car woes

[Rine]

I won't go into the details, really, but my car has been in the shop since Friday.

Today, I called them and they said that Ford sent them the wrong part so my car won't be fixed until tomorrow.

I am just so angry and frustrated that I want to throw things.

Okay...so how about minor details? For anyone wondering, I have a 02 Ford Focus, 70,000 miles on it with a bad shift solenoid. The shop is great, but I'm really not liking the Ford dealership right now.

I've lost 12 hours at work so far. It's money I just can't afford to lose any more of.

I'm so frustrated.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Your problem is you bought a Ford.

But seriously, hope it gets fixed soon. It sucks to not have your car when you need it.

[TheSHAD0W]

The biggest problem with Ford is that they are NOT designed with repairs in mind. Some Ford vehicles, if you want to change the spark plugs expect to have to pull out the engine to get at the last one or two.

[Rine]

I know, I know...I bought a Ford. I thought I was getting a bargain though.

The Focus is a nice little car, I think. I bought it in 06 and it had 46,000 miles on it for about six grand. Up to this month, there has been no major mechanical failure, save for a bad battery once and had to get the ignition lock cylinder replaced. This month alone...had to get new sway bar, engine mounts, and now the solenoid failed. About $800-ish in repairs for the month of July.

[Spiffy McMoron]

If you don't mind me asking, how did you lose so much time at work? Could you have taken a cab or bus to work? If you needed a car for work, could you have asked for a loaner car?

I do know what you mean about the car repairs, though. Those things can add up in a hurry.

[Rine]

I live in a rural-ish area, so no bus. I need all the money I have (I have about...90 dollars in my bank account) to put towards repairs, and trust me. I called everyone in my phone book for a ride yesterday for my eight hour shift.

I always had plenty of people that could pick me up, but nooooo one to take me there. Ah, such is life.

I only missed the rest of my hours today when I managed to get a ride from a relative to catch the tail end of my shift.

Look, I'm poor. I can't afford cabs or "loaner" cars. I don't have a lot of friends in the area anymore and all my family works regular jobs that are quite a distance from my workplace or our schedules were not compatible.

[protege]

Rine, I hope this crap gets sorted out quickly. There's nothing worse than having your car laid up, and not being able to get to work. Been there, done that.

Many dealers, at least here, will let you borrow a car if yours is laid up. For example, when my Mazda was in the shop (again) with suspension issues, the shop actually rented a car for me. Seems they have a deal with the Enterprise rent-a-car place up the street. Because my car was still under warranty, I didn't have to pay a cent.

Some dealers, especially those in small towns, tend to take care of repeat customers. For example, my grandparents had always bought their cars from the Oldsmobile-Buick-GMC people. After about 40 years and 5-6 cars...that dealership would literally bend over backwards for them. Car in the shop? No problem--they'd either provide a rental, or one of the used cars from the lot. Since the dealer literally lived next door, he'd drop the car off, and walk home

[Tanasi]

I'm wondering is the part only available from Ford??? If not then parts store replacement or junk-yard refurb should suffice to get you back on the road.

I'm also currious what did you do to cause the sway-bar and motor mounts to be replaced??? I can understand the bushngs needing to be replaced but sway-bar and motor mounts heck, I have cars that are over 40 years old have still have OE sway-bar and motor mounts.

[Elspeth]

I have a Focus also and the igination thing is common. Mine did it a couple of years ago. I love my Focus. And yes it is a dealer only part. Had an Escort wagon do almost the same thing to me. Good Luck on getting your car back

[Mr. Rager!]

I wouldn't knock Ford. They're a heaven-sent after you've owned a Grand Prix.

When my Lower Intake Manifold started to go, (excessively common problem, in fact, there was a class-action lawsuit against GM (Got Mechanic??)) it took two before I could drive my car again. Of course, it didn't help that they seized the engine.

And about the spark plugs in Fords... to change all my spark plugs, you have to take off the dog bones, and roll my engine toward the front to get the rear spark plugs. (In my wonderful GM (Got Mechanic???????))

At least you're getting your car back soon.

