Damaged infotainment screen

[Haas]

I picked up a new 2019 which I inspected when i picked it up at a dealership about an hour from my house. Everything looked good or so I thought. Once I got home and turned the car off I noticed there is a little cut in the screen. That cut was also present in the screen cover. Pics below

So it is a very small cut and really only noticeable when the car is off. When the screen is on I have to search for it even when I know where it is. This explains why I didn't see it when I picked the car up.

Since then I have taken it back to the dealer and they told me to call ford and have a warranty process started which got me a case number. Since then the service department has been very evasive and I have a very hard time even getting in contact with them. They have not given me any new info.

Should I be more aggressive with service department? I want to but am afraid of them then having my car and not being as careful on the, I assume, fair amount of disassembly required to change this. Is this a large repair job? Is there a chance of electrical gremlins from changing this (everything is working fine right now)? It feels like a small thing to focus on but I also just dropped 3.5k on a detail, ppf, and ceramic so it feels odd to just let this defect go.

I may have started rambling there but any advice would be great

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[johnny1]

Warranty will take care of this as you know. You can take it to any Ford dealership with warranty. Call around feeling out service departments telling them your problem. When you find one that you feel comfortable with take it there. And if they ask you why you didn't take it back to service where you bought it tell them that you aren't comfortable with discussion with service department but are with theirs. In most cases that will make an impression to the service department you take it to.

 

[lonegunman]

Warranty the thing. They probably ruined it trying to clean it or some shop goon used a razor to cut off the plastic. The plastic clearly says, only to be removed by customer on it by the way. They are giddy that you left without seeing it, this way it is not their ding, it is a warranty issue.

I bought a new Ford in 2000, they used a rock filled rag to clean the instrument panel, just like you I saw it a mile from the dealer when I shut off the car. I drove straight back, my salesman who had been kissing my ass and shaking my hand, looked right at me and said, "Well it's your car now, good luck with it." and walked off. I walked into the sales manager and dropped off the keys, had my bank on the cell phone cancelling the payment.

All of a sudden the manager cared. The owner was there and unimpressed with the salesman. We walked out to the car and they saw the damage. The salesman had a bad rest of the day. Long story longer, Ford gladly fixed it. It was not an issue with Ford or with the shop to replace the damaged cluster.

Since you spent serious money on the rest of the detail, fixing this will get you too Perfect to start with.

 

[Haas]

Thanks for the info and the related story. When I called ford they also said it was covered under warranty which makes it so frustrating that no one in the service department will get on the line with me. I will definitely look into other dealers around me. That will be an added bonus of not having to drive as far. getting it perfect to start with resonated with me as I am really trying to take care of this car since its my first new car and i cant just blame little issues on the last owner haha.

 

[460Fred]

Crap dealership!
Why would they have YOU call on a warranty issue from a new car they sold you?
If you still want to deal with that dealership, go right to the owner or the very least, the GM.

I can’t see the pictures.

 

[Epiphany]

Cannot see any images in post #1.

 

[Haas]

Cannot see any images in post #1.

uploading directly into this post so hopefully they show up now.

 

[Jeffwels]

Crap dealership!
Why would they have YOU call on a warranty issue from a new car they sold you?
If you still want to deal with that dealership, go right to the owner or the very least, the GM.

I can see the pictures.

Agree with this. You should have never had to call ford yourself and open a case. The dealer should have recognized the issue and started the process with Ford. Incredible they did not and asked you to open a case.

I would go up the chain at the dealership. Ask to speak to the GM/Owner and express your concern with the quality of service on your high end Ford and the fact that you frequent boards like this one.

Lucky for you finding a new Synch screen should be a lot easier than if a 350 specific part was faulty/broken/missing.

 

[FDHog]

Some of these dealers have some balls. Telling you to call Ford is a bunch of horse shit.
Did you get the Service manager, or just a service rep? I would've gone ballistic.
Where's your sales person?

 

[Haas]

Some of these dealers have some balls. Telling you to call Ford is a bunch of horse shit.
Did you get the Service manager, or just a service rep? I would've gone ballistic.
Where's your sales person?

When I got there it was just a service rep at first. He looked at it said ford had to be called and basically walked away. I was not happy with that got a service advisor and my sales guy came over. Again they did say ford had to be called by me but did actually take pictures and go over the process. Only issue is now they won’t return my calls into the service department and sales guy says he hasn’t heard anything from them.

this place is far and has gotten on my nerves so I’m definitely looking for a new dealers service department. If anyone has some Dallas recommendations let me know.

 

[Jeffwels]

When I got there it was just a service rep at first. He looked at it said ford had to be called and basically walked away. I was not happy with that got a service advisor and my sales guy came over. Again they did say ford had to be called by me but did actually take pictures and go over the process. Only issue is now they won’t return my calls into the service department and sales guy says he hasn’t heard anything from them.

this place is far and has gotten on my nerves so I’m definitely looking for a new dealers service department. If anyone has some Dallas recommendations let me know.

Make sure when you talk to Ford you say the dealer has not been helpful at all. Write you off, don't return your calls, etc.

I feel lucky i had a dealer more than 8 hours from home work with me to resolve a decal issue and do so without me needing to call Ford myself. I would be scorched earth if I was you at this point.

 

[volcanogod]

File a complaint with Ford and find another dealer. It is crap they are treating you this way. :( Keep the faith!

 

[FDHog]

When I got there it was just a service rep at first. He looked at it said ford had to be called and basically walked away. I was not happy with that got a service advisor and my sales guy came over. Again they did say ford had to be called by me but did actually take pictures and go over the process. Only issue is now they won’t return my calls into the service department and sales guy says he hasn’t heard anything from them.

this place is far and has gotten on my nerves so I’m definitely looking for a new dealers service department. If anyone has some Dallas recommendations let me know.

I can sympathize with that. Never noticed the small crack near my Shelby emblem until reading about it on the forum. 1 week after taking delivery. The dealer I bought it from is 110 miles away. I sent them pics and they said Ford wants to see it. I said you know it's a crack, why don't you just order the part and send this one back to Ford. No go.
When this Chinese virus calms down, I'll be going to my local dealer. Bought trucks from him in the past, so maybe I'll get some cooperation. Dealers love you till you hand over your money.

 

[matthewr87]

I feel for you man, I really do. My dealership was great when I noticed that I had a large gouge in the sidewall of my tire a week after delivery. I had not caused the damage but obviously couldn't prove it. They ordered me a new tire and replaced the damaged one free of charge.

That being said, chasing "perfection" with cars is a dangerous game in my experience. I've made that mistake with my previous Mustangs. Each time I took the car in for a relatively minor issue and it just led to more serious problems after the dealership folk had finished with the "repair". Whiny 3.73 gears led to a driveline vibration that I could never get fixed. An electric chair motor replacement led to a dent in my dash and missing foam in my seat, etc. etc.

I have anxiety when I think about dealership techs tearing into your car to replace the screen. But that is just my opinion obviously. Depends on your risk tolerance.

 

[Flimflamman]

When you get it fixed, OP, I would suggest getting a screen protector. I found a good quality one on Amazon for $11.

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