So I was at a buddy's house friday afternoon and I go to start my car. It starts but very roughly and then runs like crap, and as soon as I go to put it under load, it dies. Side note....This happened to me about 2 months ago one night at work and I had the vehicle towed back to the dealership I bought it from because it is still under warranty. It ended up being the coil and they replaced it and I was on my way....back to present day, same symptoms, check engine light was on etc.... so I sit there with the car off for about 5 minutes debating on whether to call the dealership again and hear them say, just bring it up here we'll get to it Monday, or just leave it and wait. So, I wait a few and start it up, no check engine light, no nothing. I think to myself, ok, I gotta get it home to my garage at least so I dont have to leave it in my buddy's street all weekend. Well about a 1/4 mile away it starts to buck and surge and run like crap so I pull over and I notice smoke coming from under my hood. I jump out of the car and lift the hood and the coil is shooting sparks and and is glowing red as well as the cover that protects it. Oh, and the keys are out of the car, but the engine is still surging and dieseling (no keys and car is turned off). It then proceeds to catch everything around it on fire, the battery box, the air box etc... and made it's way to the fuel line where it explodes and flames shoot up above the hood and catch the underhood material on fire!!! My buddy runs inside this salon that we are parked near and grabs a fire extinguisher and comes running out. Well that was about 1/4 full and doesnt last long. During this a cop pulls up and says, having some trouble son??? Takes his sweet time to pull over and then just walks up to the car on fire. I scream at him to get his fire extinguisher and leasurely walks to his trunk and comes back with it and sprays it, but still fire isn't out. By this time the fire truck shows up and they put it completely out. Not before half the engine compartment is melted. So, needless to say, my car is completely covered with that C02 or whatever and is a complete mess inside and out!!! I call insurance and explain everything and they say that is a warranty issue and my dealership needs to take care of it. I call my dealership and they say the opposite. In my opinion it's the dealers issue, y should I have to make a claim and make my rates go up when it was no fault of mine, it was an electrical problem that they supposedly fixed!!! So, I just take my car to the dealership on Friday and by the time I get there they are closed so I leave a note with my keys in the drop box like they said to do, asking them to please call me first thing monday morning. Now, it's Monday morning, I sleep in a little bit and wake up around 930AM this morning, no missed calls. I immediately call the dealership and they say, oh, u'r car is in the body shop....let me transfer u. I talk to the body shop and tell them what happened, and they say, well then y is u'r car here, it should be in the service garage. Hold on let me transfer you. I talk to another goon in the garage who says someone is going to call me back in a few minutes. One hour goes by and some random guy calls me back and says it looks to me like most of the damage is on the passenger side of the vehicle, there is no way that coil could cause this damage, because coils dont get hot enough or emit enough charge to start a fire..[bash] [boxface] I said are you serious here?? Do you think u are talking to a moron?? Have you ever take one plug wire off of a coil while u'r engine is firing?? Tell me there isn't enough charge to do some damage. I get irate with him and it does no good, he says u'r gonna have to deal with insurance on this one. I say, no my insurance has nothing to do with this. Your faulty ass part caught on fire and almost burned my car completely down and almost blew up in my face!!! I have attached pictures of the engine compartment for you to look at here, u tell me what looks melted more, the passenger side or the drivers side in the engine compartement!! Note: the passenger side by the firewall caught on fire because of the mat that was on the hood on fire laying on it. SO....i ask all of you, NOW WHAT????????

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n214/Venomus_2006/focusenginefire2.jpg

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n214/Venomus_2006/focusenginefire.jpg

P.S. SO....I called 2 different laywers today and i'm waiting to hear back from both of them......I think I'm screwed either way here


Has anyone ever had this happen or heard of it??? The dealership is about to get sued and i'm just out of a car now, they wont even give me a loaner and it's still under warranty!!!

holy shit dude. Love the headlight though, but that is [:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)]g brutal! oh yeah, the passenger side looks realy burnt up compared to the driver's side [rolleyes]

Ouch!! not even a loaner car- whats up with ford

You're SUPPOSED to call insurance, man! They handle all the crap you're trying to deal with with the dealership and fight for you. Call them immediately. When they get an adjuster out to you, ask if you can speak with one of the company's lawyers. The dealership should fix the car, but not until well after your insurance company has taken note of everything.

speak with the service manager. though an investigation will prolly insue. a Ford rep will have to come look at it yada yada yada. it is going to be a really long time getting this taken care of. lawyers arent completely outta the question here. if the manager nor the rep do anything sufficient about this. sik the lawyers on them. sorry to hear abou another SVT going down. im glad your ok and i hope this comes out in your favor.

what insurance co you have?

It is still under the 3/36,000. If so then I believe it's a warranty issue. And ford should fix or replace your vehicle.

thats nasty....but yea u need to call insuarence and tell them who their daddy is

it's not still under 3/36,000 that ended this past december, altho the vehicle only has 35,900 miles on it. it is however still under the 7/75,000 warranty. state farm is my insurance, but i dont want to involve them, my rates are already high because of my cobra and some tickets I got in that. I talked to them and they said even if it comes out in my favor and I involve them, my rates are gonna go up!! I can barely afford it as is. I was actually thinking of cancelling for a bit, just to catch up!! and then this happens! So, i'm going it alone for the time being...

thanks for all the well wishes, this is day #1 of my battle with Ford....funny thing is, I am a Ford employee!!

It looks to me as if you had a wiring issue that caused that. By what you described and the pics, that would be my guess. Id love to see this first hand. Did you say they had worked on the car previously for a similar issue? Send me your vin on a PM. Id like to see what the dealership did. I can send you the results also if you send me your email.

dont have the VIN with me, i can pm u 2morrow with it....just got off the phone with my laywer who is also a good family friend and he said to go into the dealership and talk to the service manager personally, if that doesnt work, he said he'd love to sue and get me a new Shelby!! LOL :) not really but he said I had a very strong case because of the witnesses and the fact that it was at the very same dealership for a coil issue about 2 months ago...

WTMF.....OMG, I would have SOMEONES BALLS if that was my car.......wow.....

My 02 focus did the same thing, albeit in a less extreme fashion. The battery exploded while I was driving it yesterday. It's at the Ford dealer right now and I'm not sure what to do at this point. So far, the dealer said that the entire underhood electrical system is toast. The repair bill won't be cheap and I doubt that my car insurance is going to cover it.

Ford - Quality is Job One. (wonder how that could be said with a straight face)

Ford---Quality.........[hihi]....is.......[rofl].....job one.........[histerical]

yea, i'm goin into the dealership tomorrow, so I will report back with ways they dodge me....

WTMF.....OMG, I would have SOMEONES BALLS if that was my car.......wow.....


lol ok and then what would you do with them?????

Hey guys, wanted to give yall heads up on what the issue could be! It has happened to my Car and Slips. The wire harness going into the coil pack is weak! I actually had my wires crimp off and cause serious miss in my engine to the point where I couldnt even get the car to move. Had my car towed. We all know our main wire harness for our cars is extremely tight in that engine bay. And with us rev happy foe, we strain the harnesses every time that engine moves with torque. In this case, mine, and slips, you could spark out the pack and cause a fire if unnoticed. Me and slip were lucky! Technically, this could happen to any of us. SVTF or Zetec! Keep an eye out on your wire harnesses and keep inspecting them. Mine went bonkers at 90,000 Miles. Very unusually for a 36,000 mile car to have this issue. So keep an eye out on yours!

wow! Where is exactly is the harness for i can keep an eye out for it?

wow that just motivated me to get a fire extinguisher for my galant project. sorry about the car though dude. I hope that you get compensated for it.

Insurance Company should be taking care of this. If you try and make it a warranty issue they'll just [:)][:)][:)][:)] with you for a few weeks and then say "it's salvaged". Insurance will charge you a deductable but you'll get the most amount of money from it and they'll set you up better. I can't believe it caught on fire!!! that's [:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)]g crazy dude. I always thought car fires were reserved for really really old POS cars. I wonder what happened. Maybe a coil wire wasn't snapped down all the way and...who the hell knows. Either way, try and avoid Ford if at all possible..they are bigtime frugal jewgals with these kinds of things.

Unbelievable. [:(]
Man, I hope you get this resolved.
How can the Dealer not suspect the coil when they have a record of it being replaced?
More than likely, they never even looked at the wires that commonly fray on these vehicles.

It's also pretty clear from your picture exactly where the fire started...driver's side near the coil...

