Odd Call from Ford Dealer

[turbopilot]

Just got a call from my local Ford dealer. They said they wanted to send a technician to my house to complete the trailer module recall and the wiper arm recall. I told them long ago I got tired of the delays from Ford and bought my own wiper arms and did the trailer module recall through FDRS. She said they will not change their system until they replace the arms again and redo the trailer module programming.

I politely declined the offer. After getting everything running right in my PowerBoost the last thing I want them to do is start fiddling around with FDRS in my driveway. Anyone else getting this call? They must have a program going to clean up these recalls.

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[JEB]

Just got a call from my local Ford dealer. They said they wanted to send a technician to my house to complete the trailer module recall and the wiper arm recall. I told them long ago I got tired of the delays from Ford and bought my own wiper arms and did the trailer module recall through FDRS. She said they will not change their system until they replace the arms again and redo the trailer module programming.

I politely declined the offer. After getting everything running right in my PowerBoost the last thing I want them to do is start fiddling around with FDRS in my driveway. Anyone else getting this call? They must have a program going to clean up these recalls.

Because these are recalls, and Ford’s efforts are being monitored by NHTSA, they can’t just take your word for it that the work was done. They have to verify. Shouldn’t be a big deal. When I did the TRM recall update last year, I went to my dealer, told them I’d done it myself, and explained to them that they didn’t need to do anything except to verify the software version and report it to Ford. They did exactly that and the recall notices cleared the Ford system the next day.

 

[m_bt54]

Because these are recalls, and Ford’s efforts are being monitored by NHTSA, they can’t just take your word for it that the work was done. They have to verify. Shouldn’t be a big deal. When I did the TRM recall update last year, I went to my dealer, told them I’d done it myself, and explained to them that they didn’t need to do anything except to verify the software version and report it to Ford. They did exactly that and the recall notices cleared the Ford system the next day.

same and the dealer can lie and say they did it to get paid by Ford so it shouldn’t be much of an issue to get them to do it

 

[christophers]

I had the same thing for my 2018 Explorer. I talked to the tech, cool dude. Basically, Ford funds some dealers to get a vehicle and a technician to go do all kinds of stuff on-site for people that wanted to. They came and did 3 recalls for no charge, but there was an upsell when scheduled for oil change and other things. I declined, but the tech said he was paid either way.

 

[turbopilot]

Because these are recalls, and Ford’s efforts are being monitored by NHTSA, they can’t just take your word for it that the work was done. They have to verify. Shouldn’t be a big deal. When I did the TRM recall update last year, I went to my dealer, told them I’d done it myself, and explained to them that they didn’t need to do anything except to verify the software version and report it to Ford. They did exactly that and the recall notices cleared the Ford system the next day.

I will do the same next time the PowerBoost is at the dealership. Drive way fix would have been nice when it first came out.

 

[rugedraw]

The dealer can check FDRS history and see the TRM update being applied. So can Ford.

 

[JEB]

The dealer can check FDRS history and see the TRM update being applied. So can Ford.

They can, but they won’t. Not with a recall. I called Ford before I went to the dealer to see if I could avoid the trip and they said that a dealer has to at least look at it in person or they can’t (won’t) clear it.

 

[rugedraw]

My truck is still showing the 21G01 campaign for BC programming open on my truck, and I've had BC since September of last year when I updated it myself. It is beyond me how these trucks Sync up with Ford's server and update as-built data to them and they still can't tell that something has been done. I mean, it is nice that the dealer is offering a mobile tech to go out and not inconveniencing the customer, but there has to be a better way using the tech on these connected vehicles.

 

[JEB]

My truck is still showing the 21G01 campaign for BC programming open on my truck, and I've had BC since September of last year when I updated it myself. It is beyond me how these trucks Sync up with Ford's server and update as-built data to them and they still can't tell that something has been done. I mean, it is nice that the dealer is offering a mobile tech to go out and not inconveniencing the customer, but there has to be a better way using the tech on these connected vehicles.

I could see relying on the tech alone for something like a customer service campaign, like BlueCruise. It’s a feature—a toy. But I see Ford’s point for declining to use tech alone for a recall. Liability stakes are much higher for recalls because they involve safety concerns. They have better protection if they can show that they had a service tech physically look at the work and verify that it was done properly, even if for all practical purposes it makes no difference. The paper trail matters.

 

[rugedraw]

I could see relying on the tech alone for something like a customer service campaign, like BlueCruise. It’s a feature—a toy. But I see Ford’s point for declining to use tech alone for a recall. Liability stakes are much higher for recalls because they involve safety concerns. They have better protection if they can show that they had a service tech physically look at the work and verify that it was done properly, even if for all practical purposes it makes no difference. The paper trail matters.

That makes sense to me. Thinking back to my own situation again, when you plugged my VIN into FDRS, it did not show the IPC update that kept failing on my truck via OTA being on the list of available modules needing an update. However, once I plugged my truck into FDRS directly and did a network scan, the IPC update popped right up. So, you can't always rely on the tech without physically connecting to the vehicle.

 

[RossRR]

...but they won't send anybody to fix all the '21's sitting out there with roadblocks to the OTA process because it's not a NHTSA concern...

 

[HammaMan]

Just got a call from my local Ford dealer. They said they wanted to send a technician to my house to complete the trailer module recall and the wiper arm recall. I told them long ago I got tired of the delays from Ford and bought my own wiper arms and did the trailer module recall through FDRS. She said they will not change their system until they replace the arms again and redo the trailer module programming.

I politely declined the offer. After getting everything running right in my PowerBoost the last thing I want them to do is start fiddling around with FDRS in my driveway. Anyone else getting this call? They must have a program going to clean up these recalls.

Let them come out and do it then. Pop your arms off and let them put new ones on and release your VIN's recalls

Now if it was 'drop it by and we'll eventually get to it', that'd be a whole other story.

 

[turbopilot]

Let them come out and do it then. Pop your arms off and let them put new ones on and release your VIN's recalls

Now if it was 'drop it by and we'll eventually get to it', that'd be a whole other story.

Wiper arms are no issue but messing with FDRS after I spend the last year fixing it was not something I wanted to watch.

 

[Grafx36510]

Isn’t the wiper recall regarding the wiper motors an not the arms? I’d let them come out and clear it. Still better than going to a dealership and having smoke blown where the sun won’t shine.

 

[turbopilot]

Isn’t the wiper recall regarding the wiper motors an not the arms? I’d let them come out and clear it. Still better than going to a dealership and having smoke blown where the sun won’t shine.

When the order books open for a 2024 F-150 I will be ordering one. My 2021 is all fixed. Ford can fiddle with their records when they get it on trade.

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