The car started throwing up a "Check charging system" when turned on in the morning. I would Press OK and the battery warning signal would stay on. As I was driving, I may have some combination of: the airbag warning light come on - the external thermometer temperature gauge misregistering temperature - the radio/entertainment software shutting down. After the initial drive, the restart would reset everything and it would seem to run normal.
I had an initial "repair" of a computer chip and seat belt buckle to address the issues done by Ford Service for $431. The problem reappeared the next day, so I did documentation and took the car back to the same Ford Service for a proper repair. They reviewed the documentation and kept the car to test the code readouts further, and settled on the alternator overcharging on startup.
They replaced the alternator for $470. The next morning I started documenting the same issues all over again. The issue is seemingly corrupted computer software which they have no idea how to address, except to replace the "faulty part" at my expense for as long as I will put up with the process. That process is over. If I have a lemon, I want it replaced - if they have a computer issue, the fix is theirs to expense, not mine.
Update from May 24, 2017: Returned car to Ford when it refused to start. They held the car and gave me a loaner vehicle while they did a thorough trouble shoot. Eventually they ended up unplugging and reconnecting the motherboard, which has seemed to stabilize the issue. While they held the car for over a week, there was no charge for the loaner car or the repair. The car has been behaving properly for the last week since its return.
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The car started throwing up a "Check charging system" when turned on in the morning. I would Press OK and the battery warning signal would stay on. As I was driving, I may have some combination of: the airbag warning light come on - the external thermometer temperature gauge misregistering temperature - the radio/entertainment software shutting down. After the initial drive, the restart would reset everything and it would seem to run normal.
I had an initial "repair" of a computer chip and seat belt buckle to address the issues done by Ford Service for $431. The problem reappeared the next day, so I did documentation and took the car back to the same Ford Service for a proper repair. They reviewed the documentation and kept the car to test the code readouts further, and settled on the alternator overcharging on startup.
They replaced the alternator for $470. The next morning I started documenting the same issues all over again. The issue is seemingly corrupted computer software which they have no idea how to address, except to replace the "faulty part" at my expense for as long as I will put up with the process. That process is over. If I have a lemon, I want it replaced - if they have a computer issue, the fix is theirs to expense, not mine.
Update from May 24, 2017: Returned car to Ford when it refused to start. They held the car and gave me a loaner vehicle while they did a thorough trouble shoot. Eventually they ended up unplugging and reconnecting the motherboard, which has seemed to stabilize the issue. While they held the car for over a week, there was no charge for the loaner car or the repair. The car has been behaving properly for the last week since its return.
- John S., Indianapolis, US