Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/30/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Car taken in July, 6 2023 1) inability to diagnose a brake system issue and charged me for their attempts, whether it resolved the issue or not. I was charged for four new brake calipers (replacement and hardware) which did not resolve the concern before they finally called the Ford Hotline for assistance (to determine the ABS Module was the problem). The alleged new brake calipers are in the attached pictures, which are extremely dirty for new calipers as evidenced by the caked on brake dust on and in the calipers, the new hardware was simply installed on top of the brake dust for having only James River Ford test drives and one 5 mile drive to bring the car home on the brakes. 2) I was also contacted about coil spring seats being degraded. Instead of contacting me before removing the seat, I was told a picture was available for me to look at. I thought I was going to receive a picture of the deteriorating coil seat in the car, but instead received a picture with one seat already removed and torn in half sitting on a desk. I was not contacted BEFORE any work to remove the seat was done (was it torn in two already when in the car, or when it was removed?). 3) I was told on two different occasions (on different days) the car was test driven and ready for pick up only to find the brake pedal went to the floor and there were no brakes and on the second time, spongy brakes so had to leave the car for further work each time. After, the second time, they had to call the Ford Hotline again to fix the spongy brake pedal. This time I was charged for a new Master Cylinder, which was operating fine before the car was taken to the dealer. 4). Called the Service Manager and said he would to do some research on the calipers and determine what was actually done and get back to me the next day, I have heard nothing from him. 5) Evidence that an object was dropped on the headlight during the time the dealer had the car (on the side being worked on) and cracked the lens.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/31/2023

  We received request to diagnose/repair brake system on customer's vehicle. Upon diagnosis, we determined that previous repairs from a different service department/ individual is the cause of the issue. We shared our diagnosis with the customer and customer requested us to proceed with repair. Due to the extensive damage in the brake system, we followed Ford Service protocol and contacted Ford Hotline for additional support. During diagnosis, when the vehicle was lifted in the air, a suspension component called a spring seat fell off the car. We notified the customer of the safety concern and repaired as requested. 30 days after the Repair order was closed, we were notified by the customer that his headlight was cracked and he indicated that it "had to have happened during repair". We have no headlight damage noted before or after work was completed. Its tough to say it happened in our possession based on our extensive notes and given there was no communication regarding damage at the time of pick up by the customer. There is reason to believe that this could have happened any time after the vehicle was picked up after the last 30 days of daily driving.
  At this time we have done a thorough review, we have determined there is no refund owed at this time. We received a request to repair a vehicle, we repaired the vehicle, customer paid in full without hesitation at time of completion.  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/31/2023

  The response from the company was inadequate and inaccurate.  The only issue with the brakes based on the symptoms relayed to the dealer, was attributed to the ABS module and there was no damage to the brake calipers as they were reviewed prior to taking the car to James River Ford.  The dealer representative was told on July 7, that research of concern indicated there is recurring issue with the same symptoms that was attributed to the ABS Module.  In spite of the information provided about the ABS Module, the dealer representative stated they needed to follow the recommendation of their technician and based on that statement, I reluctantly agreed to the repairs on the brakes which, according to the Dealer Representative who called me, stated did not fix the issue.  When the dealer contacted the Ford Hotline, the Service Advisor told me that Ford’s response indicated the problem was due to the ABS Module which they then replaced.  Additionally, regardless of the timeframe the car has not driven, except to bring home and stored in the garage, the car went to dealer with no damage to the headlamp and now has a damage to the headlamp.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/01/2023

  Complaint: ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  
  
  The response from the company was inadequate and inaccurate.  The only issue with the brakes based on the symptoms relayed to the dealer, was attributed to the ABS module and there was no damage to the brake calipers as they were reviewed prior to taking the car to James River Ford.  The dealer representative was told on July 7, that research of concern indicated there is recurring issue with the same symptoms that was attributed to the ABS Module.  In spite of the information provided about the ABS Module, the dealer representative stated they needed to follow the recommendation of their technician and based on that statement, I reluctantly agreed to the repairs on the brakes which, according to the Dealer Representative who called me, stated did not fix the issue.  When the dealer contacted the Ford Hotline, the Service Advisor told me that Ford’s response indicated the problem was due to the ABS Module which they then replaced.  Additionally, regardless of the timeframe the car has not driven, except to bring home and stored in the garage, the car went to dealer with no damage to the headlamp and now has a damage to the headlamp.
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  *** ********

  Business Response

  Date: 09/05/2023

  At this time there is not enough adequate evidence that James River Ford damaged the vehicle therefore we will not be processing any refunds for the work that was agreed to and completed. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/05/2023

  Complaint: ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  
  
  As noted previously, the dealer wanted to change the four brake calipers and hardware to fix the original issue.  The Dealer’s Service Advisor was told multiple times that based on my research, the symptoms of the concern indicated the issue was related to the ABS Module and not the brakes themselves.  The Advisor stated they had to go with the recommendation of the technician, that it was the brakes, not the ABS Module.  At that time, I reluctantly agreed to go with the replacement of the brakes.  After the brakes were changed, the Service Advisor called and stated the brake and hardware replacement did not fix the problem and when the Technician contacted the Ford Hotline, Ford’s response was to change the ABS Module, which I what I told the Service Advisor my research indicated before the calipers were changed.  Now I have replaced brakes that were unnecessary when they should have replaced the ABS Module.  There are multiple chats and a lot of information online describing the symptoms that I relayed to the Service Advisor indicating this a widespread issue with Fiesta’s and other Ford vehicles with similar brake problems.  Other dealers were able to figure this issue out.

  Bottom line is this, the Dealer failed to adequately diagnose the issue causing me to pay for brake replacements that did not fix the original problem.  Additionally, as detailed previously and in the pictures, while I was charged for new brake calipers, when the car was returned to me, the brake calipers look anything but new, since they still had caked on brake dust inside and under the new hardware they installed.

  Finally, the Dealer is correct in the fact I did not find initially the damage to the headlight unit and notified them weeks later when washing the car, so they can claim that there is no evidence they created the damaged even though I have a picture (with Date Stamp) of the headlamp the night before the car was taken in to the Dealer.  However, using that as a precedence, the Dealer did not provide me evidence or pictures of the alleged caliper/brake damage necessitating the change of the four calipers before replacing them, when they should have focused on the ABS Module,

  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  *** ********

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/06/2023

  In this attachment, the Service Advisor is telling me that per the Technician, it wouldn’t be the ABS Module.  However, as noted in the previous information to provided to the BBB, I went ahead and agreed to the brake caliper and hardware replacement (since the Dealer was supposed to be the experts) which proved not to fix the issue and replacement of the ABS Module did fix the issue.  Noted in the text copy in the previous attachment last night, the Service Advisor told me the ABS Module did fix the issue.