Lemon Law Thread: How many have or are filing Lemon Law for their S550?

[Cobra Jet]

Now that it is official:


2017 Mustang GT - Lightning Blue
VIN Number 1FA6P8CF4H5339871
Mileage 4,950



Bought back through Ford Re-acquired vehicles department.

Car dropped a valve, tore up one cylinder head, holes in piston, scoring on cylinder wall. Ford replaced with a short block and a single cyl head.

My nightmare is finally over! I turned in my 18gt tonight and took delivery of my 19gt. So far all is well. The vin for my lemon 18 is: 1fa6p8cf1j5163836

I"m more curious how you got them to do the buy back after having Lund tuned the car? Ford didn't give you a hard time?

Returned it to stock. They didn’t ask, I didn’t tell

They didn't say anything about the PCM being flashed? That's encouraging.

You had a 4:10 rear end in it too, right? I am guessing the same applies there lol.

Left the 4:10’s in it. They said nothing

Same on my 2017...

When my 2017 let go(valve dropped) there was literally no warning. Cruising down the road at 55-60 and BAM. No hard pulls, not beating on it. I had just gotten it out for the year a week or two prior. Changed the oil before i started driving it for the year(oil was changed right before parking it for the winter as well). My wife(4 months pregnant at the time) and I were driving out to see family. Stranded for a couple hours in 50 degree weather waiting for the tow truck. I as well had just had the car tuned a couple weeks prior. Luckily, the tune went un-detected, ford replaced the engine, and in the process I had the car bought back. About 1500 miles prior to my engine letting go, I had a mis-shift(4th to 3rd) that I think may have weakened the valve train. Not sure about it, the car ran fine afterwards, I clutched in quick before the rpm ever shot up high, but it could have hurt it. I did a dyno day after that and before the tune and motor went, and it still put down normal power(actually slightly above normal for a stock car. Went autocrossing with it too, and it did fine.

Fun times. I find it hard to believe that a tune would cause a valve to drop, providing it was from a reputable tuning company. I would think lots of other things would happen first.

Thanks for the input. I guess it’s good to know that the a10 cars make noises too. I definitely plan on beating it like it owes me money. If it breaks I’ll throw all the stock parts back on it and take down to the dealer

Yes. I’m currently running a Lund tune for my cobra jet intake manifold and in the next day or two I should be getting an e85 tune from Lund

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I just have to say something - whether it’s taken to heart or offense - the guys claiming Lemons because they wanted out of a vehicle of which could have been *possibly* intentionally damaged is not ethical at all, it’s essentially fraud.

Unbeknownst to me and based on the above, I guess at some point people’s true colors come through, eh?

I’d hope it doesn’t come back to bite either of you in the ass because you think you have gotten away with “trading up”. Ford RAV Buy Backs do go through a repair process in order to be put back on Ford lots for resale (yes, they do get resold). If during or after that repair process there are findings of intentional abuse or the vehicle was tuned, Ford could come back to those owners for damages, let alone fraud. Not to mention your Home State Attorney General could get involved and file separate charges against an owner as well for fraud. Maybe your independent Dealerships didn’t catch your missteps, but it’s very well documented on this site.

This thread is for the legitimate purpose of helping S550 owners understand Consumer Lemon Rights, get out from under a genuine Lemon, get through and understand the RAV process and to document genuine Lemon’d VINs.

The RAV process is tedious and stressful enough for an S550 Owner to go through with a LEGIT claim. The purpose of this thread is NOT for committing fraud and filing a Lemon claim due to personal vehicle neglect, incorrect tuning or abuse.

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[TGGT]

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I just have to say something - whether it’s taken to heart or offense - the guys claiming Lemons because they wanted out of a vehicle of which could have been *possibly* intentionally damaged is not ethical at all, it’s essentially fraud.

I’d hope it doesn’t come back to bite anyone in the ass who thinks they got away with “trading up”. Ford RAV Buy Backs do go through a repair process in order to be put back on Ford lots for resale (yes, they do get resold). If during that repair process there are findings of intentional abuse or the vehicle was tuned, Ford could come back to those owners for damages, let alone fraud. Not to mention your Home State Attorney General could get involved and file separate charges against an owner as well for fraud.

This thread is for the legitimate purpose of helping S550 owners understand Consumer Lemon Rights, get out from under a genuine Lemon, get through and understand the RAV process and to document genuine Lemon’d VINs.

The RAV process is tedious and stressful enough for an S550 Owner to go through with a LEGIT claim. The purpose of this thread is NOT for committing fraud and filing a Lemon claim due to personal vehicle neglect, incorrect tuning or abuse.

