Hey guys

My old man has a ba xr8 ute. 3000km ago the auto shat itself so off to ford, 3 grand later it's fine.

Until friday!

Driving home from work he hears a clunk(not sure if related or just road noise), next thing he knows, its in limp mode.

He drove it home parked it called ford, jumped in it and drove it 20 minutes to berwick.

Heres the good part:
Got it back today. "it had a flat battery" said the ford mechanic. The battery is under a year old and decent quality. They reckon the battery was reading low this morning (6v) and that "starter motors these days can start cars on that low voltage but the trans will not operate unless there is full voltage." He questioned them but they didn't budge
They droped in a new battery and gave us our old one.

As far as we can tell on 3 different high quality meters the old battery is fine. 11.5volts after being out of the car on concrete 12 hours. And his alternator is putting out 14volts so no problems there

Are we being ripped of?
What could the problem actually of been? and could they have quickly fixed it to cover there a*** because they forgot when changing the trans?
Why is fords service department so s**t?

We also thought it was strange that the mechanic was waiting in the service department normally you just talk to the man behind the counter, like they were expecting to explain themselves. Especially because we didn't tell them what time just after work.

Any comments are appreciated
Thank-you
Ben

If you took it to a trans specialist you probably would have saved over a thousand dollars!

If you took the battery to a decent service place, even Bridgestone for instance, they could have hooked it up to a battery diagnosis tester. And probably saved you a hundred bucks on a replacement battery going on Ford dealer prices.... Take the old battery and get it tested elsewhere. The worst battery I ever had lasted two years.

Take your vehicle problems to specialists, not Ford. I lost faith when Adrian Brien Ford here told me the car needed a new MAF at $1000 or so. The problem ended up being a $15 fuel filter. So much for the fancy workshop and expensive diagnostic gear, huh?

And no, the trans will not be affected by a bad battery. As long as the alternator is putting out enough juice when the car is running, it won't be affected. Is there physically a new auto trans in the car? Now that's a scary thought!

Mike

Seeing as the PCM controls both the engine and trans and there is battery voltage compensation maps i find that very hard to believe. Besides there is no way the starter would work with only six f**k volts!?! Six volts sounds like a dead cell and there is no way the battery could deliver the current required to start the engine with a dead cell.
What's more likely is they didn't tighten up a block ground strap. Did they actually replace the trans or is that s**t too?

Sounds like a crock from your Ford dealer about your transmission, but your battery appears to be cactus too, it should read around 12.5 and far from under 12V if it was fully charged before being left on the concrete, the crock about concrete wrecks a battery is a urban myth, concrete is cold and will just show up an issue not make one eg. battery fails on a very cold morning, it is sort of like arthritis, the cold doesn't cause it but you sure as hell know about it in the winter.

If concrete was an issue manufactures would have warnings about storing them like this, only dropping them on the concrete will damage them.

Thanks Guys

We might talk the old battery to a a third party.

Anyway today! Got a call from my dad, Car shat itself again. Same problem driving along. Clunk limp mode.

Mechanic jumps in, gets to the end of the driveway wide arrange of warning lights. "you have a serious wiring problem" he said.

So they have it now and we are being re imbursed for there labour yesterday. Hopefully the rest will be on the house as the problems have started since they touched it.

what do you think?
I wish these guys would start talking straight with us.

Thanks
Ben

Bearing in mind the manufacturers' warranty support history, I would keep the Ombudsmen in mind if the problem reoccurs again and again as you do not have the protection of lemon laws and Ford will happily dump you given the slightest opportunity.

I wouldn't take it anywhere near Ford, especially after they tried to sell me an intake bolt for $249 and told me there was no difference in intake manifolds between EA-BA V8. Yeah.

Should I tell you about the $38 sump plug bolt for the GF's Ka? The parts guy told me that the deal even included the washer!

Mike

ive skimped on some of the replies as was bit in a hurry.

my brother in law had issues ( i think he still does) with his BF xr6 turbo ute.

the gearbox doing wierd changes and going into limp mode. back and forth to ford 100 times and they say nothing wrong...

warranty ran out now diff is gone and gerbox is still complaining...

he is in NSW and while i was there i went with him to question their work... all i can say god help you guys in sydney with ford service. its an absolute joke and they wouldnt even know how to service the car properly let alone fix something.