[Rine]

I'm also currious what did you do to cause the sway-bar and motor mounts to be replaced??? I can understand the bushngs needing to be replaced but sway-bar and motor mounts heck, I have cars that are over 40 years old have still have OE sway-bar and motor mounts.

You know, I want to know the same thing. One shop thinks it was because of my accident. Another one thought it was just wear and tear. A third shop (yeah, I shopped around a lot) thought it could be either of the things, but was leaning towards the accident because the car was still "young."

Whoever owned the car before me was crazy--he did some strange things to the car that I only found out after I bought it. The previous owner lived in Ohio so I don't think climate had anything to do with it.

I personally believe it was because of the accident, as the car only started shaking badly after the accident and my shop said it was the engine mounts that need to be replace. Buuuuut, I can't get the body/repair shop or my insurance company to believe me. After getting a run around for six months, I just went ahead and had them replaced. I don't know about the sway bars. How do those go bad?

Thaaaanks everyone. I just got back from picking up my car. It would have been ready earlier, but the delivery on such a tiny little part was delayed.

It...seems...okay...it sounded like it wasn't getting into third gear only once, but it cleared itself out. Hmmm. My woes might not be over.

[protege]

You know, I want to know the same thing. One shop thinks it was because of my accident. Another one thought it was just wear and tear. A third shop (yeah, I shopped around a lot) thought it could be either of the things, but was leaning towards the accident because the car was still "young."

Come to think of it, I went through the same crap with my Mazda, which put the same platform under their Protege. For some reason, I was constantly getting annoying noise through the suspension--it would make a cracking sound on bumps. I found it a bit odd that driving the car to work would cause the wear in the suspension! Oddly enough, when I fitted uprated parts, the problem went away

Oh, and motor mounts do fail eventually--excess vibration can cause them to crack, plus if it has rubber pads, they can dry out and turn either brittle or hard.

[Spiffy McMoron]

I don't know about the sway bars. How do those go bad?

If it was part of the accident, the sway bar could have gotten bent or cracked. What also could have happened was that the sway bar links (what connects the sway bar to the body at the ends of the sway bar) became worn out, cracked or bent.

[Rine]

Oooh, thanks for the information everyone.

My woes were not over, though, with the solenoid replacement.

Nearly *immediately* after I picked up my car, I felt strange vibrations and the car would jerk sometimes as I drove it. I took it to the shop on 8/06, after spending a few days to build up my cash...I shouldn't have let it get that far, I suppose because by then the engine was misfiring.

So, turns out the spark plugs and the little wire cords that connect it needed to be replaced. OI.

We did that. Noticed nearly immediately that my car really started to jerk a lot after that and I took it back the next day. I tested it beforehand and only noticed that it jerked if the AC or defrost was on. It just seemed to be so noisy and running funny. If the car was in park, it was fine. As soon as I put it in drive, it would jerk hard enough that it would stall (sometimes).

The mechanic looked at it and said the wires weren't touched 100% and that he "fixed it."

Well. He didn't. Still had the same problems as soon as I drove out of the parking lot. Frustated, I didn't go back immediately because I could tell they were annoyed at seeing me. I don't think that mechanic even fixed anything.

Today, I took it to a different mechanic and they said the other guys left A WIRE OFF. XDDD

They said I've been driving around on 3 cylinders.

My question to you guys (since the shop I took it to today was very busy when I picked the car up):

Will that have any lasting effects on the car? If I drove around on three cylinders for four or five days, could that have damaged anything else? It rode nicely on the way home...so I'm hoping things are going to be okay.

Thanks everyone.

[protege]

Will that have any lasting effects on the car? If I drove around on three cylinders for four or five days, could that have damaged anything else? It rode nicely on the way home...so I'm hoping things are going to be okay.

I really don't know. The only thing I can think of, is that the engine had to work harder than normal...and that the engine's management system had a hard time. It will try to compensate for conditions like that. But, you didn't let it go for long...so hopefully things returned to normal.

As for running on 3 cylinders...my MG did that for years A cracked cylinder head (which were horribly expensive new and in short supply years ago) meant that the #3 spark plug would get fouled with oil. Meaning, it wouldn't fire...and climbing certain hills in that car was impossible. That went on for several years before the engine finally died in 1992-93. I've since had that rebuilt...and it runs like a new car