I hear what your saying and agree for the most part. Definitely nothing fraudulent in my case my car was ticking and rattling long before I modded it , and it was only modded for about a month with some pretty minimal mods, but I can see if someone was running like a blower or nitrous and went to far with it or on a poor tune, then expected ford to cover their mistake. That would be in poor taste.

 

[Jetnoise]

I hear what your saying and agree for the most part. Definitely nothing fraudulent in my case my car was ticking and rattling long before I modded it , and it was only modded for about a month with some pretty minimal mods, but I can see if someone was running like a blower or nitrous and went to far with it or on a poor tune, then expected ford to cover their mistake. That would be in poor taste.

Based on what you have written on this board in the past and based on what the owners warranty specifically excludes ...you have indeed committed deceit if not fraud. If you want to argue cause & effect you miss the point of a warranty all together.
Not disclosing the facts because they failed to ask the questions doesn’t absolve you of trying to hide your mods.

Lots of folks play the game...

 

[usgiorgi]

Based on what you have written on this board in the past and based on what the owners warranty specifically excludes ...you have indeed committed deceit if not fraud. If you want to argue cause & effect you miss the point of a warranty all together.
Not disclosing the facts because they failed to ask the questions doesn’t absolve you of trying to hide your mods.

Lots of folks play the game...

No, no he has not. Unless they can prove that the damage came from the tune, theres no fraud.

Plenty of bone stock cars have had that issue. The only fraud being committed is by Ford for issuing that SSM. If my car starts making terrible noises a few hundred miles after I bought it, it's not normal. If it is normal, please tell me before I purchase it.

Now if they asked him if it was modified at some point and he said no, then that's a different story.

 

[Jetnoise]

No, no he has not. Unless they can prove that the damage came from the tune, theres no fraud.

Plenty of bone stock cars have had that issue. The only fraud being committed is by Ford for issuing that SSM. If my car starts making terrible noises a few hundred miles after I bought it, it's not normal. If it is normal, please tell me before I purchase it.

Now if they asked him if it was modified at some point and he said no, then that's a different story.

The owners manual and it’s written warranty are very specific.
Ford has drawn a line in the sand for the noise at this point in time. No one here wants the clickity clack and the SSM isn’t the answer we want.

If there is no intended deception on untuning before taking it in than why do so? Tunes basically void your warranty. Most who do tune wouldn’t if the high stakes were understood before hand. So if your going to tune just assume you have voided your warranty. Unless Lund or the rest fill in the blanks like a select others do.
Like I said lots of folks do it ...try to hide the fact after something is amiss.... Related or presumed not related.
It’s bad for the community at large and everyone is effected in future claims. I think cobra jet showed the pattern often seen here on M6.
Not many widget manufacturers stand behind there widget after someone else has tinkered with it. Period end of story.

 

[usgiorgi]

The owners manual and it’s written warranty are very specific.
Ford has drawn a line in the sand for the noise at this point in time. No one here wants the clickity clack and the SSM isn’t the answer we want.

If there is no intended deception on untuning before taking it in than why do so? Tunes basically void your warranty. Most who do tune wouldn’t if the high stakes were understood before hand. So if your going to tune just assume you have voided your warranty. Unless Lund or the rest fill in the blanks like a select others do.
Like I said lots of folks do it ...try to hide the fact after something is amiss.... Related or presumed not related.
It’s bad for the community at large and everyone is effected in future claims. I think cobra jet showed the pattern often seen here on M6.
Not many widget manufacturers stand behind there widget after someone else has tinkered with it. Period end of story.

That's why Ford has a way to tell when the car has been flashed with a tune and reverted to stock. Just like with MVFJet, they clearly didn't care.

 

[IronG]

No, no he has not. Unless they can prove that the damage came from the tune, theres no fraud.

Plenty of bone stock cars have had that issue. The only fraud being committed is by Ford for issuing that SSM. If my car starts making terrible noises a few hundred miles after I bought it, it's not normal. If it is normal, please tell me before I purchase it.

Now if they asked him if it was modified at some point and he said no, then that's a different story.

Your last statement is the big differentiator. If there is no document signed where it questions if anything was changed on the car, then there is nothing to go back on. However if any documents have fine print that ask these types of questions and nothing was disclosed, that would certainly be a fairly easy thing to prove. My guess would be an option to pay some sort of compensation to avoid going to court. TGGT (and others in the same boat), you should probably take a second look at all the docs you signed to make sure there isn't a line of questions related to modifications etc. If you find any, you may want to discuss with an attorney.

