I have a Ford Escape 2013 (58k) that has transmission problem like jerky and speed bump. I’d like to know how warranty works, that is, if dealer does the repair job, will Ford company reimburse the cost? Is the dealer who sells the car unwilling to do the repair job because Ford company won’t fully reimburse them? The reason I ask this question is that I find the dealer does not like to admit the problem, which either they lack the skill to repair it or unwilling to do it. If that is the case, I am thinking about another dealer. Thanks.
58k and its still under warrantee? Did you buy an extended warrantee? If so, is it a factory backed warrantee or just an insurance policy sold by the dealership. The answer depends n what type of warrantee yo have.
Warranty repairs at a dealer are done at no charge to the customer. Sometimes a deductible applies in which case the customer has to pay that amount to get the warranty repair done. Yes the dealer does not like making repairs under warranty since the amount they are paid is determined by the warranty company and is typically much less than what they would bill you. I have had dealers cry to me about how little they get to make repairs under my warranty claims. I file that under “not my problem”.
You’re correct that the manufacturer pays the dealer for warranty work.
What exactly did the dealer tell you? Do they say your car is behaving normally? Do they say that the problem doesn’t happen when they have the car?
Have you done all required maintenance on the transmission so far?
Trying another dealer is probably the easiest answer, assuming you have another one nearby. Your owner’s manual should have a section on how to contact the manufacturer when you can’t resolve a problem with the dealer, but that can be a time-consuming process.
It is 58k kilometer or 36k miles and so under factory warranty.The 1st time I told the dealer the problem, they said it was normal. After jerky problem got worse, they said I should pedal fully. I said that I can not always drive fast and can not always pedal hard. The car was purchased only 2 months ago. So the dealer must know the problem when they sold it to me.
Ford will honor warranty work on any car at any dealer. You may go to another dealer if it’s practical for you. We get many Albuquerque, Phoenix, Flagtaff, and Farmington vehicles in here and the warranty just breezes right through.
Other than agreeing with others about warranty procedures I might add that you just bought the vehicle 2 months ago.
The possibility exists anyway that the problem may not be a warrantable issue. If it’s due to abuse by the prior owner, contaminated fuel, wrong fluid used in the transmission by some fast lube facility, and so on then warranty will not and should not pay for it.
You also state the dealer must have known about the problem when they sold it to you. The point then becomes did you not notice this problem when you bought it?
If you did not then why do you expect the dealer to have noticed something you did not?
All above is good. If it’s warranty, the should have a shuttle to take you back to your home or workplace after dropping it off, if it’s a one day repair. Otherwise, if you don’t have a spare car, they should give you a loaner vehicle. Ford has been squacking about the loaner cars as of late. If it’s a dealer you purchase from before, it shouldn’t be a problem. Be prepared to get your feathers ruffled, since it was a used vehicle under warranty. Stand your ground
I made a mistake when purchasing the vehicle in that I did not test drive it. I naively believe it should be good because it is relative new (1 year old). I only bought very old vehicles before that. Now I pay the price and get a headache. The dealer gave $2000 discount when selling it to me even if I did not ask that. They said that it was used as courtesy car and there may not be previous owner. So I believe the dealer must have known the problem and be eager to get rid of it.
The good news is that jerky and speed bump problems are getting worse now, which I have been doing nothing wrong in driving and maintaining the car in last 2 months. So the dealer must solve the problem. The worst case scenario is to rebuild the transmission.
The lesson I take from this is that you must fully test drive the car before purchasing it regardless how new the car is. Particularly if dealer’s offer is too good, you must raise more alert.
it sounds like many angry people have driven the car before you bought it. you seem to have taken all the correct lessons from this experience so far.
hopefully the dealer will make this right. good luck…
If the salemans lips are moving, he’s lying. That’s how I go about it buying new cars. I trade with two dealers and I went to the dealership that’s farther away, but better pricing on my last purchase. He had me sign an EasyCare paper. I asked what the heck this is and does it cost. He said it was for theft and free. I was going through the mountain of paperwork that evening and I was charged around $200 for this scam. I left a message on his cell phone on a Sunday demanding my money back, which they did. They lost a customer over $200.
It still could be that the problem is not related to the transmission at all and may be related to an engine performance problem due to a misfiring spark plug, vacuum leak, or any one of a number of other possibilities.
My point about this not being covered by warranty is that if it was due to a vacuum leak for instance that may not be covered if it was caused by someone in the past creating that leak due to a poor service procedure.
Regarding spark plugs as another example; they’re claimed to be good for 100k miles or more but that is not always the case.
You might consider sitting down with the service manager and asking him to pull the OASIS report on the vehicle. That may, or may not, shed some light on the vehicle’s history.
You can also contact customer service through the Ford Motor Company website. They may not provide much info in an email response but could work behind the scenes with the Ford dealer to resolve this problem.
Thanks ok4450. Engine runs very smoothly at idle as well as at constant speed. It is more like a shift problem in transmission because jerky and speed bump happen when speed changes in running (Just my guess). Also I notice that when in hot weather or engine in hot temperature (after longer run), it gets worse and better in cool weather. Any clue on this?
There’s at least 1 TSB issued for transmission shift issues on the 2013 Ford Escape. The number is TSB 13-3-14. Has your dealer performed that TSB?
Quoting @zhang "if dealer does the repair job, will Ford company reimburse the cost?
This sentence implies to me that the Ford dealer may not be the dealer you bought the car from. If it IS a Ford dealer you bought it from, Ford will pay them back. If you bought it from another dealer, and it is still under warranty, then ANY Ford dealer should fix it. The factory warranty is from Ford. An independent used car dealer can not be expected to do the repair for free. He will not be paid by Ford.
So who are you dealing with, Ford, or someone else?
Ford may void the warranty if they can prove the car has been neglected, or perhaps has been “totaled” by an insurance company.
I bought am1991 Ford Aerostar from an independent used car dealer back in 1991. The engine was replaced by the Ford dealer under warranty and I had no problem having the warranty honored.
Thanks for all the replies. Here is the latest.
After I took car to the dealer, they finally admitted the problem, but said the chief mechanic was on vacation until next week and not sure about the problem now. Basically it is transmission problem, not engine’s because there is flash light on if engine has problems like vacuum leak. So I have to schedule again for next week. The nightmare seems just start. Is it a tactic to drag on?
I took ride to dealer in the same car (2013 Escape) that is also jerky and speed bumpy. Does the transmission of Escape have design problem? I am losing confidence and preparing for the worst. If they can not fix the problem, what is my option? Return the car? Exchange a new car?