Heartbroken & Disgusted

[Geanelle Griffith Herring]

2010 Ford Edge Limited - 88,000 miles - out of warranty - need to replace water pump & engine.

For starters, I am a LOYAL FORD EDGE CUSTOMER. I bought this car certified pre-owned from the same well respected Ford Dealership where the original owner had purchased it and then traded it in on a new car. Records show it was meticulously maintained by that previous owner and I have done the same.

I am devastated, both emotionally and financially, especially because I love this car so much and it all happened with absolutely no warning. I estimated this car had a life span of at least 10 years-that I would get at least 3 to 5 years out of it....and now my confidence and my budget are shattered.

Headed out from work one evening two weeks ago. A few blocks from home, I saw the temperature heading for the red zone and climbing. I immediately paid attention. Car sounded fine, no sign of trouble, figured I would take it in to dealer the next day....

As soon as I saw the temperature continued to climb, I pulled over, turned if off. The next day called the tow truck to take it to the dealership where I bought it. I understood the danger to the engine if I drove it overheated. Especially since it is summer.

I expected a faulty thermostat or maybe the cooling fan didn't kick in... nothing serious. BUT, I was informed later that day that the vehicle had just experienced catastrophic engine failure due to water pump leaked and contaminated the engine oil with coolant and oh... by the way, it was overheating because of the drop in coolant levels.

The coolant leak is entirely internal - no external visibility of any problem, so normal service checks and even a daily visual check will not find this problem until it is too late, and there is no sensor that will recognize that it is happening until it is too late..

The dealership quoted $2000 to replace water pump only, but told me I really need to replace engine too as bearings may be damaged ... total $8000. Are you kidding me!!!!

We know that the water pump doesn't have the same life span as the engine. Now we have also learned that this system has been engineered with the potential for the engine to be ruined when that water pump fails.

Spoke to Ford Customer Service... they say it is not a design flaw and there is nothing on record about this problem. The dealership also accepts no responsibility because my warranty is also expired. Again, the consumer picks up the tab.

I have found a few reports where the failure occurred while the vehicle was under warranty and a few more after the warranty expired (mostly around 80K to 90K miles). But I expect there will be many more 'out of warranty' very expensive incidents as these vehicles age.

I am reading everywhere that vehicles are more reliable and last longer than ever..... but I don't see it. The way they are designing & building these vehicles so that the cost of even minor repairs like replacing a water pump is up between $2,000 & $3,000 - NOT acceptable. And if it takes the engine out along with it!!!!

Special Note: This Duratec 35 engine/water pump system is on the 2007-2014 Ford Edge, 2007-2010 Lincoln MKX, 2007-2014 Lincoln MKZ, 2008-2014 Ford Taurus, 2008-2009 Ford Taurus X, 2008-2009 Mercury Sable, 2009-2004 Ford Flex, 2012-2012 Ford Fusion Sport, and 2011-2014 Ford Explorer.

You need to search ALL of these forums to locate others with this problem. I finally just searched for 'Duratech 35 problems' and 'Ford Water Pump'.

This legal firm is collecting information to launch a class action suit but that isn't going to help me now.

I love the EDGE... I am heartbroken. That as a working stiff this would happen to me and countless others and FMC will not accept responsibility and assist us!!! This is truly un-American! Because of your design flaw, the consumer has to be taken advantage of in this manner. Shame on you FORD.

Now, I can't get back and forth to my full-time and part-time jobs in order to raise the $8000 to repair my vehicle.

I NEED HELP!!!!!

[IWRBB]

It's out of warranty. You will have to pay to get it fixed. Just accept that and move on.

 

You are correct that it's an internal pump (inside the timing cover), and it can damage the engine if it leaks. This type of packaging of the waterpump is not uncommon nowadays, unfortunately. The upside is the waterpump typically lasts much longer. The downside is your situation. I've not heard of that many leaking, so it's not common. It does happen though, and there are multiple instances just in this forum.

 

 

Here's what you need to do. Find an independent mechanic who is willing to swap a used engine into your Edge. Have him locate an engine for you. You should be able to find one with 20K to 60K miles for less than $2000. Should be about $750 to $1000 to swap it out. You should be able to get it running again for less than $3000 in my opinion.

[akirby]

It does happen but it's certainly not widespread. And when you drive any vehicle without a warranty you have to be prepared to pay for a repair including engine and tranny replacement. It can happen to any vehicle at any time - stuff breaks even if it's engineered properly.

 

I haven't kept up with other failures so I don't know for sure if the engine is toast since you stopped right away when it overheated, but I would certainly get another opinion on that and worst case get a used engine as IWRBB noted above.

 

It always sucks when something fails out of warranty but that's reality. The only way to avoid it is to buy longer warranties or trade for a newer vehicle with a warranty.

[Waldo]

I agree with the above, it sucks but you chose not to pay for an extended warranty so you took on the risk of this kind of problem.

 

And I totally agree that the best action for you would be to have an independent shop replace the engine with a used one. The good news is that since the engine is used on so many products, it should be pretty easy to find a used one. You just need to make sure it is the "iVCT" version and not the newer "TiVCT" version. I see plenty on ebay right now for under $1000.

[enigma-2]

"bearings may be damaged". This happened to my daughter's car (blew a head gasket and coolant leaked into the oil). The oil was a gray color and contained water but we just replaced the head gasket and she drove it for two more years until we sold it.

 

$2000 to replace a water pump, sounds high. Do they have to pull the engine out and tear it completely down to replace?

 

I had a water pump replaced on the wife's Sebring Convertible and it cost little over $600. (And that was at the local Chrysler dealer who's known to scalp labor charges).

 

I believe I would talk with a local mechanic and ask his opinion.

[IWRBB]

$2000 to replace a water pump, sounds high. Do they have to pull the engine out and tear it completely down to replace?

 

 

It's a major process. The engine needs to be supported from the top, then the exhaust y-pipe has to come off, then the front subframe has to come out. Then pull the passenger side wheel and wheel liner. After all that you get to strip the entire front of the engine. Then you take the timing cover off. You can then R&R the water pump. Might as well replace the drive chains and chain tensioners while you are in there too. Then clean up the timing cover/engine block and put everything back together. All that labor plus parts and shop supplies gets to $2000 pretty quick.

 

If it were my car, I'd put the used engine in there, change the coolant, and roll. Drop the whole engine/trans and suspension out on the subframe and swap it outside of the car. So much easier.

Edited July 28, 2016 by IWRBB

[dolphinsc66]

http://repairpal.com/estimator/ford/edge/water-pump-replacement-cost

 

Find a local repair shop. Buy the parts from a reputable online parts business (Rockauto is good) and have the repair shop give you a quote if you buy the parts and bring it in.

[macbwt]

Ditto, Get a used engine that matchs and have trusted independent shop perform the transplant. For peace of mind the water pump does fail and it does sometimes dump the water into the oil since the water pump is sealed into the engine that is where the coolant will flow (directly into the oil pan) 3-4 k for a complete engine replacement would be a better figure for cost maybe less shop around.