7/2013 acquired Focus EV. Rotated tires 1 time, now have 8700 miles. Into dealer for 3 recalls (headlight, chime, firmware update). Each time in dealer, grease from slobs (All American Ford Old Bridge NJ), told I should go elsewhere if I am not happy. Ford Corporate says to look for new dealer, called 3, all were quite unaccommodating (it is my opinion that the dealer care zippo about the EV's, as they make zero money, and they want to make money).
From day one, "Sync Specialist" screwed up my delivery with incorrect data to create account, had to recreate, lost all original data from initial setup.
This winter, charging door stuck (from cold weather), told to have it towed in, no resolve, ever.
SSN issue, reprogram, flash.
After headlight recall, and pickup of car, noticed chipped paint on fender. They care nil.
Again today, died at intersection, Ford tells me, "they noted my account", no consideration to make appointment to investigate issue, etc., just that they noted it!
2 months ago, dead, would not start, 12 volt battery died, flat bedded to dealer, they say a cell was dead, new battery, now My Ford Mobile does not send any notifications, did one time to wife's account, even when she was not on notification list in settings.
Contacted Sync/Ford on 06/10, gave me a case number, said they would escilate to engineering, never heard back, called today, they said case closed, created new case, wanted to have engineering look at it. I insisted immediate involvement because of previous snafu, they reset account (deleted user, re-added), still no-go, zero notifications from My Ford Mobile. Original phone answered by no clue valley girl type personality with zero knowledge of anything technical.
Although I love my Focus, I do not feel I should be a beta tester, be treated like crap by dealers, and am upset that things don't work (like the messaging in the MFM), and never really did, with blame back and forth between carriers and Ford.
Look, we all know that Ford has abandoned Microsoft, and Apple will be introduced into future vehicles. What does that say about existing platforms that are still being sold? Think. Like a dead operating system on a computer, a no longer supported word processor, we are all out of luck, no investment of any magnitude to correct issues will EVER happen, and we are all stuck with dead technology that has been abandoned by Ford.
Quite frankly, I still love EV's, but will NEVER, EVER, NEVER, EVER buy a Ford again, NEVER.
After contacting the dealership and asking what they are going to do for me, what are they gong to give me for all the grief, I was bluntly told, nothing, maybe I should go elsewhere, and they will handle their own service department issues.
Ford corporate informs me nothing, nada, zero can be done, "as each dealership is an independent entity" and they have no control over customer relations and can only intervene if there is an issue that is not being addressed, repaired, etc., and customer service is not of concern to them. They only sell the cars to the dealers, the dealers have the guidelines to follow, and as long as the percentages swing in the favorite sides for acceptability there is nothing that can be done other than to make a note of the "strike" or complaint.
Think about it.
You are dealing with a dealer who the relationship is more important than the manufacturer, so choose wisely from the onset.
Study the heck out of the manufacturers, the history, the complaints, the satisfaction, and most importantly, the recourse if you need to go down that road.
Most every dealer has a clause in the contract you sign that basically says you have to use an arbitrator to resolve unresolvable issues.
We all know how that stacked deck plays out in the long run.
Again, this is a general notification to all EV/Ford owners to be aware of the incidents I've mentioned above and for anyone who may be considering a future purchase or lease.
I'm sure many are happy and accept a level of things, and put up with the crap dished out by Ford and it's dealers.
However, I don't have to, and I, quite frankly, will be requesting early termination of my lease and compensation for my woes.
From day one, "Sync Specialist" screwed up my delivery with incorrect data to create account, had to recreate, lost all original data from initial setup.
This winter, charging door stuck (from cold weather), told to have it towed in, no resolve, ever.
SSN issue, reprogram, flash.
After headlight recall, and pickup of car, noticed chipped paint on fender. They care nil.
Again today, died at intersection, Ford tells me, "they noted my account", no consideration to make appointment to investigate issue, etc., just that they noted it!
2 months ago, dead, would not start, 12 volt battery died, flat bedded to dealer, they say a cell was dead, new battery, now My Ford Mobile does not send any notifications, did one time to wife's account, even when she was not on notification list in settings.
Contacted Sync/Ford on 06/10, gave me a case number, said they would escilate to engineering, never heard back, called today, they said case closed, created new case, wanted to have engineering look at it. I insisted immediate involvement because of previous snafu, they reset account (deleted user, re-added), still no-go, zero notifications from My Ford Mobile. Original phone answered by no clue valley girl type personality with zero knowledge of anything technical.
Although I love my Focus, I do not feel I should be a beta tester, be treated like crap by dealers, and am upset that things don't work (like the messaging in the MFM), and never really did, with blame back and forth between carriers and Ford.
Look, we all know that Ford has abandoned Microsoft, and Apple will be introduced into future vehicles. What does that say about existing platforms that are still being sold? Think. Like a dead operating system on a computer, a no longer supported word processor, we are all out of luck, no investment of any magnitude to correct issues will EVER happen, and we are all stuck with dead technology that has been abandoned by Ford.
Quite frankly, I still love EV's, but will NEVER, EVER, NEVER, EVER buy a Ford again, NEVER.
After contacting the dealership and asking what they are going to do for me, what are they gong to give me for all the grief, I was bluntly told, nothing, maybe I should go elsewhere, and they will handle their own service department issues.
Ford corporate informs me nothing, nada, zero can be done, "as each dealership is an independent entity" and they have no control over customer relations and can only intervene if there is an issue that is not being addressed, repaired, etc., and customer service is not of concern to them. They only sell the cars to the dealers, the dealers have the guidelines to follow, and as long as the percentages swing in the favorite sides for acceptability there is nothing that can be done other than to make a note of the "strike" or complaint.
Think about it.
You are dealing with a dealer who the relationship is more important than the manufacturer, so choose wisely from the onset.
Study the heck out of the manufacturers, the history, the complaints, the satisfaction, and most importantly, the recourse if you need to go down that road.
Most every dealer has a clause in the contract you sign that basically says you have to use an arbitrator to resolve unresolvable issues.
We all know how that stacked deck plays out in the long run.
Again, this is a general notification to all EV/Ford owners to be aware of the incidents I've mentioned above and for anyone who may be considering a future purchase or lease.
I'm sure many are happy and accept a level of things, and put up with the crap dished out by Ford and it's dealers.
However, I don't have to, and I, quite frankly, will be requesting early termination of my lease and compensation for my woes.
