2019 GT350 Engine Failure @ 2170 miles

[M.A.N.]

Mixed feelings on this. At first from reading this, I wouldn't pick up the car without at least the warranty in writing in an email.

I had a maintenance plan given to me for free for 45,000 miles due to issues with my last warranty repair on my F350. It did take over a week for it to show in the system so that's factual.

But after thinking about it, if you are keeping the car, any ESP is a bonus. I believe they will offer you either a 75k or 100k ESP.

However, since you have met your lemon law requirements for time out of service, ANY further warranty repair under your lemon law will qualify it for a lemon again since that just adds more to the time out. Even something as silly as a faulty window switch.

So if I were you, I'd call back, ask the rep (any rep if they see any notation about an ESP offer). If they confirm it is documented, I'd pick up the car and follow up in a couple days if they havent called you back.

You still have plenty of leverage with another repair still qualifying as a lemon.

Lastly, it was a full engine swap, not a rebuild so I personally wouldn't have as much worry about it being done "right". I'd be comfortable with the swap compare to a tear down and rebuild.

I agree with this.

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[sk47]

Hello; Hate to say it but I agree that to pick up the car before you have some documentation of the warranty extension may be a bad move.
I have found when buying a car that it is best to get any things you need done finished before you take possession of the car. After you have signed the papers and drive away they can lose interest.

 

[Chris2020GT500]

I agree with this.

You may want to perform the check on the latest TSB which affects the GT500 and GT350 which, is a very easy check and could be what the cause was for some of the engine failures.

I've attached the TSB docs for you to review. I checked mine even though it's not in the date range however, mine was within 2 weeks.

 

[Cobra Jet]

Hello Everyone!

After a lot of thinking and re-working my finances, I have decided to keep the car.

When I first bought the car, I bought it with the intention of keeping it for a long time. That's why I spent an absolute boatload of money on PPF and detailing. Yes, the engine eating a valve was an unfortunate thing to happen, but *if* the repair job was done properly, I should be able to drive the heck out of the car and enjoy it to it's fullest. My dad breathed some sense into me: If I did go for a buyback, the process could have been long and frustrating, and there isn't any other car in this price range that drives like a 350. The 500 is way out of my budget (I had to stretch to buy the 350 at 10% off MSRP, lol).

That being said, I have been trying to contact my CSR for almost 2 weeks now to discuss this, and she's been unresponsive to calls, voicemails or email. That's why I finally requested an escalation late last week and a supervisor called me today morning. He said that they can reimburse me for 2 months of my car payment and give me an extended warranty. He said that he'd ask my CSR to get back to me about this and come to a resolution.

In the meantime, he asked me to go ahead and pick up the car and start driving it. He said that the extended warranty will take a couple of weeks to kick in, and I could pick up my car in the meantime. In case I was not satisfied with their warranty offer, I could pursue a buyback even after picking up the car.

@pilotgore @stanglife @Soulja4187 @Cobra Jet @mroad @Blwnsmoke @RPDBlueMoon or anybody who wants to chime in:

1. Do you think I should pick up the car before the warranty and other details are figured out? The car is sitting out in the lot and I'd like to bring it home, but I don't want to be stupid and lose my leverage over them.

2. Can I really pursue a buyback after picking the car up, in case I am not satisfied with what warranty and compensation they're offering me?

3. As I haven't been following the repair process (because I was so set on a buyback until very recently), I am not sure how the work was performed. I don't even know which tech worked on the car. Do you think there is any way to find out if they did the engine swap properly?

The service advisor told me that they also had to change the Catalytic Converters because they were filled with coolant. Seems like a pretty big job...

Again as always - thank you so much for all your responses, guidance and help. I appreciate it more than you know

@PRTK350
I was going to suggest requesting a Ford Supervisor - glad you did, because sometimes the Ford Regional CSR gets lax and gets over burdened with cases.

As far as the offers:
If the car has been down for 2 or 3 Mos - whatever the longest term is, definitely request OR accept the car payment reimbursement if offered. If the car has been down 2.5 Mos, tell the Supervisor you believe 3 reimbursement payments is fair and would make you whole considering the length of time you have endured without YOUR car and it's not how you envisioned "new car ownership".

The Ford ESP they are offering - ask for the longest term. They may initially offer you a 75k term, again put it in the perspective that you have been more than patient with the Warranty efforts and without your vehicle for long enough, that you feel to make you whole it would be in Ford's best interest to offer the longest term possible since you will be "keeping the car long term".

They might also try to give you a choice between a Ford ESP OR a Maintenance Plan good for up to 45k miles. Take the ESP, it's a better bargain if you're keeping the car longer term.

