Veteran's Ford Automotive Scam False Diagnostic Repairs Tampa Florida

The service department is one giant scam.

Earlier this year my Ranger had been experiencing a short when I put the truck into drive. The fuse connected to my reverse lights, airbag warning light and AC blower motor would blow each time I shifted into drive. It was an obvious short that was happening somewhere in the dash since it would happen at a specific moment every time. This went unheard by the Veterans Ford service department.

The first time it went into service they decided to replace the AC system and airbag system. It was covered under warranty, so I wasn't going to argue as long as they actually found the short. That wasn't the case. The second I put the car into drive right in front of the service center it blew the fuse again. A tech tried to explain that it was the adapter I was using to charge my cellphone that was causing the problem. Sure, too bad those outlets are not on the same fuse as the one that is popping.

Then they told me there was a "mysterious" fluid leak from my AC unit onto the blower motor itself and water damage wasn't covered under my warranty. I called BS since the blower motor would always work with a fresh fuse as long as I did not put the truck into drive. They refused my claim and charged me $120 for my rental car and diagnostic.

Veteran's Ford wanted $500+ to put in a whole new blower motor. I passed and took my truck to an old Ford tech I knew and we pulled the dash apart ourselves.

Turns out the Over Drive wire which runs down the shifter had been rubbing on a metal part of the steering column. This had cuased the wire housing to wear off and had exposed the wire. Each time I shifted, the metal and wire contact would cause the fuse to blow. $2 worth of electrical tape fixed the problem. My AC works perfectly now.

We also checked under the hood for this mysterious "leak" they said was causing the fuse to bust. No such leak, but the Veteran's Ford techs were nice enough to disconnect the hose that is used to keep the blower motor's armiture cool.

In short, Veterans Ford lied to me; they made up a diagnosis that didn't exist, and didn't even reconnect my blower motor properly!

Mike
Wesley Chapel, Florida
U.S.A.