My 2018 GT needs a new short block

[Brico]

Welp, after 15 days at the dealership they have determined I need a new clutch and short block on my 2018 GT PP1 with a manual trans.

9/5/18 - It all started when I was driving home from work and noticed my shifter was vibrating quite a lot to the point where my hand was tingling after driving it. I parked it and said I'd take it into the dealer the next day. I couldn't help myself so I took it out one more time that night and noticed that at higher rpms the shifter vibration turned into an intense vibration from the drivetrain that shook the whole car.

9/6/18 - Dropped the car off at the dealership.

9/7/18 - I was informed my car needed a new driveshaft and would be ready sometime the next week.

9/13/18 - I got a call saying that the driveshaft was in but "something is still going on". I tried to inquire further but the service advisor said that was all he was told.

9/18/18 - I got an email stating that they had to open a "Ford techline case" to get help from ford engineering to figure out what's going on.

9/22/18 - Got a call, they finally know what's going on. Apparently the clutch went bad which started the vibrations and an engine ear broke from what they can only assume was from the excessive vibrations caused by the bad clutch. So I'm gonna need a new clutch and a whole new short block.

So that's where I'm at now. I'm pretty bummed out. At this point I'm starting to think I have a decent case for a ford buy back. I really like this car but this is my first mustang and I must say the MT-82 is a bit disappointing and after this happened to me and hearing about the shifter fork issues us 2018 manual owners are having I'm starting to think I want out.

Do you guys think I have a decent case for a buy back?

Sponsored

 

[Fatguy]

Welp, after 15 days at the dealership they have determined I need a new clutch and short block on my 2018 GT PP1 with a manual trans.

9/5/18 - It all started when I was driving home from work and noticed my shifter was vibrating quite a lot to the point where my hand was tingling after driving it. I parked it and said I'd take it into the dealer the next day. I couldn't help myself so I took it out one more time that night and noticed that at higher rpms the shifter vibration turned into an intense vibration from the drivetrain that shook the whole car.

9/6/18 - Dropped the car off at the dealership.

9/7/18 - I was informed my car needed a new driveshaft and would be ready sometime the next week.

9/13/18 - I got a call saying that the driveshaft was in but "something is still going on". I tried to inquire further but the service advisor said that was all he was told.

9/18/18 - I got an email stating that they had to open a "Ford techline case" to get help from ford engineering to figure out what's going on.

9/22/18 - Got a call, they finally know what's going on. Apparently the clutch went bad which started the vibrations and an engine ear broke from what they can only assume was from the excessive vibrations caused by the bad clutch. So I'm gonna need a new clutch and a whole new short block.

So that's where I'm at now. I'm pretty bummed out. At this point I'm starting to think I have a decent case for a ford buy back. I really like this car but this is my first mustang and I must say the MT-82 is a bit disappointing and after this happened to me and hearing about the shifter fork issues us 2018 manual owners are having I'm starting to think I want out.

Do you guys think I have a decent case for a buy back?

They will chime in but it’s your call. For that it’s worth if you can get out, there are other cars out there. Some of us have been driving Stangs for decades and might put up with his bull shit because we are married to the brand. You are not so make an informed decision. The whole powertrain has to be replaced. Wow! Ford quality is job one - Not!!!!!

 

[bigriver]

Ford will follow the Lemon Law in your state to determine a buyback. There is info in the owners manual on how to proceed. However, dealing with Ford customer care and RAV department is way worse than what you are going through now.

 

[stangman638]

Welp, after 15 days at the dealership they have determined I need a new clutch and short block on my 2018 GT PP1 with a manual trans.

9/5/18 - It all started when I was driving home from work and noticed my shifter was vibrating quite a lot to the point where my hand was tingling after driving it. I parked it and said I'd take it into the dealer the next day. I couldn't help myself so I took it out one more time that night and noticed that at higher rpms the shifter vibration turned into an intense vibration from the drivetrain that shook the whole car.

9/6/18 - Dropped the car off at the dealership.

9/7/18 - I was informed my car needed a new driveshaft and would be ready sometime the next week.

9/13/18 - I got a call saying that the driveshaft was in but "something is still going on". I tried to inquire further but the service advisor said that was all he was told.

9/18/18 - I got an email stating that they had to open a "Ford techline case" to get help from ford engineering to figure out what's going on.

9/22/18 - Got a call, they finally know what's going on. Apparently the clutch went bad which started the vibrations and an engine ear broke from what they can only assume was from the excessive vibrations caused by the bad clutch. So I'm gonna need a new clutch and a whole new short block.

So that's where I'm at now. I'm pretty bummed out. At this point I'm starting to think I have a decent case for a ford buy back. I really like this car but this is my first mustang and I must say the MT-82 is a bit disappointing and after this happened to me and hearing about the shifter fork issues us 2018 manual owners are having I'm starting to think I want out.

