I don’t think SVT has been used as a brand in 15 years. [emoji848]

Just ask if the mechanics have experience with the RS, or ask on this forum for a good dealer recommendation in your area.


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Yeah but apparently Ford is still calling these dealers "SVT certified dealerships" or something with the SVT name in it, which really covers all FP cars now. Guess it's because it's always been SVT in north america and they never bothered to change.

 

What are you looking to get done? True car geeks do their own oil changes. For me, it actually saves me time and I can justify buying tools (like race ramps) instead of paying the stealership to change the oil. That and I know the correct stuff goes in the motor.

If the tech is following the service manual, they shouldn't have any problems (even with the undertray). The service manuals are written so even a monkey can follow them, and isn't that the standard to which the techs are trained anyway? If your local dealership can't even figure that out then you need a new dealership and the (old) dealership can buy you a new undertray. I just hope that the bad tech didn't fix your HG...

 

Yeah I'm about to do my own oil change, and yes I hate letting anyone I don't know or trust work on my car, but current conditions can't allow me to invest in much garage equipment. I was booking to get them to look at the steering pull when stopping, and some metal rattle from the exhausts that I couldn't figure out the source.

I have a feeling that either regular mechanics didn't read the service manual on this car or some just can't seem to understand it. How the undertray was supposed to be installed was fairly obvious to me and I legit don't know how someone could put it back wrong, most likely just some irresponsible mechanic not giving a flying f*uck if things will fall apart after you leave.

 

Just stop. Your car isnt special. Not really. It’s a parts bin car, nothing super complicated to worry about.


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lmmfao...its special to him....hmmmn..no other AWD hatch in Fords parts bin...some parts are unique...jmho

 

To ease your mind, all you actually need is a Master Tech that's certified to work on the FoRS. (Especially for the HG work)

 

You have to ask if they have a tech with experience with the RS, though the service manager will dictate policy decisions.

My experiences with two dealers:

- Missed an oil leak

- Undertray not attached to the brace clip, missing nylon clips, all screws finger tight. To their defence the service manual I have is poor re this part. But now I know they have zero experience with the RS

- Brake fluid fill tank cap not tightened, fell off on the drive home from dealer spilling brake fluid. I found the cap in the engine bay . . .

- Plastic residue on front fender and headlight from an impact. It should buff out. Occurred when hood was open i.e. not at home.

- Dent high on rear door, way too high for a parking lot. Dealer took responsibility, but could not keep or make an appointment to fix it. I paid for it.

- Could not adjust shift cables

- Installed clutch slave line above between shift cables. It should be below. The stress from contact popped off the slave line. I fixed it.

- Oil & brakes I do, because of event schedule vs maintenance schedule

- Time for service taking two the four times (days) time estimated

- Rarely phoning to advise on progress / delays

- Unable to keep service appointments

- Inconsistent lug nut torques

Major work has been done competently. Warranty has been respected. Front line staff have been fine.

I suggest you cancel your maintenance program and start buying tools!

 

That's a bit worse than my average experience with dealership mechanics. I think mostly it's because they really don't care about your car, and some of them are too confident thinking they can do anything because they're experienced. Yes good advice, I'll start buying and learning things so I can take care of my own car.

 

I'm happy for all of you that do your own work, and I've been there - but the return on investment (time versus cost) on doing my own work is terrible. Nowadays I've found it's much, much easier and less stressful to have a mechanic (dealership or otherwise) who I am willing to rely on.

This is something the good luxury dealerships have figured out and capitalize on. Roll into a Lexus dealership with a $25k CPO and they'll take great care of you, while Ford boggles at what to do with their customers who have anything remotely special.

 

I agree with that. I’m an RS owner and my loaner car is a base fiesta. Ya. No that sucks.

But Lexus will put me in a new GS.


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It sucks not knowing if the mechanics even have a clue about the car. I've been extremely lucky in that the only mechanic that has done any important work on my car (HG etc) has been another RS owner who works at the local Ford dealer. So he knows the car inside and out and has lots of experience working on it. I also know a few of the other mechanics there from my auto-x group and they would've been the ones to do any oil changes, tire changes etc so I'm confident that they are showing the RS the proper care. I know that's not the normal experience at most dealerships, I'm just fortunate. I'm working my way to having everything I need at home to do my own work as much as possible, but I don't even have a flat, covered parking space (much less a garage) to work in right now so it makes it pretty difficult.

 

SVT hasn't existed for years - your dealer prolly laughed at you for bringing that up to be honest.

