07 V-8 Lemon

[Clarence Marshall]

:angryicked up my 07 ST at the dealer today with new engine and repaired transmission. Engine still makes chirping sound and is noisy but it is better than before. In the past my ST has cut off 5 times while coasting to a stop, today on the way home from the dealer it shut off while I was going down the road at 55 MPH. It shuts down just like you turned the switch off. No power steering no brakes is a bad thing. It always starts after it quits. The engine still idles rough and misses between 1500 and 2000 RPM. Can you say LEMON.:angry:

 

[Tony Tassillo]

sorry to hear your having issues with your TRAC i hope you turned around and took it back to the dealer.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Clarence, ask for a new 07 ST...even swap. Ask this of your dealer now. Explain to them that you feel you have a lemon and that no further attempts to fix the problem are going to help. Go on record. I expect that they will deny your request.



If they won't do it, then the lemon law in most all states has a 3-strikes policy, meaning they have to attempt to fix the chronic problem at least 3 times to qualify. Don't threaten the dealer with a lemon law suit (that's very important..DON'T DO IT). Instead, just keep on them to fix your problems, get EVERYTHING documented, and after the third unsuccessful attempt then seek out a lemon law attorney in your state. Many will take the case no-fee, as many states require that the manufacturer pays court costs, etc, if the case is settled; and if not settled for the owner, the law firm eats their service fees. For the law firms, as long as you have everything documented, it's an open and shut case.



I am in a lemon law suit with an '04 Mountaineer as we speak.



P.S. There is a "lemon law" page in your owner's manual and gives you info on contacting Ford reps with lemon concerns. BEFORE contacting this number, first contact a reputable lemon law attorney in your state because contacting Ford first might drastically limit your legal options going forward.



TJR

 

[Clarence Marshall]

Already done that also got the BBB involved.

Thanks

 

[Thomas Rogers]

BBB is overkill and serves no real purpose, IMHO. There is a small chance a consumer gets a lemon, regardless the manufacturer. Most dealers would simply attempt fixes "in pertuity", but that's not in the consumer's best interest. That's why the lemon law exists. There is nothing "technically" wrong with the dealer wanting to fix, and refix, and refix the product, and as long as they are willing to do that in a reasonably responsive manner, then they are "technically" providing the level of service they are expected. In other words, though you may not be happy, they are doing the best they can, making the best of a bad situation.



The Lemon Law is your recourse. The BBB action might actually get dismissed or deemed without merit.



TJR

 

[WXMotorSports DecalsPartsAccs]

BBB is a joke of an organization! They will accept a claim against any company even if they are not a member of the BBB. But, they have NO power to take legal action. It's basically, oh we are the BBB and we have a complaint. You better respond. BS.



I've had one complaint against and it was resolved because I told them the party was just arrested for selling drugs and I won't respond to the issue due to the person credibilty.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

That too, SST. I used the BBB once to complain about Best Buy and an opt-out magazine subscription "scam" I feell prey to. I got a promised a $25 gift card from Best Buy, which I never got, though I shook the trees twice on it.



Might as well complain to ripoffreports.com...



Oh, BTW, my NEW favorite pasttime is going to RipoffReports.com and reading all the drama that takes place in Tupper Lake, NY (I worked there one summer...I grew up in Central, NY).



Not to hijack the thread, but read on:

 

[Rodger Tellefson]

In Calif. the Bureau of Automotive Repairs get far better results than the BBB, but it does not hurt to have the complaint on file.

 

[Gary DiPietroSr]

The lemon law does work. I used it twice, on an 87 and 89 Jeep Grand Wagoneer. The 89 replaced to 87 and was worse than the 87.



Gary D. in CT

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Haven't met anyone yet that like(s/d) their Jeep SUV from a reliability standpoint. Jeep POS is a better name.

 

[Andy G]

I put over 250K on a 92 Cherokee....



Jeeps ol' 242 inline six is a fabulous motor.



It's everything else that they fall short on.



Sorry to hear you are having trouble, I'm keeping my 01 4x4 until I can bring myself to either buy it's big brother (F150 4x4 4 door) or a Nissan, maybe even Toyota full size 4 door.......



I have never been a an of American cars, but thought trucks were different. Recent reliability reports are changing my mind......

 

[Gavin Allan]

My wife's '02 Liberty has 80,000 absolutely trouble-free miles. The only time it has even gone into the shop was for a recall for new balljoints to be replaced (but the old ones seemed fine to me). I put new tires on it last Spring, and the front brake pads were replaced at 60,000 miles. Everything else is original and it runs like new and has never let her down.



