The car from hell - wobble and drifting ?

[Zamboni]

Hey guys.

Long story, sit down.

          If hell will freeze over, my car will be the Zamboni resurfacing its ice.

 

First - on phone, excuse any mistype.

     Second, I am not a car person so any technical mistake is mine.

 

so: Ford Edge 2019, still (thank God) under factory warranty ‘till May ‘22.

bought 3 months ago at 27K miles from a Ford dealer close to home, where it was basically a show room car.
Worked well 1 month then started some thumping crunchy noises in the back when turning right on a cold engine.
No worries, went into a dealership for regular oil change and asked them to have a look. Ford dealership, other than the one bought from, closer to home.

Dealership advises bad rear differential, gotta replace.

Spare parts are rarer than 2$ bills, but they locate, order and eventually replace the rear diff. No biggie (warranty fully covered) - paid zero but now have a car that replaced diff at 30k. Not a good selling point in the eventual future.

 

2 weeks and pass. No problem.

So, why not drive my new (to me) Edge all the way to Florida for vacation (from WI/IL border).?

I have a 3day weekend for driving and I can work remote from there for a bit while escaping the snowless IL winter.

I pack the family (minus cat) and hit the road. 90 mins in the car does its best to pretend it is a Zamboni ice machine. Direction is approximate, steering as precise as as threading a cooked spaghetti through a needle hoop. I get worried but soldier on. This is a Ford, the average pinnacle of American automotive.

Then it starts.

The wobble. The car does a sort of back-front/ left-right wobble that I only felt once before on a boat on bumpy seas in Mexico. However in my car, diner and a show are not included. 
the #wobble starts as soon as I go over 53MPH or as soon as I turn right. I am on I94 so 53 is what the tractors would do if allowed here.

I decide to go to closest Ford and bless them with making acquaintance with my automobile. Being a drop-in I get the wait-5-hours treatment and a diagnostic of : all good, car is OK, maybe the alignment. Another hour passes Alignment done

(debit 99$) , symptoms improved, issue still present, you can keep on driving, let us know what it was when you have time to fix it.

With this Ford approved vote of confidence, I drive the rest of 1000 miles to Florida. My right side biceps is 0.2” larger now from keeping the car not steer in opposite lanes, the wobble is back (as soon as 3 hours away from alignment dealership).
Bonus : it’s Christmas in Florida - all dealerships are fully booked to mid Jan. I have to drive home Jan 1. I will try to see if family wants to fly instead so we don’t die together.

Called Ford and got a warranty case opened. They have no idea. They offered to transfer my car to the “alignment” dealership to fix on my dime. I thought that is funny so I asked them to say same in an email. It’s Christmas so I am waiting for a reply.

now - what do you guys think this wobble may be?

I will try to attach a movie from dashcam later.

Excuse the rant.

yours, Zamboni driver

Edited December 29, 2021 by Zamboni

[ben senise]

have you checked the lugnuts on all of your wheels?

[Zamboni]

Yes, checked lug nuts. Also checked alignment, tires, etc by an authorized Ford service.

also remember- the car has been seen in a Ford dealership and cleared as : nothing wrong, issues still present.

 

still wobbling 

your Zamboni deiver

[Zamboni]

Here is a video if it helps anyone help me find out what it may be :

 

https://imgur.com/a/40vG2jb

 

I am 1000 miles from home with no Ford appointment available until I have to go back home - I need the hive mind - maybe I can do something that can get me home safe.

I have an appointment for 1/4, should I make it home.

 

Just as an aside - on the warranty case opened last Thursday (12/23)....crickets. 

Nobody replied.

     Now, fine - it was Christmas - but 12/27 and 12/28 were working days and a customer with a valid factory warranty is stranded 1000 miles from home where it just started snowing.

Would you drive the car in the video above with your kids onboard ?

No dealership has availability in Orlando to mid-Jan. I hate this as much as I like the car. 

The car is nice, has all I want, but I cannot enjoy it.

 

Your wobbling Zamboni driver

Edited December 29, 2021 by Zamboni

[Cerberus]

8 hours ago, Zamboni said:

Here is a video if it helps anyone help me find out what it may be :

 

https://imgur.com/a/40vG2jb

 

I am 1000 miles from home with no Ford appointment available until I have to go back home - I need the hive mind - maybe I can do something that can get me home safe.

I have an appointment for 1/4, should I make it home.

 

Your wobbling Zamboni driver

as much as that thing is weaving around, i'd guess your sway bars are broken or disco'ed 

or your shocks are blown. way too much motion for not being on water, but at a cadence that is not wheel related.. 

its like the air turbulence is blowing you around

very weird

[Cerberus]

One more thing, are you steering small adjustments to your trajectory? I mean, in the video we see the view out the windshield but not the wheel and it's state.

