2006 expedition A/C problems and dealership runaround

[exodus125]

First post here!

I have a 2006 ford expedition XLT.

Ever since we got it, we have had AC related problems. With only a few thousand miles, water would leak from the passengers side, somewhere in the bottom and your legs would get all wet if you were sitting on that side. Took it once to th dealership and they couldn't find a problem. The next time it happened they said something about it having a clogged hose or something and they replaced something and the water dripping stopped.

Around the same time, my wife first noticed the ac would not cool as good as it once did. We also noticed the car would make a weird nose every time you started it, like when you turn the ignition in a car and didn't release it and the starter makes a rasping noise. After a while I finally had to admit, the ac did not cool as well as it did before. We also noticed a hissing noise like the compressor kicking on an off every few seconds.

When we took it to the dealership, they could not find any problems. We had to take it to the dealership about 6 different times because they said they couldn't reproduce the noise. Finally they heard the noise, but said it was normal and thats the noise the compressor makes. Also, about the hissing on off compressor,t hey said it was normal too.

This was about 6 or 7k miles before the warranty expired on the car.

Now we are out of warranty, and guess whats not working? Thats right, the AC. We turned it on one day and it just did not blow any cold air. We took it to our mechanic who filled it with a dye and the compressor is leaking. He also informed us that that hissing on/ off sound was the compressor kicking on an off and they do that when they are running low on freon, and if they are running low on freon its because its got a leak.

So what I am thinking, is that the dealership knew there was a problem, a costly problem, and decided to wait it out to see if the car held up until the warranty expired.

I love to buy American cars and support America, but seriously, a 2006 car with 50k miles with a broken AC? I have a 96 Corolla that the only thing I have ever had to replace is the battery. The runaround we get from the dealership every time we take it in is incredible. Last ford I will ever buy.

Sorry for my venting, but I'm upset.

Just wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions or tips on this problem.

How have you guys been treated at the dealership with warranty related issues?

EDIT: oh, and dont get me started about the paint flaking off the trim after just 1 year. Thats FORD quality.

 

[Paul S]

I suggest you get hold of a Service Manager and explain everything you have done. He should make it all good for you. They should have all of the paperwork.

Failing this, start sending nasty letters to Dearborn. Don't try to push this load uphill, start at the top and let the load of @#$% come down hill.

You will have to fight all the way, Ford will deny any problem, but be nice and be persistant.

You did what you were supposed to do, if the dealer cheated you let Ford know, at every level. Don't give in until you get what you want or what you think is fair.

 

[tonydiv]

The only flaw in that theory is thinking that the dealer didn't want to do the work. In truth, dealers don't mind warranty work at all, especially when things are slow. It's easy money that comes straight from Ford.
It sometimes isn't easy for the service dept to get approval from Ford to do the repair under warranty though, especially if they can't 100% prove that a certain part is defective. Your compressor may have been passable (even just barely) and Ford wouldn't have covered it.

Another loophole with getting things covered is that you must make a very specific complaint. This is where it pays to read the TSBs before you see the dealer.

 

[Stoned06]

The only flaw in that theory is thinking that the dealer didn't want to do the work. In truth, dealers don't mind warranty work at all, especially when things are slow. It's easy money that comes straight from Ford.
It sometimes isn't easy for the service dept to get approval from Ford to do the repair under warranty though, especially if they can't 100% prove that a certain part is defective. Your compressor may have been passable (even just barely) and Ford wouldn't have covered it.

Another loophole with getting things covered is that you must make a very specific complaint. This is where it pays to read the TSBs before you see the dealer.

Couldn't agree more.

 

[Paul S]

Down here in South Florida the dealers will not even speak to you about the problem. They want to get the commisions from selling oil changes, alignments and routine services.

If you have a specific problem it has to go to the "self Diagnostic" stage before anything is done. A typical scenario will be that you have taken it in and explained the problem numerous times, but the dealer can't find anything wrong. The "self diagnostic" stage is when the questioned parts fail completely and you can say "here is the problem."

With most independent shops you have little to no recourse. With the dealer you can show you have tried to have the problem fixed but to no avail. Now that the part is broken you should have little problem getting the malady repaired.

The customer in the aforemention A/C problem has done this. Ford didn't help then. Ford will help if the customer is persistant. You will no doubt have to pay the amount and then you have to fight to get a refund.

