Took my 05 SuperCrew 4x4 to the dealership for a catalytic converter change out... they then told me that #8 cylinder was showing a misfire. They said the coil was bad and the truck possibly needed a tuneup. I thought "that can't be too bad..." Never would've guess that a tuneup starts at $442 for this thing! Then, to make things even better, ALL 8 SPARK PLUGS BROKE OFF!!!! I told them there was no way in hell I was paying them the labor to extract all 8 so they only charged me for 4. They sold the truck to me with 70K miles, it now has 73K. I thought all new vehicles are rated at 100K before 1st tuneup?! Dealership told me Ford RECOMMENDS 60K on the 3 valve 5.4L's. I told them they shouldn't have sold the truck without doing a tuneup on it first. To make matters worse, they then told me all 4 of my tires have broken belts, that's why my truck looks like a sway back horse at low speeds, going side to side and bouncing up and down. And last night I went to turn my fog lights on...... nothing. Don't know if the tech unplugged a wire and didn't plug it back it. They worked when the truck went in, now they don't. Wow, I was really loving this truck, now it just seems like every other OLD Ford money pit I ever owned. Anyone in the market for this truck? The light wedgewood blue with gray at the bottom, super crew, 5.5' bed with matching LEER cap with brake light, bed liner, 4x4, 5.4, auto, class IV hitch, new tires, FRESH tuneup, 73K miles, very clean. Make me a reasonable offer and this INVESTMENT is yours!! haha

 

sounds like the truck still needs some more basic upkeep, good luck in life, sounds like you're another unhappy person who isn't happy with anything (and you appearantly are not a fan of basic maintainenance)...

 

That is a pittfall of buying a used car. I'd be pissed also if I bought one and only got 3000 mikes on it before having to invest that much more money.

Hopefully the truck is in good shape now. I would hang on to it, because Fords are good trucks.

 

Sounds like you should go to a different dealer. Why did you originally take it in for a cat change out anyway?

 

So you would think the techs working there would be smart enough to plug a wire back in and should know the TSB for removing the spark plugs? I wouldn't fault the truck on this, the dealer yes! Did you happen to flash alot of money to them at one time? Am I not correct to assume they would warranty this thing for at least 12 months, 12k miles after you buy it? Sounds like they handed you the greasey end of the stick.

 

I sympathize with your situation....sounds like the dealer really got into your pants, er, wallet. Since we live in the same state (I think) would you mind giving me the name of the dealer (PM, if you want). Just want to know when to be extra cautious when shopping around. BTW, what was the final bill for this little joy ride they took you on?

 

Sorry, but I'm not buying the line of BS. Did you even drive the truck prior to buying it? If it had broken belts then, why did you buy it? For all 4 tires to have the belts break.....don't think so, unless you've been driving down railroad tracks. All 8 plugs broke in only 73,000 miles....don't think so. But you could have bought a Dodge and tuned it every 30,000 miles at the cost of $200.00 each time.

 

x2. You know that they have these things called test drives, right?

 

This does sound like a good truck with a rather nice paint job too.
Never heard of a Ford dealer breaking all the plugs, let alone making the customer pay for that. Hope you and the dealer can patch things up.
But I beg the question, how else can this group help you?

 