As far as the coil wires that connolly92 mentioned:
Motorcraft part number: WPT-517 / $31.51

Best wishes on getting this resolved.

man that is [:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)] crazy hope it goes good for ya

I already have a fire extinguisher in my car, I hope this never happens to me. I would def pitch a fit. If you end up getting a new fofo or parting yours out, I'll buy the motor N trans off you if the motor isnt burned to hell.
BEST of luck man [thumb].

So....i go to the dealer today and talk to the customer service manager, and he agreed to take a look and start the process... Well i got a call from a guy a little bit ago who pretty much called me a liar and told me my story doesnt "jive" as he put it. He said this because apparently there is a good size whole in the top of my trans case and now they are calling it abuse!! He said there is no way the coil got hot, there is no way the car continued to run, no way anything I said happened. I'm not lying here, what i saw was what I saw. Because of all the panic and frantic mood i was in, i may have missed all the trans fluid that burned off with the fire...or that may have been what my eyes saw as glowing red. To be honest, i dont remember much during the fire it happened so fast and all i could think about was trying to put it out. They are saying they want the vehicle out of their dealership and they aren't going to help me in any way. Im just shocked right now and dont know what to do.....

This just occurred to me, but there is a TSB out for the clutch causing wear to the plates....has anyone ever had it fail and then have it replaced under the TSB???

Couple more pics i took today at the dealership....

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n214/Venomus_2006/focusenginefireatdealership1.jpg

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n214/Venomus_2006/focusenginefireatdealership2.jpg

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n214/Venomus_2006/focusenginefireatdealership3.jpg

someone doesn't want to pay for a new car..........*READ* the dealership is scared......

that is some dirrrty shit right there....


Side Note. nice saleen truck in the shot. I thought those bigger dealers would have their heads on straighter than the rest.......[rolleyes]

I agree, they are coming up with every excuse not to fix my car. Hell i dont want them to total it...it may sound gay but i love my focus...i just want them to fix it!!

That saleen truck was a supercharged one, sticker price.....65K!!! LOL!!

Sounds like typical dealer BS to me. They're trying to say it was a transmission fire?!? Transmission fluid isn't even all that flammable, I mean, yeah it'll burn but it has to be pretty damn hot first and it'd need to have something else burning to get it going. If I had to guess they probably took a quick glance at it and said they didn't want to have any part of it and decided to blame it all on you. I'd get on the phone with Ford's corporate office and bitch up a storm, or get your lawyer and just sue them...or maybe just threaten to sue them and they might crack. I've heard some good ones, but this really takes it.

Oh, BTW, that white crap that's all over the place from the fire extinguishers is most likely nothing more than sodium bicarbonate, aka baking soda. Most common ABC dry-chemical extinguishers use sodium or potassium bicarbonate that is propelled by CO2 or nitrogen. If they had been using liquid CO2 fire extinguishers (which aren't all that effective for under-hood fires because they don't supress whatever was burning from flaring up again) they would've deposited dry ice all over everything which would have quickly evaporated and left no traces. For what its worth though...I'm sure that whoever ends up covering this will just total the car and cut you a check for the pre-fire KBB value.

yea i'm goin back in to the dealer tomorrow morning, i wanna look at this hole for myself. They dont know I am a ford technician that works on engines everyday and am probably more trained and a better wrench than half the guys they have workin on these cars...

It seems as if the higher class Ford Dealerships give you the most crap. In my area, the two Ford/Saleen/Roush/Shelby/Foose/Cervninis dealerships are the ones that give the highest prices, worst attitudes and point the finger fastest. However, the older ones that sell basic Fords are so much better (nicer and more truthful) to deal with.

Good luck with the ordeal though, these situations just take time, stress and lots of yelling. The three things everyone loves to deal with. lol

"Let the evidence tell the story."

I would have the insurance company investigate the matter. I'd also get the car out of the dealership so they don't tamper with anything.

I'd tell the insurance company the whole situation that if the dealership or Ford doesn't honor the warranty, it would have to be taken through the insurance company.

That might make them act a bit faster.

Take the path of least resistance.

I'm not certain an insurance company would get involved at all in this instance.
If the fire caused you to get into an accident, then that's a whole different story, but that's not the case here.
This is a mechanical breakdown, not a traffic accident.
Venomus, have you looked at your policy to see if the comprehensive coverage includes fire damage?
It's not going to come under collision, because there was no collision.

One of the first things I'd do, is file a report with the NHTSA.
^^^Now, that might get the Dealer and Ford's attention.
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq

I would get it out of there before they phone you and saying "we gave it a total claim its on its way to the insureance company lot, pick up your check for 5k good day."

thats what they did to us when someone set out car on fire.

OMG dude I can't imagine how you must feel...I'm getting pissed off at Ford just by reading this! [mad]

WD40, i spoke with my insurance company and they pretty much told me what you had said....if the fire had caused an accident they would cover it, there words were, you did nothing wrong, this is a mechanical failure, insurance does not cover an auto companies poor quality.

I would get it out of there before they phone you and saying "we gave it a total claim its on its way to the insureance company lot, pick up your check for 5k good day."

thats what they did to us when someone set out car on fire.

Luckily when i purchased the vehicle i also purchased the insurance that covers the gap, "gap insurance" if something happens, like a fire, that depreciates your cars value greatly. So if they total it and say it's worth 5K and I still owe 9K, the dealer eats that 9K, or the bank eats it. Either way I'm free and clear[thumb]

Dude that sucks bad and this is definatley A problem with the dealership. I honestly can't believe that there would have been a hole in the top of the trans. I mean seriuosly how would that happen how would it catch fire. There has to be too many amazing circumstances to have what they said happen.

Unless you were droping the clutch at 7000 rpm and letting the tires spin until you got bored or you were down shiffting into first from 50mph i don't see a hole developing in the top of the trans. (both of these would throw the diff pin but I am not sure that can happen with the getrag)

Seems impossible on their end.

Alrite, my insurance wants nothing to do with it and pretty much agrees with Detroit Style. Im not involving my insurance, my rates are already high enough.

So, here is the update for today.....

I go in and look at the blow out of the trans, this did happen because the bellhousing is missing big ass chunks. Yet, there is nothing wrong with the trans itself, just the bellhousing, so their trans fluid idea is thrown out the window. I finally got to talk to the technician who is working on my car today...here is his theory....

First off, for some reason, the + and - battery cables cross over the bellhousing on the top....

So, he says to me, clutch material came out of the bellhousing and somehow cut thru or into both battery cables, causing them to come in contact with each other, thus starting the fire.

I started laughing, as you probably did when you read it. Then he proceeds to tell me once again, this is abuse. You had to over rev the car or dump the clutch at a very high RPM, clutchs aren't made to handle this. Then he also tells me, if i were to dump the clutch in my mustang like this, i would blow the clutch the same way.

At this point Im pissed, and I freak out on the guy telling him how wrong he is and how in the world could he ever work on cars if these are his theories. Then him and the service liason guy go on to tell me that trans fluid was also a part of the reason that the car caught fire and trans fluid is almost as flammable as gasoline. Once again i start laughing and ask them if that were the case, where did the fluid even come from, because there are no holes in the trans case, unless this focus has a one of a kind wet clutch.

Then the tech goes on to tell me that if he were to pop the clutch and do a burnout in his mustang he'd be replacing clutchs left and right because they just werent meant for that. Once again, i insult him for his dumb remark and point out that i could go do a burnout in every single mustang in their parking lot and not have one single clutch break on me.

So....i walk away in disgust after snapping some pics and go talk to the service manager. He then tells me that he spoke to a ford rep (someone who decideds if warranty work will be done) and he sent them pics, and he gave them his opinion (which was abuse), there is no way they would cover this under the TSB for the clutch and we are back at square one, call u'r insurance company. I just turned around and walked away......

Oh, and when this happend I was only doing about 10-15MPH because I had just taken off from a light about 100 feet back....

So, I've attached more pics for you guys to enjoy. I couldn't get any clear shots of the top of the bellhousing because he wouldn't let me use his trouble lite any longer because he said, i insulted his intelligence!!! LOL

I'm sure i left some stuff out above, as i think of it, i'll reply.... ENJOY!!

