Hi all,

I have Ford's 'Premium Care' extended warranty, and trouble finding my issues covered by it. I am hoping this community can help.

My first issue is that my car has had a squeak out of the rear suspension since day one. It was an annoying squeak that happened when I was in tight turns or getting out of my car. I brought the car in numerous times (all to the same dealership) and they never reproduced it thus never fixed it. Finally, at 60k miles it got bad enough so Ford could not deny it.

The part number for the fix is:
5035 (rear crossmember assembly -- rear suspension)

The dealer tells me that premium care does not cover this.

My next issue is that my AC quit running cold. I brought it in and found the following o-ring broke and let all the freon out:

19B596 o-ring for manifold line coupling self sealing

Again I am told this is not covered despite the fact that my warranty says A/C compressor seals are covered. The tech says it is not technically a seal on the compressor but in my mind if the freon leaked out it is a compressor seal.

How do I go about fighting this? The tech at my dealership is giving me the paper work so I can take it up with ford. Thanks for your help everyone!

Cris

 

When I was shopping for ESP's for my FEH I inquired about the different service levels of the plans. I was told by fordwarrantys.com that PremiumCare is an "exclusionary" plan, meaning that everything was covered unless it was specifically excluded in the policy document. The plan description says: "Ford ESP PremiumCare provides the ultimate coverage. This plan is so complete that we generally only discuss what's not covered!"

So I think you need to refer to your service plan documents for details, but it sounds like the burden would be on the dealer to show you that those items are excluded from coverage.

 

I spoke with Dee at Ford Customer care (1800 392 3673) and got a case number for the issue. She confirmed neither part is covered, but she is escalating the issue. So we shall see.

What blows is the o-ring (AC - repair) that died is the one that goes to the rear of the car to service the hybrid battery. So in short, because I have 'extra AC' components those are not covered (this is not how premium care is worded).

Cris

 

I had the premium care plan which i sold with the hybrid so I don't have the contract in front of me. As I recall, it is all inclusive except for the exclusions. Read your contract exclusions, if it's not excluded, it should be covered.

 

"The tech says it is not technically a seal on the compressor..."

Oh baloney... there's a reason I don't get these kind of coverages. Simply: they get your money and then spend time figuring out how to avoid payment instead of just fixing things.

This is a seal and one face of the seal seats against the compressor's sealing surface. Ya don't have to be a rocket scientist here.

So I keep my money and put it to work for me. That way I have the money on hand when things happen and I control the work.

This is just BS. Ford should be better than this.

 

A A/C compressor seal is made up of two mating pieces of highly polished ceramic surfaces.

 

But does that make it a seal, and covered? I think that is the question.

 

As it happens, I have made my money back on the ones I have purchased. A single failed electronic module for my Wife's Civic was $300 - covered. And so forth. But it is a crap shoot.

 

OK another update...

Andrea from ford customer care called me today to inform me that I am NOT covered. At this point I proceded to read to her from my warranty booklet the phrase "All items are are covered except for those items excluded in the provision titled: What is not covered by this agreement.". She pretty much ignored me and reiterated that I was not covered as they had to go by what the computer said.

At this point I asked her to put herself in my shoes. Did she expect a customer to care about anything other than the terms of the agreement that Ford provided? I read it to her again (Sadly with me shouting over her shout reiterating that I am not covered). Finally, she had me scan my agreement and send it to her.

I scanned the appropriate portions and e-mailed them to her and 30 minutes later she calls me back and states that my o-ring is indeed covered! Also it was the dealer's fault for keying the part number in incorrectly (BS in my mind).

Now my Cross MBR-ASY (part number 5035) is not covered due to exclusion X -- Structural underbody framework, apparently this part is part of the structural underbody framework. Is this true?
The part that was excluded is 80 of my $406 dollar bill so at leat the majority will be covered.

Why do they make it so hard? Why not just honor your commitment? I am thinking against ever buying a Ford again....

 

wptski: true, that is one kind of seal...

But you are ignoring other kinds of seals. An o-ring is a seal, an omega seal is a kind of stainless steel seal, a quad ring is a seal...

Shall I go on?