New 2020 GT350 HEP engine failure

[WildHorse]

To be fair - I cant say that for sure. Probably some at first due to oil consumption and people not checking but some have just broken.

Hence why I said 'vast majority' haha.

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[italman1285]

Is this at Serramonte Ford?

Here it is. You can see my car in the second from last service bay in the structure on the left. I don't think the mechanic would give me any info why the car is here or who the owner is. It's a privacy issue. But it's been there since I dropped my car off.

 

[That_Guy]

I was not stating for sure replacement engines were not for sure blowing. What my point was is from the owners of of cars with Gen1 to Gen2 or Gen2 to Gen 2 replacement engines there appears to be no future issues with replacement motors. On the 2020 versions the issues seem to be top end issues or timing issues and with it being less than 1000 miles on the cars it appears to be a breakage issue that falls within a specific build range. I’m not sure if it’s October 2019 to July 2020 builds or not specific at all. There are new cars for sale today with engine builds stickers showing builts as late as October 2020. I just wonder just because if it’s a parts issue and if Ford has corrected it. I want to purchase a 2020 is why I’m so concerned and this issue is preventing me from doing so

I have owned SVT cars for many years and not one of them have issues so it puzzles me how a car like this with 250 to 1000 miles just drops a valve or timing chains break. I beat on my 5.8 2013 and it just begs for more. I beat on my Terminator motor with no issues. I see people track and beat of the Voodoo motor without issues so it’s Amauri me that these are blowing basically days after delivery. Several of the ones I’ve read about didn't even make it from the dealer to home without a rollback. There are more than this site shows. I know of three more 2020 under 500 miles that broke but are not members on this site. Again my struggle is I want to buy one of these cars but.....

I think this is more of probability. Say, 2% of the engines have a bad valve or whatever the problem is. Your replacement engine also has the same odds, and the odds of getting two in a row are 0.04% or something like that.

I had a 2019 with a dropped valve, and the replacement engine was also bad. I don't know what the issue was for sure with the second engine because it never left the dealership with it. Presumably the 3rd engine was fine, but I put less than 250 miles on it before getting out of the car.

My idea to get the statistics on this is as follows, but note that I don't care enough to actually do this:

Buy unlimited carfax account. Start running GT350 Vins and see how many show up with engine replacement. Catalog the data. It won't be perfect, but I would think it would be more accurate than scouring the forums and social media for reports of broken engines. It won't give you any information about causality, however. My carfax just listed "engine replacement" along the list of services like "change oil, inspect brakes, replace engine, check battery," etc.

 

[mroad]

Buy unlimited carfax account. Start running GT350 Vins and see how many show up with engine replacement. Catalog the data. It won't be perfect, but I would think it would be more accurate than scouring the forums and social media for reports of broken engines. It won't give you any information about causality, however. My carfax just listed "engine replacement" along the list of services like "change oil, inspect brakes, replace engine, check battery," etc.

I like this idea. However, with the low mileage people put on these cars, it will take a while to hit the threshold where most premature engine failures occur. Not sure how many VIN lookups the Carfax business packages allow or how much they cost.

 

[mroad]

By the time that happened ESP warranty was all that was left on those cars, so Ford would just say "your car is worth less than a new engine so we don't have to help you". And that was the end of it. I also read about a few cases where the dealer waited for Ford to send an engine that never came. Not sure what the end result of that was..

Could someone with an extended service warranty on a GT350/R look up the terms and conditions and check if it's true that Ford won't fix the car if the cost exceeds the market value of the car?

Ford has been placating customers with premature engine failure by offering extended service warranties. But if more engines fail and with the engine discontinued, two things would happen: the price of the car would depreciate faster and the engine price would go higher, rendering the extended warranty useless down the road, when it's needed most. I read somewhere that the long block engine from Ford is almost $27K these days. I'll find out once I get the repair paper for my engine replacement.

 

[shogun32]

and with the engine discontinued

technically it's not. all the important parts are being used in the GT500. It's customary (law?) to have spares for at least 10 years worth of 'fixes' though that obviously assumes a certain failure rate and Ford's number they picked may be artificially low. The afterlife parts guys will get their hands on the drawings eventually and maybe make a killing supplying rotating assemblies.

 

[rush0024]

How are the 2019 GT350s holding up? I've seen a lot of blown engines on the Gen1's and now on early 2020 models, but not much on 2019s.

 

[newmoon]

13 pages of 2020 HEP Package engine failures. This should help your resale values.

How are the 2019 GT350s holding up? I've seen a lot of blown engines on the Gen1's and now on early 2020 models, but not much on 2019s.

I've had my 19 for around 18-months, no issues at all. Getting ready for the 1st oil change. I am always checking my oil level (hasn't used any thus far) and ensuring the car is properly warmed up prior to driving it hard.

