WaterSoakedLemon

Well, I've had my 2006 Tungsten GT for about 3 months now. It seems to be ok so far. However, I am getting the groan in the rear axle at low speeds. I was told that this is normal ???????

Six months, 9 days later ... the BBB came through. Ford has authorized a full vehicle replacement. I WON. Replacement vehicle :06 Mustang GT coupe .... Nervous about buying another one ??? Yeah I am, however, I'm not totally unreasonable. All I wanted was a Mustang that didn't leak, smell bad and kept out water. I'm going to give Ford another chance. Not EVERYONE that bought a Mustang has had the experience I had. If they had Ford's gates would have been closing a lot faster.

Yes I will be changing my nic. No more WaterSoakedLemon and yes I will keep every one informed on how the GT is holding up. You're right, letting people know the final outcome would be the right thing to do and I'll do it. As long as Ford does the right thing by me and keeps this car from becoming another nightmare I'll retire the WSL nic. I'm still nervous as hell buying another Mustang, but I have to admit, I do like the car. I would be a liar if I said I didn't. Thank you everybody for putting up with my bitching, your suggestions and your sympathy. Ok so some of it was justified (little more than some, alot of it was), some of it wasn't. It's hard to really see how frustrating it is when you're not right in the middle of it. As for the new dealership, so far I've liked what I have seen and heard. People from where I work (I work for a very large pharmaceutical plant) have nothing bad to say about them when they have dealt with them. Word of mouth does count for a LOT. The dealerships that came up with such creative suggestions as "go sue Ford", not damaging their "fix it right" ratio and "you're just trying to get out of your car payment", won't have to worry about me showing up for service ever again. Blue Oval dealerships my a##. Then again, I'm choosing to not replace a vehicle from their lot. Whoops aw s*&t, you lost a sale. Maybe next time the customer should be right. All I gotta do now is wait for the paperwork, make my payments and keep my fingers crossed.

:happy feet: :happy feet: :happy feet: I WON, I WON, I WON :happy feet: :happy feet: :happy feet: Ford Customer Relations called and authorized FULL VEHICLE REPLACEMENT. (Replacement only). Ok so I am getting another Mustang. (I still like the car and it wasn't the cars fault.) Yeah I'm worried about going through this again. I'll just have to wait and see.

Well for all of you who wondered where all this bitching ended up ...... :happy feet: I WON, I WON, I WON !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 :happy feet: :hyper: FORD CUSTOMER RELATIONS CALLED TODAY AND AUTHORIZED FULL VEHICLE REPLACEMENT !!!! :hyper: Ok so I'm still in shock. I even got appologized to. (I kind of question the sincerity of it, but hell I'll take whatever I can get at this point !) NO MORE CONVERTIBLES. I'm giving Ford a second chance (only because I do love the car). Replacement vehicle : 06 (leftover) Tungsten Gray GT COUPE ... The radio works, the ABS works, the dashboard and even the traction control works. I'm not used to having all of these items work. (Ok so it's the little things that amuse me.) The best part ??? IT DOESN'T SMELL LIKE MILDEW !!! Now if it keeps water out of the passenger compartment, I'll be estatic with joy. (I took the leftover because it has been on the lot a while and doesn't show signs of water damage or smell like mildew. It's been rain tested pretty well at this point. All that's left now is the paperwork and a phone call from Ford Vehicle Recovery. That might take a little time, but it's a little easier to handle when you know that I FINALLY won. 6 mos and 9 days since this all started but at least it's all over.

