Ford can't fix my truck...What should I do???

[Ford Motor Company]

I took my Lightning in January to the dealers for the annual inspection. At the time, I told them that I didn't think the A/C was working. When I picked up the Truck, they said everything was fine (probably because it had been 20 degrees out those days). A few months later we had a heat wave that gave us temps in the high 80s in March. My theory was confirmed that the A/C was toast. Took it in, again, and this time they confirmed that it was low on gas (R-134??), so they topped it off and all was good they told me. When I picked it up it was in fact blowing cold air, but the A/C was making a loud buzzing noise (that could be heard from across the street) when the A/C was on. Back to the dealers to complain about the noise. The service manager came out to hear it and said "It was perfectly normal, that all new Lightnings made that noise. And, that his mother-in-law's Mach-E made a similar noise". He even offer to fire up a new floor model to prove it to me. (I wish I had taken him on the offer, because I'm sure it would not have made that loud of a noise). I drove away unhappy and unconvinced, but at least I had A/C blowing cold air.

Ten days later, the noise continued but the A/C was no longer blowing cold. I took it back to the dealer for a third time. This time they kept it a few days and informed me that a part was damaged and needed to be replaced, but that Ford did not have the part in stock and was back ordered. The part is: A/C Refrigerant Liquid Hose (NL3Z-18B402-C). They said they would order the part and when it arrived they would call me back to complete the repair. In the mean time I could drive my truck, but without A/C, of course. This was mid April.

After not getting a call for over a month I tried to locate and buy the part myself, but while it is listed on many sites (many willing to take the order and take my money) none were able to actually ship the part. For the past four weeks, I have tried ordering it from a half dozen different sites but none have been able to scare up the part. I don't think trying more parts vendors will yield much fruit. It does appears to be on a national/system-wide backorder.

My best guess is that the part was prone to failure and Ford is back at the drawing board and are redesigning and resourcing the part. But this is just a wild guess. Bottom line, It's been over two months and my truck can't get fixed because there is no information on the availability of this elusive refrigerant line.

Does anybody have an "in" with Ford? Will FOMOCO make this part available? Are they amiable of the problem?
Should I invoke my Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act rights? Would this even qualify?
Am I being unreasonable in expecting a $89k vehicle to have working A/C?

Thank you all in advanced for your input.
Frustrated

Hi Rod,

First off, to answer your last question: No, you are absolutely not being unreasonable. Your truck should definitely have working A/C, especially as we get into the summer heat. Being told that a loud buzzing noise from the A/C is "perfectly normal" sounds incredibly frustrating, too.

I know the standard "DM me your VIN" response is a bit of a corporate cliché around here, but in this case, I actually need it. If you can send me a private message with your VIN and the name of the dealership you're working with, I will escalate this directly to our internal Task Force and parts team. I want to look into the status for this specific refrigerant line (NL3Z-18B402-C) and see what we can do to help your dealer get this sorted.

Hang in there.

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[Oldschoolofhardknox]

I took my Lightning in January to the dealers for the annual inspection. At the time, I told them that I didn't think the A/C was working. When I picked up the Truck, they said everything was fine (probably because it had been 20 degrees out those days). A few months later we had a heat wave that gave us temps in the high 80s in March. My theory was confirmed that the A/C was toast. Took it in, again, and this time they confirmed that it was low on gas (R-134??), so they topped it off and all was good they told me. When I picked it up it was in fact blowing cold air, but the A/C was making a loud buzzing noise (that could be heard from across the street) when the A/C was on. Back to the dealers to complain about the noise. The service manager came out to hear it and said "It was perfectly normal, that all new Lightnings made that noise. And, that his mother-in-law's Mach-E made a similar noise". He even offer to fire up a new floor model to prove it to me. (I wish I had taken him on the offer, because I'm sure it would not have made that loud of a noise). I drove away unhappy and unconvinced, but at least I had A/C blowing cold air.

Ten days later, the noise continued but the A/C was no longer blowing cold. I took it back to the dealer for a third time. This time they kept it a few days and informed me that a part was damaged and needed to be replaced, but that Ford did not have the part in stock and was back ordered. The part is: A/C Refrigerant Liquid Hose (NL3Z-18B402-C). They said they would order the part and when it arrived they would call me back to complete the repair. In the mean time I could drive my truck, but without A/C, of course. This was mid April.

After not getting a call for over a month I tried to locate and buy the part myself, but while it is listed on many sites (many willing to take the order and take my money) none were able to actually ship the part. For the past four weeks, I have tried ordering it from a half dozen different sites but none have been able to scare up the part. I don't think trying more parts vendors will yield much fruit. It does appears to be on a national/system-wide backorder.