 

[EVL-S550]

This is getting good. I need some popcorn for this thread. Clearly someone works for Ford in here

Meanwhile dudes that posted vin's are like

 

[usgiorgi]

Your last statement is the big differentiator. If there is no document signed where it questions if anything was changed on the car, then there is nothing to go back on. However if any documents have fine print that ask these types of questions and nothing was disclosed, that would certainly be a fairly easy thing to prove. My guess would be an option to pay some sort of compensation to avoid going to court. TGGT (and others in the same boat), you should probably take a second look at all the docs you signed to make sure there isn't a line of questions related to modifications etc. If you find any, you may want to discuss with an attorney.

The way I see this coming back to bite him is if they indeed sell his car and the next owner realizes that it has 4:10 gears in it. They may be happy about it, they may be pissed off. If pissed off and they go to complain to that dealer about it, the whole thing could go back to bite him. However that's only if they made him sign something that said "the car was never modified in a way which could be detrimental to the reliability or driveability" or something of the sort.

I mostly agree though, tuning the car does in fact void the warranty in most cases. Do I agree with it? Not if it's a conservative tune. In fact, aftermarket tunes can sometimes be safer than OEM ones... Look at the Subaru ordeal with their EJ25 engines.

The chances of Ford coming back for the owners is low, but now that I think about it from the point of view of the dealership, I'd be pissed if I sold that car and the next owner started complaining about it having been tuned and modified.

However, let's not lose sight of the fact that bone stock Mustangs exhibit the same exact behavior.

 

[Mrmarkmac]

To be honest, a dealer selling me a brand new mustang, and 700 miles later it starts making so much noise its an embarrassment to drive is Fraud! Being then told by said dealer its 'normal' live with it; that's bait and switch i.e. fraud.

Ford's 'normal' mustang racket wasn't demonstrated to me when they took my dam cash. But now I'm told to just drive it, and stop worrying about it. Hard to do with the dam ticking that's so loud I hear it over the exhaust in sport mode.

I have not done one thing to my car, other than add 2 qts of oil in the first 2,000 miles, and fill with high grade gas. Driving through parking lots sounds like I'm dragging tin cans under the car, but hey, that's normal for the new improved Mustang GT.

 

[Cobra Jet]

Being dishonest is being dishonest, period.

These (2) individuals contacted Ford, where 1 has clearly stated his vehicle had a tune, goes on to say the block dropped a valve AFTER having previously done hard pulls with said Tune, was lucky enough to have received warranty authorization for a replacement engine, then contacts Ford to do a Buy Back. THAT in itself perpetuates FRAUD.

Why do a Buy Back if the engine was replaced? Because that 2017 had major repair history documented on it and there’s the future resale value at stake.

Did he tell Ford RAV about the above before claiming he wanted a Buy Back? But then has the audacity to not only claim a Buy Back, but proceeds to complain about the RAV process?

—-
C’mon already.
—-

Then there’s the other one complaining thread after thread how he’s being treated by RAV and how his Dealer is taking so long, but wow, he totally neglects to mention in his initial thread inquiring about the Buy Back process (thread titled “add me to the list”) and multiple follow on threads and posts - that his 2018 also had a tune and other owner installed engine mods - and suddenly it’s having issues and he wants to dump it.

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Don’t cry wolf about your S550 because you took a risk at modifying it or had a premature drivetrain failure due to your own actions. DON’T come on this site and try to claim a Lemon. You’re committing fraud and playing with fire.

Everyone complains about price increases for new automobiles, for parts, for insurance, etc - above are (2) perfect examples of WHY WE all are paying higher premiums for products and services annually.

Everyone complains about having to jump through hoops for LEGIT warranty claims too - but here again are (2) perfect examples above where Warranty Policies and Procedures as well as Ford RAV Buy Backs could be made harder to get legitimate claims processed.

 

[TGGT]

Being dishonest is being dishonest, period.

These (2) individuals contacted Ford, where 1 has clearly stated his vehicle had a tune, goes on to say the block dropped a valve AFTER having previously done hard pulls with said Tune, was lucky enough to have received warranty authorization for a replacement engine, then contacts Ford to do a Buy Back. THAT in itself perpetuates FRAUD.

Why do a Buy Back if the engine was replaced? Because that 2017 had major repair history documented on it and there’s the future resale value at stake.

Did he tell Ford RAV about the above before claiming he wanted a Buy Back? But then has the audacity to not only claim a Buy Back, but proceeds to complain about the RAV process?

—-
C’mon already.
—-

Then there’s the other one complaining thread after thread how he’s being treated by RAV and how his Dealer is taking so long, but wow, he totally neglects to mention in his initial thread inquiring about the Buy Back process (thread titled “add me to the list”) and multiple follow on threads and posts - that his 2018 also had a tune and other owner installed engine mods - and suddenly it’s having issues and he wants to dump it.

