DEAR SUZANNE
By Suzanne Henderson
LETTER 29 – August 2022 | Ghosted in Glendale
Faulty Engine on 2019 Ford Raptor
Dear Suzanne,
Ford is literally ghosting me regarding my problematic 2019 Ford Raptor and I don’t know what I can do about it. My vehicle is a 2019 Ford Raptor and it has about 50,000 miles on it at the moment. I also purchased it brand new from a California Ford dealership and I’ve paid it in full.
Everything was fine with my vehicle until about 20,000 miles when I started feeling the vehicle shake unnecessarily whenever I’m on highways. It wasn’t noticeable at low speeds but when I reached places with higher limits and increased speed, I felt the vehicle vibrate and it really got me worried.
CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ISSUE
After a while, I noticed the Check Engine light used to come on whenever this vibration occurred. That was the breaking point so I took it to the Ford dealership.
That was my first visit and after checking the vehicle, they concluded that it had something to do with the mufflers and injectors. I don’t really know much about it, but I still have all the paperwork that documents everything. From what I understood, they replaced the mufflers and something to do with the injectors. To be sincere, I wasn’t so concerned as everything was at zero cost (because of the warranty). When they replaced it, everything seemed great once more. It ran perfectly—no more vibration or shaking.
ENGINE NOISE
I thought I was off the hook until some months later when I was driving and started hearing very strange noises from the engine. It was a loud uncomfortable sound that was very obvious irrespective of whether I was at low or high speeds. I couldn’t risk driving it because I was scared of the engine sounds so I towed it to the dealership. Lo and behold, they said it only needed a software upgrade. A software upgrade for an engine sound? That didn’t just make any sense to me. But since I was still under warranty and everything was at no cost, I went with the idea.
After their ‘upgrade’ the vehicle got better but it still wasn’t perfectly fixed. The handling felt terrible and it just felt like the vehicle was not in the best of shape. I tried to talk to my dealership about how the vehicle might need more than a software upgrade, but they shunned the idea. And that marked the beginning of my bigger problems with the vehicle.
RANDOM SHUTDOWN
A few months later, I was driving and my car suddenly died on the road. I almost lost it! The dealership visits were getting really tiring at this point. When they checked it, they stated that the engine was bad from the factory and the motor went out. I still can’t fathom how a manufacturer will produce a vehicle with a faulty engine and release it to the masses without thinking about the consequences.
Don’t they have tests or quality control or something like that to check whether an engine is good or not? This is an $80,000 vehicle that I paid off in less than a year and hearing that the engine was faulty from the manufacturer gave me a sort of heartbreak.
TWO MONTHS AT THE DEALERSHIP
The vehicle spent about two months at the dealership before they completely replaced the engine. That was the point when I decided that whether it works fine or not, I need to get rid of it. It was a tough call for me because I’ve made so many upgrades to this vehicle. It has pimped-up wheels, an upgraded audio system, custom body designs, and tires. So apart from the huge cost of the vehicle, I’ve spent a lot on making it look so good—because obviously, I didn’t expect it to have any of these issues.
So I reached out to Ford and told them of my desire to get this faulty vehicle off my hands and they actually seemed to listen. In fact, they offered me a buy back, but after the call, I haven’t heard back from them in months. They’ve literally ghosted me and I feel so betrayed. A friend of mine then told me to try using a lemon law attorney; he says that they respond faster to lawsuits better than individual requests. Please, is that really the case? Do you think a lemon law attorney has a better chance of getting Ford to respond?
Ghosted in Glendale
Approaching the Manufacturers By Yourself is Never the Best Option
Dear Ghosted,
I understand that you want to get rid of your 2019 Ford Fusion, but trying to negotiate with the manufacturers on your own is not a good idea. You need to understand that it is all about business rather than sympathy for Ford so they only do what is good for them. For that reason, Ford would never give you the best offer on the table; they will only offer you what favors them.
In fact, I’m surprised that they have not proposed any ridiculous offer to you because that’s what they do. Whichever way, count yourself lucky that you haven’t struck any deal with them.
FILE A LEMON LAW CLAIM
The best way to get the most out of cases like this is to use legal action. From my understanding, you’ve made three visits to the dealership for different problems; and everything they fixed on all occasions was under your warranty. This gives you a green light to open a formidable lemon case since you have all the documentation. What you need now is a very good lemon law attorney to handle your case. But how will it work? Let me explain it to you.
There are two possible solutions and the first is what you said Ford offered you, which is a buy back. In that case, they are literally buying the vehicle back from you. Since you paid it fully and you have no monthly payments on it, Ford will take the responsibility of paying you the original cost of the vehicle.
You also mentioned some substantial upgrades you’ve done to the wheels, body, sound system, and others; ensure that you discuss these with your lemon law attorney to add these to your case. If they do, Ford has to pay you back all those extra costs in form of compensation. The good thing about this option is that all payments that will be returned to you will include their respective taxes too.
MILEAGE OFFSET
Although it isn’t that straightforward, because Ford will also attempt to fight back under the guise of what we call mileage offset. This mileage offset refers to the period you drove the vehicle without any issues. They will know this through the documentation from your first visit to the dealership; you stated that it was around 20,000 miles. But provided that you have a good attorney, they will also fight back and dispute it to make Ford deduct only half or possibly all of the mileage offset calculations. Find out more about the Ford Lemon Law buyback process, its mechanics, qualifications, covered models, reported issues, and your legal options.
The second option would be cash and keep which means you will keep the vehicle, but Ford will pay you compensation for the troubles it has caused you so far. This option means you accept the problems that the vehicle has and will no longer tag it a lemon if you were to sell it in the future.
HIRE AN ATTORNEY AT ZERO COST
Luckily, California is a customer-friendly state so they don’t charge you any money for attorney fees whatsoever. The manufacturers have the responsibility of paying the attorney fees so everything is at zero cost.
So I’ll advise you to reach out to a reputable lemon law attorney and get them to deal with the manufacturers by themselves. And if Ford were to call you anytime soon to present any offer, don’t respond—leave everything to your attorney. No matter how tempting it may sound, there is always something better and your attorney will squeeze it out of them. The ball is in your court now and it is your decision to make, so good luck!
Reference: Ford Lemon Law Buyback Program Information
Suzanne
Free Legal Advice About Your 2019 Ford Raptor 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 CA Lemon lawyer to get proper legal advice about your lemon law claim.
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Featured Images:
- 2019 Ford Raptor ©Johannes Maximilian (CC BY-SA 4.0 License)