My Lincoln dealership is full of idiots. What should my plan of attack be?

I

iamyourdemize

LVC Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2009
Messages
46
Reaction score
0
Location
Milwaukee
So apparently the people at my local Lincoln dealership are idiots. I made a thread a few weeks ago about my car not starting. I took it to the dealership and they said actually said they didn't know what was wrong with it, it just fired up all of a sudden. They then "erased all the memory" and charged me 200 bucks.

Three days later it does the same thing. Get it towed there again. This time they tell me the battery is dead and I need a new one. First of all, the problem was electrical the first time....wouldn't the battery be the first thing you would check? So fine, I have them replace the battery for 130 bucks.

Now a week and a half later its doing the same exact thing. Obviously I don't want to take it back to the dealership but I feel its on them to make this right. So far they have charged me 330 dollars for nothing but wasted time.

Any suggestions on what to do.
 
Flashbang, breech, clear. First off, "erasing the memory" sounds like they just cleared the PCM. This is done by disconnecting the two battery terminals and touching them together or leaving them off for a half hour. Get your money back for that. The battery sounds about right since it's a vented battery.
 
KD00LS said:
Flashbang, breech, clear. First off, "erasing the memory" sounds like they just cleared the PCM. This is done by disconnecting the two battery terminals and touching them together or leaving them off for a half hour. Get your money back for that. The battery sounds about right since it's a vented battery.
Click to expand...

Actually, they should have and probably did do it the correct way - via a command from the scan tool.
 
something on the way out.

fuel or spark? Something is going to fail pretty soon and you will be stuck. If it has an IAC valve, clean it out. Common problem, or fuel pump going out. it will fail pretty soon.
 
The cost of the battery is not the problem. The problem is is that it obviously is not the battery yet I had to get a new one anyways.

The engine doesn't turn at all. I just turn the key and it makes this weird electrical sounding click and then random things happen like the car alarm going off or assorted lights on the dash will flash.
 
iamyourdemize said:
The cost of the battery is not the problem. The problem is is that it obviously is not the battery yet I had to get a new one anyways.

The engine doesn't turn at all. I just turn the key and it makes this weird electrical sounding click and then random things happen like the car alarm going off or assorted lights on the dash will flash.
Click to expand...

Either your alternator isn't charging correctly, or you have a loose electrical connection somewhere. Either way, it's not rocket science and shouldn't be to hard to pin down. The problem is that they will have to spend some time on it, and they don't like to do that.
 
iamyourdemize said:
The cost of the battery is not the problem. The problem is is that it obviously is not the battery yet I had to get a new one anyways.

The engine doesn't turn at all. I just turn the key and it makes this weird electrical sounding click and then random things happen like the car alarm going off or assorted lights on the dash will flash.
Click to expand...

Well when my battery went bad that's what it would do. Sometimes it would crank then the alarm would go off though. Could be a short draining the battery??? Starter going out?? Either way they should be able to figure it out at the dealer.

The reason I say starter is because I had a starter go bad once and it was killing the batteries. Very weird, only happened once.
 
Last edited:
owlman said:
Ditto, when my battery crapped out one morning the all the cars electronics went totally bonkers. It was like some poltergeist :q :)
Click to expand...

Yeah, its creepy. My headlights stay on even after I open the door and close it with the key out of ignition and then moments later the alarm starts going crazy. You should get your money back since they made you get new unnecessary things that they suggested because of them being lazy and not doing a proper check up.
 
Actually had something similar happen, where it would run fine, and then refuse to start at times. Ended up being the key itself...had a tiny crack and wouldnt start the car occasionally. Just something cheap to check out first.
 
call the service manager and tell them that this is the 3rd time and have the same issue and you was charged already and you need it fixed NOW free of charge since you paid for the service already that did not work and if they dont then tell them you will call the BBB and place a complaint with them and also call ford customer service and tell them you getting jurked around and then find another stealership to go to if they dont want to fix your car properly
 
Jayce 1971 said:
Actually had something similar happen, where it would run fine, and then refuse to start at times. Ended up being the key itself...had a tiny crack and wouldnt start the car occasionally. Just something cheap to check out first.
Click to expand...