--

Get the Supervisor's email OR after discussing the above, tell the Supervisor you wish to receive the agreement of what is between you and Ford for the reimbursements and ESP in writing (email).

--

1) Yes, you can pick up the car before receiving any Customer Loyalty "perks". Again, just tell the Supervisor you feel more comfortable with everything being offered in writing (email) and if the car repair is completed, you want the car in your driveway, not sitting on the Service Center lot where it could be susceptible to damages.

2) Yes. If you pick the car up after the repairs and the repairs are not satisfactory to you OR the same issue presents itself again (or other issues), you can certainly pursue the Buy Back option. Your Case is on file, the CSR and Service Center make their notes on your VIN, which is documented by OASIS and the Ford CSR systems. So everything discussed should be well documented since it has a Case # attached. Retain all correspondence that contains any Case numbers, reference numbers etc.

3) When you go to pick up the car, the Ford invoice or work order should have not only the Tech's Employee # on the paperwork, but any and all Tech notes regarding the replacement. This document will also have all Ford parts listed that were needed to complete the warranty repair. Anything used during the course of the repair (fluids, time, parts, and any module resetting procedures) should be outlined on the docs. This info would also be readily available by OASIS for future reference. The Service Writer can give you the Tech's name IF it's only an employee # on the work order pages.

Since you have an engine replacement, the Service Writer should also go over and explain any new warranties for the engine and work performed.

When you go to pick up the car just check it all around, pop the hood look around and then once you get back into it - go put some miles on it and see how it goes. If you're satisfied with how things turned out and your decision is to keep, then that is all that matters in the end. The advice given in this thread is merely for guidance and not meant to persuade you into any one direction or into a decision you're not 100% comfortable with in the end.

My input comes from direct experience with Ford CSR's, Ford Supervisors, Ford FSE's, the whole Ford RAV process, knowing how to deal with the Warranty Processes, insight to the Ford Warranty and Policy Manual and review of State Lemon Laws (not just my own State).

Having gone through what you're going through back in 2017, yes any such major warranty repair effort is a frustrating and tedious process - BUT for what Ford is offering you - it's the norm for what they call, retaining Customer Loyalty. If they can keep you happy by making you whole with payment reimbursements, ESP or Maintenance Plan offerings - take what is offered and don't feel shy about pushing for more... a Buy Back is always in the cards IF things don't work out.

--

Keep us updated.

 

[pilotgore]

@PRTK350
I was going to suggest requesting a Ford Supervisor - glad you did, because sometimes the Ford Regional CSR gets lax and gets over burdened with cases.

As far as the offers:
If the car has been down for 2 or 3 Mos - whatever the longest term is, definitely request OR accept the car payment reimbursement if offered. If the car has been down 2.5 Mos, tell the Supervisor you believe 3 reimbursement payments is fair and would make you whole considering the length of time you have endured without YOUR car and it's not how you envisioned "new car ownership".

The Ford ESP they are offering - ask for the longest term. They may initially offer you a 75k term, again put it in the perspective that you have been more than patient with the Warranty efforts and without your vehicle for long enough, that you feel to make you whole it would be in Ford's best interest to offer the longest term possible since you will be "keeping the car long term".

They might also try to give you a choice between a Ford ESP OR a Maintenance Plan good for up to 45k miles. Take the ESP, it's a better bargain if you're keeping the car longer term.

--

Get the Supervisor's email OR after discussing the above, tell the Supervisor you wish to receive the agreement of what is between you and Ford for the reimbursements and ESP in writing (email).

--

1) Yes, you can pick up the car before receiving any Customer Loyalty "perks". Again, just tell the Supervisor you feel more comfortable with everything being offered in writing (email) and if the car repair is completed, you want the car in your driveway, not sitting on the Service Center lot where it could be susceptible to damages.

2) Yes. If you pick the car up after the repairs and the repairs are not satisfactory to you OR the same issue presents itself again (or other issues), you can certainly pursue the Buy Back option. Your Case is on file, the CSR and Service Center make their notes on your VIN, which is documented by OASIS and the Ford CSR systems. So everything discussed should be well documented since it has a Case # attached. Retain all correspondence that contains any Case numbers, reference numbers etc.

3) When you go to pick up the car, the Ford invoice or work order should have not only the Tech's Employee # on the paperwork, but any and all Tech notes regarding the replacement. This document will also have all Ford parts listed that were needed to complete the warranty repair. Anything used during the course of the repair (fluids, time, parts, and any module resetting procedures) should be outlined on the docs. This info would also be readily available by OASIS for future reference. The Service Writer can give you the Tech's name IF it's only an employee # on the work order pages.

