Advice on How to Proceed QUE THE BUYBACK!

[CVP33]

To be clear on my 4 lemons (all non-Fords) dealer had no less than 5 attempts to fix, had my vehicle for 45 days over 90 day timespan. Problem was duplicated so no issue there……just couldn’t fix it. One they even flew in engineers to try and figure it out.

 

[BoostCreep]

To be clear on my 4 lemons (all non-Fords) dealer had no less than 5 attempts to fix, had my vehicle for 45 days over 90 day timespan. Problem was duplicated so no issue there……just couldn’t fix it. One they even flew in engineers to try and figure it out.

Doesn’t sound like a very fun process.

 

[smurfslayer]

It’s not. I’ve been blessed that I’ve not needed to go through that recently, but, when I did, manufacturer buy backs were exceedingly rare. Nowhere near the frequency we see now.

It’s really a PITA for the consumer.

 

[BoostCreep]

Did a deep dive on issue #2 today, and fixed it, sweet silence!

I thought I had already checked all bolts but forgot I never looked closely at the bolts that attach the door hinges to the door itself. They were both tight, but sure as sheet when I put my ratchet on the one for the lower hinge, it made the dreaded creak noise every time I went to torque it. Ended up removing the hinge and spraying white lithium grease in there between the door sheet metal and rivnut. Also pulled the door wiring harness grommet out right above it, and shot some grease into that section from above. Put it back together and torqued the hinge bolts to spec, and it’s a smooth operator.

Not sure about the deal with the fastener that’s stripped and came out, but as someone mentioned, it’s not a structural bolt and likely only used during the assembly process.

The fix was similar to what I mention in this thread:

Body Creaking Sounds

I have this same issue (1,800 miles) on my 2023 gen3. There is a black rubber plug right where your hand is pushing down on the body. If you take off that black rubber plug, you will see where the two body panels meet. They are moving and rubbing against each other. Take your finger and place it...

www.fordraptorforum.com

Not sure how many people are having these issues on Gen 3 bodies, but my Gen 2 was rock solid and had none of this. The dealer blamed the aluminum but f150s have been aluminum for almost 10 years now.

Now just need someone to figure out the driveline vibration and I think I’m ready to let the rest go.

 

[Tin Can Rap]

Op is your truck a 37 package? I went from a '23 35" truck with no driveline issues; to a '23 37" truck and I too have the tapping steering wheel feeling, wandering handling, shaking steering wheel. I had my dealer reblance my tires and it helped a little, but didn't resolve it. It presents itself as if there is something loose in the rack and/or suspension/ sway bar, but everything I check is tight.

 

[smurfslayer]

Did a deep dive on issue #2 today, and fixed it, sweet silence!

I thought I had already checked all bolts but forgot I never looked closely at the bolts that attach the door hinges to the door itself. They were both tight, but sure as sheet when I put my ratchet on the one for the lower hinge, it made the dreaded creak noise every time I went to torque it. Ended up removing the hinge and spraying white lithium grease in there between the door sheet metal and rivnut. Also pulled the door wiring harness grommet out right above it, and shot some grease into that section from above. Put it back together and torqued the hinge bolts to spec, and it’s a smooth operator.

Not sure about the deal with the fastener that’s stripped and came out, but as someone mentioned, it’s not a structural bolt and likely only used during the assembly process.

The fix was similar to what I mention in this thread:

Body Creaking Sounds

I have this same issue (1,800 miles) on my 2023 gen3. There is a black rubber plug right where your hand is pushing down on the body. If you take off that black rubber plug, you will see where the two body panels meet. They are moving and rubbing against each other. Take your finger and place it...

www.fordraptorforum.com

Not sure how many people are having these issues on Gen 3 bodies, but my Gen 2 was rock solid and had none of this. The dealer blamed the aluminum but f150s have been aluminum for almost 10 years now.

Now just need someone to figure out the driveline vibration and I think I’m ready to let the rest go.

Every once in a while, when the moon phase is just right, since day one my Rap D/S rear door will creak when opened. Then I try to recreate it and of course it won’t happen. Every time I mention it at a service, it won’t happen. I can stand there for 10 minutes opening and closing the door and it will be completely silent, but guaranteed the next time I open it, it sounds like something is way out or breaking. Then it’s like - Did I really just hear that? Did anyone else?

I get this one...it’s minor, but can be maddening.

Back in 2018, my wife would close the passenger door, and it would bounce. I’d go over and close the door without incident. This went on for weeks, culminating in my wife proclaiming “I hate this truck” to which I replied, “well, Lucille hates you too” As much as I hate to admit it, the wife was right. One of the 2 door latch cables failed and, it was ONLY reproducible if you FIRST opened the door from the inside, then the door would not latch. But, if you open from the outside, the problem would not manifest. As warm temps arrived in the mid-atlantic, I was washing the truck and had made my way to the inside, and managed to recreate the issue and then, frustratingly I couldn’t get it to reoccur. Local service Dept. found it and got it working.

 

[raptordoug618]

I’d love to hear everyone’s *constructive* advice on how to proceed with the dealer. I’d like to preface by saying that I’m typically not one to complain or cause a fuss, and I’m an attorney by profession so honestly the last thing I’d wanna do in my personal life is litigate. So to clarify, I am NOT going to actually start a buyback or lemon case.

