2020 New Voodoo Big Booboo- Engine Replacement Experience

[thill444]

Well Ford has nobody to blame but themselves for warranty costs. If you make reliable, cars you don't have claims. If you cut corners on things like transmissions (see Ford made DCT) then you lose big time later.

Their first step should be to fire their CEO. The guy has no business running a car company. Period. Get out of some of the global markets and focus on North America.

They have put all their eggs in one basket (SUV/trucks) and have either killed off cars in North America or let them go stale. Look at the Mustang. As much as I love the platform we are at least two years away from an all new model and it might even be longer if they can't get their act together.

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[lenFeb]

If ford go bankrupt(not restructuring), government will bale Ford out and Ford know it.

 

[ebdbDave]

So I'm going to start a new thread about my engine replacement experience here as things move along.

Does the option exist for you to just return the car and get your money back? my last car was an alfa romeo that was in the shop more than 30 days in its first year, and was by lemonlaw, returned and most of my money returned.
curious.

hope youre happy with whatever result
D|S


Most of you already saw my photo delivery blog thread where the engine died inside a parking garage in Santa Fe. Right now the car is at the dealer in Santa Fe, Capitol Ford. We will be flying back today to Portland and whenever the motor replacement is done we will come back and finish our journey.

So to recap the incidents in my first three days of ownership:

Delivery Day- 1/4 mile into my first drive, I have a check engine light and wrench warning on the display. Not knowing if it was serious or not I drove to my sales appointment in San Antonio and then back to the dealer. This of course aborted any break in process for the first 30 miles. During this time the motor seemed fine but I couldn't run the AC- so it was in somewhat of a soft limp mode. Dealer diagnosed the issue (which was not very easy) as a cut wire harness that rubbed against the serpentine belt. Took until the next day to repair- everything seemed OK and I started my trip home to Portland.

Day Two- Next 70 miles up and down the rev range from 3K to 7K (never redline, never full throttle approx 70%) until I reached 100 miles. A while latter did a full throttle acceleration, but very low traction with the cold temperature and again did not take to redline- maybe 7500 RPM. Then most of the next two days was highway cruising at 60- 85 MPH.

Day Three in Santa Fe backing up a ramp in a parking garage the engine stumbled, died, turned over on the starter but wouldn't start one time, then after the starter would not turn the motor. We thought it was electrical but in reality the motor was seized. Diagnosis by the dealer- #6 cylinder spark plug damage engine is seized, need a new one.

Now:

I called Ford Performance tech line after first calling Ford Customer Service and getting a call center in the Philippines. The tech there was very helpful and told me to work with the service dealer and dealer in San Antonio to open a case for me to discuss all the issues regarding my warranty claims. Hopefully Monday I will talk to a Zone Rep for Ford.

Right away I am looking for:
1) A rental during the repair
2) Compensation for travel expenses. So far two trip delays (my wife's trip delay meeting me in Albuqurque plus our flights home is about $1000
3) I would like an extended warranty on the motor when this is all done.

I have seen some videos about others that have received the extended warranty so I would expect that to work out. As far as the travel expenses I don't know. Rental is a no brainer.

I'll update here as it progresses, anyone with experience on this is welcome to chime in!

 

[Cobra Jet]

$5 BILLION in Warranty Repairs... that’s atrocious... I would have had to question the issue before it even came close to $1B.... I mean, is that something to be proud of to have a Company that has more Warranty Claims than what most other Business’s could report in annual profit???

LOL... geez....

 

[Montoya]

Montoya,

As someone who recently went thru an engine replacement for my 2017 GT350R, I do empathize with you, but here are some cold hard facts that I learned during the process:

1) Ford's warranty program does not guaranty your car's current or implied future value, it only guaranties it will fix the problem.
2) Ford's warranty program does not operate like car insurance so they will not reimburse for the cost of any after-market mods, or other out of pocket costs like travel expenses.
3) Ford would not extend the drivetrain warranty or provide free service beyond the warranty repair.
4) I learned to work with the system, not against it. Many dealerships are hamstrung by Ford's warranty process, which makes it seem like the dealership is delaying the repair, when in fact they are incentivized to get it done as soon as possible because they don't get reimbursed until it's complete.

I'm truly sorry for the mess you're in and even though it's not your fault, I doubt Ford will make you "whole", but I do believe they will fix the problem.

For me, I finally accepted "sh*t happens", and I wasn't the first. Frankly, I'm enjoying my car more than ever because that nagging worry about engine failure is gone. As far as my car's diminished value, like someone else said, who cares, gas engines will probably be outlawed in 30 years (especially true here in California!).

Best of luck!

