More complaints about engine replacement process for some Ford vehicles --[Reported by Umva mag]

A past Speakers Corner report about delays one Oakville couple was experiencing in getting their faulty engine replaced prompted many of you to reach out to us to report the same problem.

Back in August we told you about Jeff Veljkovic and his wife Sabrina, who owned a 2019 Ford F150 pickup truck equipped with a 6-cylinder EcoBoost engine, which mechanics determined needed to be replaced after 150,000 kilometres. Their truck, which Veljkovic uses for work, sat in their driveway for eight months as they waited for the engine to be replaced.

Speakers Corner reached out to Ford and shortly after our report, they received their new engine but their story hit a chord with others in similar situations.

“I was driving and the vehicle started shaking aggressively. Warning lights came up on the dash, the engine was shot,” Mark Micthell, who lives in Cameron, Ontario told us.

It happened in May, just weeks after he purchased a new 2024 F-150 pickup truck equipped with a powerboost engine after driving it for just over 400 kilometres. Since it was under warranty, Ford replaced the engine at no cost.

“On July 31 my truck finally gets fixed. I leave the dealership, travel five kilometers down the road, and my engine fails again.”

He says he’s been waiting since then for an engine replacement although Ford has given him a loaner vehicle to use in the meantime.

“I started contacting Ford Canada, looking for an answer as to where this part was coming from and when I could expect my vehicle back. But Ford was less than helpful,” he said. “They could not provide me with a tracking number for the replacement or give me any firm timeline as to when the engine will be coming.”

Mitchell financed the vehicle through Ford and is on the hook to make monthly payments.

“They’re asking me to pay for a vehicle I cannot use, so I recently stopped paying hoping that will give them incentive to speed up this process.”

Speakers Corner reached out to Ford for a response but has not yet heard back.

‘It’s Just Unfair’

Janet and Mike O’Callahan are lifelong Ford customers, who live in Cambridge, and have an issue with their 2017 Ford Edge, equipped with a 2 Litre EcoBoost engine. Several months ago, mechanics told them the engine needed to be replaced after driving it 130,000 kilometres.

“If you look at industry reports, these vehicles go from 217,000 kilometers to 310,000, so it shows these engines can work,” Janet said. “But if you look at online reports you’ll find some of these vehicles have problems.”

They point to technical service bulletins posted by the U.S. National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration which show there have been problems with some EcoBoost engines, in the O’Callahan’s vehicle make and model year.

“It’s a design failure,” Mike said.  “In 2014, they changed to an an open block cooling system, and that’s the part that’s failing.”

The couple has tried for months to contact Ford and the dealership where they purchased the used vehicle for some kind of financial relief to replace the engine but have so far been unsuccessful.

“We were told we don’t fit the criteria because of kilometers and age of the vehicle,” Janet said. “We were devastated, because $9,100 is the cost to replace it and we simply cannot afford that.”

Speakers Corner also reached out to Ford Canada for a response to the O’Callahan’s case. While we did not get a statement, the O’Callahan’s told us days after we made the request  Ford has agreed to look at their case in an attempt to work out a deal.

“Other than the engine issue, we love this vehicle, our neighbours have the same one and have had no issue.”

Other Ford vehicles recalled

Ford has been forthcoming about issues involving other vehicles, separate from the ones in this report.

Earlier this month they issued a recall of nearly 91,000 EcoBoost engine vehicles made in 2021 and 2022.

“It’s a massive recall,” said Tim Esterdahl, a U.S. based Automotive Journalist and Podcaster of Pickup Truck Talks Plus SUV’s.

“What Ford realized in this recall was the engine intake, where you have the air, fuel mixture come into the cylinder, was breaking apart.”

He also says there have been past consumer reports regarding engine issues in other vehicles outside this recall window but would not say Ford has a widespread engine problem.

“You have to realize this is a big company and you’re going to see these massive recall numbers these days, and you’re going to have a problem here and there. It’s just statistics,” he said. “Things do happen. It’s not always design failure. It’s not engineering failure. It’s just a bad supplier issue or a bad part.”

It’s an argument both Mitchell and the O’Callahan’s can buy. But they say it’s Ford’s response, to their individual cases that prompted them to speak out.

“Accidents can happen. Failures can happen, but Ford, being the manufacturer, should be good for it and help us,” Mike said.

“The fact that a multibillion-dollar company cannot track and tell a customer when their part is going to arrive. I am astounded,” Mike added.

If you have an issue, story or question you’d like us to look into, contact us here.

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