Another 2020 engine failure

[JFK9]

That's too bad about your RS. What year was it? Mine is a '16 and I've had it for about 3 years now. I got it used. It only has about 33k miles on it now. Knock on wood, aside from having the head gasket recall done it has been very reliable for me.

What was the issue that made you have to get rid of it?

The issue? Oh it was many more than a single issue...
Mine was a 2017 (stealth gray, still my all-time favorite color car) I put over 50k miles on it when I sold it, and to be honest it was because a ford rep came up to me and practically begged me to sell it because his buddy had been looking for one forever. Even then I almost didn't do it. To this day I truly adored that car and miss it.

Anyway, the issues... At like 1100 miles I got a tiny amount of wheel hop off a launch and immediately cracked an axle. I was testing out the launch control for the first time after break in, but whatever. I chalked that up to being my fault. After that there was the head gasket replacement, then my cat went bad, then the curbside castle nut sheered off while driving on an on ramp at like 30 mph which disconnected the wheel from the steering rack and made the axle pop out of the front diff almost sending me into the barrier (This might not seem relivant, but I'm pointing it out because that castle nut WAS one of the parts that was removed for the CAT replacement so this might not be an RS thing, but more likely a mistake by the mechanic), then my oil feed line to the turbo sprung a leak, then it kept throwing codes that the ECU couldn't connect to the rear diff so they rewired it but it would occasionally throw that code for the entire time I owned it, then the AC would blow cold air through the floor vents even when they were closed (they told me this was normal and didn't fix it), then the curbside sun visor just fell off while I was driving, the O2 sensor died right as my warrantee went out and I had to pay out of pocket, finally the day after the offer was made for the dealership to buy my car the moon roof refused to close. That was what sealed the deal. I was literally contemplating keeping it and then the fucking moon roof broke. Come to find out as soon as the dealership sold it, the next guy had another oil leak from the turbo like 2 days later...

I actually just checked my email for service records to see if I missed anything and apparently back in 2019 the check engine light came on and my car started randomly stalling. I don't even remember this and I don't remember what the problem was or how they fixed it. I just have the email notice from me dropping it off.

Anyway. I really really hope none of this happens to you, and it says a lot that even after all those headaches I still miss that car. I just wish it loved me as much as I loved it. I traded it in for a Mach 1.

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[StangRS]

The issue? Oh it was many more than a single issue...
Mine was a 2017 (stealth gray, still my all-time favorite color car) I put over 50k miles on it when I sold it, and to be honest it was because a ford rep came up to me and practically begged me to sell it because his buddy had been looking for one forever. Even then I almost didn't do it. To this day I truly adored that car and miss it.

Anyway, the issues... At like 1100 miles I got a tiny amount of wheel hop off a launch and immediately cracked an axle. I was testing out the launch control for the first time after break in, but whatever. I chalked that up to being my fault. After that there was the head gasket replacement, then my cat went bad, then the curbside castle nut sheered off while driving on an on ramp at like 30 mph which disconnected the wheel from the steering rack and made the axle pop out of the front diff almost sending me into the barrier (This might not seem relivant, but I'm pointing it out because that castle nut WAS one of the parts that was removed for the CAT replacement so this might not be an RS thing, but more likely a mistake by the mechanic), then my oil feed line to the turbo sprung a leak, then it kept throwing codes that the ECU couldn't connect to the rear diff so they rewired it but it would occasionally throw that code for the entire time I owned it, then the AC would blow cold air through the floor vents even when they were closed (they told me this was normal and didn't fix it), then the curbside sun visor just fell off while I was driving, the O2 sensor died right as my warrantee went out and I had to pay out of pocket, finally the day after the offer was made for the dealership to buy my car the moon roof refused to close. That was what sealed the deal. I was literally contemplating keeping it and then the fucking moon roof broke. Come to find out as soon as the dealership sold it, the next guy had another oil leak from the turbo like 2 days later...

I actually just checked my email for service records to see if I missed anything and apparently back in 2019 the check engine light came on and my car started randomly stalling. I don't even remember this and I don't remember what the problem was or how they fixed it. I just have the email notice from me dropping it off.

Anyway. I really really hope none of this happens to you, and it says a lot that even after all those headaches I still miss that car. I just wish it loved me as much as I loved it. I traded it in for a Mach 1.

Yikes, very sorry to hear that. I don't blame you at all for parting ways and it sounds like you got a solid replacement. I would do the same after all of that heartache.

I agree, the car is an absolute joy to drive and one of my all time favorites. The original owner purchased an extended warranty so I have 3 bonus years just in case. So far so good though. Hopefully yours was just a "fluke." I hope to keep it as my daily for years to come and it is especially a blast in the winter . My only complaint is the pretty bad ride quality, but I can live with it.

 

[JFK9]

Yikes, very sorry to hear that. I don't blame you at all for parting ways and it sounds like you got a solid replacement. I would do the same after all of that heartache.

I agree, the car is an absolute joy to drive and one of my all time favorites. The original owner purchased an extended warranty so I have 3 bonus years just in case. So far so good though. Hopefully yours was just a "fluke." I hope to keep it as my daily for years to come and it is especially a blast in the winter . My only complaint is the pretty bad ride quality, but I can live with it.