This is what we did when Ford denied the seal were bad on an F-150 Transmission. When it finallly went all the way bad and we had it towed in
The charge was $1600.00, we were 1500 miles out of warrenty. WE got hold of everyone and no one budged. Wrote the letters to Ford HQ, now we had people calling. They refunded 1/2 of the charge. We could have gotten more but I was tired of fighting with the woman on the phone.

 

[mtondreo]

sucks to hear about your ac. That raspy sound is one that I had also when I bought it and they gave me this special service number and said it was common. I have not had the leaking problem but I will post the service thing here and maybe you will be able to use it as ammunition (i put it on another forum to get some answers a while ago). Hope it helps some, Mike.


"mine is an 06 and the dealer actually printed out the TSB for it (will try and find the work order) - short answer is that it is normal. It goes into an explanation of it also, but can't remember what it was. Mine almost sounds like a grind or something engaging - kind of like enagaging a PTO. I have started shutting the ac off when I first start it just because I do not like the sound, it seems to keep it from happening. Thanks, Mike"


Found it - not a TSB. It is a OASIS SPECIAL SERVICE NUMBER 19311

"

19311 2003-2006 EXPEDITION/NAVIGATOR - MINIMIZE GRUNT/POP NOISE BY TURNING A/C TO VENT BEFORE EXITING THE VEHICLE - DO NOT
REPLACE COMPONENTS
SOME VEHICLES WITH AIR CONDITIONING UTILIZING R-134A MAY EXHIBIT A MOMENTARY GRUNT/POP AFTER BEING PARKED FOR SOME TIME &
THE COMPRESSOR IS ENGAGED BEFORE THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT HAS WARMED UP. THIS IS DUE TO LIQUID R134A BEING PUMPED OUT
OF THE COMPRESSOR. R134A WILL TRAVEL TO THE COOLEST POINT (THE COMPRESSOR) ONCE THE ENGINE HAS COOLED, DUE TO THE
DIFFERENCE IN TEMP BETWEEN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT & THE VEHICLE INTERIOR. WHILE MANY VEHICLES HAVE PCM STRATEGIES THAT
ADDRESS THIS BY REPEATEDLY CYCLING THE COMPRESSOR ON START- UP, THIS MAY NOT TOTALLY ELIMINATE IT. REPLACING A/C
COMPONENTS WILL NOT ELIMINATE THIS. COMPONENT DURABILITY IS NOT AFFECTED. MINIMIZE THE NOISE BY TURNING THE A/C SYSTEM TO
VENT BEFORE EXITING, & IN MILD AMBIENT TEMPS (APPROX. 50-75F) WAITING A FEW MINUTES BEFORE TURNING ON THE A/C OR DEFROST."

from http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/bo...expedition.pdf

Hope this is allowed because I sited the source - my actual source was in print though.

Thanks, Mike

 

[exodus125]

update:

dealership will not do SQUAT. I called Ford customer service and they too said nothing can be done. Last ford I will ever buy.

 

[Condog09]

First post here!

I have a 2006 ford expedition XLT.

Ever since we got it, we have had AC related problems. With only a few thousand miles, water would leak from the passengers side, somewhere in the bottom and your legs would get all wet if you were sitting on that side. Took it once to th dealership and they couldn't find a problem. The next time it happened they said something about it having a clogged hose or something and they replaced something and the water dripping stopped.

Around the same time, my wife first noticed the ac would not cool as good as it once did. We also noticed the car would make a weird nose every time you started it, like when you turn the ignition in a car and didn't release it and the starter makes a rasping noise. After a while I finally had to admit, the ac did not cool as well as it did before. We also noticed a hissing noise like the compressor kicking on an off every few seconds.

When we took it to the dealership, they could not find any problems. We had to take it to the dealership about 6 different times because they said they couldn't reproduce the noise. Finally they heard the noise, but said it was normal and thats the noise the compressor makes. Also, about the hissing on off compressor,t hey said it was normal too.

This was about 6 or 7k miles before the warranty expired on the car.

Now we are out of warranty, and guess whats not working? Thats right, the AC. We turned it on one day and it just did not blow any cold air. We took it to our mechanic who filled it with a dye and the compressor is leaking. He also informed us that that hissing on/ off sound was the compressor kicking on an off and they do that when they are running low on freon, and if they are running low on freon its because its got a leak.

So what I am thinking, is that the dealership knew there was a problem, a costly problem, and decided to wait it out to see if the car held up until the warranty expired.