Do you guys think I have a decent case for a buy back?

So the mechanic at the dealership is a parts changer and not a troubleshooter.. This is what I'm afraid of, I'm also a mechanic, not auto, and I know plenty of guys that take guesses at the problem, we call them part changers...

I know the feeling, this is my first stang in almost 20 yrs.. The past 10 years I been a loyal toyota buyer.. FJ's.. 4 runners, etc.. Never an issue. Now I have the infamous tick, jury is still out if it's actually causing damage or not.. I'm curious to know what nobody has posted pics of the actual damage... If my dealer trys to say they are replacing the block.. Great!! But show me the pics of the damage and why it was caused! I don't want some mechanic tooling around guessing..

 

[stangman638]

Ford will follow the Lemon Law in your state to determine a buyback. There is info in the owners manual on how to proceed. However, dealing with Ford customer care and RAV department is way worse than what you are going through now.

How do they treat lemons in regards to those that have had the ECU flashed prior before returning to stock tune?

 

[Brico]

They will chime in but it’s your call. For that it’s worth if you can get out, there are other cars out there. Some of us have been driving Stangs for decades and might put up with his bull shit because we are married to the brand. You are not so make an informed decision. The whole powertrain has to be replaced. Wow! Ford quality is job one - Not!!!!!

If the buyback goes through I'm considering getting a 2019 a10 but well see.

Ford will follow the Lemon Law in your state to determine a buyback. There is info in the owners manual on how to proceed. However, dealing with Ford customer care and RAV department is way worse than what you are going through now.

Unfortunately in my state its 30 days of being unrepaired after writing a letter into the manufacturer, which I haven't done yet but I need to do tomorrow. And you are absolutely correct about dealing with customer care. I had my first phone conversation with a customer relations rep and she hadn't even talked to the dealership that has my car yet so she couldn't even answer any of my questions

 

[stangman638]

If the buyback goes through I'm considering getting a 2019 a10 but well see.




Unfortunately in my state its 30 days of being unrepaired after writing a letter into the manufacturer, which I haven't done yet but I need to do tomorrow. And you are absolutely correct about dealing with customer care. I had my first phone conversation with a customer relations rep and she hadn't even talked to the dealership that has my car yet so she couldn't even answer any of my questions

Do it... If I had a do-over I'd take the PP1 and the active exhaust feature...

 

[bigriver]

How do they treat lemons in regards to those that have had the ECU flashed prior before returning to stock tune?

It depends on whether the dealer suspects the tune caused the problem. They can't tell what was changed, but there is a counter that tracks how many times a reflash occurred. So worst case is they ask you to explain each occurrence. If they haven't said anything then i wouldn't worry about it.

 

[bigriver]

So the mechanic at the dealership is a parts changer and not a troubleshooter.. This is what I'm afraid of, I'm also a mechanic, not auto, and I know plenty of guys that take guesses at the problem, we call them part changers...

I know the feeling, this is my first stang in almost 20 yrs.. The past 10 years I been a loyal toyota buyer.. FJ's.. 4 runners, etc.. Never an issue. Now I have the infamous tick, jury is still out if it's actually causing damage or not.. I'm curious to know what nobody has posted pics of the actual damage... If my dealer trys to say they are replacing the block.. Great!! But show me the pics of the damage and why it was caused! I don't want some mechanic tooling around guessing..

I had to take the initiative to get pictures from their borescope and take my own pics of the damage. Otherwise would not have done anything other than change the parts and send the engine back to Ford.

 

[Brico]

I didnt hear anything for weeks but I got a call last Monday from my customer relations regional manager and she said they are "emergency expediting" clutch parts that were on backorder.

Today is day 32 of my car being down. Unfortunately in the state of Maryland the lemon law requires the manufacturer replace or repurchase the vehicle 30 days after they recieve a letter from the consumer demanding the car be fixed. According to the tracking info my letter was delivered October 1st so a buy back is looking decently unlikely at this point.

 

[bigriver]

I didnt hear anything for weeks but I got a call last Monday from my customer relations regional manager and she said they are "emergency expediting" clutch parts that were on backorder.

Today is day 32 of my car being down. Unfortunately in the state of Maryland the lemon law requires the manufacturer replace or repurchase the vehicle 30 days after they recieve a letter from the consumer demanding the car be fixed. According to the tracking info my letter was delivered October 1st so a buy back is looking decently unlikely at this point.

It could be likely they don't get the parts and take a while to install.

 

[growler]

damn a month for a vibrating shifter.will take 5-6 years if somethings actually wrong

 

[Brico]

Alllllright...interesting update..spoiler alert: Fords customer relations managers suck.

