AC quit on 2017 F150.

[wtd]

Don't be surprised if it takes a few days or so, did you set up a ticket number for a reference? Always get a ticket or job number so you can track what is going on and the rep you speak to can quickly pull up your case.

Remember that it is ultimately the manufacturer , NOT the dealer that will decide whether or not a goodwill repair will be offered.
Make sure you do NOT give up easily, persist because frankly in your case you are clearly deserving of a mfr repair due to the circumstances.
Let them know that it appears there is a manufacturing defect in the compressor and that it doesn't appear to be limited to just your vehicle but possibly many other similar compressors found on your vehicle.

I did not get a ticket number. At the time I spoke to her, our local dealer had not given us a price quote yet since he had to get with the parts department for prices. She said she was going to talk to the dealer to discuss the situation. When the service rep called back with the prices, He said that as far as he knew, she had not called yet. This is a small dealership that only has two service reps and the one I talked to has been there for quite a few years so if she had called, he would know.

I guess we will wait and see what happens. This is our vacation vehicle so if they don't decide something soon, the truck will get fixed regardless because we have another vacation coming up soon and we are not going to go without AC.

 

[zzyzzx]

My problem so far is that I can't find an independent shop that will work on it. Her dad has called some others and he also cannot find anyone that will work on it.

How many places have you called? Are they any places in your area that specialize in Auto A/C? That would be my first choice if it is an option. Note: This is probably not an option unless you live in Florida, Arizona, or someplace else hot.

 

[atikovi]

How many places have you called? Are they any places in your area that specialize in Auto A/C? That would be my first choice if it is an option.

Exactly. I paid $60 for a pair of adapters for my gauge set that lets me service R1234 systems. That plus a drum of the freon would get a shop started in servicing these systems. Maybe there are extra regulations the shops don't want to deal with, so maybe find someone on Craigslist.

 

[The Critic]

I did not get a ticket number. At the time I spoke to her, our local dealer had not given us a price quote yet since he had to get with the parts department for prices. She said she was going to talk to the dealer to discuss the situation. When the service rep called back with the prices, He said that as far as he knew, she had not called yet. This is a small dealership that only has two service reps and the one I talked to has been there for quite a few years so if she had called, he would know.

I guess we will wait and see what happens. This is our vacation vehicle so if they don't decide something soon, the truck will get fixed regardless because we have another vacation coming up soon and we are not going to go without AC.

Typically, you can only pursue a goodwill case after a dealer has made the formal diagnosis at your expense.

 

[wtd]

How many places have you called? Are they any places in your area that specialize in Auto A/C? That would be my first choice if it is an option. Note: This is probably not an option unless you live in Florida, Arizona, or someplace else hot.

We called five independent shops in our area and the surrounding area. We do not have any shops that specialize in AC to my knowledge. I live in MO.

 

[wtd]

Exactly. I paid $60 for a pair of adapters for my gauge set that lets me service R1234 systems. That plus a drum of the freon would get a shop started in servicing these systems. Maybe there are extra regulations the shops don't want to deal with, so maybe find someone on Craigslist.

Every shop told me that you have to have new equipment to service the 1234 systems and cannot use the same 134 equipment. Most of these shops have not seen enough 1234 repair inquires up to this point to want to spend the money at this time. Maybe as these systems get older and more of them fail, then they will invest the money.

 

[The Critic]

Every shop told me that you have to have new equipment to service the 1234 systems and cannot use the same 134 equipment. Most of these shops have not seen enough 1234 repair inquires up to this point to want to spend the money at this time. Maybe as these systems get older and more of them fail, then they will invest the money.

Call your local body shop and ask who they sublet their A/C Evac/Recharge to. In every area, body shops are the first aftermarket shops to see the newest vehicles.

 

[Snowflake White]

Typically, you can only pursue a goodwill case after a dealer has made the formal diagnosis at your expense.

It might depend, in this case I suspect that there was a manufacturing defect in the compressors in this vehicles and many are affected, so the mfr and the dealer probably already know about it. Many dealers don't charge a diagnostic fee if such a situation exists, or the fee is refunded to the customer during the goodwill repair action and the mfr compensates the dealer..

 

[wtd]

Call your local body shop and ask who they sublet their A/C Evac/Recharge to. In every area, body shops are the first aftermarket shops to see the newest vehicles.

I did think about doing that last night but didn't do it yet. My fiancé at this point is just going to get it done at the dealer. She is tired of messing around trying to find someone local to do it and then trusting them to do the job right. All of the shops that we typically do business with and trust, can't do the job. Even places outside of our local area that we have never done business with have said they can't do it. She has also decided to just get the entire compressor replaced and not mess with just getting the clutch replaced if that is the issue.

If she gets some goodwill assistance, then great. If not, she will just pay the bill and go on. We still have not heard from anyone about the Goodwill so who knows. I want to thank everyone who has responded and gave their input.

 

[The Critic]

It might depend, in this case I suspect that there was a manufacturing defect in the compressors in this vehicles and many are affected, so the mfr and the dealer probably already know about it. Many dealers don't charge a diagnostic fee if such a situation exists, or the fee is refunded to the customer during the goodwill repair action and the mfr compensates the dealer..

Did you do any research before making those statements? Did you check any service information?

Why should the technician do the initial diag for free on an out-of-warranty vehicle?

 

[Snowflake White]

Did you do any research before making those statements? Did you check any service information?

Why should the technician do the initial diag for free on an out-of-warranty vehicle?

