A/C Evaporator Factory Defect

[Eric R]

mee three... I will have to fill out something called a 360 with Ford. I am concerned now that something else could happen as a result of all this work.. ie compressor failing sooner than it should but outside of warranty. I have about 13 months left of the bumper to bumper and have no idea what to expect when that happens.

Crossing fingers.

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[robrichtx]

Eric R - have you considered doing a Lemon Law return on the car?

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Ford is the only automaker I know where they only provide loaners if the service duration is greater than 3 days. It's totally unacceptable.

I agree.

Since I had an A/Z plan which precludes a dealer from changing the price and since I never trade anything in, I negotiated with the acceptable local dealers for other things. One was the DEALER being responsible for providing a loaner if they need the car overnight. I doubt it will cost them much (if anything) because they will undoubtedly use their discretionary days that Ford pays for, before digging into their own pockets.

I think its a bad business decision for Ford to not provide loaners but it is what it is so people can always factor their own outlay for estimated loaners into the purchase decision.

 

[robrichtx]

Lucky Me - I just joined the Evaporator Defect club today. I took the car in on Wednesday of last week and they diagnosed it as a bad compressor. They removed and repaired it, and then did the TSB on the AC Seat at my request.

I picked up the car today and could immediately tell it was not blowing cold enough. Just to get some data, I pulled out, ran up the highway for two miles and came back. AC ws cool, but not at all cold. I showed the service writer, who got the Service Manager, who seemed to have some attitude. First he told me it was cooling. I indicated that it was not cool enough, and was not to spec. Then he had the nerve to tell me I needed tint on the windows, at which point I cut him off and said "Look - I've been driving the car for 17000 miles - I know when it's cold, I know when it's working properly. It's not working properly. I not even going to discuss tint." At that point he said I should drive it - told him I already did, and he could take another lap with me if he wanted to. He declined and said "I'll need to get the guy with the thermometer."

At this time, the AC repair tech came out with a basic digital probe thermometer and checked the temperature at the vent - it was 100 degrees outside, and 87 degrees at the vent. He said it was likely the evaporator.

I gave him a lift over to his bay and he refilled the refrigerant. Here's what I took away from my conversation with him:
- This is major problem with the Mustang
- There are three items that fail - Compressors, Low-side service port, and Evaporators
- There were two cars ahead of me waiting for evaporators
- At one point he had 8 Mustangs lined up for evaporator replacement
- Model (GT, V6, Ecoboost) seems to make no difference
- Ford is only reimbursing the dealer for 6 hours of labor on the replacement
- He sees no end in sight on this one

This is good information to have on hand. I can't vouch for the accuracy of the hours that Ford is reimbursing the dealership, but it's a starting point. I'm not naming the dealer, but I am in Central Texas.

Just wanted to put this out there. The more information we gather, the better.

 

[Eric R]

Car really does not qualify for lemon law under Florida law as it has only undergone the same repair twice. Florida law states at least three.... All i want is an extended warranty on the AC as the system has been open a couple times now.

I saw something else in the thread about a loner car. That's up to each dealer, the dealer i go to is rare that they provide loaner cars for any work that takes more than 2/3 hours I believe.

Good luck to you guys dealing with this. I could not believe this is the second time the exact same failure has occurred.

 

[DontKnowMe]

Do you have the work receipt with the core part number from the first job? If it's the updated one, that's very concerning.

2016 Evap part # FR3Z-19850-P
2017 EVap part # FR3Z-19850-Y

I don't know what revision the original part was.

 

[Eric R]

in Sept 2016 they replaced mine with FR3Z-19850 R - we will see what they install now.

 

[rfcs550]

I have a 16' GT350 with a pattern of evaporator part model "S" defects. I've seen that Ford has replaced the evaporator part number at least 4 times. My evaporator part replacement as stated on invoice is part "S". My dealer, that specializes in Mustangs, said it has serviced a large number of S550 models with evaporator core defects.

I live in a hot weather climate so I use the a/c all the time. The first evaporator core leaked at 5000 miles and now 3 months after its replacement the a/c is blowing hot air again. I have an appointment next Saturday but I'm suspecting that the replacement evaporator is defective, again.

