I recently bought a beautiful 2012 Expy EL Limited with 110k on. Car is in immaculate condition.
About 4 days after getting it the Air Suspension Warning light came on. I called the dealer and ( cutting out a few bits here and there ) I took it back. They had a look at it for about 2hrs and "reset" the module and told me to "see" if that fixed the issue. On the way back home the warning came on again.
So I took it back ( another 40 miles return ). The Ford Dealer worked on the car for about 4+ hours while I waited. The service guy who checked the car in kept coming to me saying the tech needed another hour, another hour etc. because they were going through everything making sure they had located the issue 100%. They then told me that they believe a "module" was not communicating with the "system" properly and that they would cover the cost to replace. I had already done some searches and tried to educate myself on the components involved, so I asked "so what you telling me is that the compressors are fine, answer: Yes!. The "regulators", air lines, bags, and everything else looks good: Answer: Yes!. He also said that the vehicle is in immaculate condition". I was elated that THIS was the issue and they had diagnosed the problem.
They didn't have the part so took the car home ( another 40 miles return ) but I noticed that now the ass of the car was sitting high up in the air. I kinda "assumed" that it had to do with this "module" and it would resolve once they switched it out.
They got the part and Yesterday I took the vehicle up there ( another 40 miles return ) to have the new module installed. After waiting +/- 2 the service guy said that there was another vehicle in front of mine with a tranny rebuild and they needed to keep the car over night. So...I ubered back home and waited.
Today I called and they said the car would only be ready at 4:30pm. So they effectively had the vehicle for another night+day. I called to confirm that it was ready and the tech told me that they replaced the module but that there was a valve that was not closing and this was causing the ass to stick up high as the compressor was not shutting off. I asked what part they were talking about and they said 5319EA, which is not a "valve" it's the entire compressor unit and the valve is inside. They told me that they have leveled the car out and turned off the air suspension from the computer, and that I could discuss things when I got there and I could "choose" to fix it or not for +/- $1000 as they put a "limit" on what they would cover and they would not cover the compressor.
When I got there the service guy was already gone, and so was the mechanic who worked on the car. So I spoke to the Customer Service guy and also the service manager and explained the issues that had transpired and that I was not too happy about things as it "seems" that all was good with the car until the workshop started to diagnose this issue and to me it seems like they either masked this issue when I bought the car, or it had been mis-diagnosed by the Master Tech with 40yrs of experience, especially since they had invested 4+hours @ $135hr to diagnose the issue.
Since the mechanic was not there the service manager said he would find out what the deal was and contact me on Monday. He said that the mechanic that had worked on the car and diagnosed the car has 40years of experience and is a master tech.
My questions is this: When diagnosing an issue like this for 4+ hours at a Ford dealer, surely one of the 1st things that would get checked by a master tech with 40 years of experience would the compressors ? How feasible is it that a master tech with 40 years of experience would NOT check the compressors for leaks or issues or see, or think about the compressors when troubleshooting ? I'm a pretty good DIY and troubleshooter and I don't see how those components would not be checked as part of a 4+ hour diagnoses. I don't see how this is possible. The ass of the car was up in the air the last time I got it back while waiting for the part, so how could one not see this ? or suspect something like a compressor or "check". The service manager basically said that they could not check the compressors until the module was replaced. Something doesn't sound right.
Any input or guidance by the 100s of years experience in this forum about how a Ford Master Tech with 40years of experience should or would go about diagnosing an issue like this would be most helpful.
"stuff" happens, the car has some miles, so I'm not nieve to the fact that the vehicle will cost me some money to maintain etc.etc, but my gut check says that someone perhaps mis-diagnosed the problem which could be visually seen or the dealer is trying to "mask" the issue which may have existed when I originally bought the vehicle. Something doesn't seem right and I'm hoping someone can comment and give me some input so I can talk intelligently on Monday when the service manager calls me after talking to the Master Tech who worked on the vehicle.
About 4 days after getting it the Air Suspension Warning light came on. I called the dealer and ( cutting out a few bits here and there ) I took it back. They had a look at it for about 2hrs and "reset" the module and told me to "see" if that fixed the issue. On the way back home the warning came on again.
So I took it back ( another 40 miles return ). The Ford Dealer worked on the car for about 4+ hours while I waited. The service guy who checked the car in kept coming to me saying the tech needed another hour, another hour etc. because they were going through everything making sure they had located the issue 100%. They then told me that they believe a "module" was not communicating with the "system" properly and that they would cover the cost to replace. I had already done some searches and tried to educate myself on the components involved, so I asked "so what you telling me is that the compressors are fine, answer: Yes!. The "regulators", air lines, bags, and everything else looks good: Answer: Yes!. He also said that the vehicle is in immaculate condition". I was elated that THIS was the issue and they had diagnosed the problem.
They didn't have the part so took the car home ( another 40 miles return ) but I noticed that now the ass of the car was sitting high up in the air. I kinda "assumed" that it had to do with this "module" and it would resolve once they switched it out.
They got the part and Yesterday I took the vehicle up there ( another 40 miles return ) to have the new module installed. After waiting +/- 2 the service guy said that there was another vehicle in front of mine with a tranny rebuild and they needed to keep the car over night. So...I ubered back home and waited.
Today I called and they said the car would only be ready at 4:30pm. So they effectively had the vehicle for another night+day. I called to confirm that it was ready and the tech told me that they replaced the module but that there was a valve that was not closing and this was causing the ass to stick up high as the compressor was not shutting off. I asked what part they were talking about and they said 5319EA, which is not a "valve" it's the entire compressor unit and the valve is inside. They told me that they have leveled the car out and turned off the air suspension from the computer, and that I could discuss things when I got there and I could "choose" to fix it or not for +/- $1000 as they put a "limit" on what they would cover and they would not cover the compressor.
When I got there the service guy was already gone, and so was the mechanic who worked on the car. So I spoke to the Customer Service guy and also the service manager and explained the issues that had transpired and that I was not too happy about things as it "seems" that all was good with the car until the workshop started to diagnose this issue and to me it seems like they either masked this issue when I bought the car, or it had been mis-diagnosed by the Master Tech with 40yrs of experience, especially since they had invested 4+hours @ $135hr to diagnose the issue.
Since the mechanic was not there the service manager said he would find out what the deal was and contact me on Monday. He said that the mechanic that had worked on the car and diagnosed the car has 40years of experience and is a master tech.
My questions is this: When diagnosing an issue like this for 4+ hours at a Ford dealer, surely one of the 1st things that would get checked by a master tech with 40 years of experience would the compressors ? How feasible is it that a master tech with 40 years of experience would NOT check the compressors for leaks or issues or see, or think about the compressors when troubleshooting ? I'm a pretty good DIY and troubleshooter and I don't see how those components would not be checked as part of a 4+ hour diagnoses. I don't see how this is possible. The ass of the car was up in the air the last time I got it back while waiting for the part, so how could one not see this ? or suspect something like a compressor or "check". The service manager basically said that they could not check the compressors until the module was replaced. Something doesn't sound right.
Any input or guidance by the 100s of years experience in this forum about how a Ford Master Tech with 40years of experience should or would go about diagnosing an issue like this would be most helpful.
"stuff" happens, the car has some miles, so I'm not nieve to the fact that the vehicle will cost me some money to maintain etc.etc, but my gut check says that someone perhaps mis-diagnosed the problem which could be visually seen or the dealer is trying to "mask" the issue which may have existed when I originally bought the vehicle. Something doesn't seem right and I'm hoping someone can comment and give me some input so I can talk intelligently on Monday when the service manager calls me after talking to the Master Tech who worked on the vehicle.
