluid dripping from the engine compartment, I'm guessing that was power steering or transmission fluid. Not a good sign. It had about 60 miles on the odometer at this point.

The whole truck was shaking over 15mph and the shaking was so bad that it felt very unsafe over 30mph so I didn't want to drive it far. My home is about 90 miles from the dealership so I ended up limping at a slow speed to the closest Ford dealership and crashed in a hotel room until the next day when I learned that service was booked full for 3 weeks so I just got it towed back to the original dealership. It didn't feel safe to drive all the way there with all the shaking, plus I was worried about causing further damage so I got it towed. The truck was still leaking fluid the next day and the tow truck driver thought it was transmission fluid. It's also good that I requested a flatbed given that it turned out to be a rear axle issue. Luckily the original dealership was able to give me a loaner so I could get home.

Spoke to the service manager on Monday and they said it was an issue with the rear axle and that something wasn't "seated correctly" from the factory. They said they would need to order a new rear axle and it would take a week to come in. I asked for more details and also asked about the transmission and they said they would get back to me. I called back today (Tuesday) and asked to speak to the mechanic directly to get more details and the service manager said he'd try to get a video and send that over to me. Sounds like they might still be diagnosing it.

I'm sure they will eventually find and fix the issue so it's driveable but I am obviously worried about longer term damage that might have been caused to the transmission, axle, engine, rest of the truck that might not show up until years from now. I'm thinking of asking them to add on an extended warranty and hopefully Ford picks up that tab at a minimum. I definitely want the Maverick so what do people here think?

Anyone else that might have run into a similar issue?
Any ideas on what could cause leaking transmission fluid and require a whole new rear axle?
Any other suggestions on how to proceed or other options I may want to explore with the dealership?
What other things should I ask them to check?

Love this forum, thanks everyone for your advice!

TL;DR New truck broke with a rear axle problem while I was driving it home. It's at the dealer now and I want to know what options I have going forward.

Update: Spoke to the actual service manager and he said it was a problem in the FRONT axle, not the rear.

Pic of the leaking fluid while on the flatbed:

The shaking inside the truck doesn't show up on video, but you can certainly hear it.

So were you driving in AWD on the highway? (Otherwise the rear axle is not engaged?) I just got my rig, basic model XL, and love it. I added the Elite coverage? Not sure if I needed that or not. Is this fully covered?

 

[vinnie]

Looking for some advice from the knowledgeable people here on MTC. After 8 months of waiting I finally was able to pick up my hybrid XLT so I was super excited!

I was driving on the highway, going about 70mph, back from the dealership when all of a sudden the truck started shaking pretty violently. I used to own a Wrangler and it felt just like the infamous "Death Wobble" that my Jeep used to get on the highway.

At first I thought it was a flat tire because of the way it was rumbling, but the tire pressure indicator didn't go off. I pulled over and looked over all 4 tires, and they all looked good. No warning lights on the dash either. I got underneath the truck and saw reddish fluid dripping from the engine compartment, I'm guessing that was power steering or transmission fluid. Not a good sign. It had about 60 miles on the odometer at this point.

The whole truck was shaking over 15mph and the shaking was so bad that it felt very unsafe over 30mph so I didn't want to drive it far. My home is about 90 miles from the dealership so I ended up limping at a slow speed to the closest Ford dealership and crashed in a hotel room until the next day when I learned that service was booked full for 3 weeks so I just got it towed back to the original dealership. It didn't feel safe to drive all the way there with all the shaking, plus I was worried about causing further damage so I got it towed. The truck was still leaking fluid the next day and the tow truck driver thought it was transmission fluid. It's also good that I requested a flatbed given that it turned out to be a rear axle issue. Luckily the original dealership was able to give me a loaner so I could get home.

Spoke to the service manager on Monday and they said it was an issue with the rear axle and that something wasn't "seated correctly" from the factory. They said they would need to order a new rear axle and it would take a week to come in. I asked for more details and also asked about the transmission and they said they would get back to me. I called back today (Tuesday) and asked to speak to the mechanic directly to get more details and the service manager said he'd try to get a video and send that over to me. Sounds like they might still be diagnosing it.

I'm sure they will eventually find and fix the issue so it's driveable but I am obviously worried about longer term damage that might have been caused to the transmission, axle, engine, rest of the truck that might not show up until years from now. I'm thinking of asking them to add on an extended warranty and hopefully Ford picks up that tab at a minimum. I definitely want the Maverick so what do people here think?

Anyone else that might have run into a similar issue?
Any ideas on what could cause leaking transmission fluid and require a whole new rear axle?
Any other suggestions on how to proceed or other options I may want to explore with the dealership?
What other things should I ask them to check?

Love this forum, thanks everyone for your advice!

TL;DR New truck broke with a rear axle problem while I was driving it home. It's at the dealer now and I want to know what options I have going forward.

Update: Spoke to the actual service manager and he said it was a problem in the FRONT axle, not the rear.

Pic of the leaking fluid while on the flatbed:

The shaking inside the truck doesn't show up on video, but you can certainly hear it.

 

[Aza]

And i said "yall should wait untill they figure out the bugs in the Hybrid Mavs."

And ye the children didnt listen.

take her on back to the dealership. warranty claim.

So if you are suggesting that no one buy a hybrid until the bugs are figured out, then how are the bugs going to be discovered if no one is driving one?

 

[Mike]

Ford does often offer extended warranties to owners who have issues that, while resolved, have a reasonable potential of having caused presently undetected damage to other components.

 

[Oside Bill]

Got my cactus gray XLT Hybrid 2 weeks ago. Spent the big bucks and got the extended warranty. Instantly went into buyers remorse over the cost. Living on a fixed income isn't easy but we decided since this is a first year vehicle, it was worth some peace of mind. After reading these horror stories about various Maverick failures, I'm relieved that we spent the money for an extended warranty. Good luck with your dealer(s). Been a happy KGF customer for 9 years.

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