In sum, this car has blown 2 evaporator cores in a little more than one year of use since new. I am obviously concerned about this major and expensive problem going forward if it were to happen out of warranty (the labor costs and time it takes to remove the instrument panel/dash and installing this part are substantial).

Is anyone aware of any recall notices for this defect? Is the evaporator part used in the S550 Mustangs used in any other Ford vehicles? Is anyone aware of a replacement part by a different vendor or who's the manufacturer of this defective part? We may be on the verge of a Tanaka-type airbag defect oroblem and not know about it.

I suspect we will see a larger number of our cars coming in for service for this defect as the summer heats up in the U.S.

 

[MakStang]

Update #2:

The air-condition finally died today, 25 days after the refill. It now blows only warm air... The car was parked in my garage for 2 days as I was away on a trip. I started the car today (outside temperature 95 degrees) and a strange smell flooded the cabin (freon?). I called the dealership and I will take it in tomorrow so that they locate the leak and decide on the next steps.

A defective air-condition that will eventually affect all new-generation Mustangs, so many frustrated customers, leaking evaporators that can cause health issues and no action from Ford... This is very bad publicity for the company and the brand itself. Especially for a car that is supposed to be an icon for Ford.

It's a pitty... Such a good looking car, so fun to drive, but with so many problems and quality control issues reported. I have a 5-year warranty, but the lack of spare parts in Europe can make the repair of the slightest damage a lengthy procedure. I own the car for less than a year but I seriously consider selling it and never look back again.

Will keep you posted, but, seriously, I would expect some sort of action from Ford

So I took the car to the dealer today and they confirmed that they have to replace the evaporator (actually they told me that they will replace the whole A/C unit!). Just a reminded, this is a 2017 Mustang EcoBoost, which means that even the latest models don't have the upgraded evaporator.

The part is in back order and the temperature 95-100 degrees...

Thanks Ford

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Just a reminded, this is a 2017 Mustang EcoBoost, which means that even the latest models don't have the upgraded evaporator.

Or it might mean the latest version is still crap.

 

[usgiorgi]

So I took the car to the dealer today and they confirmed that they have to replace the evaporator (actually they told me that they will replace the whole A/C unit!). Just a reminded, this is a 2017 Mustang EcoBoost, which means that even the latest models don't have the upgraded evaporator.

The part is in back order and the temperature 95-100 degrees...

Thanks Ford

Can you please check your car's manufacturing date? I think Ford realized that the EVAP had a defect in late 2016. If your car was made in 2017, we have a big problem.

 

[MakStang]

[MENTION=24909]usgiorgi[/MENTION] My car was ordered in May 2016 and I received it in September 2016. So it was built within 2016.

What is scary is that they told me that they will replace the whole A/C system, not just the evaporator.

 

[robrichtx]

[MENTION=24909]usgiorgi[/MENTION] My car was ordered in May 2016 and I received it in September 2016. So it was built within 2016.

What is scary is that they told me that they will replace the whole A/C system, not just the evaporator.

This makes sense. When I took mine in, they basically hinted that they had to start with a refill and replacement of the compressor to eliminate it as a possibility. This is my interpretation, not fact, but as I mentioned in my previous post, the Ford AC tech said that there are three main failure points, and every once in a while he'll see a failure on the manifold in the form of a crack that lets the refrigerant out.

So my guess is that they may be trying to fend off evap core replacements by starting with compressors because they are easier to access. If they are doing the evap core for you, they may just be replacing most of the system to keep the car from coming back for a third or fourth time - at which point you could invoke the lemon law.

I am trying to verify the service date for my evaporator core replacement now...

Rob

 

[berserker_sid]

Just my 2 cents guys... If your dealership is returning cars in 2 days.. i highly doubt that reason.
Taking apart entire dash and changing evap is a long haul.
And if someone is really completely working only on your car then only it can be done in 2 or 3 days. Which is not the case in most dealerships.

I have seen turn arn time of major dealerships to be 7 days to 11 days. And they tell this upfront

 

[IzVenomous]

Pretty sure mine went out today. 2015 with 42k miles.

Does anyone know if there is a recall or tsb?

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