Update after dashboard replacement.

[MaverickSVT]

The dealership replaced the dashboard and I noticed on the way home that the AC was only blowing somewhat cold out of the passenger side vents.
Somehow after the dashboard was replaced, the AC was not working correctly and the dashboard is rattling bad.

They called me today and said they gave it a charge because it was low on refrigerant and added a UV light leak detector die into the system. They said it doesn’t appear to be leaking and they want me to see if the charge changes / becomes low again. My worry is it’s not going to go low on charge right away, it’s going to take time and leak slowly and now this ac system is always going to be problematic and possibly leak.
And I’m going to be out of factory warranty.
It obviously doesn’t come from ford with that leak detector in it.

What could have caused the low refrigerant charge? Has me wondering how was the charge low?
Hopefully they can fix the really bad dashboard rattle it has now.

Wonder what I should do? This stinks

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[ShadowBlack XL440]

The dealership replaced the dashboard and I noticed on the way home that the AC was only blowing cold out of the passenger side vents.
Somehow after the dashboard was replaced, the AC was not working correctly and the dashboard is rattling bad.

They called me today and said they gave it a charge because it was low on refrigerant and added a UV light leak detector die into the system. They said it doesn’t appear to be leaking and they want me to see if the charge changes / becomes low again. My worry is it’s not going to go low on charge right away, it’s going to take time and leak slowly and now this ac system is always going to be problematic and possibly leak.
And I’m going to be out of factory warranty.
It obviously doesn’t come from ford with that leak detector in it.

What could have caused the low refrigerant charge? Has me wondering how was the charge low?
Hopefully they can fix the really bad dashboard rattle it has now.

Wonder what I should do? This stinks

Sounds like the AC is working but they did not reconnect all the vent duct work. Most likely this is what is rattling too. Poor workmanship. Return for a second attempt to correctly install the dash.

 

[Cancunbadlands]

Low on refrigerant? Liquid? There's a leak tho, water pump?
AC blows hot air? There's a gas leak tho

 

[710-oil-614]

If it is documented before your warranty expires and they have not resolved the issue they don’t just get to walk away from it and deny your claim.

The compressor in my wife’s odyssey was leaking (a known issue) and had it filled with the dye. It only took a week or so before it was blowing hot again. Easy to diagnose and replaced under HondaCare extended warranty

 

[matmondro]

Sorry to hear their repair was sub-par.

As for the (possible) refrigerant leak, if the whole system is sealed perfectly then it should never lose its charge. The only thing I can possibly think of in this scenario is while removing the old dash or installing the new one, they bumped the A/C evaporator coil causing a tweak and/or puncture. Even if it's just a hairline fracture, it will slowly lose its charge.

 

[MaverickSVT]

Sorry to hear their repair was sub-par.

As for the (possible) refrigerant leak, if the whole system is sealed perfectly then it should never lose its charge. The only thing I can possibly think of in this scenario is while removing the old dash or installing the new one, they bumped the A/C evaporator coil causing a tweak and/or puncture. Even if it's just a hairline fracture, it will slowly lose its charge.

See this is my worry. There is damage to the AC causing the leak.
How else would it have been low on charge?

 

[matmondro]

See this is my worry. There is damage to the AC causing the leak.
How else would it have been low on charge?

Right, I totally agree there has to be damage somewhere. It's interesting how the dealer said it doesn't appear to be leaking. The evap coil is what my money is on, but I'm worried that could possibly involve dash removal again to replace. Some cars it's accessible in the engine bay while on others, like a heater core, requires removal of the dashboard.

If there's no UV dye around the compressor, condenser, accumulator, or other lines in the engine bay, then it has to be the evaporator.

 

[MaverickSVT]

Right, I totally agree there has to be damage somewhere. It's interesting how the dealer said it doesn't appear to be leaking. The evap coil is what my money is on, but I'm worried that could possibly involve dash removal again to replace. Some cars it's accessible in the engine bay while on others, like a heater core, requires removal of the dashboard.

If there's no UV dye around the compressor, condenser, accumulator, or other lines in the engine bay, then it has to be the evaporator.

Yeah how ridiculous.
would that leak the refrigerant gas into the cabin?

 

[matmondro]

Yeah how ridiculous.
would that leak the refrigerant gas into the cabin?

Ridiculous indeed.

And it could, yes. Air from the blower motor is sent right across the coil and into the ductwork, through the dash. So if that's where the leak is, then yes I would expect some of the freon to be coming into the cabin.

 

[MaverickSVT]

Ridiculous indeed.

And it could, yes. Air from the blower motor is sent right across the coil and into the ductwork, through the dash. So if that's where the leak is, then yes I would expect some of the freon to be coming into the cabin.

Would you be able to smell it?
If so, what would it smell like?

 

[matmondro]

Would you be able to smell it?
If so, what would it smell like?

