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Pre-Delivery Inspection


oskar27

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I'm not sure about what all happens on the sales or detail side of it, but as far as service goes.... Different techs do them differently.... some take all the plastic out, some don't. The main point of the PDI is just that, 'inspection'. Personally I always take all the plastic off the seats, put all the little rubber trays in their respective compartments, remove all the random stickers from the windows (not the actual window sticker or other informational stickers, just the random manufacturing stickers), remove any other protective coverings from the inside panels... some can be completely random, remove all the protective coverings and stickers from the outside, install radio antenna and wheel center caps or lug covers on super dutys, check and set tire pressures (except for super dutys, they're almost always way over inflated), check lug nut torque, check the functionality of pretty much every electrical item on the car... windows up/down, sunroof, all lights, horn, power seats, power mirrors, power locks, folding seats, power liftgate, heat & a/c, radio, etc.... you get the idea. Then check all fluids and top off if necessary (they're usually always a little low from the factory... nothing that will hurt anything just not "completely" full..... they save a s**t-ton of $$$ doing that). Then roadtest and make sure everything feels and sounds good, no unusual noises or vibrations, drives straight and smooth, test cruise control and any other fancy gadgets, make sure tranny shifts smooth, etc. And of course make sure there's no warning lights on the dash either. It's not super common, but does happen.... we've had transmissions that were no good right off the bat (2010 Taurus with 4 miles on it banging every gear), 3rd brake lights that didn't work cuz they bent a pin in the connector when they plugged it in, and 2 of the PDI's I've done this week, a Focus and an Explorer, the Focus had a check engine light (ended up being a calibration update to fix) and the Explorer an airbag light (the connector for the LH canopy airbag module was plugged in but not fully seated, so the resistance was way off as it was just hitting the shorting bar). Also had a new Focus a couple months ago with a locked up A/C compressor on the PDI (apparently they weren't putting enough oil in them at the factory...oops!). Also have to perform any open recalls that they might have (along with the rest of the dealer stock)

 

But yea that's pretty much it.... then we take it over to detail after we're done and do the state inspection. Some of these new cars (mainly the new Fusions) are absolutely filllllttthy when they arrive, literally covered in dirt/mud.... even the inside will have dirt all over. They even made a statement about it and said they've adjusted their processes to keep them from getting so dirty....I sure hope so, lol

 

 

Mine added almost 100 km to it from the extended test drive I took it on to two days later. Little excessive.

They have a list they use when they test drive and inspect it. Yes, they also remove the plastic from the interior bits and wash it.

 

Huh? They added 100 km to it from the extended test drive you took it on two days later?? That makes no sense at all, lol

But some new vehicles have more miles on them then others do.... Ford will randomly select vehicles off the assembly line for road testing, I've seen them with as little as 15-20 miles or as much as 70 or 80, just depends on their mood I guess, haha. They put a little sticker in the window saying that this vehicle was selected for random roadtesting, and how many miles they put on it. But sometimes it falls off by the time it gets to the dealer

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thirdgenlxi thats pretty good description you made, never thought the dealer checks so many things. I guess you must have worked for a dealer. Thanks for your time

 

Yup... I still do work for a dealer.... I've been a Ford dealer tech for about 10 years now. And no problem... always glad to help ;)

 

This was my fun for today..... LH temp blend door actuator in an '09 F-150....

 

548B61D8-3DF0-4AA1-90B2-1C88CA7250D0-787

 

7AB59176-3168-47AC-BCF7-C9F174D8DD24-787

 

Usually end up with more of these than anything else though....eek! Always a joy [/sarcasm] lol

 

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You'd think Ford would have fixed this BDA plague by now, but instead it seems to have extended a helping hand to the door switch/latch :chairshot:

 

Hahahaha can't argue with ya there! LOL. I will say, these new style actuators have actually been a lot better than the old white ones..... for awhile there it seemed like every '03-ish Expedition/Aviator/Windstar/etc you'd get it would be surround sound clicking from both front and rear actuators, haha. The new style ones don't seem to sit there and click, they just don't move (such as the case with this one). But the number of them we see has definitely gone down quite a bit

 

Ford isn't the only ones though.... other brands have the same issues too. My dad has an '02 GMC Envoy and had to replace the temp blend door actuator in his as well, and on the Trailblazer/Envoy forum he's on people are doing them left and right

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Huh? They added 100 km to it from the extended test drive you took it on two days later?? That makes no sense at all, lol

Sorry... Poor proof reading on my part. I went to the dealership to take the car for a test drive on my own and it had something like 25 km on it. It was just off the truck - I had to take the plastic off the steering wheel. When I brought it back to the dealership it had around 75 on it but when I picked it up two days later it had over 100 additional kilometres on it. I didn't quiz them on it... I just wanted to get out of there.

 

I certainly don't like the idea of someone joyriding around in my brand new car.

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Sorry... Poor proof reading on my part. I went to the dealership to take the car for a test drive on my own and it had something like 25 km on it. It was just off the truck - I had to take the plastic off the steering wheel. When I brought it back to the dealership it had around 75 on it but when I picked it up two days later it had over 100 additional kilometres on it. I didn't quiz them on it... I just wanted to get out of there.

 

I certainly don't like the idea of someone joyriding around in my brand new car.

 

That seems very excessive IMO. It almost sounds like one of the dealership employees decided to take it home to run some weekend errands.

 

I rented a Mustang last summer that had 2.3 mi on it when I drove out of the rental agency parking lot. That's closer to what I would expect when buying a new car.

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Mine had 6 miles on it when they drove it up and had it ready for me. Its not the first car I've bought from them so they knew from 11/11 with my Mustang that I dont like them doing anything but removing the plastic and allowing me to do the rest of the new car prep myself. I adamantly told them to save the time detailing the car etc... I get it done myself at my buddies place who details exotic and high end luxury cars before they're detailed to new owners. Cant trust everyone with your paint, especially mine which was black!

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I also would like to detail my Edge but as per post #7 are the dealers obliged to do this pre delivery inspection? I was surprised that they have to do so much work / testing / driving because I thought cars coming from the factory are ready for the customer except cleaning the plastics and perhaps washing to remove transport dust etc.

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