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Ford Expedition Rust and Paint Problems
sixtiesrock
Member Posts: 6
in Ford
We own a 2003 Expedition (bought new) with 28,000 miles. Noticed yesterday that there is rust under the bubbled paint surronding the rear door latch cover. We have meticously kept this vehicle clean and spray waxed. Has anyone else had this problem and have any solutions to offer? I purchased extended warranty when it was new.......any recourse?
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Comments
tidester, host
I took my 03 Expedition to the competing dealer in the city. My Expediton only has 23,000 miles on it. I had to pay $100.00 CDN and Ford did the rest as goodwill. Just out of curiosity is your Expediton lazer red? Mine is just wondering if the problem is with that color only. I also have extended warranty on mine ( I know it doesn't cover the paint but maybe it helped)
Actually, it was tkhilliard who said he has the problem with his Expedition. I was only directing him to where he might find additional help.
tidester, host
Must have been a bunch of them where they screwed up on the end gates. If you will notice the newer ones have a redesigned endgate. Best advice is go to your dealer and see if they will stand behind their product. Mention the goodwill thing from Ford. Good luck.
Steve, Host
so ended up buying primer paint and clear from work, so 130 bucks later i got my materials and gonna fix it myself. i paint for a living but just didnt think i should have to repaint and fix a 3 year old vehicle
That's when you reply that you'll laugh all the way to the Chevy/Toyota/Nissan/Dodge dealer next time, but first you're going to tell all your friends at Edmunds about the rust.
It might not hurt to keep your receipts in case people start getting them fixed by the factory.
Steve, Host
if you are not a regular service customer, forget it.
the service department reviews your history and goes from there.
i have gotten goodwill a couple of times on different vehicles. this is also known as 'awa'. it's good for 6 years or 75k, whichever comes first. you usually have to pay part of the repair too.
Now the car has a rust on the roof produced by the rust and the bottom of the back passenger side door is rusting to piesces.
Anybody has similar issues?
It covers most 2000 to 2004 larger cars, suv's and pick-ups including the expedition, explorer and f-150.
Now you know the problems, a latent manufacturing defect. So far no luck in getting for to fix the problem. They say their corrosion warranty won't cover it unless the metal is perforated, even though they label the service bulletin as aluminum corrosion.
Now if you feel that Ford is wrongly denying warranty coverage for a problem that SHOULD be covered then you have something to talk about.
I don't live in a region where they use salt on the roads and I park in a garage every night. I'm thinking there is a defect with the vehicle. Would like to find out how many others are having the problem to determine if Ford has some responsibility beyond warranty.
Did you end up doing repairs? Did you spend a lot? Thanks.
I think if enough people get together there is room for a class action....they know they bought a bad batch of steel for this vehicle but they are hiding behind the warranty time issue.
The truck is supposed to be covered by a 5 year rust through warranty.
- Front rotors and front hubs (they couldn't take the rotors off, they were "rusted onto the hubs" so had to change the hubs too)
- Rear axle seals. In doing that, they noticed the backing plates were rusted and needed to be changed.
- Transfer case output seal and slip yoke and U-joint (rusted)
- Rear rotors: Had to be changed because the park brake, which is mounted inside the rotors, was in very poor shape (not sure if this was rust-related though).
A few other non-rust maintenance items were performed as well.
The 5 year rust warranty doesn't apply, it's a 2000 model.
Did you always do an undercarriage clean after driving on salt covered roads?
Mark
I can't imagine any consumer accepting rust on a $40,000 vehicle after 8 years and 75,000 miles, at a time when salt is not used on roads anymore.
I have a 1997 Honda CRV that's been driven in the same region and weather conditions, has 140,000 Miles, and doesn't have a spot of rust.
I just got the stock answer from Ford that rust is only covered for five years, and that there was no history of complaints about rusting on this line of vehicles. I got two estimates from body shops. One would agree to cut out the dollar size rust spots, there are 8 of them, weld new patches in place, do corrosion treatment, and repaint the top for $1600. The other shop refused to do patches, saying that they would not be satisfactory, and wanted $3000 to replace the roof.
From reading through this thread, it seems Ford has a problem with the rust issue that needs to be addressed, even if out of warranty. Anyone else have some ideas.
Let me know if anybody has experienced this issue.
I got an estimate from a local body shop, but the guy stopped me in my tracks, when he said, We've had hundreds of F-150's and Expeditions with rust problems. My jaw dropped.
Is there any hope for a fix from Ford or am I just another long time Ford Guy who is finding out that Ford has some problems and doesn't give a flip about me?
Thanks for any insight.
Jim Colbert
I haven't had the issue on my '03, but have on my '04. First by the lift glass, and now around the license plate frame as you described. Had the first spot fixed around 2 years ago and it is still good. Going to get the new spot fixed shortly. They spot fixed it, reshot the color on the area and then clear coated the whole panel again. You will probably find more of the same on the bottom inside seam on the panel where the inner and outers are welded together. I can live with that because you'll never see it.
I got a quote of 650 for mine. I previously did a spot treatment, which is still fine but another spot came up. Rather than chase it around I'm going to do the whole thing.