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n214/Venomus_2006/bellhousing1.jpg

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n214/Venomus_2006/bellhousing3.jpg

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n214/Venomus_2006/bellhousing4.jpg

That is SO WRONG! I cant beleive they are screwing you like that. It's time for your lawyer friend. By the way, what's the name of this dealership? Lets spread the word about them and get them on the "we screw you over list"[mad]

No names yet, but by the end of the week i should have word from my ford rep (i'm a ford employee). They have a program that allows you to file complaints about dealerships you buy cars from and they work very hard for you. So, i should be hearing back from them soon. I also have some other people working hard for me, so I'm gonna wait it out. Believe me once I think all is lost, the dealer name is coming out!!

This is so messed up

Yea tell me about it!!!

Wow, that's pretty much the most obscene thing I've heard in quite sometime! Good luck buddy!

From the picture, it looks like the hole is on the bottom of the bellhousing...what, are they trying to say that a piece of the clutch came out of the bellhousing, ricoched off the road and then somehow lodged itself in both of your battery cables, caused a short and that started the fire?

Well there were a couple of holes in the top of the bellhousing, but nothing even close to as severe.... still it's a pretty far fetched explanation if you ask me. They are just looking for excuses not to fix it

file a suit this isn't right at all.

sorry to hear about that...hope everything turns out in your favor..

Out of curiosity, have you considered taking it to another dealer?

No, not yet....i guess that's an option, but then i'd have to go thru all this again, im sure

The same Ford Tech probably came up with the "Magic Bullet Theory" that killed Kennedy.

Hopefully you got that ford tech's name...and wrote it down.. If your not carry a paper pad and a pen and take down everyones name that you come in contact with at the dealer.... for one it'll scare them, because the techs obviously know that the dealerships trying to cheat you out of a car, or possibly bad work with maybe replacing the coil but not some possibly frayed wiring cause they didnt have the part or wanted to spend more time on it? Their definetly covering up one or more things...so taking down everyones name should make them more aware that you know somethings going down...and if they fear for their jobs at all then something might get done quicker... If this ever happened to me...and they tried to royally stiff me up the arse...I'd grab a well known mechanic...and some local newsfolk to start...i dunno about down their but up here there was a 5 min segment on the news cause some people didn't want a tree to be cut down cause its old...and that was national news.

So You know their screwing you, they know their screwing you, we all know their screwing you...So time to screw them a bit...A little blatant outspoken talk about possible 'publicity' about this whole ordeal after taking down a few names the next time down... Fight fire with fire! ( lol can't believe how well that works )

Silas, that's a great idea!! Im goin back tomorrow

Thanks. Whenever i deal with a business or company about repairing items, warranty stuff, etc...I always get every persons name that i speak too. If its one say the phone, i write down the first persons name, if they can't help me, then i go to the person whos in charge of them, then whoevers in charge of them, etc. Just keep track of the people there. Also, in your case, i'd get a few reputable names of mechanics in the area, show them the pics, and see if they can tell that it wasn't the tranny - thats a good place to start. Next go to one of the managers, mention the ford techs names, maybe a number or two about the flash point of tranny fluid, the reputable mechanics names, and that if need be you'll get some stuff in writing from some reputable mechanics, and file a lawsuit. Let them sit on that for a few days. I'd use publicity as a last resort really, and only once you've filed a suit, then you have some good leverage on them by then.

edit: re-reading my first post in this topic jumping right in both feet first with the publicity deal wouldn't be wise....see how following this post or something along the lines of it works, oh, and report back!!

I can see from the pics, that the flywheel exploded, not the clutch. Very common for the SVTF. If they would have any brains in their heads, they would look up the TSB's, and notice that there is one for the flywheel making noise, and it could explode.

The problem I see, is that Ford can easily say it happened due to abuse, and it would be hard to prove them wrong, even though they are probably wrong. Do a search on the forum here, and on FJ, and you will find numerous threads about flywheels exploding and taking out the bellhousing. Ford knows they have a problem, but are doing nothing to correct it. They did release an updated flywheel and clutch for it, but those are just as bad, as I am on my 3rd one, and only have 57K on my car.[mad]

I can see from the pics, that the flywheel exploded, not the clutch. Very common for the SVTF. If they would have any brains in their heads, they would look up the TSB's, and notice that there is one for the flywheel making noise, and it could explode.

The problem I see, is that Ford can easily say it happened due to abuse, and it would be hard to prove them wrong, even though they are probably wrong. Do a search on the forum here, and on FJ, and you will find numerous threads about flywheels exploding and taking out the bellhousing. Ford knows they have a problem, but are doing nothing to correct it. They did release an updated flywheel and clutch for it, but those are just as bad, as I am on my 3rd one, and only have 57K on my car.[mad]

Definitely looks like a Clutch TSB whoopsy if you ask me.. I would push it, Mine looked like that and it did rupture all my coolant lines and toss metal as far up as he fuel rail..

Jason

hey man i sorry about your lost. i feel for ya. i cant stand ford anymore. they suck. they have done more damage to my car than work was done to it. i never had any luck at any ford dealer. your fire reason, and my own experience with ford, is making me want to NEVER buy a another ford again. i HATE ford btw. ford doesn't have the money to replace or fix your car. they would do everything can to have your insurance to play for it. they will push you around like they have done to me and my friends.

long story short. my friend had a 04 H\D f250. they walk out of the door when my friend would walk in the door. they wouldn't give him a rental and they wouldn't fix anything. it had months of work on the truck and it still never work right after, and this is one of the largest dealers in Florida. so i know what you are going through. it sucks. sorry for all the "bad" words

In the event Ford tells you to shove it, how much will it cost to repair the car? Just the tranny will probably run you $1500-$2000, the fire damage may be much worse.

If you sell it as a junker, can you get out of it, what you owe?

In my case, the wiring blew and the battery exploded. There was no fire damage to the car from what happened. The wiring harness needed replacement, as did the battery, alternator, and they also claimed that the ecu was fried by the electrical short event. The dealer stated that I was looking at a $2000+ repair bill. Ford was only willing to offer $400 towards the repair. My wife and I took a bit of a loss and traded the 02 zx3 in on an 07 zx3 with a 7/72k bumper to bumper extended warranty.

that's messed up.....I am gonna show my dad this thread and see what he says. that is some B.S.

Hey guys, thanks for all your nice words in my favor any ways. I am a FoMoCo employee and am doing everything I can to make this work in my favor. I did nothing wrong here, and just like many of you said, the dealer is tryin to do everything they can to not pay for their mistakes. This is going to be a long process and I will update this thread as often as possible. I am also in the middle of moving too, so no computer at home. If I dont answer you guys or post in a day or so, it's because I am only able to access the internet at work.

If they can't fix it can we swap interiors?

I just love the recaro's!

sorry I will stop being a vulture.


Man I really hope this works out for you. Me being ASE certified, having a bachelors degree in Automotive Technology and 7 year in the field agree that this is not your fault.

JRODSVT, it's alrite, that's the reason why i bought this car. I love the seats the wheels and the headlights!! LOL :) I understand!! But, NO!!! hahaha



Ok, so the latest for today is....

I spoke with Matt @Ford SVT who was very helpful and made me feel somewhat satisfied after I talked to him, and he told me to do 3 things.....

1. Demand that a Field Rep/Engineer come look at the vehicle in person, not this gettin pics and talkin to the service manager over the phone stuff..
2. Contact the Dispute Settlement Board (gave me the number)
3. Call a lawyer if those 2 things fail.

So, I call the service manager and tell him that I want a Rep/Engineer to come look at the vehicle. He says actually, she is coming out here tomorrow. I ask him when she is coming and he says he has no idea...of course!!

I ask him, can i have her phone number so I can find out when she is going to be there. He says, No. I say, Ok can you call her and ask her to call me back? He says, No. I then ask, can you call me when she walks in the door so that I can hurry up there to talk to her? He says, No, i'm probably going to be busy all day and wont have time to do that. So....then I ask if he's not too busy rite now, can I have her name? He gives it to me. I say, OK, well I'll just look her up when I get to work in the Outlook phonebook.

He instantly gets mad!!! Tells me not to call her and he was taking care of things. I say to him, well it sounds to me like you aren't taking care of anything except yourself, so I'm going to start making things happen for myself!!

SO, I get to work, look up her number call her and left a voicemail. She just called me back about 10 minutes ago, and she was shocked!! I spent 10 minutes telling her the whole story and she kept saying, OH MY GOD!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? So, she and a field engineer are going tomorrow 2 the dealership and she would call me in the morning and let me know what time she's going to arrive.

FUN STUFF!!!

Well that last post sure sounds like things might finally be turning around for you [thumb]

I really hope everythign turns out in your favor.