The waiting continues. I'm being held hostage by the BBB and the United States Postal Service. This is really starting to sound like an extended drum roll. Today I got contacted from a Ford dealership that isn't exactly near where I live, but they have offered to take a look at the vehicle and see what they can do to repair the leak if the BBB outcome doesn't go my way. I won't mention the dealership as I wouldn't put it past Ford to get them to back off on their offer. It's the first dealership that has even offered to do anything for me since this all started. The only thing Ford Customer Care has done is avoid fixing or replacing the car and tell me that it's not their problem. Oh and they play a great game of voice mail tag. This certain dealership has offered a pretty good deal on a replacement Mustang if the BBB makes Ford buy the car or I really want to replace my lemon. It is a pretty good deal too. A Ford dealership that actually sounds like they car about a customer ? I'm still in total shock. The next question is : Do I trust Ford enough to give them a second chance ? Right now, not only no, but F*$K no. I have seen first hand how Ford treats their customers after the sale. They could give a crap if you ate s&%t and barked at the moon. I have had numerous Ford dealers lie to me and refuse to do warranty work because "another Ford dealership touched it." Ford CC has basically told me to go screw myself in so many words numerous times. I have been stuck 6 mos paying for a car that has done nothing but fill up with water, stink like crap and suffer electrical problems (all due to a FACTORY defect). Some how all said and done .... I think a Hemi Charger is going to be in my future. Oh and just for reference Ford, I managed to talk 2 people out of buying Mustangs this weekend. All they had to do was sit in my stinking mildew mess. Then I mentioned how FCC and Ford dealerships did nothing but avoid trying to fix the problem. That did a GREAT job of killing both sales. My neighbor was going to replace his trucks from his landscaping business with F-150's. After I got done telling how lousy Ford treats their customers he contracted to buy 4 GMC trucks. If 6 possible sales lost because of pissing off 1 customer isn't enough, my aunt it looking at replacing her gas guzzling 500 and I'm pretty sure she said something about an Impala. I think I'm going to help her make her decision. I'm doing my best to make a few more Ford sales go away. (I've killed 6 wanna go for 7 ? Though it's not like Ford Motor Company really cares if they lose one sale or a hundred. I'm only ONE customer.) Ford, you're doing a hell of a job of driving off customers all by yourselves. You really don't need much help from me. Just keep up that wonderful Ford Customer Care service department and dealerships that are SO helpful and treat customers with respect and you'll be outta business in no time.

Yeah, but didn't the Renault Alliance win Motor Trends Car of the Year once ? If you recall that car was a total disaster. Car awards - something to let auto manufacturers pat themselves on the back for. I will be impressed when a car company makes a car that is comfortable, functional, economical, reliable, attractive, fun to drive and doesn't require the loss of body parts to afford ............ (and then hell will freeze over )

THE EDGE ....... (cause Ford really wanted something that looked a lot like a Dodge Caliber)

Ford Credit the worst to deal with ??? Apparently you haven't been to your local Ford dealer lately.... A Ford dealers idea of customer service ... "No we don't have to fix your vehicle, now get the hell off my lot before we call the police. You're impeding my right to do business and harassing my customers." (actual statement made by a Ford dealership GM after I told him I wanted the leak fixed in my Mustang)

When your Mustang has a water leak on the passenger side because it wasn't assembled correctly and it soaks the Smart Junction Box under the kick panel, your ABS system warning light comes on from time to time. So why put ABS on a Mustang to start with ? You really never know if they're actually going to work. (Yes, I know this from experience. You even get other more interesting electrical problems too.)

Due to multiple Ford dealerships that have told me in so many words to go screw myself and to "go sue Ford", I will suggest to anyone contemplating the purchase of a Ford vehicle to avoid it like the plague. I will do everything I can to let them know how bad Ford Motor Company and their dealerships treat their customers. This is Ford's idea of Customer Care - You were a Customer ... we got your money ... Now we don't Care. You have no idea how true this statement is until you have a serious issue with your Ford vehicle. Ford doesn't care at all about customer service and their dealerships care even less.

