Lemon Law Attorney

I purchased a 99 Expedition Dec 26 99. One month it was great! After that we started noticing it was taking up to 45 seconds to engage after moving it into gear, if it engaged at all. Took it in a couple of times and the service people could not recreate the problem an stated “It can only get worse so if it does bring it back in.”

It did get worse and other things began to go out on it. No big issues but a new car is not supposed to have problems. Wiper controller was operating on its own, navigation compass was off by 90 deg., there was a spring starting to come through the leather in the driver seat, the armrest was very loose on the drivers seat. All of these problems happened about two to three months after purchase.

We found out that our Expedition was not the only one having the “gear engage” problem and that there were about four of five others. Ford sent someone out from Dearborn MI and even they couldn’t figure it out. They ended up just replacing the engine, transmission, and driveshafts in all of the Expeditions. We tried to go through the arbitration board to get a new one but they wouldn’t hear of it.

Ford wanted to keep our vehicle for three to four week to fix it and only offered a small compact as a temp. I bought a big truck for a reason and a small compact can’t tow a trailer or hold my great danes. After everything was supposed to be ordered and Academy Ford having it for 15 days, I picked it up and there were still pieces to be fixed. The drivers seat was not fixed and they had to order a shield or something for the engine compartment.

Finally get it in to be replaced. I pick it up the next evening and they tell me that they broke the frame of the seat and it is on order again. It has been almost a month and still no word. My wife comes in last night in a new suit covered in greasy dirt and vey upset. Come to find out the spare tire aparatus under the rear of the truck broke off and the spare went flying down the road and barly missed about four other cars and a guy on a bike. What is next? I really don’t think a new car is supposed to be this much work.

I guess that is a $40k mistake I won’t do again.

M.G. of Reseda, CA writes:
Well, for starters I leased a 98′ Ford Expedition 4WD. It has been worked on more times than my 79′ Mercury Cougar which I’m the original owner of.

The first problem that I encountered was the check engine light came on, I took it in and found out that some fuel filler neck needed replacing, then after going to Yosemite National Park, and riding up and down Tioga pass for the week.

I came home to a recall notice that the lugs for my wheels have a tendency to snap leaving you without a wheel or wheels, and when I brought it in for it’s 5,000 mile check up and oil change the manager told me that I had a slight transmission leak and rear differential leak and these things were all in the first 5 months that I owned the truck.

So now back on February 21, 1999 I was driving up at Angeles Crest with my wife and my son of 5 years old, and my son of 2 years old, and the transmission went out, and with only 13,505 miles on it.

I’m telling you I was never so frightened for our safety. literally sweating as I was trying to maneuver the vehicle down and around with people riding on my rear beeping and flashing their lights at me, and having nowhere to pull aside, so I had to have this thing towed in to Vista Ford from the bottom of Angeles Crest Forest.

So after getting the thing towed in and a week later I finally get the thing back, and as I’m reading through the invoice I find that not only was the transmission replaced, but so was the transfer case,