Sounds like a turning point. Good luck man!

Sounds like a few people at that dealership are about to lose their jobs lol!

We will see what happens. Until they say they are working on my car, I'm not getting excited about anything. She sounds promising, but who knows...

Hahah there will be so much ownage if this woman is the real deal. [:D]

They should give you a FREE rental while they do the repairs. Or they should send you a 20,000 check, a Ford Racing Catalog, and a new Focus to go bananas on lol! WOOT

Until they say they are working on my car, I'm not getting excited about anything.


I hate to have to tell you this, but there is no fixing that. The fire damage is too extensive, and even if it does get fixed, there will always be problems related to it. I am a tech myself, and have dealt with engine fire damage in the past, and it never worked out well. Sorry to say, but it is most likely a total loss.

The only way they are going to total the car is if the damage is more than the worth of the car. Seeing as how I just bought it 6months ago for $13,900 and it really hasn't depreciated, especially since I kept it so clean, there is no way there is even 13K worth of damage. Id say at max even if they had to replace the engine it's 8K. Thanks for being a "glass half empty" kinda guy though.

Well I think he was looking at it as a "Safety issue" and risk to the driver and anyone on the roads. That car took some extensive heat. You never know which way it will go.

I do believe your right. Don't get excited quite yet. HOWEVER, you can also say it cant really get any worse for ya can it. The Rep/Engineer from what you stated seems astonished by the service managers treatment to you and your SVT. Which is 100% good for you. Hopefully there is something SHE can do to make your life a little better.

I once had a dream that my SVT blew the tranny, caught fire, and then blew up. I immediately woke up in a sweaty mess, drank a 12 pack, smoked a pack of winstons, then sat in the tub naked with the shower running cold water going "NOOOOOO". When it gets to that point...then I would start worrying LOL

I tell such great stories and paint some pretty ugly pictures lol.

Well i can tell you i had my 95 land rover disco catch on fire due to electrical issues and my insurance paid for it completly and totalled it out, if ford does end up saying it is not their fault your insurance should cover it -they have to cover things like fire, many cras have caught on fire before-- what would be the point of having insurance if they wouldnt cover something like this--also it looks like your clutch exploded and may have caused the fire but that should be covered by the tsb-- i could see that happening as well as the coilpack issue--good luck and keep us posted

so are your headlights still anygood?
i wanna get some like that

so are your headlights still anygood?
i wanna get some like that

Seriously??? Ok, i'm going to say this now.... if your reply is like this guys....dont bother because even if i do get the car back and part it out, if you ask me questions like this, in this stage of the process, i'm not selling you a d a m n thing!

The only way they are going to total the car is if the damage is more than the worth of the car. Seeing as how I just bought it 6months ago for $13,900 and it really hasn't depreciated, especially since I kept it so clean, there is no way there is even 13K worth of damage. Id say at max even if they had to replace the engine it's 8K. Thanks for being a "glass half empty" kinda guy though.

Unfortunately for you, pretty much as soon as you drive the car off the lot with temporary tags, it drops something like $2,000 in value. What you're not calculating is labor...it'd take quite some time just to clear the fire damage and get the car to the point where they could drop in a new engine. Then there's replacing all the stuff that got torched aside from the engine (like wiring harnesses, which will be expensive)...I'm not saying its cast in stone that its going to be totalled, but its going to be close.

Seriously??? Ok, i'm going to say this now.... if your reply is like this guys....dont bother because even if i do get the car back and part it out, if you ask me questions like this, in this stage of the process, i'm not selling you a d a m n thing!

the vultures are ahead circling, ready to pick any lame [xx(] carcas clean--lol!![angel]

Good luck!

There are times where an insurance company will repair a car even if the repairs are more than the value of the car. The reason is: if you're upside down then at least you still have a car, if they total it, and you owe an additional $5000 then you have no car and an unsecured loan.

I really hope that ford comes through for you, but I can't help but feel aprehensive about the outcome.

There are times where an insurance company will repair a car even if the repairs are more than the value of the car.

That would be against FEDERAL law. I cannot see any reason an insurance company would ever do that. If the damage to a vehicle is over 100% of the value, it must be titled as "junk", and can never be driven on a public road again. Most insurance companies "total" a vehicle at damge over 70% of the value. Anything between 70% and 99% damage can be rebuilt and titled as a "rebuilt salvage". I have done this a few times already. The paperwork can be a PITA.

^
Agreed, the insurance company is going to cut as much loss as they can. They don't give a rat's ass about policy holders...if they could get away with it, they'd just drop your policy as soon as you run into a problem. Unless you or a family member is in the upper management of an insurance company, they're not going to care if you're upside down on your car, and will find a way to pay you the bare minimum.

It was mentioned earlier, but the bicarbonate from the fire extinguishers is also going to be a major PITA when it comes to trying to get the engine compartment back in shape (if the car isn't totalled out). That stuff gets inside everything.

Good luck with your ordeal, I'm going to go check my coil and harness this afternoon for sure.

That would be against FEDERAL law. I cannot see any reason an insurance company would ever do that. If the damage to a vehicle is over 100% of the value, it must be titled as "junk", and can never be driven on a public road again. Most insurance companies "total" a vehicle at damge over 70% of the value. Anything between 70% and 99% damage can be rebuilt and titled as a "rebuilt salvage". I have done this a few times already. The paperwork can be a PITA.

It may be a federal law but you've got to FOLLOW THE MONEY! You must have collision and comprehensive insurance on a vehicle as long as there is a lienholder. If a car is totaled, then, in the best case, the lienholder must use the totaled money to pay off the car resulting in lost interest from the loan. The insurance company will lose the policy to the car resulting in premiums not being paid by the insuree AND they have to pay for the car being totaled. Insurance companies are around to collect premiums, not to pay claims.

In the worst case, the payoff on the car is more than the value of the car in which case the remainder of the loan is moved to an unsecured loan with a much higher interest rating, the owner will probably wind up getting a much less expensive-to-insure car than in a better situation, the insurance company loses money, the bank is poised to lose the unsecured loan, the driver either doesn't have a car or drives a POS and the car repair place is completely out of the picture.

If the car is "_nearly_" totaled, the repair place can _maybe_ get it roadworthy again, the insurance company retains, and maybe increases, it's premiums, the car-fixit-place gets money, the bank retains it's secured loan and has a better chance of the loan going to term with full payment and the owner might, just might, have a drivable car for the remainder of the loan.

You see, if it's "fixed", then the insurance company, bank and car repair place win; its all about the money. Just a little bit of rule-bending and number-tweeking involved. No need to get the Feds involved.

Wow, THAT was a LONG silly post.

Wow! After hearing all the crap you guys with Private insurance have to deal with, I deem myself lucky. In Manitoba, its public insurance and its designed to be no to low profit. We're even gonna get rebate cheques this year for about 8-10% of our premiums! Good luck with your SVT man, always take note of everyone you talk to and log it. If someone can't give you the answer, ask for someone above them and keep going up, thats the only way you'll get taken seriously.

In Manitoba, its public insurance and its designed to be no to low profit. We're even gonna get rebate cheques this year for about 8-10% of our premiums!

Wow...low/non-profit insurance and you get rebate checks...that's unheard of down here. The only motivation US insurance carriers give you to stay out of trouble is they don't raise your rates if you don't get tickets or in accidents. It'd be a cold day in hell before they would issue a premium rebate...

that sucks man. i hope you get those bastards by the balls. and i hope that poser that wouldnt give you the womans infor gets his ass fired.

he def desrves to lost his job along with thousands of other ford service dept workers that act the same way

Public insurance has it's down falls though!

I thought I felt my car get a little more rare. . . . .

damn that sucks ass

I thought I felt my car get a little more rare. . . . .

In typical fashion, another of your posts offers nothing. It was pretty funny this time, though. [histerical]

First off, the chemicals used in a Dry Powder fire extinguisher (the most common type) are not made solely from bicarbonates.

They can either be:

sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3, baking soda)
potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3, nearly identical to baking soda)
monoammonium phosphate ((NH4)H2PO4)


Whatever be the compound, the idea behind their use is to blanket the fuel with an inert solid (like with dirt/sand). The extinguisher sprays a fine powder which coats the fuel and then smothers the fire.

But those are the least of your worries when considering the damage that was done to your vehicle in a car fire.

The fire itself was the major source of damage.

Because even before the person/policeman/firefighters arrived, your vehicle had already suffered intense heat and smoke damage.

THEN ... add to that the compunds from the fire extinguishers.

