2005 Ford Escape V6 Rattles under acceleration

[DGXSER]

OOpps mistyped but got the oil right. 5W-20 is what went into both my truck and the Escape.!!

[motoman]

Didn't think that was confusing XSokie, sorry. The 70K was in respect to the plugs.

[XSokieSPECIAL]

Didn't think that was confusing XSokie, sorry. The 70K was in respect to the plugs.

OH OK!!! sorry

[DiverRay]

But not changing the oil for 70k?

Be afraid, be VERY afraid!!! There is a fellow HAM radio operator, who is also an OFFICER in the coast guard reserve, that NEVER changes the oil in his cars!
He runs the car about 60 K and then sells it. Says it won't harm the engine. AND THIS IDIOT IS AN OFFICER!!!
I HATE people that are that stupid!!
And yes, I DO know motorman keeps the oil changed in his vehicles, as he does seem to get a LOT of miles out of everything he owns!

[Ivan]

You've all got it wrong. Remember the complaint?:

2005 Ford Escape V6 Rattles under acceleration

That is what we in the biz call "Operating as Designed".

I quit working at Ford at the end of 05, but do remember the oil being an issue. If nothing else, try running Motocrap 5w20 synthetic blend. The same stuff that Ford used. Valvoline or Quakerstate does blend it for Ford, but used a proprietary set of modifiers, which I don't think Henry Ford himself could get access to.

Other options are getting in there with an electronic listening device and searching it down.

Also, IIRC GM was the only manufacturer to use the knock sensor on early ESC ignitions. Maybe some others used them, but they weren't commonplace when EI became more advanced and ignition mapping got better. I could be wrong on this point since things could have changed since.

[XSokieSPECIAL]

The tsb # is 06-16-14.

I have it in my email as an attachment but it's a trapped pdf and I can't figure out how to put it up here.

PM me your email and I'll send it to you.

[DGXSER]

Update.....well, all I can say is it is DAMN expensive to be an unknowledgable woman at a Ford Dealership/Robbery.

Sister took it in to Ford and they told her that it needed a coil and new plugs to fix the rattling exhaust. Then they also said she had a tie rod end about to snap off. She being unknowledgable said...OK...fix it then. So....$900 later, rattle is still there.

Ao I got on the phone with said dealership. Explained to mr. dipsh!t that I am not a stupid idiot and I had just been underneath the car and driven it. I know it had no engine miss, and I sure as heck would have felt it if a tie rod end was about to snap. I had also been underneath the thing and inspected the tie rods while there two days earlier. Told them they needed to call ME before they did ANYTHING else to the car. Next day I get a call, they found the upper heat shield weld had busted (I did not even see the heat shield from under the thing.) and they placed a clamp around it...no charge.

Anyway, like alot if not all of us first thought, heat shield loose was the problem. Did I mention I hate dealerships, they must be the training ground for newbies or the resting place for idiots everyone else fired for incompetence!!

[1st bike]

wow that sucks. it never ceases to amaze me what dealerships a. charge for repairs, and b. think they can get away with. i know "a fool and his money are soon parted" but i just hate the fact that you can NEVER feel like you got the right advise or help or repair anymore. anyway, glad your sisters car is fixed and MAN, that was one expensive "free" clamp!!!

[Ivan]

You really should go back in and figure out their diagnostic fee and then their labor rate and then offer them the price for the diag, one or two tenths labor and maybe a couple bucks for a hose clamp.

They missed it with the plugs and tireod end, and you are fully entitled to only pay for what you asked for. Which if I am reading this correctly was the elimination of a rattle.

They will be VERY resistant. This is why you need to know their rates before you start the battle, or they will just adjust it to cover their loss. I would guess they owe your sister about $750-800, and they need to be responsible for that.

Also, FWIW, if they are a 5 star dealership, they are probably quite concerned about keeping that status. The only thing that keeps that status is to have 0 unresolved complaints. So, poke around on the net for a customer satisfaction number at Ford HQ and let them know you have no qualms about calling. That just might give you some more leverage. Ford used to give out corporate bonuses to dealerships with a five star rating, so it can have some stroke.

I hate to hear of someone getting scrwed by a mechanic. It really makes it tough for the honest ones who really want to help people and feel good about making an honest living.