flarry1

Hello all. Joined this forum for the sole purpose of sharing a story that Ford "enthusiasts" might find alarming. My '05 Explorer's engine cut out without warning, causing all loss of power steering and brakes. I was on a twisty California coastal highway when it happened, was barely able to wrench the wheel and stay on the road. Coasted to the side, took out key, then turned car back on. No problem, it ran fine, until nearly home. The whole way I'm thinking, "Geez, I could have been killed!" Any way, it died again, without any warning, but I was going slow, and it was not a problem, except this time the service engine light, wrench icon, and digital display warning "failsafe engine mode" appeared. It started after a few cranks, and sort of spluttered and lerched home, dying twice in the final mile. So I had it towed to Ford dealer in the morning. They were able to determine that a belt slipped off the pulley but continued to function as it rode on the dampener attached to the pulley; damaged the dampener; and damaged the sensor, causing engine shutoff. They were not able to explain why the belt slipped off in the first place. Nor were they able to explain why the first time it happened, no warning lights came on, and the car worked as normal. The service department at Walnut Creek Ford in California where i bought the car were great: fixed it all for free. But I told them, I just don't feel safe in this car. Who's to say the same thing won't happen, and I may not be able to control the car next time? How can there not be some type of failsafe for this sort of thing? I tried to contact Ford directly, and they completely ignored me. Web research shows i'm not the only one this has happened to. I tried to get the dealership to help me payoff the loan balance on the explorer: help me pay it off, not just pay all of it. I was then willing to finance an Escape Hybrid with them, despite all that had gone wrong. I just wanted to get rid of what i feel is an unsafe car, and get them to help defray some of the expense of doing so. They told me they could get me x-plan (employee-rate)pricing on an scape, but the price was no cheaper than MSRP. They also were unwilling to budge on a lowly trade in value of $8500, when my research shows they could probably get $13k, maybe $14k for it. they also lied to me and said my credit was not very good and they could not give me a low interest rate. All of this after I've spent my adult life buying only Fords, from only this dealer. I'm shocked and stunned that Ford ignores this, does not acknowledge any problem, and that the sales staff at the dealer is unwilling to help. Despicable. I will now take out a loan to go further into debt simply to pay off the Explorer balance so i can walk away from Ford forever, a once loyal, now totally dissatisfied customer.