Bad Start to GT Ownership

[A Real Hero]

So 18th November I made the long trip from Glasgow to Oxford to trade in my 2017 EcoBoost for a 2017 GT.

A Beautiful drive down that by the end of it made me think I was crazy for trading it in. Comfortable & efficient achieving a decent 36.2mpg.

Arriving at the dealership in oxford was my 1st time inspecting the car. Was in good shape visually. test drive was perfect also, no clunks no problems, handled fine.

So the deal was done. Signed on the dotted line. exchanged keys and away I went.

Filled up the car at a BP services before joining the M42 for the 350 mile drive home, extremely chuffed.
When.. around 30 minutes into the return journey. Sudden loss of power from the engine. Felt like it was going into a limp (Still had steering and brakes) before the engine shut off completely. All while trying to safely navigate across the outside lane (3rd lane) to the hard shoulder. What's the problem here...

Battery Icon on. Gauge cluster showing 11.7v on the battery?! but it was 14.4v while driving and during the test drive???
Engine would crank but not start. So.. Contact dealership. "What have you sold me here." Salesman tried to tell me to use my own breakdown cover(which only covers me for ex Miles from my Home Address) So advised in that case just to get my old car keys back out and get it warmed up as this one was coming back to him.

Opted for Ford Assist which meant AA came out - Jumped the car, back to 14.4 volts, getting normal Amperage across the terminals so off opted to get off the hard shoulder and motorway for further battery checks. Pulls back onto motorway and bam, out it goes again. this time it would allow me to restart the car. I also watched the voltage drop from the Engine info screen from 14.4 to 9.8 then back to 12.1 all while the engine shut off. AA man does battery checks and decides the battery is okay, must be alternator related. so 2 hours later car is towed back to dealership in Oxford.

Despite having already asked salesman prior to putting down a deposit if there had been any issues with the car that the prev owner experienced and being told No. I asked to see previous service history on ETIS and to my astonishment and 'apparently' the Salesman's too. Car was in garage in June this year for "Engine cutting out while driving - no fault found, reset error codes"

Told dealer to have it fixed and delivered back to me or I would reject the car, and was given a 1L Focus to get back home.

Dealer contacted me yesterday saying the service dept believe it has something to do with when I've put fuel in the car?

I call Bulls**t.

has any other S550 owner's had this issue or similar? and what was the outcome?




TLDR; Traded perfectly fine EcoBoost for bag of problems GT, dealer taking me for a twat.

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[djone101]

We've seen dozens and dozens of cars and never seen or heard of anything like that. It sounds to me like an earthing issue - I think i'd be reversing out of the deal - there are plenty of other good cars out there.

 

[hinch]

hand it back get your EB back find a replacement gt in the states they call it "lemon law" don't know if we have equiv but you should be within backout period anyway at no harm to you some are just dodgy.

 

[Supersolo]

Sorry to learn of your experience.
Did you purchase from a Ford franchise or independent dealer?

I'm also confused how putting petrol into a petrol car is some how an issue.
I might be missing something, but I'd expect you'd be putting petrol into the tank at some point during your ownership.

Good luck getting it sorted asap.

 

[Kristian87]

Unless you put lemonade in the fuel tank, then their service dept is chatting bollox.

I know you thought long & hard about this decision & the GT is what you want, so I'd start getting on their case, otherwise this will drag on (IMO). If the dealership isn't coming up with any satisfactory answers. Escalate to the, dealership manager, then cust services dept of the group, and failing that go direct to Ford cust services - that helped speed things up with my warranty issues. Get on the phone, don't wait around for emails.

Plenty of knowledgable/decent dealerships out there, if this one in Oxford is coming up with the goods then they need to find someone that can, and fast!

I'm assuming you are in a position where you actually own the car now?

Good luck mate & keep us posted.

As I said before, it's all worth it in the end!

 

[Kristian87]

P.s. in the unlikely event this does take several weeks to resolve properly, I'd highly recommend keeping a log of all of your conversations/dates etc. You may find yourself in a situation where you're seeking some kind of compensation & the more evidence you have, the better.

Shoot me a PM if you need more advice - I know from experience exactly how shoddy the dealerships can be

 

[A Real Hero]

We've seen dozens and dozens of cars and never seen or heard of anything like that. It sounds to me like an earthing issue - I think i'd be reversing out of the deal - there are plenty of other good cars out there.

Yeah I thought as much having not seen anyone post anything remotely similar sounding. And I would agree with your thoughts on it being an earthing issue as the fault codes on the car.

