Not very happy with Ford at the moment.

[davidg4781]

I’m no mechanic but I worked at a Toyota dealership as a lube tech for a minute and reading this thread is blowing me away. Even the stoner 18 yr olds I worked with checked all of the things you guys are mentioning. Every single vehicle had fluids, lights, tire pressure, brake pads and battery checked. And they were honest about it too. Any mechanical issues were only noticed if there was a leak that shouldn’t be there, which was also a part of the service, a full under carriage inspection. Hopefully that’s dealer specific and not a bigger problem amongst Ford cause leaving an empty coolant reservoir is so blatant.

I think it's a bit of both.

If the service manager is saying get these cars out quick, just make sure they're not bone dry or whatever, that's what they're going to do. If they're double checking them, getting on them if customers complain, they'll do better.

I came from Honda for the last 10 years. My two local dealerships were mediocre. One would spill oil all over the engine (did it three times with us) and not clean it up. The other I noticed would not fill fluid levels. We had oil changes A and B, B was more extensive. I would take mine up to Austin to a dealership I used to go to when it needed a B. It was a nice drive and I trusted them to make sure they took care of it.

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[Bronco III]

In my mind, the problem is with the Quick Lane concept. How much skill and background does it take to change oil and check out levels and pressures on a car? You can be sure mechanics aren’t doing this work, probably someone they hired and showed what to do. Add to that the pressure to get the job done quickly and you have a situation where things get skipped over, ignored and/or done incorrectly.
I had my oil service done there once, later found the oil wouldn’t show on the dipstick and coolant level low. I’ll be having this done by a local mechanic from now on.

 

[Dude]

I’ve been to the same Ford dealership Quick Lane 3 times so far, each time when I drive up and get checked in for service a person pops the hood, does a quick look over of the fluids and brings out the wiper fluid container (and probably coolant as well if needed which i haven’t needed) and adds the fluids in full view so I can see it was filled. If your quick lane does not do it that way perhaps discuss with the quick lane manager as a suggestion for improvement.

That won’t help things like checking brake pads which are supposed to be done with the Works when tires are rotated but I think brakes and tires are both checked because i get an actual spec of brake pad remaining and tire tread remaining.

https://www.earnhardtford.com/quick-lane.aspx

 

[sajohnson]

It just sucks! Because I clearly asked the service advisor to please check the water pump and coolant levels. He said they did and everything looked normal. With the amount of coolant, or lack of coolant in the reservoir, id say that was a lie. If it was leaking that fast, I'd be overheating and noticing that amount of coolant. Like why lie? You'll get caught.

Good question.

In my experience, they do not care if they get caught, because there are rarely any consequences.

For example -- my wife was driving our '93 NX2000 several years ago and got sideswiped. The impact was primarily to the right front (yanked the steering wheel out of her hands). The steering knuckle had to be replaced. Nissan only made the NX from 1991-'93, and the total number produced for all 3 years was very low (maybe 15,000?). In addition, some were made in the US, some in Japan. In 1993, ABS was still a rare option, and our NX has it.

So getting parts was difficult, and I understood that. We were willing to wait, and we did not expect new parts.

Finally, they told us that the wires for both ABS sensors had broken long before the accident. That seemed unlikely, since the ABS light came on immediately after the accident. Also, that's something they should have noticed right away.

Bottom line -- they bald faced LIED. They could not (or did not want to) find a steering knuckle with the mounting hole for the ABS sensor, so they lied about the wires being broken on both sides to justify using an ordinary knuckle.

As soon as we got it home I put it up on the lift and sure enough, the left side was fine -- wires intact with zero sign of damage!

As you said, "Like why lie? You'll get caught." Especially when the customer is a technician and life-long 'car guy'? They had to know I had a clue from the way I spoke with them. It was as if they flat-out did not care. Lying had become a way of life, routine. I had to call the owner of the Nissan dealership and emphasize that not only did his employees LIE to us, they lied about a safety-related system (ABS). He was very apologetic and made it right, but that never should have happened.

My advice is to use a competent, independent, local shop that has a good reputation. NOT a corporate owned franchise and NOT a dealer (for any brand) -- unless it is absolutely necessary, like warranty repairs.

 

[SondraBurnsRed]

Good question.

In my experience, they do not care if they get caught, because there are rarely any consequences.

For example -- my wife was driving our '93 NX2000 several years ago and got sideswiped. The impact was primarily to the right front (yanked the steering wheel out of her hands). The steering knuckle had to be replaced. Nissan only made the NX from 1991-'93, and the total number produced for all 3 years was very low (maybe 15,000?). In addition, some were made in the US, some in Japan. In 1993, ABS was still a rare option, and our NX has it.

So getting parts was difficult, and I understood that. We were willing to wait, and we did not expect new parts.

Finally, they told us that the wires for both ABS sensors had broken long before the accident. That seemed unlikely, since the ABS light came on immediately after the accident. Also, that's something they should have noticed right away.

Bottom line -- they bald faced LIED. They could not (or did not want to) find a steering knuckle with the mounting hole for the ABS sensor, so they lied about the wires being broken on both sides to justify using an ordinary knuckle.

As soon as we got it home I put it up on the lift and sure enough, the left side was fine -- wires intact with zero sign of damage!

As you said, "Like why lie? You'll get caught." Especially when the customer is a technician and life-long 'car guy'? They had to know I had a clue from the way I spoke with them. It was as if they flat-out did not care. Lying had become a way of life, routine. I had to call the owner of the Nissan dealership and emphasize that not only did his employees LIE to us, they lied about a safety-related system (ABS). He was very apologetic and made it right, but that never should have happened.

My advice is to use a competent, independent, local shop that has a good reputation. NOT a corporate owned franchise and NOT a dealer (for any brand) -- unless it is absolutely necessary, like warranty repairs.