Thank you. Unfortunately the move to Huntersville is off for a little while, at least till the housing market opens up again. The Charlotte area is getting congested, but it's still a far cry from the NYC area. I don't even think they fall in the same league. Though it is getting bad. As for the BBB, the waiting continues. Three weeks + since the arbitration and the individual I talked to yesterday gave be some bad information. I have to sit all weekend and continue the waiting game. Something about some final rep has to look it over and give his blessing or some crap like that. Unfortunately I do like the Mustang, but I absolutely HATE Ford Motor Company and their total disreguard for customers. Their "we never make mistakes" attitude and "the customer can go screw himself" attitude are going to be an added factor in the end of the company. One pissed off customer is bad for business, but one REALLY pissed off customer is REALLY bad for business. (A Hemi Charger is looking better and better.) I still think my theory is correct about Sunshine Ford. I did get to talk to a guy who used to be a salesman at Sunshine. He wasn't surprised even slightly when I told him what happened. He said a lot of things like what happened to me weren't that rare. When things would happen, the dealership would act like it wasn't their fault, then totally ignore the customer. He got tired of trying to deal with customers that had been screwed so he quit. All the indications that they sold me a damaged car are there, but proving it is just short of impossible. I really can't wait for this crap to end. Ford might have thought they wore me down, but not quite yet. However, since this happened I'm starting to empathize with people who do drive cars into showrooms. I thought it was always kind of crazy, but I'm starting to understand why they do it (No I will not be making the news anytime soon.)

BBB still holding results.... and the waiting continues.

In 24 hours my nightmare should be over. The expensive paperweight will hopefully be outta my life. The BBB gives me their findings tomorrow around 12 pm. With any luck, I'll be able to have this foul smelling water soaked mess towed outta my driveway !!! (I don't think I can drive it cause the emergency brake is frozen again.)

I was told that the car was brand new. It only had that many miles because it had been the general managers demo (525 mi on it when I got it). Now that I think about it, I've never seen a demo with that low milage. They usually run a demo for 1000+ mi at least. However, the car was stored in a service bay and not on the lot. When I asked the sales person why, said there was a part off of it that was used to fix another car. When asked what part, she had no idea. For having a part missing she did bring it out of the service bay pretty quickly with the top already down. It's very possible that (though unable to prove) Sunshine's GM started to suspect a leak because of the mildew smell that had started to get worse and on a warm day the car developed condensation on the windows. This condensation would explain the water damaged window sticker and the reason why the sticker was no longer in the window and listed as "missing". I had asked where the window sticker was when I bought the car. I was told that it had been removed because the GM use it as his demo. I found it jammed between the console and the passenger side seat about 2 weeks after I bought the car. The entire sticker was severely watermarked and had been scotch taped around the edges and there was tape holding the rest of the sticker together. I was told that it was that way because the window had been left "slightly" open. (Someone had to work at that when you have a car with one touch up windows.) I don't think the car was in the service bay not for a missing part, it was there to dry out from the yet undiscovered structural leak. Now this may be coincidence, but it's still worth mentioning. I had told the sales person just in passing that I was planning on moving to NC. (I had actually already started the process of buying a house in Huntersville). It wasn't till then that she mentioned that she had one convertible left and I could probably get a good deal on it. ] This is what I think happened. The GM had been driving it right up till the point that he noticed something wrong. With too many miles on it, he was unable to ship it back to Ford as a factory damaged vehicle. Instead of using his service department to fix it, it was dried out and then sold (to me). The initial intent was to sell it and when brought back, they could use the Ford warranty and try to fix the leak. (Why fix something for free when you can get paid by Ford to do it ?) When I showed up and let them know I had plans of moving out of the area, it was pretty much a wet dream for them. They could get rid of the car and never have to even worry about doing the warranty work or even having to search for the leak. Problem solved. This is all speculation, but from all indications I've gotten from Sunshine Ford it seems pretty valid. It would explain a lot of the hostility, threats and their blaming Monroe Ford for not fixing it right every time I took the car back to Sunshine. Makes you wonder doesn't it ??? This is only a theory, but you never know. There are historical facts that dealerships have done things lower than that. As for drain holes, they're clear. I already checked that . This is definitely a structural leak. No doubt about it. As for the tree thing, I cut down the huge hickory tree over the driveway last year. I got a little pissed off when it dropped nuts on the hood of my truck and dented it. About an hour later it met the sharp end of the chain saw. Ok so I have a SLIGHT vengeful streak. I called the BBB today. I find out tomorrow what the end result is. After 6 months, Friday night I might actually sleep. With any kind of luck, the expensive paperweight will be outta my life very soon.

