Jones-West Ford Service
 

Everyone always says "don't go to the dealer!!" Here's why:

Called Ford 'cause I've got a P0677 CEL (#7 Glow Plug). Basically, the truck needs either a new glow plug, or new GP solenoid, or both. Here's the procedure: unhook the harness, check the resistance across the #7 GP, if it's >5 Ohms, replace the GP (take off valve cover, then swap the GP, it's basically a spark plug, replace the valve cover). If the resistance checks out, or the CEL comes back after swapping the GP, the solenoid need to be replaced, which is supposed to be easier than the GP. Probably 2 hours labor max... realistically a tech that's done this job 1000 times should do it in like 30 minutes.

Anyway, I made an appointment for this morning at Ford because I didn't want to mess around looking for a diesel tech and jumping through hoops. I figured it'd be expensive but less hassle at the dealer. Plus I need an oil change, and I don't feel like messing with 3 gallons of oil myself. So what the hey, right?

Well, over the phone they make my appointment and tell me the oil change will be $70, and the GP they can't estimate over the phone. When I get there, I'm told "there's a minimum 2 hour diagnostic fee for diesels, and the oil change is $100". :rolleyes: But get this, apparently Ford charges $100/hr for labor. So I'm on the hook for $300 and that's not even to fix anything. The worst part is that I've already done the diagnosis... Most likely, all they need to do it swap the GP. But Mr. Service Writer tells me they won't warranty a repair unless they do the diagnosis... which steams like a load of fresh shit to me... but poor Lisa is sitting in her car an hour late to work because she's offered to be my ride to work, so I forgo arguing. I tell the guy to note on the writeup that the truck's throwing a P0677 code, he tells me "I'll just put that the customer has a check engine light". :rolleyes:

Next the guy tells me that I should expect up to two days for the repair. :mad: I told him, "Since you're charging me two hours of labor for a two minute job, I think you should be able to get it done a lot quicker than that. I'd like it by lunch." We'll see how that goes down. All I know is that I'm getting F'd in the A... it'll be interesting to see what they come up with for parts/labor for the GP swap. Something tells me that I'll be out at least $600, and I won't have the truck until Friday.

Kids, don't go to the dealer for service work. :furious:

I've never had anything but horrible service from those arrogant jackasses.

You might have gotten away without the "diagnostic" fee if you just asked them to replace the GP. You're out of warranty right?

I think you should go Bandit, Reynolds style, and burn down the building.

But it might be the solenoid.
Man I hate service writers. They just can't comprehend that you know WTF you're talking about. The next worse thing is when you pick up the vehicle and they say they didn't find any problems or weren't able to reproduce the trouble you were seeing.

So the service writer called me at about 10 minutes to 10. So the 2 hour diagnosis took less than 2 hours... in fact it probably took 2 minutes. :rolleyes: Anyway, he told me all it needs is a glow plug (duh). But that's $22 for the plug, and 2 hours to install it. I asked the guy to apply some of the $200 diagnosis fee towards the repair. Hopefully he'll be able to help me out, but I'm not holding my breath.

Wow, I just NOW got that reference...

...it's bad, I know.

Sorry man....

Some day I have to take mine in for the cruise control recall... It hurts me every time I think about it, and it should be free...

I thought you sold your WRX

Ummm... This is a Ford pickup truck thread, right???

My friend bring truck back to the dealer 4 times to fix the CEL. Good thing it's warranty and he get a loaner.

Good point, I was thinking of the cruise control cable thing on the WRX a few years ago.

Well, the truck was done at 12:30 this afternoon. I've been in training all day, so I couldn't get over there to pick it up, but Mr. Service Man did in fact get the thing pushed through ASAP, so credit goes to him there. I'm probably still on the hook for $600, but at least they did what they could.

The funny part is that I'm going to be paying them for 5 hours of labor done between 8am and noon. :lol: I don't want to take book-hours away from their techs there, but on the other hand, it doesn't seem right to charge me the 2 hours of diag. time when the truck arrived pre-diagnosed. I'd be happy if they'd knock off an hour of labor, we'll see what they tell me when I go to pick it up.

Which reminds me... MikeK, you busy this afternoon? Feel like taking a trip over to Ford? :lol: I'd ask Nick, but I know he's kinda under the gun here at work setting up some test scenarios.

What time? Any chance it could be after 6 pm?

I can get a ride that late, I'm trying to take care of it now... I'm not even sure if their service dept. it open that late anyway.

Picked up the truck... $507 for a $22 glow plug, plus install, plus an oil change. But the written lecture in my service report about how bad the Edge Chip is for the motor was free. :p

So they beat the $600 estimate, but I'm certainly still feeling F'd in the A. :(

If you would feel better about being completely F'd, feel free to give me the extra $93. :)

No I'm all right... I gave them $120 at the parts counter on my way out to buy a pair of the new and improved door lock actuators.

Yes, there's a known problem w/ the older actuators wearing out, yes they reved the part number to an improved version to fix the known problem, no I can't get it replaced under warranty ('cause my truck isn't under warranty any longer). But still, there's a known issue w/ the design of the truck, but they won't fix it for free. I guess because getting locked out of your truck isn't a "safety issue". :roll:

That depends what neighbourhood you parked in :lol:

Yeah those locks suck, but then again most everything electronic in that truck sucks. In time my dads truck slowly died. It basically removed all the dealer options, power locks, power windows, functional stereo, dash lights. Back to basics I guess.

There's a known issue with the bugeye radiators leaking and there a new part number, but it's not a recall (maybe a TSB) so it's not covered under warranty as I understand it. I bought the new one because mine had to be removed to fix damage and it was starting to seep.

TSBs are not covered under warranty. Recalls are. Gay, even in my opinion.

The Diag. fee sucks, but the thing is that the service dept. doesn't want just ANY jackass coming in, having "diagnosed their own car", and telling them what part to replace. Then when it turns out that they were wrong, they get all pissy because we didn't fix their car. If we diag. it ourselves, and WE are wrong, then the cust. has no liability, and we have to find what IS wrong, and fix it w/o charge. Often, there are smart customers who know what they're talking about, and have diagnosed their car CORRECTLY, but 99.99999% of the time, they're SUPER WRONG! It's just a "cover your own ass" policy...

And yes, it sucks a LOT to have to pay so much for someone to work on your car for an hour tops, and that's why I personally take such good care of my friends when doing work for them. They are just goin by the book tho, so you can't get to miffed at them for the $... I do know it sucks, but it's that way EVERYWHERE!

Maybe Scott should start FECCS.org. :P

I had a really bad experience with Justin at Lithia. When I picked up my car, my sway bar was mounted with the ends below the axles instead of above, and they replaced two brand new parts with two identicle parts instead of doing what I asked (replaced RF fender liner instead of LF and replaced the MY04+ style skid plate with an identicle one using the same craptastic plastic fasteners). I asked Justin (my service writer) if he was willing to fix these 3 issues and he said no. Luckily Progressive took my side and paid to have the correct parts installed at Steve's.

Yeah and the book sucks!