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Abnormal Steering on the 3.7 Sport


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I know you guys may be out of suggestions for me but I wanted to run this by the board again...

 

After getting the car back I have noticed some new things....

 

I originally said that this only happens at higher speeds....This is not the case.
I can feel the car pull the right whenever I accelerate at ALL speeds, just not from a full stop. When I accelerate, the car pulls/shifts to the right and so does the steering wheel. The car stays traveling forward however. When I change lanes, the car may wobble based on throttle position because the original issue that I explained. I can feel the front of the car shift to the right slightly every time I give it moderate gas.
I am not sure if any work they have done to the car is making me notice this issue now OR maybe I just wasn't able to notice this before.
Of course they checked all of the linkages but they did not say whether they checked suspension.
The right side engine mount was replaced and I do not hear that noise or feel that vibration anymore so obviously the mount was worn.
The previous dealership replaced both front struts because the right one was busted.
To me, it seems that someone hit something hard on that right front side and because those tires are thin, I'm sure the suspension takes most of the force. I'm willing to bet that this pulling issue has something to do with that.
They replaced the axles, p/s pump, inspected the differential so the issue is not "internal" I'm leaning towards suspension now.
Could there have been something missed when they replaced the struts? In other words, can the strut mount or something be bad but it's just not protocol to change that also? The selling dealership is the ones who replaced it, before I really reported the issue and plus these are the same techs who told me it was torque steer and it's normal...
Edited by mcali6301
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The techs confirmed that the frame was not bent. I sat down with the shop foreman today and he said he's never had a car in 24 years that he could not fix. Between me, him and the service advisor we're all haunted by this issue hahahahaha ehhhhhh....

 

BUT at this point I can say, *something happened to this car*..

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The regional manager at Ford Customer care calls me and says that his "engineer" recommends that I bring the car into MOSSY FORD for a second opinion. This is the same dealer that sold me the car and told me that my issue was normal (Kearny Pearson Ford confirmed my issue and escalated it to the field service engineer who also confirmed something wrong). I told the guy absolutely NOT, why the heck would I bring the car there again, especially when a better dealership confirmed my issue a dealership who WAS the second opinion.

 

He places me on hold, comes back and tells me that his "engineer" said that the issue is normal. EVEN though KP Ford and the San Diego area field engineer confirmed an issue....Needless to say I was pissed off and asked to speak to his boss but it was a dead issue. Basically everything KP Ford said meant nothing to them. I hung up on him after nicely yelling about how stupid that assessment was and how they bullshitted me throughout the whole process pretty much, no apology, he just repeated the same thing like robot which made me more irate....

 

I still love the car and Kearny Pearson Ford but Ford CRC is complete BS!

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The regional manager at Ford Customer care calls me and says that his "engineer" recommends that I bring the car into MOSSY FORD for a second opinion. This is the same dealer that sold me the car and told me that my issue was normal (Kearny Pearson Ford confirmed my issue and escalated it to the field service engineer who also confirmed something wrong)...

 

Hello mcali6301,

 

Thank you for providing Ford Motor Company with your comments, as it helps us improve our customer experience. Your feedback has been documented.

 

Tricia

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  • 5 months later...

Hello! Yup, this subject again..... Since I've spent a lot of time under my car over the weekend I started noticing something about the LCA bushings.

 

Attached are pictures of the left one.The rubber feels soft, there are some small gaps on the inner parts. Also on the leftside the rubber is bulging a little bit (not sure how well you can see that).

 

The right one looks pretty much the same. There is no knocking. I looked online at bad bushings but they are all in far worse shape and all information points to extreme wear with knocking etc.

 

Looks to me like that piece has been doing a lot of moving around and thinking the mechanics of it, it makes sense to me that this could be causing the swaying and torque steer effect if these lower control arms are moving around while I'm switching lanes etc. Th

 

What do you guys think? What's weird is that this was never looked at the dealership..

