I have a 2008 Taurus X that has begun to idle rough and the engine light came on. We took it to a Ford dealer and they said it was bad cam phasers and would require $2,000.00 to fix because it is past the 36,000 mile warranty. There is a Technical Service Bulletin out (11-6-1 dated May 31, 20011) that covers Ford 2008-2009 Taurus X, 2007-2009 Edge, 2009 Flex, Lincoln 2007-2009 MKZ, 2009 MKS, 2007-2009 MKX, and Mercury 2008-2009 Sable. I called Ford and I talked to the dealership and neither will help me out. They say there is no customer service money available at this time to help owners with repairs but to check back later. Is anyone else having this problem?
Taurus X problem, rough idle and engine light
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TSB's are not recalls. They do not entitle you to extended warranties. Ford does have after warranty programs but they do require a certain level of owner participation. If you have a bad service history with the dealer you won't get far. If you have an aftermarket oil filter on it there would be no warranty anyway, even if you were under the 36K.
I get the difference. Just disappointed in Ford. I'm a blue collar worker and I try to buy American whenever I can. But since I'm a blue collar worker I can't afford to spend $2,000.00 to fix a vehicle that is only a few years old, especially since it was not a cheap vehicle to begin with. My point in the TSB is this obviously is not an isolated case. Ford doesn't have to do a single thing for their customers if the vehicle needs major repair after 36,000 miles, but I also have a choice on who the manufacturer of my next vehicle will be and some manufacturers offer longer drive train warranties. I do like my Ford and would love to keep buying Fords but loyalty goes both ways. If anyone else is having this problem please call Ford and if you are thinking of buying a vehicle listed in the TSB above make sure you do your homework so you don't get stuck with a $2,000.00 repair like me.
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I fully understand and agree with your feelings. I would suggest a second opinion from a trusted referral to an independent shop. What specific OBDII code(s) were displayed? If the engine is the 3.0L DOHC V6, there is a common failure on earlier versions of the rubber tube connection for the PCV valve under the intake. Repair is an involved job, but nowhere near $2000.00! It is not too reasonable to expect a repair of such expense so early in the life of this vehicle. As for the advice from Canuck623 about the aftermarket oil filter jeopardizing your warranty, such is not legal in the USA. The Magnuson - Moss Warranty Act forbids such a situation. It states, in essence, if such a requirement is made by the manufacturer, they must supply their OEM parts for the stated item at their cost. Good luck.
Thanks for your advice. It is the 3.o engine. They said it had "P0016 in memory, power balance shows no current misfires, mode 6 test shows misfires recorded on 5 of 6 cylinders. Monitor/recorder shows vct error pids both erratic on accel and decal. Needs phasers."
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Tell that to all the 5.4 3 valve truck owners that had aftermarket filter material removed from the oil passages in their engines. I was there and know it happened. Also has happened on the 3.9 Thunderbird and LS engines. Having a filter come apart and ruining your engine is specifically stated in the service message on OASIS. How about all the 6.0 short blocks that were not covered under warranty because a legal for sale chip caused the engine to burn the pistons? Once the consumer decides on his own to install an aftermarket part then the warranty for that part is held by the company he bought it from. There are some limitations to the act everyone should understand.
"Although the Act covers warranties on repair or replacement parts in consumer products, warranties on services for repairs are not covered.
The federal minimum standards for full warranties are waived if the warrantor can show that the problem associated with a warranted consumer product was caused by damage while in the possession of the consumer, or by unreasonable use, including a failure to provide reasonable and necessary maintenance."
Trust me, if there is oil filter material in the cam phasers it will be customer pay.
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It is my understanding that there are certain filters that are more prone to failure than others. Are you aware of any instances where someone successfully brought suit against a filter manufacturer? Certainly if ford found material where it didn't belong, they'd say that it wasn't theirs.
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Not that I am aware of. In every instance that I personally saw the engine in question had an aftermarket filter on it when it was brought in. Removal of the filters was done and the case was cut off. You could see quite clearly that the filter paper was missing in spots.
Just a side note to what I said earlier. During my time as a diesel tech we saw many dusted turbos. The vehicle was brought in for lack of performance and we would pull the intake tube and check the turbo fins. If they were showing signs of wear on the forward edge we would pull the air cleaner and check the filter. Can't tell you how many we found with the filter paper pulled from the filter. This goes straight into the turbo and is consumed. Now the dust and dirt does it's damage. Finding this changed the turbo from warranty to customer pay based on the lack of maintenance/abuse clause.
No you don't have to use all Factory parts to keep your warranty, but the part you choose better not fail.
Just a side note to what I said earlier. During my time as a diesel tech we saw many dusted turbos. The vehicle was brought in for lack of performance and we would pull the intake tube and check the turbo fins. If they were showing signs of wear on the forward edge we would pull the air cleaner and check the filter. Can't tell you how many we found with the filter paper pulled from the filter. This goes straight into the turbo and is consumed. Now the dust and dirt does it's damage. Finding this changed the turbo from warranty to customer pay based on the lack of maintenance/abuse clause.
No you don't have to use all Factory parts to keep your warranty, but the part you choose better not fail.
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