Air Intake w/Resonator installation

[LASooner]

Wouldn't Ford want people to think their Hybrids were quiet inside and out? I would like to state again, my service advisor pushed to get this fix under warranty. I just wanted the part. He said it was the same part number so it was a revision and therefore covered under warranty. I never complained about the engine noise, I just asked to order the part, he asked why, and here we are.

 

Just because it isn't a safety fix, doesn't mean it shouldn't be changed.

Edited March 23, 2014 by LASooner

[GrySql]

my service advisor pushed to get this fix under warranty. I just wanted the part.

I don't think anyone here thinks you are cheating, you were honest in your intentions and were advised by a Ford representative to do it his way.

Not everyone gets a free lunch at their dealer or do they get a free rental for the afternoon while their car is being fixed, like I do.

It is the Dealer's prerogative in the name of 'Service' and to create return customers.

No worries.

[dalesky]

I agree with GrySql that there is no thought of cheating. For the reasons he stated. The larger, and maybe not relevant issue of what is on the car when built should be put to bed maybe. Lots of things are corrected after cars are shipped and sold, so if Ford judges this item to be relevant for a change out so be it.

[Ryan Goodlett]

I think a better understanding of how the warranty process at a Ford dealership would help shed some light. When you take a car in for an issue, the dealer has to find / replicate the issue. Depending on the vehicle type and problem they can either replace / repair the part and file the claim with FoMoCo or they have to go through a prior approval process. Prior approval is usually reserved for powertrain items per Ford and that varies from dealer to dealer based upon past claims and type of powertrain. The part we are discussing here does not fall under the prior approval process. So now that a service department has deemed the part failed and approved your part to be replaced they make a claim with Ford. This is the side that the customer never sees. In the case of this part, I can almost guarantee you that the dealer will not get this part paid for under a warranty claim. Is that your fault as the customer. No. However, the dealership will end up paying for the part and the labor to put the part on out of their own pocket. You can speculate several different things form here depending on the dealer and the ethics of the dealer. Here are a few of them.

 

1. The dealer representative (not a Ford representative) thinks it will get paid and made a mistake leaving the dealer to pay for it.

2. The dealer representative is fraudulently making a claim with a story written to verify the false warranty claim.

3. The dealer sees it as a customer good will of service and gives it to the customer and writes it off to a customer satisfaction budget.

 

Being that they would not give you the part to just put on, most likely the dealer falls under #1 or #2 because in order to file a warranty claim for the part, labor must be on the repair order or else Ford will deny it automatically. Ford calls some parts back. This means they will want to see the failed part back at the place of manufacture, a lab, or R&D center. If the dealer doesn't have or fails to send the part back, the claim will automatically be denied. Sometimes every failure that happens is called back (could be thousands per month) and other times it is a batch of parts by date code, or just random.

 

This explanations does not cover TSBs, SSMs, or recalls that Ford puts out on your vehicle, only warranty.

 

An example of this part being covered under warranty would be the intake tube developed a crack in it due to cold temperatures. You took it to the dealer. They see the crack. Replace the tube with a new one. You leave happy. They file the claim with Ford and get paid.

 

Hope this helps.

[hermans]

You are correct. I've had a couple of things done under dealer customer satisfaction. For example, the whole debacle regarding the wrong shift knob. Long before Ford acknowledge that the wrong shift knob had been installed at the factory, the dealer agreed that my car had the wrong shift knob and replaced it out of their customer satisfaction account. Later when it became a Ford acknowledged issue, they were reimbursed after I have them the letter Ford sent me.

 

I suspect the resonator that was replaced under "warranty" was really a customer satisfaction replacement.

Edited March 25, 2014 by hermans

[GrySql]

Clarity is wonderful, so is picking nits.

The Dealer's Service Manager may correctly be called the Dealers Rep but to the customer he is Ford's Rep.

 

The main issue here is that LASooner was made to feel he did something wrong and I, for one, wanted to clear the air on that issue.

His Dealer decided to replace his air intake tube. Easy enough.

[hermans]

I don't think LASooner did anything wrong. His dealer did what they did. Nothing wrong with that.

[dalesky]

I think a better understanding of how the warranty process at a Ford dealership would help shed some light. When you take a car in for an issue, the dealer has to find / replicate the issue. Depending on the vehicle type and problem they can either replace / repair the part and file the claim with FoMoCo or they have to go through a prior approval process. Prior approval is usually reserved for powertrain items per Ford and that varies from dealer to dealer based upon past claims and type of powertrain. The part we are discussing here does not fall under the prior approval process. So now that a service department has deemed the part failed and approved your part to be replaced they make a claim with Ford. This is the side that the customer never sees. In the case of this part, I can almost guarantee you that the dealer will not get this part paid for under a warranty claim. Is that your fault as the customer. No. However, the dealership will end up paying for the part and the labor to put the part on out of their own pocket. You can speculate several different things form here depending on the dealer and the ethics of the dealer. Here are a few of them.

 

1. The dealer representative (not a Ford representative) thinks it will get paid and made a mistake leaving the dealer to pay for it.

2. The dealer representative is fraudulently making a claim with a story written to verify the false warranty claim.

3. The dealer sees it as a customer good will of service and gives it to the customer and writes it off to a customer satisfaction budget.

 

Being that they would not give you the part to just put on, most likely the dealer falls under #1 or #2 because in order to file a warranty claim for the part, labor must be on the repair order or else Ford will deny it automatically. Ford calls some parts back. This means they will want to see the failed part back at the place of manufacture, a lab, or R&D center. If the dealer doesn't have or fails to send the part back, the claim will automatically be denied. Sometimes every failure that happens is called back (could be thousands per month) and other times it is a batch of parts by date code, or just random.

