Camera realignment not covered under warranty?

[fordtruckman2003]

Sounds like she is trying to get out of doing warranty work which is often case with dealers from what I've read. I never had any issues at dealer I was using on totally opposite side of city from where I live. I was gonna buy from them but every vehicle has $4k of dealer adds that I don't feel are necessary. Drove 2.5 hours from home to buy my current truck. Probably will go back to same dealer that did all the warranty work on my last truck if I have issues come up. Find a good dealer with no BS and you'll be set. Check forums for solutions first because it seems most things on these trucks can be done with Forscan or FDRS and save the dealer hassle.

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[Bailey_S1007]

I am a service advisor at a dealership (not ford). This would be considered outside influence and not something a dealer should cover under warranty. That being said others that have had it covered under warranty probably got lucky and dealt with an advisor that was willing to help. The warranty story the dealer had to write probably omitted the fact the customer had the tailgate removed by someone else. For warranty repairs its all about how the story is articulated for coverage.

If it were me in the advisors position if I've never dealt with you before i probably would have charged you as well. If you were a reoccurring customer and we have built a rapport i would have probably helped you out and had ford pay for it.

 

[FrankThompson]

I am a service advisor at a dealership (not ford). This would be considered outside influence and not something a dealer should cover under warranty. That being said others that have had it covered under warranty probably got lucky and dealt with an advisor that was willing to help. The warranty story the dealer had to write probably omitted the fact the customer had the tailgate removed by someone else. For warranty repairs its all about how the story is articulated for coverage.

If it were me in the advisors position if I've never dealt with you before i probably would have charged you as well. If you were a reoccurring customer and we have built a rapport i would have probably helped you out and had ford pay for it.

My "story" was that the reverse braking assist did not work and that I "thought" the tailgate removal could have been the cause as I had "read on the internet" that it could have caused it. Which I had also read a camera calibration could fix it. I also mentioned the procedure was done as per the manual and that there was no damage done to any wires or connectors, the camera, etc.

I find it funny that my idea of what caused it by "reading it on the internet" was good enough to cause it and deny my warranty claim, but when I gave them the exact TSB which covered the error I brought it in for, my "Reading it on the internet" was not good enough to justify it's use (which if you read the TSB pretty well spells it out)

You can try and spin as much as yo u want. What I did NOT do was go up there and say "I took my tailgate off, and now my cameras are mis aligned"

What I DID say was "My reverse brake assist throws this error and I read that it could be caused by X, which I did, but I don't know if that is what caused it or not. I have read that you can do Y to fix it."

I was initially told I would be charged, then they retracted that after I said I refused to pay for it. They said they would give me an estimate and never did stating "it costs less than hooking up the computer to find the issue than to do the work, so we are doing you a favor". So they did the work knowing I would not pay for it. To me, had they gotten the code, I would expect them to look for any TSBs for that error before considering charging a customer. And to note again, the TSB does not say it excludes the solution for any reason. It states if they get one of these X errors, the truck was built prior to 5/19/2022, to execute the specified fix.

They even admitted that the TSB would have covered it if they had known about it prior. This is bad business IMO, and you can't convince me otherwise. I shouldn't be forced to pay because they can't do their job correctly.

They also tried to tell me that it was now "fact" that anytime the tailgate was removed that it was required for me to have the camera's recalibrated to fix the issue and that I would have to incur that cost. That is a stance that I can find no official notification from Ford on, and as a matter of fact, the dealer even stated they could not find any official statement either way. I am currently in contact with Ford Corporate to get an official stance on the tailgate. While I don't take it off (it was a one time thing), I think it's ridiculous for a dealership to lay down the law like that when there is no mention that doing this process, outlined in the manual, will cause you to lose a safety feature of the truck unless you pay to have the cameras recalibrated.

I'm sorry if they are bad at writing a "warranty story", but me saying I did an approved procedure directly from the manual cannot void any warranty work unless they can prove that by doing so I have caused that issue. Which they can't, because Ford has already said "this error can incur in trucks made before this date, and just do this to fix it".

They can't have it both ways. My "internet research" can't be good enough to deny me a claim and then at the same time bad enough to deny me the application of the TSB.

 

[FrankThompson]

If it were me in the advisors position if I've never dealt with you before i probably would have charged you as well. If you were a reoccurring customer and we have built a rapport i would have probably helped you out and had ford pay for it.

I guess I should also mention that I've spent over $200k at that dealership in the past 6 years, Well over half of that in the past 15-16 months. I also refer them like crazy because "they are so good" and I tell them that every chance I get... until now.

