Oil cooler failure - first hand experiences?

These cars are still relatively new, and 2ish k for 3 years warranty could be well spent. A repair like the a/c evap will eat up 2k plus in no time, as will engines, diffs, gearboxes, electrics etc since workshops and dealers are charging upwards of $120/hr.

As for the extra cooling unless you're hammering yours on the track there's unlikely to be a requirement for it, IMHO it's debatable whether a street car even needs an oil cooler. Also David @ Streetfighter told me last year he was working on a module that just did away with the whole oil cooler contraption because in his opinion you simply don't need it.

I'd like to get a tune and headers (the latter possibly horrendously bad bang for the buck unless you're supercharging) but for me the thing goes well enough/ok and the coin is better spent on that nice warranty.

As long as they KEEP replacing engines.

There's evidence in this thread of a Canberra based car with modifications having a milkshake and getting a new engine. Warranties can say what they like (and the definition of modification could be argued endlessly if not expressly defined) but if they don't comply with consumer law or are questionable they're on thin ice. Yes it could be messy but if it goes to arbitration you'd probably be well positioned unless there's direct cause and effect between your modification and the calamity. Dealers won't tune but some will do a lot of things including aftermarket wheels, exhaust and suspension so maybe hit up yours and see what they say.

This oil cooler issue is such a stupid problem for us to all have...

Just my 2c. :cheers:

Well the extended warranty in my opinion may not worth the paper they are written on especially if you are going to modify. Once your warranty expires then you better off buying the SF oil cooler solution or any that deletes the existing oil cooler.

You can buy extended warranty but after that warranty ends unless you getting rid of the car you will be in the same position having to worry about when the oil cooler is going to fail.

I could be wrong but in my opinion if you have driven tens of thousands of KMs and you don't have any issues then chances are you won't have any issue.

etbiru said:

Well the extended warranty in my opinion may not worth the paper they are written on especially if you are going to modify.

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Agreed.

An extended warranty is basically an insurance policy with additional terms & conditions not present in a factory warranty.

The guys who bought the discounted run out models with the five year factory warranty are cheering (well, for five years instead of three anyway - it never pays to be an early adopter) :doh:. Ford Australia should extend this courtesy to the rest of us.

I'm very content with this car and intend to keep it long term - but we need some sort of commitment from Ford as to what their position will be on the oil cooler failure following the expiry of the first Australian warranties in December this year. HINT: We will not get any such commitment.

So, I strongly suspect that the unfortunate owner of the first post-warranty failure will be, in effect, acting as a guinea pig for the rest of us.

I will begrudgingly pay for an aftermarket solution if forced to (but I need to know your position first, Ford Australia).

/RANT.

Drewbo said:

Agreed.

An extended warranty is basically an insurance policy with additional terms & conditions not present in a factory warranty.

The guys who bought the discounted run out models with the five year factory warranty are cheering (well, for five years instead of three anyway - it never pays to be an early adopter) :doh:. Ford Australia should extend this courtesy to the rest of us.

I'm very content with this car and intend to keep it long term - but we need some sort of commitment from Ford as to what their position will be on the oil cooler failure following the expiry of the first Australian warranties in December this year. HINT: We will not get any such commitment.

So, I strongly suspect that the unfortunate owner of the first post-warranty failure will be, in effect, acting as a guinea pig for the rest of us.

I will begrudgingly pay for an aftermarket solution if forced to (but I need to know your position first, Ford Australia).

/RANT.

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I fully agree Drew.
I talked to our dealer about the cooler issue at our last service. He said that they had not done any at that stage and was quite aware of their existence, but had quite a few of the aircond faults. Both the evaporator and compressor issues. They are one of Adelaide's larger dealers.
I asked about taking out extended factory warranty and he said he believed it wasn't necessary, due to the low incidence rate of failure and that Ford would cover a known issue out of their warranty and the dealer extended warranty would cover it anyway.
He is a pretty straight up guy that I have dealt with for many years and not prone to the usual sales driven mantra.
He also noted that the percentage failure rate was much higher in the UK.....I am guessing that as they were the very first batch of rhd's they may have had a bigger chance of being fitted with the dodgier coolers....or maybe there is a bigger thermal shock effect with their cooler temperatures......who knows.
As you suggested though, the dealer and other extended warranties embedded in loans are just a glorified insurance policy and entail all the usual run arounds that insurance companies do if there is a claim against them.
They are not as simple as a factory warranty from a claim point of view.
They have limited liability and will take ages before a repair is approved, if it is approved.

Although I had a bit more piece of mind after talking with the dealer, as soon as our warranty is up, we will go aftermarket to bypass the cooler....the price of the mod would far outweigh the amount of pissing around that would take place if an incident did happen post warranty .