I test drove the truck twice. Didn't flash a bunch of money, but DID pay cash for it. Yes, all 8 plugs broke. They said it was the 1st time it's happened to them, but said that it IS common for a few to break here and there. As for the tires, they rode fine when I test drove the truck... however, I got a call at 7:15 this morning from the tire shop and the manager "wanted to let me know" that ALL 4 TIRES HAD PLUG JOB IN THEM!" He says that possibly attributed to the broken belts. As for basic maintanence, I'm all for it. But how basic is it when they break more than they fix and when you get your truck back stuff that worked before no longer works?! And I'm NOT the type of person who isn't happy with anything. I'm the opposite actually. I'm usually very easily pleased. Just the fact that they sold me this truck and new the apparent issues with it... and didn't bother to fix them prior to sale or even mention them to me... that's what's irritating. I handed them $18,661.54 CASH Jan 10th, and in the past 4 days I've dumped another $1500 in it. The final repair bill from LIBERTY FORD in Maple Heights, Ohio was $851.71, but that's ONLY because I told them I refused to pay for all 8 spark plugs to be removed with their special tool. Also, what I think is pure BS is that if debris gets into your cylinder during spark plug removal/installation and it causes damage to that piston/cylinder, or anything with the valve train, the service manager said that they don't cover that, it's an inherent risk that every customer takes when they "have service performed on these high tech engines"... So, those of you in Ohio who are in need of service, BEWARE, I was TAKEN by this dealership and WILL NOT be returning to them for future service or purchasing. And, finally, the reason I took my truck to have the converter replaced is because I went to pass a semi on a 2 lane and when it kicked down, it hesitated horribly and made a loud popping noise from under the hood and puffed grayish/black smoke from the exhaust. Then the engine light came on. Ran trouble code P-0430: catalyst threshhold below efficiency. They told me the reason my cat went out is because of the misfire that occured on #8 cylinder. They then told me that they didn't have to cover the cat since it was the misfire that took it out... they could charge me the $2000 to replace it. I told them that it never showed that code when I had it checked before and they told me "well, these codes are easy to clear!" I was shocked that they even implied that I might clear codes. Hell, I don't even know how. So, I told them that if they wanted to be that way I would reach in my glove box, grab the title, sign it over to them, and they could give me the money back for it. They then decided to make nice. So, to sum it up... I'm not an a$$hole, I'm happy with MANY things, I DO expect competant and FAIR service at a reasonable price, and I DO NOT enjoy being accused of things. Truck is STILL for sale! May as well give a bump to some tires. I put 265-70/17 Mastercraft Courser AT2's on it and it now rides nicer than any truck I've ever owned. There, told you I could be nice.

 

I don't blame you fro being upset. I really don't understand dealerships that do that to a customer. They could take good care of you and have a customer for life instead of driving you away. They made good money on the sale of the truck and then continued to take advantage of you. Hopefully you will find an honest dealership to work with. I don't buy all 8 plugs breaking. If they did, they have no business doing plug jobs.

 

x2 That dealer was basically just trying to see how much money they could get out of you before you caught on to it. Good thing I go to Valley Ford on Canal and have never gone to Liberty. After hearing all this, I would drive to Mike Bass Ford in Sheffield Village an hour away, where I bought my truck, before I would go to Liberty.

 

well, they showed me 8 broken plugs... whether they were mine or not, I have no idea. I will certainly drive to Mike Bass also, as it's only 30 minutes from me. I'm over in Sandusky. The only reason I took it back to Liberty is because they told me they would give me the best price on service and parts since I bought the truck from them. If they really did break all 8 plugs, I almost feel like I should take my truck to Mike Bass just to have them look it over and make sure nothing is messed up under the hood. Still not sure why the fog lights don't work anymore. Like I said, they worked when the truck went into the shop... now they don't. I called Liberty and they said it was nothing they did. So, right off the bat they're telling me it's purely coincidence. Seems odd that they had to mess with electrical connections under the hood and replaced a dome light, but that the fog light issue has nothing to do with their work. Oh well, I will see what the other dealer has to say. Now I'm just hoping this truck makes it to and from Tennessee this weekend!!

 

They may very well have broken 8 plugs but it means they had no clue what that were doing or knew exactly what they were doing and did it intentionally. We have many members that have successfully changed their own plugs with none breaking. The most I have heard of that I can recall was 4. The dealer I go to does the change on a lot of these trucks and will go several sets before breaking one and it will usually be just one, and no big deal to extract. Be sure and check the fuse on the fog lights. Hopefully the truck will turn out to be a good one after these kinks are straightened out.

 

If the truck makes it to and from Tennessee without any problems, I might just keep it. But if it has any issues during the trip, I'm going to car lot and trading it on something new. I hate buyin new, as the price isn't justifiable, but in this case, I may have to. I'm with you though, hopefully it's done giving me fits of rage for a while. Only other thing in the world that got me this mad was my ex wife.