Oil cooler failure - first hand experiences?

[Drewbo]

I spoke to my local ford dealer during the 15000 service to a bald dipshit behind the desk about the issue, he just laughed at me and said with a stupid smirk " and what forum did you get that of"

Service advisors seem to have a distinct dislike of being told what you have learned from online research.

I could almost see rolling eyes and hear audible sighing when I have mentioned the known widespread evaporator defect when taking my car in for aircon failures (twice). It's almost as if they go out of their way to find another reason for the fault just to prove you wrong.

I'll just shut up next time it goes in (there will be a next time) and they might just fix it properly.

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[jank]

I asked my dealer to look into the TSB and they inspected for leaks and couldn't find any, and have said they will inspect it each service.

It would be good for Ford Australia to provide some guidance about explicitly replacing the engine oil cooler regardless of leaks, or some extended warranty on this part (otherwise it becomes a ticking time bomb after the 3 year warranty is up).

 

[GT 550]

Hi jank I guess they didn't mention how they intend to inspect for the leak that causes 'milkshake in the overflow bottle' syndrome?

Agree it would be good for Ford to do a lot of things beyond saying 'it only affects a small number of cars...'

 

[GT 550]

Letter (registered) was received by Ford Australia on 6 December 2017. I sent a follow up email on 25 January with a copy of original letter. After a week I sent a follow up to the follow up email. Finally a response from Ford on 7 February stating that I should be contacted within 2 days by the Customer Relations Team. Will advise further, then. Worse than watching the grass grow.:ford:

@ Bushranger how did it go Peter?

 

[radar]

I asked my dealer to look into the TSB and they inspected for leaks and couldn't find any, and have said they will inspect it each service.

It would be good for Ford Australia to provide some guidance about explicitly replacing the engine oil cooler regardless of leaks, or some extended warranty on this part (otherwise it becomes a ticking time bomb after the 3 year warranty is up).

You know you can get six year Ford Factory warranty.

 

[GT 550]

But you have to pay for their poor engineering

 

[jank]

You know you can get six year Ford Factory warranty.

No I didn't - thanks! https://www.ford.com.au/owners/warranties/

Anyone have an idea of the cost for our cars?

 

[jank]

Hi jank I guess they didn't mention how they intend to inspect for the leak that causes 'milkshake in the overflow bottle' syndrome?

Agree it would be good for Ford to do a lot of things beyond saying 'it only affects a small number of cars...'

The paperwork says they checked the engine oil and coolant for any mixing, as well as for leaks. At a 1 year service interval I think it will be unlikely to catch the problem before damage occurs.

 

[GT 550]

The paperwork says they checked the engine oil and coolant for any mixing, as well as for leaks. At a 1 year service interval I think it will be unlikely to catch the problem before damage occurs.

From what I understand the milkshake just happens suddenly so very unlikely to catch it at that interval you really have to keep an eye on it yourself.

 

[radar]

No I didn't - thanks! https://www.ford.com.au/owners/warranties/

Anyone have an idea of the cost for our cars?

$2750 RRP
Gives me six years piece of mind. At least.
Plan to keep mine forever, bit of Garage Queen.
If I get an issue beyond six years I plan to produce documentation to show it's been duly maintained to Ford specifications, by Ford technicians, using Ford spare parts in a Ford workshop.
Apart from Ford boot mat my car is mint and unmolested. Nor is it ever thrashed. Lifetime fuel cosumption of 10 l/100 km proof I drive carefully.

If there are any issues I'll take all that to small claims. As I said six years piece of mind. I notice new Mustangs currently get 5 year 200 000 km Ford Factory warranty AND 3 years free servicing - that's worth $1300

 

[IngoStang]

If I get an issue beyond six years I plan to produce documentation to show it's been duly maintained to Ford specifications, by Ford technicians, using Ford spare parts in a Ford workshop.

Im a little baffled by this comment? So you're saying 10-12 years down the track, you will still expect Ford to cover your Warranty if something fails simply because you have it serviced at the proper intervals, with Ford parts etc?

