I think its dead

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JamesDiana Tiffany

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Well I think I killed my trac. I took my brother in law to SFO (about 370 miles one way).

I made it all the way down and almost all the way back when I got the blinking light of death

the tranny started taching out and it was blowing fluid all over. I've got 77,000 miles on my 01

with 2000 miles left on the extended warranty. The dealer changed the filter fluid and pan gasket, says since all it was was a tranny service its not under covered and by the way your

tranny has maybe 2000 miles left on it. I think thats it for me and the trac, it was a fun 9 months but my wife drives 40 miles to work everyday and I cant have that thing blow up on here the day after the warranty runs out. So anyhow its been fun writing and visiting on here but the trac's out a here. if its gonna drop the tranny at 80,000 miles i dont want to find out what else will go to hell on it. I'm getting a Toyota or nissan. At least they last more than 150,000 miles with out any major problems



nice knowing you all

James
 
Another story of an extended warranty that didn't deliver.



Sure, James could get it fixed now while still under extended warranty, but we all know the first fix is just a band-aid fix that gets you another few thousand miles.



Transmissions shouldn't need replacing under 100K...they just shouldn't.



Sorry to hear the news, James.



TJR
 
The dealer changed the filter fluid and pan gasket, says since all it was was a tranny service its not under covered and by the way your tranny has maybe 2000 miles left on it.
Click to expand...



And you took that as an answer?



Do you have any respect for yourself?





Tom
 
While i'm not an advocate of the extended warranties, there is no way in the world I would have accepted that excuse for why it is not covered under the warranty. Sounds like they did a band aid fix to keep it from being a warrantied service. I would take it back and demand they fix the real issue with the tranny.....
 
There are lots of Fords that have gone 150,000 miles and more with no major problems. There are Toyotas, Hondas and Nissans that haven't made it to 10,000 miles before having major problems. Happens to all of them. There are shops that specialize in Japanese cars, shops that specialize in German cars. Why now would they be in business and be making money if those cars never had problems as some here would like to believe? No matter what you buy, no matter who made it, there is a chance that you will get one of the few bad ones or one of those that will exhibit "early life failure". It's called Consumer Risk by quality professionals and it exists for everything that man builds. Just because you get the one bad one, it doesn't mean that all are bad.
 
Blinking O/D light on my Trac got immediate attention at the dealer. All covered under warranty.



edit: My Trac had 73k on it and it is an '01.
 
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Iam with Caymen...Dont take that crap for an answer. You got the warranty, make them honor it. Damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead and go to district rep. and Higher before the warranty runs out. Document everything said to you, even in front of them. I got many a dealer off their butt, that way.....
 
My '01 Trac has about 98000 miles on it and the tranny still run strong. I think it's a good truck. Plus, I still have original break rotors and battery, etc. Overall, it has been most realiable of all the vehicles that I've had.



Mat
 
Boy, have you got that all wrong. We have an '01 job 2 bought in June of '01, and over 122K miles on our 5-speed manual. We are just now having to replace the clutch. I looked on Google Maps to see where you lived, and hopefully you can take it to a different dealer/shop for a second opinion. ;)
 
Lil Red, Caymen, welcome to typical Ford service. Any transmission issue will get band-aided first. That the MO. That's what they teach at Ford mec-a-neck school. Then, 5 or 10,000 miles later they will band-aid it again. It's not until the third or fourth band-aid job that they will do anything near drastic or right.



Don't fault James because he recognizes he is running out of time (and soon money) to play that game.



What are his alternatives? The days of hitting the service manager beside the head with a 2x4 and not going to jail are gone.



TJR
 
Sad to say, but its just typical. Hopefully US auto makers will be forced by competition to extend their warranties to 100K like Hyundai and Kia do. If that happens, then perhaps there will be incentive for the US companies to build more durable vehicles. 36K is just too short. Repairs are so expensive these days that it leaves a really bad taste in your mouth to fork out thousands of dollars to repair a vehicle that is a year or two old, when you are still making loan payments too.



I don't blame anyone for making that choice to buy something different. In the short run, it could wind up costing extra money to buy new, but to me having peace of mind knowing I won't have to deal with unexpected repair bills and sleezy service departments is worth a lot too. I tell you, the Ford service departments are about as sleezy as they come. I love Ford vehicles, but man, having to deal with them on repair issues really makes me wonder if I will ever own a Ford again.
 
Just drain all the tranny oil out, and go for a drive. When it locks up completely then proceed to add your tranny back in and call the tow truck..



But it sounds like a bad dealership to me. I guess I am fortunate that my dealer takes care of my ST problems with no hesitation, and does it right.
 
Chad, that's kinda what I was thinkin, just didn't want to say(type) it. But now that you did......... I would do that before I payed out of my pocket for repairs that should be covered under a warranty that someone paid additional $$ for. You see this is one of the primary reasons why you stay away from extended warranty's anyway. They do whatever is necesary in an attempt to avoid honoring the warranty.
 
I'm with Chad - if it's games they want to play, then it's games you should play. Pull up to a wall in gear and sit there for a while at high idle (maybe low on fluid). It'll burn quick. If they cry foul, tell them you had to tow a small car a short distance. That's not abuse.



If they knew what they did was a band-aid, they'll just say "Huh, didn't last as long as we thought."



Remember - "No Boundaries!" (I think that was the advertisement for the ST.)
 
the blinking light of death came on in my trac and i kinda ignored it for a few days. well, a few days was too long and my tranny blew on my way home from work. that was with 79,000 miles. it was covered under warranty, the dealer took care of everything and i even got a 2006 f-150 quad cab to cruise around in for a few days. i now have over 120k miles on my truck and everything seems fine. go to the dealer and slap someone in the face with your warranty. don't take no for an answer.
 
I can understand why James would not want to mess with it. His best option is probably to clean his trac up inside and out, and trade it. Of course, someone else down the road will inherit the trouble, but at least it won't be his problem anymore.



Just another reason why Ford is on the edge of going belly-up. Product quality has taken a dump, and customer service sucks.
 

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