I love to buy American cars and support America, but seriously, a 2006 car with 50k miles with a broken AC? I have a 96 Corolla that the only thing I have ever had to replace is the battery. The runaround we get from the dealership every time we take it in is incredible. Last ford I will ever buy.

Sorry for my venting, but I'm upset.

Just wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions or tips on this problem.

How have you guys been treated at the dealership with warranty related issues?

EDIT: oh, and dont get me started about the paint flaking off the trim after just 1 year. Thats FORD quality.

I am not 100% sure what type of system fords have but if it is an F.O.T. type system (Fixed Orficice Tube) when your compressor cycles on and off rapidly it could be caused by a clogged FOT. Also if the compressor cycles on and off with the off time being a couple more seconds then the on time, this will indicate that the system is undercharged which is cause by low refrigerant, oh and btw freon is not what is in your system, freon is a brand name, it is refridgerant that is in the system FYI. Also another issue you could be having is if your compressor is constantly running, it is an internal leak at the compressor or the orfice tube is MISSING! But double check your system and hope this information helps you. Let me know what you find out. Thanks!

 

[KWT2000]

my .02

update:

dealership will not do SQUAT. I called Ford customer service and they too said nothing can be done. Last ford I will ever buy.

the sad thing is a/c repair under warranty is the hardest and most frustrating system to get approval on from any manufactuer. gm. toyota. kenworth. volvo i all have experiance with and there no different. so dont judge ford on this when more than likly the dealer is trying to cover a mistake they did or a bad system components

 

[KWT2000]

I am not 100% sure what type of system fords have but if it is an F.O.T. type system (Fixed Orficice Tube) when your compressor cycles on and off rapidly it could be caused by a clogged FOT. Also if the compressor cycles on and off with the off time being a couple more seconds then the on time, this will indicate that the system is undercharged which is cause by low refrigerant, oh and btw freon is not what is in your system, freon is a brand name, it is refridgerant that is in the system FYI. Also another issue you could be having is if your compressor is constantly running, it is an internal leak at the compressor or the orfice tube is MISSING! But double check your system and hope this information helps you. Let me know what you find out. Thanks!

i agree with alot of your post except if the compressor is running constantly with low cooling it is more likly a system over charge. R134A is not as nearly forgiving as R12 when it comes to system contamination and over charging... ford does use a fixed orifice tube

 

[Spoon-Man]

Had the same thing happen to me. When I bought my 98 Expy I had starter probulms, the dealer ship where I got it from could never figure it outso I took it to a different dealer and it was fixed in about an hour. sometimes some dealers are just bad dealers. you should have taken it to a bigger dealership.

 

[exodus125]

I took the advice of some of you and took it to another dealer, It ended up being a leak in the manifold hose. They replaced the hose and charged me only half of waht they normally charge. I paid $200 for the fix. Thanks for all the help. Now I need to get a pplastic gear to fix the broken gear in the rear ac blend valve motor.

P.S. turns out the other mechanic I was going to was full of BS. I almost got him to "replace" the compressor, when it was just a leaking hose. I guess its true, A good (honest) mechanic is hard to find.

 

[ghwlynn]

more 06 Expedition A/C problems

I already had the rear a/c problems fixed, luckily, while it was still under warranty. Now that it has 56,000 miles, the a/c stopped blowing cold. Took it in to one repair facility who said that the compressor was leaking and needed to be replaced. Then took it to the Ford dealer hoping the last was just trying to screw me out of money and the fix would be no big deal. Wrong! The second dealer says the same thing and in addition, all the problems I already had fixed with the rear a/c, need to be fixed again. I live in the Phoenix area and the temps are quickly approaching 100 degrees. Since this is the "family vehicle" I have no choice but to pay the money to get cold air. Don't think I'm not pissed off about it though. My husband was a mechanic 11 years ago but hasn't kept up his certifications since entering another line of work. He admits cars have become different monsters since he was a practicing mechanic, but says compressors are pretty basic. He called our service advisor to tell him he wants our old compressor. The advisor said it would cost us $150 to keep it because of the core charge. I have never had to replace a compressor on any of my vehicles......and there have been some real beaters. To have such an expensive repair on a car that is barely 5 years old is just ridiculous. I fought it out with Ford Customer Service for almost a year before actually getting the fix and they could care less. As far as all of the rear a/c problems, these are obviously lemon parts in a lemon system and there is nothing Ford will do about it. This is my 4th Ford vehicle and my last. You are lucky you found someone honest! Wish that was how my story ended!

