Complaint Review: SouthWest Ford

I took my 2008 Ford F350 pickup to SouthWest Ford because I did not have a heater.  The service department asked me to leave my truck in order to repair the water reservoir.  The next day, I paid $716.21I, picked up my truck and drove it home.  Two days later, when I went to drive my pickup, I again did not have a heater.  I returned to SouthWest Ford.  I told the service department representativies that they did not fix my truck.  After looking at my truck they informed me they 'left off a clamp off' and the heater was now repaired.  SouthWest Ford explained there was no charge and I left.

A few days later, I drove out of town on a short trip.  Upon my return, I heard a horrible noise coming from my motor.  I again returned to SouthWest Ford.  A SouthWest Ford tech said it would cost $280 for a diagnostic 'look' and I agreed to pay.  After their review, the service tech told me I needed a brand new motor!  What? I asked to see a service manager.  Mr. Ogle, the service manager told me that the only solution was to install a new motor for approximately $22K.  I explained this did not make sense.  I explained to Mr. Ogle I only had 106K miles on my truck and the motor had been taken care of.  I hadn't had any problems until my heater quite blowing hot air and his service department had been the only people who worked on the pickup and they did admit to leaving a clamp off.  Mr. Ogle said that leaving the clamp off was not related and I had water in the oil and there was nothing else he could do except replace my old motor with a brand new motor.  I  phoned my mechanic friend, Howard.  Howard said he could rebuild the motor for a lower price than buying a new motor.  I towed my pickup to Howard's shop.

After completely removing the motor, Howard took different parts of my motor to a machine shop to rebuild the motor.  The machine shop owner and a couple others all looked at the parts.  They all learned, I did not need a new motor or even the one I had did not need to be rebuild.  There was nothing wrong with my motor!

Now, I am looking at my pickup torn apart and there is no damage to warrant a rebuilt or brand new motor. What was the problem with my motor?  After much reserch on the internet, Howard learned the problem was coming from the 'timing cover'.  At this time, Howard replaced the original timing cover.  After calling SouthWest Ford, I learned replacing a timing cover costs approximately $3,500. (A new motor $22K vs. timing cover $3,500K)  

I visited with Mike Davis, the service manager at McDavid Ford in Fort Worth, Texas, and explained to Mike the entire situation relating to my pickup and SouthWest Ford. Mike agreed that SouthWest Ford should have known the problem with my truck.  I have now learned that Ford Motor Corporation sued International Harvester, for making the 2008 Ford diesel motors and won the lawsuit for their faulty timing covers. Mike explained that ALL these large diesel motors will require replacement of the timing cover once the truck reaches around 150K miles. The 2008 Ford diesel motor was a 'Big Deal' in the automotive world.  SouthWest Ford knew or should have known of the problem!

I went back and visited Mr. Ogle and the General Manager, Chris Banton at SouthWest Ford with all the new learned information.  Neither one of these gentlemen acknowledged they were aware of any issues with the 2008 diesel motors and said they were not at fault.  At Mr. Banton's suggestion, I filed a report with Ford Motor to which I was told, SouthWest Ford did nothing wrong.

At this time. I am still seeking compensation from SouthWest Ford.  I paid SouthWest for for fixing my reservoir and they left off a clamp.  Did this cause water to enter my oil?  No one knows the answer. I paid Howard to tear apart my motor to rebuild upon paying SouthWest Ford for a diagnostic report on my truck. What if I would have paid and replaced the motor for $22K... that would have been a complete waste.