Voltage/battery management issue

For those who are bored, I'll keep this updated. Towed it away tonight. Tow truck driver was unable to jump it. Had to figure out the manual neutral... That was fun. Not as easy as it seems but got it. Maybe I'll hear something tomorrow evening.

For those who are bored, I'll keep this updated. Towed it away tonight. Tow truck driver was unable to jump it. Had to figure out the manual neutral... That was fun. Not as easy as it seems but got it. Maybe I'll hear something tomorrow evening.

Even with key on, it was stuck in park
Ouch
Keep us abreast..

Ugh, so not really an update. More of a "I should have known..." and things are going to get interesting...

I am 45 and by principle, I do not like dealerships. Since I got my license at 16, with multiple vehicles, I made it a point to figure things out. The only time any of my vehicles go to the dealership is for warranty repairs. Basic maintenance, modifications, etc I have no problem doing some research, asking questions and getting my hands dirty. As we have a Ford extended warranty, on a Ford gold certified pre owned vehicle...this went in for what should be a warranty repair.

Red flag #1: I posted when it happened, but all of this started IMMEDIATELY after picking the vehicle up from this dealership after replacing a cv axle under warranty in June. Zero starting issues before that, zero slow cranking. We pick it up, my wife goes to a meeting and comes out to a no start. According to her, she saw smoke and smelled burning electronics while trying to start it but I could not reproduce that and never saw it. Tow it home, I replace the battery and all is well for about 2 weeks or so when the slow cranking started.

Red flag #2: my advisor is out until next week which is why my initial appointment wasn't until the 19th. I was able to talk to someone else who set up an appointment for this past Friday.

Red flag #3: Had to tow it there and did so Thursday night so it was there first thing Friday morning. Appointment was 8am. I waited until 5pm when I hadn't heard anything and sent a message to this new advisor. His response: "our transmission techs are very busy...it may be a few more days..." Ok thanks but this has nothing to do with the transmission. No response.

Red flag #4: Today I call. The second advisor isn't there on saturdays so I talk to someone else. "Oh, we can't get it out of park so it is still sitting there while they try to figure that out." Dafuq you mean you can't get it out of park...you're a ford dealer. How did I put it in neutral, get it on a tow truck, get it off the tow truck in neutral....and you can't get it out of park? "ok, hold on." Comes back and says they are able to get it out of park and the tech is still trying to figure out what's wrong. Mentioned something about there being an issue with how the battery is connected and wires are "smushed" in there and not connected properly. Bullshit! I did the battery, it's not rocket science and I have a picture of what I did. If it wasn't connected properly, how did it run for 3 months after I put it in?

Red flag #5: Ford warranty so they have to put me in a Ford rental....but they don't have any....again, dafuq? That and they can't put me in a rental until they diagnose the issue.

I just KNOW they are going to say there is an issue with the battery or how it's connected and will stop there. "Oh, we'll go further if you replace the battery with us..." And somehow they are going to try to avoid covering this.

And for your reading pleasure: It has sat in the same parking spot since thursday, they haven't moved it. I have questions on if they had done anything until today or not. I get a call today saying the battery is bad and they can't go further until that is rectified. I could replace it with them and pay $300 or try to get mine warrantied. They had a print out showing voltages etc. Drove down there, picked up the battery and took it back to get tested this time with the print out. Tested bad there too finally so new battery acquired. Still not "fixed" but they can move forward now. And we at least got a rental today.

What a load.. they coukd have easily put in a battery to test the system
I feel your anguish

Rough luck on the coolant hose. I don't remember where the stater was cause that timing is terrible. Did they mention they were taking care of it, or that they'd bill you for the repair? Was hard to tell from your post if they were covering or if it was related to the repair and they're making you whole.

In the initial message to me, they didn't say if this was covered. I don't see why it wouldn't be though.

If they didn't ask for authorization to replace then it sounds like they're making sure you're good. Curious about the starter fixing your issue. These battery ghosts are getting to a lot of us.