Head gaskets

Tiny
STEPHTHOMAS
  • MEMBER
  • 2014 FORD FUSION
  • 1.5L
  • 4 CYL
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 60,000 MILES
My son bought this car in Feb 2019 had the oil change and service in June 2019, check engine light came on August 1 2019 diagnosed at AutoZone as bad purge valve. Immediately stopped driving. Take it to Ford dealer and the engine is dead on arrival.
They say the car was maintenanced by a Florida Ford dealer under warranty August 2018 for recall on engine cylinder may leak oil, cylinder head gasket replaced.
The current dealership says it does not appear to be replaced but merely maintenance.
Ford will not cover the cost of a new engine for us. It was literally 2 weeks out of power train warranty and 300 miles let alone this was 3 times for same recall issue. Any advice? We have filed a complaint with Ford Customer service and next steps will be with FTC and the Attorney General. In addition to the recall 17S09 there was also this suppliment on the NHTSA : SSM 48106 - 2014-2019 Fusion And 2017-2019 Escape - 1.5L EcoBoost -
Coolant Consumption Information
Some 2014-2019 Fusion and 2017-2019 Escape vehicles with 1.5L Ecoboost engine exhibiting
coolant consumption and white smoke from the exhaust. Follow Cooling System Pressure Test
procedure in WSM, Section 303-03, and pressurize system to 138kPa(20 psi) and hold for 5 hours. If
system pressure drops 27.57kPa (4psi) after 5 hours and borescope inspection through spark plug
holes confirms coolant intrusion into the cylinders, short block replacement is required. Further
teardown inspection is not required. Reuse the original cylinder head for the repair. Ford has found
all returned 1.5L cylinder heads pass inspection and replacement was not required. Follow WSM,
Section 303-01A procedures for repairs and refer the parts catalog as needed. Short block
availability may be limited and temporary backorders will be filled as quickly as possible.
APPLICABLE VEHICLES
2014 - 2019 FUSION
2017 - 2019 ESCAPE
Friday, September 27th, 2019 AT 7:12 PM

5 Replies

Tiny
BMDOUBLE
  • MECHANIC
  • 1,139 POSTS
It sounds like the Florida dealer that supposedly did the recall may have pulled a fast one and got paid for work undone. This could be verified by a teardown, but you would have to authorize the teardown cost because there would still be no guarantee that Ford would pay for it, but it would be your strongest evidence if it shows to not have been performed. You would also need the dealership that is performing this teardown to go to bat for you as well. If the Florida dealer stands by their work, they should take care of you if you prove to them that the work was not performed, but like I said there is still a chance they take the low road.
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Friday, September 27th, 2019 AT 7:52 PM
Tiny
DARRIN LA VRAR
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
Have you any update on this? I just replaced my 2013 Fusion motor. White smoke out of the exhaust. Mechanic took off the head had it machined and pressure tested, said there was a whole in the head where coolant was pouring right into the exhaust. Had to get a new motor.
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Friday, November 29th, 2019 AT 5:11 PM
Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 47,643 POSTS
No update as of yet. It seems like these engines have a problem with cracked cylinder heads, when they replaced the engine what brand rebuild did they use?
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-1
Monday, December 2nd, 2019 AT 11:13 AM
Tiny
ALVENZ80
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
My son is having the exact same problem with the exact same car, he only had it two months. I filed a complaint with the NSHTA, and now I am going to file a Federal charge against Ford. Dealership says he has to wait two weeks to get looked at and going to charge him over a hundred dollars when they know what is going on. Oh, and gave him zero options for a loaner car until it is fixed. Mathews Ford Heath, Ohio. 2015 Ford Fusion EcoBoost 1.5L.
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Monday, March 22nd, 2021 AT 12:04 PM
Tiny
KASEKENNY
  • MECHANIC
  • 18,907 POSTS
Unfortunately the dealer is not doing anything legally wrong at this point. They may not have the best customer satisfaction but that is not illegal.

So I would recommend starting with calling around to more dealers to see if they can get you in sooner.

At this point it is just a TSB and I don't show any recall on this issue. The recall mentioned above appears to be on a different engine.

It appears there are already law suits being filed so reporting it to NHTSA is a good idea but filing any other claim won't get far until after they inspect it.

I would suggest having them inspect it because you are not going to be able to sue them and have them repair the vehicle any time soon. Most likely this will be in the court systems for years before anything happens so you will be without your vehicle until that is resolved or Ford decides to announce a recall. At which point, only the current damage will be covered and they will not pay for anything that happens as a result of the vehicle sitting as that is your choice to have it sit and not Ford's.

As for them telling you that there will be a charge, they again are not wrong. Currently there is only a TSB that specifically states that this issue is to be covered under the basic warranty. Please see the attachments.

So that means they know there could be an issue but the TSB only tells the dealer how to fix it and not that it is extending the warranty.

Lastly, reading a little on the law suit that was just filed in New Jersey, they appear to be suing for damages which means those that paid to have this repaired would get their money back.

With all this being said, the action I would take is have the dealer inspect the vehicle and then call Ford and talk it through with them to see if they are willing to cover this or pay for a portion of it. Normally when these issues go into the court system the OEM is sensitive to them and would rather help or out right pay for the repair rather then having someone take another lawsuit out. They don't want this to turn into a class action lawsuit as those get very expensive. Far more expensive then just paying for the repair.

Let me know if you have questions but I would hold off on legal action until after they look at it and Ford hotline denies to pay for it because if you have legal action prior to getting them involved then they are going to stick to the letter of the law, and in this situation it appears that it is not covered and you will be left paying for it or some other option until this works through the courts.
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Thursday, March 25th, 2021 AT 2:55 PM

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