THEN ... figure in the water damage from the firefighter's attack lines.

I typically use at least 1/2 of my booster tank on small to moderate car fires.

That means between 250-375 gallons of water was poured into your engine bay (and wherever else it leaked into) to put out the fire.

(booster tanks run from 500-750 gallons)

I think maybe the cop was trying to do you a favor, letting it burn so that it would be totaled and you could get full reimbursement from your insurance.

Sorry for the loss of your car man!

Just got off the phone with the service rep lady who told me that she and a field engineer looked at the car today. She wouldn't even tell me what the engineer said, her only words were contact your insurance company.

So.... the dealerships name is Russ Milne Ford in Macomb, MI. And I'm going to sue

Just so you know, your insurance company IS responsible for taking care of this. This is what we have insurance for. Their job is to pay your claim, and then deal with the legal mumbo jumbo with Ford. Don't let you insurance try to get away with it. Contact a decent attourney, and find out for sure what your options are.

I don't understand why your insurance wouldn't cover this under the comprehensive portion of your policy? Comprehensive is there to cover things like vandalism, flood and fire.

like - i said my land rover was covered when it caught fire and it was electrical issue -so you need to go to a higher authority for the insurance company before you waste your time sueing-

In typical fashion, another of your posts offers nothing. It was pretty funny this time, though. [histerical]

it was made even funnier by your comment-- poor focistang cant help himself - once a post whore always a post whore-- we love ya anyway[hihi]

I'm not tryin to be rude, I understand your comments about insurance and all, but I'm not lettin the dealership get off that easy. They are responsible for this car under warranty. They want me to go to insurance, because sure, they'd fix it and the dealership could wash their hands with the whole deal. I know it's their fault and I'm not lettin them get away with ripping off another customer.

I don't understand why your insurance wouldn't cover this under the comprehensive portion of your policy? Comprehensive is there to cover things like vandalism, flood and fire.

Until it becomes unprofitable for them. Then they'll make up just about any excuse in the world to deny coverage. I can only imagine what they'd say if your car was damaged or washed away in a flood (the typical "the damage isn't covered because you didn't have flood insurance" excuse used in homeowners' claims comes to mind.) I've been down this road before and know a few people who have gone toe-to-toe with auto insurers (my cousin had to sue his policy when his wife got hit by a drunk, uninsured driver and somehow Allstate said that a combination of the two -drunk and uninsured driver- wasn't covered on his under/uninsured coverage.)

I think suing the dealership or Ford (or both?) would be the best idea...the dealer would more than likely just pay either the pre-fire KBB value on the car, or fix it rather than have to pay lawyers to represent them in court...if they lose they'll end up paying the plantiff, the plantiff's lawyer(s) (no attorney is going to take a lawsuit and sue for less than double what their client is after so they get the same in legal fees) and their own legal team. They might end up settling before it would even go to court...you might just need to issue an intent to sue to smack them into line. They'll just ignore you until they get a call from your attorney...then they'll pay attention [thumb]

Sorry if this is off topic but public insurance is in no way better then private take the worst characteristics of an insurance company and the worst characteristics of a government agency marry them and you get Manitoba Public Insurance.

yeah but if the insurance deems that they are at fault trust me the will go after the dealership for you-- they money hungry and they will hunt people down if they are responsible --trust me-- just let your insurance deal with -- im sure you could deal without the aggravation in your life the dealership will cause you --plus you will have your car back sooner

That's exactly what I was thinking... why wouldn't the insurance company open an investigation with the dealership?

thay should unless your insurance company is crooked like the dealership is and ten in that case --good luck

I also have this whole ordeal up on a local board, www.motownmuscle.com and have been updating it more frequently than here....so here's some updates....

I called the owner of the dealer, Russ Milne himself on Monday and explained the situation to him, he called me back today...and...

So i just spoke with Russ Sr. He said, I talked with all the parties involved and Ford isn't going to cover this under warranty. I said ok, what about you covering it and being a standup guy about all this? He started laughing and said, I didn't make that much money off this deal, I'm not fixin it. I said, Ok then you are about to lose a lot more business and I guarantee you are going to regret not dealing with me right here and now. He keeps laughing and said, OK and then hung up on me!!!

WOW!!! That's all I can say. Feel free to make phone calls to the dealership or whatever you wanna do.

Also, yesterday i did this.... LOL :)

Well, I may have just ended my career at Ford. I sent an email explaining all this crap to Bill Ford Jr., Allan Mulally and Mark Fields along with a couple VP's of the company. I hope this all doesnt blow up in my face

and today when i got to work....

Well, I still have my job!!! AND.... the email worked. I got to work today and had several messages from Ford Legal and Ford Customer Care Center. Both saying that they are opening investigations on this dealer. If anything maybe he'll realize he can't treat customers this way.

Awesome dude! Hopefully something good will come from this.

O and P.S. if you get a hair up your ass and wanna call and bitch or tell them you'll never come to him for a car... his name is Russ Milne (obviously) and the dealership phone number is 586-948-7700.... in fact, I'd ask that you please do, and mention it's because of what he did to me, Patrick Moore with the 2004 Ford Focus that caught fire... if you do call, post it up here what you said and what his response was

Here is the letter I wrote to the ford exec's....

Thank you in advance for taking the time out of your busy schedule to read my email…


Hello, my name is Patrick Moore. I am currently a contract employee with Ford Motor Company working in the RIC as a dyno technician. I am writing this email in desperate hope that I could get you to listen to my dilemma and possibly help me.

I purchased a 2004 SVT Focus (24,500 miles on the vehicle) in October of 2006 from Russ Milne Ford in Macomb, MI. In December of 2006, the coil pack went bad and I had to have the vehicle towed to the dealership to be fixed. They fixed the vehicle under warranty and all was fine. Well, this past Friday March 9th, 2007 as I was leaving a friends house, the same symptoms happened to me as this past December, then went away very quickly. I made the decision to drive my vehicle home and call the dealership. I never made it home.

About a 1/4 mile from my friends house, the vehicle began to shake and shutter very violently. I pulled over quickly and smoke started to come from under the hood. I lifted the hood and the coil pack that had been replaced was glowing red and shooting sparks and began to not only catch itself on fire, but started setting all the cables and other things on fire. At the same time the clutch also exploded and blew through the bellhousing. Also, at this time, the vehicle was still trying to run all on its own, and the keys were in my pocket. I am unsure of the exact cause of the fire, but it was not done by anything that I was doing or had done to the vehicle. It currently has 35,900 miles on it and is still under warranty.

Side note, after the whole incident with the coil pack back in December, I just recently decided to pull up the history on my vehicle from Ford's database. In December I was brought into the office at the dealership and almost blamed for abuse of the coil because it was so destroyed. Yet, when I looked up my history it says that all that was replaced was a connector on the coil, not the coil itself. So, the coil was never actually replaced, but I was almost being blamed for destroying my coil.

After the fire department came and everything calmed down, I had the vehicle towed back to Russ Milne Ford. On Monday March 12th, 2007 I called the dealership and had a discussion with the service department who quickly placed all blame on my shoulders, even after I told them exactly what had happened. They had not even looked at the vehicle yet, but informed me that the dealership is not going to fix this, and that I need to contact my insurance company. After speaking with my insurance company (State Farm), they informed me that this is a dealership warranty issue, and had the car been on fire and caused any other damage, (a wreck or an explosion) hurting others then and only then would insurance step in.

I have visited the dealership several times during the course of the week and spoken on the phone with them just as much. Every time I speak to someone, I get a different story on why they aren't going to cover anything, and also they have given me several non-plausible scenarios of how and why the fire started. As I stated before I am a dyno technician and have been here for a year and a half. Before this I was a dyno technician at Bosch in Farmington Hills, MI. For the past ten years I have also been a race car mechanic and worked on several street rods and customs, as well as built my own 700rwhp Cobra. I have been a supporter of Ford Motor Company ever since the day I got my license. I am a good mechanic, yet every time I've spoken with the dealership, they treat me like a child and talk down to me. As you may guess, this is very discouraging and I have had no luck in getting the dealership to own up to it's responsibility as a dealer to honor the warranty. Also, since they are claiming abuse, I am left without a vehicle and I am depending on friends to get me to and from work every day.

