Warranty Denied - Ford Corporate Refuses to Call Me - What Now?
11-30-2017, 09:18 PM
#1
Warranty Denied - Ford Corporate Refuses to Call Me - What Now?
Looking for help.
Long story short:
Purchased a 2018 Raptor, and plasti-dipped the wheels right away.
2,500 miles later the front passenger rim sheers in two, down the middle of the radius of the tire, and sheers 4 lugs off. Thank God this happened in a 2 mph turn into a parking lot.
Tow it to dealer, who within 5 minutes, and from 50' away denies the warranty and hands me the phone # to corporate to submit a complaint. Thought that was strange as I didn't have anything to complain about as they didn't even look at the truck yet, but they stated they knew corporate would deny it because of painted rims.
After 1 week, the local rep refuses to contact me as requested many times. Completely ignores me, so today I emailed asking for their supervisor. Instead, they have a local rep from the Florida region call me. He has no information other than notes that wheel was painted and he's upholding warranty denial.
Since corporate (other than this FL region rep) refuses to talk to me (he basically just said bring it up to the dealer), and the dealer says sorry we have no say keep calling corporate (back to corporate ignoring me)...I don't have any alternative other than to tow the Raptor to an independent mechanic, have them fix it, and I'll file a lawsuit under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.
Unfortunately this is my 3rd F150 in a row, and Ford has decided to reward me for my loyalty by trying to deny a valid warranty claim, and to ignore me and hope I go away.
I would be willing to listen to "their side of the story", and review their evidence of how I overtorqued the rims (which require 150 ft lb of torque by spec), but none such exists, they know it, and thus are ignoring me. Long story, I know these wheels were installed correctly, by me, so I cannot buy their excuse that I was at fault, without them proving that to me. I firmly believe there was a manufacturing defect which caused the failure. (Unfortunately, even in my basic understanding of all of this, I'm more knowledgeable about engineering, manufacturing, and cars than any of the reps I've spoken to at the dealer, or the FL rep who admittedly knows nothing about this. Curious how a "decision maker" for warranty issues in corporate does not understand anything regarding their vehicles, repairs, or anything technical in nature. How then can he make an educated decision on what would be covered under warranty and what should be denied?)
Open to any ideas / help how to get this resolved before I'm forced to file a lawsuit shortly.
Long story short:
Purchased a 2018 Raptor, and plasti-dipped the wheels right away.
2,500 miles later the front passenger rim sheers in two, down the middle of the radius of the tire, and sheers 4 lugs off. Thank God this happened in a 2 mph turn into a parking lot.
Tow it to dealer, who within 5 minutes, and from 50' away denies the warranty and hands me the phone # to corporate to submit a complaint. Thought that was strange as I didn't have anything to complain about as they didn't even look at the truck yet, but they stated they knew corporate would deny it because of painted rims.
After 1 week, the local rep refuses to contact me as requested many times. Completely ignores me, so today I emailed asking for their supervisor. Instead, they have a local rep from the Florida region call me. He has no information other than notes that wheel was painted and he's upholding warranty denial.
Since corporate (other than this FL region rep) refuses to talk to me (he basically just said bring it up to the dealer), and the dealer says sorry we have no say keep calling corporate (back to corporate ignoring me)...I don't have any alternative other than to tow the Raptor to an independent mechanic, have them fix it, and I'll file a lawsuit under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.
Unfortunately this is my 3rd F150 in a row, and Ford has decided to reward me for my loyalty by trying to deny a valid warranty claim, and to ignore me and hope I go away.
I would be willing to listen to "their side of the story", and review their evidence of how I overtorqued the rims (which require 150 ft lb of torque by spec), but none such exists, they know it, and thus are ignoring me. Long story, I know these wheels were installed correctly, by me, so I cannot buy their excuse that I was at fault, without them proving that to me. I firmly believe there was a manufacturing defect which caused the failure. (Unfortunately, even in my basic understanding of all of this, I'm more knowledgeable about engineering, manufacturing, and cars than any of the reps I've spoken to at the dealer, or the FL rep who admittedly knows nothing about this. Curious how a "decision maker" for warranty issues in corporate does not understand anything regarding their vehicles, repairs, or anything technical in nature. How then can he make an educated decision on what would be covered under warranty and what should be denied?)