Bobsp12 said:

...Ford would cover a known issue out of their warranty and the dealer extended warranty would cover it anyway. He is a pretty straight up guy that I have dealt with for many years and not prone to the usual sales driven mantra.

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Drewbo said:

HINT: We will not get any such commitment. So, I strongly suspect that the unfortunate owner of the first post-warranty failure will be, in effect, acting as a guinea pig for the rest of us.

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Bob he may well be a straight up guy but it sounds to me like he's giving you assurances when he's in no position to do so. Unless he has this advice in writing from Ford I simply don't see how he can say this, and we know Ford isn't taking the opportunity to either A. come good and provide such an undertaking or B. explain why they don't want to.

Someone in Ford must know why this is, just as someone in Ford must know why they decided blame customers for the Focus transmission issue instead of fessing up that it's a defect.

Out of interest does anyone know what the Ford factory warranty says about modifications?

Drewbo said:

I was thinking along the same lines, however the T&C's (the 'warranty' is provided by a third party) give a blanket out for them if your vehicle is 'modified'.

That would seem to rule most of us out (assuming that they class aftermarket exhaust systems as a modification).

https://www.einsure.com.au/wb/public...L383DE_FOR.pdf

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Ford offer something I think called My Ford extended warranty. AFAIK it's genuine Ford warranty and not the third party one most dealers try to push.

I take your point GT 550....I was referring to the low incidence rate more as to the peace of mind.

He has been in the service department for eons and would have much experience with the inner workings of Ford and I am sure he is basing those comments on past issues....funnily enough we had some long discussions re the Focus gearbox issue a few years ago when it was in full swing.
There was more to that issue than the media reported...still Fords fault, but maybe more bad marketing than product.
I am sure that if you are hard nosed enough and stand your ground, the cooler problem will be covered for some period out of warranty. As to how long that would be, who knows.
There are plenty of cases where known faults are fixed free out of warranty and others that are a struggle even when within a warranty period...I think the dealer relationship can play its part here and how willing the dealer is to go into bat for you with Ford.
I do not have the stomach for that sort of caper and would prefer to just mod the cooler.
The whole issue is feeding my anxiety even while under warranty....the stress of carrying the problem out of warranty would be too much.
Like for many...the cooler issue is taking a good chunk of the fun out of a great car.

@ apsilon thanks the MyFord extended warranty is indeed the one I'm looking at.

@ Bobsp12 cheers Bob, for me the consequences of the cooler failing are such that if the MyFord warranty doesn't exactly meet my needs and there's no evidence to suggest that Ford will keep changing out engines after warranty (and replacing aircon evaps) then sadly after warranty I might move the car on. If I keep it after warranty, like you I don't need the hassle so it'll have a MyFord warranty and an aftermarket cooler fitted by Ford.

Thought I'd throw this in for interest. We are not alone.

https://www.news.com.au/technology/...s/news-story/dd102c2efe2967596c48954b3b51e234

I'd say it's all modern cars. There was a recent discussion on another forum I visit and the general consensus was car reliability improved steeply through the 80s, levelled out in the 90s and started declining again around 2005.

GT 550 said:

@ apsilon thanks the MyFord extended warranty is indeed the one I'm looking at.

@ Bobsp12 cheers Bob, for me the consequences of the cooler failing are such that if the MyFord warranty doesn't exactly meet my needs and there's no evidence to suggest that Ford will keep changing out engines after warranty (and replacing aircon evaps) then sadly after warranty I might move the car on. If I keep it after warranty, like you I don't need the hassle so it'll have a MyFord warranty and an aftermarket cooler fitted by Ford.

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Big difference between a ford FACTORY EXTENDED WARRANTY and the dealer servicing contracts they try and up sell you. About to pick my car up with six year factory warranty and they couldn’t understand my lack of interest. Happy to pay extra for six years peace of mind. Apart from Ford boot mat my car is unmolested and Unmodified. Meticulously serviced before time at Ford dealer. Further I specifically request an oil cooler check on the service form and have this request documented in writing. I also keep hard copies and electronic copies. Anything happens to my car they don’t fix, happy to see them at Claims Tribunal with all my documents - and hard copy print outs from this forum.

apsilon said:

Ford offer something I think called My Ford extended warranty. AFAIK it's genuine Ford warranty and not the third party one most dealers try to push.

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That is the product in the linked document.

The ones pushed by dealers are little more than “service contracts”. More outs than a Bangladesh batting lineup.

Wouldn’t mind a Hardtop to pair with my vert. Tempted to grab a new coupe for $50 k, add on the Ford warranty - eight years cover.

No new posts for 3 months, does that mean no more affected cars?

Anyway here's the Harrop offering for those who are interested

https://www.harrop.com.au/shop/automotive-performance/cooling/engine-oil-cooler-ford-mustang-gt