Ford rant inside...

[Happyfunballs]

So my wife has an 08 Escape with 56K on it. In Sept last year I get an document in the mail requesting us to take part in a "Customer Satisfaction Program" (CSP)which involves the free replacement of the transmission cooler. From the document:

"The transmission fluid cooler may develop a crack in the tube below the right hand mounting bracket from thermal and vibration fatigue. This may lead to a small transmission fluid leak and possible rough/harsh shifts, which could ultimately lead to transmission failure".

The CSP would replace this item at no cost to me and expires Feb 2011. At the time of the document, it wasn't leaking, so I filed the doc and forgot about it. Fast forward to April 10 and it's now leaking. I made an appt at the dealer to get it fixed when they promptly tell me it isn't covered under my 5year/60k mile warranty.

"Why not?" I say.
"It's part of the air conditioning system." The dealer says.
"No, it's leaking transmission fluid on my garage floor, that means its a transmission issue." I say.
"No, it's the AC system." Says the dealer.

The transmission cooler doubles as the air conditioning condensing unit and Ford is choosing not to cover it because they're classifying it as AC rather than transmission.....even though I have a doc that says it can cause "transmission failure". Btw, it never leaked refrigerant.

I appealed, and after a 5 day "evaluation" they veto'd it yet again and now I plan to take them to small claims court to recoup my $635.

I will take full responsibility for not fixing it when told. I'm not a big fan of having things worked on if not necessary. My fault. However, it seems clear to me that this is a drivetrain issue and should be covered under the original factory warranty.

Thoughts? Should it be covered? Do I have a good case? /rant

[rrunner68]

That does seem a bit shady. Usually a TSB fix like that is good forever, and why the wife and I just swing her truck by the deatlerships every 3 months or so to see if anything new is needed, we've had leather seat covers replaced, ECU's reprogrammed and exhaust studs replaced in the last year alone, but never recieved a letter or e-mail about it.

[Tony_SS]

Sounds like a rip off to me. They'll offer to cover it only if you jump through a survey hoop before a certain time? Typical dealer/manufacturer BS. They'll do anything to get out of a warranty.

[Happyfunballs]

It technically was never a TSB, just a "Customer Satisfaction Program"....and it just happens to be one that could possibly cause your transmission to fail. Why this isn't a safety recall, I'll never know.

[moreHP]

That is ridiculous. I dont understand why your warranty wouldnt cover it. So if the A/C fails, they wont fix it? I would get on the phone or e-mail Ford directly instead of the dealer and see if you get action from that.

[Damn True]

It technically was never a TSB, just a "Customer Satisfaction Program"....and it just happens to be one that could possibly cause your transmission to fail. Why this isn't a safety recall, I'll never know.

You did file the thing away and forget to bring it in within the time frame allotted. Their truck broke. So there is, to some degree some shared culpability. I would see if they'd be willing to meet you half way.

[cobraguy65]

Have you tried another dealer?

[nastyn8]

It's not a dealer issue, the reason they probably know it won't be covered is because they did one and Ford didn't pay them back. It's Ford, not the dealer. That seems like a short time frame for a CSP to expire.

To clear up some miss thoughts about TSB's above, TSB's do not change warranty coverage, CSP's expire and recalls are forever.

[Tony_SS]

yep, just because its a TSB doesnt mean it will covered under warranty....

Still... I would've tried another dealer... I"m glad a know a tech or my failed injectors would not have been covered under the 100k drivetrain warranty from GM.

[Happyfunballs]

You did file the thing away and forget to bring it in within the time frame allotted. Their truck broke. So there is, to some degree some shared culpability. I would see if they'd be willing to meet you half way.

Cool by me. I'd pay half, even though I believe it should be under warranty. I've been in contact with Ford directly, and they have no interest in dealing with me at the moment. I've been turned down by more than one dealer.

[NJSPEEDER]

This is something more and more manufacturers have been doing in recent years, trying to be tight to their version of the rules or at least the version that they can sell the consumer on to avoid paying.

Is there some reason that the manufacturers bumper to bumper warranty doesn't cover the AC? Another issue is that regardless of some claimed time frame on a survey that was sent out they acknowledged there is a known defect and refused to deal with it. If nothing else I would talk to your friendly neighborhood attorney and ask him to write a letter stating that if the matter is not dealt with promptly there will be legal that will end up costing Ford and all named parties(dealership, salesperson, any techs that touched the car) a whole lot more than a little trans cooler is worth.

If they still say no, fire at will. Any good law firm would be on that class action suit like it was the last chopper out of Nam.

-Tim

[absintheisfun]

well, every company is crappy, and every company is in business to make profits--some do it dirtier than others, but this does seem a bit odd to me. If it is a part that has dual purpose (A/C condenser and Transmission cooler), I would think that it should fall under both HVAC and drivetrain.

I hope that the court system sees that Ford is screwing with their customers on this one. Everyone does it at one point or another, but this one is pretty blatant.

Rather than go to small claims court first, see if you can find an ambulance chaser to draft a letter of intent to the dealership. Sometimes the legal departments inside dealerships fold pretty quickly because of the PR nightmare they can create.

[Happyfunballs]

I'm not a litigious person, in fact, this will be the first time I've taken anybody to court. I'm not out to make a grandiose statement and beat on my chest. I just want my $635 back. That's it. I've spoken with those people in the know and was informed that simply taking them to small claims would make a better statement than a threating letter from an attorney. Although, having done a bit of research, I've found that every Escape that was built at the Kansas City plant could have the leaky cooler/condenser, so some sort of class action suit is certainly possible, I don't think I'm interested in forking over the cash to get it started. I did inquire about it and there is a cost involved. It seems to be a rampant issue and I've found many folks that have had this issue over the internets. Thanks for the replies. It's nice to bounce this stuff off of the g.pop before jumping to conclusions.