My truck recently spent three weeks at the dealer for the following reasons with the following outcomes (in order of importance):

1.) pulsating vibration from front end felt in pedals and floor, starts at 50 mph. I’m confident it’s the front diff, likely pinion bearing failing as a few on here have had.

Result: dealer acknowledged issue, has no idea what’s causing it and not willing to change any parts. Threw their hands up, sent Ford a message and doesn’t know how to proceed.

2.) passenger door constantly clicks when opened and closed, see video. I’ve isolated this to the a pillar which actually flexes from the torque from the hinge and door check. Today I noticed one of the three bolts on the top hinge was loose and completely stripped but no damage to the threads. It seems like there’s some structural panel bond missing or some missing rivets or something on the passenger side of my cab because my running board creaks when I step on it on that side as well and you can feel the rocker flex.

Result: dealer acknowledges the issue and that the a pillar is flexing excessively. They can’t fix and would have to send to body shop. It sounds like the fix involves pulling the whole dash and reconstructing a pillar as if the truck were in an accident. I have a strong aversion to body shops.

3.) HVAC can’t regulate heat when ambient temps below 40. Recently went to mammoth with 20-35 temps and with HVAC on auto set all the way down to 60 it blows hot air and the cab becomes an oven. Bump it to LO and I get full AC. In temperate SoCal temps it operates normally.

Result: dealer can’t replicate issue. Doesn’t know how to fix and just messaged Ford and put their hands up.

4.) brake pedal makes clicking noise when depressed but not all the time. Mostly happens in stop and go traffic.

Result: dealer acknowledged issue, says it’s normal operation. Anyone else have this?

5.) truck occasionally says no key detected even though the key fob is in the cupholder or in my pocket. Has happened 2-3 times after driving for awhile then going into park and idling, can’t get it back into gear.

Result: dealer can't replicate issue. Messaged ford and gave up. I’m willing to give this one up because it’s only happened a few times, maybe a fluke.

6.) B pillar buzzing/fluttering sound from drivers window.

Result: dealer replaced drivers door glass weather seal, the only issue they actually resolved in 3 weeks!


Where do I go from here? What would any of you do?

Vibration at highway speeds to due to tires. Ask dealer to perform road force balance. Should get results in the low teens. Anything over 20-30 psi is bad tires. As far as buy back. If you’re located in California I can refer you to an attorney I used for Lemon Law. They were amazing and had the case settled for max amount and under 3 months.

 

[BoostCreep]

Op is your truck a 37 package? I went from a '23 35" truck with no driveline issues; to a '23 37" truck and I too have the tapping steering wheel feeling, wandering handling, shaking steering wheel. I had my dealer reblance my tires and it helped a little, but didn't resolve it. It presents itself as if there is something loose in the rack and/or suspension/ sway bar, but everything I check is tight.

That’s frustrating, I’m sorry you’re dealing with that. I saw there’s a thread on this issue I think you’ve posted on, hopefully you can get a fix soon. Mine is a ‘23 35 truck, and I thankfully am not experiencing this issue.

 

[Keshka]

Per your key fob.... I live in a pretty rural area and "town" is about 12k pop. But nonetheless, there are a couple places in town that if I park there, my fob becomes inoperable. I have not dragged my RF equipment to one of these locations but I am pretty darn sure they are radiating RF on the same band as the remote. In order to get the truck started, I have to use the slot in the cup holder.
315MHz is also used by many types of motion sensors such as those used to open doors at your favorite gas stop store.

 

[BoostCreep]

View attachment 442605

Every once in a while, when the moon phase is just right, since day one my Rap D/S rear door will creak when opened. Then I try to recreate it and of course it won’t happen. Every time I mention it at a service, it won’t happen. I can stand there for 10 minutes opening and closing the door and it will be completely silent, but guaranteed the next time I open it, it sounds like something is way out or breaking. Then it’s like - Did I really just hear that? Did anyone else?

I get this one...it’s minor, but can be maddening.

Back in 2018, my wife would close the passenger door, and it would bounce. I’d go over and close the door without incident. This went on for weeks, culminating in my wife proclaiming “I hate this truck” to which I replied, “well, Lucille hates you too” As much as I hate to admit it, the wife was right. One of the 2 door latch cables failed and, it was ONLY reproducible if you FIRST opened the door from the inside, then the door would not latch. But, if you open from the outside, the problem would not manifest. As warm temps arrived in the mid-atlantic, I was washing the truck and had made my way to the inside, and managed to recreate the issue and then, frustratingly I couldn’t get it to reoccur. Local service Dept. found it and got it working.

Haha, man that would be frustrating! So did you tell the wife she was right all along or did you keep it to yourself when you finally replicated it?

I wish I could figure out how to post a video, my front passenger door was really bad. It would make a creaking/clicking noise with every single manipulation all the time.

What you’re talking about on your back door I get from time to time on my back doors, temperature dependent. I’m pretty sure it’s the rubber seals near the rear door hinges that rub just a bit. Or it at least sounds really similar to what you’re describing but then is otherwise quiet and can’t really replicate. That one doesn’t really bother me.