I had problems with my ignition cylinder and did some research. Turns out the bad ingnition switch and or loose connection is not an uncommon problem. And that would fit the description of the symtoms he's describing.

Also when my battery was bad, the starter would click, the gauges would tach out, the windshield wipers would turn on and the alarm would arm. This can also be caused by bad battery connections.
 
chocolat1701 said:
call the service manager and tell them that this is the 3rd time and have the same issue and you was charged already and you need it fixed NOW free of charge since you paid for the service already that did not work and if they dont then tell them you will call the BBB and place a complaint with them and also call ford customer service and tell them you getting jurked around and then find another stealership to go to if they dont want to fix your car properly
Click to expand...

Heck yeah! I would push for reimbursement for the battery.
 
iamyourdemize said:
So apparently the people at my local Lincoln dealership are idiots. I made a thread a few weeks ago about my car not starting. I took it to the dealership and they said actually said they didn't know what was wrong with it, it just fired up all of a sudden. They then "erased all the memory" and charged me 200 bucks.

Three days later it does the same thing. Get it towed there again. This time they tell me the battery is dead and I need a new one. First of all, the problem was electrical the first time....wouldn't the battery be the first thing you would check? So fine, I have them replace the battery for 130 bucks.

Now a week and a half later its doing the same exact thing. Obviously I don't want to take it back to the dealership but I feel its on them to make this right. So far they have charged me 330 dollars for nothing but wasted time.

Any suggestions on what to do.
Click to expand...

sounds like your starter is going out. Same sh*t happened to me...had to call AAA 4 times in a week and the last 2 times it wouldn't start after they jumped me. TRy replacing your starter (the part is 60bucks) or you can get a kit from like SChucks which is 15bucks which gives you the copper sh*t inside the starter.

Tha'ts my guess
 
KD00LS said:
Ah I see, even so he should be attempting to get it back.
Click to expand...

Yes, but he won't be able to. The best that he might do is to get them to correctly diagnose it for no additional fee. Of course, I don't know if I'd want them to touch my car any more.

Don't waste time with the Better for Businesses Bureau. They get their money from the businesses they list, not from the consumers. Make no mistake about who's side they will be on.
 
iamyourdemize said:
The cost of the battery is not the problem. The problem is is that it obviously is not the battery yet I had to get a new one anyways.

The engine doesn't turn at all. I just turn the key and it makes this weird electrical sounding click and then random things happen like the car alarm going off or assorted lights on the dash will flash.
Click to expand...

Sounds similar to my problem.
Read here
http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=20242

And here
http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=21622

It ended up being a loose junction behind the fender cover in the front passenger wheel well. Be careful that you don't over tighten it.
 
Last edited:
Just got a call from them and they said "they are at a loss as to what the problem is". Apparently they jumped it and it started up again. They are keeping it overnight again and putting the car into "sleep mode" (whatever that is) and going to see if they can find anything else that's wrong with it.
 
iamyourdemize said:
Just got a call from them and they said "they are at a loss as to what the problem is". Apparently they jumped it and it started up again. They are keeping it overnight again and putting the car into "sleep mode" (whatever that is) and going to see if they can find anything else that's wrong with it.
Click to expand...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but sleep mode is when they tuck your car in and give it a bottle.

Seriously though, sleep mode maybe just means disconnecting the battery over night.
 
pektel said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but sleep mode is when they tuck your car in and give it a bottle.

Seriously though, sleep mode maybe just means disconnecting the battery over night.
Click to expand...

No, not at all.

Sleep mode is the mode that the electronics in the car go into when the key is off and you haven't opened or closed a door or the trunk or touched any buttons for about thirty minutes.
If they are doing this correctly, they are monitoring the current drain from the battery. They need to verify that the car goes into sleep mode when it should, that it draws less than 50 mA from the battery while sleeping, and that it doesn't wake up when it isn't supposed to. It's that last check that requires it to sit over night or longer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

No members online now.
Total: 153 (members: 0, guests: 153)
Back
Top