That said, I don't care if I've seen you once or 200 times. How you treat a customer should be the same every time. They shouldn't have taken my word on the "cause" and they should have found the TSB and followed that. I don't get why people think that it's completely ok to follow a documented procedure, not cause any damage and then just lose a safety feature and have to pay to get it back (and apparently Ford doesn't think that's a good idea, hence the TSB).

 

[trojandawg3]

I am a service advisor at a dealership (not ford). This would be considered outside influence and not something a dealer should cover under warranty. That being said others that have had it covered under warranty probably got lucky and dealt with an advisor that was willing to help. The warranty story the dealer had to write probably omitted the fact the customer had the tailgate removed by someone else. For warranty repairs its all about how the story is articulated for coverage.

If it were me in the advisors position if I've never dealt with you before i probably would have charged you as well. If you were a reoccurring customer and we have built a rapport i would have probably helped you out and had ford pay for it.

If I know you....warranty will cover it. If not, you are out of luck???

 

[FrankThompson]

If I know you....warranty will cover it. If not, you are out of luck???

I don't know about you, but I have no interest in buying a car that I have get to intimately know the service department that well. I did that with my 2000 Grand Am and the local Pontiac dealership took over 6 months to find and fix the issue. They never of course blamed me nor forced me to pay something i shouldn't have (even when I first brought it in).

If I have had time to build a rapport with the service dept, then perhaps I have the wrong car.

 

[Bailey_S1007]

My "story" was that the reverse braking assist did not work and that I "thought" the tailgate removal could have been the cause as I had "read on the internet" that it could have caused it. Which I had also read a camera calibration could fix it. I also mentioned the procedure was done as per the manual and that there was no damage done to any wires or connectors, the camera, etc.

I find it funny that my idea of what caused it by "reading it on the internet" was good enough to cause it and deny my warranty claim, but when I gave them the exact TSB which covered the error I brought it in for, my "Reading it on the internet" was not good enough to justify it's use (which if you read the TSB pretty well spells it out)

You can try and spin as much as yo u want. What I did NOT do was go up there and say "I took my tailgate off, and now my cameras are mis aligned"

What I DID say was "My reverse brake assist throws this error and I read that it could be caused by X, which I did, but I don't know if that is what caused it or not. I have read that you can do Y to fix it."

I was initially told I would be charged, then they retracted that after I said I refused to pay for it. They said they would give me an estimate and never did stating "it costs less than hooking up the computer to find the issue than to do the work, so we are doing you a favor". So they did the work knowing I would not pay for it. To me, had they gotten the code, I would expect them to look for any TSBs for that error before considering charging a customer. And to note again, the TSB does not say it excludes the solution for any reason. It states if they get one of these X errors, the truck was built prior to 5/19/2022, to execute the specified fix.

They even admitted that the TSB would have covered it if they had known about it prior. This is bad business IMO, and you can't convince me otherwise. I shouldn't be forced to pay because they can't do their job correctly.

They also tried to tell me that it was now "fact" that anytime the tailgate was removed that it was required for me to have the camera's recalibrated to fix the issue and that I would have to incur that cost. That is a stance that I can find no official notification from Ford on, and as a matter of fact, the dealer even stated they could not find any official statement either way. I am currently in contact with Ford Corporate to get an official stance on the tailgate. While I don't take it off (it was a one time thing), I think it's ridiculous for a dealership to lay down the law like that when there is no mention that doing this process, outlined in the manual, will cause you to lose a safety feature of the truck unless you pay to have the cameras recalibrated.

I'm sorry if they are bad at writing a "warranty story", but me saying I did an approved procedure directly from the manual cannot void any warranty work unless they can prove that by doing so I have caused that issue. Which they can't, because Ford has already said "this error can incur in trucks made before this date, and just do this to fix it".

They can't have it both ways. My "internet research" can't be good enough to deny me a claim and then at the same time bad enough to deny me the application of the TSB.

I didn't read through all 7 pages of the thread if you had already mentioned the TSB aspect of it.

Sounds like they were trying to just get money from you then. They could have handled the whole situation differently in my opinion.

Its all on how the customer brings you a concern to the way you brought it to them it should have been covered.

 

[FrankThompson]

I didn't read through all 7 pages of the thread if you had already mentioned the TSB aspect of it.

Sounds like they were trying to just get money from you then. They could have handled the whole situation differently in my opinion.

Its all on how the customer brings you a concern to the way you brought it to them it should have been covered.

