2012 Ford Fusion - Recall on an auction car

Good morning… My sister has a 2012 Ford Fusion 4 door and it has an Electric steering that has gone out. She is being told by the local dealer that there is a 'recall 'on it. But her title say’s ‘Auction’ and the car is not covered??? Parts $1000 and labor $1-2000. She has tough enough $$ for gas, let alone that amount of money. My question is : Are they correct?as to what that ‘Auction’ represents? Can Ford do that? You can’t drive that car, and she can’t pay to fix. Any help would be very much appreciated. Brother Mike

I guess Auction means the same as Salvage or Rebuilt in the place you are , where ever that is . And if that is correct then Ford has no obligation to repair it.

Try calling independent shops near you and you may get a better price .

Edit : Not positive but it seems that an 'Auction " title is an open title and after sold the buyer needs to apply for a title in their name . Ford will not do any work , warranty or recall , to a vehicle with an open title .

Irrelevant. This is a safety recall, not a warranty issue. The situation is murky, at best. OP, your sister should escalate this up the corporate chain.
https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/what-you-should-know-if-you-own-a-salvage-vehicle/103-422608535

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As NYBo noted, this is a recall issue, not a warranty issue. Warranties have a fixed limit, whereas recalls are… forever.

The joker in the deck, however, is whether the “auction” registration category in the OP’s state is equivalent to a salvage title. If that is the case, then it could be difficult to induce Ford to pay for the needed repairs, but as NYBo also noted, this is a situation where it might be worthwhile to contact Ford at the corporate level.

If “Auction” = “Salvage”, the OP’s state has picked a VERY misleading word. Thousands of cars go to auction all the time, nothing to do with them being considered “salvage”.

Once had a parts car. I don’t remember what it was. I got a notification for a safety recall for rupturing heater cores. I told them not to worry about it because the car was pretty much disassembled and would never see the road. They said that they weren’t going to take the chance. They sent a flatbed picked it up and changed heater core, bring it back. Not long after I scrapped it. Go figure.

Why even respond ? Just put the letter in the recycling bin just like I did with a vehicle that has been totaled out .

I think the OP left out an adjective; Salvage Auction.

If the recall had been performed in the past and it wasn’t necessary to replace the steering gear the vehicle would be eligible for a warranty extension on the steering gear of ten years/150,000 miles.

Salvage vehicles generally are not eligible for any warranty extensions.

"This safety recall involves reprogramming the Power Steering Control Module (PSCM), or replacing
the steering gear only if there is evidence that certain Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) exist or were
previously set, but are no longer present. If the steering gear is not replaced, the owner will be
provided extended coverage of the steering gear under program code 15N01 (See Attachment II
“LABOR ALLOWANCES”). This extended coverage provides for one-time replacement of the
steering gear if certain DTCs are present, for up to 10 years of service or 150,000 miles from the
warranty start date of the vehicle, whichever occurs first. If a vehicle has already exceeded the
mileage limit, this program will last through December 31, 2015 for eligible owners. The extended
coverage is automatically transferred to subsequent owners."

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A vehicle cannot be denied a Recall for a salvage title. The sticky part to me here is a title that says auction on it. I can’t say that I have ever seen that although I am familiar with car auctions and so on.
Does the title actually state “Auction” or was that something she was told after the dealer checked Ford’s OASIS system?

Try contacting corporate Ford although I would not hold my breath while trying to get a straight answer.

Like I said, I don’t know anything about this but the terms “warranty” and “recall” are being thrown around. According to the OP this is a recall not a warranty. It would not expire. The title though may be an issue if they are saying it is “in between” owners and won’t do the work if there is no identified “owner”. I’d bring the title in and try again and then take it up a notch. But in the case of maybe she didn’t register the title, better get that done. BWDIK (but what do I know?)

Because I had the other car that I was putting parts on from the parts car on the road that fell into the recall also.

The manufacture is only required to perform the recall one time, if this recall has been completed in the past the vehicle is not eligible for a free repair.

This recall adds a warranty extension for the steering gear, that expired when the vehicle was declared scrap. Vehicles with branded titles have no warranty.

So lots we don’t know I guess. What the “auction” title really means if it was salvage or not. If the work was done before or not and if the resulting warranty expired or does not apply to a new owner. Still rather than junking the car, it would be worth kicking it up the line.

As a 1st time on click… I was unable to find the spot I put my comment on ! IThe response has been great… I need the community to know 2 things 1) mikage= 141k 2) Title reads ’ rebuilt salvage’ What are the thoughts on . Could I ask you to pass this on? Much appreciated Mike

The salvage title means that Ford no longer has to warranty any recalls and the age and mileage also remove the vehicle from Fords responsibility.

Just another story of why someone should not buy a Salvage vehicle .

My thought is that “rebuilt salvage” is vastly different from “auction”, and as a result I have doubts that Ford will agree to pay for the recall. However, it is still worth pursuing on the corporate level.

There is no warranty on vehicles with branded titles; salvage, rebuilt, flood etc. Recalls still apply.

The link below is to the corporate level, enter the VIN, incomplete recalls that apply to that vehicle will be shown.

https://owner.ford.com/tools/account/maintenance/recalls.html?pagename=Owner%2FPage%2FRecallsPage%3Fgnav

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Probably because they were afraid you’d part it out, sell the defective part, and then someone would get scalded when it ruptured and they’d get sued.

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