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LONG A** Read but I think its a good one, I could be wrong though.
@FordService
I bought a 15 St3 August 2015, after a week I noticed that my grille was cracked and would not stay seated. The grille popping out is a known issue for the 15 owners, and people will get it fixed under warranty.
I contacted @FordService and they reviewed the pictures and said the grill was not warrant able because there was a crack and they said I had hit something so that voided the warranty. There was no possible way I could have hit something, plus, the bumper sticks out further than the grille anyways so if I hit anything, there would be damage to the bumper, and there is not.
I got put in contact to contest their decision with Heather Nabb..... remember that name.
I was told the grille would not be replaced due to the 'impact damage". When I argued that it could not be from impact because there would be other physical damage to the bumper, and there was not. They said it was most likely due to a rock hitting it. I informed her that there was no denting or dimpling at that location (which there would be no questions if a rock hit it). After I disproved that theory I asked how it could have just split. They then claimed it was due to a stress crack.
Stress crack, ok, I can work with that. I asked for their proof on that claim, they didnt have any. I suggested that it is possible that since the grille keeps popping out, the fact it was not positioned correctly could be the issue. When the car experiences body roll, if the grille is not seated it is possible that it could have cracked the grille. Seems like I am trying to justify their claims?
She said that my explanation could not be the case.
I argued that it could be the case and that since the grille never stays seated, it must be a factory defect and therefore it should be covered by warranty.
She said the grille popping out was not an issue with these cars, and it is not a factory defect.
I sent her the huge thread of all the people saying they were having the same issue I was having....... but Nope, according to her, the grille popping out, Is not a real issue.......Ok Lady
She said that the grille would not leave the factory defective and that the grille could not be cracked from the factory. Those sorts of things dont happen.
Ok Lady......
I politely found the Ford Warranty manual and highlighted a few things for her. I copied parts of my email.
This was all to dispute that things dont come damaged from the factory and that because of the stress crack it voided the warranty on the part.
"Sorry to bug you again, but I took a closer look at the Ford Warrant Manual.
I came across the "New Vehicle Limited Warranty" section. As you can look up, I went in for my grill within a few weeks of getting my car. Ford has claimed that the "Stress Crack" was something that happened after I bought the car. I believe that this came from the factory this way, both the crack and the grill not staying seated. I was told that "doesn't happen"
Here is a section from the Ford handbook as to why they have the new vehicle warranty:
"This warranty does not mean that each Ford vehicle is defect free. Defects may be unintentionally introduced into vehicles during the design and manufacturing processes and such defects could result in the need for repairs. For this reason, Ford provides the New Vehicle Limited Warranty in order to remedy any such defects that result in vehicle part malfunction or failure during the warranty period."
Clearly Ford addresses the potential for there to be issues from the factory.
As such I went to get this fixed and got denied.
I also continued to look through what was not covered:
Damage covered by accidents, theft, fire, contaminated fuel, chemical spills, driving through deep water, misuse of vehicle
Clearly none of these apply, even the accident one, since there is zero damage to the bumper and there are no marks on the grille there is no way it could be claimed as damage due to an accident.
All other things not covered do not apply, except damage caused by environment.
Ford claimed that the split in the grille was a stress crack, the ONLY thing it says that ford does not cover when it comes to stress cracks is the windshield, and even that has exceptions.
In addition, it says that a part can be denied to be fixed under warranty if it can be proved without a doubt that something that would cause a voided warranty on the part to in fact be what caused the issue. You, nor Ford has been able to prove anything, you are just using your word against mine.
That all being said. I think its pretty clear that the grille is something that should be covered, I can even send you the 2016 Ford Warranty manual if you would like to see where I pulled my info from."
Game, set, match right?????? Think again friends......
She said this in response
"If we determine that the concern is not a defect in our product, we will not be able to cover the repair. I understand that you have read over the warranty and you feel we should cover this repair, but unfortunately as previously stated, Ford Motor Company will not be covering the replacement of your grille as there is a crack that has been determined not a defect in our product.
