Dealer Won't Replace Grille Shutter That Fell Out?

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NHDude4

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At 1500 miles I arrived somewhere to find something sticking out one of the bumper view port things. Turns out it was one of the 10 blades from the active grille shutter. With 2k miles on my 2018 I took it to the nearest dealer (not where I bought it) for an inspection and to have the shutter blade put back in.

The dealer informed me that they couldn't replace the shutter under warranty, as they're a new dealership and Ford will give them a very hard time with warranty work over $300. They also said it's too big a risk for them because if they botch the removal of the bumper/grille they could be eating a big bill. They said I should take it to the dealer I purchased from and insist on it being done under warranty (that dealer is 2 states away).

Does this sound insane to anyone else? The grille shutter fell off through no fault of mine on a brand new truck. Should not any Ford dealer in the country take care of this under warranty? Seeing another dealer about it today and hoping to get some opinions.
 
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SlickMachine

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At 1500 miles I arrived somewhere to find something sticking out one of the bumper view port things. Turns out it was one of the 10 blades from the active grille shutter. With 2k miles on my 2018 I took it to the nearest dealer (not where I bought it) for an inspection and to have the shutter blade put back in.

The dealer informed me that they couldn't replace the shutter under warranty, as they're a new dealership and Ford will give them a very hard time with warranty work over $300. They also said it's too big a risk for them because if they botch the removal of the bumper they could be eating a big bill. They said I should take it to the dealer I purchased from and insist on it being done under warranty (that dealer is 2 states away).

Does this sound insane to anyone else? The grille shutter fell off through no fault of mine on a brand new truck. Should not any Ford dealer in the country take care of this under warranty? Seeing another dealer about it today and hoping to get some opinions.
Yeah so they DON'T have the option of choosing not to honor Ford's warranty with your truck. I'd tell them they need to fix it since they are a Ford Service Center or I will run this right up the flag pole with Ford because I'm being denied service at one of their service centers. That's ridiculous and I'd be pissed.

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FORZDA 1

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The dealer is telling you their service Dept sucks big time, so just fix it yourself or take it to Home dealer.
 

Guy

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They are doing you a favor.


Why in the world would you force the issue at a place that’s telling you they are brand new and not up to speed to handle major repairs?
 

SlickMachine

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They don't like the margin or the hassle of warranty work. I've seen this before.
Techs are techs. They are trained and certified. They didn't show up from Grease Monkey with a couple of wrenches and ask to work on Raptors. They are fully qualified to handle that repair.

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bonehead

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They don't like the margin or the hassle of warranty work. I've seen this before.
Techs are techs. They are trained and certified. They didn't show up from Grease Monkey with a couple of wrenches and ask to work on Raptors. They are fully qualified to handle that repair.

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Margin? Isn't warranty work how most dealers MAKE money??
 

jaz13

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Margin? Isn't warranty work how most dealers MAKE money??

Ford gets a discount on labor and the service department doesn't get their markup on parts. Warranty work pays poorly as compared to customer jobs at full price.
 

Robtor310

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Find a new dealer for sure.

Yes they do make money on it but warranty work pays strait time while maintenance and work like that pays flag rate so dealers and techs both prefer to do regular work in place of warranty.
 
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