I'm sure someone will be able to help with this.
My brother has had a Sept 97 Mondeo since new, also dealer serviced since new.
When he took it in for service/MOT in August 2003 it was noticed that there was bubbling in the rear doorwells, right in the corner where the downward panel meets the top of the sill and the internal face of the doorwell, basically where the back seats meet the doors.
It was first spotted on the offside but when they examined the nearside early signs were spotted there as well, in exactly the same place. The dealer told my brother that they have had 'half a dozen of these', all in exactly the same area and that he had referred them all to Ford under their anti-corrosion warranty, and that he would add his to the list. The dealer reckons that the offside sill needs replacing and that the nearside one can be cut out and repaired.
Ford have just contacted my brother and told him that they have disallowed his claim as it is 'due to external damage, probably a stone chip' and therefore not covered. When he contacted the dealer he was told that ALL the submitted claims have been refused for the same reason.
Quite simply, my brother is amazed that Ford can claim that seven Mondeo's can all have corrosion in an identical area, and nowhere else and that a stone could squeeze under the door, right up into a tiny corner and chip the paint, and on both sides too!
Now the question is, is this a known problem on Mondeos, certainly there is nothing in the Car-by-Car Breakdown, and have any of you out there experienced the same.
Any feedback would be useful as brother is not going to let it lie and I get the feeling he feels a campaign coming on, not for the first time!
Cockle
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I think mine has the same problem on the passenger side doorwell, does it eminate from the area just behind the plastic strip running along the bottom of the doorwell?
Mine is an early 98 model. Realistically any mainstream car over 5 years old is considered something of a banger and worthless nowadays, so I am not loosing any sleep over it unless it gets noticeably worse!
Good luck to your brother but I doubt he will get any joy out of Ford even if he pushes it further, most 6 or 12 anti-corrosion warranties have the standard get out clause along the lines of "only covers perforation coming through from the inside", in other words "we will claim stone chip or accident damage so you wont be covered!"
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I had a 97R 2ltr saloon that had rust where the sill turns into the rear wheel arch. Only noticeable with the rear door open. The car was in excellent condition apart from this patch of rust. Cockle, was yours a saloon?
I have seen a few at auction where the lacquer has become flaky- not just around stone chips.
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wow, Im quite amazed at this, as I had a mondeo TD which clocked up "intergalatic miles" for about 7 yrs from 1996 (until Jan 2003) an L reg 1993 mondeo TD which apart from fadded paint work all over, and the bonnet with its stone chips was in great condition no rust anywhere.
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Thanks, Gents.
I have had a chance to look at his car for myself today, rather than just his description over the phone. You are all spot on. Bubbling is just to the rear of the rubber strip just before the wheel arch. Nearside is worst, but definitely starting to go on the offside as well.
Agreed the motor is not worth a shed load of money but he is just about to trade in for a new Focus at the said dealer and feels that even if he goes to another Ford dealer that they will all know if it is a common problem and will know exactly where to look to knock his trade in price.
It does seem a little disingenuous of Ford to suggest that all these vehicles have suffered stone chips in exactly the same place.
I feel that my brother will not let it lie as his father-in-law was pretty senior in Ford until recently and has given him a few 'useful contacts' to speak to.
Incidentally, his FiL informs him that the sills are supposed to be filled full of a foam to prevent exactly this problem. Anyone feel there might be some manufacturing process problem around that build period?
Thanks again for the feedback, will keep you posted on any outcome.
Cockle
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I would hazard a guess that Ford would have trouble making their case stand in something like a small claims court, but I'm not sure if that would aply to this case, there must be some kind of recourse.
It is obvious to any reasonable person that this isn't stone chip damage, I would love to see if they treated HJ differently if he tried to claim, I'm sure the possibility of it been made public wouldn't go down well at Ford HQ :-)
Blue
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