This car was build by FP in Europe - nothing to do with FP America

 

Best thing you can get at your local stealer is a senior master tech. That's who works on my car at the stealer. But even he managed to f something up when they changed my head last year for the recall as I have a small oil leak. The shop I use for oil changes, well a month ago he spotted the oil leak during a routine oil change. Not a big leak but enough that the undertray has oil stains. He said it looks like it's coming from the oil filter housing or close to it. RS is back at Ford with the same senior master tech who did the recall work. Yesterday they had it on the lift and running and he is trying to track it down. I love the RS very much but I'm growing real tired of dealing with post recall issues, as well as reading about them on here. This is my first domestic car from anyone. I'm more of a Japanese car kind of person and I've NEVER dealt with crap like this in 25 years of owning my own cars. The sheer incompetence I've read about on here is mind blowing. It's a simple turbo 4 cylinder. It shouldn't be rocket science. I hate to say this but if this isn't fixed permanently and I have to keep dealing with it the car will be sold or traded. And there is nothing on the market to replace it with. No interest in a heavy V8 RWD pony car. Only other hatch available is a VW Golf R which has very numb steering. The only other choice is a STi with the same damn motor since 2004, and no hatchback option. I want to keep my car for the next 20 years but dealing with Ford and the incompetent work is increasingly frustrating to say the least. I'm still baffled on how you ship a car out, with a lot of hype (much of it well deserved) with a big PR push (the video series on it, etc) on it, with the wrong head gasket. They claimed it was shipped with Mustang 2.3 EB HG, but I still don't buy it.

 

They claimed it was shipped with Mustang 2.3 EB HG, but I still don't buy it.

I mean I don't know what you want here for evidence, we've had people pull the head off and discover a Mustang HG. And then Ford spent quite a few million dollars on a recall and probably not for entertainment purposes. Considering what many of the other manufacturers' cars have gone through, I really feel like you're overreacting to the oil leak issue. Is Toyota, obviously not - but I'd rather be here than in a VW.

 

I think what you are running into here as a problem is that this is a very niche vehicle. Not a ton of people out there who are willing to pay 40k+ for what looks like (to most people) an economy hatchback car. When you have to explain to every person that you talk to that your car is not a normal Focus, and you then get to see the blank expressions on their faces eventually you realize that this was not a car for everyone. With that being said, the smaller the market the less focus a company is likely to put into all of the R&D. Even if the margins were excellent for Ford, the volume was not, and they would rather sell you an F-150. It is due to this that it is unlikely that any dealership is going to have a specialty technician for your Focus RS. Maybe for the high-performance Mustangs because they sell 10x as many of them as performance Focus(es?)(Foci?). Your best bet is to find a Ford Master Tech (like cornerexit said) at a dealership that has a good parts and service manager that you dont have to drive 4 hours to get to.

 

The reason why I asked for an SVT mechanic was I remember reading or hearing somewhere that there was a training course for this car and only SVT mechanics received this training. Some people are saying SVT hasn't been a thing for a while now, while that is true, Ford is still certifying certain dealerships as "SVT dealers", and it is searchable on their website. I assumed that these dealers would have mechanics qualified to work on SVT cars, or really, FP cars now. Too bad that because this car is relatively low volume, they don't seem to know much about it, thinking it's just a focus with more power and therefore any mechanic there has loads of experience with this car, while they really don't and sometimes f*ck things up because their pride is more important than your car. I've seen a few others in the area but I have no idea which dealership they go to or if they're even on this forum.

 

How about this for a loaner:

 

How about this for a loaner:

View attachment 331674

Put "Free Candy" on the side of it prior to returning it. Hope you were able to get all hauling errands done.

 

I have a few friends in the area who own and operate specialized race shops for drift, rally, etc.. so all major work I need done on the RS and my GT500 usually goes to them. I’m hoping to have a local hot rod shop handle my Pantera in the coming weeks. The local dealership in my area is really only good for general service and my most recent warranty claim for the transfer case on the RS. Most dealerships don’t really have much more than basic qualified mechanics and few dealerships I’ve come across have understanding techs and service writers who appreciate cars that are a cut above the run of the mill stuff being pushed out the door so your odds of finding an SVT mechanic are slim to none in my experience. What I have noticed is that dealerships are more concerned with displaying a high degree of faux concern over customer service. Every time I call my dealership and ask to get transferred to parts or service, the receptionist always gushes “It would be my pleasure to connect you!” And they’re always on about yelp, google, and truecar reviews, begging me to post up five star reviews on every interaction. At one point they were even offering $5.00 Starbucks gift cards for every verifiable 5 star review from a unique email address.

 

I race and don't do my own work. As others are implying about their dealers, I suggest discriminating. The dealer did a great job on the engine head gasket/tear-down mess. But I have one after-market guy do all my tires (on 7th set)/alignments/brakes (on 3rd set)/brake fluid; (always using OEM parts). I have the dealer do my oil changes...not only are they the average-even-lower price in town, I'm getting the exact synthetic and the changes go on my VIN record. Except for second opinions, you pretty much got to use dealer for bumper to bumper miscellaneous problems related to warranty (just now finally got my seat-clunk fixed!). (I plan to extend mine soon.)