I worked in the dealership service industry for over twenty five years. As I mentioned the tech and dealership will get paid by the mfr because
it's pretty clear in this case that the compressor lot for these vehicles contained mfg defects, and the mfr and dealership know it. I've been in this situation before.

 

[The Critic]

I worked in the dealership service industry for over twenty five years. As I mentioned the tech and dealership will get paid by the mfr because
it's pretty clear in this case that the compressor lot for these vehicles contained mfg defects, and the mfr and dealership know it. I've been in this situation before.

Again, how did you make the determination that the "compressor lot for these vehicles contained mfg defects?"

 

[wtd]

We called the dealer again to see if the lady from Ford corporate had called and she had not. He then looked it up on the computer and the adviser said that corporate has done nothing. There is no case number assigned or anything.

 

[wtd]

I have posted this same situation on a couple of F150 specific forums and one auto AC repair forum and asked if anyone else has experienced this same situation or had AC problems on these newer F150's and only one person responded and his was a broken blend door motor behind the dash. No one has responded saying they had compressor or compressor clutch problems so I don't know how prevalent this problem really is.

 

[Snowflake White]

We called the dealer again to see if the lady from Ford corporate had called and she had not. He then looked it up on the computer and the adviser said that corporate has done nothing. There is no case number assigned or anything.

You have to call back and ask a rep to formally open up a goodwill repair case ticket, then explain briefly the issue, and ask for a ticket or case number. As I said earlier, you might have to persist and call several times to get them to act and follow through. Often times some "gatekeeping" will occur to deter less persistent customers. After this ask for the name of a contact person and when they expect to get back to you.

I "suspect" that a lot of defective compressors was installed into some trucks, how many is anyone's guess, but it happens. It isn't a rare event because quality controls have slipped at many mfrs over the past decades due to cost cutting.

Have you sent a return receipt requested snail mail to the VP of Global Marketing yet? At least send the letter certified mail.
You really should do this to show you are serious about getting things made right .

 

[Snowflake White]

Again, how did you make the determination that the "compressor lot for these vehicles contained mfg defects?"

It's not like things like this don't happen, they are more common than you might imagine, especially with the serious cost cutting on thorough inspections on items like this over the past couple of decades, and YES I have also worked for a Tier 1 auto component mfr too. I've see the changes over the years that lead to a noticeable drop in quality.

 

[The Critic]

It's not like things like this don't happen, they are more common than you might imagine, especially with the serious cost cutting on thorough inspections on items like this over the past couple of decades, and YES I have also worked for a Tier 1 auto component mfr too. I've see the changes over the years that lead to a noticeable drop in quality.

It seems like you are making some very broad, general statements about the process without having any specific knowledge of the issue or Ford. Not sure how helpful this information is, aside from potentially making the OP look unreasonable.

From what I have seen, you need to have an official diagnosis (at your expense) or a customer-pay repair completed in order for a goodwill request to be considered. At this point, the vehicle has not been diagnosed by a Ford dealer so corporate is unlikely to financially participate on a speculative repair.

 

[Snowflake White]

It seems like you are making some very broad, general statements about the process without having any specific knowledge of the issue or Ford. Not sure how helpful this information is, aside from potentially making the OP look unreasonable.

From what I have seen, you need to have an official diagnosis (at your expense) or a customer-pay repair completed in order for a goodwill request to be considered. At this point, the vehicle has not been diagnosed by a Ford dealer so corporate is unlikely to financially participate on a speculative repair.

When I worked at that Tier 1 supplier we also supplied items to Ford. So I do have knowledge about the quality process, and it isn't very good.
It WAS pretty good prior to the mid 2000s or so even better in the mid 90s.

The customer will get the diagnosis but the mfr will pay the dealer for the diag, no customer pay in this case. I would say this failure is nearly a 100% chance manufacturer process defect.

The key is the customer MUST push Ford Corporate to make good on their defectively made product. A component that did not hold up in a reasonable manner under the expected use. That is a fact.

But if you want to look at it another way, it's bad PR to have perfected components fail just outside of the warranty mileage or time period, especially if it happens often. Ford has this happen way too often.

 

[Cujet]

I typically purchase Fords. I have found that genuine Ford extended warranties can be purchased after the fact, from discount dealerships. Often for half the price quoted during the original vehicle purchase. I always purchase a powertrain+ warranty. It paid off in the past. Recently, the trucks don't seem to have many transmission problems. So maybe it's not as necessary......

 

[wtd]

I typically purchase Fords. I have found that genuine Ford extended warranties can be purchased after the fact, from discount dealerships. Often for half the price quoted during the original vehicle purchase. I always purchase a powertrain+ warranty. It paid off in the past. Recently, the trucks don't seem to have many transmission problems. So maybe it's not as necessary......

She is a long time Ford Customer and has bought three new Ford trucks since around 2001. This is the first one that has ever had something major go wrong this early. Her son bought a new F150 in 2014 and it never had anything go wrong with it until about 190,000 miles when it needed new timing components. He got that fixed and is still driving it with about 218,000 miles on it now.

In all of the new vehicles that I have bought over the years, none have ever had anything major go wrong just outside the warranty with low miles. This is why we never buy extended warranties because our experience has always been that we would have wasted our money.

In this case the extended warranty would have come in handy but the cost of the extended warranty that was offered at time of purchase and offers that she has received for one after the fact have been more expensive than what this repair is going to cost.