Since you have an engine replacement, the Service Writer should also go over and explain any new warranties for the engine and work performed.

When you go to pick up the car just check it all around, pop the hood look around and then once you get back into it - go put some miles on it and see how it goes. If you're satisfied with how things turned out and your decision is to keep, then that is all that matters in the end. The advice given in this thread is merely for guidance and not meant to persuade you into any one direction or into a decision you're not 100% comfortable with in the end.

My input comes from direct experience with Ford CSR's, Ford Supervisors, Ford FSE's, the whole Ford RAV process, knowing how to deal with the Warranty Processes, insight to the Ford Warranty and Policy Manual and review of State Lemon Laws (not just my own State).

Having gone through what you're going through back in 2017, yes any such major warranty repair effort is a frustrating and tedious process - BUT for what Ford is offering you - it's the norm for what they call, retaining Customer Loyalty. If they can keep you happy by making you whole with payment reimbursements, ESP or Maintenance Plan offerings - take what is offered and don't feel shy about pushing for more... a Buy Back is always in the cards IF things don't work out.

--

Keep us updated.

Very well said.

 

[pilotgore]

Hello Everyone!

After a lot of thinking and re-working my finances, I have decided to keep the car.

When I first bought the car, I bought it with the intention of keeping it for a long time. That's why I spent an absolute boatload of money on PPF and detailing. Yes, the engine eating a valve was an unfortunate thing to happen, but *if* the repair job was done properly, I should be able to drive the heck out of the car and enjoy it to it's fullest. My dad breathed some sense into me: If I did go for a buyback, the process could have been long and frustrating, and there isn't any other car in this price range that drives like a 350. The 500 is way out of my budget (I had to stretch to buy the 350 at 10% off MSRP, lol).

That being said, I have been trying to contact my CSR for almost 2 weeks now to discuss this, and she's been unresponsive to calls, voicemails or email. That's why I finally requested an escalation late last week and a supervisor called me today morning. He said that they can reimburse me for 2 months of my car payment and give me an extended warranty. He said that he'd ask my CSR to get back to me about this and come to a resolution.

In the meantime, he asked me to go ahead and pick up the car and start driving it. He said that the extended warranty will take a couple of weeks to kick in, and I could pick up my car in the meantime. In case I was not satisfied with their warranty offer, I could pursue a buyback even after picking up the car.

@pilotgore @stanglife @Soulja4187 @Cobra Jet @mroad @Blwnsmoke @RPDBlueMoon or anybody who wants to chime in:

1. Do you think I should pick up the car before the warranty and other details are figured out? The car is sitting out in the lot and I'd like to bring it home, but I don't want to be stupid and lose my leverage over them.

2. Can I really pursue a buyback after picking the car up, in case I am not satisfied with what warranty and compensation they're offering me?

3. As I haven't been following the repair process (because I was so set on a buyback until very recently), I am not sure how the work was performed. I don't even know which tech worked on the car. Do you think there is any way to find out if they did the engine swap properly?

The service advisor told me that they also had to change the Catalytic Converters because they were filled with coolant. Seems like a pretty big job...

Again as always - thank you so much for all your responses, guidance and help. I appreciate it more than you know

Glad to hear you’re leaning towards keeping the car now.... that extra warranty is a nice value add.

I’d be inclined to pickup the car after the cats have been replaced. Since you’re currently in a loaner car, and there’s no guarantee they’ll have one for you at a later date, I’d tell them that you’ll pick it up once ALL repairs are complete.

Sounds like things are finally moving in the right direction. I agree with others, if they don’t offer you the 100k mile warranty initially, push back and say that you need to 100k warranty for you to be happy with the whole calamity of engine replacement and to restore your confidence in the voodoo. Be adamant that if you don’t get it, you’ll have to proceed with buyback. Just remember, as much as you don’t want to go through a buyback... they really don’t want to do a buyback either. It’s much easier for the CSR to add an extended warranty than for them to work the logistics of a buyback and all that it entails.

Keep us posted!

 

[M.A.N.]

You may want to perform the check on the latest TSB which affects the GT500 and GT350 which, is a very easy check and could be what the cause was for some of the engine failures.

I've attached the TSB docs for you to review. I checked mine even though it's not in the date range however, mine was within 2 weeks.

Thanks for posting that info.

 

[PRTK350]

I read thru this thread today hoping and thinking that it had a happy ending, but apparently the ending has not been reached yet. I was driving up to Tennessee yesterday afternoon and a white with blue stripes GT 350 passed me on I-65 and got off at the Ardmore exit. Thought it would have been pretty cool if was you. I picked up my Mach 1 last week from dealer in Nashville area. Hope things work out for you with your engine dilemma.

