Register Ford Water Pump Design Issues

[spacetanker]

I've just encountered the dreaded water pump issue and am facing the prospect of potentially needing a new engine. That said, I'm in good company judging from this and other forums, I'd like to encourage those who have encountered this problem to register your issues with the NHTSA and Ford. It is likely nothing will come from this but silence ensures complacency. We all know that water pumps are maintenance items, but Ford managed to turn a repair of a few hundred dollars into something that costs well over a thousand dollars...IF you happen to catch it before it destroys the engine! Thank you for your support!

 

Included in my NHTSA complaint 11098462:

I own a 2011 Ford Edge Limited with a 3.5L, 6 cylinder engine. The vehicle has been faithfully maintained since I purchased it at ~30,000 miles.

 

On 5/25/2018 while driving out-of-state and with approximately 120,000 miles the vehicle began exhibiting symptoms of stalling at stops and while parking; there were no warning lights or indications of trouble. Pulling off the road I inspected the automatic transmission fluid first, since that seemed the most-likely culprit. During this check I overheard a lot of noise as hot coolant was being ejected into the coolant overflow reservoir and it was while the car was parked that the overheat indicator first sounded. After shutting off the engine I noticed water on the pavement under the vehicle.

 

I arranged for the vehicle to be towed to a Ford dealership where it was determined the coolant pump had failed. Though completely without symptoms until the final few minutes, because the pump is driven by the engine's timing chain, enough damage had been done that a significant amount of coolant had entered the engine. The engine would start, but pressures in cylinders 2 and 4 were compromised and unknown other damage had occurred.

 

The Ford service advised that the pump replacement would cost on the order of $2,000 and that life-expectancy for the part was 150,000 miles - two numbers that seem incongruous by themselves for a maintenance item. In addition, the absence of a cooling system warning facilitated driving the vehicle while catastrophic damage was caused to the engine.

 

Not Included in Complaint:

In the days since I have read numerous other complaints from owners of vehicles equipped with this engine who have also suffered a loss due to this inferior design. Ford should be required to make owners aware of this issue, caution them to vigilantly monitor coolant temperature, the level of coolant in the overflow reservoir and the presence of fluid at the weep hole (also very difficult to observe). Ford should also install a sensor on the coolan recovery tank to warn operators of low coolant levels and greatly improve the life expectancy of the water pump, given the complexity and expense involved in maintenance.

 

[TheWizard]

The NHTSA complaints area are for safety related problems not maintenance and/or repair issues. Even with a valid complaint, the NHTSA won't do anything about it unless it's clearly a safety issue such as unintended acceleration, brake failure, fire hazard, etc. An expensive repair complaint won't even move the needle for them. Now if you had said that your engine seized up on the highway causing sudden deceleration that could have led to a rear-end collision or loss of control then they might have considered it. But I haven't heard of that happening with the water pump issue.

 

It doesn't hurt to post complaints there so others can see - just don't expect them to do anything about it.

[akirby]

I agree that Ford should at least be changing the coolant fluid replacement interval to 30K as a preventative measure. Maybe even make it free up to the 60K powertrain warranty limit.

[enigma-2]

I agree that Ford should at least be changing the coolant fluid replacement interval to 30K as a preventative measure.

Once every 5 years? You think it's safe to let it go that long?

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Edited May 30, 2018 by enigma-2

[akirby]

Once every 5 years? You think it's safe to let it go that long?

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How about 30K OR 24 months for the odometer challenged?

[enigma-2]

Snort.