A/C Evaporator Factory Defect

[sculptor310]

My AC went out today suddenly. It doesn't look like the compressor is engaging at all and it looks like it is covered in gunk and had been spewing the gunk onto the sway bar.

Anyone else have their compressor fail? Is this possibly related to the evaporator core?

Thanks,
Daniel

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[ANGST]

My AC went out today suddenly. It doesn't look like the compressor is engaging at all and it looks like it is covered in gunk and had been spewing the gunk onto the sway bar.

Anyone else have their compressor fail? Is this possibly related to the evaporator core?

Thanks,
Daniel

Maybe , and no , not related

 

[5-OH]

I can’t believe they have little problems like this that they won’t cover in a recall or even a tsb. Mine hasn’t failed yet, but probably will now that I said that. I don’t drive it much and it lives in a garage with only a tick over 5k so maybe it won’t. They had problems like this in the 70’s and early 80’s wtf Ford?

 

[ANGST]

See my post, it is covered under TSB 18-2166 . A recall is done in conjunction with the NHTSB only for safety issues , and AC is not a safety issue .

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I can’t believe they have little problems like this that they won’t cover in a recall or even a tsb. Mine hasn’t failed yet, but probably will now that I said that. I don’t drive it much and it lives in a garage with only a tick over 5k so maybe it won’t. They had problems like this in the 70’s and early 80’s wtf Ford?

As noted, there is a TSB. And Ford has decided NOT to recall and that makes perfect sense even for owners. Since most will not fail, I would NOT want my car torn apart to replace a functioning and likely never to fail part with another part. Same as I would not want a lung or heart transplant until mine were failing. In addition, they are on the 3rd or 4th version of the part and even the latest has some failures. Since its not a safety issue, the govt can't force them to replace and they can't be forced to do it in civil court because they are honoring the warranty which is all they legally must do.

Only options are to sell before warranty (factory or extended) expires or keep our fingers crossed and suck it up if it happens. FWIW, Ford has been compensating significant amounts of out of pocket costs to customers depending on how long out of warranty and how well the customer makes their case.

For sure, Ford screwed up the design/manufacturing (outsourced) but with that water under the bridge, how they are handling it could be a lot worse. Only thing they could do better would be to give a blanket extended warranty for the evaporator. Who's up for some organized protest demanding that?

 

[ANGST]

Only thing they could do better would be to give a blanket extended warranty for the evaporator. Who's up for some organized protest demanding that?

Yes, this is what Ford calls a "Customer satisfaction program" I would tell anyone that had out of pocket costs to have a case open with Ford customer service .

 

[GT Pony]

See my post, it is covered under TSB 18-2166 . A recall is done in conjunction with the NHTSB only for safety issues , and AC is not a safety issue .

Some info may say otherwise. I'd say breathing toxic gas is a safety issue of human health.

https://www.cshvac.com/dangers-breathing-freon/

 

[Deleted member 35786]

As noted, there is a TSB. And Ford has decided NOT to recall and that makes perfect sense even for owners. Since most will not fail, I would NOT want my car torn apart to replace a functioning and likely never to fail part with another part. Same as I would not want a lung or heart transplant until mine were failing. In addition, they are on the 3rd or 4th version of the part and even the latest has some failures. Since its not a safety issue, the govt can't force them to replace and they can't be forced to do it in civil court because they are honoring the warranty which is all they legally must do.

Only options are to sell before warranty (factory or extended) expires or keep our fingers crossed and suck it up if it happens. FWIW, Ford has been compensating significant amounts of out of pocket costs to customers depending on how long out of warranty and how well the customer makes their case.

For sure, Ford screwed up the design/manufacturing (outsourced) but with that water under the bridge, how they are handling it could be a lot worse. Only thing they could do better would be to give a blanket extended warranty for the evaporator. Who's up for some organized protest demanding that?

Has anyone seen the old cores up close? Odds are its made in China from speaking with my car friends. That is not a bad thing, but curious nonetheless.

Dropped my car off at dealer this morning for core change. Fingers crossed.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Has anyone seen the old cores up close? Odds are its made in China from speaking with my car friends. That is not a bad thing, but curious nonetheless.

Dropped my car off at dealer this morning for core change. Fingers crossed.

You and others may be the lucky ones. I heard a rumor that Ford is thinking of having dealers repair the units which are sealed and do more than house the evaporator. Think its bad having your car torn apart to install a plug and play replacement? Wait 'till dealers are opening them up and trying to repair what ever is wrong with that particular unit. I predict a lot of them will need to be pulled again to fix the fix. I've lived thru a dealer trying to rebuild a Mustang manual trans twice before Ford finally sent them a complete transmission to bolt in. Makes the original problem seem like a good day.

 

[GT Pony]

You and others may be the lucky ones. I heard a rumor that Ford is thinking of having dealers repair the units which are sealed and do more than house the evaporator. Think its bad having your car torn apart to install a plug and play replacement? Wait 'till dealers are opening them up and trying to repair what ever is wrong with that particular unit. I predict a lot of them will need to be pulled again to fix the fix. I've lived thru a dealer trying to rebuild a Mustang manual trans twice before Ford finally sent them a complete transmission to bolt in. Makes the original problem seem like a good day.

Yeah, Ford ... let's take one cluster f@*k and make it even more so.

 

[druby]

Update. I took my 15gt into the dealer last week. I got it back on Monday afternoon, after they replaced the evaporator. The rep I was dealing with said he hadn't seen an evaporator go out yet, as I was telling him how it sounded like a pretty chronic issue. So far so good. thankfully I had a Certified pre-owned warranty, so it only cost be $100. Funny, not-so-funny story, the first dealer I called mentioned that the vin had a special 10 year warranty, but I would need to get the original owner to sign it over to me. Sleazeball failed to mention the Certified Pre Owner warranty that was also on the car and didn't require anything. So, stay away from Corwin Ford in Nampa, Idaho.

Anyone else notice that the new website crashes pretty much every 5 minutes. At least on my browser. Google Chrome. :(

 

[GT Pony]

Anyone else notice that the new website crashes pretty much every 5 minutes. At least on my browser. Google Chrome. :(

I've never seen a crash using Firefox when on my desktop. Never crashes on my Android phone either.

 

[Deleted member 35786]

Update. I took my 15gt into the dealer last week. I got it back on Monday afternoon, after they replaced the evaporator. The rep I was dealing with said he hadn't seen an evaporator go out yet, as I was telling him how it sounded like a pretty chronic issue. So far so good. thankfully I had a Certified pre-owned warranty, so it only cost be $100. Funny, not-so-funny story, the first dealer I called mentioned that the vin had a special 10 year warranty, but I would need to get the original owner to sign it over to me. Sleazeball failed to mention the Certified Pre Owner warranty that was also on the car and didn't require anything. So, stay away from Corwin Ford in Nampa, Idaho.

Anyone else notice that the new website crashes pretty much every 5 minutes. At least on my browser. Google Chrome. :(

Supposedly mine will be ready today.. Been at dealer since Monday. More to come..

 

[Louieg58]

I'm also having AC issues for the 2nd time on my car. Dealer replaced the condenser, compressor, and expansion valve a year ago, now AC is not working again (compressor cycles and blows hot air) and of course out of warranty now. Hoping its not an evaporator core.

 

[Deleted member 35786]

Well evaporator core replaced as with ac compressor oil.
Performed TSB 18-2166
Ford used part number: FR3Z 19860-B.. Seems the older ones were all FR3Z 19850 series.. Lets hope this is the fix.

I have one more year left on my bumper to bumper warranty so we will see.

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