I wish my '03 Sportrac was holding up as well as her Liberty. At 44,000 miles, I cannot get rid of the vibration despite new tires, new driveshaft, wheel alignment. Also have new shocks, new upper radiator hose, new alternator, new front brake pads, new radio bezel. The Sportrac is getting quite "rattlely" compared to the Liberty, and the interior is getting very worn-looking, especially the seat fabric. The power steering shudders frequently, the steering wheel is discolored, and the seat rocks back and forth. The enging gets one of those "CPU burps" about once a month where it runs like absolute crap or stalls until restart. In cold weather, the transmission hesitates about 10 seconds before engaging when shifting from reverse to drive. I am just waiting for the transmission to take a dump anyday.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Gavin...that's ONE. Also the first person who I have ever spoken to that has a Liberty. Most of the bad-mouthing I hear are from Grand Cherokee owners.

 

[Gypsy me]

Clarence, good luck to you and give them another opportunity to make things right.



I like the rip off report best entertainment for free It also serves a purpose and you can find out what other folks went thru with the same companies or situations.



Mind you,

every case is different and alot of times folks tend to exagerate their experience because they are angry when they post. But you can find many folks that did things right and legit for the right reasons.

 

[Richard L]

Clarence,

TJR is correct about "Not threatening them". Often times the dealer will do anything to prevent the vehicle from being declared a Lemon since in most states that means the vehicle title is converted to a Salvage title and the dealer can't sell it for anywhere near the true used value.



Some unscrupulous dealers will sell the Lemon vehicle out of state to avoid the salvage title, and the loss of value that implies.



In most cases they will try to buy it back for the full price you paid, minus so much per mile of use. That is basicly what an Arbitrator will do if you invoke the Lemon law. That's only the last resort so most will want to negotiate a deal before going to an Arbitrator



I have never heard of a confirmed case where the dealer let the customer pick out a new car as a replacement for a Lemon.



The other way they wiggle out of the Lemon law is to claim that the three attempted repairs were not for the sam problem. Be sure that all your workorders used for these repairs show you brought the vehicle in for the same problem/s. You may have described the same problem, but make sure they write it up the same way. If they change the symptoms on the workorder, that may lead to them claiming that it was a different problem.



Good luck,



...Rich

 

[walter clark]

bbb is a joke... a sick joke. I file a complaint they got a response (company just deniyed everything) and said if I wanted to persue further It would be a $75 abratiation fee. It was over a $25 dollar center cap for my daughters BMW. I know now that the BBB is there as a advertising gimmick of bisnusses not a consumer advocatesy group.

 

[Pat Freeman]

My state required me to inform the manufacturer of the problem via certified mail, 3 times, before I could use lemon law. The first time my engine was replace, they got a certified letter explaining that no reply was required and I was submitting it in order to protect myself in case of future Lemon Law claims.



I would hit up different dealers and do the necessary paperwork your state requires for Lemon Law protection. The dealer shop that tried to fix your problem might end up being the problem, here, not the parts. Each time you visit a different dealer shop, you're giving them the chance to use their expertise to fix your problem. There are good dealer shops and bad ones. My old ST had a problem with the fuel pump. Dealer #1 let it sit on their lot for 3 days and say they couldn't fix it. Drove it to dealer #2 that afternoon and they had it fixed for me the next day. They couldn't understand why dealer #1 couldn't fix it. I sent a letter to Ford and CC:'d the general manager at dealer #1 who promptly called me and claimed they tried to fix it. I faxed them the fix and TSB from dealer #2 and he tried arguing with me that the TSB was expired, etc. After writing Ford customer service with the details of this horrible experience, I eventually got a call from the general manager at dealer #1 for handling the issue completely inappropriately. They are close to me, handle a lot of cars, but will never EVER get my business again.



Try another dealer, please, and let us know what happens.

 

[FlipTrac_511]

If Ford can't tighten quality control at the production end then at least do it at the dealership end. Happy endings shouldn't be such a hit or miss issue after a $30K purchase.



I myself have had quite a bit of warranty work done on my Trac (which breaks my heart), but I've been fortunate enough to have had an overall good experience with my purchasing dealer and local one.



But it's amazing how quality of service varies from one service manager to another I hope you find a good one and stick to him/her and that dealership (edit: can't choose the mechanics that'll do the actual work though). That or get a new Trac with little much ado.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Flip says:

But it's amazing how quality of service varies from one service manager to another.

Amazing...I call it "criminal".



"Ford Certified" should mean something, lest if it doesn't why pay premium rates at a dealer when "Joe's Garage" next to your house has lower rates and you are just as likely of getting the same quality (or lackthereof) service?



Ford's lack of quality wouldn't be as big an issue IF it had a higher, more uniform level of quality service at its dealers...IMHO. Fix that problem first, THEN you can track design and factory issues that affect quality more effectively. If you don't start with cleaning house at the dealer service problem, Ford will constantly chase its tail when it comes to addressing their poor quality epidemic.



TJR

 

[P M]

My opinion (based on very little hard data) has evolved to where I think that dealers are Ford's biggest problem. Most people can deal with minor issues if dealt with in a timely respectable manner at the dealership. The more I look into (or even own) other brands, I find there is very little difference in actual quality of the vehicles. There are examples of people having difficulties with most cars out there.