SVT service: 'Houston... do I have a problem?'

[Matt Johnson]

Took my 03 300A into the Blue Oval Certified Genuine Ford SVT service department in Beverly Hills today for routine oil, lube, filter and 12 point inspection at just over 12,000 miles.

The SVT service writer threw me when he actually asked the cliched question 'Did it come from the factory like that?' after discovering the ole' rear tire/front tire difference... but I let him take the car because I figured they wouldn't screw up the oil change for jc's sake and hoped for the best.

Picked up the car three hours later. SW told me everything was in good shape. Brakes were fine, tread wear was holding, and the alignment was adjusted back to spec.

They did a great job fixing my alignment which has been off with the right hand pulling problem since I took delivery of the car in January 2004. The new alignment felt so good it was like the car had gained boost!) And they didn't so much as smudge the wheels.

But on my way home tonight as I was thinking about the great post I'd write about my wonderful SVT service experience and how I was glad I finally found a place to take care of my car, my yellow 'ABS' warning light and my red 'BRAKE' light came on.

I drove the rest of the way home on city streets, and the brakes felt fine to me, but I can't call the service writer until 7:30am so I have to throw this out there...

What service-related mistake could cause the lights to come on?

In other words, if it's related to the service I had today (which I'm assuming it is) what will the service writer NOT tell me after I bring the car back in and they fix it?

If it's not service related, what is it and is it not wise to drive the car back to the dealer myself?

[martyo]

Are you sure they didn't rotate the tires front to rear?

[Murader03]

What Martyo said^^^^^^^^^. I'll bet they rotated the tires front to back. Different sizes, through the ABS a curve......

[2003 MIB]

The SVT service writer threw me when he actually asked the cliched question 'Did it come from the factory like that?'

Sometimes, I hear this and laugh and other times it makes me sad. I just wouldn't have expected it from an SVT shop.

[CRUZTAKER]

Yup, a front to rear swap will ping that light as soon as you go over 25 mph or so....:shake:

[JET]

Are you sure they didn't rotate the tires front to rear?

that is exactly what happened to me.

[Matt Johnson]

As soon as I woke up, I ran outside and checked to see if they did that very thing. Yup - rotated front to rear. No wonder the alignment felt different!

Man, oh, man... what a bummer.

And I thought I'd finallly found a place to take care of my car.

It's enough to make you want to sell the thing...

Oh, well - thanks guys.

[stevengerard]

As soon as I woke up, I ran outside and checked to see if they did that very thing. Yup - rotated front to rear. No wonder the alignment felt different!

Unbelievable! and that's AFTER they questioned you about the tire size. :uzi:

[Ross]

As long as you have to go back to get the tires put back on correctly, have some fun with the service guys. Try to get as many of them as possible out to look at your car and ask them, "does anything look funny to you?" See if any of them can spot something which should be obvious to a Ford wrench. Then tell them what #$%&^# idiots they are! Then ask them what they are going to give you for the extra time and trouble they caused you.

[duhtroll]

Hey, at least they probably put both tires of the same size on the same end of the car.

Mine had one front and one rear on each end after a trip to the shop, and that was after I took the wheels/tires out of the car and set them down separately, saying "here are the rears," and "here are the fronts."

Gotta love it!

-A

[martyo]

Yeah! I finally gave the right anwser!! Remember the time I told the guy it was okay to use diesel fuel in his car?? Oh boy, what a mess that was!!!

[2003 MIB]

Yeah! I finally gave the right anwser!! Remember the time I told the guy it was okay to use diesel fuel in his car?? Oh boy, what a mess that was!!!

Yeah...good times :)

[Matt Johnson]

It's funny because when I picked up the car, I only drove about a mile to work through slow stop and go traffic and I was on a business call the whole way. The front end felt different, but I attributed that to the realignment and nothing else.

Then on my way home around 10 pm, I noticed a real difference in the front end. I thought maybe I had been running the tires too low and that the service guys has put proper pressure in... LOL! Of course, I was still thinking 'realignment' and familiarizing myself to the new feel of the car...

I didn't even think about the tire rotation issue until this morning when I woke up.

Damn if that didn't disappoint me to see 235 on the front sidewalls. Especially as I pointed out the difference to the SW when he took the car. And I told him twice, 'Make sure they don't rotate the tires.'

Sheeeee-it! Gotta love the Blue Oval.

On a side note - I stepped into the sales floor room to ask if there was a waiting list on the 05 Mustang. Salesman said they've received NOTHING from Ford on the car. No specs. No pricing. Nada. They don't know when they're coming in. He also said they were going to release an 05 Cobra (which I thought was incorrect because I want one berry berry badwee) a few months after the base model comes out.

Maybe if I get the Cobra, I can take it to an LM dealer for service and it'll all work out in the end...

[Ross]

Yeah! I finally gave the right anwser!! Remember the time I told the guy it was okay to use diesel fuel in his car?? Oh boy, what a mess that was!!!


Uuuuuhhhh, you can't use diesel fuel? Is that why my car has been smoking so much? :eek: :down: :depress: :alone:

[Haggis]

Uuuuuhhhh, you can't use diesel fuel? Is that why my car has been smoking so much? :eek: :down: :depress: :alone:


ROTFLMFAO... good one Ross, you almost had me going there for a minute. :nono:

[Brother Mike]

ROTFLMFAO... good one Ross, you almost had me going there for a minute. :nono:
Diesel is a No NO...but you should use Aviation high octane fuel.....

[ParkRanger]

Matt:

Try Sunrise Ford in North Holywood next time. They know how to work on MM's. They are good!

PR :D

[RCSignals]

Yeah! I finally gave the right anwser!! Remember the time I told the guy it was okay to use diesel fuel in his car?? Oh boy, what a mess that was!!!
You lied? You mean I have to go back to using gasoline?

[RCSignals]

On a side note - I stepped into the sales floor room to ask if there was a waiting list on the 05 Mustang. Salesman said they've received NOTHING from Ford on the car. No specs. No pricing. Nada. They don't know when they're coming in. He also said they were going to release an 05 Cobra (which I thought was incorrect because I want one berry berry badwee) a few months after the base model comes out.

Maybe if I get the Cobra, I can take it to an LM dealer for service and it'll all work out in the end...
Odd, I thought I'd seen a link posted to the '05 Mustang Order Guide on another site.

[Bigdogjim]

At lest the service writer did not tell him" well sir all Grand Marquis' are like that"

Just goes to show you!