Recall on rear axle shaft bolt kit? DENIED!!!!!

[gmazzcular]

:confusedHello, I had my car in at a local ford dealer here in PA. for some warranty work- I proceeded to give the service writer my letter to have the rear shaft bolts replaced with the new kit. The service writer told me that the letter for that repair had expired and that I would have to pay $515.00 for that work to be performed. My warranty on my car does not expire until 6-14-09, does this statement from the service writer sound correct? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Ps > I am also looking to purchase the gt saver vent for the transmisson - could anyone direct me where and who I could purchase this from!! Thanks Again!! George

 

[nota4re]

Hi George,

It sucks that they are not covering. The price they quoted for the repair, however is in the right ballpark. Expect about 2 hours of labor (1 hr per side) at around $100/hr. The Accufab kit is $199 and is as good as the Ford kit. I suspect retail on the Ford kit is similar... so the quote is reasonable - but they're not doing you any favors. If you had any inclination to do the repair yourself, there's several of us that could walk you through the process.

 

[Fubar]

Wow... that sucks. I prefer the accufab bolt kit away. The accufab kits are reusable, where the Ford bolts are a torque to fit item... meaning they can only be used once. As nota4re said, with a moderate amount of confidence in the shop the task can be performed with little to no risk of damage or error. The bolts are easy to get to. Plus I would be reluctant to use the dealership that snubbed you on such a simple warranty item.

 

[S592R]

there is a thread here somewhere outlining the steps to do it ala Shadowman. Its not a hard job if you like to twist a wrench occasionally. .. have done it myself on a couple of cars. Its a nice afternoon relax in the garage type of project. Accufab kit.

 

[soroush]

agreed 200 in parts, and a few hours in the garage.

 

[AtomicGT]

I believe I have an extra set of FoMoCo replacement bolts. I used my dealer, whom I have complete confidence in, and my FGT is running perfectly, also if you have your Ford Dealer do it, with a FGT certified tech, its their problem if it doesn't work.

 

[ChipBeck]

Service bulletin expiration.

Plus I would be reluctant to use the dealership that snubbed you on such a simple warranty item.

Gentlemen,

Let me point out here that the dealership didn't snub anybody nor does a Ford Dealership have any control whatsoever over this issue. Automobile dealerships for all manufacturers are paid full retail for both parts and labor when they perform warranty work. No dealership is going to snub a customer over warranty/service bulletin/recall work that it would be possible to cover. Performing warranty work is one of the primary ways they make a living. Most service bulletins and recalls are not open ended and permanent. The Ford Motor Company sent out a letter to all owners of record detailing what they would do and the period of time during which repairs would be covered at no charge. This is not a warranty repair, it is a preemptive service bulletin.

Now, one might argue that Ford should give owners 10 years or more to decide whether or not they want to have this free service performed, but no one can argue that the time period during which this work would be covered was not spelled out in explicit detail in that service bulletin that was sent to all owners of record. The Ford Motor Company spent a lot of time and money determining what the problem was and developing a fix. Owners were given a full year to bring their cars in and get this work performed. This is standard industry practice for all automobile manufacturers.

Once a service bulletin's time period has ended, there is nothing a dealership can do to collect from his manufacturer if he performs this repair. The dealership would have to pay for the parts and labor himself.

For this reason I feel that condemning the dealership is unwarranted in this circumstance.

Chip

 

[TEXAS GT]

Chip, AKA "The Voice of Reason", does it again.

Very well put.

 

[Fubar]

I guess you could just brake it. Then it would be covered by the warranty, not the recall.

I am sorry for making the dealership seem to be the faulty party here. It seems that it was Ford Motor Company that snubbed you.

 

[AtomicGT]

Echo, Chip, right on.

 

[06fordgt]

Same applied up here in Canada. The bulletin expired Dec of 2008 regardless of warranty expiry. Fortunatelu my dealer called me and let me know.
As an aside please check your steering wheel center caps. As has been posted here before, some are starting to show spots. Look likes white water stains. They Do Not come out. This requires replacemnet of the cap which Includes the Air Bag. Get this done before warranty expires. Mine statred to show this and will be replaced under warranty, warranty expires Nov 09. Talked to a fellow yesterday that had it replaced twice.

 

[ViperJoe]

I am also looking to purchase the gt saver vent for the transmisson - could anyone direct me where and who I could purchase this from!

GT Saver possibly throught Shadowman.

 

[Nardo GT]

I guess you could just brake it. Then it would be covered by the warranty, not the recall.



If it was "broken" ...............an hour each side.....hacksaw.......spray bottle of tranny fluid

 

[RALPHIE]

:...I am also looking to purchase the gt saver vent for the transmisson - could anyone direct me where and who I could purchase this from!! Thanks Again!! George

I would recommend the transaxle vent from T&A Shocks - I think you would be much happier with it.

 

[67dave]

This topic is quite timely as I am looking at pruchasing a low mileage GT and from reading vaious threads knew one question to ask was whether or not the transaxle output shaft bolts had been replaced. The owner did not think so, so I asked the local Ford dealer to run an OASIS report and it showed the bolts had not been replaced. The dealer also gave me a copy of the letter that was sent to the owners about the problem. The name of the program noted in the letter was Customer Satisfaction Program 07B49 however the letter noted the program would expire on 12/31/08. So I called a number he gave me for Ford customer assistance. I explained the situation and stated since it is a safety issue if Ford would still cover the bolt issue even though the propergram had expired and she said no. However, she stated if the vehicle was still under warranty Ford would cover the repair. Luckly the car was still under warranty so I told the owner and he had it repaired and Ford covered the repair. Now if I only end up with the car.

In conclusion, I would call Ford customer assistance 866-742-3673.