tl;dr - Mitchell Selig Ford in New London, CT says my stainless steel brake line collapsed and needed to be replaced to finish a simple brake job. Then they claim my "aftermarket pedals" are causing the caliper to stick. My car has stock pedals. So they basically charged me an additional 250$ to fix something that wasn't a problem and blame the stock Ford parts for being "aftermarket".
Well, I didn't want this to be my first post on a forum but I am running out of options and I'm trying to be polite about this. This is a bit of a long read but I'm trying to be thorough. Maybe someone on here can help? And if this isn't acceptable or if there's a specific person on here to contact, please message me.
Some backstory to this - I have a 2014 Fiesta ST with 58,000 miles on it at time of service (now at 59,000). I went on a road trip and didn't check my brakes before I left. Big mistake, I'll admit. I drove from Grand Rapids, MI to New London, CT. About 2/3 the way there, I hear a grinding noise from my brakes when I'm coming to a stop. Sure enough, my brake pads are toast. I check google and there's a Ford dealership near where I'm staying (Mitchell Selig Ford). So I limp it along and make it to my destination. Come morning, I drop my car off at the dealership and prepare to bite the bullet. 350ish estimate for discs, pads, and labor. Discs don't appear to be too scarred but I agree to play it safe and just pay the idiot tax for not checking on it. So, here's where the issue begins...
The dealership calls me up the same day and says that I have a collapsed brake line that caused my caliper to stick. I didn't agree with this at the time but I also just wanted my car back...So I reluctantly resigned myself to this new fate. Before I move on, I want to repeat the dealership claim because it is relevant later - The dealership said my caliper will not release properly and a kinked brake line is to blame. So they quote me for new front lines and a brake bleed. They don't have the lines in stock so they need to be ordered and sent in. But this also means I won't get it until the last day of my 4 day trip and I'll be late getting back on the road. It is what it is, so I agree and move on.
Fast forward to the afternoon that I was supposed to pick up my car. I was told it would be "just an hour - the lines are off, just need to put on new ones and bleed the system". 2 hours later, I pick up my car and the offending brake lines. Sure enough, there is a dent of sorts in one of my brake lines. But it didn't seem severe enough to cause the issues they were talking about. And again, I never noticed anything even with all of my track and autocross days. They then changed their earlier claim. The dealership now said that the brake bleed took a while because my caliper would not release and "aftermarket pedals" are to blame And sure enough, they even put it down on my write up (see pictures below). They also mentioned that they had to adjust my brake switch, and "Someone really did a number on your pedals!" and other stuff. They're not really consistent on what they did but at this point, I'm tired, I have a lot of driving to do, and I also have a work trip to attend to on the way home that I can't be late for. So I sign and 600$ later, I'm off.....kind of.
About 5 minutes down the road, it is obvious things are wrong. My cruise control won't disengage when I press the brakes. It actually makes my engine surge to try and overpower the brakes until I really slam on them, at which point the cruise disengages and my car nose dives under the heavy braking. I also notice that the brake light doesn't turn on until the pedal is halfway to the floor. Oh and my car is way down on power - like there's a severe boost leak. I took some video of my issues and continued on. I was late enough and I had zero faith in the dealership as I left. I did not attempt to do any repairs or diagnosis on the side of the road both due to lack of time and because I wanted an independent inspection
I called up the service advisor for Mitchell Selig a few days later and we agreed I would take it into my local shop for an official diagnosis before we do any mitigation.
Brought it to my local dealership a few days later for an inspection. They said the loss of power was because my "new" air filter had too much oil on it but since the air filter had been on for a while, I'm suspecting a boost leak. They confirmed that yes, my pedals are stock and no, the pedals were not malfunctioning or somehow causing issues. They did say that the brake *switch* was acting up so they took it apart and cleaned it to restore functionality. Unfortunately, the shop did not want to get involved. They said they couldn't be more than 50% sure that Mitchell Selig was "at fault" but they did give me a report that said the pedals were stock and they had to clean and adjust the brake switch. They also said off the record that it was very strange how they came to the cnclusion that the pedals were the cause for concern. Of course, I paid for an hour of labor out of my own pocket.
I call Mitchell Selig again afterwards and they refused to speak with me. They only wanted to speak to the other dealership. After the two dealerships talked, they (Mitchell Selig) determined that the matter was closed. I have brought this up with Ford customer service and gotten nothing. I have an outstanding complaint against them with the BBB. I'm out 750$ and then some to have my car be only slightly worse than it was when I dropped it off at a dealership that thinks stock parts on a Fiesta ST are aftermarket. It isn't the end of the world for me financially but it has really soured me on Ford dealerships and the Fiesta ST as a whole. A huge part of the appeal to me is that it's such a simple car to get serviced and get parts for.