The second leak is in the area where the toe board meets the firewall and along the A pillar. (This is the leak that Ford says doesn't exist.) There is an actual 1/8th inch wide seam that is allowing water into the passenger side. The first leak was an unsealed 3' seam at the junction of the firewall and the dash, just short of where they come together near the A pillar. I really don't have a "little" moisture spot. I have an area on the carpet that is approximately 10" long and 4" wide that becomes saturated. If the carpet is pulled back, the water runs down the J box and drips off into the area behind it. The wiring harness next to the Smart J box has water just dripping from it and the whole Smart J box looks like someone dumped a cup of water on it. This seems to be worse when the car is parked on slant with the nose up. Though it really doesn't matter which way it is parked. There has not been any kind of sloshing sound. Condensation ? The car is FULL of it. If it is warm enough the windshield goes white as well as the front of the side windows. If it is cold outside I have more ice on the inside of the windshield than I do on the outside. I gave up driving the car as I can't take the mildew smell and there are too many electrical items that only intermittantly work (ABS, Traction control, the radio, the dashboard) and I really don't trust the safety equipment to actually work anymore. I have removed the plastic over the J box so it will evaporate a little better and it's easier to take pictures every time it rained. The answer to driving it in the rain is definitely no. It's been about 6 mos that the car has been sitting in my driveway only leaving to go the the BBB office and to and from the dealer who keeps telling me nothing is wrong. That and to get gas so I can move it out of the way when I need the room in my driveway. As for Ford management, my case was given to a Northeast District Customer Care Service representative who did nothing but play phone tag with me. I left 23 messages and filled up her voice mail. I did not receive a response for almost a week and a half (she was out for the week). I did get to talk to her once and was informed that my request for a replacement vehicle was denied because "we just don't give cars away." After that any time I tried to call I would call every 15 mins for over 6 hours in order to talk to this person and all I got was voice mail. Every so often I would receive a voice mail informing me that she would call at 5 pm est to talk to me. I only ever got one phone call from her and that was at the outset of this whole mess. (Although there was one other phone call and my daughter answered it. My daughter told the Rep to call my cell phone as I was expecting her call. The Ford rep never called.) I did get voice mail messages from her that informed me that Monroe Ford had gone over the car again and there was no problem. Then I was reminded that if I had any problem I shouldn't hesitate to call her. This only got me back to her voice mail again. Four months of voice mail and calls that were supposedly made by her I think that this was about enough. If she had actually called my phone would have labeled it as a missed call. I never had a missed call. I have logged over 145+ phone calls to my district rep. It never gets me anywhere but to her voice mail and that just results in another voice mail from her. The Ford 800 number is even worse. They do their best to blow me off as soon as I give them my VIN number. It's almost like they have been told not to talk to me. They just keep repeating, "How can we help you today ?" until they eventually say there is nothing they can do for me they have to hang up. How's that for customer service ??? The Service Manager at Monroe Ford did tell me to bring the car in one Sunday night to have a district manager and engineer to look at it on first thing Monday morning. I dropped the car off and figured I was finally going to get somewhere. I called Monday afternoon to find out the results of the district manager / engineer's report. The service writer informed me that they were just getting ready to call me because they didn't know why my car was in the service area. I told him the service manager had told me to leave it to have looked at it by the district manager and engineer. The service writer told me that neither a district manager or engineer was scheduled to be there that day and I should come get my car. (I have a list of these types of occurances from good ole Monroe Ford ). So as for trying to even reach a real live Ford manager, no one will even give me a number to call other than the Ford 800 #. Though I do have a number for my less than helpful Northeast District Ford Customer Care Representative or Manager or whatever she goes by. I just call that number when I want to be ignored, hear more voice mail or want to play more voice mail tag.

