I recently took my 2001 Ford F-150 into the Butterfield Ford Dealership to have work done to repair a cold idle problem. I clearly explained that once the vehicle warmed up, it ran smoothly. However, at cold temperatures, the idle was rough and sometimes the motor died when stopped at an intersection.
The first effort they made was a standard tune up recommending everything from a fuel pump, to new filters and fluid changes.
When it was returned to me, I paid about $350 and drove the warmed up truck home.
The next morning, the truck idled rough and stopped at the first red light. I immediately dropped the truck back at the service center and reported that the performance had not changed at all.
They took it for another WEEK — without so much as a call to let me know if any work had been done. After that time, I was told that the problem was in the insulation around the spark plugs. With the replacement of those parts, and another $400 charge, I drove the warmed-up truck back home.
The next morning, the truck died at the exact same stop light as before. Needless to say, I drove it back after I was able to restart it. Being into repairs for $750 bucks and no improvement whatsoever, I was a little "upset."
Time passed with the only communications initiated by me. When the call did come from Dealer Service Department, I was told that the central computer system needed to be replaced ($350 for parts, $300 for labor). Requesting the Service Manager and relating the above story back to him, he told me that he would knock off the labor, but the part had to be replaced.
When I was called to pick the truck up, the service rep also told me that my case was a real doozy and that engineers in Detroit were called to assist in figuring out what was wrong. He went on to tell me that not much changed with the replacement of the central computer. However, a mechanic discovered that a leak was found in gaskets, which were replaced. The rep gleefully reported that when the gaskets were replaced, the problem disappeared.
When I arrived, I was told that the bill was for $950. It included the PCM, the labor, the gaskets (about $25) and the labor for those. I told the service rep about the agreement that I had made with the Service Manager, so that line was dropped.
Overall, I figured that I paid approximately $1,000 over 6 weeks for a $250 job. Rather disappointing for a Ford Dealership working on a Ford F-150
0 comments