Attached are some pictures of the end result. I cropped out my personal info and the service writer's info. If nothing else, let this be a warning to all of you - Don't go to Mitchell Selig Ford for service.
Well, I didn't want this to be my first post on a forum but I am running out of options and I'm trying to be polite about this. This is a bit of a long read but I'm trying to be thorough. Maybe someone on here can help? And if this isn't acceptable or if there's a specific person on here to contact, please message me.
Some backstory to this - I have a 2014 Fiesta ST with 58,000 miles on it at time of service (now at 59,000). I went on a road trip and didn't check my brakes before I left. Big mistake, I'll admit. I drove from Grand Rapids, MI to New London, CT. About 2/3 the way there, I hear a grinding noise from my brakes when I'm coming to a stop. Sure enough, my brake pads are toast. I check google and there's a Ford dealership near where I'm staying (Mitchell Selig Ford). So I limp it along and make it to my destination. Come morning, I drop my car off at the dealership and prepare to bite the bullet. 350ish estimate for discs, pads, and labor. Discs don't appear to be too scarred but I agree to play it safe and just pay the idiot tax for not checking on it. So, here's where the issue begins...
The dealership calls me up the same day and says that I have a collapsed brake line that caused my caliper to stick. I didn't agree with this at the time but I also just wanted my car back...So I reluctantly resigned myself to this new fate. Before I move on, I want to repeat the dealership claim because it is relevant later - The dealership said my caliper will not release properly and a kinked brake line is to blame. So they quote me for new front lines and a brake bleed. They don't have the lines in stock so they need to be ordered and sent in. But this also means I won't get it until the last day of my 4 day trip and I'll be late getting back on the road. It is what it is, so I agree and move on.
Fast forward to the afternoon that I was supposed to pick up my car. I was told it would be "just an hour - the lines are off, just need to put on new ones and bleed the system". 2 hours later, I pick up my car and the offending brake lines. Sure enough, there is a dent of sorts in one of my brake lines. But it didn't seem severe enough to cause the issues they were talking about. And again, I never noticed anything even with all of my track and autocross days. They then changed their earlier claim. The dealership now said that the brake bleed took a while because my caliper would not release and "aftermarket pedals" are to blame And sure enough, they even put it down on my write up (see pictures below). They also mentioned that they had to adjust my brake switch, and "Someone really did a number on your pedals!" and other stuff. They're not really consistent on what they did but at this point, I'm tired, I have a lot of driving to do, and I also have a work trip to attend to on the way home that I can't be late for. So I sign and 600$ later, I'm off.....kind of.
About 5 minutes down the road, it is obvious things are wrong. My cruise control won't disengage when I press the brakes. It actually makes my engine surge to try and overpower the brakes until I really slam on them, at which point the cruise disengages and my car nose dives under the heavy braking. I also notice that the brake light doesn't turn on until the pedal is halfway to the floor. Oh and my car is way down on power - like there's a severe boost leak. I took some video of my issues and continued on. I was late enough and I had zero faith in the dealership as I left. I did not attempt to do any repairs or diagnosis on the side of the road both due to lack of time and because I wanted an independent inspection
I called up the service advisor for Mitchell Selig a few days later and we agreed I would take it into my local shop for an official diagnosis before we do any mitigation.
Brought it to my local dealership a few days later for an inspection. They said the loss of power was because my "new" air filter had too much oil on it but since the air filter had been on for a while, I'm suspecting a boost leak. They confirmed that yes, my pedals are stock and no, the pedals were not malfunctioning or somehow causing issues. They did say that the brake *switch* was acting up so they took it apart and cleaned it to restore functionality. Unfortunately, the shop did not want to get involved. They said they couldn't be more than 50% sure that Mitchell Selig was "at fault" but they did give me a report that said the pedals were stock and they had to clean and adjust the brake switch. They also said off the record that it was very strange how they came to the cnclusion that the pedals were the cause for concern. Of course, I paid for an hour of labor out of my own pocket.
I call Mitchell Selig again afterwards and they refused to speak with me. They only wanted to speak to the other dealership. After the two dealerships talked, they (Mitchell Selig) determined that the matter was closed. I have brought this up with Ford customer service and gotten nothing. I have an outstanding complaint against them with the BBB. I'm out 750$ and then some to have my car be only slightly worse than it was when I dropped it off at a dealership that thinks stock parts on a Fiesta ST are aftermarket. It isn't the end of the world for me financially but it has really soured me on Ford dealerships and the Fiesta ST as a whole. A huge part of the appeal to me is that it's such a simple car to get serviced and get parts for.
Attached are some pictures of the end result. I cropped out my personal info and the service writer's info. If nothing else, let this be a warning to all of you - Don't go to Mitchell Selig Ford for service.
![[screwy]](/images/smilies/icon_smile_screwy.gif "Screwy [screwy]"){kind=icon}
