Warranty Question Regarding Sunroof Leak

[Porterinjax]

Background:
Have a leak in my sunroof on ‘22 Platinum. I also have the Premium Care Plan Ford Extended Warranty. Made an appointment to have leak checked on June 27th to bring the truck in on July 2nd for a recall and the leak. They did not check the leak and found this out next time it rained. Service advisor confirmed that it was listed on my paperwork but they also did not check it. Additionally, my bumber to bumper 3 year warranty expired on June 22nd.
Toil my truck in a couple of days ago for the leak and just receive the following text (the all caps is his way of communicating):
“I WAS SCHEDULED OFF YESTERDAY. THE HEAVY LINE TECH HAS COMPLETED THE RECALL. THE TRIM TECH WAS ABLE TO VERIFY THE LEAK AND WHERE IT WAS COMING FROM. THE SUNROOF DRAINAGE DUCT GASKET ($225.35) AND THE FRONT SUNROOF GLASS SEAL ($122.75) ARE BOTH NEEDING TO BE REPLACED. TOTAL LABOR IS 3.5 HOURS ($700), ALL NUMBERS DO NOT INCLUDE TAX.. THIS IS NOT COVERED BY THE FORD WARRANTY SINCE PARTS ARE WEARABLE ITEMS. WOULD YOU LIKE US TO PROCEED WITH REPAIR - Steven”

Does this sound right? I mean, had I kept track I would have brought the truck in for the leak prior to June 22nd but to have this denied so close to the bumper to bumper warranty expiring AND having the premium extended warranty just feels crappy on Ford’s part.
Thanks for reading and commenting

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[Porpoise Hork]

Sounds like you took it to AutoNation Ford. They are notorious for attempting to claim that issues are always caused by a "wear item" not covered by warranty. That way they can make more money form the repairs than what the warranty coverage pays out.

If the leak is due to a clogged drain then no it would not be covered but failed gaskets may be covered. I'd say contact Ford' premium care reps and verify coverage. and/or take it to another dealer to see what they say.

 

[SteelCity]

I don't see sun or moon roof listed under anything that's covered. Other posts online talk about the motors and mechanicals being covered, but seals and gaskets for it were not

 

[Porterinjax]

You are absolutely correct, I did take it to Ford AutoNation in Katy TX. I have never had a pleasant experience with this dealership but they are the closest.

 

[Moe7]

That's bullshit. 'Wear Items' is a defined term in the contract:

They might be trying to exclude the repair under this:

I would talk to the actual warranty folks to get the opinion first hand.

 

[Porterinjax]

Welp, talked with Ford Extended Warranty and they said that it’s not covered. Not gonna’ lie, pissed that my original warranty was out by five days Prior to making the appointment. The leak happened before the warranty expired, just wasn’t able to call for an appointment due to biz/personal travel. I do envy people on here that have pleasant dealer experiences. While I technically understand that it’s not covered, c’mon…five days? Also, same thing happened to my battery. Kept having them check and reported “OK”. When I made the same appointment for the leak, had them check the battery. What do you know, it’s bad and they wanted $350 to change it out.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Sucks that premium care isn't covering this. But then I'd almost say it's worth taking it to another dealership to be diagnosed since AutoNation is obviously driven to scam as many customers as possible.

You are absolutely correct, I did take it to Ford AutoNation in Katy TX. I have never had a pleasant experience with this dealership but they are the closest.

Knew it. This same dealership recently tried to tell my Father-in-law that he was going to have to pay a $160 diagnostic fee on a 25 Platinum PB with just 700 miles on it when he took it to them because he was getting a warning that the rear brake assist was not available. They tried to claim that the factory warranty did not cover diagnosis fees. To say he lost his shit at them was an understatement. Ended up taking it to Ryan Ford in Sealy. Turned out the aux battery was bad and unable to provide reserve capacity to the main 12v battery so the truck kept putting a lit of the modules into deep sleep and were not powering up correctly preventing the BLISS and rear parking sensors from working properly.

 

[Texas2022XLT]

This was why I didn’t want the sun roof on our new Expedition Tremor but the damn thing is pretty well standard now on them. Every week I open and wipe around the seal try to make sure I keep it clean hoping that will help…

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Sunroofs are more trouble than they are worth. It does seem that automakers are hell bent on forcing us to have a sunroof on the higher level trim options. Many myself included hate them and will elect for a fully loaded mid-tier model just to avoid the damned things and all the troubles that come along with them.

Every car I have ever had with developed a leak at some point. Either because the drains would clog up or the main gasket wore out (despite my NEVER opening them) and would exceed the drain's maximum volume. Each time I ended up taping off the sunroof and then carefully cutting along the roof edge then filling the seam with silicone and wiping away the excess to seal them up. To prevent unintended opening I then disabled power to the sunroof motor. If I am ever forced into buying a car/truck with one again this will probably be one of the first "mods" I do to it...

 

[pjc123]

Everyone including Ford knows that sunroofs eventually leak, or the motor fails, or the switch fails, etc , etc. I know, having go through this in the past in other vehicles. Sunroofs, never again. That said, I was kinda under the impression that Premium Care was more of a catch all regarding failures (I know they list items covered), barring legitimate abuse (Or dealers pretending it is) and/or wear items.

 

[Porterinjax]

Everyone including Ford knows that sunroofs eventually leak, or the motor fails, or the switch fails, etc , etc. I know, having go through this in the past in other vehicles. Sunroofs, never again. That said, I was kinda under the impression that Premium Care was more of a catch all regarding failures (I know they list items covered), barring legitimate abuse (Or dealers pretending it is) and/or wear items.

I thought the Premium Care Plan would cover this as well.
It is especially frustrating because the sunroof had been opened twice. Once when I got the truck and then when I tried to find where the leak was coming from.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Might consider sealing it up with clear or black silicone then. It'd only cost you a few bucks and about 20-30 min of work. You could disconnect the switch in the headliner controls or just leave it be. Then when it comes time to trade it in just take a razor blade and cut the seal so it will open up if they decide to test it.

 

[HDT05]

Not sure if it applies to you but I just received a "Customer Satisfaction Program 25B08" letter in the mail offering a 'no charge' satisfaction program regarding potential water leaks to my sunroof.

I've never had any leaks but the program is available as "parts are now available to repair your vehicle" regardless of mileage until June 30 2026...

Might be worth checking it out and seeing if you can apply it?

Cheers

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Not a bad Idea. @Porterinjax I'd call a different dealer than Auto Nation Ford to verify if yours falls under this program. If yours is included then it should be listed in the FordPass app as well. Click on Service then Customer Satisfaction Programs. If it is then you should be able to get it done at any Ford dealer.

 

[Porterinjax]

Thanks for the info in the CSP but it only applied to 2024 vehicles.

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