Thanks, @docday64 ! Well I’m now thinking of taking the car back and as it’s fixed, I should be back on the road soon. I hope to see your Mach 1 on the road soon

 

[PRTK350]

Mixed feelings on this. At first from reading this, I wouldn't pick up the car without at least the warranty in writing in an email.

I had a maintenance plan given to me for free for 45,000 miles due to issues with my last warranty repair on my F350. It did take over a week for it to show in the system so that's factual.

But after thinking about it, if you are keeping the car, any ESP is a bonus. I believe they will offer you either a 75k or 100k ESP.

However, since you have met your lemon law requirements for time out of service, ANY further warranty repair under your lemon law will qualify it for a lemon again since that just adds more to the time out. Even something as silly as a faulty window switch.

So if I were you, I'd call back, ask the rep (any rep if they see any notation about an ESP offer). If they confirm it is documented, I'd pick up the car and follow up in a couple days if they havent called you back.

You still have plenty of leverage with another repair still qualifying as a lemon.

Lastly, it was a full engine swap, not a rebuild so I personally wouldn't have as much worry about it being done "right". I'd be comfortable with the swap compare to a tear down and rebuild.

@Blwnsmoke makes perfect sense. I totally agree. super-valuable advice.

A 100k mile warranty would be great. I heard of someone on this forum getting a 120k mile warranty as well! Anyways, I am more concerned about the duration of the warranty. I am going to push for 8 years, or as many years as they can offer me.

Does it need to have another issue for it to be eligible for lemon law (Such as a faulty switch)? Can I pursue LL or Buyback if I’m not satisfied with their warranty offer?

About the full engine swap - Isn’t that a major repair as well? I’m not very knowledgeable on how engines are mounted, but I was just concerned if they installed and put the engine in place properly, and connected all the hoses and connections properly as well.

 

[PRTK350]

Hello; Hate to say it but I agree that to pick up the car before you have some documentation of the warranty extension may be a bad move.
I have found when buying a car that it is best to get any things you need done finished before you take possession of the car. After you have signed the papers and drive away they can lose interest.

I agree! That is what I was thinking as well. The dealership is now pushing me to get the loaner car back, lol.

 

[PRTK350]

You may want to perform the check on the latest TSB which affects the GT500 and GT350 which, is a very easy check and could be what the cause was for some of the engine failures.

I've attached the TSB docs for you to review. I checked mine even though it's not in the date range however, mine was within 2 weeks.

Whoa, crap! This has the potential to be huge. Like I mentioned before, my engine went kaput because of the valve issue too.

Although Ford says only 2020s are affected, mine is an early 2019 car and it still had the issue. No idea what is going on.

Either way I will be sure to check the new engine.

From what I saw, the replacement motor was built in February 3, 2021, meaning it was built before my engine blew.

 

[PRTK350]

@PRTK350
I was going to suggest requesting a Ford Supervisor - glad you did, because sometimes the Ford Regional CSR gets lax and gets over burdened with cases.

As far as the offers:
If the car has been down for 2 or 3 Mos - whatever the longest term is, definitely request OR accept the car payment reimbursement if offered. If the car has been down 2.5 Mos, tell the Supervisor you believe 3 reimbursement payments is fair and would make you whole considering the length of time you have endured without YOUR car and it's not how you envisioned "new car ownership".

The Ford ESP they are offering - ask for the longest term. They may initially offer you a 75k term, again put it in the perspective that you have been more than patient with the Warranty efforts and without your vehicle for long enough, that you feel to make you whole it would be in Ford's best interest to offer the longest term possible since you will be "keeping the car long term".

They might also try to give you a choice between a Ford ESP OR a Maintenance Plan good for up to 45k miles. Take the ESP, it's a better bargain if you're keeping the car longer term.

--

Get the Supervisor's email OR after discussing the above, tell the Supervisor you wish to receive the agreement of what is between you and Ford for the reimbursements and ESP in writing (email).

--

1) Yes, you can pick up the car before receiving any Customer Loyalty "perks". Again, just tell the Supervisor you feel more comfortable with everything being offered in writing (email) and if the car repair is completed, you want the car in your driveway, not sitting on the Service Center lot where it could be susceptible to damages.

2) Yes. If you pick the car up after the repairs and the repairs are not satisfactory to you OR the same issue presents itself again (or other issues), you can certainly pursue the Buy Back option. Your Case is on file, the CSR and Service Center make their notes on your VIN, which is documented by OASIS and the Ford CSR systems. So everything discussed should be well documented since it has a Case # attached. Retain all correspondence that contains any Case numbers, reference numbers etc.

