Question about maintenance and what to expect

[wreckedcar]

My FFH is going to hit 10K miles one week from today. I will not be the one calling the dealership to schedule the maintenance and I will not be the one taking it but i plan on having the car in next week for the oil change and tire rotation. We have not noticed any issues with the car so I haven't really followed a lot of the post on here about issues and this or that software update fixing it and whatever else I should be reading that I haven't.

 

My question is, will the dealership just automatcially do any required updates or do I have to specifically tell them what I want updated? I'm guessing/hoping that if something is required for the car to operate in a safe manor or to fix a known issue it would be automatic. I also have no clue if these updates cost or are supposed to cost. I tried searching on this in the forums and saw that some people were having dealerships charge them for have DRL activated.

 

So, before I have somebody call to schedule the appointment for the oil change and tire roation, do I need to do additional research on what updates I should ask for or do I just figure everything will be taken care of?

 

Thanks in advance for any responses as I am sure they will all be helpful.

[hermans]

They should run an Oasis report. You may want to remind them. The Oasis report shows what updates and recalls, if any, need to be done. Just this AM I took my FFH in for emissions/inspection and they did the PCM update - I had to reset my dash configurations.

[acdii]

If there are recalls or Ford recommended updates for your car, when they enter the VIN to update your car's records for the maintenance, then they will be notified of them. At that point if the SA had not done so prior to having any work done, they should notify you of these updates to let you know they were done, or they may just do them and note it on the ticket.

 

If there are TSB's for items, those are only done if there is a compliant related to them, such as the Ambient lighting update, or BLIS update, or FCIM update. You would have to notify the SA of the complaint, like my Ambient lighting changes color all on its own, of which there is a TSB on, then the update will be applied. The BLIS if you get cross traffic faults a lot when first starting the car, there is an update for that too. The FCIM is related to a different complaint, but what went along with that update was being able to actually turn the AC compressor off when you touched the AC button. Only the light went off before the update. However, that is not the complaint associated with the FCIM TSB.

 

IOW you can't go to the SA and say update my car to apply a bunch of TSB's, they are only done when you have an issue as many of the TSB apply to only a select number of cars.

[GrySql]

You can also find the latest Outstanding Field Service Action notices (FSA, Recall) that Ford has issued for your particular car.

Look no farther than this Forum, right here.

[djminfll]

I've always found that the dealer will not want to work that you didn't approve. So definitely ask them to check your VIN and do whatever updates, recalls, or whatever, are due.

[lolder]

And don't have them do anything else that is not covered by warranty except oil, filter and tire rotation. This car does not need any tune-ups and very little routine maintenance. I had a friend who had a Caddy on lease and last year he took it in for a brake malfunction light. They fixed it under warranty but charged him $350 to clean his "throttle body" and other junk with 20K miles on the car. He is in his '80's and has leased cars from this dealer for 20 years. THIEVES !!

Edited November 14, 2014 by lolder

[mwr]

And don't have them do anything else that is not covered by warranty except oil, filter and tire rotation. This car does not need any tune-ups and very little routine maintenance. I had a friend who had a Caddy on lease and last year he took it in for a brake malfunction light. They fixed it under warranty but charged him $350 to clean his "throttle body" and other junk with 20K miles on the car. He is in his '80's and has leased cars from this dealer for 20 years. THIEVES !!

I've always distrusted car dealer service departments, so have always sought out the most-respected service operation for my particular car. The owners of LIC Motorsports in Novato, California, Subaru specialists who maintained my prior Subaru, are now also moving into working on Fords. By the time I need service (only 1,000+ miles on my car now) they'll have lots more experience. Does anyone see a problem using non-Ford-dealer service?

[acdii]

I've always distrusted car dealer service departments, so have always sought out the most-respected service operation for my particular car. The owners of LIC Motorsports in Novato, California, Subaru specialists who maintained my prior Subaru, are now also moving into working on Fords. By the time I need service (only 1,000+ miles on my car now) they'll have lots more experience. Does anyone see a problem using non-Ford-dealer service?

Only when it comes to warranty and updates, normal scheduled maintenance though, any place you trust is fine.

[wreckedcar]

My concierge service call the Ford dealership and scheduled my first oil change and tire roation and asked them about recalls and software updates. They told her my car didn't have any outstanding recalls or software updates yet when I log in to owner.ford.com it shows i have one outstanding recall (FSA 12M02). Who is right?

 

I would think Ford's website would not put bogus recall information out there. In all the years of having my Lincoln I have not seen a recall notice come up and the dealer has never mentioned one to me. At the same time I would hope the dealership would know what they are talking about. On GrySql's "Recalls and Outstanding FSA" post the PDF for this FSA states "Dealers are authorized to perform APIM software upgrades under this program on vehicles that meet all of the following criteria: 1-The vehicle is beyond the terms of the New Vehicle Limited Warranty. 2-The vehicle does not contain the latest available software level..."

 

My car is just now at 10,000 miles (dealer delivered 7/24, I'm going to be out of my extended warranty in about 3 months at this pace ;( ) but the requirements in the PDF makes me think I don't need it??? Anyway, the car goes in Thursday for the oil change and roation so I would love to hear some thoughts on this before then.

 

Thanks again for the help you all have already given me on this.

[GrySql]

For looking up Recalls and FSA's use Etis, it will list any 'Campaign' issues that pertain to your car.

You can also do a Vehicle Health Report to see if you have any 'trouble codes', look in your Owner's Manual for directions for doing this

Luckily your late 2014 had most of the early bugs worked out.

 

FSA 12M02 is merely an extension to the previous Bumper-to-Bumper warranty period. It is not something that needs repair unless you experience a problem.