 

This explanations does not cover TSBs, SSMs, or recalls that Ford puts out on your vehicle, only warranty.

 

An example of this part being covered under warranty would be the intake tube developed a crack in it due to cold temperatures. You took it to the dealer. They see the crack. Replace the tube with a new one. You leave happy. They file the claim with Ford and get paid.

 

Hope this helps.

Nicely explained. Thanks! One would think that this would cover it, but guess not, since a few more comments have appeared later. As one of them said, picking nits can be fun too.

[kbailey990]

I'm still waiting for my new air intake. It's been on backorder for a month. :(

 

I knew I'd have to wait when I ordered it though.

[Ryan Goodlett]

Clarity is what it is. Not picking nits. By the way there is no "dealer rep" that can approve warranty. Ford did away with code generators for reps that visit on site a few years ago. Even if it is recommended by the Ford "hotline" the dealer is still ultimately responsible for all warranty claims, because they are looking at the issue, can touch it, and can run the tests on it.

 

I didn't make any accusations..... just wanted to clear the air on what a dealer should or should not be doing so people don't have false expectations.

[Ryan Goodlett]

FYI...for what it is worth there are 14 pieces "supposed" to arrive at the packager on 04/01. You should see it shortly afterwards if you are in the first 14 orders. That part I cant tell you.

[acdii]

As far as warranty claims go, if there is a service bulletin, or TSB, on a particular item or concern, it can be covered under warranty provided the service manager claims it under the exact cause of the SB or TSB. The seats in my MKT are a good example, I had dropped a bag of corn down just from a few inches and the floor broke in half. On this one I was expecting to have to either pay to repair it, or repair it myself. I was fully prepared to repair it myself, but when my SM called me regarding something I asked for Corncobs, I asked if there was a service bulletin regarding the floors breaking. He called me back an hour later saying there was, and that he ordered not one, but both floor parts, and replaced them both on Thursday.

 

It is totally up to the dealership's Service manager on whether or not to pursue a warranty claim. It also helps if you are a long standing customer of that dealer.

[Da0ne]

my local dealership called they received my part

[corncobs]

Mine was also delivered today but I will have to wait before I can install it.

[LASooner]

Mine was installed today under warranty. I asked about how he did it and he said that it was cleared through their Ford rep before he even ordered it.

 

It's subtle difference, but most noticeable to me at higher RPM, as it is a much lower, softer tone than it was previously.

[kbailey990]

I installed my new air intake two days ago. It definitely helps quiet the rough sound of the ICE. Two thumbs up, fine holiday fare.

[kbailey990]

I mangled the "Clueless" quote: the correct version is "two very enthusiastic thumbs up. Fine holiday fun." My daughters would be horrified at my movie gaffe, but I stand by the review of the air intake.

[C0recollector]

I ordered the new intake tube on Monday and it came in today (Saturday). I captured a few screen shots of before and after sound using Sound Meter on my Galaxy S4. It subjectively sounds better but objectively I had a hard time correlating the meter graphs with apples to apples comparisons. I drove the same route and tried to capture the same scenarios, including idle and an "engine rev" while parked. Apparently you can get the engine to turn on on-demand if you depress the accelerator far enough while parked.

 

It looks like the idle with the original intake was ~66dB as measured from inside the vehicle with the door closed. After wards it was ~65dB. Not sure if that is statistically significant. Subjectively the big difference comes with ICE under load when the lower grumble sounds are much less pronounced. With the original part I measured a max of 77dB with the ICE engine at the 3rd tick mark on the Empower screen (the kW white bar). With the new intake highest I see measured was 73dB. Again these weren't done under the exact same conditions - just my "best effort" attempts to measure something objectively. Take it for what its worth.

 

I think I notice a difference and would recommend the upgrade to a friend.

[jsolan]

I installed mine this past Saturday morning then took the car to visit my family up in the mountains on Sunday. At low RPM's (2000 or less) it maybe had an effect, but going up the mountains I'm regularly at 4000 RPM's and didn't notice a difference in noise. I think the pitch is lower, which maybe makes it harder for some people to hear? To me it's just as loud as before or as C0recollector said, there's not a statistically significant difference.

 

Oh well, for $45 it was worth a shot.

[lolder]

These resonators are useful at the frequency ( ICE RPM ) that they are tuned for. They can have a big effect over a small range or a lesser effect over a wider range depending on the design. The 3 db effect reported is not insignificant.

[Goody]

Installed my new air intake tube with resonator on my March 2013 built SE Hybrid. I don't notice much of a noise improvement. I'll be interested to see if my service tech notices it the next time I bring the car in.

[dalesky]

Should have mine in a couple of days. I was at my dealer yesterday, waiting for my Mustang to be serviced. I happened to be reading some posts here, and looked up the part #. I don't mind a little growl when I accelerate to merge, but I hope this tube helps some in town.

More later after I put it on.

Stay cool in this heat!

[junior.29.dh]

Did u guys end up getting better mpgs?

[kbailey990]

I didn't notice an mpg improvement from the resonator, but it definitely took the edge off the ICE growl. My lifetime MPG (per car calculation) is 44.1 mpg over 45,000 miles.

[GrySql]

I didn't notice an mpg improvement from the resonator, but it definitely took the edge off the ICE growl.

That sums it up, it was a device to lower the resonating blowback engine noise of the Atkinson motor.