Ford Customer Service

[KBBossedXR]

I will not go into full detail of the history as its been on here before.

My 04 BA XR8 Ute has had oil consumption tests 3 X 3000kms & 1 X 5000kms for a total of 14,000kms and its used over 6litres of oil.

Ford made a decision that this usage was acceptable and declined a new motor or fix this one, after continuing to pursue my rights they agreed to start another test but then i crashed the ute and it was in the panel shop for nearly 11 months.

I was back at Ford recently to start the Test again and to my amazement they want me to do 1000km tests the problem is i live over 400kms away so its over 800km round trip for me without any excursions. They would not tell me how many of these tests i would have to do and there is nothing they can do to change things.

The final straw was the Oil that they had put in my engine last time had not even done 6000kms and was reading under the add mark on the Dip Stick, the colour had gone quite black and you could feel & smell it had passed its expiry date. To my amazement they were just going to put NEW oil on top of what was already in the engine, "i told them no way what do you think your doing, you have to put in new oil" the response was this is how we do it.

They said if i wanted the test done it had to be done there way, No way was i going to let them do that as it cant be good for the engine to be putting new oil on top of expired oil. Chances are they wont replace my engine and they could be causing more harm.

In the end they said if i paid for the oil plus filter and labour they would replace it.

I asked them again about why i have to do 1000km tests as that means i basically drive home then turn around again, once again the reply was thats how its done.

Personally i think they pick and choose what they want to do and with fuel costing $1.80 a litre i am not driving down and back to Adelaide every couple of days until they decide how many kms i have to keep putting on my Ute for them. The fact they cant tell me how many tests i have to do is crap.

So i got on the phone and rang CRC, no i wasnt suprised with them as all they said was if i dont follow the instructions it will be officially cancelled on there computer and put to rest once and for all, i told them about not replacing the oil and they were not intrested all she wanted was an answer either way, was i going to continue with tests or not. She said Tests so i asked her again how many tests and once again no answer.

So thats where i said thanks for nothing but undue wear and tear on my ute whilst getting all these kms clocked up quicker than i normally would as i wanted to get the engine sorted out, plus fuel and the hassle of the trip.

Torco 10w40 Synthetic Oil and change it every 5000kms and keep away from Ford workshops seems like the way to go.

Its so dissapointing as i have owned 9 cars and every one has been a Ford and i really cant see me driving anything else. If i do buy another one it will definately be a private sale or from a non Ford Dealership as there is no way that FORD is Getting anymore $$$$$ out of me.

[snappy]

id hangin there with the testing .Record all the money you spent testing it.
Then hit ford up for it .When the refuse and they will .
Give consumer affairs a call or get a lawyer to send them a letter it usually gets a reaction.
Also speak to another mechanic and find out there methods for testing .

[b2tf]

what the hell did you to do it that required it to be in a panel shop for 11 months?

[mik]

that does seem like a lot of oil, my own thought`s are even for a hard working work vehicle it seems too much, but that sort of consumption does`nt happen overnight unless its has a leak somewhere, if it was me i would do the test/ tests amd maybe get the problem sorted out.

[SpoolMan]

Originally Posted by KBBossedXR

The final straw was the Oil that they had put in my engine last time had not even done 6000kms and was reading under the add mark on the Dip Stick, the colour had gone quite black and you could feel & smell it had passed its expiry date. To my amazement they were just going to put NEW oil on top of what was already in the engine, "i told them no way what do you think your doing, you have to put in new oil" the response was this is how we do it.

.

Regardless of how many klm's done, the car was sitting in a workshop for 11 months its due for a service, so yes the oil had to be dropped.

If you think you have already under taken sufficient testing and have done everything Ford asked of the car, take the matter to consumer affairs or in Vic its the office of fair trading, should Ford not reach an amicable agreement with you, consumer affairs will try and negotiate an amicable solution on your behalf.

[The G6ET Spot]

Stuff them, get in touch with Today Tonight or A current Affair they love stuff like this.

You can pretty well guarantee that once either one of them get in touch with Ford they will change their tune.

[KBBossedXR]

Originally Posted by b2tf

what the hell did you to do it that required it to be in a panel shop for 11 months?

Put the drivers side thru a fence so i had the whole ute repainted & a FPV Tornado Body kit fitted, with only one good panel shop in town it had to be done amongst the other insurance jobs. Was worth the wait though.

[AUXRVIII]

Why not trailer the car to and from the dealer?