My complaint is about my 1998 Ford Explorer and the treatment I have received from Ford. When driving home from work during the first week of March white smoke began to come from under the hood. I didn't really notice it until I arrived at home. Luckily I was only 3 miles away. That night I took it to a local repair shop. Being new to the area, I was unsure about who to take it to. I picked the one nearest to my house. The following day, they told me the timing chain and tensioners had failed causing loose parts to puncture a hole in the side of my valve cover. The oil shooting out of this hole is what was causing the white smoke.
The estimate I received was about $1,500.00.initially I thought this was a bit high so I phoned other places to get some qoutes.in addition to some other local repair shops I called Dale Jarrett Ford in Monroe, NC. All of them told me "there is no way I can beat that price"... including Dale Jarrett Ford. So of course, I told the first place to commence with the repairs.
I picked up my truck on Wed. March 14. On March 15, not even 24 hours later, the engine completely froze while driving on the highway with my wife and 3 year old daughter leaving us stranded. I phoned the repair shop and they had it towed to their shop. The next day, they told me that the "other timing chain" had broken and it would be an additional $1,200 - $1,500.
I finally realized these guys were taking me for a ride so I had it towed to Dale Jarret Ford. After making a few phone calls back home to some friends I found out that there could possibly be a recall, yes, a recall on the timing chain and tensioners. There were also 6 other recalls. Two of them could cause serious injury or even death to vehicle occupants (One was a possible fuel line leakage and the other a faulty hood latch that could cause the hood to pop up while driving) I was only notified about one (A sticky accelorator pedal). I can promise you that if I knew about any of these I would have taken my truck into an authorized dealer immediately.
I can't for the life of me figure out why Dale Jarrett Ford didn't tell me about the bad timing chain and tensioners the first time I called. Now they're saying that since I had it worked on by an un-authorized dealer I can't be covered under the recall and I can't even be reimbursed for the first break down.
Obviously I am still battling with all parties involved, including all of the Ford Motor Co. "Customer Help" lines. If you have a Ford, PLEASE call a dealer, give them your VIN number and find out if there are any recalls to your vehicle. This should probably go for any make and model. I can honestly say that I will never buy another Ford product and I will do my best to deter anyone I know interested in Ford. There are too many companies that actually care about your business.
Joseph Chapman, NC
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