 

 

 

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Edited by mcali6301
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I just went to a mechanic down the block reporting the rattle sound in the back...Instead they came back tell me that the right LCA bushing needs to be replaced. I believe them because I saw the thing also and it did not look good to me..Funny thing is they said nothing about the left one which looks the same IMO.

 

Here are pics of the right one..

 

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I just went to a mechanic down the block reporting the rattle sound in the back...Instead they came back tell me that the right LCA bushing needs to be replaced. I believe them because I saw the thing also and it did not look good to me..Funny thing is they said nothing about the left one which looks the same IMO.

 

Here are pics of the right one..

 

attachicon.gif20160426_145850.jpg

attachicon.gif20160426_145857.jpg

 

These photos are of my 2011 Ford Edge Limited with 140K miles on the original LCA's IMO there is nothing wrong with yours.

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Edited by macbwt
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I definitely see a difference there, the rubber on yours looks solid (I am in NO way looking at the rust, I'm sure that is normal). Now I realize that mine is probably not considered "worn" compared to the pictures of worn bushings I've seen on the internet but if those gaps or soft rubber are making the LCA move in any way I can definitely see how this is causing my issue. I guess unless you drive the car and see for yourself I just sound crazy (I'm used to it by now) LOL...Heck, my wife doesn't even notice it! She thinks I'm crazy! lol

 

I've brought this up to the dealership again to see what they say. If they don't want to look into it then I'm just going to have them replaced anyway.

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I took it in for another opinion. He agreed that the rear bushings do not look bad. weird but OK...

 

However, the forward bushing on the right LCA was worn out and the rubber was even poking out of the hole like string..the mechanic grabbed the right wheel and was able to move it along with the control arm..Not sure how Ford never caught this but if the problem didn't exist then back in October then probably this is a separate issue from my "wandering issue"

 

He documented it so I will take to Ford and see if they will replace the LCA under warranty...

 

Question: should I just aim to get both LCA's replaced or is one good enough for now?

Edited by mcali6301
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Agreed. In for one might as well replace both this way the balance is the same. I will note that the OEM LCA installed on the Edge is made of steel and the Moog LCA is made of aluminum. Which is good IMO as you save on un-sprung weight in your suspension and this is always better for trying to enhance handling and performance.

If the left LCA is not far behind, aim for both. Things that work in pairs are ideally replaced in pairs. But if the condition is "miles apart", then it will be up to your powers of persuasion to make it happen :)

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Thanks for that input!

 

I'm under premium care so I know the dealership will ONLY replace the LCA that they consider shot and replace it with a Motorcraft one. If it DOES fix this steering issue (gosh, how many times have I said that...) Then MAYBE I can get them to replace the other as a consolation for MISSING this in the first place! I wouldn't hold my breath on that however so I may just have to come out of pocket with the other.

 

If this fixes the issue though, I'll be so ecstatic I won't even care for while....

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I am doubtful on the out come as you need to understand the Edge has torque steer always has and unless you completely redesign and engineer the drive train it will not change. Keep in mind you are using the same LCA they put in the Ford Edge SE and all models nothing has or was changed.

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Would be good if that's the fix, but would look pretty bad for the mechanics/techs who should know about these things ...

Tell me about it...Especially the first dealership I brought it to who sold the car to me with a broken right strut, I told them it's pretty clear that the car hit a large bump prior to being traded in. They just shrugged it off and said it was normal.

Edited by mcali6301
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It is with extreme pleasure that I announce, my car is NOW repaired. The issue is resolved, the car does not pull anymore!!

 

This whole time, it was the freakin RIGHT LOWER CONTROL ARM, the front bushing in particular was worn out and eventually torn to the point that it was sticking out from under the car. I said it time and time again, MOST LIKELY the owner before me hit a large pothole and damaged the strut and LCA in the process.

 

I'll be sending an email to the dealerships to let them know just for future reference! I'm too relieved to even be mad!

 

:rockon::bliss::yahoo::headspin: :happy feet: :woohoo:

Edited by mcali6301
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