I'm only using the dealerships till the car is out of warranty. I usually do all my own work on my cars after they're out of warranty. I'm actually in school for the Ford asset program. And when I'm done I'll be a master mechanic for Ford. I don't think I want to work with them after I'm done though. Might go elsewhere. Hopefully you found yourself a good mechanic, because that's straight up bullshit what you had to go through with Nissan. I'd never buy one due to their cvt problems that they don't care to take care of for people.

 

[Mark S.]

In my mind, the problem is with the Quick Lane concept.

Luck of the draw. As @Dude notes, sometimes you get great service. I think it has more to do with the philosophy of the people running service department than anything else. Some shops prioritize getting the maximum number of cars in and out over making sure the job is done right, and vice versa.

 

[69cuda340s]

Hopefully another dealership in your area has better service.

If I had a '21 three cylinder I would be checking coolant level myself frequently...

 

[sajohnson]

I'm only using the dealerships till the car is out of warranty. I usually do all my own work on my cars after they're out of warranty. I'm actually in school for the Ford asset program. And when I'm done I'll be a master mechanic for Ford. I don't think I want to work with them after I'm done though. Might go elsewhere. Hopefully you found yourself a good mechanic, because that's straight up bullshit what you had to go through with Nissan. I'd never buy one due to their cvt problems that they don't care to take care of for people.

Very cool! To be clear, I'm an electro-mechanical technician, not an auto tech.

Will Ford care if you decide to go somewhere else (I'm not familiar with the Ford asset program).

In the situation I mentioned, the owner of the dealership made sure it was done right.

As for never buying brand X, my experience, and what I've read, is that most if not all mfrs and dealers frequently treat customers poorly. Not ALL dealers, and not all the time, but it seems to be the norm. It's best to try to buy a reliable vehicle (check CR, etc.) and hopefully avoid the dealer all together.

 

[Dperry285]

Last time I was at my dealership for an oil change and tire rotation, I asked them to check my fluid levels, and I specifically ask them to check the coolant level due to multiple people having water pump failure after around the 25K mark. I'm at 32K miles, and I happen to pop the hood so I can add windshield fluid, and I see that my coolant reservoir is completely empty. Bone freaking dry. I am so pissed right now, because I specifically asked them to check it, and it's very clear that they didn't. And when I asked the guy about it, he asked me why and acted like he didn't know what I was talking about, meanwhile more than 50% of people that own these cars have water pump failure around 20 to 25K miles. I will be calling them Monday to get this situation checked out.

2021 outer banks

They check what they can charge you for, this would have been free under warranty, what do they care if it's low

 

[SondraBurnsRed]

Very cool! To be clear, I'm an electro-mechanical technician, not an auto tech.

Will Ford care if you decide to go somewhere else (I'm not familiar with the Ford asset program).

In the situation I mentioned, the owner of the dealership made sure it was done right.

As for never buying brand X, my experience, and what I've read, is that most if not all mfrs and dealers frequently treat customers poorly. Not ALL dealers, and not all the time, but it seems to be the norm. It's best to try to buy a reliable vehicle (check CR, etc.) and hopefully avoid the dealer all together.

I've had a few Hyundai's, an honestly they have the best customer service. Anytime I've ever had an issue they jumped on it no problem. If I ever had any concerns even if I wasn't there for that concern they made sure that it was checked and taken care of if it was in warranty. I've owned three of them ever since I started buying cars. And I still own an Elantra that's my other vehicle. And I bought the bronco sport because I just love the way that they look. But honestly feel like I am having buyers remorse every time I have to go to the dealership.

 

[Bucko]

I say if they’re not checking or filling those areas, leave them a review. Don’t bash them, say place is clean, oil was good, people mostly friendly, but do not trust them to follow through on checking fluid levels and stuff.

If they’re anything like Honda, reviews mean a lot to them.

I think a lot of that comes down to the industry and, I hate to say it, who they’re hiring. They’re just looking for a quick, easy job and some don’t care.

This. I noticed a sign on the service advisors desk that stated "If we don't get all 5's on your survey, we failed". Yea, no kidding!

I dislike it when they provide a survey after service, then try and get you to mark all 5's, even if the service was not all 5's. What's the point?

 

[davidg4781]

This. I noticed a sign on the service advisors desk that stated "If we don't get all 5's on your survey, we failed". Yea, no kidding!

I dislike it when they provide a survey after service, then try and get you to mark all 5's, even if the service was not all 5's. What's the point?

Exactly!

Do we even get the surveys? The last dealers I took my car to (different make of car) I would never get surveys. But I would always come across paperwork with an incorrect email on there. Like it would be [email protected] instead of the service I use. Or it would be [email protected].... not my address but the correct service.

 

[Foghorn]

Love my BS, salesman was great; service dept badly lacking. Live in rural area, no other choice. Next vehicle may be a Ford, but not from same dealer.

 

[CableXJ]

The dealership told me they only check the brake pads if the tires have to come off like when they put on the snow tires.

That’s crazy.

 

[petegee77]

Last time I was at my dealership for an oil change and tire rotation, I asked them to check my fluid levels, and I specifically ask them to check the coolant level due to multiple people having water pump failure after around the 25K mark. I'm at 32K miles, and I happen to pop the hood so I can add windshield fluid, and I see that my coolant reservoir is completely empty. Bone freaking dry. I am so pissed right now, because I specifically asked them to check it, and it's very clear that they didn't. And when I asked the guy about it, he asked me why and acted like he didn't know what I was talking about, meanwhile more than 50% of people that own these cars have water pump failure around 20 to 25K miles. I will be calling them Monday to get this situation checked out.

2021 outer banks

Don't blame you for being pissed, anyone would. Thanks for the heads up , I'll be checking mine now.

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