Sysop

2015 Lariat, less than 2000 miles and 2 weeks of ownership. At the left side of the steering wheel, the stitching has started coming out of the leather wrap.

I'm of course going to talk to the dealer, but my questions are; should I make the call immediately or tell them once I take it in for the first service? Also, what should I expect as the response? Are they going to try to re-stitch the existing steering wheel or should they replace it?

I have 7 year 150,000 mile PremiumCare if that makes any difference...

jm061

iTrader: (2)

They will need to check with Ford to see if its a defect or damage caused by the vehicle operator. Ford has a specific reference sheet for them to follow on this. If it is covered under warranty they will replace the steering wheel.

Sysop

Driving wouldn't be damage caused by the operator. It is coming loose where the left edge of the center section attaches to the wheel, just below the "10 and 2" bulges where your pinky finger lays. The end of the stitch has simply pulled loose and came out of the hole. Now there is a 1/8" - 1/4" piece of stitch sticking out.

If it wasn't a $40-some thousand dollar vehicle that I have owned for less than two weeks, I would likely just clip it off. My last truck went to 200,000 miles and the leather wrapped steering wheel held up fine...

jm061

iTrader: (2)

I'm not saying you are at fault. I am telling you the process that will be done. They likely will have to take photos of it and even send it to ford. Don't shoot the messenger.

SeatGuru

He is right. They have to submit then Ford will respond. Good luck

Sysop

Not out to shoot the messenger, I just wanted to be clear it wasn't anything I've done except drive it to my various service calls (I'm in the IT field).

I mainly wanted to get a feel for whether I should address it immediately or later; as well as what the expected results would be, repair or replace.

After posting messages here, I did find myself with some free time today which was unexpected, so I dropped by the dealer to let them take a look. I didn't want it to be several weeks and have it get worse and have them try to claim I did anything to cause it. As it is 10 days old, I wanted the issue fixed with the least hassle as possible.

When I showed up, they were very helpful and did as described above, taking pictures of the truck and the loose thread on the steering wheel to send to FoMoCo. They attempted to submit the claim but the server was down at the time. They claimed it should be no issue to have the steering wheel available to be replaced when I come in for the first service. Service manual says 1.1 hours to R&R the steering wheel.

Thanks for the input!