36,000 B to B Warranty/Double Dealing Dealer

[cshort07]

I'd like to get opinions on what transpired on my last two 7500 mile Service visits to my dealership.

 

On 10/19/2010, I took my 2008 Edge FWD LTD, with 35,767 miles, to the dealer for its Scheduled Maintenance oil change, tire rotation, etc. They did a "full 27 multi-point inspection", which included check of Brakes (linings= "VI".whatever that means) and Rotors, Battery (cold crank amps =650), filters, drive belts, steering and suspension, exhaust system and tires (tread depth 10). Everything checked out "OK" at this time.

 

I take the Edge back to the dealer on 03/14/2011, with 44,299 miles, for the next Scheduled Maintenance. They do another "full 27 multi-point inspection", but have dramatically different results. According to the inspection, my battery, shocks and tires all need immediate replacement. My battery had cold crank amps (CCA) of 374, my rear shocks are leaking "badly" and my tire tread depth is now 4.

 

How could so many components, given the highest rating on previous visits, suddenly go bad in 5 months and 8,000 miles? I believe that these items must've shown signs of wearing on the October visit, but was still under the bumper to bumper warranty, so the dealer failed to report any abnormal wear or test results. I believe that on the Oct visit, before the 36,000 mile mark, they either, just did a cursory inspection and wrote down a standard wear number or test value for all inspected items, or they actually did a thorough inspection and just lied about the actual condition and measurements in the inspection,

 

A couple of weeks after the March servicing, I took the Edge to another mechanic to inspect the items in question and he verified the dealer's findings, but said the only thing that he, personally, would replace immediately was the battery.

 

First off, I guess I want to know if these parts should've worn out with less than 40,000 miles on the car? Secondly, I'd like to know if these items could possibly have gone from "good" condition to "replace immediately" condition in 8,000 miles? Has anybody had to replace these components and, if so, how many miles did you have when replaced?

 

I drive at normal speeds, on paved roads, mostly running errands around town. In other words, I am way past the age where one would consider hot rodding and boon docking pleasurable! I have never had this kind of dramatic wear on any of the used vehicles I've purchased in the past and my husband said he's only replaced those items once in the entire life of his 1988 Ford F150 4wd.

 

Any input would be appreciated.

[Edgieguy]

I agree It seems strange that those items should suddenly all go bad from being near perfect... but like you stated, you don't, nor will you ever know if they did their job the last time, or just lied about it. They just closed a 10 minute oil change place nearby after investigating and finding out they were only checking the oil, not actually changing it like they were charging for... so you're never too sure what's going on beyond your sight.

[L1TECH]

The battery could have gone bad that quick but not the other things unless you have a teenage son that has recently started driving. With almost 45,000 miles on the vehicle I would suspect that it probably needs brakes soon. Tire wear is a different story as some people get 20,000 miles out a set of tires while others will get 50,000 miles out of the same set of tires...too many variables BTW the tires and brakes are not covered under the warranty.

[cshort07]

The battery could have gone bad that quick but not the other things unless you have a teenage son that has recently started driving. With almost 45,000 miles on the vehicle I would suspect that it probably needs brakes soon. Tire wear is a different story as some people get 20,000 miles out a set of tires while others will get 50,000 miles out of the same set of tires...too many variables BTW the tires and brakes are not covered under the warranty.

[cshort07]

What about the shocks, has anyone had their rear shocks start leaking at 40K miles? It costs over $600 to replace the rear shocks.

 

Another thing that is strange, on the battery, I have never had any problems with the car starting or anything else. The only evidence of a problem is the sudden appearance of corrosion on the posts. My tires were rotated, supposedly, every 7500 miles when the oil was changed. Are the tires that come on new vehicles, just cheap tires?

 

If anyone on here has replaced these parts on their Edge, of any age, please let me know. I'm particularly interested in people's experience with the shocks, I think I'm probably just screwed on battery and tires, but I'm really furious about the shocks and want Ford to replace them for free.

[nextime]

Pretty sure shocks are also wear items not covered but I am not sure.

[igcitng]

The tires that come on the Edge are not cheap tires, but at 50k miles could be close to needing replacement. Only time I ever replaced my shocks was on my old Blazer at 130k, after a wreck there was a noise no one could identify and it was something to try. Turned out the shocks were fine and had never been replaced before that either. On the same note when I was trying to find the noise on the Blazer I took it to a shop I trusted and their answer was it needed 3k in suspension repair. I told them nice try and did nothing. Another mechanic found the noise, a loose hood bolt. So what I am saying is that I would be careful what you believe. We are still at a disadvantage with being treated unfairly with things like this. Take it to a tire store for an opinion on the tire wear. And batteries are funny in that they like to up and die on you with no warning. So replacing it before that happens is not a bad idea. But you can get a good battery at the store and put it in yourself for probobly 1/3 of the price of the dealer. You can go to an auto parts store and ask one of the guys behind the counter to test it for you to see if the dealer was being truthful about it needing replacement.

[nextime]

Even though shocks may not be leaking outside they may be leaking internally. The best test for shocks is......

 

Park the car on a level surface. Push down on the bumper or fender on one corner of the car. Stand back and allow the body to rise back up. If the body bounces more than once, the shock absorber on that corner of the car may be worn. Repeat this procedure for the other three corners of the car to check the other shocks.

 

Crawl under the vehicle and visually inspect the shock absorbers for leaking oil. Check the shock mounting brackets and bolts to ensure that they are not loose or broken. Check for excessive corrosion or deformation in the shock body, which would warrant replacement of the shocks.

 

Check the tread on the tires for patchy wear or worn spots, which would indicate the wheel is not staying in complete contact with the road over bumps because of worn shocks.

 

Also have somebody drive it for you on the highway above 55MPH, watch the tires bounce, if it is excessive they are bad.

 

My Windstar has 138,000 miles on the original shocks and struts with no external leaks but it bounced like hell all over the road. I just replaced them and it is like driving a new car. I normally replace my shocks and struts at or around 75,000 regardless but there were other things money needed to be spent on the past few years.