I’m not under any allusions regarding what is ‘owed’ me per the letter of Ford’s warranty and my legal rights as a consumer. I’ve managed warranty and service for the companies I’ve worked for almost my entire career and consequential damages like my travel expenses are almost universally excepted out of all warranties. However, there are always grey areas as well as consumer protection laws (lemon laws) that also give you additional benefits. Bottom line, yes if you are passive about your warranty engine replacement on your new car, all you will get is a replacement engine on their schedule. If on the other hand you make it clear you have expectations that they will make things ‘right’ you can reasonably expect more. To that point, many have received extended warranties and compensation for loss of use of their vehicle (car payments mainly).

Sorry to hear about this. I hope you enjoyed your travel through the TX Hill Country before this all went south. Seems like Ford has been struggling in the warranty costs department as of late, so I expect you to have an uphill battle with regard to any extras you ask for:

https://www.freep.com/story/money/c...ley-speaks-shareholders-investors/4873629002/

Warranty costs reaching $5 billion in 2019 (up by $1.5 billion) is no joke. $5 billion is equal to about 200,000 voodoo engine replacements at the rack rate of $25k/engine. I'm not trying to draw any inference on the numbers of replacements - just trying to put the cost of engine replacement into perspective compared to Ford's total warranty costs.

Best of luck with the repair and I hope the remainder of your ownership is a flawless experience!

Thanks! I did take a small detour along the way to Roswell through the Texas Hill country- it was great, thanks!!

Little concerning about Ford’s financial health and their warranty expenses, that is ugly!

 

[Montoya]

Oh forgot to update news so far. Not much, rental car is approved. Ford is requesting more information on the failure and wants to check if anything might have caused the failure. To that point the coolant overflow tank was empty (hmmm) and the oil level was normal maybe a little overfilled (hmmm, hmmm). Should have info on the timeline tomorrow.

 

[Inthehighdesert]

Not to change the OP’s thread. But Ford is NOT going to go in to bankruptcy. What a crock. I don’t agree with the companies direction as a whole nor the current CEO. I highly doubt there warranty claims are as high as 5 billion, but even if you want to assume that number as accurate Ford’s revenue is north of 150 billion a year. That puts it around 3.5%. Most companies would love to have that low of a percentage for warranty and returns. That line item percentage is hardly going to destabilize the company.

 

[Inthehighdesert]

I’m right down the road from Capital Ford in SF, 25 miles. They’ve always been a step above the dealers in Alb.

 

[Montoya]

I’m right down the road from Capital Ford in SF, 25 miles. They’ve always been a step above the dealers in Alb.

That is great to hear! They have been very good so far!

 

[mrbillwot]

Not to change the OP’s thread. But Ford is NOT going to go in to bankruptcy. What a crock. I don’t agree with the companies direction as a whole nor the current CEO. I highly doubt there warranty claims are as high as 5 billion, but even if you want to assume that number as accurate Ford’s revenue is north of 150 billion a year. That puts it around 3.5%. Most companies would love to have that low of a percentage for warranty and returns. That line item percentage is hardly going to destabilize the company.

But if its up its up and that warranty cost exceeds their profit. Their Operating Expenses were >155B in 2019. Their stock hasn't been sinking steadily the last 5 years because investors aren't optimistic enough -its a reality check. The hard numbers have not been good & there's been a lot of failure to execute. I doubt Hackett will last the year.

 

[Bmaughan]

Sorry to hear about all this..How many days have you even had the car?? I’d would be demanding a buyback if I were in your shoes...

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Seems like Ford has been struggling in the warranty costs department as of late, so I expect you to have an uphill battle with regard to any extras you ask for:

https://www.freep.com/story/money/c...ley-speaks-shareholders-investors/4873629002/

Sounds like Ford's glass isn't half empty but rather almost overflowing:

Our warranty spending is a big opportunity for us. We have a very concrete plan to work the warranty opportunity.

Unbelievable!

 

[L8APEX]

Hmm. Ford covered my travel expenses when I was stranded 400 miles from where I lived. This was 8 years ago though and I had a premiumcare warranty

 

[Lorne34]

One of the toughest parts of this whole scenario is the added cost of Paint Protection Film and Ceramic on a brand new car. I've seen a couple of guys have unfortunate events like this and struggled between engine replacement and whole car replacement because the detailing was not going to be reimbursed. Best wishes to you that everything turns out ok and you can start enjoying the car. You had a fantastic road trip planned and it didn't go the way you wanted it to for sure, but there will be better days ahead. That color is stunning by the way...can't stop looking at the pictures.

 

[99Zeus99]

Sucks for OP and I wouldn't wish this engine fail on anyone, especially for the cost of a Shelby but it seems as if the Voodoo has a much higher rate of issues than the 2018+ 5.0L. More oil consumption issues and more failures. I'd like to see the actual numbers on this. Makes me curious and thinking of bore scoping my 5.0 just to see what it looks like at 8,060 miles.

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