I actually wanted a GT350 for friggin years and after 13 years in the Army I am now at a rank where I am making the kind cash to comfortably purchase a higher end car. The heartbreaker was when I started looking through the threads and they looked hauntingly similar to the RS threads. The "check your vin to see if you are at risk" and "preventative things to make sure your engine doesn't pop" type posts gave me flashbacks to staying up all night reading those same types of threads trying to find fixes to potential problems through the scope of crystal ball reading by randos on the internet/seeing someone with their rods in their oil pan. The funny thing is, none of my issues with the RS were the primary issues people were having. My engine never popped. Mine was probably just a genuine lemon lol. I do admire you for living life on the edge and literally owning both at the same time!

 

[460Fred]

I was interested in the signature plate to see if the original engine builder is the same person who most of the engine failures traced back to.

That makes sense.
I remember someone trying to put together a common denominator list a while back. I never heard there was a particular builder responsible for failures.
If someone has a link to some of this information, please post.

 

[shogun32]

I would be outright amazed if it could be pinned on a tech - since the techs do nothing - it's all computer-controlled tooling. It's just that the motor has bugs that Ford ignored or papered over since who in their right mind takes a GT350 to the track and really work it hard - basically 1% or less, so ...

 

[RPDBlueMoon]

I would be outright amazed if it could be pinned on a tech - since the techs do nothing - it's all computer-controlled tooling. It's just that the motor has bugs that Ford ignored or papered over since who in their right mind takes a GT350 to the track and really work it hard - basically 1% or less, so ...

Well with the recent TSB Timing chain issue, so far its been narrowed down to one dude. There isn't a big enough sample size (talking about failures that aren't reported here) to say thats its that one guy specifically but the results suggest otherwise

 

[The Chairman]

Well with the recent TSB Timing chain issue, so far its been narrowed down to one dude. There isn't a big enough sample size so say thats its that one guy specifically but the results suggest otherwise

All of the failures reported on this forum due to the timing chain issue were the same builder.

 

[SchnellGT350]

So who was the builder?

 

[CJJon]

So who was the builder?

The one on the far left...

 

[SuperDave]

LoL...
That's the same guy that worked on mine...
Too Funny...

 

[The Chairman]

So who was the builder?

Jason Altadonna

 

[Pnygrl61]

Guys the unthinkable has happened, my 2020 went down August 17 and today I was told cylinder 7 was filled with coolant and also a bent valve. Car had 935 miles, what a POS engine. Full engine replacement is on its way.

I'd grab a lawyer and go for the lemon law. Other posters are right. That affects the long term value of your vehicle. You have to disclose it. I'd never accept that. You might as well have an airbag deployed on the vehicle history. Hell nah.

 

[SchnellGT350]

Jason Altadonna

Thanks for sharing. Is there a running database of engine failures and the names on the motors?

 

[nmp1]

Thanks for sharing. Is there a running database of engine failures and the names on the motors?

there isn't a database but that name came up a lot on here

https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/tsb-for-secondary-cam-chain-tensioner.158799/

 

[Wildcardfox]

I'd grab a lawyer and go for the lemon law. Other posters are right. That affects the long term value of your vehicle. You have to disclose it. I'd never accept that. You might as well have an airbag deployed on the vehicle history. Hell nah.

Could he? Yah. Should he? Probably no.

First off there is a fix that is available and on the way. A new motor. I’d jump on that if I were in his position.

Second, a replacement motor is not going to kill his values. And to be honest Ford made 25,000 base model GT350’s over 6 years. When magazines say that they made these in pretty big numbers they’re meaning those—base models—because that’s far more than the roughly 3,000 R models, I wouldn’t be holding out for the collector car market with any base model. Auctions have shown them selling above MSRP, but not crazy high in the 80-100k range that R models have gone for—with so many of them, it’s not going to be a factor. So if you have a base model, drive it! Enjoy it! Don’t worry about the collector car market.

Third, what is the alternative? Like I just mentioned, GT350’s are selling for higher than new and they’re discontinued, so he may or may not have to pay more for a replacement, which will be a second hand car—hard to take when you have a brand new car with under 1k miles, and a GT500 is a 10k-40k (before ADM) which is a pricey upgrade depending on packages chosen.

And a Mach 1 should be off the list because although it is an upgrade if you’re coming from a Mustang GT, that, to most, is a demotion if you’re leaving a GT350 (apologies to the one guy in the forums who did leave a GT350 for a Mach 1—I said “most”, not “all”. ).

So back to the question of buyback—yes it’s available after 30 days in the shop, but should he do it, in my opinion—hell no! Unless the OP really just wants to get out of the car. The alternatives aren’t great if he wants to stay in a Mustang, most options will cost him money.

If this was a normal car yeah maybe you have a point. Because a replacement car would be really freaking easy—lose your red car, get a blue car; however, all GT350s are gone. Discontinued. No more new ones available. That changes the equation quite a bit.

I’d sit back, let them install the new motor, drink an ice 🧊 tea, and argue for an extended warranty. That keeps me in an cool car, and I’m not out of pocket money or owe a bank for the difference of a 500 that the OP may or may not even want.

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