Another disappointing dealer experience

[Ctrl-z]

Took my 2011 MKX in to my local Ford/Lincoln dealership where I purchased it for the first scheduled maintenance and an assortment of warranty issues. Of those warranty issues, none were fixed presumably because the dealership wasn't able to reproduce any of them. I suspect they didn't try very hard.

 

My blindspot indicators haven't worked for the past several days (no sensor blocked message this time). Dealer claims they work yet driving away from the lot they didn't (would have turned around and told them about it but it was closing time). I complained that my Auto-Wipers almost never work (they have worked maybe 3 times out of hundreds of times when they should have worked - windshield can be completely obscured with rain or road splash and those wipers just won't move unless I manually turn them on). Dealer said they work. What are the odds? I mentioned that my steering column squeals noticeably whenever it moves in or out in cold weather. Dealer said it didn't do it for them. Well, duh, I said it happens in COLD weather. One might think think they could have lubricated it anyway!

 

Continue to have a fascinating assortment of Sync issues, now affecting Climate and Navigation functions. Dealership can't reproduce them (well no kidding, virtually none of the Sync issues are strictly reproducible, I'm just hoping to be be kept up to date with updates) But no hope of any Sync updates beyond 2.4 in Canada as the dealership has no record of there being anything newer than that. Are Canadian dealerships really kept that much in the dark?

 

One limited success story is they are ordering in a replacement window trim for the bottom of one of my rear windows because mine is "warped". It's not warped actually, it was just applied crooked so that one end is too high and the other too low. Oh well, chances are they are actually going to fix that one.

 

So it appears I'm going to need to have my video camera with me at all times so I can document all these non-reproducible issues. Might get a bit tricky video-recording and driving but I'm game. Like probably most dealerships nowadays, there seems to be a serious disconnect between the customer service girl at the counter who has virtually no idea of the functions of the vehicles they sell and the mechanics in the back who do the work. That is very frustrating for the customer.

 

Oh yeah, one more thing that really pissed me off. This was the second consecutive time I've been promised a loaner vehicle (we Lincoln customers are a cut above don't you know) but when I show up in the morning, there's none to be had. That really put a crimp in my day. I've had it with these guys but the only other anywhere near-local dealer is a Ford only dealership that seems to have a pretty good service reputation. But can a Ford dealer do warranty service on a Lincoln vehicle?

[delldell]

Took my 2011 MKX in to my local Ford/Lincoln dealership where I purchased it for the first scheduled maintenance and an assortment of warranty issues. Of those warranty issues, none were fixed presumably because the dealership wasn't able to reproduce any of them. I suspect they didn't try very hard.

 

My blindspot indicators haven't worked for the past several days (no sensor blocked message this time). Dealer claims they work yet driving away from the lot they didn't (would have turned around and told them about it but it was closing time). I complained that my Auto-Wipers almost never work (they have worked maybe 3 times out of hundreds of times when they should have worked - windshield can be completely obscured with rain or road splash and those wipers just won't move unless I manually turn them on). Dealer said they work. What are the odds? I mentioned that my steering column squeals noticeably whenever it moves in or out in cold weather. Dealer said it didn't do it for them. Well, duh, I said it happens in COLD weather. One might think think they could have lubricated it anyway!

 

Continue to have a fascinating assortment of Sync issues, now affecting Climate and Navigation functions. Dealership can't reproduce them (well no kidding, virtually none of the Sync issues are strictly reproducible, I'm just hoping to be be kept up to date with updates) But no hope of any Sync updates beyond 2.4 in Canada as the dealership has no record of there being anything newer than that. Are Canadian dealerships really kept that much in the dark?

 

One limited success story is they are ordering in a replacement window trim for the bottom of one of my rear windows because mine is "warped". It's not warped actually, it was just applied crooked so that one end is too high and the other too low. Oh well, chances are they are actually going to fix that one.

 

So it appears I'm going to need to have my video camera with me at all times so I can document all these non-reproducible issues. Might get a bit tricky video-recording and driving but I'm game. Like probably most dealerships nowadays, there seems to be a serious disconnect between the customer service girl at the counter who has virtually no idea of the functions of the vehicles they sell and the mechanics in the back who do the work. That is very frustrating for the customer.

 

Oh yeah, one more thing that really pissed me off. This was the second consecutive time I've been promised a loaner vehicle (we Lincoln customers are a cut above don't you know) but when I show up in the morning, there's none to be had. That really put a crimp in my day. I've had it with these guys but the only other anywhere near-local dealer is a Ford only dealership that seems to have a pretty good service reputation. But can a Ford dealer do warranty service on a Lincoln vehicle?

 

I would check on free scheduled maintenance, as that may only be able to be done at a Lincoln dealer.

On the sync/touch issues, I placed a digital camera that does movies on a "sticky pad" at the back of the center console so the view is of the main screen. Before I start the car I start recording. If no problems are recorded on the capacity of the SD card, I just delete. If there are problems, I transfer to PC with a filename that describes the problem also with a time, if possible. I also narrate when there is a problem. In the narration I start off with date and time, and also have the radio on so date and time could also be confirmed.

 

I let service dept. know of problems and videos, will take it in for 2.7 update. Not a lot of problems and they are intermittent, but they are annoying and I want them fixed. In my state, Lemon law includes them trying to fix the same problem 4 times within one year. I count needing 2.4 and 2.7 as two of those, as I got them because system was not functioning properly. If I still have problems after 2.7 I will take it back immediately and tell them they are up to 3 tries. I got MFT because it allowed me to get nav, but I have a lot more confidence in basic sync. and I can get a cheap nav unit for a lot less than MFT and 795 for nav. I love everything else about my Edge