 

[radar]

Exactly.
There is an increasing expectation from Trade Practices Commission or whoever runs the affair these days - that goods are fit for service. John Cardogen has vid on YouTube.
No more, "my phone died 12 hours outta warranty - bad luck".

More so if there is a known manufacturing fault - eg oil cooler, air cond, auto. I will document on each service request that these are checked - for the next six years.

 

[IngoStang]

Exactly.
There is an increasing expectation from Trade Practices Commission or whoever runs the affair these days - that goods are fit more service.
No more, "my phone died 12 hours outta warranty - bad luck".

More so if there is a known manufacturing fault - eg oil cooler, air cond, auto. I will document on each service request that these are checked - for the next six years.

Hmm, interesting. I think it would be hard once multiple years have passed since your warranty expires, but good luck to you.

Fair enough when its an Oil Cooler, A/C Evaporator or something that Ford themselves have documented and are known to fail but you can hardly expect them to cover the cost of a Shock absorber or a steering component as an example, when its impossible to track the road conditions you have driven on for the life span of your Car.

Its a machine made of perishable items...... even when sitting in a Garage, seals can go dry, rubber can oxidise and go brittle, tons of things to factor in.

How long would you expect to be able to claim warranty on a vehicle? Ive never seen or heard of an original 65 Mustang pulling in to a dealership today saying replace my muffler, it has a hole in it, simply because he/she has all documentation

 

[Nong]

So let me get this right, the official statement that came from Ford recently stated the problem only affected RHD GT's up to a July 16 build (mine Oct16). However in a previous post the problem has been identified well into 2017 built GT''s. Is the official Ford statement a guess, inaccurate, accurate or intentionally misleading.

Some dealers appear to be proactive and are replacing the part (if it even exists) and others just want to kick the can down the road, hopefully outside the warranty period whereby catastrophic engine damage may cost more than the car is worth. My GT only does 3-5k/year so it's unlikely an inspection!! Will pick up anything as it appears to be a rapid onset occurrence.

This along with the well documented AC Evap problem is appalling behaviour by Ford. I have my first annual service next week and the dealers behaviour will determine weather I keep this car at all, (I intended to keep it forever) or for sure this is my first and last Ford. I was going to get a 2019 for my wife however that is definitely not going to happen now. I just detest this type of corporate behaviour.

 

[alexcs]

Hmm, interesting. I think it would be hard once multiple years have passed since your warranty expires, but good luck to you.

Fair enough when its an Oil Cooler, A/C Evaporator or something that Ford themselves have documented and are known to fail but you can hardly expect them to cover the cost of a Shock absorber or a steering component as an example, when its impossible to track the road conditions you have driven on for the life span of your Car.

Its a machine made of perishable items...... even when sitting in a Garage, seals can go dry, rubber can oxidise and go brittle, tons of things to factor in.

How long would you expect to be able to claim warranty on a vehicle? Ive never seen or heard of an original 65 Mustang pulling in to a dealership today saying replace my muffler, it has a hole in it, simply because he/she has all documentation

A good overview here: https://www.accc.gov.au/business/treating-customers-fairly/consumers-rights-obligations

The spirit of the legislation is to provide broad consumer protections, and the period of reasonable warranty varies with the value and intended purpose of the good or service. A 50 dollar coffee machine would not attract much of a warranty period in the eyes of the ACL, whereas buying a fridge, an airconditioner, a car would progressively increase the expected lifespan and thus warranty coverage of said item, regardless of the warranty offered by the retailer.

Certain parts of a car would be considered needing to be working beyond three year warranty period, specifically things critical to the operation of the vehicle eg oil coolers in this discussion. Worn trim, a broken taillight etc would be less likely to be covered under the ACL outside a warranty period, but I would suggest shocks and steering components that outright fail would be covered - perhaps not items that are simply worn out.

Even if a retailer wanted to argue the point, most large companies these days are averse to potential bad press/loss of business on not covering items just outside warranty and will often just replace the faulty part or fix the issue if it is a sudden /unexplained failure rather than worn out. This is generally found at the corporate level if not with each outlet.

The ACL is a fantastic piece of legislation that provides genuine recourse for consumers not seen in a lot of other countries.

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