Ford Motor Company Ford F250 engine died Dearborn Michigan

March 16, 2009

Dear Ford,
I am contacting you today completely out of character because I have never written a letter to a manufacturer complaining about their product. However, since I am so heart broken I can't help myself and would really like for you to understand my predicament.

I was a very proud owner of a 2000 Ford F250 Super Duty with 86,000 miles on it. For the past 9 years I considered my truck to be the most beautiful vehicle on the road and I can't even begin to describe the immeasurable confidence along with joy this truck had given me. When ever I was in my truck, I would always get compliments from people and they constantly remarked on what great condition it was in. My friends and family teased me that I didn't own a “working” truck but owned a “show” truck. I verbalized to anyone who would listen to me that I loved my truck and vowed that there wasn't any other vehicle in the world that I would trade it for. However last week within three days, that all changed.

At this point, I feel it necessary to describe the history of my truck to you. First off, it has been garaged for all 9 years as well as only premium gas, countless hours of hand detailing (by me) even in sub-zero weather. The heaviest load this truck ever hauled was the family's weekly groceries and it is not used to tow anything. Since I am a graduate student, this truck was never used for any type of construction business, never any off road experiences, never did any plowing and was never in an accident. As for the maintenance history, the oil was changed every 5,000 miles with synthetic oil (last oil change was 81,000) and all scheduled service was done by a certified dealer service center in Syosset, NY.

Now I'll explain to you the reason for writing this letter. Last Wednesday I heard a very soft ping in the engine where it was so subtle that you had to turn the radio off to hear it. I contacted my Ford certified service center in Syosset, NY and took the next available appointment for service on Friday, only three days later. By Friday morning the soft engine ping had become a very noticeable engine knock however I wasn't overly worried because the engine warning light never went on. The diagnostic from your certified service center said that I had an engine rod knock and that I would need a whole new engine. I was (and still am) in absolute shock that this could happen to my beautiful truck so I went for a second opinion. The 2nd diagnostic results said that the cam shaft was no good and again a new engine replacement was suggested.

At this point I have to be perfectly honest with you; I am a long time truck lover and have owned two GMC Sierras as well as the Ford F250 Super Duty over the past 16 years. Based on looks, I LOVE your 2009 F250 Super Duty and want to order one fully loaded. However, I have two very daunting concerns that I can not resolve and these two concerns are stopping me from ordering another Ford product.

First concern:
I have been in contact with a couple of your dealerships to order a new truck, mainly a dealership in Syosset, NY where the first 2000 F250 was bought and serviced. My husband explained the truck situation to the salesman along with requesting quotes on a trade in of my 2000 F250 on a fully loaded 2009 F250 Super Duty. We are only being offered $500.00 to $1000.00 for my truck and this is very hard to accept since it was only three days prior to this situation that my 2000 F250 was worth around $4500.00 on any dealer trade in. I am being told that my truck is virtually worthless with a damaged crank shift but in my opinion, there was nothing I could have done to avoid this and to be honest, this truck was “babied” all of its life….yet in the end, I'm the big loser.

Second concern:
You are offering a 5.4L engine on both the F150 and the F250 (6300lbs) however, there is almost 1000 lb difference between these two trucks…..how can you justify that this 5.4L