Ford

To Whom It May Concern:

I purchased my first Ford in 2013. I come from a family that only owns and have ever owned Toyota’s so it was kind of a big deal. As my own family was starting to expand I wanted a reliable SUV that would accommodate us and future soccer games, zoo trips, long drives, etc. I purchased a used 2011 Ford Edge with low miles to be our family vehicle. I was extremely happy with my Edge until about nine months to a year or so after my purchase. At this time, my brakes did not seem reliable as my brake pedal had become “soft” and I noticed a difference in it’s ability to stop quickly. As a busy working mom, it is very difficult for me make time to take my car to a dealership at a moments notice. Once I was able to bring my car into the dealership, my brake booster was replaced as part of a recall that I was never notified of. Ahh, much better, felt safe to drive again with my baby in tow.

Fast forward to November 2016. My brake pedal is starting to feel soft again. Great, now I have two children in the back seat. Is this an ongoing issue I will have to deal with? Will it need to be replaced every year or two? As I am wondering this, I realize it’s also time for emissions testing to be done. My husband takes my car in for the emissions test in December and it fails! This came as a complete shock as everything appears fine. Oil changes are done in a timely manner, no accidents have occurred, no warnings are going off. What’s wrong? The paper work/report from the emissions tests state certain systems are “not ready”. The technician at the emissions testing facility said that typically happens when the battery has been changed recently and the car has not been driven in all of the drive cycles necessary prior to testing. Hmm, well that’s strange because my battery had not been recently changed and we just came back from a road trip well over the amount of miles in the suggested driving cycles. We take my car to multiple repair facilities and no one car figure it out. We have moved so we are unable to take my car to the same dealership we have used in the past. We take my car into the Bob Rohrman’s Schaumburg Ford dealership in Schaumburg, IL. After being charged $219.24 to “clear monitors and codes” my car is still not passing the emissions test. My husband took my car in four times and failed each time after the dealership said it was ok to re-test. We asked the dealership to find the problem as we have no answers as to why this is happening and why my car has been at the dealership for two weeks and still no resolution. In this time, they changed the brake booster again as they also noticed it did not pass their multipoint brake check. Going through a Chicago winter without the car you are used to driving (which also has my two car seats inside) during the holiday season is no fun. Seeing as what we were charged ($219.24) did not do anything to resolve the emissions issue, we spoke with Kevin the parts/service manager who insisted that we not be refunded or discounted our money as it was necessary to check. My husband had just recently lost his job and it was the holiday season and we are being extremely inconvenienced by the dealerships inability to find the issue in a timely manner. They continued to tell us the car was ok to retest when it was not. A refund would have been greatly appreciated but that was not an option. After many back and forth conversations, the dealership started taking the car to be retested themselves until the issue was finally resolved, which was appreciated and helpful.

Within days of receiving my car back, I noticed my pedal still did not feel “right” but after everything, I really needed to have my car and did not want to deal with this dealership again. Months go by and I decide I really need to have my car/pedal looked at again as it really felt terrible. I take my car back to Bob Rohrman’s Schaumburg Ford dealership in Schaumburg, IL to have an oil change done and also for a brake inspection after explaining my pedal feels as is going to the floor. I assumed my brake booster needed to be replaced again or it was never properly installed. A few hours after leaving my car on June 5, 2017, I receive a call from Kevin, the Parts/Service manager stating my brake booster is not the issue and it is going to cost $1, 000 including the oil change (I had a $40 coupon which included a brake inspection) to fix. He stated the ABS HCU needed to be replaced. One thousand dollars for a family of four that is just getting back on their feet after a job loss is a tough pill to swallow. I asked if I can call him back as I would need to talk to my husband. After discussing with my husband, I call Kevin back but he is unavailable so I ask the representative on the phone if you can let Kevin know we would like to pick up our car as the cost to fix is too high for us.

We arrive at the dealership to pick up my car and at this point we are being told by customer service representative Jessica that the car has no brakes and will need to fixed at the dealership or towed as it is unsafe to drive. I was extremely confused as the car was drivable when we brought it into the dealership and now it’s not? I asked if it would be possible for me to try to drive it but I was told that the car literally has no brakes and the master mechanic is saying it’s unsafe to do so. As we do not have many options and feel we are being extorted at this point, we have our car towed to a nearby Midas that a family member uses. My oil change and brake inspection at the Ford dealership cost us $192.01. How is this even possible? We pay it and move on.

Midas states the master cylinder is leaking and causing the brake pedal to go to the floor. Once they completed the work on that, they can’t seem to get the air out of the system. Midas calls Kevin at the Ford dealership and he states the master cylinder was not the problem, it’s the HCU and because I (he specifically stated me) drove it after they completed the oil change that I caused the master cylinder leak after he told me not to drive it. I am in complete disbelief that Kevin would say that I drove and broke something when we had the car towed out and I still have yet to re-enter the car since bringing it to the dealership. Midas is also telling us that the ABS HCU part costs $238. Why on Earth is the dealership saying it will cost $1, 000 to repair? From the outside, it appears to us that this dealership and Kevin are scamming us. I am so sick to my stomach over this and can’t believe how rudely we have been treated and the level of incompetence and fraud that is happening. It's completely disgusting and my car is still being repaired ($1, 500 later) after the butcher shop that is Bob Rohrman’s Schaumburg Ford dealership touched it.

Needless to say this will be my last experience with Bob Rohrman’s Schaumburg Ford dealership in Schaumburg, IL. and hope to never cross paths with Kevin again. I am also disappointed in the type of issues I have been having in the short time I have owned my Edge. Unfortunately, my experiences are leading me to believe that Ford is not the trusted vehicle or company they claim to be.

Sincerely,
Priya M. Abraham

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Email: [protected]@gmail.com