[Zamboni]

Thanks for your ideas - adding to the laundry list when going into a service.

as you may have assumed I am indeed applying small corrections to the steering so as not to slide into adjacent lanes, but I am mostly keeping the steering still/steady while she rocks.

I went to an independent service today and got a “bad cv axle” diagnostic. No further action taken for fear of losing warranty (and not solving the issue).

 Not sure if correct, but meanwhile found a Ford at 27 miles with available appointment at 8am on 12/31.
wish me luck. There is a snow storm warning in Illinois and most likely I will drive the above Zamboni if not fixed

I am sooo disappointed in Ford’s customer service.

Zero sympathy.

I get they can’t do much but having a customer with valid factory warranty drive like this with a kid in the car…At least tell me “we are sorry you are experiencing this. Spoke to my second Ford customer services rep today and did not hear that.

 

Stand bu for exciting updates on 12/31. Happy new 22

 

your tired Zamboni driver

[Zamboni]

Made it home after driving the Zamboni through the Chicago winter storm from Florida.

 

dealer diagnostic on 12/31 is bent rim left/rear. Moved to right rear and the wobble is almost gone.so probably correct diagnostic.

just fyi: a new 2019 edge titanium 19’ rim is $1368 so be nice to yours.

I bought an OEM off eBay. Will update if that fully resolves the issue.

 

still disappointed with Ford’s customer service: When the product becomes more important than the customer, you are heading the direction of other previous greats the like of Kodak, Nokia, Xerox, etc.
i would be sad to see Ford in that company but this is my last Ford  seeing as I got no empathy from customer service throughout this happening.

 

the Zamboni driver 

[dajo2012]

If  it is bent how does moving to the other side help?  It is still bent?

Edited January 4, 2022 by dajo2012

[Cerberus]

15 minutes ago, dajo2012 said:

If  it is bent how does moving to the other side help?  It is still bent?

This

 

Extremely suspect diagnosis.

I dont buy it.

[1004ron]

31 minutes ago, dajo2012 said:

If  it is bent how does moving to the other side help?  It is still bent?

Maybe the bent wheel trashed the suspension bushes, and its starting fresh in the new location.

 

A few things are puzzling me - I'd know if I had a curb impact severe enough to bend a wheel, and would get it checked ASAP - a bent wheel will most certainly cause vibration, and a rumble which I'd hear, feel, and investigate.

 

Warranty isn't going to cover a bent wheel.

[Cerberus]

Ok, apologies in advance for any/all toes that may get stepped on.. but there's a lot of things that do not line up in this thread.

First, Zamboni, your name would not be Zack would it? Prior production assistant to the late Anthony Bourdain? 

Probably not

 

First, your introductory post feels like more of a literary foray, than a request for help.. I mean.. mentioning that you did not bring the Cat?! For someone who was supposedly typing on a phone, you included a LOT of irrelevant detail.

2nd, a 2 year old car with 27K miles is not a show room car, it is a Loaner / rental / demo, shop beater.. which leads into the likely cause of your problems.

3rd, "thumping crunchy noises in the back" diagnosed as bad diff, plausible, but how and why? (maybe someone previously bounced it off a curb, bending wheel, damaging wheel bearing/hub/flange, CV joints, Diff & control arm, or any combination thereof)

4th, 2 weeks after diff replacement, the bobbing and weaving begin, which to me, as a professional diagnostician, makes me suspicious of anything they touched while working on the diff swap, particularly rear control arm mounting components.

5th, significant literary license in the description of symptoms... I suspect you are a creative person.. like a production assistant would be..

6th, Ford dealer says its all good.. this, sadly, is 100% credible. It is possible they just didn't find the problem, or (worse) they didn't want to deal with it. I've had horrific experience with dealerships..

7th "The car has been seen in a Ford dealership and cleared as : nothing wrong, issues still present" Sorry, but this is on you. the quoted statement is a logical fallacy.. I would have grabbed someone by the throat and asked them to explain how it is possible to have nothing wrong but problem still present, and who exactly is liable if we all die because your techs were too stupid or disinterested to find the problem? (see how much i love them?)

8th, video evidence. very interesting. SOmething is obviously loose. the only question is what. the supposed bent wheel would have a much faster cadence of oscillation / vibration at that road speed.

9, having a CV axle changed by any shop would not effect your warranty for future reference, though Ford likely would not warranty that part or the work if they knew it was not done by them.