I did ... BBB arbitration Jan 17, BBB inspector Jan 28... Car initially went in at 17000 + mi Ford hasn't fixed it in over 7000 mi now. New York lemon law is only up to 18000 mi or 2 years. I gave Ford their chance to fix it and kicked myself right out of NYS lemon law, but I did fall into the BBB lemon law. I'm currently waiting to find the outcome of it all .... I couldn't just run to the BBB or the state until Ford had attempted to fix the car 4 times. Those 4 attempts did nothing but keep me from being able to file under the NYS lemon law (car exceded the 18000 mi cutoff). The car didn't start leaking until I left it outside for 2 days. I had already owned it for 7 months. Shame on me for routinely keeping the car in the garage and then exposing it to rain. I should have known better. For the record, the first leak Monroe Ford did actually find it. I have an RO that states "leak caused by unsealed 3 inch FACTORY seam" at the junction of the firewall, dashboard and "A" pillar. (So just how long has this car been taking on water if it was a defective FACTORY seam ?) What I'm dealing with now is the second leak. It's the one that Monroe Ford says doesn't exist, but the BBB inspector found.

I bought the car from Sunshine Ford in Newburgh NY. When the problem was found, I took the car to Monroe Ford to have it fixed. I was doubtful that the car would make it to Sunshine as it was prone to stalling and barely even started. After getting the car back from Monroe Ford, the car still leaked. I took it back and showed them it was leaking. I left the car and was told that they couldn't find the leak. This scenario was repeated approximately 8 times. Around time #5 I was told by one of their techs that I was dumping water in the car just to get out of the car payment. I kept returning the car back to the Monroe Ford. I was told over and over that there was no problem. I was told by the service manager after time number 7 that I should just give up and lemon law the car as I had "been there enough times" and "you still claim that there is a problem even though we can't find one." This is what I got when I tried to take the car to other Ford dealers : Sunshine Ford (the dealership I had bought the car from): I was told that they had no responsibility for the leak problem as Monroe Ford worked on the car and hadn't fixed it properly. I was then told that if I didn't get the car off of their lot or I would be arrested. As I was trespassing and impeding their right to conduct business. (Ok I will admit that I had written lemon on the windows as I was calling it like I saw it). But what ever happened to the first ammendment ? Mangarino Ford, Sussex NJ : We can't touch this car, it wasn't fixed properly by Monroe Ford and (this is the service managers direct quote) "It would damage our fix it right the first time ratio if we were to work on it." Route 23 Auto Mall, Butler NJ (Ford dealer) : This was from the Service Manager, "Geez your car is in really bad shape. We can't touch it. Your mistake was not returning it to the dealer you bought it from. Looks like you're going to have to sue Ford." Leo Kates Ford, Warwick NJ : "Ford has a notice on your car. It says to call them before performing any service and they have the title marked for some reason. Let me call them. Ford says that we're not supposed to work on the car because it's being investigated under the lemon law." SHORT DESCRIPTION : You cannot take your car to another Ford dealer other than where you bought it from if you live in Southern NY / Northern NJ area. I tried multiple times and the above responses are what I got for trying. Any of them can help with a manufacturing defect (ie warranty claim). THIS IS NOT TRUE. At least not around here. Did I buy a new car or did I buy one that requires owner troubleshooting ? Did I buy one that I have to fight with the company that built it because it wasn't built properly. Where on the sticker price did it say that for 5 months of my life I have to take it back to a dealership that routinely calls me a liar ? Even after it was proven by the BBB inspector that it does still leak. Let's use your line of thinking for a scenario : I do some wiring in your house and burn down half your house. Then I have you finish the rest of the wiring yourself and you have to pay me the full amount we agreed on when I started the job. Oh and I may or may not have done a good job on the work that I did for you. You'll have to find out some time in the future if I screwed up or not. Does this sound fair to you ? If it does, I wanna work for you. That's basically what you want me to do with Ford. You suggest that I troubleshoot a car that if it were built properly it wouldn't require troubleshooting, wonder if all that water damaged the electrical system and then still pay them what I agreed to pay for the vehicle even though they did a crap job of assembling it. I gave Ford 4+ months to fix this car before I called the BBB. No I didn't attempt to fix the car myself. (You may or may not affect your warranty if you touch anything.) What else was I supposed to do beg Ford to fix my car ? Sorry, I don't pay to beg someone to do their job. Let me ask you a question, how would you you feel if you laid out 25K of your money for a car and didn't get what you paid for ? Try it, it's not a whole lot of fun looking at a shiney paperweight that you paid a lot of money for and can't drive because you can't trust the electrical system, safety devices are either non functional or questionable and the whole car still smells like mold even in single digit temperatures. Trust me if doesn't smell better when it warms up either. I paid X amount for a car. I didn't get what I paid for. I got a car that can't be left in the rain, smells like mold, has a less than dependable electrical system AND continues to leak. (Oh and for the record, I found the leak with the BBB inspector on Jan 28, 2007. This nightmare with Ford has been going on since Sept 4 , 2006.)

