Damage on Front Grill

[cayenne]

I've got a spot on the top center of my front grill that the finishing is flaking off of. My 2014 SE is barely a year old and has approximately 16K miles on it, but Ford refuses to replace the grill and is adamant that I have dripped something on it which has caused the finish to fail. As you can see, it's on the top of the grill, pretty difficult to drip something on there, especially when the only work done under the hood has been oil changes.

I've gone to the dealer, they took pictures and submitted them through the digital image process. Denied... Challenged the denial, reviewed again, Denied. Contacted Crystal on here, she had the regional Customer Service manager contact me. He's completely useless as his hands are tied by others and he's at the mercy of his technical review team. I escalated the matter to that team, Denied again. I offered for them to replace the grill and I would do the labor myself and surrender the damaged grill to them. Denied, they want me to pay the dealer for the labor.

I'm so fed up with this BS... I contacted Crystal again, and got absolutely nowhere. No one I speak to has the authority to make a decision, they are limited by what they can do. So... I'm stuck with a damaged grill and FMC doesn't give a sh*t that I've been a loyal customer forever or the fact that I've purchased a half dozen SVT vehicles. This is where loyalty doesn't matter, they don't care about making the customer happy, instead they want to blame me for something I didn't do.

Sorry for the rant... I know CSB... Can someone recommend a way I can fix this? I'm not sure if I can find the paint code and have a body shop respray and match the finish or not. I just want it to be right, the finish is damaged and it's driving me crazy. It ticks me off that they are attempting to blame this on me, I honestly haven't spilled anything on it, but I'm stuck trying to fix this on my own.

Don't get me wrong, I love my truck, but this BS coupled with a couple years of fighting massive electrical problems on my wife's Escape makes it nearly impossible to be loyal any longer.

 

[mprice1234]

This is whats wrong with Ford

This is exactly what is wrong with Ford and why my Raptor will be my last! The dealers in most case do not care about customers and the higher up you go in corporate the less they care about customers and only their bottom line. Ford dealers have treated me like I'm not worth their time since I'm not there to buy a new vehicle. I have since bought two different brand vehicles and can not believe the way these dealers continue to treat me like royalty when I come in for service. Ford is stuck in the stone age when it comes to customer service and respect thinking they can rely on their product loyalty not realizing people see their decline in quality and service and are going else where! My two cent!

 

[cayenne]

This is exactly what is wrong with Ford and why my Raptor will be my last! The dealers in most case do not care about customers and the higher up you go in corporate the less they care about customers and only their bottom line. Ford dealers have treated me like I'm not worth their time since I'm not there to buy a new vehicle. I have since bought two different brand vehicles and can not believe the way these dealers continue to treat me like royalty when I come in for service. Ford is stuck in the stone age when it comes to customer service and respect thinking they can rely on their product loyalty not realizing people see their decline in quality and service and are going else where! My two cent!

I have to say, it certainly feels like this. Especially when dealing with this situation. I've been a blue oval guy and have always had one in my garage. It might be sitting next to a euro brand or two, but when I purchase domestic US, it's always been Ford for me. This may be changing in the future.

 

[Mariner]

Is the damaged part right at the very top of the grill? It's difficult to see on my phone

 

[2014RubyRed]

That looks like something corrosive got on top there and sat for a while. Have you been to automatic carwash? Ever? Maybe went to one, just that one time?

I know that automatics sometimes use questionable cleaning agents. I can't imagine what could fail with the finish on the grill just in that one spot.

Good luck with the issue, but I think it's ridiculous to throw FoMoCo under the bus for one thing that failed on your truck. Good luck with your resolution.......

 

[Mariner]

Personally I've had some really good experiences with issues at the dealership. Going with what @2014RubyRed said, FoMoCo I'm sure has pissed off some people but helped a tremendous amount of others. I had a rear pinion bearing fail and destroy itself in my rear diff housing, and it was replaced under warranty no questions asked, even though I know the dealership knows I run a performance tune. Either way, maybe a try a different dealer and try to work something out with them personally?

In the case of utter failure, I removed and plasti dipped my entire grill... that'll solve your problem. Good luck!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

[cayenne]

Is the damaged part right at the very top of the grill? It's difficult to see on my phone

Yes, the area to the right of the LED.

That looks like something corrosive got on top there and sat for a while. Have you been to automatic carwash? Ever? Maybe went to one, just that one time?

I know that automatics sometimes use questionable cleaning agents. I can't imagine what could fail with the finish on the grill just in that one spot.

Good luck with the issue, but I think it's ridiculous to throw FoMoCo under the bus for one thing that failed on your truck. Good luck with your resolution.......

Nope, always hand washed. I'm not looking to debate things, I'm looking to fix it... FMC should be standing behind it, they aren't, it's not the first time I've been through a denied warranty claim with them. Since they aren't standing behind it, I'm just looking for suggestions on how to fix properly.

 

[Kahuna]

LINE-X it and do your fenders and bumpers to match

 

[2014RubyRed]

Yes, the area to the right of the LED.



Nope, always hand washed. I'm not looking to debate things, I'm looking to fix it... FMC should be standing behind it, they aren't, it's not the first time I've been through a denied warranty claim with them. Since they aren't standing behind it, I'm just looking for suggestions on how to fix properly.

I guess repairing depends on if you want to go back to stock or improve the looks a little. I'm sure you can find a paint code and get some paint to look like stock. It's such a small spot and in the area that it's in, you could do the repairs easily yourself and save some money.

If and when my grill gets banged up a little, I will coat it with a bed covering like Line X or Raptor Liner. It looks really good, especially on the Ruby Red. I've already done most of the other 'grey' parts on my truck and it looks really good.

 

[Gilligan]

Ford has always taken care of me. When I dry my grille it always ends up leaving water sit in pretty much that exact area and straight line pattern because the towel doesn't reach back far enough unless you slip the edge in first. What do you use to wash your truck with? Ford shouldn't have to stand behind something that probably wasn't their fault....

As far as a fix goes I'd use it as an excuse to line-x or paint my grille, fenders and bumpers.