 

[lenFeb]

OP, I'm sorry that your engine failed. But now you're starting post pure speculation thoughts. You need to stop this and move on with new engine and enjoy the car.

By the time cost exceed the market all warranty will be gone. The engine can be rebuild with stronger parts. Not the end of the world.

 

[Jago768]

I understand where the OP is coming from, and at the same time can see there are some pieces to the puzzle still missing. I've have/had some very nice cars, but to be honest the majority are/were leased. Everyone knows there is nothing worse than an expensive car that is always broken. This is the reason so many high end euro cars drop in value so quickly. I paid cash for this car and plan to purchase an extended warranty at about 2 years 11 months lol. That being said there are a number of "end of the world" scenarios that even I was unaware of. I do not think it is time to overreact, but owners of the VooDoo should be proactive. I think the OP is trying to be proactive, since his car has already been affected. I will say this, (and I am as clueless as anyone) the majority of replacement motors seem to be ok?

 

[Trackaholic]

My impression is that the vast majority of failures are “infant mortality” related, rather than wear related. In other words, most likely a component defect or (less likely IMO) an assembly error. It seems that once you pass a few thousand miles, the reliability is much better. Hopefully that bodes well for the longer term ownership experience.

My 2016 currently has 43,000 miles, 8 track days, and (knock on wood) other than some oil consumption seems to be doing well.

I’ve made the decision to drive the car and enjoy it for as long as it lasts and not to worry about potential engine issues. If something happens, I’ll tackle the problem with whatever resources are available at that time. If I were constantly filled with anxiety about potential failures, I would not be able to keep the car. It was difficult, but liberating, to get to that mindset.

Best of luck to all with their vehicles, and happy new year!

-T

 

[Trackaholic]

Keep in mind also that the vast majority of cars are fine. Of course that is of little consolation to those who have made the sacrifice to the car gods, but the chances of failure are still quite small. I would assume that the chances of failure on a replacement engine are about the same as on the initial engine (I make this assumption because I believe the failures to be mostly a result of component defects, and since all the engines are using the same components I assume all engines will have similar failure rates). Therefore, if you have an engine replaced, your new engine will likely be fine, but I suspect will have the same probability of failure as any other new Voodoo engine.

I was at a track day where a GT350R owner was on his third engine, so it definitely is possible to also lose a replacement engine.

IMO, pushing the engine a bit in the first couple thousand miles would help uncover any latent defects quickly and provide some confidence for the rest of the ownership experience. I know that I was more confident after my first few track days.

But I’m also superstitious enough to worry that may car is about to spontaneously combust after saying how well it has been holding up.

-T

 

[mroad]

I understand where the OP is coming from, and at the same time can see there are some pieces to the puzzle still missing. I've have/had some very nice cars, but to be honest the majority are/were leased. Everyone knows there is nothing worse than an expensive car that is always broken. This is the reason so many high end euro cars drop in value so quickly. I paid cash for this car and plan to purchase an extended warranty at about 2 years 11 months lol. That being said there are a number of "end of the world" scenarios that even I was unaware of. I do not think it is time to overreact, but owners of the VooDoo should be proactive. I think the OP is trying to be proactive, since his car has already been affected. I will say this, (and I am as clueless as anyone) the majority of replacement motors seem to be ok?

That’s right, the extended warranty issue directly affects me in case I need to negotiate one. I too paid cash for this car + cost of paint protection.

 

[mroad]

My impression is that the vast majority of failures are “infant mortality” related, rather than wear related. In other words, most likely a component defect or (less likely IMO) an assembly error. It seems that once you pass a few thousand miles, the reliability is much better. Hopefully that bodes well for the longer term ownership experience.

My 2016 currently has 43,000 miles, 8 track days, and (knock on wood) other than some oil consumption seems to be doing well.

I’ve made the decision to drive the car and enjoy it for as long as it lasts and not to worry about potential engine issues. If something happens, I’ll tackle the problem with whatever resources are available at that time. If I were constantly filled with anxiety about potential failures, I would not be able to keep the car. It was difficult, but liberating, to get to that mindset.

Best of luck to all with their vehicles, and happy new year!

-T

I’m happy for you. Enjoy it! I think it’s one of the best looking and sounding cars on the road. I too made a decision to buy one based on reliability reports (Car and Driver magazine report with 40K miles). Obviously there are GT350’s that are reliable. I bought my car to drive it and enjoy it and was planning to put a lot of miles on it (728 miles in 24 days). That said, I do believe there quality control issues that Ford needs to sort out with the 2020 models. They need to fix them and recall existing cars when they find out for all of the owners’ sake and peace of mind.

 

[shogun32]

and recall existing cars when they find out for all of the owners’ sake and peace of mind.

engineers don't run car companies. Marketing (liars) and lawyers (bald-faced, make Satan blush, liars) do. That snowball in Hell has better odds of survival than Ford admitting to the problem publicly and doing a non-safety-related recall.