2012 Titanium Front Strut Low Speed Noise (Clunk/Rattle)

jrn146 · Jan 8, 2013

I have to say that mine is noticeably quieter since it's gotten cold. I've been thinking that when it gets warmer I would like to try spraying some expanding foam up in that gap that Zillon posted a pic of.

Shantheman2012 · Jan 8, 2013

jrn146 said:
I have to say that mine is noticeably quieter since it's gotten cold. I've been thinking that when it gets warmer I would like to try spraying some expanding foam up in that gap that Zillon posted a pic of.

Exactly what I am planning to do.

Zillon · Jan 8, 2013

Keep us updated on what you find out with the foam experiment, fellas. I'm interested to see what happens.

DougC · Jan 9, 2013

Just got a call from my dealer to update me on the status of front suspension repair number four.... here is what they changed out this time:
Struts (second replacement)
Strut tops (third or fourth replacement.... can't recall any longer)
Lower control arms (first replacement)

Dysan911 · Jan 9, 2013

DougC said:
Just got a call from my dealer to update me on the status of front suspension repair number four.... here is what they changed out this time:
Struts (second replacement)
Strut tops (third or fourth replacement.... can't recall any longer)
Lower control arms (first replacement)

Repair # 4? You should qualify now for the lemon law on repair # 3.

Dysan911 · Jan 10, 2013

I emailed my Service manager the other day and referenced my invoice # of my fix done in early June. I asked if they did both sides or just the one side. He confirmed today that they only replaced parts on the one side and that the noise I'm hearing now could certainly be from the other side now but would like me to bring the car in to have it checked out.

So if anyone that's had their car in for the TSB Fix and a few months later the noise returns. Can you confirm the TSB was applied to both Struts? Maybe like me the repair was only applied to one side and now your hearing the unfixed side.

I'll wait a couple more weeks and then bring mine in and see what they can do for me.

dyn085 · Jan 10, 2013

When they applied the TSB to my car, they replaced the l/h strut when the complaint was for the r/h side. The quiet side remained quiet while the noisy side remained noisy. They replaced the strut, bearing, and lower control arm.

A couple thousands miles later and both sides were noisy, though the r/h side is definitely worse.

HuskerFocus · Jan 10, 2013

Dysan911 said:
I emailed my Service manager the other day and referenced my invoice # of my fix done in early June. I asked if they did both sides or just the one side. He confirmed today that they only replaced parts on the one side and that the noise I'm hearing now could certainly be from the other side now but would like me to bring the car in to have it checked out.

So if anyone that's had their car in for the TSB Fix and a few months later the noise returns. Can you confirm the TSB was applied to both Struts? Maybe like me the repair was only applied to one side and now your hearing the unfixed side.

I'll wait a couple more weeks and then bring mine in and see what they can do for me.

Mine was only done to the driver side. I took it in complaining of a noise I thought was coming from the passenger side ... but I got the response "We couldn't hear it..."

FordService · Jan 10, 2013

Strix said:
...Here I was thinking that I could get it fixed if it got bad enough as to be undeniable...

Strix,

I see Krystal tried to call you and has a follow-up scheduled before the end of the day today.

BlazeFocus said:
...It doesn't do it all the time on my vehicle and temperature is becoming less and less of a contributing factor...

cwmehring said:
...My Ti is soy ding worse by the day...

FordFocursing said:
I'm at 20k miles and have the frictiony noise (aka marbles-in-a-metal-bucket aka ball-bearings) and massive stutter at take off...

jrn146 said:
I have to say that mine is noticeably quieter since it's gotten cold...

Shantheman2012 said:
...My clunk has been noticeably better when it is cold out...

DougC said:
...Mine got worse when it got cold out!...

Dysan911 said:
...I'll wait a couple more weeks and then bring mine in and see what they can do for me.

dyn085 said:
...A couple thousands miles later and both sides were noisy, though the r/h side is definitely worse.

HuskerFocus said:
...I took it in complaining of a noise I thought was coming from the passenger side ... but I got the response "We couldn't hear it..."

I’m sorry for not checking in on this thread sooner, guys. I want to reach out to those with a concern so I can escalate up to your regional customer service managers. If you haven’t already, please send me a PM with your full name, best daytime phone number, approximate mileage, VIN, and dealer name/state.

Cory

jrn146 · Jan 11, 2013

Cory, unless you and Ford have a fix for us please don't waste our time. I'm sure you have pretty much all of our Vin's and contact info. I don't have time to keep going to the dealer so they can keep replacing the same parts that aren't fixing the problem. For the record, when the TSB was done on mine it was done to both sides. It made no difference at all in my car.

Shade-010 · Jan 11, 2013

jrn146 said:
Cory, unless you and Ford have a fix for us please don't waste our time. I'm sure you have pretty much all of our Vin's and contact info. I don't have time to keep going to the dealer so they can keep replacing the same parts that aren't fixing the problem. For the record, when the TSB was done on mine it was done to both sides. It made no difference at all in my car.

