by "TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck)
Published 06/22/2017 at 10:22
by "TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck)
Published 06/22/2017 at 10:22
No Tags
STARS: 2
After performing admirably as a long-distance hauler, the Explorer developed a fault that was driving us crazy. The Blind Spot Monitoring and Cross-Traffic Assist systems (those things are linked) started glitching and decided to tell us about it every 30 seconds. Even when I turned the systems off, the fault alerts would not stop. It all started on the last leg of a 900 mile trip. We stopped at the only dealer on the route, but being a Sunday, the service department was closed. Our only recourse was to don our headphones and do our best to ignore it for the last four hours.
Come Monday, to the shop it went! They hooked up their diagnostic tools ($100) to see if they could find the fault. Bingo! The driver’s side sensor ($1,583) would not respond and needs to be replaced. Then they came up with the laundry list of repairs that need to be made, including an oil change ($75), a transmission service ($222), cooling system flush ($172), replace right front strut mount to eliminate the clunking noise ($424), replace the glitching backup camera ($784), replace the air filter ($32), replace the cabin air filter (another $32), replace the spark plugs ($432!), replace the wiper blades ($40 front, $22.50 rear), do a fuel injector service ($278), replace the driver’s side fog light housing (not just the light, $128), replace the front brake pads and machine the rotors ($218), and replace the broken B-pillar trim panel ($128). They also discovered that the SYNC system was out of date, but that was covered as a no-cost update.
For those who aren’t doing that math, that’s over $5,000 in repairs!
So, I authorized the oil change and transmission fluid change so they would waive the diagnostics fee, but I plan to tackle the rest of it myself. I’ve already sourced the parts and if I pick up a used sensor and a used backup camera, I can get everything for less than $700.
When I went to pick it up, I discovered that they screwed up and replaced the air filters instead of doing the oil change. After some discussion, they decided to just do the oil change for free.
But the BEST PART was that the SYNC system update fixed the constant chiming problem. It makes sense that the blind spot and cross-traffic systems would let you know that there was a problem, but that should be once per startup, not every 30 seconds. It appears I wasn’t the first person to complain about this software glitch and Ford fixed it.
What was going to be a relaxing Independence Day weekend has now become an Explorer repair weekend. Ah, well, at least my kids will get to dig a little deeper into the world of auto repair.
"ShrimpHappens, née WJalopy" (bakeshake)
06/22/2017 at 10:36, STARS: 1
F ix O r R epair D aily
What model year is it? Did you buy it new?
"MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s" (mastermario)
06/22/2017 at 10:51, STARS: 0
http://www.web-cars.com/humor/acronyms.html
"Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo" (akioohtori)
06/22/2017 at 11:01, STARS: 1
Reasons I do not go to any dealership unless I want a comprehensive list of things that probably don’t really need to be done.
Seriously. I took my GMC in to have the local, well rated, dealership change the front diff fluid. Made an appointment, showed up on time, and set up with my laptop in the waiting room. Three hours later (after much pestering) they inform me the news it “not good” and show me a huge list of everything that needs addressing. Even took my under the car on the lift, which was cool.
After all that I was like “Cool, how much do I owe you for the diff fluid?”
They respond, without hesitation. “Oh we didn’t do it. We need to address all of these other concerns first.”
“Cool. Keys?”
Of the things they were worried about, none of them were important. Mostly just weeping seals which did eventually get replaced, but years later when they actually started leaking. The oil leak that they claimed would be $500 to “fix” was actually just the oil filter not being on tight enough.
"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
06/22/2017 at 11:19, STARS: 0
Wow, that’s one heck of a laundry list of mostly non critical stuff! Enjoy your wrenching weekend :)
"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck)
06/22/2017 at 11:29, STARS: 0
2013. Bought used with less than 1,000 miles. The previous owner ordered a Limited, but the dealer received an XLT. It has everything but the sunroof. Somehow the dealer convinced him to take it. He decided to bring it back. I guess he had to have a sunroof.
My wife has put over 90,000 miles on it, mostly work-related. To be fair, we probably put 2k/yr on it for family trips.
"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck)
06/22/2017 at 11:29, STARS: 1
It shall be grand!
"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck)
06/22/2017 at 11:31, STARS: 1
The most appropriate:
Fork Over Repair Dough
"MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s" (mastermario)
06/22/2017 at 11:35, STARS: 1
I always liked the Chevrolet one
Cheap, Hardly Efficient, Virtually Runs On Luck Every Time
And all the Jeep one’s made me chuckle, they all just work
JEEP:
Just Eats Every Part
Just Empty Every Pocket
Junk Engineering Executed Poorly
Jumps Extremely Excitedly over Potholes
Jinxed Engine has Extra Parts
"ShrimpHappens, née WJalopy" (bakeshake)
06/22/2017 at 12:12, STARS: 0
Hm. Well obviously the dealer is testing your stupidity with most of that stuff, but for the backup camera and blind-spot sensor to both be faulty within this time is borderline unacceptable for me.
"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck)
06/22/2017 at 14:08, STARS: 1
We think the sensor may have been cracked when the Explorer was rear-ended a couple of years ago but they didn’t catch it during the repair. I’ll know more when I extract it.
The backup camera is a different story. It’s never been damaged, so I’m wondering if the real issue is in the wiring harness. Even so, the tech at the dealer said that they see a backup camera issue every couple of weeks. That, to me, is unacceptable.
"Onceicaughtafishalive" (onceicaughtafishalive)
06/22/2017 at 16:06, STARS: 0
It is most likely related to the wiring. The backup camera on our 2011 Edge went out as well and the dealer said it was due to a pinch in the wiring caused by the way they run it around the hatch opening.
"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck)
06/22/2017 at 16:24, STARS: 0
Thanks for the heads-up! I suspected in might be a wiring issue and the first place I planned to look was the accordian between the hatch and the roof. That would explain why it seems fine some days, shows strange lines/static some days, and completely fails on other days.