In Adelaide i had dealings with two ford dealerships and been nothing but perfect.

Maughan Thiem service is brilliant. i just droped the car BA xr6 and said something is clonking (i knew what it was but wanted to test them to see if they slug me or be honest)

they took the car for a drive with me in it and them driving. 15 min got back and the list came out.

the clonk i was complaining about was picked instantly. also he found out the rattling pulsating steering is not normal for ford (LOL isnt it, i thought thats their trademark) and few other small things i didnt pick on but sure they were there.

car got fixed codes cleared and was all sweet and didnt cost much too.. cant say that for Sydney dealerships absolute joke... i though Vic would be better since they built there. but try different dealership...

the low battery that clown is saying is a joke.

if the car is running u can literaly remove the battery and drive without one... so not sure what hes on about. i say u got riped off expecialy if u checked the battery in another car.

probably something else went wrong since their last repiar but they kept quiet to cover it up so u dont get alarmed.

my mate worked in 4 different dealerships and know how they operate plus i got connections in Ford and Nissan and i get NO bull treatment.

good luck and keep an eye on the repairs. go through the car and check what they played with.

How are things progressing, Ben?

Maybe how I should also tell you about the Windsor that failed in my Ghia at 190,000, normally chicken feed for one of these motors. I had it only for a year and it always got the best oil, filters with the view of long service life for me.

Engine rebuilt nearly 5 grand later. Diagnosis: lack of oil changes during it's time as a leased company car. Worn EVERYTHING, mains down to the copper, rebored block required etc. etc. It appears the Coffey Ford were charging the car's owners to change the oil, but were not....

Does that scare you guys away from Ford dealer servicing yet?

Mike

Its unbelievable hearing some of the stories but I have in fact gone through and experienced first hand what these "service providers" have provided or lacked to provide.

Maybe some of them should be dressed up in latex, fishnets and high heels, thrown onto the street corners. IMO, some of them would provide the great service, they claim, right there.

I have a 91 NC 5.0 Fairlane Ghia. I used this to tow caravans and several cars. I also give it a thrashing once in a while. AND it has LPG as well. With the little home knowledge, reading books, and sometimes spending a day here and there at Pick-A-Part goin through these vehicles, I do my own work on my car.

My point is, yesterday, my car clicked over 407,000 kms. I have NEVER open the motor. Not even the rocker covers. And this car has been in our family since new.

I say, with a bit of education, some reading here and there, and even getting your hands dirty once in a while can not just save you money, but it'll save you your sanity.

Hey guys

Forgot to update the thread.

When we took it back the second time there was a loose connection on the trans, problem solved.
We took the battery to battery world to get it checked. And yes it was a bit down on the load test so they refunded us for that battery.

A couple of things still annoy me though.
The first time we took it back they didn't do a very good job fault finding. change the battery job done crap. And
The second time they fixed it they never called to tell us, got to quarter to five and my old man called them. "yer it's waiting for you" not even a phone call

all well, It runs thats the main thing
Thanks for the help
Ben

Are you sure the trans was f**k in the first place? Maybe it was just a loose connection on the trans?

I'm thinking the same thing Pete. Easy for them to diagnose the wiring connections as a stuffed trans.

Ben, can you get proof that the trans was replaced/needed to be replaced. You may have blown $3000 for nothing....

Mike

Hi guys just read the posts and i would have to say that who or where you taking your car to get fixed either dosen't know s**t about cars or he just having fun ripping people off.
Consumer affairs would be a good start after that find a new mechanic. I'm not a qualified mechanic but i know bullshoot when i here. I work on my own cars have done ever since i knew what a spanner was and if my brain don't understand the lingo of why or what the probs are, i start asking around and get the info i need then go from there.
Sounds like you got screwed sideways and the guy or people that worked on the car don't deserve to call themselves mechanics let alone ford dearlership. I hope you got it all sorted though cause i hate people saying thats the problem and they havent even had a good look.

My vq statesman was stopping all the time took it to a mechanic cost me $400 for him to blow out the feul system and it did nothing took it to another mechanic replace the ecu $110 job fixed it pays to find a better mechanic sometimes.