1.5L Water Pump Woes

[hrimfaxi]

Hi, everyone. Long-time listener, first-time caller.

On the return from a road trip, I joined the failed water pump club. When I opened the door in the parking lot, I immediately noticed the smell of coolant. I popped the hood and found an empty reservoir and a metal rattling sound with the engine running.

I took my Sport to the dealership the next day (February 14th), and it took about a week for the diagnosis to confirm the water pump problem. However, after this point, the troubles began. The dealership informed me that the water pump was on back order with no ETA. As of this post, I still do not have an ETA, and the Bronco Sport has been sitting at the dealership this entire time. I received an expected arrival date of the part as well as the expected completion of the replacement at one point, but that fell through the next day, putting me back to square one.

I've called the corporate line, and so far, they've given me the same response - no ETA, and that they're working with my dealership to figure out what is going on.

What would you do in this situation? I've owned lots of cars but have never experienced something like this before. I understand there are supply issues, but is it really bad enough to where repairs are taking two months or longer? Also, to note, I haven't received any offers of loaner cars or anything along those lines.

At least on the plus side, all of the pending recalls were able to be completed.

TIA

Edit: Forgot to mention the failure occurred at about 19K miles.

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[Bucko]

You should be under warranty (2021 BS, with under 19K miles), correct?

I'd be rquesting/insisting on a loaner vehicle from the dealership. The dealership in return can capture the loaner costs from Ford corporate in a situation such as this.

 

[hrimfaxi]

You should be under warranty (2021 BS, with under 19K miles), correct?

I'd be rquesting/insisting on a loaner vehicle from the dealership. The dealership in return can capture the loaner costs from Ford corporate in a situation such as this.

That's correct. Until recently I've been fortunate enough to be in a situation where I haven't needed a loaner, but perhaps not immediately pressing for one has been an error on my part.

 

[Mark S.]

You have three options as I see it.

1. Wait patiently. Ford will eventually get the parts you need and repair your car. Several members here have had their water pumps replace, and I'm not aware of any having a repeat problem.
2. Wait impatiently. Get noisy. Get angry. Demand a loaner car. Threaten to file a case under your State's Lemon Law. Make a nuisance of yourself. There are a lot of people waiting for parts right now, and I can almost guarantee you the ones who are making the biggest pests of themselves are getting those parts first. Why should your dealership make a special effort for you if you seem content to wait patiently?
3. If you're eligible, file a Lemon Law case.

 

[Bucko]

You have three options as I see it.

1. Wait patiently. Ford will eventually get the parts you need and repair your car. Several members here have had their water pumps replace, and I'm not aware of any having a repeat problem.
2. Wait impatiently. Get noisy. Get angry. Demand a loaner car. Threaten to file a case under your State's Lemon Law. Make a nuisance of yourself. There are a lot of people waiting for parts right now, and I can almost guarantee you the ones who are making the biggest pests of themselves are getting those parts first. Why should your dealership make a special effort for you if you seem content to wait patiently?
3. If you're eligible, file a Lemon Law case.

Option 2 and 3 together should get you a loaner vehicle...option 3 I'd guess would move you to the front of the others who willingly wait patiently.

 

[scaryhours]

What trim/year/build date?

 

[hrimfaxi]

You have three options as I see it.

1. Wait patiently. Ford will eventually get the parts you need and repair your car. Several members here have had their water pumps replace, and I'm not aware of any having a repeat problem.
2. Wait impatiently. Get noisy. Get angry. Demand a loaner car. Threaten to file a case under your State's Lemon Law. Make a nuisance of yourself. There are a lot of people waiting for parts right now, and I can almost guarantee you the ones who are making the biggest pests of themselves are getting those parts first. Why should your dealership make a special effort for you if you seem content to wait patiently?
3. If you're eligible, file a Lemon Law case.

These are great points and I appreciate your response. I didn't consider the GA lemon law as I thought it applied after 3 repair attempts + 1 final, but looking through that link it appears 'special' rules apply if the vehicle has been out of service for over 30 days. I'll have to do more research on it. Not that I'm particularly itching to pull that trigger... but something has to give at this point.

Option 2 and 3 together should get you a loaner vehicle...option 3 I'd guess would move you to the front of the others who willingly wait patiently.

Parts of me feel if I have to resort to Option 3 I'm going to be done with the whole situation and Ford in general. Which is a shame because I enjoy my BS, but 2 months of uncertainty and having to badger them to fix the thing just seems wild to me.

What trim/year/build date?

2021 Outer Banks. I can't recall the build date off the top but its before August 2021.

I pinged the dealership about a loaner and they responded pretty quickly that they don't have vehicles in stock to lend out, of course.

 

[scaryhours]

I’d be pissed. For sure.

 

[Bucko]

These are great points and I appreciate your response. I didn't consider the GA lemon law as I thought it applied after 3 repair attempts + 1 final, but looking through that link it appears 'special' rules apply if the vehicle has been out of service for over 30 days. I'll have to do more research on it. Not that I'm particularly itching to pull that trigger... but something has to give at this point.



Parts of me feel if I have to resort to Option 3 I'm going to be done with the whole situation and Ford in general. Which is a shame because I enjoy my BS, but 2 months of uncertainty and having to badger them to fix the thing just seems wild to me.



2021 Outer Banks. I can't recall the build date off the top but its before August 2021.

I pinged the dealership about a loaner and they responded pretty quickly that they don't have vehicles in stock to lend out, of course.

Next closest dealer to you perhaps? Escalate to the Ford customer service on this forum that parades through here for assistance.

 

[hrimfaxi]

Next closest dealer to you perhaps? Escalate to the Ford customer service on this forum that parades through here for assistance.

Good idea. In contact with them - fingers crossed. ?

 

[Simone]

That's correct. Until recently I've been fortunate enough to be in a situation where I haven't needed a loaner, but perhaps not immediately pressing for one has been an error on my part.

When my water pump failed I got a rental car as part of my extended warranty but I still had to pay $10/day towards the rental. I was initially told the part could be weeks or months but my dealer put an urgent request backed by the fact that Ford was paying for the rental and the part came in after 10 days which is still a long wait. My pump failed at approx 35,000 miles.

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