Open to any ideas / help how to get this resolved before I'm forced to file a lawsuit shortly.
Last edited by KatTruck; 11-30-2017 at 09:24 PM.
Popular Reply
12-02-2017, 11:39 PM
Senior Member
Many years ago, when I was a young lad, my dad and I were driving home from duck hunting on a beautiful fall day. We were in a 1978 Ford Granada, and the windows were down, and the dog was in the back. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted something coming out of the ditch. I don't know how fast we were going. Maybe 45mph? Anyway, it was a partridge and before I could react, it flew in through the open window, grazed my left ear, and hit the inside of the back window where it exploded in a cloud of feathers. My dad had no idea what was going on. One minute he was driving along, the next second he was in the middle of a cloud of feathers. He pulled over in a panic, and we looked back at the dog, who proudly had a partridge in his mouth.
Has nothing to do with the wheel. But it happened. Very rare, and I have no photos or proof. But why is everyone so quick to jump down the OP's throat and brand him a liar? **** happens. Sometimes weird ****. Give the guy a break.
Has nothing to do with the wheel. But it happened. Very rare, and I have no photos or proof. But why is everyone so quick to jump down the OP's throat and brand him a liar? **** happens. Sometimes weird ****. Give the guy a break.
11-30-2017, 09:34 PM
#2
I’m going to list off some options that I know of in random order just to help you get started.
1. Call the dealer and ask for an appointment to meet with either the owner or the general manager. Calmly and clearly state your case. They will most likely not want to lose you as a customer and do what ever they can to help you.
2. Just go to another dealer. Some dealers are easier to work with than others. You may go 20 miles down the road and have a completely different experience.
3. Lawyer up. Have your lawyer call them. Usually gets the ball rolling much more smoothly if they know you are going to sue (and probably win).
4. Ford has customer service agents that are supposed to help in these warranty situations. Maybe someone can post the phone number. Anyway, calling the right people at Ford might be all that is needed.
1. Call the dealer and ask for an appointment to meet with either the owner or the general manager. Calmly and clearly state your case. They will most likely not want to lose you as a customer and do what ever they can to help you.
2. Just go to another dealer. Some dealers are easier to work with than others. You may go 20 miles down the road and have a completely different experience.
3. Lawyer up. Have your lawyer call them. Usually gets the ball rolling much more smoothly if they know you are going to sue (and probably win).
4. Ford has customer service agents that are supposed to help in these warranty situations. Maybe someone can post the phone number. Anyway, calling the right people at Ford might be all that is needed.
11-30-2017, 09:35 PM
#3
Senior Member
Not being a D but I could see why they don't react. "You customized the wheel, the dip downgraded the material" Some BS like that.
IMO probably would of cracked anyway like you said
IMO probably would of cracked anyway like you said
11-30-2017, 09:36 PM
#4
Brother (Texasfording) worked for Ford. He mentioned that usually when a VIN is flagged in OASIS its very hard to remove it and restore factory warranty.
I would say to call the national service hotline (1-866-631-3788) and request a case manager and request a case to be open. Then go from there. My 2013 had many problems with leaky sunroofs and they started giving me the stink eye saying that they were nearing the limits of replacements (huh? never heard of a factory warranty having a limit on repairs, especially when I never brought up lemon law) and was just becoming impossible to deal with them (Ford in MI and the local dealer). I played their game for a long 8 months until I had enough.
I had them fix it one last time and traded it in for a Toyota. I would say call the number, explain calmly and politely but firmly that you can prove it was not your fault and that you want a field tech/engineer to evaluate it and have your warranty (for that part) reinstated.
I think a lawsuit is the last resort and honestly a much more expensive resort than to buy good quality aftermarket wheels and move on. I understand where you're coming from so best of luck.
I would say to call the national service hotline (1-866-631-3788) and request a case manager and request a case to be open. Then go from there. My 2013 had many problems with leaky sunroofs and they started giving me the stink eye saying that they were nearing the limits of replacements (huh? never heard of a factory warranty having a limit on repairs, especially when I never brought up lemon law) and was just becoming impossible to deal with them (Ford in MI and the local dealer). I played their game for a long 8 months until I had enough.