10/15/18 - My regional customer relations manager hadn't called me in 2 weeks so I gave her a call, no answer. My service advisor quit so I was assigned a new one. I called him and he had no idea the status of my car because apparently my escalation of the case took him out the picture but he said he'd try to get me some info the next business day.

10/16/18 - Following day he calls me and says they finally got the back ordered clutch parts in and the car should be done within 2-3 days.

10/19/18 - Heard nothing still so I gave them a call. Apparently they got the whole car together but the clutch was not lining up right or going in straight. They said they started another ford techline case to get help from engineering. Called my regional customer relations manager again..still no answer

10/21/18 - We're getting close to the 30th day mark of ford receiving my letter of demand to fix my car as per Maryland lemon law (10 days away). Called my regional customer relations manager 3 more times, still no answer at this point it has been 3 weeks since I've heard from her...she was supposed to be calling me weekly. On the last call I made sure to leave a voicemail following her exact format and according to her recording I would hear back in 1 business day.

10/24/18 - At this point we are getting close to Maryland's lemon law. Still no reply from my regional customer relations manager. I used all the patience I had and gave her 3 calls throughout the day and gave her the benefit of the doubt and waited until the business day was almost over, no call. At this point I am fed up. I called the customer relations center to see what the hell was going on. I described my numerous attempts to reach the manager and also how she was supposed to be calling me weekly. to their credit, the lady on the phone was prompt and courteous. She pulled up my case file and the manager had been putting in there weekly that she had been calling me but I haven't been answering and that she had been leaving voicemails. This was total BS. I had my phone on all day I got no calls and no voicemails. I explained how I did not receive any calls and asked for a new manager and case. She said that she cannot do that but she can make a note on my case that I tried reaching the manager to no avail and that she could transfer me to her line once again to see if she'd answer. I told her I seriously doubt she'd answer because I just got off the phone trying to call her and also had been calling her for weeks with no response but she assured me she should answer.

She transfers me and this time she actually picks up..funny how that works huh? I told her who I was and she had a "what do you want?" tone. I described my numerous attempts to contact her and her lack of contacting me. She told me the same thing the customer center lady told me that she has in the case file that she had just called me to attempt to update me on the car. Lol, BS. I told her I wanted a buy back, she put me on hold for a little then came back. She explained how she will start a case for me for them to review my eligibility for a buy back and ill hear back in 3-5 days. She then asked me if I had my car back in my possession yet. I didn't realize this until later but her not knowing this proves she was full of sh*t about having called me to update me on the progress of my car..she didn't even know if I had it back yet or not..LOL. She also made sure to mention with a snarky laugh that doing the buy back will mean i'll lose the goodwill gesture that they had lined up to compensate me for my car being down. I didn't even know what the compensation was, I assume that was something she was supposed to call me and update me on. I told her how I had sent Ford a letter demanding them to fix my car within 30 days as per Maryland law and that day was up on the 31st of October. She said that she will call me on that day to inform me whether or not my buy back request was accepted.

So it looks like it is all coming down to the 31st of October. I hope they don't rush the dealer to try to duct tape it together just to get me off their back. Also, I talked to an attorney just in case ford denies my case and he said if they do I should give him a call and they should have no problem getting me my money.

 

[SiMuL]

It depends on whether the dealer suspects the tune caused the problem. They can't tell what was changed, but there is a counter that tracks how many times a reflash occurred. So worst case is they ask you to explain each occurrence. If they haven't said anything then i wouldn't worry about it.

It's actually an engine start count. They have no way to know if the ECU was reflashed, but they can tell that a 3 year old car with only 50 starts doesn't add up and will conclude that you reflashed the ECU. If you have a fairly new car and flashed it early on, you might get away with it.

 

[Cobra Jet]

Alllllright...interesting update..spoiler alert: Fords customer relations managers suck.

10/15/18 - My regional customer relations manager hadn't called me in 2 weeks so I gave her a call, no answer. My service advisor quit so I was assigned a new one. I called him and he had no idea the status of my car because apparently my escalation of the case took him out the picture but he said he'd try to get me some info the next business day.

10/16/18 - Following day he calls me and says they finally got the back ordered clutch parts in and the car should be done within 2-3 days.

10/19/18 - Heard nothing still so I gave them a call. Apparently they got the whole car together but the clutch was not lining up right or going in straight. They said they started another ford techline case to get help from engineering. Called my regional customer relations manager again..still no answer

10/21/18 - We're getting close to the 30th day mark of ford receiving my letter of demand to fix my car as per Maryland lemon law (10 days away). Called my regional customer relations manager 3 more times, still no answer at this point it has been 3 weeks since I've heard from her...she was supposed to be calling me weekly. On the last call I made sure to leave a voicemail following her exact format and according to her recording I would hear back in 1 business day.