3) When you go to pick up the car, the Ford invoice or work order should have not only the Tech's Employee # on the paperwork, but any and all Tech notes regarding the replacement. This document will also have all Ford parts listed that were needed to complete the warranty repair. Anything used during the course of the repair (fluids, time, parts, and any module resetting procedures) should be outlined on the docs. This info would also be readily available by OASIS for future reference. The Service Writer can give you the Tech's name IF it's only an employee # on the work order pages.

Since you have an engine replacement, the Service Writer should also go over and explain any new warranties for the engine and work performed.

When you go to pick up the car just check it all around, pop the hood look around and then once you get back into it - go put some miles on it and see how it goes. If you're satisfied with how things turned out and your decision is to keep, then that is all that matters in the end. The advice given in this thread is merely for guidance and not meant to persuade you into any one direction or into a decision you're not 100% comfortable with in the end.

My input comes from direct experience with Ford CSR's, Ford Supervisors, Ford FSE's, the whole Ford RAV process, knowing how to deal with the Warranty Processes, insight to the Ford Warranty and Policy Manual and review of State Lemon Laws (not just my own State).

Having gone through what you're going through back in 2017, yes any such major warranty repair effort is a frustrating and tedious process - BUT for what Ford is offering you - it's the norm for what they call, retaining Customer Loyalty. If they can keep you happy by making you whole with payment reimbursements, ESP or Maintenance Plan offerings - take what is offered and don't feel shy about pushing for more... a Buy Back is always in the cards IF things don't work out.

--

Keep us updated.

Thanks a ton for the advice, @Cobra Jet

I told the supervisor about the extended warranty and the car payments. They immediately agreed and asked me to send it the statements for the payments. They said they’d let my CSR know of the path I wanted to take, and that the CSR will contact me about options tomorrow.

I agree with you on the warranty. I want the powertrain coverage for as long as I can get. 8 years would be ideal, and that is what I will be pushing for.

- I think this is where I messed up the most. I did not ask the supervisor for their email address or info. I even forgot his name (my crappy memory). I guess I’ll just have to keep pushing my unresponsive CSR again.

1) Gotcha. As I was stupid and didn’t get the supervisor’s info, I’ll just have to ask the CSR for that. I finally got an email from her today that she received my loan payment statements and she’ll be calling me with the final details tomorrow.

2) Makes sense. I will definitely do that. I went to check out the car over the weekend, and found it on the lot pretty dirty. It rained a lot here in the last few weeks. I observed that the hood was installed slightly crooked, probably 1mm off to the left. I informed the service advisor of that, and he immediately got it fixed. I hope the rest of the car is fine from sitting outside in the rain for weeks.

I completely understand that you’re guiding me, and not trying to persuade me towards any direction. Your impartial advice is proof of that, and honestly - the advice you have given me is invaluable. I cannot thank you enough.

About customer loyalty retention, I agree. Although the process has been a bit long and arduous, primarily because different parties have been unresponsive and the bureaucracy at Ford has been frustrating (they apparently closed my buyback request because the dealership didn’t respond - for which I’d be super pissed, if I was still pursuing the buyback), an extended warranty, car payments along with a perfectly repaired vehicle is more than reasonable IMO.

again - thank you so much. I will keep y’all posted!

 

[ice445]

You may want to perform the check on the latest TSB which affects the GT500 and GT350 which, is a very easy check and could be what the cause was for some of the engine failures.

I've attached the TSB docs for you to review. I checked mine even though it's not in the date range however, mine was within 2 weeks.

Well holy shit on a stick. Looks like Ford finally figured out what's been going on.

 

[Chris2020GT500]

Whoa, crap! This has the potential to be huge. Like I mentioned before, my engine went kaput because of the valve issue too.

Although Ford says only 2020s are affected, mine is an early 2019 car and it still had the issue. No idea what is going on.

Either way I will be sure to check the new engine.

From what I saw, the replacement motor was built in February 3, 2021, meaning it was built before my engine blew.

Honestly, as easy as this check is, I think everyone should check their motors 19+ as it is a 2 minute check. If the second tensioner is not activated, it is a much easier replacement than an entire motor. However, my guess is if the tensioner is NOT activated, it may be a few weeks worth of downtime. However, even so, that is much better than dealing with a blown motor.

 

[JeremyPro5.0]

Have all engine failures for past years been on passenger side?
If yes, maybe they found the smoking gun.
If no, there are other issues still open which need resolution.

Still the best damn sounding mustang Ford will EVER produce, by far! This thing is truly intoxicating to listen to and drive.
They need to get the flat plane back into some other year.

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