Buddy of mine at work has a 2006 Mercury Mountaineer. It was lease vehicle that is due to be turned in. Turns out that it spun a rod bearing and wrecked the engine (was supposed to be turned in on the 14th). The lease was a 3 year, 15K per year lease. He is at 44k on the miles, and all of the dealerships are saying it is out of warranty. He can't seem to get the name of a Rep to air this with, and the Help Desk at Ford is just saying the warranty is up. Dealer wanted 10K to put a new engine in. He was able to get the deal down to $4100 if he bought a new vehicle from another dealer (charging parts he said). We are in South-East Michigan (Detroit area). Anyone got a good contact at Ford that can help him out?

 

36K is standard warranty so unless he bought an extended warranty he is well over at 44K.

 

read below

 

I recently retired from Ford and was a dealer Rep besides other responsibilities. The lease is for three years with 15,000 miles allowed on the odometer without added mileage charges at time of return. Because the owner bought EXTRA MILES at the time of lease inception. As mentioned above unless he paid for an extended warranty than the engine is his responsibility not the dealer or Ford's. Did he purchase an extended warranty? The vehicles standard warranty is 3 years or 36,000 mile whichever comes first. The 44,000 miles is 8,000 miles over the standard warranty. His only chance would be if he had previous problems with the engine and the dealer was aware of it and attempted repairs. Then only if that condition actually contributed to the engine failure. Such as oil pump problems, radiator hose that failed or came off because of assembly or component defect causing an overheat etc. In other words was there any condition that the vehicle was returned to the dealer for warranty work (during the 36,000 miles) that could have caused a engine problem later on? Was maintainence (oil changes) performed at the dealer? This is an example I use for my kids when they want to get a 3 year lease and why I don't recommend a 3 year as usually you end up being out of warranty before the lease is up. The only chance he has with this is through the dealer or a mediator via the Ford Hotline. But this is a long shot a t best. I live in Macomb county (south east Mich) Send me a PM and I may be able to get you a Rep number. Good luck.

 

I would quietly have a junk yard motor installed and return it.

 

I am shocked, shocked and dismayed, that an engine failure could occur at just 44,000 miles on any modern automobile. I have a '97 w/ the 5.0 engine that has gone over 100,000 miles.

 

I agree. I am sure there is more to the story.

 

You may be shocked but I'm not and I'll explain. Ford engines are some of the absolute best in the business. They are tested to the extreme. However one of the problems with leasing is that there are a lot of people who figure it's not theirs so they run it as inexpensively as possible. I have witnessed failures from engines that ran well over 30,000 miles with the original factory oil and filter in them. They feel just fill the gas tank and run it until it's time to turn it in. Now I'm not suggesting this is the case in this particular situation but it is much nore common than people think. Problem is when there is a problem based on this neglect the leasee usually expects the company and dealer to eat the cost of a new component. When they are denied because of abuse or lack of maintainence then Ford is deemed a junk peddler or unfair company. Part of my job and those I worked with was determining what the root cause of engine failure was. We have many resources to help us make a fair accurate and diagnosis. I used to visit dealerships to help them find abuse as well. Some Mustang owners would rig Nitrous systems using some very ingenious methods so they could remove it and then return to the dealer and get warranty repairs on their damaged engine. We had our ways of detecting it and other performance inhancers. Just keep in mind that Ford does everything they can to satisfy their customers. It is just that some customers get caught with these neglect induced failures and then it is always the company that's at fault. There is always two sides to every story unfortunetly most people never hear the companys side.

 

So.....more often than not.....engine failure is caused by user error?

 

No, this is his fourth lease from Ford. He has documentation for all of the required maintenance at the proper intervals with the Dealer. He is just not getting any cooperation from the Help line to put him in touch with a Rep.....

 

But it is now out of warranty and he agreed to return a working truck at the end of the lease. How is this Ford's problem? Does he have a documented cause for the failure? Has Ford previously worked on the documented engine fault?

 

Stuff happens.

 

Wow Dynotech, Nice. I have not looked at things this way. Problem is, he cant even get a rep to talk to on the phone while he watches the CEO on TV wondering why Ford is asking for a bailout (along with 2 other makers). AND HE IS A REPEAT CUSTOMER. I have never understood the arrogance at dealerships, EVEN KIAs! I dont know whose right and whose wrong, we dont have the full story but damn, these companies are trying to take money from us and wonder why we venture to other makers, maybe just to see how if we're treated any better.

 

I honestly think the best he should hope for is a break on the price. I had a Dodge the engine blew in back about 10 years ago just past the warrentee expiration. They paid about 25 percent of the bill anyway and that was good. Really they dont have to do anything. Thats what extended warentees are for. You buddy took a risk and declined it.

 

biff150 check your mail. Call me and I will try and help your friend.