My best guess is that the part was prone to failure and Ford is back at the drawing board and are redesigning and resourcing the part. But this is just a wild guess. Bottom line, It's been over two months and my truck can't get fixed because there is no information on the availability of this elusive refrigerant line.

Does anybody have an "in" with Ford? Will FOMOCO make this part available? Are they amiable of the problem?
Should I invoke my Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act rights? Would this even qualify?
Am I being unreasonable in expecting a $89k vehicle to have working A/C?

Thank you all in advanced for your input.
Frustrated

If you are to the point where you consider the warranty useless (which it may very well be if parts are not available), or if it has expired, an option (that may void your remaining HVAC warranty) would be to take the leaky hose to a hydraulic line or ac specialty shop where they make and repair these hoses and lines, and have them either fabricate a new one or repair yours. This would take a matter of days vs forever. One thing that bothers me is the noise you mentioned, which may indicate a high pressure condition or an issue with the compressor. I presume that someone looked at the radiator condenser to make sure its not clogged with leaves and debris? The low radiator inlet on these trucks is like a vacuum cleaner for roads.

 

[Mike G]

I've gotten a wrench light three times on my Lightning related to "low refrigerant" and it throws a PCM DTC.

And each time it was during a cold snap when the temps dropped by like 20 degrees. So that's like two fall/winters in a row.

My truck has been in the shop for this each time and what happens is the tech captures the refrigerant, confirms the system holds vacuum and then fills it back up again. One time he replaced the high pressure sensor because it was reading slightly off what the Robinaire machine said the high pressure was at the time.

So when this happens, I get the truck back and I go about my merry way for another 11-12 months until it happens again. It's really the only thing that my truck has been in the shop for, and it's weird because the tech working on it is extremely experienced, conscientious, and very knowledgeable and we've had several discussions about why this could be happening. There doesn't actually seem to be a refrigerant loss at all, since what he has to add back when he refills the system is what he took out plus a minute amount that would account for the losses that happen when doing the repairs.

But somebody does need to get a handle on this because unlike an ICE F-150, when your AC cooling system goes out...you have a powertrain problem!

 

[roddiaz1]

Yes, I have been getting power train malfunction warnings in addition to the yellow wrench (which I assume is saying there low pressure in the A/C lines, given that there is none). I don't want to void my extended warranty, so I won't be fixing the part, although in this case I think it is a very valid option. Instead I'll try to convince the dealer to do so, so as to keep my warranty intact.
Fortunately, I still had my old beater, and that is what I am driving now. I'll let the Lightning sit so as to not do any harm to the battery at this point.
Thanks for all the advice to date from everyone. I'll circle back an let everyone know how this plays out.

 

[proprepper]

Crappy designed system. Many, many parts not available. Piss poor support from the manufacturer. It's the way of the business now a days. I'm going to China next new car. Can't be any worse.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Can't be any worse.

Gooooooood Luck!

 

[electricpig]

Seems the 10 years of support means list parts with an out of stock notice. But hey, you know the part number, so you have been supported.

 

[sollightning]

OP, please keep us updated. I assume you already saw this but that part shows as in stock at ford.oempartsonline.com.

In the other thread you noted the buzzing sound only started after they did the evaporator core replacement - so the buzzing wasn't happening before that correct?

I have a fairly audible buzzing sound when it's in sport/tow mode and it's hot outside and battery/draintrain temps are above middle. Not sure it's as audible as you described.

 

[roddiaz1]

I assume you already saw this but that part shows as in stock at ford.oempartsonline.com.

Yes. Several sites show it in stock. I ordered from a few of them only to get notices a week or so later that the part is in an indefintie backlog. As a matter of fact, I still have an outstanding order in the one site that did not cancel and refund my order.

In the other thread you noted the buzzing sound only started after they did the evaporator core replacement - so the buzzing wasn't happening before that correct?

Yes, that is correct. Prior to the evaporator replacement my truck made no noise. My theory, for what it is worth, is that the recirculating or refrigerant pump requires a lot of compliance (ability to move around). As such it has very plaible mounts. My guess is that in the reassemble, the pump was wedged against the evaporator core assembly. This contact created the vibrations that were the noise I was hearing. The vibrations also probably broke the welds in the refrigerant tube(s).

I have a fairly audible buzzing sound when it's in sport/tow mode and it's hot outside and battery/draintrain temps are above middle.

Sounds related. Your pump might not be as impinged as mine was, but I think it is the same issue.

