Well, the dealership called me back just now. Said their service manager contacted Ford to see about getting this fixed under warrenty and Ford says I do not qualify. I'm told there are a variety of reasons why I may not qualify, such as miles on vehicle, age of vehicle (I am well within the mileage and age for the hybrid warranty), and whether or not I am the original owner. Seriously? Warranties don't transfer? So the dealer gave me an 800 number I can call to try to plead my case (I've already called one of their 800 numbers with no success) so here I go again.

 

Gary - Any additional things you know of that I can try? I've driven Fords for many years (we own two), but after dealing with Ford Motor Company and having gotten nowhere through my local dealership, I am seriously rethinking the make of my next vehicle purchases. And I do not think a Ford hybrid is in my future.

 

Just called the 800 number the dealership said I should call. Took a while talking to them before I realized that they were Ford, but someplace you call if you have an extended warranty (what??) and there was nothing they could do for me. They did look up some things for me to try to help out. Gave them my VIN and they said that I was covered for the battery assembly under the bumper-to-bumper warranty. They were award that I had 70-something thousand miles on the vehicle. They said it made sense that components of the battery assembly should therefore be covered. He asked for the specific part number of what needed replaced and when I gave it to him he said that it brought up a cooling fan kit. He said that generally if it has the word "kit" in the description that it's not covered under the warranty. That makes no sense. If I had a car that still had the engine under warranty and blew a head gasket and Ford needed to order a head gasket replacement "kit" to fix it would that mean that it would not be covered under warranty?? They suggested I step it up a notch and go directly to the service manager at the dealership. I have already done that. The last thing the 800 number guy said to me was Good Luck. Right.

 

Hopefully last posting for a while. I called the Ford Customer Relationship number. As usual, Ford was courteous but persistent telling me that the part (cooling fan) is not covered. Yes, I explained how the battery is covered and the fan is part of the battery, but she stated that she is not a technician and all she can do is tell me it's not covered. I offered to give her the Ford case numbers for two people who had the part replaced under warranty and was told that anybody can write anything on the internet. I explained that's true, but Ford could easily look up the case number that Ford assigned to those two people to see why theirs was covered. Again, she said that she's not a technician and it's up to the dealership to decide if it's covered.

I then called back my local dealership's service manager. He is still not done trying to get this covered. The Seattle office (in an email from them to the service manager) said that the part is not covered but the Seattle person sent an email to a Ford engineer asking him to look into it. So I will wait for now to see what happens.

Of course I will post the results.

 

Hi Scott

The Ford system says for you to agree to a railroad type arbitrator instead of a lawsuit. It doesn't address you going directly to the News Media for a story about false warranty coverages. I've quoted where the Ford Workshop Manual states that if the Fans do not work, replace the HV Battery. This is a no brain situation in writing in the Ford Workshop Manual you can use with the Media. Once Ford sees the impact on Hybrid and EV plug-in battery vehicle sales because of False warranty coverages, it's over for Ford! In addition, this is Federal LAW and State LAW that this coverage be provided. The Battery Fans are part of the Battery sealed assembly according to the Workshop Manuals regarding the HV Battery.

This Forum is used for owners and future owners of Ford Hybrids and EV's. Word spreads fast here thanks to Google. Ford and my Dealer treat me with respect now regarding service, Parts and purchases. I will no longer go to the media regarding someone else warranty claim. You still have that right.

If Ford does not honor your claim of warranty, Greenhybrid.com will spread your words just fine. Keep us informed.

GaryG

 

Ford's final word is that they will not cover the HV battery cooling fan replacement under warranty. I have gone as far with Ford as I possibly can.
This will cost me $941.94.

 

Have you reviewed all the posts in this thread, particularly around post #27? The consensus is that the fans are covered under your hybrid warranty, and Ford is replacing them under the warranty. The key seems to be getting the correct part number, for the battery assembly, not just the fans.

I would suggest printing out this entire thread, reading through it with a highlighter, and marking up the relevant info to see how others succeeded. Anyway, that's my plan if I still have the FEH when a fan fails.

 

Econoline -

Yep, I've read through every post several times just to make sure I didn't miss anything. I've used the information when talking to FMC directly (their 800 numbers). I've pdf'd several parts of the thread and emailed them (and hand delivered) to my dealership's service director (he send them on to FMC in an email), and I gave him the web address to this site. I've offered to give FMC the case numbers of the people who've gotten their fans covered under warranty (they don't care about other people), etc.
One of the problems is that once you are in their system and you contact the next person at FMC as you're trying to get somewhere, they ask for your vehicle's VIN and when they enter that in they see that someone at FMC has already declined the warranty part and they just regurgitate the same old spiel about how you're out of luck. I'm fed up with Ford. Should just sell my Escape and F-250 and buy friggin' Toyotas.

 

Would it do any good to contact one of the dealerships that did honor the warranty and speak to the head of their service department? I realize you are probably limited to a single dealership in your area, but another dealer might have some advice about how to make this work. Or they could say they are no longer replacing the fans under warranty, but at least you would know.

If you get screwed on this, I'm right behind you about dumping the FEH, and back to Subaru for me.

 

Request that in writing from these SOB's. Then show them this before you file a complaint about Ford and your dealer to the BBB. You might want to show them one of Ford's pdf's on the '12 Hybrids. Your year Workshop Manual states to replace the entire HV battery if a fan fails. Ford can't have it both ways, so when **** hits the fan from members like us, lets see how they react. "The following parts are covered during this extended coverage period: high-voltage battery, continuously variable transmission and the DC/DC converter. In addition, the high-voltage battery connector, battery pack fan assembly, thermister probe, hybrid battery pack sensor module (HBPSM), and the battery energy control module (BECM)." Page 10 http://www.ford.com/resources/ford/g...idWarranty.pdf GaryG