Starter failure at 12000 miles

[ForeignRepublic]

I've had a probable starter failure at exactly 12000 miles, which alone is disappointing, but is made more disappointing because I asked the dealership to specifically listen to the sound during start. It sounded off for a week before I took it in for scheduled works service, and I pointed this out, but I guess the techs didn't give it the full rundown or didn't care. Anyone else had starter failure early on?

To their credit, Ford towed the car to the dealer at no cost to me. I scheduled a tow in the Fordpass app, and since the car is less than a year old every cost is warranty covered so far. I was not offered a loaner car even though I was given a lead time of 3 business days before the car would be looked at, and when I asked, none were available.

This sound like typical service? It's actually not as bad of a process as I thought it would be, but I don't want to call it alright until I have the working car back.

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[TheZipper]

This sounds just like my experience at 11,300miles although it died on me at the entrance to a parking lot and I couldn’t get it into neutral to push. All the lights on the dashboard blinking at once but I can hear it, the engine clicking trying to start so I think it died mid-auto start/stop. Towed it to dealer 4:30 on Friday they’ll look at it Monday, no loaner. thing kept trying to start and I couldn’t stop it.

After they fixed your starter did you have any lingering issues?

 

[TheZipper]

Following… @

 

[Broncoette]

This sounds just like my experience at 11,300miles although it died on me at the entrance to a parking lot and I couldn’t get it into neutral to push. All the lights on the dashboard blinking at once but I can hear it, the engine clicking trying to start so I think it died mid-auto start/stop. Towed it to dealer 4:30 on Friday they’ll look at it Monday, no loaner. thing kept trying to start and I couldn’t stop it.

After they fixed your starter did you have any lingering issues?

Sounds like the first time my car died a few weeks back, see my thread here:

https://www.broncosportforum.com/forum/threads/trusty-til-now-2021-ob-died-in-traffic-today.9859/

This happened yesterday:

https://www.broncosportforum.com/forum/threads/trusty-til-now-2021-ob-died-again.9949/

Like you, my car was towed the dealer yesterday and I'm waiting for someone to look at it. I pretty much demanded a loaner this time around and they did find one for me, thankful for that!

 

[Wild Bronc]

Do you do a lot of in city driving ?

 

[Mark S.]

I've had a probable starter failure at exactly 12000 miles, which alone is disappointing, but is made more disappointing because I asked the dealership to specifically listen to the sound during start. It sounded off for a week before I took it in for scheduled works service, and I pointed this out, but I guess the techs didn't give it the full rundown or didn't care. Anyone else had starter failure early on?

Was there anything on the work order about your concern? If so, was there any acknowledgement on the work order about listening to the starter?

Even if it was making strange sounds I would be very surprised to hear of ANY dealership service department replacing a component based on odd noises alone. If the starter is operating (i.e. it starts the engine) then they'll most likely leave it alone until it stops operating (i.e. it DOESN'T start the engine).

I was not offered a loaner car even though I was given a lead time of 3 business days before the car would be looked at, and when I asked, none were available.

There's no provision in the basic NVLW to provide a loaner car during warranty work. Some of Ford's extended warranty plans cover the cost of a rental car. Some dealerships will offer a loaner car to customers who purchase from them, but it's becoming more and more rare. I wouldn't expect a loaner for a dealership unless I purchased the car there.

I attribute the situation to the dearth of new inventory during the supply chain disruption. Perhaps we'll see a swing back the other direction as things get back to normal.

 

[Escape2Bronco]

This sounds just like my experience at 11,300miles although it died on me at the entrance to a parking lot and I couldn’t get it into neutral to push. All the lights on the dashboard blinking at once but I can hear it, the engine clicking trying to start so I think it died mid-auto start/stop. Towed it to dealer 4:30 on Friday they’ll look at it Monday, no loaner. thing kept trying to start and I couldn’t stop it.

After they fixed your starter did you have any lingering issues?

Yours sounds more like a battery issue. That seems to be an Achilles heel to the Sport. I think it’s more to do with what it does when you are not driving it than the ASS system. They fact it wakes up and starts making noises when I walk by with the keys in my pocket reminds me when I’d walk by the dog with the leash!

 

[TheZipper]

Do you do a lot of in city driving ?

Yes. That day in particular I was looking at a different apartment so yes lots of city driving

 

[TheZipper]

Yours sounds more like a battery issue. That seems to be an Achilles heel to the Sport. I think it’s more to do with what it does when you are not driving it than the ASS system. They fact it wakes up and starts making noises when I walk by with the keys in my pocket reminds me when I’d walk by the dog with the leash!

So do you know if there are some best practices? I travel alot and leave the car sitting in a parking lot for long stretches sometimes a month or so... Arizona so it can be hot. Should I set the Ford Pass to automatically have the car run once a week. Or just expect this to happen every two years out of no where...

 

[rocks]

So do you know if there are some best practices? I travel alot and leave the car sitting in a parking lot for long stretches sometimes a month or so... Arizona so it can be hot. Should I set the Ford Pass to automatically have the car run once a week. Or just expect this to happen every two years out of no where...

That would not really charge the battery much if at all but will cause condensation in your oil. especially when1.5L takes so long to warm up.

 

[Escape2Bronco]

So do you know if there are some best practices? I travel alot and leave the car sitting in a parking lot for long stretches sometimes a month or so... Arizona so it can be hot. Should I set the Ford Pass to automatically have the car run once a week. Or just expect this to happen every two years out of no where...

You can get a solar trickle charger and and at least there you have sun most of the time. But, that's also your other issue, batteries in Arizona have a 1/2 life of a few years. They hate heat more than they hate cold. They don't like to work when it's cold but they don't try to explode either.

 

[TheZipper]

Well turns out you guys were right. It was the battery and the Ford dealer I used replaced it very quickly.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

I've had a probable starter failure at exactly 12000 miles, which alone is disappointing, but is made more disappointing because I asked the dealership to specifically listen to the sound during start. It sounded off for a week before I took it in for scheduled works service, and I pointed this out, but I guess the techs didn't give it the full rundown or didn't care. Anyone else had starter failure early on?

To their credit, Ford towed the car to the dealer at no cost to me. I scheduled a tow in the Fordpass app, and since the car is less than a year old every cost is warranty covered so far. I was not offered a loaner car even though I was given a lead time of 3 business days before the car would be looked at, and when I asked, none were available.

This sound like typical service? It's actually not as bad of a process as I thought it would be, but I don't want to call it alright until I have the working car back.

Hi there! Will you send us a message with your VIN and your local Ford dealer? I can look into things on my end.

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