Not really, unfortunately. Freon is essentially odorless so in small quantities, you wouldn't really be able to notice it. If there is any kind of smell, like an oily or chemical-ish smell, it's probably more from the PAG oil used in the A/C system.

Hopefully the A/C dye points to something easy to replace like the compressor, but just based off the work done to the truck, that's why I think it would be the evaporator coil, or the lines in the vicinity of it perhaps.

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

I have attached your original post, to help remind folks, why your truck was originally in the shop.
" Maverick SVT"original post

My 22 Maverick the dash was rattling and so was the passenger side front seat so I brought it into the Ford dealer for inspection
They call me back and say they are going to replace the dash. I was not expecting that at all…
My gut told me to tell them to NOT replace the dash but they said no we got this and can fix it no problem.
They called me at 4pm this past Monday. I told my advisor I’ll pick her up tomorrow morning so that I can fill up the gas and whatnot with their rental.
42 days later I finally pickup my truck.
They gave me a loaner 2025 Ford Escape
3-cylinder turbo for the entire duration.
You know what I did? I spent yesterday morning for a couple hours washing and vacuuming their Escape before going to get my Maverick back so their car looked mint when I brought it back.
I was expecting the same decency with my Maverick.
So I do the paperwork with them and give them their keys back and they hand me my keys and say I’m good to go. Your Maverick is parked out front.
I walk out to my car and walk up to it and was immediately in total, utter disgust. Keep in mind I keep my car waxed and mint on a regular basis.L

Here is what I walked out to my car and how she looked upon pickup:

1. Bird poop ALL over my car and I’m not talking one or two/three bird droppings. It was absolutely covered. Like a giant carnivore bird crapped out an entire rodent or somthing on my car and they didn’t even bother to wash it?
Unreal. All over a $700 Tonneau cover.

2. The new dashboard is scratched and so is glove box and my center console.

3. They put deep scratches in my garage kept, never even seen winter, super low miles 14,xxx Maverick’s paint that are DEEP and most of them are all the way through to the bare metal…

4. the door seal is now incorrectly installed on both front doors (laying on top of the other seal and not butted up like it’s supposed to be) and it’s TORN/RIPPED…

5. The new dashboard rattles worse than the original one did over bumps.

6. There was a mysterious “bonus/extra” orange clip just laying in drink holder next to the gear selector.

7. They left multiple clips left hanging and not attached to where they go (under seat and under dash. Which makes you wonder if there’s more stuff you can not see, that’s left not correctly installed. Like behind the dash…

8. The headliner is now dirty and it’s exposed on the driver side from being tucked under the seal.

9. I think my hood was left open a long time because it has bird poop under the hood and is very dirty / dusty now.

10. Now when you drive the car, it smells like burning oil coming from the engine bay.

11. The Windshield wiper cowl is now not sitting flush / is misaligned with the windshield which will allow water/ debris to freely go into the gap/space.

I’m absolutely shocked and horrified.
I did talk to the manger and he did say we will make it right with me. Which I do appreciate. However for the dealer to even let my truck end up like this and than leave like this, is absolutely shocking.

I show the service advisor all of the issues and he instructs me to go sit in waiting room while he talks to the manager. Maybe an hour or more passes and he comes back and says you can bring it back on the 9th and we will fix it all. Get a load of this. They were going to have me leave with the truck just like this. All covered in bird poop and filthy.
So I ask to talk to the manager myself.
The service advisor says ok and instructs me to wait in the waiting room for him. The advisor finally comes back and says he’s in a meeting can he just call you later? I replied no I want to talk to him and show him everything myself. So I wait another hour! Manager finally comes down and I show him everything. He tells me he owns a Maverick also and apologized. He asked me if I wanted it cleaned before I take it home. I said yes. He said give us 20 minutes and I’ll have to back to you. About 20/30 min goes by and all they cleaned off was the bird poop off the tonneau cover…
So I was at the dealer for almost 4 hours for all of this. Now I have to bring it back on the 9th and get another loaner while they supposedly “fix” it.

Hard lesson learned…. Don’t let anyone touch your car. Not even the dealer.
I’m a very talented car detailer and know how to turn wenches and fix stuff.
I would have NEVER EVER left someone’s car like this in this kinda condition…

It’s so easily to carefully remove a door seal and NOT tear it and it’s very easy to know how to “fit” a door seal so it fits correctly and does NOT overlap and lay on top of each other….
That’s common sense basics right there.
So I’m in utter disbelief and heart broken.

My poor first year Maverick w/ factory options that’s they no longer even come with. She kinda a rare truck being velocity blue hybrid XLT with Luxury package and the painted mirrors and only 14,000 miles…. That has never seen winter and was garage kept and babied its whole life. She didn’t deserve this.

What should I do? I’m so upset about this. I wish they never touched my truck. They did more harm, than good to my truck.

 

[Msradke]

Suspect low charge. To replace the IP you must recover a/c system. As a.c housing comes out with the IP.

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