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Discussion Starter · #1 ·
Hi! I have owned my Fiesta ST now for almost a year and last week I had my first terrible experience. I was on a 6 hour road trip when my car began showing warning lights of over heating. When I pulled over there was no smoke or steam and the engine seemed fine when I opened the hood. After doing this I got back in the car (still running) and tried to see what happened when I pushed the accelerator in neutral, this did not make the car rev at all. Because I am not a mechanic and the car is brand new this led me to believe there was a serious problem. I called roadside assistance and got a tow to the nearest dealership which was A & B Ford in Smith Falls Ontario. Once I got there and spoke to the service manager I was told that no one there had ever seen my car before and they would not know how to work on it. I explained to him that all I needed was a quick diagnostic to try to see how serious the problem was. He proceeded to tell me that he did not have enough staff that day and might be able to look at it the following week (this incident occurred on a wednesday). This left me completely stranded and because of my age (21) I am not able to even rent a vehicle. I called roadside assistance and explained my situation. They were somewhat helpful and found a dealership in Carlton Place (50 km away) but it would more than likely be the next day that they would look at my car. Once again this left me worried about being completely stranded with no car, no where near home and no place to stay. I explained to the roadside assistance that I would like to be towed back to kingston Ontario to James Braden Ford the dealership where I purchased the car from. This was only 90 km away 40 km more than Carlton Place and I had already spoken to the sales manager and he said he could get it looked at right away. I was unfortunately told by roadside assistance that they would not tow me this far.

Due to the situation I was in I ended up paying $322.05 for a tow to the dealership where they immediately looked at my car and found that there was no coolant left. I was also informed that the reason my car would not do anything was because it went into self preservation mode. After refilling the coolant and reseting the computer the car ran fine and I was able to continue my trip.

Overall this was a terrible experience and I feel due to the fact that A & B Ford in Smith Falls refused to service my car I should be compensated for the cost of the tow back to a dealership that was actually being helpful. There is no reason anyone should receive this poor of service and I actually really don't care that the car broke down. I just care about the fact that it was a very simple issue that was fixed in 10 minutes but because of one dealership I added over 10 hours to my trip of trying to get my car fixed.

Also if anyone could shine some light onto why my coolant tank was empty that would be much appreciated!

Thank you

Christian Whitmore
 

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I had a problem like that occur on my 88 Supra, while driving from an Autocross the radiator had some air enter the system and it puked coolant into the overflow tank, which proceeded to puke coolant out into the engine bay. My temp went through the roof and I was lucky enough to get it home. A friend of mine and I refilled the radiator, made sure no leaks or air bubbles got into the system, and the car was fine moving forward.
Doesn't make a whole lot of sense that the dealership you where driven to initially was incapable of having someone check over your car. Although it sidelined your car, air getting into a coolant system is a pretty generic thing (I mean, it can happen to any car). I would be upset too, glad everything worked out in the long run though...
 

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Discussion Starter · #4 ·
Well I read that, sounds extremely scary though mine seemed to just have used up all the coolant and when the computer realized there was none it put the car into self preservation mode. What I don't get is where the coolant went because there was none in my engine bay or anywhere else.
 

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Well I read that, sounds extremely scary though mine seemed to just have used up all the coolant and when the computer realized there was none it put the car into self preservation mode. What I don't get is where the coolant went because there was none in my engine bay or anywhere else.
The engine doesn't just use up coolant... Either it puked it out or there's a leak somewhere. If the dealership didn't find (and fix) a leak and there's no obvious sign of where it left the car, I'd take the car lightly and possibly expect that the coolant may leak out again. Watch out for spots under the car where you park. Check you coolant every now and then (as well as the rest of your fluids).
 

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I think if you have a headgasket leak the coolant will be consumed in the engine and exit the tail pipe. I am not saying that is what you have but I have seen it in other cars. So keep an eye for leaks yes but also keep a close eye on your overflow tank (plastic bottle on passengers side engine compartment) if it starts to drop below 1/2 tank or you have a funny smell from the exhaust or under the hood (I call it a sickly sweet odor) check it weekly or better yet daily until you are certain all is normal.. better to be over safe than sorry..
 

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To expand on Rodmoe's comment, if the coolant is being used internally, it's possible for it to get into the crankcase. Check the oil level and note the color & consistency of the oil. If you have more oil now than you did when it was last changed, that's a sure sign of coolant in the oil. Also, Look at the underside of the oil filler cap. The oil may also acquire a "chocolate moose" appearance when it gets contaminated with water or coolant.
 

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Discussion Starter · #9 ·
Ok I will keep an eye on all this and I will be going back to the dealer soon to speak to them further about investigating this incident. I have been checking the coolant level every day since it was refilled and the level has not dropped. Also since the coolant refill I have driven over 1200 km.
 

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Try contacting the Ford rep here on the forums, odds are they can help with the tow.

-Steve
Which one would you suggest contacting?
Not sure of the username, anyone know the Ford reps username on here? There is one isn't there?
Think it's Brittany
Thanks guys!

@Christian Whitmore - I replied. :)

@[email protected] & @iLiptiKal Back to me again.

Meagan
 

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So funny story just happened to me the other day, thanks to the cold conditions here in Pittsburgh (I believe) the right side skirt decided to try to remove itself from the car. I can only believe that it has had enough of the cold weather and just did not want to soldier any further. I was able to get it back on for the time being, but hey, #quality
 

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So funny story just happened to me the other day, thanks to the cold conditions here in Pittsburgh (I believe) the right side skirt decided to try to remove itself from the car. I can only believe that it has had enough of the cold weather and just did not want to soldier any further. I was able to get it back on for the time being, but hey, #quality
Did anyone by chance try kicking a chunk of frozen slush off the rocker? I've never seen a factory rocker moulding just fall off but I suppose anything is possible.

I can't even count the number of times I've sold parts to people that broke something off their car by kicking at a chunk of ice frozen to the car behind a wheel. I've even seen kids kick at ice chunks on strangers cars, drives me nuts.

-Steve
 
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