Dealers unable to find/fix issue with suspension under warranty

[Michael Banuelos]

My 2018 Expedition MAX has been at the dealer for two months. They were having issues finding and fixing a problem with the suspension. It is currently under extended warranty and apparently they have a Ford engineer involved and it's still not being fixed. Does anybody know how this will wind up going in the long end if they can't fix the issue?

 

[DieselMonk]

My 2018 Expedition MAX has been at the dealer for two months. They were having issues finding and fixing a problem with the suspension. It is currently under extended warranty and apparently they have a Ford engineer involved and it's still not being fixed. Does anybody know how this will wind up going in the long end if they can't fix the issue?

How are we supposed to know and comment on that if you don’t tell us what exactly is wrong with it? It like you tell me to go shopping in Walmart and say nothing on what I am supposed to buy!?

What suspension do you have (CCD or non CCD) and what or what not is it doing that it is a concern? Explain.

 

[Michael Banuelos]

It's a loud clunking sound when the car it put into reverse or drive. My concern is really not the repair itself but what would happen if the repair is not identified and can not be fixed by the dealership under warranty.

 

[Left Coast Geek]

a loud clunk when the stopped car is put in R or D? sounds like the drive shaft. maybe a bad center bushing or something.

 

[DieselMonk]

We still don’t know what kind of suspension it is.

Clunking going from anything to Drive or Reverse I also say driveshaft first, transmission or transmission mounts. We are far from the suspension here from what info you had given.

If you don’t have trust in your dealer, get a second or even a third opinion somewhere else like a good mechanic or different dealer.

 

[Left Coast Geek]

also rear diff mounts could do hard clunks on D to R to D shifting. But as long as this is happening when the vehicle is dead stopped with the brakes locked, its very unlikely to be 'suspension'.

Anyways, assuming that in fact this happens with it stopped and hard on the brakes, then it should be put up on a wheel lift (not a chassis lift), and someone under the car should be able to pin down the source of the clunk while its repeatedly exercised. The bit about 'a ford engineer was involved' sounds like BS to me.

 

[JamaicaJoe]

A lot of Youtubers attach a camera under the car to observe the suspension and driveline under normal road conditions. Putting the truck on a lift has much different geometry than driving on the roadway. You might crawl under with a flashlight and check for play in the driveline components and observe any rubbing of metal against fixed parts like tailpipe etc. The dealer should be able to do this. I had an E350 15 passenger van that dog tracked. It was under warranty. The dealer could not figure it out and sent it to a truck alignment shop who quickly found that the rear axle (solid axle) was misaligned a very tiny amount aft, on one side and by loosening the leaf spring straddle bolts was able to nudge it back so that the tracking was spot on. Longer vehicles are more critical.

 

[Boosted]

Do you ever hear the clunk when you let off the throttle and then reapply the throttle?

 

[Michael Banuelos]

Yes

 

[ChuckNOS]

I have a similar issues with my 2023 LTD Max, non-CDD. Please let
Us Know when you have a solution.

 

[Moeman]

Some of the posters are trying to diagnose it for you, but you're asking how might this go if they can't fix the problem? First, I'd be interested to know if they'd been able to replicate it. If yes, then at least that's a plus as the report will say they confirmed the issue but unable to root cause. I'm assuming this is the case since it's been there two months and Ford corporate is involved. Clunks usually are not that difficult to diagnose, so I'd be surprised if they couldn't eventually find the problem. Regardless, it's possible they will send you home with no action, in which case you keep driving it until it gets worse, or completely fails. Once a car is out of warranty I do my own repairs and sometimes I have to do exactly this - keep driving until it's more obvious what's wrong. I've even had a time or two that the problem just went away! I understand its annoying, but your vehicle is also 7 years old and its pretty normal for a few things to start to go wrong at that point. Unless you're concerned about it being a safety issue, you may just have to deal with it for a while and keep at it with the dealer. Be cognizant of when your warranty expires.

 

[JamaicaJoe]

You might check to see if the spare tire is 1) Fully inflated and 2) The cable jack that draws it up to the chassis is snug. Sometimes best to snug it up and then inflate if the valve is accessible. While you are at it, are the jack and tools properly stowed? Remove any bowling balls and non factory installed, beer bottles before dropping it at the dealer.