See post on Mustang Forum and Ford Management Forum reguarding a 2005 Mustang Convertible that fills up with water everytime it rains. Read it and you will definitely understand why I am so upset at Ford. There are also pictures that will make it perfectly clear. But hey, I'm just a customer and according to Ford, a liar. Funny the Better Business Bureau inspector wasn't laughing when he did the inspection on the car and for some reason he never called me a liar. Maybe it was all the water in the car when he did a water test and found the leaks that Ford couldn't find for over 5 months. It only took him about 3 mins to find them.

Well it appears that Ford may be eating some dead horse soon. I had my BBB arbitration hearing on the 17th and the BBB inspector did the inspection on the car. I received the report today. Everything that Ford said WASN'T wrong with the car, the inspector found to be completely inaccurate. 1) There is a heavy mildew smell noted from the time the door was open and persisted during the entire inspection. I have 2 Ford RO's said there is no mildew smell. 2) There is a 2-4" seam leak on the interior seam between the toeboard, a frame and firewall. I have 3 Ford RO's that say there is no leaking of any kind and it is completely "bone dry". 3) ECU J box show signs of heavy water damage. The wiring harness has been subjected to water exposure and show signs of damage. I have a Ford RO that says there was no problem with any of the electrical system. He couldn't talk to me during the inspection, but he sure did a lot of writing. Later in the day I had to move the car and found that II have icecicles hanging off the wiring harness, 1/4" of ice on the ECU J box and the carpet is frozen to the floor. Also the ABS system light is on and it says "check traction control" on the display. But the radio now works not only in park and neutral, but it actually works in drive and reverse too. I should hear the final outcome of all of this by the first week in Feb. It will be almost 6 months to the day since this all started. My suggestion to anyone who owns a vehicle and have to take it in for a problem: Keep EVERY record of EVERYTHING no matter how small it is. This includes times you called, times you were ignored, who touched it, times you were hung up on by Ford. EVERYTHING !!! If you don't have a file just for your car... GET ONE !!! If anyone even TOUCHES your car get a piece of paper stating that they touched it. If it appears that a repair is starting to repeat itself ... do not wait, call the BBB. Even if you are not sure if it is something that you might need them for, you can eliminate a lot of wasted time by calling them first. They WILL help you or at least get you started in the right direction.

I thought I was done with this mess yesterday 01/24/07. At least I was supposed to be. It turns out that the arbitrator I had for the hearing has quit her job. I now have a new arbitrator who is working specifically off of the first arbitrator's notes. I was told that I would know what was the results of the hearing by the 24th, but now, the second arbitrator says I have to have the car evaluated by an inspection agency. So, now I'm waiting for the inspectors to call me. On the positive side, it has been cold enough here that the carpet and wiring harness has now frozen to the floor. I'm pretty sure that this inspection company MIGHT be able to find something wrong with this car. As an added bonus the traction control and ABS system now suffer from intermittant shut downs, but the radio started working again and not just in park and neutral. It actually works now in drive AND reverse. So now I got tunes, but no reliable safety equipment. I guess I'm just an over demanding bastard. I wanted a new car with working safety equipment, a radio that works all the time, a reliable undamaged electrical system and the ability to keep water out when it rained. Guess I asked for way too much from Ford.