Currently, a Ford field rep. (Nancy Jay) went to the dealership Friday 3/16/07 with a field engineer to look at the vehicle. I spoke with her on the Thursday 3/15/07 and told her, in great detail, what actually happened that day. Also I have contacted a consumer lawyer and spoke with him about the case. I contacted Ford SVT who directed me to the dispute settlement board, which I called immediately. I have also called Fox 2 news who called me back within 24 hours and wants me to give them the name of the dealership so that they can start to do a story on exactly why a dealer will not honor a warrantied car that they sold. I have not given the dealerships name, in hopes that they still do the right thing.

I spoke with Nancy Jay today, 3/19/07 and she informed me that her and an engineer went to look at the car today and that I just need to call my insurance company. Every time I deal with a dealership employee or someone who works closely with them, I get put off like I don't matter. I cannot afford to have my insurance company step in here, because my rates are going to rise even higher than they already are, and besides that fact, I shouldn't have to have them step in because the dealership should be taking care of me, the customer.

I'm sorry for the very long email, but a lot has happened to me. As a customer, I feel I'm being treated unfairly, and as a Ford employee I feel ashamed that I'm being treated unfairly. I work for the company and I am ashamed at how the dealership has treated me. If everyone gets treated this poorly, I don’t see how we as a company can survive. At the end of the day our reputation is upheld by the end person in the whole car buying process. What the dealership does directly effects us as employees and as a company. I can tell you, from this experience, I am very reluctant to ever buy a Ford product again. I can tell you for sure, I will never return to Russ Milne Ford in Macomb, MI, and I will spread the word about how badly I've been treated.

If you can help me or point me in the direction of someone who oversees the dealerships, I would greatly appreciate anything that you did for me.

Thank you for your time.

Patrick E. Moore

I know a lot of you dont know me, but if this guy gets 20 to 30 calls mentioning my name, and how he is losing business, something is going to stick and maybe other customers wont get treated so poorly.

Russ Milne Ford, Russ Milne is the owner (obviously) and the dealership phone number is 586-948-7700

I always thought car fires were reserved for really really old POS cars.

this is just one of many...

http://www.wreckedexotics.com/murcielago/murcielago_20040407_005.jpg

Im sure lamborghini customer service is much more geared toward gettin the customer what they want

SO....will any of you call the dealership and talk to Russ Milne himself?? Or is that something no one is willing to do?

that lambo looks like its crying.. i bet the owner is too-lol

ill call and go off on them-- i hat eford dealerships everyone of them has screwed me over royally multiple times-- i have no problem--im on it!!

what the hell with i'll call, i don't care what they think of me i don't live in MI.

Sorry man but I learned that lesson the hard way a LONG time ago, you can have your beef with a dealer/servicer but don't get other people (that would be us in this case) involved and don't talk about it with other dealers or servicers. They know each other, they talk to each other, and when you start spreading your complaints and making trouble for them, next thing you know no one wants to service you because they are afraid they will be next on your shit list. It happened to me years ago, I had several shops refuse to service my car because they knew I had been spreading bad word about a half-assed shop who botched a repair.

You dont even have to tell thme who you are....just tell them you heard of my story and u think they are a crap dealership and you will tell everyone not to come to them....

well, well, well i just called the dealership on your behalf, and to no surprise they said Russ Milne Sr. had just stepped out. they asked if i would leave a message for him, but i told them no, i would call back later. BS i know he was there, they always are. anyways, i'll try back a little later

well, well, well i just called the dealership on your behalf, and to no surprise they said Russ Milne Sr. had just stepped out. they asked if i would leave a message for him, but i told them no, i would call back later. BS i know he was there, they always are. anyways, i'll try back a little later

Thanks!!! I hope I can get a lot of people to call, but who knows, theres a difference between people saying I got screwed and feeling sorry for me, than them actually making a difference, we'll see....

Don't take what I said the wrong way, its not that I don't really care about what happens to you or your car - it's that I don't think random people from the internet harassing the dealer is going to help your case. Calling the local news seemed more like the "high road" approach, I think you should pursue that.

I'm with azdamay; harassing the dealer isn't really going to help anything. I suggest the news approach too. I hate screwing with the stealerships. I was actually happy when the warranty on my Rubicon went out...I didn't have to worry with them anymore lol.

I spoke with the news and they only deal with new cars, doesn't matter that its barely 2 years old, and besides the fire, looks brand new

Have you filed a report with the NHTSA yet?
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq

Once you do, print out a couple copies.
Take one to your Dealer and hand it to the owner, and send the other off to Ford Corporate.

i forsee good things in the future for you on this matter. You seem to be handling it in the best way possible.

im telling you i know how it feels to feel helpless and screwed over--i am seriously feeling for you right now

Have you filed a report with the NHTSA yet?
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq

Once you do, print out a couple copies.
Take one to your Dealer and hand it to the owner, and send the other off to Ford Corporate.

I just filled it out. I printed out a few copies and will be visiting the dealer tomorrow!

i would burn the dealership down. then send the owner and all employees letters in the mail stating how it was all their fault and they should contact their insurance to file a claim.

lol^ that is funny-- it would be funnier if you could do it and it didnt involve prison time

Have you filed a report with the NHTSA yet?
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq

Once you do, print out a couple copies.
Take one to your Dealer and hand it to the owner, and send the other off to Ford Corporate.

Thanks For the Link I went ahead and filed a report about my pressure plate explodng last december :)

Jason

Thanks For the Link I went ahead and filed a report about my pressure plate explodng last december :)

Jason

Jason,
Did you get Ford to cover that? What happened when it exploded?? Anything like I have described in the previous 11 pages??

Dude, I'm just now seeing this thread. I had a similar situation happen to me, really similar. I had the alternator replaced and the new one caught on fire. Luckily I cought it in time and got the fire out before it caused too much damage. When I told the dealership about it, they turned the other cheek. I almost went to prison for murder that day.

All I can say to you is, sew thier f'n pants off.

lol^ that is funny-- it would be funnier if you could do it and it didnt involve prison time

You realize, that anything would be more funny if it didn't involve prison time.

Jason,
Did you get Ford to cover that? What happened when it exploded?? Anything like I have described in the previous 11 pages??

My tranny looked identical to yours, no fire though because my coolant lines got ruptured and put it out. lots of smoke. And ford told me to F-off. I just ate it and fixed it.

Jason

holy shit dude :( I'm sorry that is disturbing!!! Good luck gettin everything worked out! I hate shitty dealers.

lol! for sure logan- prison sucks- my brother is there right now-lol. no joke

Well, i've been speaking with several people about this since I sent that email out and today the lead investigator called me back. They are claiming abuse and they are not covering anything. I'm just so distraught right now, I dont know what to do.

And how do they plan on proving "abuse?"

Did you abuse it?

Well, i've been speaking with several people about this since I sent that email out and today the lead investigator called me back. They are claiming abuse and they are not covering anything. I'm just so distraught right now, I dont know what to do.

Its amazing isnt it, this is the only stock car I have seen that has a pressure plate that can explode randomly with a TSB on Said pressure plate. Yet here is the OEM yet again blaming it on abuse, Its funny I kept my original clutch... Its actually in really good shape almost reusable, and has 52k on it. but the pressure plate still exploded.

Jason

And how do they plan on proving "abuse?"

Did you abuse it?

They are basing it on misuse because they say the trans and clutch are just done. I did nothing wrong here. I dont beat my car up, I just got the damn thing, hell I've never even power shifted it!! There were 3 other people standing right there, one of which was in the car with me when it happend, the other 2 were following in a car behind me.

dude, u gotta fight that... thats a load of shit....

will insurance at least cover it?

Insurrance should, but he'll have to cover the deductable. . . . .

They shouldn't be able to base misuse on the trans, seeing as how there IS a TSB on some VITAL components.

hey, i made a call for you, and actually spoke to russ himself..

he basically said that there was no assessment on whether the car was salvagable or not, and that you had gone to the top of ford mo. co. and they told you that they werent going to fix the car for free

he did say he thinks the car is salvageable, but that their not going to do anything about it for you

what a bunch of douches....

also, i asked what the "progress" of the car.. he said there "was no progress"

and that you either needed to get a lawyer involved, or get your insurance involved

first step would be a lawyer, and make sure that you have all records of service performed by the dealer.. i remember you saying that they "supposedly" replaced the coil pack...

so make sure that you have those records, and possibally get a mechanic(a liscesed one, not a freind) to give you a written quote on why it happened, what exactly happened, and how much its gonna take to fix it

if you do go with insurance, make sure to have the same records...

either way, your in for a long haul man... good luck to you, and if you need any advice form me, just shoot a pm to me

Wow this is all just a bunch of bullshit on Ford's part...they must really not give a flying f[mad] [mad] [mad] about customer service (pardon my language).