After banging my head against the wall repeatedly. I decided to prove that if it is a stress crack, there were only a few ways that could even happen, and that how in every case, I cannot be at fault so it should be covered under warranty.
I went on to state that if they refuse to believe that the crack could have formed from body flex while not seated properly, they only way stress cracks could develop is from localized buildups of internal normal stresses.
I went on to provide an engineering level explanation of how during the injection molding process things can happen that can cause unexpected internal stresses, things like cooling rate, etc.
These stresses that could be molded in can lie dormant until there is enough of an event to allow the stress to be released. if that was the case, which is very possible, there's no way I should be held accountable right?
Apparently Im still wrong, she said that's not possible.
After concussing myself with all of the times I was banging my head against the wall, I finally decided to go to my dealership (who is amazing) and have them take a look at it for me.
After removing the bumper and inspecting the mating surfaces for the grille and bumper, they noticed that the retaining tabs on the bumper were not installed correctly. They determined that to be the reason why the grille would not stay seated and how the grille could have gotten cracked.
The bumper was fixed and the grille were replaced under warranty since they determined that the problems I had were caused by issues from the factory.
Wait..... what?!?!? Could it be that I the customer was correct?!?!?! That there could have been an issue from the factory that caused all the issues with the grille?!
Wow, who would have thought that an young engineer could actually have some clue about what he was talking about.
Apparently not Heather Nabb.
So this huge post was to point out the issues with some customer service reps. There is a lot more to the story but I figured this was long enough.
Heather Nabb was not helpful and not willing to work with me. She completely disregarded what I had to say, and was not willing to reconsider helping me.
If any of you ever get sent to her for help, do yourself the favor and turn and run.
I asked to get a survey to review her, she hasnt sent will, nor do I think she will.
EDIT: Oh and by the way, I was arguing with her for over a year.... I got everything fixed last week
@FordService
I bought a 15 St3 August 2015, after a week I noticed that my grille was cracked and would not stay seated. The grille popping out is a known issue for the 15 owners, and people will get it fixed under warranty.
I contacted @FordService and they reviewed the pictures and said the grill was not warrant able because there was a crack and they said I had hit something so that voided the warranty. There was no possible way I could have hit something, plus, the bumper sticks out further than the grille anyways so if I hit anything, there would be damage to the bumper, and there is not.
I got put in contact to contest their decision with Heather Nabb..... remember that name.
I was told the grille would not be replaced due to the 'impact damage". When I argued that it could not be from impact because there would be other physical damage to the bumper, and there was not. They said it was most likely due to a rock hitting it. I informed her that there was no denting or dimpling at that location (which there would be no questions if a rock hit it). After I disproved that theory I asked how it could have just split. They then claimed it was due to a stress crack.
Stress crack, ok, I can work with that. I asked for their proof on that claim, they didnt have any. I suggested that it is possible that since the grille keeps popping out, the fact it was not positioned correctly could be the issue. When the car experiences body roll, if the grille is not seated it is possible that it could have cracked the grille. Seems like I am trying to justify their claims?
She said that my explanation could not be the case.
I argued that it could be the case and that since the grille never stays seated, it must be a factory defect and therefore it should be covered by warranty.
She said the grille popping out was not an issue with these cars, and it is not a factory defect.
I sent her the huge thread of all the people saying they were having the same issue I was having....... but Nope, according to her, the grille popping out, Is not a real issue.......Ok Lady
She said that the grille would not leave the factory defective and that the grille could not be cracked from the factory. Those sorts of things dont happen.
Ok Lady......
I politely found the Ford Warranty manual and highlighted a few things for her. I copied parts of my email.
This was all to dispute that things dont come damaged from the factory and that because of the stress crack it voided the warranty on the part.
