AND NOW THE REST OF THE STORY....

[BiGMaC]

I don't like Ford Customer service that much either, but I had the same reaction as Bruce:  "Why are you mad at Ford?".......I think in the end, the  result here, Insurance covering, was just and appropriate.  If he had NOT had the fire and the engine just blew up, I think he would have been in a more difficult predicament.

TSS... from your special training... is that because of the ECU being fried (destroying evidence of the tune and/or prevented Ford investigation) ....or because the fire caused liability to fall to the insurance company. Interested in your educated opinion.  TIA

 

[TSS]

No special training  for this    - auto  insurance usually covers automobile fires and damage - even if it is your own fault (so long as it is not intentional),  but they don't cover a blown engine.  If they did, nobody would buy an extended powertrain warranty.

If he had simply blown the engine, I don't think his insurance company would help.  So....if no insurance and no Ford help, it would have been a worse predicament.    The fire was a good thing IMO.

 

[black99lightning]

IIRC there was a spark plug change not long before the incident.  I still think it was a plug or a coil.

A dead coil or plug wouldn't have caused that.  If it did throw a rod, detonation would've.  Tune typically leans out fuel trims, more boost, timing adjustments, throw in frigid dense air.....boom!

 

[Brucelinc]

Complete speculation on my part but....if one of the plugs was not installed properly (cross threaded, for example) and the compression actually blew it out, I suppose the hot gases from the combustion chamber could have caused the fire.

In any case, the insurance company really stepped up to the plate here with that settlement.  I agree with Todd.  The fire was a good thing under the circumstances.

 

[Tractorak]

Let me answer the why am I mad at Ford question.... Because I do not think that the tune (91 Livernoise) was the cause of the failure and if they were able to determine that what I did would cause such a problem then I would have accepted my fate. However not wanting to investigate and not speaking to me about it along with the attitude at the dealership caused me to have a not so lovely feeling for FMC. My mods were 91 octane, airaid and the one step colder plugs gapped at .30. I was using a dash cam because I bought the Gopro 3 from Costco and I drive around a lot and I have caught some pretty interesting stuff with it like my car catching fire for instance. I used to own a heavily modified WRX for 7 years I drove it hard and I had done all the work myself and I never had any failure. As far as wide open throttle before the incident yes I aggressively left the light and it was approx 13-15 degrees outside on a fully warmed up engine. There is no external evidence of an engine grenading and there was no rod knock while I was driving it to the parking lot. There was also no oil leaking on the ground either. I do not know where the oil was when the dealership told me there was evidence of an oil leak. In closing I am more than willing to accept blame when it is my fault until it is proven that it was something that I had done I reserve the right to be pissed.

 

[SHOdded]

Well said.

 

[BiGMaC]

Let me answer the why am I mad at Ford question.... Because I do not think that the tune (91 Livernoise) was the cause of the failure and if they were able to determine that what I did would cause such a problem then I would have accepted my fate. However not wanting to investigate and not speaking to me about it along with the attitude at the dealership caused me to have a not so lovely feeling for FMC. My mods were 91 octane, airaid and the one step colder plugs gapped at .30. I was using a dash cam because I bought the Gopro 3 from Costco and I drive around a lot and I have caught some pretty interesting stuff with it like my car catching fire for instance. I used to own a heavily modified WRX for 7 years I drove it hard and I had done all the work myself and I never had any failure. As far as wide open throttle before the incident yes I aggressively left the light and it was approx 13-15 degrees outside on a fully warmed up engine. There is no external evidence of an engine grenading and there was no rod knock while I was driving it to the parking lot. There was also no oil leaking on the ground either. I do not know where the oil was when the dealership told me there was evidence of an oil leak. In closing I am more than willing to accept blame when it is my fault until it is proven that it was something that I had done I reserve the right to be pissed.

Regarding the quote in this post: As far as the cause of the fire all the rest is now and will forever remain, even with expert opinion, pure speculation for the very reason Tractorak is angry…. no investigation done by Ford when it could have been.

Thank-you Dean for sharing.  I agree with your position completely. 'Nuff said.

 

[kbeck59]

IIRC there was a spark plug change not long before the incident.  I still think it was a plug or a coil.

A dead coil or plug wouldn't have caused that.  If it did throw a rod, detonation would've.  Tune typically leans out fuel trims, more boost, timing adjustments, throw in frigid dense air.....boom!

Sounds like a valid point as far as ambient air temps and lean fuel trims are concerned , especially at WOT . I wish we had an Expert that could chime in .

 

[yowen]

In closing I am more than willing to accept blame when it is my fault until it is proven that it was something that I had done I reserve the right to be pissed.

Ford should be responsible in figuring out if it was your fault or their fault that the car caught on fire? In a freak, isolated case of an engine fire? On top of that it was a modded car. I'm with Ford on this one, you went on to deal with this with your insurance company and got a payday that almost couldn't have been any better. As a whole could their customer service be better? Yes. I'd like some dang taillights with chrome that does NOT fall off.

 

[breeves002]

Well I just got around to reading this, sorry. I'm amazed the car kept driving. That's a serious testament to those coils in the front!

Situation sucks, happy you're happy with the new car though. I've heard bad things about dealing with ford directly but I haven't had to deal with them yet. Only dealings I have had with my warranty have been positive.

 

[Larrylu]

In closing I am more than willing to accept blame when it is my fault until it is proven that it was something that I had done I reserve the right to be pissed.

Ford should be responsible in figuring out if it was your fault or their fault that the car caught on fire? In a freak, isolated case of an engine fire? On top of that it was a modded car. I'm with Ford on this one, you went on to deal with this with your insurance company and got a payday that almost couldn't have been any better. As a whole could their customer service be better? Yes. I'd like some dang taillights with chrome that does NOT fall off.

I would think it would be a great idea for Ford to find out if the "freak, isolated" case was in deed just that or if it could point out a possible potential weakness in the engineering  which could prove life threatening somewhere ....sometime. This Ford attitude reminds me of what GM is fessing up to with the ignition switch failure issue. The SHO seemed to run pretty smoothly while smoking. I doubt it threw a rod or even dropped a cylinder.  What flameable product got spread and ignited by what seems to me to be a question Ford should want to answer.