 

[Oldschoolofhardknox]

I took my Lightning in January to the dealers for the annual inspection. At the time, I told them that I didn't think the A/C was working. When I picked up the Truck, they said everything was fine (probably because it had been 20 degrees out those days). A few months later we had a heat wave that gave us temps in the high 80s in March. My theory was confirmed that the A/C was toast. Took it in, again, and this time they confirmed that it was low on gas (R-134??), so they topped it off and all was good they told me. When I picked it up it was in fact blowing cold air, but the A/C was making a loud buzzing noise (that could be heard from across the street) when the A/C was on. Back to the dealers to complain about the noise. The service manager came out to hear it and said "It was perfectly normal, that all new Lightnings made that noise. And, that his mother-in-law's Mach-E made a similar noise". He even offer to fire up a new floor model to prove it to me. (I wish I had taken him on the offer, because I'm sure it would not have made that loud of a noise). I drove away unhappy and unconvinced, but at least I had A/C blowing cold air.

Ten days later, the noise continued but the A/C was no longer blowing cold. I took it back to the dealer for a third time. This time they kept it a few days and informed me that a part was damaged and needed to be replaced, but that Ford did not have the part in stock and was back ordered. The part is: A/C Refrigerant Liquid Hose (NL3Z-18B402-C). They said they would order the part and when it arrived they would call me back to complete the repair. In the mean time I could drive my truck, but without A/C, of course. This was mid April.

After not getting a call for over a month I tried to locate and buy the part myself, but while it is listed on many sites (many willing to take the order and take my money) none were able to actually ship the part. For the past four weeks, I have tried ordering it from a half dozen different sites but none have been able to scare up the part. I don't think trying more parts vendors will yield much fruit. It does appears to be on a national/system-wide backorder.

My best guess is that the part was prone to failure and Ford is back at the drawing board and are redesigning and resourcing the part. But this is just a wild guess. Bottom line, It's been over two months and my truck can't get fixed because there is no information on the availability of this elusive refrigerant line.

Does anybody have an "in" with Ford? Will FOMOCO make this part available? Are they amiable of the problem?
Should I invoke my Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act rights? Would this even qualify?
Am I being unreasonable in expecting a $89k vehicle to have working A/C?

Thank you all in advanced for your input.
Frustrated

Is this a 2024+ with vapor injection heat pump? Is this issue common with just the heat pump or all years?

 

[TaxmanHog]

Is this a 2024+ with vapor injection heat pump? Is this issue common with just the heat pump or all years?

He has a 2023 Lightning

 

[ZSC100]

Hi there, newer to this forum but thought I would chime in. I just bought a used 2023 platinum with 24k miles on it. I noticed that my ac would blow hard and cold sometimes and then other times it wouldn't. I couldn't figure out a pattern as to why it was doing this. I took it in to the dealer I purchased it from and they said there wasn't anything wrong with the AC. Fast forward to last week and I took the truck on a 450 mile trip for work. My first almost 4 hours into the trip, everything worked perfectly fine. I stopped at my first supercharger. The truck charged as expected and I charged it to 80% and got back on the road. When I got on the interstate, I noticed my ac wasn't working again. I drove to the next supercharger after a few hours of driving and then noticed the truck would only take 8-10kw of charge. At first I thought the charger was broke so moved to a different charger. And then I saw the battery temperature was pegged. At this same time, I got the powertrain malfunction light. Long story longer.......I limped it to my destination, called my dealership who instructed me to call ford to open a case.

Currently, the truck finally made it back to my local dealership but they haven't diagnosed it yet. This situation could be completely unrelated to your situation but figured I would share. From my research on this forum, the engine coolant control valve is bad, at minimum.

Like a few have shared, I would absolutely call Ford at 1-800-392-3673. Ask to speak to the EV department and open a case. With the exception of them taking forever to transport my truck from where I was to my local dealer, they have been great to work with.

Please follow up with your issue and how it does or does not relate to the OP's problem. Technical people are following. Thanks

 

[EricMc]

Please follow up with your issue and how it does or does not relate to the OP's problem. Technical people are following. Thanks

Yes of course, will do. My truck is still sitting at the dealership waiting on the EV technician to be able to look at it. I'll report back as soon as I know something.

 

[EricMc]

Yes of course, will do. My truck is still sitting at the dealership waiting on the EV technician to be able to look at it. I'll report back as soon as I know something.

Update: the evaporator coil and the cooling aluminum line sets that run the length of the frame to the back of the batteries have failed. My dealership has brought in ford engineers to try and fix this truck. There are welds on the aluminum cooling lines that have failed. The cooling line sets are back ordered right now. The dealership is trying to figure out next steps.

 

[ZSC100]

Update: the evaporator coil and the cooling aluminum line sets that run the length of the frame to the back of the batteries have failed. My dealership has brought in ford engineers to try and fix this truck. There are welds on the aluminum cooling lines that have failed. The cooling line sets are back ordered right now. The dealership is trying to figure out next steps.

These cooling lines are just low pressure coolant? Have they found a specific failure point? Why not just fix the lines, have them welded or fixed with hose splice.

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