2014 Fiesta A/C compressor issues

Paul22 · 28-05-2018, 06:25 PM

My daughter purchased a new Festiva Trend auto in 2014 and since then has had issues with the transmission which, seemingly, has been fixed notwithstanding she's had to return it several times for the fix to be effective.
Now, since she purchased the car she has had it serviced at the recommended intervals.
She lives in Melbourne and driving to Adelaide yesterday she heard an unusual noise from under the bonnet which, when I heard it, seemed to come from the compressor. It has since been confirmed by the dealer as a failed compressor and so the requisite parts have been ordered. The dealer confirmed that the car was out of warranty and therefore she would have to bear the cost of repairs. Having travelled only 58,000kms to date I feel this is a little unfair. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it comes under the umbrella of 'Goods not of merchantable quality'.
I'm going to the dealer (which, as it happens to be my dealer) with her tomorrow to see if I can persuade them to cover this cost. I shouldn't have to do this but as the dealer has rebuffed her protestations regarding the short life of this component I will have to.
First the transmission and now the airconditioning; what's next to fail?
For the record she loves the way it drives but this is largely negated by the appalling reliability.
Has anyone experienced this type of dealer behaviour regarding claiming recompense out of warranty?
I'm not cranky (yet) but I feel very disappointed for her.

**russellw** · 29-05-2018, 06:00 AM

If you don't get any satisfaction from the dealer then start with the Ford CRC next. 58k for a well maintained car is too early for a compressor failure.

Cheers
Russ

redvxr8clubby · 06-06-2018, 09:28 PM

I can't be of any help re approaching the dealer. I had a 2012 WT Fiesta which I sold last December (5.5 years with 89,000 Km), I never had any problems with my Fiesta at all (manual). From my experience with my manual Fiesta they seem to be good reliable cars.

Paul22 · 07-07-2018, 06:33 PM

Just a quick update on the progress of dealing with the factory regarding repairing the airconditioner.
My daughter advised me on Thursday that they had agreed to fix the car at no expense to her. This was done after much to-ing and fro-ing which was rather time consuming.
She was unable to say it was a pleasant experience dealing with them. They initially wanted her to part pay which she refused to accept. For her though the worst part was the non return of phone calls as well as scheduled phone calls not made resulting in further follow-ups by her.
Back in June, whilst they had the car, they replaced the clutch pack again.
As an aside; her partner - due to a change in his job requirements - wanted to buy a new car along the lines of an Escape, however, he declined to even look at one due to the treatment of her by Ford. He bought a Kia Sportage.
I just wonder how many other people are turned off Ford vehicles given the behaviour of the factory when it comes to customer after sales care.
Slow learners.

fiestaz · 07-07-2018, 07:57 PM

Glad there is a good result.
Sadly these stories seem all too common with Ford. Although they are not alone.

Pursya · 09-07-2018, 07:00 PM

I see Ford are now advertising “5 year warranty” and making out that they are leaders in the coverage field.
No they are not.
In fact they are very late to the 5 year warranty and are still behind some makes who offer a 7 year warranty on drive train and engines.
With their history on drive trains, that’s not a surprise.