Plastic (cracked) Valve Covers…Really Ford?

[Dice Roll]

Just delivered back. Interesting that it wasn’t a cracked cover. I met the wrench the other day picking up the loaner and stuff I needed. He is well experienced.

 

[Will762]

It's things like this that make me happy that I purchased an extended warranty.

 

[BlakeMAX2019]

The recall vs quietly fixing if they get brought in and the dealer is open to loosing $ on the job thing has been a huge issue in the US Auto business since “dealers” were 3rd party businesses.

Not one “dealer” today wants warranty work. Its a loss of shop revenue over the $850 thermostat swaps, $2000 50,000 mile dealer service package of an oil change and car wash..

The dirtiest business today in the US is the Auto Group business Lithia, Auto Nation etc. They manipulate tech pay for entire regions, they manipulate perception of product availability, they manipulate regional pricing. They manipulate parts costs and shop costs for entire regions.

Any lawyer who grows a big enough pair could have the biggest monopoly lawsuit in American history going after Auto Groups.

Thanks for that perspective! Interesting as I take both our cars to Lithuania dealers, may have to change that now

 

[BlakeMAX2019]

It's things like this that make me happy that I purchased an extended warranty.

The offered us that at time of purchase, I want to say it was $2-3k…should’ve got it!!

 

[BlakeMAX2019]

Good luck, my only real experience with ford customer service lasted for over 9 months and almost resulted in a buyback. Kind of glad it didn't because I probably would have bought a Yukon and would now be faced with an engine recall, although I sometimes wish the phaser issue would escalate to becoming a full blown recall, not just a service bulletin. Folks can't be doing 3-4 phaser replacements over the course of a 150-200k mile lfe.

Good luck, my only real experience with ford customer service lasted for over 9 months and almost resulted in a buyback. Kind of glad it didn't because I probably would have bought a Yukon and would now be faced with an engine recall, although I sometimes wish the phaser issue would escalate to becoming a full blown recall, not just a service bulletin. Folks can't be doing 3-4 phaser replacements over the course of a 150-200k mile lfe.

So after contacting Ford, they ended up paying 50% of the bill which was a little over $2k. So I guess that decent in that the car is out of warranty

 

[BlakeMAX2019]

Keep us posted how your service experience goes.

So Ford ended up paying 50% of the bill, which I thought was decent in that the car is out of warranty

 

[BlakeMAX2019]

The valve covers estimate and a seal estimate was $2,300? That seems like a very high estimate. What was the breakdown of parts and labor?

Being a cynic - I’d bet the valve covers were cracked before the power train warranty expired, and now the dealer can hose you on the repairs.

I wouldn’t doubt they were leaking prior to the warranty ending. I normally inspect the vehicle regularly during the warranty so I can catch this type of thing but I didn’t even think of the valve covers being an issue