Ford and Quality should never be used in the same sentence. My 2005 Mustang still fills up with water when it rains and Ford could care less. For a company that is sitting on the edge of extinction they do a great job of telling the customer to go screw themselves. I heard an ad on the radio for the Ford dealer (Sunshine Ford in Newburgh NY) that sold me this leaky Junkstang. The claim of the GM is that he treats every customer like family. I guess he'd lie to his family, sell them a car that leaked for over a year, hide the fact that it leaked on his lot, claim that it isn't his problem and then threaten to have them arrested when they wanted the piece of junk fixed. Ford, the company, is going to kill themselves by poor quality vehicles, dealerships that could give a rats ass about what they sold you after the sale and customer service that is beyond bad.

After smoking for 24 years I quit so I could buy this car (deal with my wife). I had to give up my restored 68' and this was the replacement. DEFINITELY NOT something I didn't or don't want. I was told by my sales person that it was driven by Sunshine Ford's GM as a demo (525 mi). The sticker price was missing and I was told they could not find it. (I eventually found the water damaged, scotch taped sticker jammed between the console and the passenger seat 2 weeks after I had the car. (I kept it in the paperwork folder as I wondered why the sticker was so damaged.) I showed the severely damaged sticker to the GM at Sunshine Ford after I started having the water problem and was told "So what ?" I was also told that the car NEVER had a water problem on their lot. I have an RO that states that there was an "unsealed 3" factory seam". So how did this car only leak when it was in my driveway and NEVER on Ford's shipping lot or one of their dealers lot ? Number of complaints :5+ written ROs however Monroe Ford in Monroe NY has refused to work on the car or fill out any more paperwork as they were told by Ford that "We did everything Ford said we had to do". I was then told by the Service Manager to "go a head and lemon law the car, you've been here enough times.". They only reported one occurance of the problem to Ford. I have 5 ROs but they claim only 1. One RO from Sunshine Ford after the car died driving it into their lot. ("Check charging system" on display when it stalled. This was result of the same water damage issue.) Sunshine Ford said there was no problem with the car. Though I bought the car at Sunshine Ford in Newburgh, I work with a lot of people that have had extremely bad experiences with their service department. I had no idea that if I took the car somewhere else for repair the selling dealership will no longer work on the car. Still looking to find, in writing, that you are REQUIRED to return the vehicle to the dealer you bought it from. I haven't found anything at all that specifically says that. VIN#1ZVFT84N255220799 DOM: 06/05/05 2005 V6 Premium Convertible (Redfire) Auto transmission 23835 mi (still in waranty) Problem reported 17343mi (The car was garage kept, I would have never noticed until I had to keep the car out of the garage over a rainy weekend.) I thought I would also include some pictures. Some of these were taken today 01/13/07 others were taken over the last week or so as it has gotten colder. There are pictures of soaked carpet, water dripping from the smart ECU junction box, water dripping off the harness, fingernail scratches in the ice on the INSIDE of the windshield, and finger marks in the white slimy mold that grows on the inside of the windshield when it gets warm outside. I am not looking for anything other than what I paid for, a car that doesn't smell like mold and wasn't damaged for over a year by water.

Good news !!! My hearing with the BBB is the 17th. I have collected my paperwork and Ford lie sheets and am ready to state my case. Open the door on this rotten lemon and the smell speaks for itself. I was able to get pictures today of the water damage. These do not include the ice and mold on the inside of the windshield. Most pictures are from the smart ECU junction box under the passenger side kick panel. (This has been this way for over a year and a half now. Ford says there is no problem.) This is also after 8+ times of taking it to the dealer that keeps telling me they never find any water leaks.

A seam that is not sealed at the factory is a dealer problem ???? I thought that would be more of a Ford Manufacturing Quality (or lack of) issue. If I were the only one who has had this problem I might buy it. Though judging from the number of people coming forward with this problem, there seems to be a MAJOR lack of quality issue. That and a major disreguard of the customer by Ford when the problem is found.