Non-Ford ESP, 3rd party Vehicle Service Contract coverage

[khammer]

I have a third party vehicle service contract, Non-Ford ESP. The powertrain and turbos are covered plus other additional component groups. The plan covers my vehicle for roughly another 20k miles (130K) which should get me over a year down the road. How likely is the non-ford ESP to cover TSB’s and other customer satisfaction programs like cam phasers or hard/rough transmission shifts?

As the cam phaser RO is not a recall but a customer satisfaction program, I wonder how likely they will be to cover the repair. FORD has claimed the undesirable noise does not affect safety, performance, or emissions. I could see them denying the RO based on FORD's statement if it is just making noise. I have a similar concern for the turbo rattle and hard/rough transmission shifting.

Has anyone had experience with a NON-FORD ESP getting coverage on these issues? It would be nice to have a tune-up on all these items before the end of coverage as I intend to hang on to this vehicle past the term.

 

[SyndicateZ]

I have a third party vehicle service contract, Non-Ford ESP. The powertrain and turbos are covered plus other additional component groups. The plan covers my vehicle for roughly another 20k miles (130K) which should get me over a year down the road. How likely is the non-ford ESP to cover TSB’s and other customer satisfaction programs like cam phasers or hard/rough transmission shifts?

As the cam phaser RO is not a recall but a customer satisfaction program, I wonder how likely they will be to cover the repair. FORD has claimed the undesirable noise does not affect safety, performance, or emissions. I could see them denying the RO based on FORD's statement if it is just making noise. I have a similar concern for the turbo rattle and hard/rough transmission shifting.

Has anyone had experience with a NON-FORD ESP getting coverage on these issues? It would be nice to have a tune-up on all these items before the end of coverage as I intend to hang on to this vehicle past the term.

Regarding the Turbo wastegate rattle: Ford states This is a "Normal" (which is a reason why I will never buy a Ford again) turbo noise and Ford will NOT fix this rattle issue even with Ford ESP.
My turbos rattle like crazy all the time, even when warmed up and normal driving.

Regarding the Cam Phaser rattle at startup: I would be surprised if the 3rd party service contract replaces them ..BUT they just might since they should know if it continues it could lead to more expensive timing/ etc repairs for them to cover down the road..

see this video of possible issues if not corrected now

This is What Happens When You Don’t Fix The Infamous Ford EcoBoost Startup Rattle! #shorts

In this video we show you what happens when you ignore the startup rattle concern on the Ford 2nd Gen 3.5L EcoBoost Engines. #automotive #automotiverepair #f...

youtube.com

 

[Danm355]

I have a third party vehicle service contract, Non-Ford ESP. The powertrain and turbos are covered plus other additional component groups. The plan covers my vehicle for roughly another 20k miles (130K) which should get me over a year down the road. How likely is the non-ford ESP to cover TSB’s and other customer satisfaction programs like cam phasers or hard/rough transmission shifts?

As the cam phaser RO is not a recall but a customer satisfaction program, I wonder how likely they will be to cover the repair. FORD has claimed the undesirable noise does not affect safety, performance, or emissions. I could see them denying the RO based on FORD's statement if it is just making noise. I have a similar concern for the turbo rattle and hard/rough transmission shifting.

Has anyone had experience with a NON-FORD ESP getting coverage on these issues? It would be nice to have a tune-up on all these items before the end of coverage as I intend to hang on to this vehicle past the term.

I bought a third party warranty from Car Shield for my last 2018 Expedition and when I took it in for work I told the dealer I had Car Shield and they said they don't accept that anymore because they had a hard time getting paid.

 

[omandave]

My 3rd party ESP covered and paid for my Transmission replacement when my Transmission Friction F failed (Transmission code) $200 deductible for me and I was back on my way in about a week...

 

[khammer]

Regarding the Turbo wastegate rattle: Ford states This is a "Normal" (which is a reason why I will never buy a Ford again) turbo noise and Ford will NOT fix this rattle issue even with Ford ESP.
My turbos rattle like crazy all the time, even when warmed up and normal driving.

Regarding the Cam Phaser rattle at startup: I would be surprised if the 3rd party service contract replaces them ..BUT they just might since they should know if it continues it could lead to more expensive timing/ etc repairs for them to cover down the road..

see this video of possible issues if not corrected now

This is What Happens When You Don’t Fix The Infamous Ford EcoBoost Startup Rattle! #shorts

In this video we show you what happens when you ignore the startup rattle concern on the Ford 2nd Gen 3.5L EcoBoost Engines. #automotive #automotiverepair #f...

youtube.com

It is funny he posted that video and I saw it not long after I posted here. I had always taken the stance that I was not going to pay out of pocket for this RO. If my engine ever got too bad, I had the service contract to cover the bill, however I am revisiting this as I and approaching the end of the contract in the next year or so.


