Warranty Claims

[Samboc]

Had an interesting last 2 days.

Thought I would start a new topic on warranty claims - why not ??

Anyway here's the story.

Driving along the Princes Hwy at 80 kph behind some slow vehicle ( 100 K zone )

Come up to a shortish over taking spot - decide to give it a go - indicate - turn wheels - floor it - WTF ??

Wheels loose traction - hitting 150 Kph by the time I am beside the car. OK - that was fast.

Time to get back to the correct side of the road - flick the wheel - nothing - cannot steer.

No power steering - drag the car over - not easy - traffic coming at me

Warnings flash - no Battery charge !!

Warnings flash - over temp. -- Time to pull up.

Side lane - get off the HWY.

Lift bonnet - Fan belt ( not sure what it is called now ) floating loose - damaged but still in one piece .

OK - put it back on and limp home.

No pulley on the Water Pump. End of story.

Call NRMA - Excellent service - Local Guy was driving past and was there in 10 minutes.

One look and He went for the tow truck.

Returned 20 minutes later and took the car to the local mechanic.

Local mechanic said warranty job - best to see Ford and get it fixed and also cover possible future problems.

He called the closest Ford Dealer - 35 Km away - and discussed details. No problems - Advised to check with Ford to see if I had Road Side Assistance.

Again excellent service from Ford. Road Side assistance was only for 12 months - expired last November. OK

Rang NRMA - What are my options - Sorry - you are only allowed 1 tow under you cover. Fair enough. How much for a Tow to Bega ( 35 KM ) -- $167 -- Good value - go ahead.

Picked up the car within the hour and dropped it at the Ford Dealer at Bega.

They have been excellent to deal with and have agreed to cover with warranty subject to inspection.

All good so far - hope tomorrow is as good as today.

The Fault --

The pulley came off the water pump. Apparently rare - but stops the car dead.

Some damage to the idler pulley and belt stuffed.

Will all need to be replaced and coolant replaced.

My Concern is --

Did I pull-up quick enough to prevent damage to the engine.

Hence the go with the Ford Dealer.

History will be recorded for any further problems in the future.

Fingers crossed

[frogg]

Hmmm, I would think that in such a short time there would be no damage. Oil pump is not driven by the fan belt, and no water pumping prolly ok?

Anyone correct me?

[PHANTMXR6]

Did it start to run rough, like it was cutting cylinders?

If not, then I would suspect it didn't go into limp mode, but see if there are any fault codes logged for excess water temperature. That should give you some indication.

[Samboc]

No still running smooth.

We had not trouble starting it a bit later to put on the truck etc.

The claim has been Ok'd and parts are in. Hope to have it back on Monday.

[tab]

As Phantm was alluding to, if you lose a water pump or your engine temp gets excessively high for any reason it will keep cutting cylinders out to allow you to keep going without overheating. So if there was no sign of it running rough then it hadn't even begun that process so you should be all sweet.

[Samboc]

As Phantm was alluding to, if you lose a water pump or your engine temp gets excessively high for any reason it will keep cutting cylinders out to allow you to keep going without overheating. So if there was no sign of it running rough then it hadn't even begun that process so you should be all sweet.

Thanks - nice to know

[Samboc]

Well looks like Ford Service have lived up to their reputation.

When the car broke down the local mechanic had a quick look and recommended Ford repair the car under warranty.

At the time he noticed that the tension pulley had also been damaged and would need replacing.

When Ford looked at the car they ordered a Water Pump and Belt. ( Day 1 )

Ford promised car would be ready on Monday

The next day when working on the car they noticed the damage to the Tension Pulley ( already advised by the local mechanic) ( Day 2 ) (Weekend - days 3 and 4 )

Day 5 - Monday - parts arrive - they are busy and don't finish the job.

Day 6 - Tuesday - Mechanic is working on car and damages the water pump gasket so badly it cannot be used. ( at least he is honest ) They don't have a gasket and can only find one at a garage 20 km away. They cannot get it the same day due to work commitments.

Day 7 - Wednesday - Girl who work in Service Dept picks up gasket on way to work. Call me at 2 pm - car is OK to pick up.

The job appears good. I have done 100 KM this afternoon and all looks well.

A week to replace a water pump and tension pulley.

I'm guessing 2 hours would cover the job ( based on my work on older cars ).

Have lost a lot of confidence in Ford QOS . I would have been better off getting the work done by my local mechanic and pay the few hundred dollars.

Makes my initial concern about warranty work fade somewhat. ( although this was only $100's not $1000's )

[Rudiger]

Welcome to Ford service.

[Samboc]

Agree,

The cars looks OK .

I've done about 400Km since yesterday.

The job looks Good.

Ford Customer Relations phoned me up today to check on the quality of the work. Not bad service.

Pitty the local Ford Dealer was as useless as tits on a bull.

My next service is due now. Not going to Ford