—-

Don’t cry wolf about your S550 because you took a risk at modifying it or had a premature drivetrain failure due to your own actions. DON’T come on this site and try to claim a Lemon. You’re committing fraud and playing with fire.

Everyone complains about price increases for new automobiles, for parts, for insurance, etc - above are (2) perfect examples of WHY WE all are paying higher premiums for products and services annually.

Everyone complains about having to jump through hoops for LEGIT warranty claims too - but here again are (2) perfect examples above where Warranty Policies and Procedures as well as Ford RAV Buy Backs could be made harder to get legitimate claims processed.

Let’s get our fact straight instead of making assumptions. I was the only owner of my car. It made noise documented by the dealer before I moded it. At the time of the short block replacement. My service writer and friend knew the history of the car and simply told me to drop it off stock. The only reason for my buy back was the car being out of service for over 45 days. Rav did not ask about modifications and I didn’t offer to tell them. Sorry if a consumer receiving fair compensation hurt people’s feelings

 

[302@12psi]

I would be VERY surprised if Ford's RAV paperwork didn't include wording in regards to modifications and abuse. Rather or not it is enforced is a different conversation. But if it is in the paperwork certainly there is an ethical conversation if not a civil/criminal one about fraud.

To break the buyer/seller contract and then come and complain about the process when in reality you should be thankful it wasn't denied is a bit "not logical" and frames out the mind set of the buyer.

At the end of the day if you can't afford to fix a modded car don't mod it. We know Ford monitors this board and folks are nice enough to list VIN numbers. Yup.....

 

[Jetnoise]

Let’s get our fact straight instead of making assumptions. I was the only owner of my car. It made noise documented by the dealer before I moded it. At the time of the short block replacement. My service writer and friend knew the history of the car and simply told me to drop it off stock. The only reason for my buy back was the car being out of service for over 45 days. Rav did not ask about modifications and I didn’t offer to tell them. Sorry if a consumer receiving fair compensation hurt people’s feelings

Service writer/friend jeopardizes his employers franchise....kewl

 

[Cobra Jet]

Let’s get our fact straight instead of making assumptions. I was the only owner of my car. It made noise documented by the dealer before I moded it. At the time of the short block replacement. My service writer and friend knew the history of the car and simply told me to drop it off stock. The only reason for my buy back was the car being out of service for over 45 days. Rav did not ask about modifications and I didn’t offer to tell them. Sorry if a consumer receiving fair compensation hurt people’s feelings

Yes, let’s get the facts straight.

I helped you EXTENSIVELY throughout your ordeal. Not once did you care to mention that you had modified the vehicle, not once did you say the Dealership where it was that you had a “friend” (who didn’t seem to help you out one bit during those 45 days or the days after with RAV), nor did you point out at all that you posted on here that the car had a Lund tune, or that you installed a Cobra Jet intake, etc.

I’m giving you my time, my help and a positive outlook only to find out you basically shammed Ford and Ford RAV to get out from under a vehicle you KNOWINGLY modified. Whether the engine problems you had existed before OR were the after effects of the mods you chose to do to the vehicle is a totally moot point. You knowingly modified the vehicle and cried wolf to Ford and Ford RAV and played it on here as if the engine problems with your 2018 were due to a MANUFACTURER’S DEFECT, which rightfully so would be a LEGIT claim, if true.

Installing an aftermarket tune, not supported or warranted by Ford instantly voids many aspects of the 3/36 and 5/60 new car warranties. Your own statement quoted a few posts above states you had intent to beat on the car like it owed you money and if something broke, you would return it to stock and bring it to Ford for warranty work.

Seriously, what you did is fraud, whether it was “they didn’t ask so I didn’t tell”, it was fraud, because it wasn’t a true Lemon claim due to a Manufacturing defect, irregardless if it sat at that Dealer for 45 days or 2 days. You modified the vehicle, whooped on it, removed the mods and claimed the need for ghosted “warranty” repairs, then eventually had the audacity to request a Buy Back.

You’re tripping up in your own statements, because IF whatever problem existed BEFORE your mods and the Dealership knew your 2018 was modified, then why remove the mods before taking it in for warranty work (and getting a new short block) and making the RAV claim?

After seeing M6G members questioning how you were able to get RAV Buy Back completed on a modified vehicle and had I known that information BEFORE, I wouldn’t have helped you out or felt bad that here’s some hard working guy with an S550 Lemon supposedly getting shafted, when it was the other way around with you shafting Ford - and you think it’s ok.

WTF man...

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