10/24/18 - At this point we are getting close to Maryland's lemon law. Still no reply from my regional customer relations manager. I used all the patience I had and gave her 3 calls throughout the day and gave her the benefit of the doubt and waited until the business day was almost over, no call. At this point I am fed up. I called the customer relations center to see what the hell was going on. I described my numerous attempts to reach the manager and also how she was supposed to be calling me weekly. to their credit, the lady on the phone was prompt and courteous. She pulled up my case file and the manager had been putting in there weekly that she had been calling me but I haven't been answering and that she had been leaving voicemails. This was total BS. I had my phone on all day I got no calls and no voicemails. I explained how I did not receive any calls and asked for a new manager and case. She said that she cannot do that but she can make a note on my case that I tried reaching the manager to no avail and that she could transfer me to her line once again to see if she'd answer. I told her I seriously doubt she'd answer because I just got off the phone trying to call her and also had been calling her for weeks with no response but she assured me she should answer.

She transfers me and this time she actually picks up..funny how that works huh? I told her who I was and she had a "what do you want?" tone. I described my numerous attempts to contact her and her lack of contacting me. She told me the same thing the customer center lady told me that she has in the case file that she had just called me to attempt to update me on the car. Lol, BS. I told her I wanted a buy back, she put me on hold for a little then came back. She explained how she will start a case for me for them to review my eligibility for a buy back and ill hear back in 3-5 days. She then asked me if I had my car back in my possession yet. I didn't realize this until later but her not knowing this proves she was full of sh*t about having called me to update me on the progress of my car..she didn't even know if I had it back yet or not..LOL. She also made sure to mention with a snarky laugh that doing the buy back will mean i'll lose the goodwill gesture that they had lined up to compensate me for my car being down. I didn't even know what the compensation was, I assume that was something she was supposed to call me and update me on. I told her how I had sent Ford a letter demanding them to fix my car within 30 days as per Maryland law and that day was up on the 31st of October. She said that she will call me on that day to inform me whether or not my buy back request was accepted.

So it looks like it is all coming down to the 31st of October. I hope they don't rush the dealer to try to duct tape it together just to get me off their back. Also, I talked to an attorney just in case ford denies my case and he said if they do I should give him a call and they should have no problem getting me my money.

The so called “compensation” would have been the following:

1) If the vehcile has been inop and at the Ford Service Center for 3-4 weeks, the Ford CSR would offer a refund of 1 car payment. Rightfully so, since it’s been there almost 1 month, of which you would have made the payment or had it coming up.

2) An offer to you for an Extended Warranty Plan up to 75k miles. It runs concurrent to the existing 3/36 and picks up where the 3/36 ends...so basically you’re really only getting 39k of coverage.

3) An offer to you for a 45k Ford Maintenance Plan. This gives you 45k of free oil changes and many other maintenance perks. It’s actually a good plan.

Now they will NOT give you all (3) of the above, but will give you #1 and your choice of option 2 or option 3. How do I know? Because I went through the BS and actually was “compensated” due to the many warranty repair attempts on my prior 2016.

——
So that Ford CSR NEVER even offered you anything, because she’s a lying sack of shit. My dealings with the Ford CSR’s was the same experience. When they were supposed to call or update me on my prior 2016, I was the one calling them... and like you have experienced, calling them multiple times and leaving messages with no response back. I even emailed, where sometimes the email would result in a response.

With my prior 2016 Ford Buy Back, I went through THREE Ford CSR’s and finally resorted to a Supervisor. I have emails that if printed, would probably result in at least 2” of paper and that’s no exaggeration. When I did the Ford Buy Back, the Ford RAV CSR was responsive to a point, but again, I had to get a Supervisor involved when replies or phone callls needed back from the RAV CSR became inadequate and non-existent.

You have to be proactive and as much of a PIA it is to deal with the Ford process, before you know it you’ll be either into another vehicle or you can walk away from Ford if you elect a refund over a Buy Back vehcile replacement.

If the CSR gives you more shit, just politely give her the “ok bye”; immediately call the Ford 800# again and ask for a Supervisor and just let that Supervisor know: You’ve been more than patient, you’re completely disatissifed with the Ford product and Ford Customer Service, you’re refraining from relaying your story on Social Media but will let everyone know your horrible experience as a new Ford Owner, you will file with the BBB and you will retain an Attorney if they can’t expedite a Buy Back within 2 business days. Watch how quick they will initiate the Buy Back....

The key is being firm but polite and standing your ground - don’t back down.

You see.... in today’s world, Social Media “thumbs up”, “positive” customer kudos and “likes” is what these Corporations want - they don’t want any negative Social Media or public forums denouncing their products OR bringing to light the inadequacies of their products or Customer Relations...

Sponsored