Although I hate to say it... you might want to consider backing out of this before you get in too deep.

If you take them to court, you have no written documentation on what was said from both parties (the only part that would hold up is from my understanding, they said that they would replace the coil itself the first time around and when you pulled up the file, it showed that they replaced only a plug and wire and left in the troublesome coil. And it would help if you had it written that they said "we will replace the coil" like on a repair quote or something.)

I mean, you have to take into account that you will have to pay lawyers fees and that Ford is gonna be able to pay for one hell of a defense and...do you think a judge is going to take your side (one man) or Ford's (a multi million dollar company).

And there is a chance that your case will just get thrown out of the window before it gets to court.

I am by no means saying that Ford is right and you should just pay for it but it might be about time to start thinking of the costs to go to court compared to the costs of fixing the car. I'm 100% on your side and it's a damn shame what you're going through with this whole fiasco.


Stupid Ford...[hatchet]

2 words... maltov cocktail. think about it.

this whole situation just makes me sick to my stomach-- i hope to god i never have this happen-- i will be so pissed

oh by the way- have you searched on goolge or anything if other svt's have had this happen and caught fire? you could maybe get some valuable info and examples to shove in fords face

Man, I'm gonna go buy a fire extinguisher now. . . . .

thats probably not a bad idea

wow i just read through this entire thread and must say they (both the dealer and insurance) the biggest pile of horseshit i have ever heard. i hope this all works out in the end man. all i know is if you get to keep your job after this whole thing, i think you should keep working for ford just to spite them haha. i think henry must be rolling over in his grave after all the shit dealers give people.

lol^^ so true--- venomous -any updates?

lol^^ so true--- venomous -any updates?

Well Ford has written me off even after the email I sent out and the new people that were supposedly going to help. They ended up talking to the dealership and then their attitude changed, even after they were very sympathetic when I told them the whole story prior to them gettin involved with the dealership.

A lady called me from Ford legal like I told you guys about and told me that the service manager was having a 3rd party come inspect the vehicle on Wednesday. Well she called me back yesterday and said that the extended warranty person went and inspected the vehicle and they aren't going to cover it. I said, what about the 3rd party? She said, I dont know anything about that. LOL :)

I can't help but laugh because if I think about this too much my heads gona explode.

I did get a reply email from NHTSA and they asked me to provide a bunch of info and pics so, hopefully something comes of that. We will see. Thanks for the heads up on that WD40!!

But, I'm going to pick up my car from the dealership hopefully tomorrow if I can find a trailer because the dealership is not going to work on it, so I'm pullin it out

yah so they don't f it up anymore than what's already done

yah so they don't f it up anymore than what's already done

Believe me, I'm not touchin it. Im not even gonna clean those expensive ass Recaro seats, even tho it kills me to see them white!! I'll take a shit load of pics when I get it home and post them all up. I'm gna lift the car up and put it on some tall ass jackstands and get a bunch of shots

I did get a reply email from NHTSA and they asked me to provide a bunch of info and pics so, hopefully something comes of that. We will see. Thanks for the heads up on the WD40!!
No problem!
IIRC, there should be a "search" feature to find other cars (same model) with the same or similar reported problems on their website.

O, and I also got the forms today from the auto division of the BBB and I'm filling them out and sending them in ASAP

well keep us posted -- sending you good luck

Just thought I'd let everyone know, I picked up my car on a trailer from the dealership on Saturday, so now it's home in my garage. I dont know what i'm gonna do now.....most likely sue, but we will see what happens. Thanks for all your well wishes and I really hope no one has to ever go thru this.

gl man!! I wish you the best of luck!! It was in an article somewhere that FORD is now reading customers opinions on forums and shit so hopefully they read this!

Yea, if they were to read this, they'd probably just fire me!!! LOL :) If they did though, could I also sue them for wrongful termination????

If that was be, I would be calling every person I could think of to get a lawsuit going. especially if nothingwas abused in my car.....I would be calling the corporate centers and letting them know that they killed my most prized possession, and they will pay for it. shit, I don't care how much it costs. they don't make that car anymore....you can't just go and buy a new SVTF........

Hey Ford Dealerships....[:)][:)][:)][:)] YOU [:)]

if it wasn't for the mustang and SVT, ford wouldn't be JACK SHIT to me, besides the F-150

the problem with all this talk is that he bought the car used, after a dealership bought it used . . .

good luck, that's a shady place but when it comes to legal battles the tide is against you right now.

pay a bum 20 bux to key every car on their lot. it will take a while to have every car repaired and nobody is going to buy a new car that has key marks. hell most people wont buy a new car that has been re painted. they would probobly go bankrupt bacuase they couldnt sell any cars.

pay a bum 20 bux to key every car on their lot. it will take a while to have every car repaired and nobody is going to buy a new car that has key marks. hell most people wont buy a new car that has been re painted. they would probobly go bankrupt bacuase they couldnt sell any cars.

Ohh man thats a freakin awsome idea!!!! To bad they would proabbly interegate the bum till he released your name for paying him to do that. Although...you could give him a fake name and buy some sort of costume! But then you would proabably wanna watch him go f-- up the cars otherwise the bum would probably just f--- you over like Ford....Still sounds like a good idea to get even..

hahahaha and then they'll read this somehow and find out you used a costume lol...but good idea none the less lol

Venom..Bro I feel you man. I am in the process right now of trying to get the dealer to cover my side air bag that went off for no reason!!! I have my story posted in the focus general forum I think or where ever WD moved it!!!!

It took me an hour to read this whole thread and pretty much what i got out of it was that ford dealerships are lazy no good s.o.b. This story has made me so inspired that im gonna go throw rocks at my local dealership[woot] [shhh]

O yea, hey ford [smackbum] [smackbum] [smackbum] [smackbum] You[:(!]

Im sorry to hear about ur svt and the trouble ur going through to just get whats right. Hope every1 turns out in ur favor

hmm my grandfather works as a salesman for ford[scratch] [vommit] [?|]

This story has made me so inspired that im gonna go throw rocks at my local dealership

Classic...[rofl]

Thanks again everyone for your well wishes. :) I am going to call the dealership again tomorrow morning and offer to pay for the clutch just to see maybe if this would help me out. Even though I feel I shouldn't have to, maybe if I grease the wheels I can get my focus back. Who knows.... I just want my car back. I went out in the garage and looked at it today and it just kills me. Even though I did nothing wrong, I somehow feel like this is my fault. I mean if everyone that makes the decisions says I did something wrong, maybe i did. I just want my car back. I can only bang my head against a brick wall so many times before something cracks [chair]

Well on the whole subject of the dealership claiming "abuse." Just saying "abuse" is such a broad term, you and the people at the dealership most definately have diferent definitions of "abuse" so thats gonna create some conflict. But it still blows, and maybe...just MAYBE...you and the dealership can come to a mutual agreement on how to fix this whole mess.


Good luck too ya [thumb]

You might still consider threatening to sue the dealer...they might just end up offering you a settlement of a few thousand dollars to go away and not talk about what they did to you. It won't fix the car, but it'll be better than footing the entire bill yourself.

I am going to call the dealership again tomorrow morning and offer to pay for the clutch just to see maybe if this would help me out. Even though I feel I shouldn't have to, maybe if I grease the wheels I can get my focus back. Who knows.... I just want my car back. [chair]

I know what I am gonna say goes against everyones first instinct(including mine), but Venomus may be on the right track. I have had good luck in the past "sucking up to the enemy." Even if you are sure you are in the right. Find a way to compliment or thank them for their efforts, apologize if you may have come across as rude, etc. I know it won't be easy, but it will surprise them, and they may let their guard down a bit, and then they may come to some form of mutual agreement. Each give and take a little, so he can get his car back. I know it may not sound as satisfying at first, but if it helps him get his car back, he ultimately will be better off. Maybe this is all wishful thinking, but I think it could be worth a try.

In any case, good luck.

dude i dont know what to tell you other than to tell your ins if they dont want you to claim they need to foot the bill and file a lawsuit against the dealer or something to retrieve their losses. hell fire loss shouldnt be your fault so your ins shouldnt change. i dunno

Well, I struck the ultimate nerve apparently..... I got a call this morning and I got fired from Ford. They stated that it was for misuse of company property...yet couldn't and wouldn't tell my contract house what exactly that meant. I just had a performance review about a month ago and got glowing feedback and a raise!! Yet, now I'm fired. This shit just keeps getting better!!! I called my supervisor and my manager several times today and they did not answer the phone nor return my call, even after I left voicemails..... i think it's time to get drunk and [vommit]

I'd be suing them for wrongful termination...