I had them fix it one last time and traded it in for a Toyota. I would say call the number, explain calmly and politely but firmly that you can prove it was not your fault and that you want a field tech/engineer to evaluate it and have your warranty (for that part) reinstated.
I think a lawsuit is the last resort and honestly a much more expensive resort than to buy good quality aftermarket wheels and move on. I understand where you're coming from so best of luck.
11-30-2017, 09:40 PM
#5
I would have taken it to my dealer that I purchased it from. I can't imagine plasti dip on a wheel would cause that kinda damage. To late to remove it as it's already been reported.
Something doesn't add up. For a dealer to look at it that quickly and say that your warranty won't cover it makes me think your truck as other mods.
I'm not calling you out, just trying giving you my point of view. It would help if you could post pictures. You might get some better advice from others.
Good luck with your Raptor!
Something doesn't add up. For a dealer to look at it that quickly and say that your warranty won't cover it makes me think your truck as other mods.
I'm not calling you out, just trying giving you my point of view. It would help if you could post pictures. You might get some better advice from others.
Good luck with your Raptor!
11-30-2017, 10:06 PM
#6
Senior Member
I’m going to list off some options that I know of in random order just to help you get started.
1. Call the dealer and ask for an appointment to meet with either the owner or the general manager. Calmly and clearly state your case. They will most likely not want to lose you as a customer and do what ever they can to help you.
2. Just go to another dealer. Some dealers are easier to work with than others. You may go 20 miles down the road and have a completely different experience.
3. Lawyer up. Have your lawyer call them. Usually gets the ball rolling much more smoothly if they know you are going to sue (and probably win).
4. Ford has customer service agents that are supposed to help in these warranty situations. Maybe someone can post the phone number. Anyway, calling the right people at Ford might be all that is needed.
1. Call the dealer and ask for an appointment to meet with either the owner or the general manager. Calmly and clearly state your case. They will most likely not want to lose you as a customer and do what ever they can to help you.
2. Just go to another dealer. Some dealers are easier to work with than others. You may go 20 miles down the road and have a completely different experience.
3. Lawyer up. Have your lawyer call them. Usually gets the ball rolling much more smoothly if they know you are going to sue (and probably win).
4. Ford has customer service agents that are supposed to help in these warranty situations. Maybe someone can post the phone number. Anyway, calling the right people at Ford might be all that is needed.
obviously they are pulling a "coated wheel comprimised the wheel, holding heat in blah blah" card.
Still seems pretty ridiculous though, assuming the OPs story is 100% true. But at the same time, I am sure Ford would want the dealer to send them the faulty wheel, and when they see plasti dip they wont be happy....
11-30-2017, 10:14 PM
#7
I would think a replacement wheel is cheaper than a lawyer?
obviously they are pulling a "coated wheel comprimised the wheel, holding heat in blah blah" card.
Still seems pretty ridiculous though, assuming the OPs story is 100% true. But at the same time, I am sure Ford would want the dealer to send them the faulty wheel, and when they see plasti dip they wont be happy....
obviously they are pulling a "coated wheel comprimised the wheel, holding heat in blah blah" card.
Still seems pretty ridiculous though, assuming the OPs story is 100% true. But at the same time, I am sure Ford would want the dealer to send them the faulty wheel, and when they see plasti dip they wont be happy....
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11-30-2017, 11:19 PM
#8
Senior Member
It’s denied because ford will want the wheel back more than likely. Once they receive it will deny the claim and charge it back to the dealer due to it being painted. All warranty work requires a core. Sometimes those cores are asked to be returned to ford sometimes they throw them away after a given time. With it being a raptor wheel the likely hood of ford wanting it back for inspection is higher.
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Ifallsguy (12-23-2017)
11-30-2017, 11:28 PM
#9
Senior Member
I don't mean to sound ridiculous, but if you dipped your rims cant you just remove the dip and take it to another dealer? Say you don't know what they're talking about with painted rims. **** was always factory OE now fix it please. Game can be played both ways. Burden is on them to prove you modified it. That's a large part of why dip is such a great option. The option for it to disappear.
11-30-2017, 11:39 PM
#10
Senior Member
Since no one else has said it "Pics of rim sheared in half" so we can see the damage. 