 

[my5sonburns]

I found this site doing a google search for 2006 Expedition a/c issues leaking

Just wanted to post that I have the EXACT same issue with my 2006 XLT. A/C began going bad at 48,000 miles. Had the manifold line and the compressor replaced. Manifold supposedly leaking and Compressor Clutch seal was bad...Total cost in July of 2010 was $1600. In July of 2011, truck stopped cooling, and I took it back to the same dealer and I was 2800 miles over the 12 month/12k mile warranty. They wouldn't cover the parts or repair. Guess what the problem is again? Compressor clutch seal and the Manifold line. Service writer actually said "You could have gotten bad parts". "We just did another 2006 Expedition that was under warranty and has been in here 3 times". These guys aren't very smart. Why would they tell me that and then not budge on price? I went directly to the dealership Service Manager and they wouldn't budge on anything I said. I offered to pay for labor. He said Ford warranty ran out and they couldn't do anything about it. They offered to cut 5% off the parts. I purchased a compressor from Advance Auto Parts for $218 with a 2 year warranty and new o-ring seals from rockauto for $12 for the manifold line. Looks like a pain in the A__ to install, so I'm going to find someone to get it installed with new receiver/dryer and see how it goes. At least it's a 2 year warranty compressor!

PS, my brother has a 2006 Expedition Eddie Bauer. His is not cooling the way it was. I told him to trade it in now!

 

[my5sonburns]

By the way, this topic has over 2500 views. I'll bet lots of people see this post in google, but don't post. Must be searched quite a bit!

 

[65 Cobra]

I had an '07 Limited and loved it but in 66,000 miles, the dealer put on 2 compressors. I say they've got ****** vendor for compressors.

 

[Big Red]

I just went thru this run around with my ford dealer...I escalated it as high up the ladder I could. My dealer is part of that huge AutoNation network and hell I even had corporate office on the line fussing about my problem...Finally they covered it all and replaced my rear diff on my 2003. Took 2 and 1/2 weeks in the shop but I am on my way in about an hr now to pick it up. IT BETTER be right!

 

[wnpl405]

First post here!

I have a 2006 ford expedition XLT.

Ever since we got it, we have had AC related problems. With only a few thousand miles, water would leak from the passengers side, somewhere in the bottom and your legs would get all wet if you were sitting on that side. Took it once to th dealership and they couldn't find a problem. The next time it happened they said something about it having a clogged hose or something and they replaced something and the water dripping stopped.

Around the same time, my wife first noticed the ac would not cool as good as it once did. We also noticed the car would make a weird nose every time you started it, like when you turn the ignition in a car and didn't release it and the starter makes a rasping noise. After a while I finally had to admit, the ac did not cool as well as it did before. We also noticed a hissing noise like the compressor kicking on an off every few seconds.

When we took it to the dealership, they could not find any problems. We had to take it to the dealership about 6 different times because they said they couldn't reproduce the noise. Finally they heard the noise, but said it was normal and thats the noise the compressor makes. Also, about the hissing on off compressor,t hey said it was normal too.

This was about 6 or 7k miles before the warranty expired on the car.

Now we are out of warranty, and guess whats not working? Thats right, the AC. We turned it on one day and it just did not blow any cold air. We took it to our mechanic who filled it with a dye and the compressor is leaking. He also informed us that that hissing on/ off sound was the compressor kicking on an off and they do that when they are running low on freon, and if they are running low on freon its because its got a leak.

So what I am thinking, is that the dealership knew there was a problem, a costly problem, and decided to wait it out to see if the car held up until the warranty expired.

I love to buy American cars and support America, but seriously, a 2006 car with 50k miles with a broken AC? I have a 96 Corolla that the only thing I have ever had to replace is the battery. The runaround we get from the dealership every time we take it in is incredible. Last ford I will ever buy.

Sorry for my venting, but I'm upset.

Just wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions or tips on this problem.

How have you guys been treated at the dealership with warranty related issues?

EDIT: oh, and dont get me started about the paint flaking off the trim after just 1 year. Thats FORD quality.

In few vehicles the AC drain clogs which results in water leakage. Usually the condenser collects the water out, so it must be a condenser malfunctioning.