Dirttracker18

Imagine you needed a part for your 2009 F150 and it was no longer available from anyone! Hard to believe he couldn't even find a used part but overall very frustrating I'm sure.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/ford...blic-1.3746577

Martian

Sad that it took so long to get that part. It shouldn't have taken that much of a strong-arm. Now Ford is going to pay for installation to "make it all better," but really the damage is done for that customer, if that's the kind of circus act he has to perform just to get a damn part.

SCORGE

I find this hard to believe...sucks if it's true though

chickenwire

Can't say for certain this is the cause, but it's my suspicion. About 25 years ago the car makers all started demanding their suppliers pay for any tooling in order to get the production contract. They also demanded the suppliers keep their prices at the same point "for the life of the program" - though they would never define how long that actually was.

So, supplier "X" pays for all the tooling and produces the HVAC module for a number of years. As his costs continue to rise, he can't pass the higher costs on to Ford and goes bankrupt. Tooling goes to a scrap yard. Any inventory in existence gets bought up and eventual sold out. Ford needs more modules, tooling doesn't exist, so it's "obsolete" because they don't want to pay for replacement tooling for a service part.

I have a Pontiac Solstice that had an extended warranty on the cat due to a plugging issue. (Bought it used in 2012.) When my cat plugged the dealer said "a day". A week later I'm calling GM customer support direct and I'm told "a week". A week later I'm told they "are negotiating with the supplier" and immediately I knew what was going on. The supplier was stiffed when GM filed bankruptcy so they were trying to get paid for their past bills before supplying any more cat converters!

GM covered a rental for about 7-8 weeks while I waited, though they did balk at it. The local dealer was the one that strong armed them to pick up the rental tab.

Nyron

I really don't think any car company stands by their products anymore. I used to take pride in the fact that I had either a GM or Ford because they were American companies. However, that loyalty never was really paid back.

Heck, my windshield washer pump went out on my 2015 F-150 and it took over a month to get the part to repair it. Even then, the dealer tried to rip me off by asking me to pay for them to "defrost" the lines.

unclet1

I think I would have checked a salvage yard. Should be plenty if they seldom wear out.

Dirttracker18

Article says they searched for used parts but could not find it. I assume, by the sounds of it that this is only in higher end F150s that have the option for different temps on each side of the truck.
Even at that it is hard to believe that they could not find a used one.

All Hat No Cattle

I wonder what Ford would have done if the OP had an 8 year ESP from Ford?

seaeagle2

When I got my aftermarket tow mirrors from A1auto, they were heated. I had to replace the climate control module to get one with the heated mirror icon. I went to ebay, most of them were the dual climate control ones (not what I needed).

Wannafbody

I thought in the US that manufacturers had to continue parts production for something like 15-20 years.