Engine control 1 - ZFC / EMS 2450P020100 - Injector cylinder 1.
Error Message : Open circuit.P020200 - Injector cylinder 2.
Error Message : Open circuit.P020300 - Injector cylinder 3.
Error Message : Open circuit.P020400 - Injector cylinder 4.
Error Message : Open circuit.P020500 - Injector cylinder 5.
Error Message : Open circuit.P020600 - Injector cylinder 6.
Error Message : Open circuit.P020700 - Injector cylinder 7.
Error Message : Open circuit.P020800 - Injector cylinder 8.

looks like a spew caused by an electrical issue elsewhere

I appreciate your 2 pence on the subject coming from a highly regarded specialist garage.

Sadly while I can reject the car through Finance protections. So far my reading into has lead me to believe my old car wouldn't come under consequential loss.. Only the equity. Which I think would leave me in a mustangless situation and one where I'd struggle to afford another.

Sorry to learn of your experience.
Did you purchase from a Ford franchise or independent dealer?

I'm also confused how putting petrol into a petrol car is some how an issue.
I might be missing something, but I'd expect you'd be putting petrol into the tank at some point during your ownership.

Good luck getting it sorted asap.

Yep it was from an official Ford Franchised Garage.

And indeed being a GT I'd expect it to require more fuel than others!
If it was a fuel pump / fuel line issue I'd expect to see some fault codes about it, but nout!

 

[slowhand99]

Which I think would leave me in a mustangless situation and one where I'd struggle to afford another.

!

In which case they need to compensate you for the gap. The law is there to put you back in the position you were before it failed. Claims court for the difference. The car had a known fault that they failed to disclose - you win. Good luck.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I also watched the voltage drop from the Engine info screen from 14.4 to 9.8 then back to 12.1 all while the engine shut off. AA man does battery checks and decides the battery is okay, must be alternator related.

I hope you get this resolved.

FWIW, am I the only one who doesn't understand how the alternator could cause voltages to drop and rise while the engine was shut off?

 

[A Real Hero]

I hope you get this resolved.

FWIW, am I the only one who doesn't understand how the alternator could cause voltages to drop and rise while the engine was shut off?

Sorry, I didn't explain it well. I watched the voltage drop while the engine was in the process of shutting off, ie went to limp/ loss of power. Voltage dipped and when it did so the engine cut off completely leaving full accessory power on so I still had power steering / Brakes till I came to a complete stop.

In which case they need to compensate you for the gap. The law is there to put you back in the position you were before it failed. Claims court for the difference. The car had a known fault that they failed to disclose - you win. Good luck.

Indeed, I'm reading mixed information as to what I'd be able to claim on consequential loss. Some say strictly monetary. Some Others say I can also claim for any equity from exchanged assets, so we'll see.

Regardless, it also states I have to give them an opportunity to fix it, which I have little to no confidence in them doing so going on the previous service visit info on ETIS.

P.s. in the unlikely event this does take several weeks to resolve properly, I'd highly recommend keeping a log of all of your conversations/dates etc. You may find yourself in a situation where you're seeking some kind of compensation & the more evidence you have, the better.

Shoot me a PM if you need more advice - I know from experience exactly how shoddy the dealerships can be

Thank you for the offer Kristian, I am in the process of doing as you suggested above. Even when they suggested it was my fault when filling it with fuel, I have the receipt for the petrol and that no lemonade was added!!

Was told I'd hear more information today, if not I'll be contacting Ford. Finance company complaint is already open.

 

[W111BOB]

FWIW - Go High and Go fast!

This is not your fault - it is theirs...

You are totally protected by law - although both parties have to prove to being "reasonable"

Also - get hold of a lawyer immediately! most solicitors will not charge you for a first meeting - or for a solicitor's letter (they can claim their fee later on - if it all goes Pete Tong (litigious) )

I guarantee you that the receipt of a solicitors letter will get things moving (even if its just the Dealer Principle's bowels!)

all the best

Bob

 

[slowhand99]

I think the "opportunity to fix" could be easily negated by the selling of a car with a pre-existing fault.

 

[Flamesey]

I had something similar driving my car from the dealer to home on the motorway. I saw the battery gauge go from about 14 to maybe 8 so I turned off everything I could, heated seats etc. After a while it went back to normal and touch wood not had the same problem in 1000 miles but I’m watching the gauge regularly

 

[A Real Hero]

I had something similar driving my car from the dealer to home on the motorway. I saw the battery gauge go from about 14 to maybe 8 so I turned off everything I could, heated seats etc. After a while it went back to normal and touch wood not had the same problem in 1000 miles but I’m watching the gauge regularly

Very Strange, could be related. Have you checked to see if your MY19 has been affected by the recall:

18S22 - MUSTANG - 5.0L RIGHT HAND DRIVE - BATTERY WIRING HARNESS.

 

[Flamesey]

Very Strange, could be related. Have you checked to see if your MY19 has been affected by the recall:

18S22 - MUSTANG - 5.0L RIGHT HAND DRIVE - BATTERY WIRING HARNESS.

Nothing showing on Etis as yet

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