There are enough of these 2nd GEN EBs out there getting up in mileage, if this is a prevalent issue/concern we should be seeing this show up more and more. Now, I do NOT have the hot idle or hot restart concern yet, but after seeing this video, he is starting to convince me this might not be something to ignore long term. Rather I am thinking about addressing this inside of the ESP if I know they will cover it.

I bought a third party warranty from Car Shield for my last 2018 Expedition and when I took it in for work I told the dealer I had Car Shield and they said they don't accept that anymore because they had a hard time getting paid.

I have had a good experience with mine (aul) so far. I have had a service covered at both a FORD dealership as well as an Independent ASE shop.

 

[bmk1]

I purchased a warranty from Endurance after numerous issues right out the gate of my used 19 with 72k. I’ve only had for a few months and they have already paid to replace my high and low side lines off my AC compressor as well as a recharge etc of the AC.

 

[Mr Big]

Regarding the Turbo wastegate rattle: Ford states This is a "Normal" (which is a reason why I will never buy a Ford again) turbo noise and Ford will NOT fix this rattle issue even with Ford ESP.
My turbos rattle like crazy all the time, even when warmed up and normal driving.

There is a simple fix for the waste gate rattle posted somewhere in the forums.

 

[jar0023]

My dealer used a third party drivetrain warranty to help get me to buy my 18 fx4. Unlimited mileage but works at my dealer only. It’s paid for axle seals at 80k and a second set of cam phasers at 100k.

 

[m3bs]

I purchased a Triton ESP when I bought my 2019. I'll find out what is worth soon, since I put the car in the shop for cam phasers this morning. I missed the cutoff date for the Ford service campaign......

 

[m3bs]

Looks like my Triton policy is going to cover 3/4 of the $4K bill for the cam phasers. Supposedly there was a $200 deductible, but there's evidently a bunch of fine print about labor rates, parts prices, etc. I paid $900 for the policy, so I guess it was worth it.

 

[khammer]

I purchased a Triton ESP when I bought my 2019. I'll find out what is worth soon, since I put the car in the shop for cam phasers this morning. I missed the cutoff date for the Ford service campaign......

I missed the Ford Service program as well as I bought our '18 after it was over anyways. As far as I can tell, the first software update for 21N03 was not performed so the 21B10 would not even apply to my vehicle. At this point I am hoping ford service show my ESP provider that the cam phaser and possible timing chain need replaced.

Did you go to a Ford Dealership Service for the repair? And what was the customer concern/complaint you presented with? Mine has a the start up knock pretty good as well as the wastegate rattle with loud metal clanking for the first part of start up. My plan was to talk with the service advisor next trip in for oil change to see if I can get a feel of best way to approach getting this repair initiated before coverage expires.

 

[m3bs]

I just told my local dealer the cam phasers needed to be replaced due to startup rattle. They worked through the details with the warranty company. My share ended up being about $950 out of the $4000 repair. It took less than 3 days to do the work, plus a week to get it authorized, and another week for them to get paid, so I was without the car for almost three weeks.

 

[LegalBrief]

You have to play the game… not only in how you report the issue, but how the service writer types it in.

Examples:
Cam Phaser… engine knocks excessively at startup cold, sounds like it will blow apart, worse under acceleration

Waste Gate…. Engine doesn’t accelerate in corner, makes huge rattling noise

 

[khammer]

I wanted to share my experience with a recent work order I had authorized on my vehicle. It was a big one—27 hours of labor—for a timing job, cam phasers, leaking head gasket, and turbo replacement. Here's the breakdown of what was covered and what wasn’t.

What They’re Replacing​

The shop is going all-in on this repair, replacing a ton of parts:

• All new timing components, new timing chains, tensioners, and guides
• Cam phasers and VVT solenoids
• Water pump, thermostat, and housing
• All necessary gaskets and seals
• The turbos (which were rattling bad). We threw that in there as a long shot for wastegate but thankfully it was authorized

All in all, parts alone totaled over $4,500.

What Wasn't Covered​

Oddly, the coverage didn’t extend to a few specific items I would have thought were necessary:

• Bolts and fasteners, (such a cheap item, I would rather go back with new then retorque with blue goo)
• Oil return lines for the turbos
• Turbo coolant lines
• water outlet pipes
• Spark plugs

I decided to pay out of pocket for these items to ensure everything is done correctly. It’s not ideal, but I’d rather do it right than cut corners. If I didn’t have coverage, this repair ticket would have been close to $10,000. However, I’m looking at less than $2,000 out of pocket. That includes:

• Taxes
• Deductible
• About $500 in parts that weren’t covered

Final Thoughts​

Overall, I feel like I’m walking away with a decent deal considering the scope of the repair. Sure, it’s frustrating that some smaller items weren’t covered, but the major components and most of the labor are. I was honestly shocked they came back with authorization for all that. I am using a local independent shop that has been great and really advocated for me. I have all my service records and good maintenance to show.

It took less than 2 weeks for them to do diag, write up the claim, and the adjuster to do his inspection. Unfortunately with this week being a short week, they likely won't start until next week. I should have it back in under a month. TBD.