DEAR SUZANNE
By Suzanne Henderson
LETTER 24 – June 2022 | Losing My Cool in Corte Madera
10,000 Miles Away From Warranty Expiration
Dear Suzanne,
I saw one of your posts online and figured you would be the right person to ask about what on earth I should do about this truck I bought. I paid cash for a certified pre-owned 2020 Ford F-150; I always thought they were cool and it would be good to have a truck for kicking around outside of town. The truck has 29,000 miles when I bought it, and now it’s up to 50,000 miles and it’s been giving me more trouble than it’s worth.
EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION
Not even a month after I bought it, the transmission began making this whining noise. It would hesitate when I tried to accelerate, and the whole front end would shake. I also noticed that it was going through oil crazy fast. I had to put in at least two quarts of the stuff every week to keep the levels up. I looked and looked, but I couldn’t find any leaks anywhere.
I decided to bring it into the Ford dealership to see if they could find the mystery leak and take a look at the transmission. They were no help at all. I was told that this was all normal behavior for that year of F-150s; there was no leak, the transmission was supposed to sound like that.
WHINING SOUND IN ENGINE
I ended up taking it back two more times for the same transmission and oil consumption concerns. Every time they told me it was normal and to be expected for it to hesitate and make that whining sound, and that this particular year burned a lot more oil than others. That just doesn’t make sense to me, in any other vehicle this would definitely be indicative of a problem, but apparently it’s fine? I don’t agree. But because of this I couldn’t get them to acknowledge that there was a problem, let alone take the time to try and repair it.
NEARING END OF WARRANTY
Now, I’m 10,000 miles away from my warranty expiring and I’m getting really worried about it. It seems to me like the issues are getting worse, and if I can’t get anyone to fix it before I hit the end of my powertrain coverage, it’s just going to cost me a good deal of money that I can’t afford to pay out. Where they won’t even acknowledge that there could be an issue, is there even anything I can do?
Losing My Cool in Corte Madera
Related Articles:
- Does Lemon Law Apply To Used Cars In California?
- Ford Transmission Issues Puts Friendship on Edge
- Dealership: 2021 Jeep Wrangler Issues Are All Driver’s Imagination
Recommend Bringing Your F-150 Into a Different Ford Dealership
Dear Cool,
I wish I could tell you this is a unique situation that I haven’t seen before, but your dealer was slightly right on one thing. Most Ford F-150s do sound like that, but it’s not so much normal as it is an indication that your transmission is about to go completely. Luckily, you do have some options available.
FILE THOSE REPAIR DOCUMENTS
Now, the most important thing is to make sure that the dealership has documented every time you brought the truck back into them. It doesn’t matter whether they could reproduce the problem or if they didn’t do any repairs, just so long as they put that information down on paper. These repair orders and repair invoices are going to serve as your evidence in your lemon law claim.
Where you are coming up on the end of your manufacturer’s warranty, I would definitely recommend bringing your F-150 into a different Ford dealership to see what a different technician might say. While you only need two repair attempts for the same issue to meet California’s lemon law minimum requirements, the more you have, the more they help strengthen your case.
TALK TO A LEMON LAW ATTORNEY
Once you have all these documents together, you need to reach out to a knowledgeable lemon law attorney. They will be able to review your evidence, begin negotiating with the manufacturer, and help you decide the best course of action for your case. There are three settlement options that your attorney can try to obtain for you: a buyback, a cash and keep, and a vehicle replacement.
I generally recommend the buyback option, wherein the manufacturer essentially reimburses you for the purchase price of the vehicle, minus the mileage offset, which accounts for the time the vehicle ran without issues. Given how close you are to the warranty expiry, this may be more difficult to obtain. In that case, a cash and keep or vehicle replacement might be more realistic.
CASH AND KEEP SETTLEMENT
With a cash and keep, the manufacturer will give you a cash amount based on the issues your F-150 has had, and you will retain ownership of the vehicle. However, this does mean that the problems you’re experiencing are likely to get worse, so it may not be enough to cover the eventual cost of replacing the transmission entirely. With a vehicle replacement, the manufacturer provides you with another Ford F-150 that is as similar in year, trim, and mileage as the one you have now. This could be a good option, but it can also be unpredictable. Since the technician says that the problems you’ve had are typical for this year and model, it’s entirely possible that the replacement vehicle will have the same issues.
Luckily, a knowledgeable lemon law attorney will be able to advise you on what your best choices are. But it is important to contact them right away, because once you are outside of your manufacturer’s warranty period, it will limit your options. So, unlike your truck, don’t hesitate to reach out to one today.
Reference: Ford Lemon Law Buyback Program Information
Suzanne
Free Legal Advice About Your 2020 Ford F-150 Lemon Law Claim
Dear reader, are your vehicle problems ruining your life? Confused about what legal route to take? We’re here to help! Find information about California’s lemon law protections here, fill out the form on this page, or give us a call at (323) 553-7525 to discuss your situation with someone who understands how frustrating it can be to have a lemon car, and what to do about it.
DEAR SUZANNE is a weekly column written by Suzanne Henderson and published in LemonLawyers.ORG. If you have a defective lemon vehicle and have questions about CA Lemon Law or how to file a claim in California, please write to dearsuzanne@lemonlawyers.org. While not guaranteed, we will try to feature your letter in this column to provide you the answers you need, as well as enlighten other consumers who may have lemon problems similar to yours.
Disclaimer: Suzanne Henderson is not a lawyer and the points discussed here are intended for general information and reference purposes only and not to be construed as legal advice. Please consult a California lemon law lawyer to get proper legal advice about your lemon law claim.
Related Articles:
- California Lemon Law FAQs
- The California Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act
- Government Agencies To File A Report Or Complaint About A Defective Motor Vehicle
Featured Image: 2020 Ford F-150 Platinum © Bull-Doser (Public Domain)