Airbag recall fix didn’t go well (wait if you can)

[ChronciallyChronic]

Took mine in for the recall. Dont know who the tech was but they really f- ed it up! When i picked it up I was in a hurry to get to a business appointment but noticed right away the cover above rear view mirror housing the front camera was misaligned and bent. About a mile down the road my dash lit up like a christmas tree. Most likely the camera inside that housing was hit or moved since all the faults associated with that camera (crash avoidance, adaptive cruse and more) were lighting up my dash. I can only hope it's just the camera and not any other electronics. They are taking care of it but had to order a new cover. What a pain in the "A".

I think I'm just going to go with screw it and not get this recall done. This is very certainly a "there may possibly perhaps be a problem" recall as opposed to "we screwed up and something is about to explode" recall. I do not like the idea of them screwing with the interior trim, the fasteners can easily fail with age, I'm not interested in adding the stress of a round of disassembly and a second assembly. No thanks.

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[Lee]

Had mine done today with oil change. They Picked it up and dropped off safe and sound. They hire retired folks to bring and drop off nice set up.

 

[OffRoad308]

Just took mine in this morning and it only took 2 hours! Y’all had me scared.

Taking mine in first thing tomorrow. Hoping for a good result, given my dealership's SD reputation. It's a large dealership and Rangers are pretty common in these parts, so hoping for a good outcome. I'll be inspecting before leaving due to this thread. Trust but verify.

 

[superj]

i don't know how they messed that trim up since the fasteners are not like the old day ones that were hard to get out. they pull off smoothly and easily.

i had to remove the driver pillar trim on mine when the dealership put my tune on because they installed the tuner as well. i didn't want that but didn't know they were going to do that so i had to undo all the physical installation which meant removing trim pieces.

 

[Jason B]

So, what happens if you decide NOT to get the recall done, then get in an accident where the air bag fails? Or, you have a passenger that's injured because you refuse to get the recall done?
Remember, this is not a Ford recall, it's NHTSA recall. There will be records of the numerous notices sent to you, and that you haven't taken actions. Are you going to roll the dice on a safety issue because you are afraid of a scratch or smudge, something that can easily be remedied?

 

[superj]

my son got his done yesterday in omaha at woodhouse ford. he said they didn't tear his up or damage anything, but they did leave some grease stains and didn't seat the piece above the mirror properly. he said he will have to see how the piece above the mirror is held in so maybe he can get it to go back properly

 

[ChronciallyChronic]

So, what happens if you decide NOT to get the recall done, then get in an accident where the air bag fails? Or, you have a passenger that's injured because you refuse to get the recall done?
Remember, this is not a Ford recall, it's NHTSA recall. There will be records of the numerous notices sent to you, and that you haven't taken actions. Are you going to roll the dice on a safety issue because you are afraid of a scratch or smudge, something that can easily be remedied?

There is a legal requirement for the manufacturer to issue when NHTSA is involved. However there is not a legal requirement for the customer, us, to respond to the recall. In the case of a mechanical defect, if damage occurs and the customer has refused a recall and the refusal is documented, the customer will be responsible for damage that would otherwise be covered under warranty. In the case of personal injury, there would be a legal requirement to prove you were aware of the recall and explicitly refused to have it performed. The explicit refusal of the repair is the prime factor here - a notification of the recall is not proof of refusal.

 

[GLW]

There is a legal requirement for the manufacturer to issue when NHTSA is involved. However there is not a legal requirement for the customer, us, to respond to the recall. In the case of a mechanical defect, if damage occurs and the customer has refused a recall and the refusal is documented, the customer will be responsible for damage that would otherwise be covered under warranty. In the case of personal injury, there would be a legal requirement to prove you were aware of the recall and explicitly refused to have it performed. The explicit refusal of the repair is the prime factor here - a notification of the recall is not proof of refusal.

There is the moral responsibility of not hurting others. There are greater laws than legal requirements.

 

[ChronciallyChronic]

There is the moral responsibility of not hurting others. There are greater laws than legal requirements.

Not performing the recall does not guarantee a problem with airbag performance.

 

[MK8.5 Golf R]

I'm leaning towards not having mine done.

 

[OffRoad308]

Taking mine in first thing tomorrow. Hoping for a good result, given my dealership's SD reputation. It's a large dealership and Rangers are pretty common in these parts, so hoping for a good outcome. I'll be inspecting before leaving due to this thread. Trust but verify.

Checking back in. No issues at all with the completed recall. Looks identical to when I dropped it off. Four hours between drop off and pick up.

 

[Satex]

Why would the center console need to be removed?

I'm sure he means the overhead console, which is in the center.

 

[kayakss]

Having just read this entire thread, it said all I was thinking before reading it. Not all techs are the same, and all dealerships are not the same.

I am going to to have this safety issue fixed at some point because I do not want a close friend hurt or killed because the air bag did not do it's job. I do not want that on my shoulders to deal with forever. Smudged headliner and ill fitting plastic will seem like small potatoes at that point. Along with do not underestimate what a good legal firm will try to unearth in the course of a lawsuit.

All that said, I am going to photo and video the inside of mine ahead of the repair showing the date of filming. I will then tell the service manager that I have videoed the inside and if he has any concerns on the ability of the tech to perform this repair lets reschedule this to another date so that he has someone there that can do this repair correctly without damage.

I had a 2016 F-150, King Ranch, FX4, that hit a sprinkler pipe in a parking garage and blew out the moon roof. (Parking garage had the incorrect min. HT posted outside). Garage said not our fault, but my insurance took care of me. They had an independent shop they used, and they said they would need to remove almost the entire interior to remove headliner including the front seats. They did a great job and you could not tell anything had been removed and reinstalled.

So I know all you need is the correct tech on this recall. And we all know easier said than done !

 

[snowman3]

how much stuff is removed + reinstalled for this? Takes 1-3hrs? a/b/c pillar on both sides? Entire headliner have to come down off the ceiling? I was envision just the trim piece around door opening.

 

[crawford]

sorry they did such bad job. i had mine done about 2 weeks ago. truck was there almost all day. i didn't see any damage like you had, but my headliner was covered with greasy hand prints. how they decided it was ok to give a brand new truck back to a customer dirty like mine was crazy. they sent a guy out to clean it...he said he needed to drive it out back but he was covered in grease. i told him he is in too much mess to touch my truck. he went and got gloves and did manage to clean it but i should never have seen my new truck like that. you should never have gotten yours back like that either. i hope they fix it. i only ever removed trim like this one time before...i can see it going bad if you rush at it, but a trained tech should be able to do it and put it back together perfectly. i got a survey from ford after my appointment and i let them know exactly what happened. not sure if i will bring my truck back to my dealer for anything...if they don't care for things you can actually see i really worry about the stuff i can't see.

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