10, About sympathy.. as my father used to say, if you're looking for sympathy, the only place you're likely to find it is between Shit and Syphilis in the dictionary. Still true. Plus saying 'sorry', is sometimes legally considered an admission of guilt and adoption of responsibility..

11, result! bent rim is totally plausible (#3 above) but would not seem to be a probable cause of the symptoms described.. which makes me think they are using that as a 'cover' for having found and quietly fixed something worse that would open the dealership who did not find the problem and maybe Ford corporate to major legal liabilities.. I mean its great if it is fixed, and hopefully stays that way..

12, bad logic on comparing Ford to Has-been companies, saying focus on product and not people is to blame for the loss.. truth of that is that a great product would not break, and thus not need customer service.

 

Sorry, i know that was a lot to go through. If it makes you feel any better, I got out of bed to type up this response.. because this much typing requires a bigger screen lol

Good luck you ice shaving bastard

 

[SC_ST]

Been watching and reading this thread prior to joining as a member. 

 

If things were as bad as they said, why in the world would you be driving this thing between Florida and Chicago?

[1004ron]

Wonder if Zamboni  got the damage repaired and the insurance covered it?

[CARR142]

 

[SC_ST]

Yeah I wonder what the outcome is/was…. 

[Zamboni]

Hey Guys.

I am back - sorry for not bringing closure to this topic before today, but i've been busy with fixing the ice shaver.

 

I noticed that some of you folks (Cerberus above) have examined my initial message and found it too weird - why talk about the cat, Why did I chose to drive after the first ? Because I had time and because I did not have another car. and because the service said it's safe , etc.

I am sorry, I thought making my message easier to read (especially before holidays - there might have been some holiday celebratory drinks happening while writing that message).

 

In the same analysis, i felt that my story was not believed much, so I am attaching to this message the analysis of the first service that attempted to fix the issue on the way to Florida and could not entirely fix, the analysis of the second (after wheel swap), the third (its home service) and the final (the fix of the bent wheel) as that was the root cause pointed at by all service shops. 

 

I am happy to report that the root-cause found by Ford has been addressed.

I still believe that better customer service and better empathy would have been great additions in my experience with this vehicle/vehicle manufacturer

 

I wish you all happy and dry roads in 2022 and beyond

 

Edited January 19, 2022 by Zamboni

[SC_ST]

So are you a mechanic that works on Zamboni’s or work maintenance at an ice arena? 
 

If not, may need to change your user name now.

 

I am glad the problem is fixed and hoping you can move forward on the forum in a positive manner

Edited January 20, 2022 by SC_ST

[Zamboni]

Thanks, the topic can be locked if needed

 ready to contribute as much as I can to others

[Cerberus]

20 hours ago, Zamboni said:

Thanks, the topic can be locked if needed

 ready to contribute as much as I can to others

Just for the sake of conversation, I hope you did not take my long winded response to your post as an attack or unduly rude.

If so, I apologize. No offense intended.

 

Apparently I'm a bit of a dick.

 

Working on it.

Edited January 21, 2022 by Cerberus
dick, not duck

[1004ron]

On 1/3/2022 at 8:13 PM, 1004ron said:

Maybe the bent wheel trashed the suspension bushes, and its starting fresh in the new location.

 

A few things are puzzling me - I'd know if I had a curb impact severe enough to bend a wheel, and would get it checked ASAP - a bent wheel will most certainly cause vibration, and a rumble which I'd hear, feel, and investigate.

 

Warranty isn't going to cover a bent wheel.

 

21 hours ago, Zamboni said:

Hey Guys.

I am back - sorry for not bringing closure to this topic before today, but i've been busy with fixing the ice shaver.

 

I noticed that some of you folks (Cerberus above) have examined my initial message and found it too weird

 

Very poor diagnostics taking so long to find a bent wheel - I wouldn't use any of them again.

 

I also found it weird, and still do.

 

Are you the only driver of this vehicle? -  any novice drivers that hit a curb?

 

The wheel needs a significant impact to bend.

 

[SC_ST]

22 hours ago, SC_ST said:

So are you a mechanic that works on Zamboni’s or work maintenance at an ice arena? 
 

If not, may need to change your user name now.

 

I am glad the problem is fixed and hoping you can move forward on the forum in a positive manner

 

8 hours ago, Zamboni said:

Thanks, the topic can be locked if needed

 ready to contribute as much as I can to others

Why would the thread need to be locked. I was asking valid questions:

 

1. your username is Zamboni

2. I don’t know if you were referring to your new to you Edge as an Zamboni or are you really a Zamboni Driver - hence me making a statement you may be able to change your username

3. the only posts you have on the site is in this thread - I was hoping you would stay and contribute more in other threads