Thanks. To be clear, I didn't become an A-hole about it until they did the work I told them I would not pay for and then expected me to pay. And even then, it was not until they told me the TSB would not apply because "we didn't find it early enough"

 

[trojandawg3]

I don't know about you, but I have no interest in buying a car that I have get to intimately know the service department that well. I did that with my 2000 Grand Am and the local Pontiac dealership took over 6 months to find and fix the issue. They never of course blamed me nor forced me to pay something i shouldn't have (even when I first brought it in).

If I have had time to build a rapport with the service dept, then perhaps I have the wrong car.

I "hang out" at my dealership a good bit when I get service or am browsing vehicles. I know several sales and service dept personnel fairly well. Heck I even have the service advisor's phone number and I just text her to set up my appointments.

That said, I don't feel like they should treat me any different when it comes to whether or not something should be covered under warranty. That's the kind of BS that sends people to other dealerships/brands.

 

[FrankThompson]

I "hang out" at my dealership a good bit when I get service or am browsing vehicles. I know several salesman and service dept personnel fairly well. Heck I even had the service advisors phone number and I just text her to set up my appointments.

That said, I don't feel like they should treat me any different when it comes to whether or not something should be covered under warranty. That's the kind of BS that sends people to other dealerships/brands.

I guess because I don't drive often and only go up there about once a year for my car, then I don't do that. I do go around and look at the lot, but my dealership won't even do oil changes. They own a quick lube type place across the street that if you want the "dealership" to do your oil, you take it there. I literally only deal with my service department on warranty/recall issues, which I expect to be far and few between.

I personally also plan it for my work days and have them just drive me home while they work on it. Esp this time where they already had said it would be Days to apply all the recalls.

 

[Bailey_S1007]

I "hang out" at my dealership a good bit when I get service or am browsing vehicles. I know several sales and service dept personnel fairly well. Heck I even have the service advisor's phone number and I just text her to set up my appointments.

That said, I don't feel like they should treat me any different when it comes to whether or not something should be covered under warranty. That's the kind of BS that sends people to other dealerships/brands.

You are right. Very rarely do i see a vehicle with warranty active have an issue thats not covered under warranty unless is very clear outside influence.

 

[fordtruckman2003]

I always went to same dealer for warranty work after engine self destructed in first 3 years of ownership. Never any issues in many years except later trying to get them to replace the plugs in the new head they installed I couldn't get out at home with a breaker bar. They magically found tons of codes and engine light on. It wasn't when I parked it. I snap picture of my dash every time I pull into a service bay so I have odometer for reference. They got quiet when I reminded them I had ESP on it. Covered replacing every oxygen sensor on truck that they claimed was giving "tons of codes." ?

 

[Snakebitten]

I have purchased a LOT of vehicles from the same 2 gentlemen over the last quarter of a century. It just so happens that they sell vehicles for a particular dealership. So while it might look like I have been a loyal customer of said dealership, I am actually a loyal customer of my salesman/friends.

I originally was a loyal customer of the dealerships service department because of a relationship with a certain service writer. She always took good care of me and my wife and our kids vehicles for oil changes and the occasional warranty claim.

But she left and the next guy unwittingly tried to upsale me on an oil change for a "dirty air filter". When he approached me in the waiting room to tell me his service guy informed him that my air filter was filthy, I didn't say a single word. I just locked eyes with him. An awkward amount of time, intentionally. And then I finally smiled and asked "are you sure about that?"

He knew I just busted either him or "his tech". I still don't know which one was the conman. But he looked at his feet and said a 4 letter word and walked away.

Been changing my own oil since.

I said all that to say that I will buy from that dealership as long as my salesman works there and still has the panache to get the deal I am happy with. But I will do everything within my power to never let them touch a single vehicle I own. And I currently own 3 from them.

And although I treat everyone there with dignity and respect, they ALL know the story. They all know my decision.

What's sad is no one from management or service has ever asked me to give them an opportunity. I guess even a small bite of humble pie is too much to swallow these days?

Don't folks know it tastes like chicken? ?
You don't choke on it.
Over 65 years of this life, I've had crow enough to know.

 

[Mash150]

Last time I was at the dealership for tire changeover, oil change and wiper motor/blades recall, I walked into the service department , one person ahead of me in line, service manager sees me waiting and says, hey Dale, I can help you here in my office. He wrote up all of the work order , asked if a I needed a ride, and said they would call once the work was finished.

I have been going to that dealer for many years and they also have many long term service desk employees . Unfortunately, not so much in the service technicians. If you treat people with respect you generally get the same in return.

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