"Sorry to bug you again, but I took a closer look at the Ford Warrant Manual.
I came across the "New Vehicle Limited Warranty" section. As you can look up, I went in for my grill within a few weeks of getting my car. Ford has claimed that the "Stress Crack" was something that happened after I bought the car. I believe that this came from the factory this way, both the crack and the grill not staying seated. I was told that "doesn't happen"
Here is a section from the Ford handbook as to why they have the new vehicle warranty:
"This warranty does not mean that each Ford vehicle is defect free. Defects may be unintentionally introduced into vehicles during the design and manufacturing processes and such defects could result in the need for repairs. For this reason, Ford provides the New Vehicle Limited Warranty in order to remedy any such defects that result in vehicle part malfunction or failure during the warranty period."
Clearly Ford addresses the potential for there to be issues from the factory.
As such I went to get this fixed and got denied.
I also continued to look through what was not covered:
Damage covered by accidents, theft, fire, contaminated fuel, chemical spills, driving through deep water, misuse of vehicle
Clearly none of these apply, even the accident one, since there is zero damage to the bumper and there are no marks on the grille there is no way it could be claimed as damage due to an accident.
All other things not covered do not apply, except damage caused by environment.
Ford claimed that the split in the grille was a stress crack, the ONLY thing it says that ford does not cover when it comes to stress cracks is the windshield, and even that has exceptions.
In addition, it says that a part can be denied to be fixed under warranty if it can be proved without a doubt that something that would cause a voided warranty on the part to in fact be what caused the issue. You, nor Ford has been able to prove anything, you are just using your word against mine.
That all being said. I think its pretty clear that the grille is something that should be covered, I can even send you the 2016 Ford Warranty manual if you would like to see where I pulled my info from."
Game, set, match right?????? Think again friends......
She said this in response
"If we determine that the concern is not a defect in our product, we will not be able to cover the repair. I understand that you have read over the warranty and you feel we should cover this repair, but unfortunately as previously stated, Ford Motor Company will not be covering the replacement of your grille as there is a crack that has been determined not a defect in our product.
After banging my head against the wall repeatedly. I decided to prove that if it is a stress crack, there were only a few ways that could even happen, and that how in every case, I cannot be at fault so it should be covered under warranty.
I went on to state that if they refuse to believe that the crack could have formed from body flex while not seated properly, they only way stress cracks could develop is from localized buildups of internal normal stresses.
I went on to provide an engineering level explanation of how during the injection molding process things can happen that can cause unexpected internal stresses, things like cooling rate, etc.
These stresses that could be molded in can lie dormant until there is enough of an event to allow the stress to be released. if that was the case, which is very possible, there's no way I should be held accountable right?
Apparently Im still wrong, she said that's not possible.
After concussing myself with all of the times I was banging my head against the wall, I finally decided to go to my dealership (who is amazing) and have them take a look at it for me.
After removing the bumper and inspecting the mating surfaces for the grille and bumper, they noticed that the retaining tabs on the bumper were not installed correctly. They determined that to be the reason why the grille would not stay seated and how the grille could have gotten cracked.
The bumper was fixed and the grille were replaced under warranty since they determined that the problems I had were caused by issues from the factory.
Wait..... what?!?!? Could it be that I the customer was correct?!?!?! That there could have been an issue from the factory that caused all the issues with the grille?!
Wow, who would have thought that an young engineer could actually have some clue about what he was talking about.
Apparently not Heather Nabb.
So this huge post was to point out the issues with some customer service reps. There is a lot more to the story but I figured this was long enough.
Heather Nabb was not helpful and not willing to work with me. She completely disregarded what I had to say, and was not willing to reconsider helping me.
If any of you ever get sent to her for help, do yourself the favor and turn and run.
I asked to get a survey to review her, she hasnt sent will, nor do I think she will.
EDIT: Oh and by the way, I was arguing with her for over a year.... I got everything fixed last week