It's lawyer time, my friend. Call a good one; this has become press-worthy.

Was inevitable, fighting against the company you work for. Get a lawyer sue them and then get paid.

this is definitely past what you can handle without litigation at this point. at least consult with a lawyer and see what they think they can do for you

Oh my god that's insane. If I were Patrick I would never buy another Ford. Hell I might not buy another Ford if this is the way you're treated when one of their cars has a serious malfunction. That and the fact they no longer seem to want to make appealing cars. They leave that to the Mazda division.

This is just unbelievable...I think you could definately come out on top if you sue the company for wrongful termination and forget about the car at this point. Your source of income is more imporant than your fun runner Focus. (even though it's terrible that this happenned to your car.)

It sux, thanks for the support. I guess I really brought this on myself. But really, was I wrong to want them to own up and do what was right? I will find another job, but I dont ever want to work for Ford again, I won't ever buy a Ford, unless it's a pre-owned mustang. It's amazing how the big company treats the little man like me, who ultimately pays their bills by buying their products. I hope everyone sees how the company you purchase things from really treats people.

Your story is just making me want to buy a Ford less and less now. I was already headed in that direction, but this pretty much proves to me that Ford will screw over just about anyone they can to save money. You'd think they could go out on a limb and help out one of their own employees, but instead they fire you and don't even give you a reason. Seriously, you should be finding a lawyer and take them to court...I think you'd have a hard time convincing the jury that Ford was justified in what they did.

sue the F U C K out of them, wrongful termination and failure to cover warranty (it is still under warranty, right?)

yah man that's wrong. sue the piss out of them. I like ford, but if their gonna be dicks they deserve what they get.

I still can't believe they would fire you and not tell you why...There has to be something you can do to fight that. But by now I'm sure your sick of fighting and gettin your ass kicked to the curb and just want to put this whole ordeal behind you and move on.

This whole story reminds me of the documentary michael moore did on the ford factories in flint, MI. I guess some things just never change.

It's like I tell all my friends...I don't like Ford, I like the Focus.

good one snatch!

I've been following along and I'm sorry to see it come to this sad end. I really admire you for trying to stick it to the man...you put up a hell of a fight and went through a lot of the right steps. I hope I never have to go through anything quite like this, but if I do now I know that I will definitely need to get a lawyer involved immediately. I had quite a hullabaloo when I first bought my car with the tranny and synchros making some crazy noise and a tranny mount breaking, and after many times in the dealership it still makes a clickity clack sound that really makes my car sound like like a wind-up toy, so I absolutely feel your pain.

My question is: WHAT company property did you/could you have abused/misused!?!?!? Did you dyno a car off the clock or something??? That sounds a little fishy...either that or you left out a detail (don't take that as a hostile comment!)...

And also why did you say this?:
I guess I really brought this on myself.

I would dare say it was brought upon you, but then again I guess I get your point...you could have taken the insurance route.

I don't know man...I just have to say, I'm sorry about the whole situation and I wish you the best in whatever you end up doing. I would call the dealership to talk/complain about your situation, but I don't believe revenge is the best means to an end. Again, I wish you luck...

I think the company property that they claim he misused was when he used the company outlook to look up the phone numbers of the higher ups he called. But yeah sue the hell out of them then share the wealth with your fellow focus fanatics LOL .

I thought he said he was a contractor. If so, it doesn't matter. They don't need a reason to get rid of him.

I think the company property that they claim he misused was when he used the company outlook to look up the phone numbers of the higher ups he called. But yeah sue the hell out of them then share the wealth with your fellow focus fanatics LOL .

Nonsense. If his network account has access to that phone book, it's the company's problem if they didn't want him to look at it.

Get ahold of a lawyer and see if you have any grounds to sue,

not fixing car + you complaining = you getting fired somehow this seems pretty F'd up and i can tell you this right now noone in my family my wifes family nor our friends will EVER buy another ford product again!!

I hope ford goes bankrupt all together and gets eaten by our oversee's competitors which is currenlty where they are headed anyway..


Good job Ford

I had a similar experiance with a dealer, needless to say i walked around the lot and talked to everyone that was thinking about buying a car there and told them of my experiance and made quite a few people walk off. Some looked at me funny until i tell them hey im just trying to save you the hassel i have just been through why spend thousand sof dollars on a car only to find out you cant get it repaired when it breaks down. I also wanted to have a
g2g and pickett the dealership ( leaglly that is ) one saturday and sunday hell make a weekend out of it see how many customers come in

Sorry You Lost Your Job

I'm still blundered about this...makes no sense.

Screw Ford, I'm buying a Smart! [:D]

keep calling higher up in the company. call your supervisors supervisor. if nothing then call his supervisor. hell call bill ford. someone somewhere down the line will answer the phone. id call every 2 mins all day long until someone picked up. its not over by a long shot so dont tell yourself it is. theres still alot of options.

layin off people=ford

Ford = Greedy bastards

Greedy bastards = [:o)]

[:o)] =[nutkick]

Im not sure how your gonna get whats right, but i hope u do. Dont give up, try everything that comes to mind[idea] . If it doesnt work, do something sweet like kick some1 in the nuts or start a riot. Ill come[}:)] . Every1 on this site will riot that dealership and we can steal u another car.. Maybe a mustang gt[:)]

Good luck.

haha yah go steal a car...NOT lol

dude you got fired??!?!? They have to tell you why you were dissmissed. Its illegal for them not to in canada. They have to have a meeting with you to discusss it, if you request one.

That's Canada, what's your point?

I work in a right to work state. They can fire me at anytime for no reason.

^ it ain't like that in most states... at least here in mo they have to give you a good reason, otherwise i could sue them out the ass, judge would take one look at the case file and fine the company

I think in most places it depends on the type of work...I work in retail and they can fore me because they didn't like the shoes I wore one day and I can't do shit cause the law says that they can.

But if your in a union or a company has rules regarding termination...they can't just fire you out of the blue and not give you a reason why.

check out the dispute resolution board i think its called. look up dispute in the index of your owners manual. its a third party that looks at the situation and makes a decision about warranty work, but it wont apply if your cars out of warranty. you might be better off taking them to court over terminating without giving you a reason

^ it ain't like that in most states... at least here in mo they have to give you a good reason, otherwise i could sue them out the ass, judge would take one look at the case file and fine the company

That's what you think. Unless you have a Union or something behind you, you might want to look into that. I know FL is the same way.

Yea, if they were to read this, they'd probably just fire me!!! LOL :) If they did though, could I also sue them for wrongful termination????

Wow. Looks like you attracted it!

Cut your losses now and start over before you spiral down further.

Wow...I really feel for ya man...Keep your head up and keep fighting..Fk giving up..Make them remember your name...Maybe if we all write a letter!!!


Any updates?

dam bro im sorry to hear that....so wat are u goin to do?? sue FORD for firing u? wat about ur svt? u plan on fixing it or no?

That's what you think. Unless you have a Union or something behind you, you might want to look into that. I know FL is the same way.

There's typically a misunderstanding with the "at-will employment" law. There's a big difference between being able to fire someone for no reason and being able to fire someone for any reason. Yes, they can terminate you at any time...but if the termination is nefarious you can still sue your employer.

update?

wow dude that is freaking terrible, talk about a bad turn of events.

i am guessing you probably signed a not misuse company resources form.

If you had been a blue badge or a direct ford employee then they probably would not have cared and you would have had no problem, but since you were a contractor Ford just terminated your position they probaby looked at it as a way to get rid of another contract. I will never go back to the Big Three unless I am a direct hire. Contracting for the loss. I may hate my Job but atleast at Bosch I am a direct employee and not a contractor.

Any new updates?

yah what's goin on here?!?

by giving out the dealer's name and ford executive names he pissed off the right people. I've learned through my business dealings you still need to be careful what you say, no matter how bad it may be,especially when you work for the company your complaining about. For me the owner of the ford dealer I get my car serviced at is part of my church so he has a bigger person to report to then Bill Ford.

you may want to be careful about saying anything further negatively about the dealer, they could sue your for slander. That's the great thing about living in a country where lawyers out number humans 4 to 1

i guess this dude just said [:)][:)][:)][:)] it