I am writing this for my son because I am taking over dealing with this crapfest. This is written as if it was from him.

On January 22nd I was looking to purchase a used vehicle. I settled on Wendle Ford at the Y. I found a 2010 Ford Explorer Sport Trac that I liked. It had a whirring noise and I asked the salesperson to look at it. My dad was on the phone and he said it sounded liked a fan belt or transmission belt was slipping. They told me to come back the next day to complete everything. I tried asking about an extended warranty in the beginning but they said I had to get financing approved before they could find out about extended warranty. I was told the whirring noise is nothing because it goes through extensive checks and wouldn't be put out for sale with something wrong. I purchased the truck with the extended warranty. I put 5k down.

The check engine light flickered a few times as I was driving out the lot for a split second but went out as I was driving away. I thought it was just because it was being driven for a while. I drove the truck less than 20 miles before it started being sluggish and would not go above 30 mph. The check engine light came on and it started shifting gears so hard you could hear it and feel it. I pulled over and called Ford service. I called Ford service and was talking to someone who put me on hold after a few minutes I was disconnected. I called back and the receptionist transferred me, and I was disconnected. I called back and talked to the service department again and was told that all services for used cars must go through their Nissan shop for the first 30 days. I told them that doesn't sound right, but he would not help me and transferred me to Nissan service. As expected, the Nissan people said he lied, and they only do Nissan. He said he was going to transfer me to Ford service. I lost it at that point and told him he had better find someone to answer the phone or I would be up in the showroom telling everyone how they took my money and lied about the truck being OK. I talked to Ken Toon the service manager. He said bring it the next day at 9am. I limped it along slowly and checked it in. I was told that they would let me know something by the end of day.

I called at end of day and it went to voicemail. I called the next day and it went to voicemail. I called again at noon and went to voicemail but this time I did not leave a message. I called back and was angry and demanded to speak to someone. I talked to Jerad in service. He asked me what number I was calling and I told him the main number and the receptionist transferred me. He gave me a "direct number" and said the transmission was blown. Imagine that, a noise that could have been the transmission belt and salespeople said it was fine and transmission died less than 20 miles of driving. He said they were going to get the extended warranty people to pay for the repair. I told him I do not think that they should pay and I should definitely not pay the deductible since it was obviously damaged when it was on the lot. If it would have died 30 days later then fine that is what the extended warranty is for but that few miles, there was something wrong with it before it left. Anyway, he said he would let me know. I called after their work day ended and left a voicemail at the number Jerad gave me saying I don't care how it is done but I need a loaner or a rental car because I cannot keep borrowing my parents car, especially after I gave the dealer 5k.

Two hours after their day started I heard nothing so I called again and got voicemail. I called back and they said they were transferring me again. I said no, I want someone on the phone because this is ridiculous. I leave voicemails and they almost never return them. I waited on hold for 20 minutes before I gave up and called Ford Headquarters. As I was filing a complaint Ken Toon was calling me. I was on hold with Headquarters anyway so I hung up. I shouldn't have hung up with Headquarters because I was told basically that they will not give me a loaner and that they are waiting for the contract to make its rounds before they can do it under extended warranty. In other words, the car broke faster than they expected and the paperwork had not been received yet. Who knows how long I have to wait for a vehicle. I feel like the dealership lied to me about the noise, and now that they got my money they are basically telling me to screw off. It's not their problem. IMO, they should be on the hook for the repairs. If I wanted this kind of treatment I could have gone to one of those corner lots and bought a car. Oh and they should have given me the factory default code to change the keyless entry on the truck but it was not included in the paperwork. When I asked about it they said it costs $40 to get that. I said I was not paying that either since that should have been in my paperwork. I did not feel secure with the code being the same and everyone at the lot knowing it.

If they would have given me a loaner or rental yesterday (day 2 in their shop) I would have been OK and just waited until fixed but here it is day 3 and it sounds like I may not get one today either. And since this is Thursday if they don't get the contract processed by tomorrow, you know that means I won't have it until at least Monday or later. All because the truck broke almost as soon as I drove it off the lot. Why buy from Ford when you can't even get fair treatment after putting down 5k? For a 22 year old that is a lot of money that was saved up.

I bought the truck new in MAY 2010 before moving to FT Lewis. I had all the scheduled dealer maintenance completed as scheduled and the vehicle has never been off road. The four wheel drive has been engaged twice, and the majority of the miles have been on the highway. While enroute to FT Leonard Wood the transmission began slipping, so when I arrived at my destination, I dropped it at the dealership the next day for service. The service representative called and informed two maintenance lights were on for engine and transmission service. I agreed to move forward with the scheduled maintenance. The dealership called later that day and informed me I needed a new transmission but could not explain what the codes meant or the cost of repair. I asked for clarification, but no one ever got back to me with an update. I received a text my truck was ready for pick up, but the staff could not explain the problem. Needless to say, I am now at day seven and after countless phone calls to the dealership and Ford customer service line. No one can explain the issue or offer assistance because the vehicle is not under warranty!

My questions were simple. Why is the transmission shot after only 37,000 miles? If it is replaced, what reassurance do I have this problem will not reoccur in another 37,000 miles? Is there assistance for a drive train component that is supposed to last 100,000 miles and likely defective? Why is this a warranty issue and not a quality issue? The staff at the Ford customer service center try to keep bouncing back to the dealership and refuse to put me in contact with the regional manager or supervision staff. This is a very frustrating situation dealing with personnel who are obviously reading from a script! It also obvious that Ford has multiple transmission issues with the Sport Trac line. I hope this information helps someone in the Future. Regards.

DFB3