My wife took her 2001 Explorer Sport in for service. The rear window wiperfailed again for the 4th time. Also, there was a noise under the hood thatwas diagnosed as a failing alternator. They decided the belt needed changingtoo as it had 40K on it. Since the extended warrantee coved the repair Ifigured I'd get out the door for my $100 deductible and the cost of thebelt, $35.00. However, the dealer also tacked on an additional $54.00 inlabor for changing the belt. Now maybe I've got it all wrong, but it seemsthat to remove and replace the alternator one has to loosen and detentionthe belt. In installing the alternator one does the opposite. In changingthe belt you do exactly the same thing except the alternator remainsconnected. So, why was I hit with a charge for belt R&R? Shouldn't thathave been taken care of in the alternator R&R? This same dealer also said my5 month old 9 year warrantee battery from Wal-Mart was damaged and would nottake a full charge. He hit my wife up for $83.00 for a new battery and$25.00 for installation. I took the Walmart battery home and hooked it up tomy charger. Two hours later it read fully charged on the charger and testedat 13.4 volts on my volt meter. Sounds to me as if my dealer was padding hisbill. Interestingly, the total came out at $300 and change...exactly thefigure the dealer wanted me to sign off on before he would begin looking atthe service questions. Power Ford, Valencia Calif.

When you R&R the alternator, the book allows for belt removal. They double charged you, and should credit the labor amount back to you.Spdloader

OK, thanks. We have the same truck, but different years. Mine camewith the exploding Firestone Wilderness tires. When they starteddelaminating, I took in the printed-out newsgroup threads on the issueto a dealer here (Earnhardt Ford) and they just laughed it off andsaid "it was only customers talking" and did tires werelater recalled by Ford after enough people died due to the problem(which was especially bad here due to the heat). I replaced thosebefore the recall, with Michelins really excellent tires), but keptthe bad tires around until the recall. Ford reimbursed me.Caveat

Service ripp-off?

Jan 04, 2005 22 Replies

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Caveat 21 years ago

OK, thanks. We have the same truck, but different years. Mine came with the exploding Firestone Wilderness tires. When they started delaminating, I took in the printed-out newsgroup threads on the issue to a dealer here (Earnhardt Ford) and they just laughed it off and said "it was only customers talking" and did nothing.The tires were later recalled by Ford after enough people died due to the problem (which was especially bad here due to the heat). I replaced those before the recall, with Michelins really excellent tires), but kept the bad tires around until the recall. Ford reimbursed me.

Caveat

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Caveat 21 years ago

You are probably correct, but I've never found a trustworthy Ford dealer here in the Phoenix area. My truck came with a binding driveline (a well-known problem with the XLTs, and a TSB existed on it) but I fought various dealers for nearly three years about the problem. Even after acknowledging the TSB, they said replacement wasn't mandatory and that my problem was "normal." Finally, one week before the warranty expired, an out-of-town dealer agreed to install the one-piece aluminum driveshaft. Problem solved, but a longtime Ford customer lost forever. Defects should be fixed immediately.

(This paragraph is apparently intended for the original poster in the thread.)

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NES 21 years ago

I've gone to Earnhardt ONCE. I had a hell of a time getting the keys to my car back. Plus, they'll lock ur ass in with their gate. What the heck is up with that??!!! When we were finally able to drive out, the "guard" at the gate stopped us. I had to tell him to let us the fu** out!!

NES

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