+1 this... Still no fix here, then I was told by Ford Corp, since the dealer I took it to, said it was "NORMAL" then they couldn't do anything... WTF??

gostinger · Jan 11, 2013

Smoke and mirrors guys!

Zillon · Jan 11, 2013

jrn146 said:
Cory, unless you and Ford have a fix for us please don't waste our time. I'm sure you have pretty much all of our Vin's and contact info. I don't have time to keep going to the dealer so they can keep replacing the same parts that aren't fixing the problem. For the record, when the TSB was done on mine it was done to both sides. It made no difference at all in my car.

At least some of you have at least gotten parts replaced.

FordService · Jan 11, 2013

jrn146 said:
...I don't have time to keep going to the dealer so they can keep replacing the same parts that aren't fixing the problem...

Shade-010 said:
+1 this... Still no fix here...

jrn146 & Shade-010,

I promise it’s important to me that this is resolved, so don’t hesitate to drop me a line for help.

Cory

jrn146 · Jan 12, 2013

Zillon said:
At least some of you have at least gotten parts replaced.

Believe me, it was only this forum and me basically pleading with the service manager that got them to do the TSB. At that time it seemed to be fixing at lease some cars. When it didn't help the manager said Ford told him he couldn't do anything else unless Ford came up with something.

Strix · Jan 12, 2013

Zillon said:
At least some of you have at least gotten parts replaced.

I did! And they were either defective or installed incorrectly. Maybe both.

Getting them (correctly) replaced a second time proved to be an impossible task for me. One that I eventually gave up. My CSM would just tell me that a Ford dealer first has to diagnose the problem, and the dealer would just say they couldn't duplicate the problem, or that it was normal, or (paradoxically!) both.

I simply could not get her to have the TSB that started my problems done again at another dealership. This is the sort of thing that can happen when your CSM is loyal to 'their' dealership instead of their customers. Again I say that Ford needs to change this.

I have worked in IT support for a very, very long time. I can tell you firsthand that when a tech is assigned to support a particular application or piece of hardware, it changes their outlook. They start seeing users with problems as something to be defended against, instead of people in need of assistance.

Customer service representatives should be _representing customers_ with the goal of delivering service. They shouldn't be defending "their domain" against people with legitimate issues.... but that's what they did to me. I was completely stonewalled from the moment I said "I think your dealership screwed my car up." Little did I know that for the person I was speaking to, it really was 'their' dealership.

Zillon · Jan 12, 2013

I found that the strut bearings and mounts are very sensitive to being installed properly, so I would attribute their premature failure to incorrect installation. A hamfisted tech with an inclination to use the air tools at all costs to save time isn't out of the question.

The torque specs for the fasteners are hyper-critical, otherwise you'll experience the clunking, and even creaking and/or squeaking if everything is torqued past spec.

The ultimate issue here, is finding people who give a rat's ass.

empowah · Jan 12, 2013

jrn146 said:
Cory, unless you and Ford have a fix for us please don't waste our time. I'm sure you have pretty much all of our Vin's and contact info. I don't have time to keep going to the dealer so they can keep replacing the same parts that aren't fixing the problem. For the record, when the TSB was done on mine it was done to both sides. It made no difference at all in my car.

This. There's no point in working with the dealer if Ford themselves do not have a fix. My dealer rode with me in the car and heard the noise -- but there's nothing they can do.

Strix · Jan 12, 2013

empowah said:
This. There's no point in working with the dealer if Ford themselves do not have a fix. My dealer rode with me in the car and heard the noise -- but there's nothing they can do.

Yep. It seems like Ford customer service enjoys wasting your time by having you take you car to a dealership to demonstrate a problem, leave it there for an entire day for service, and then pick it up later to be told both that they couldn't reproduce the problem and that it's normal.

I didn't want to be to work on time anyways. And I can always do tomorrow what I didn't get done today because I had to leave early to pick up my (not fixed) car and have my intelligence insulted.

Strix · Jan 12, 2013

Zillon said:
I found that the strut bearings and mounts are very sensitive to being installed properly, so I would attribute their premature failure to incorrect installation.

Yeah... I'd mention that to dealership staff, but they've never listened to a single thing I've said before. I mentioned repeatedly that I suspected my clutch was contaminated with oil, but it didn't get fixed until I took it in for the third or fourth time, and told them I don't want the car back until it drives like the rental I had been given.

NOTE TO FORD DEALERS: if you are going to tell people that the obvious problems with their car are 'normal', you probably should avoid renting them the same model car. When the rental doesn't have the same problem, it undermines your "it's normal" argument considerably.

The ultimate issue here, is finding people who give a rat's ass.

Aye. That is indeed the issue.

2012 Titanium Front Strut Low Speed Noise (Clunk/Rattle)

jrn146

Shantheman2012

Zillon

DougC

Dysan911

Dysan911

dyn085

HuskerFocus

FordService

jrn146

Shade-010

gostinger

Zillon

FordService

jrn146

Strix

Zillon

empowah

Strix

Strix

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