Dealer Won't Replace Grille Shutter That Fell Out?

[NHDude4]

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.

 

[Jake17]

bumper removal?

 

[SlickMachine]

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]

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

 

[Guy]

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]

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]

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??

 

[SlickMachine]

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

Yeah they make money at it.. but not like the used car lot does or new car sales.

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[jaz13]

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]

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.

 

[SlickMachine]

The OP is stuck, 2 States away from home, with a louver hanging out of his bumper. I have to assume there isn't another dealership nearby, so perhaps the option to head down the road to another dealership doesn't exist. If that's the case, a phone call to Ford should go like this:. I bought a truck from you, it's under warranty, your service center in xxxxxxx location is refusing to fix a problem with the truck because they say it's inconvenient for them to deal with it. I'm not in a position right now to shop for other Ford Service Centers who feel like they may want to cooperate with the warranty concept at Ford. Can you help?
Also, I'm finding that being a Raptor customer carries a little bit extra weight with Ford when dealing with issues (at least my issue).
Definitely warrants a very negative review on Google for their new dealership after it's all over. That usually gets the GMs attention.

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[jabroni619]

It may be a little insane but I'm not particularly surprised. I have a Ford Escape that I took in for a rattle that was quite annoying but difficult to locate the EXACT location even though we knew where the general area was. The service manager didn't want to fix it because he said if they work on the car and I end up bringing it back because the rattle isn't fixed, the dealership would have to eat the cost of having to do the work again.

Long story short, I essentially told him he was making his responsibility my problem which was unacceptable and they agreed to do the work. Unfortunately for them, I DID have to bring it in a second time because it wasn't fixed and they got it right on the second attempt.

That said, if the dealer themselves is not confidant enough to do the work without breaking something else, I would absolutely not insist on them doing the work.

 

[HotLap]

snip...snip...

That said, if the dealer themselves is not confidant enough to do the work without breaking something else, I would absolutely not insist on them doing the work.

Ditto, inconvenient for sure but I wouldn't want them touching my new Raptor. Still need to let Ford Regional know about their denial to work on a clear warranty issue though! I changed out the grill on my 2016 King Ranch and the shutters are part of the grill assembly - no bumper removal necessary - unless different on Raptor but I doubt it...mentioning the need to remove the bumper would have been a huge red flag for me.

 

[Gargamel]

This should not stop you from driving. Just have it fixed when you get back home.

 

[bo1966]

Call Ford. Also, let them Know you're calling. The very last thing they want you to do is call

 

[Loufish]

he OP is stuck, 2 States away from home, with a louver hanging out of his bumper. I have to assume there isn't another dealership nearby, so perhaps the option to head down the road to another dealership doesn't exist. If that's the case, a phone call to Ford should go like this:. I bought a truck from you, it's under warranty, your service center in xxxxxxx location is refusing to fix a problem with the truck because they say it's inconvenient for them to deal with it. I'm not in a position right now to shop for other Ford Service Centers who feel like they may want to cooperate with the warranty concept at Ford. Can you help?
Also, I'm finding that being a Raptor customer carries a little bit extra weight with Ford when dealing with issues (at least my issue).
Definitely warrants a very negative review on Google for their new dealership after it's all over. That usually gets the GMs attention.

Well said, and I agree 100%