 

Think Small

I brought a few small issues to a dealership yesterday and because one of them might have to do with brakes, I asked to have an SVT mechanic work on my car. The representative didn't even know who was SVT certified at the place, so he went to the back and asked someone else. As he and another guy walked back out of the room, I heard the other guy say to him "SVT? Is it an RS? but the RS isn't an SVT car though." Yeah sure but that's because SVT was American and has since become a part of FP, so in North America they pretty much mean the same thing. Apparently they're the only SVT dealer in town and he told me there was actually only one SVT mechanic there. At this point I'm kinda doubting if he really made the note to have this mechanic take my car after hearing the exchange between him and that other guy.

So my question is who's supposed to be working on these cars at dealers anyway? I know most dealerships think this is just a regular focus, and I'm fine with regular mechanics working on common parts like the infotainment or whatnot, but I don't quite trust them when it comes to unique parts on a car that they think they know well of, because thinking you know something while you don't often leads to stuff going wrong; for what I know they didn't even seem to know how to put the undertray back properly. I believe I heard or read somewhere that only SVT mechanics went through the training course for this car? Was I wrong for asking for an SVT mechanic?[/QUOTE


Find a small dealer, even if you have to travel. Our dealer is family owned since 1925. Mark up on my RS was $500.
The last loaner (work on a plain Jane Escape) was a ‘19 Fusion Sport with 8 mi. on the clock. Their sales staff isn’t commissioned. If they don’t know they find out. They did my HG and when I expressed trepidation, “Rick” (the guy who takes your keys) explained the leak down test.....what!
The point is in a small town you can’t be a slice and dice...for long. Everybody knows everybody and word travels fast. Yes the RS is special....but not Area 51 special. Now that your curiosity is peaked...Zook Motors, Kane, Pa.

 

There is a ford diesel/performance shop near me I trust explicitly with my car
They have the master tech trained on the RS and in fact mine was the first HG they had done; It's been flawless.
The upside is it's not a dealership and they deal will all the supper picky customers with FP models.
There are no lot kids joyriding in my my car and they know not to wash it, hand tools for lug nuts, never had so much as a grease mark let alone scratches or dents etc.

Downside is no courtesy car for fancy coffee, spring water, snacks etc.
It's a proper mechanics shop )

If you're in Vancouver BC i can't recommend them enough
Brown Brothers Diesel Shop

 

Yup. Best bet in Vancouver. Good guys!

 

No idea, but don't take it to a dealership. My experiences with Ford Service have been utterly terrible.

I've purchased two brand new cars in my life, both Ford Focus models; ST then the RS. Based on how they "support" those vehicles I will never buy another Ford again.

 

FP makes great cars, but they're not the ones taking care of them after they're sold, and the dealers are, the same dealers that will sell you an $18k car and later fix it with duct tape when it eventually needs repairs, because they seriously don't care. Good mechanics won't be staying at dealers given most cars being worked on are cheap and owners likely don't care about their cars more than a random mechanic; they look for quantity not quality, which is the opposite of what a good mechanic is focused on.

But yeah dealership mechanics are mostly sh*t because a) they only aim to satisfy average joes and therefore likely don't meet the standards of people who actually care about their cars, and b) it's just a pile of metal to them, they don't care.

 

I've loved Fords my whole life. My now wife (GF at the time), bought a 13 Focus SE with the PowerS*** transmission brand new. Obvious its cheaper than an RS, but when she and I both started to notice the bucking/surging issue associated with these transmission, they told her she was driving the car incorrectly. When she came home and told me that, I nearly drove back to the dealership with a weapon. We started going to a different dealership after that and had great service. After "reprogramming" the transmission, like the TSB stated at the time, the issue did seem to resolve itself. We got lucky compared to most other people with this transmission, and I drive it mostly now since we bought a new Forester. It will be the first and last automatic transmission Ford I buy.

My point is to shop different dealerships. This goes for all brands as I've dealt with dealerships as part of my job for over 8 years. Some have great service writers and crap techs, some have great techs and crap service staff. if you're lucky, they're all great. This is just my experience, but in most cases, and I don't mean to generalize, the wealthier neighborhoods tend have better dealerships. Good luck sir.

 

I was told when I purchased mine that it could "ONLY" be worked on by a certified Ford Performance mechanic. It wasn't - and I totally wasn't happy with the service department at my dealer...after having to tell them what type of oil to put in, they proceeded to set the TPM settings down lower because they couldn't figure out why my monitor kept going off at 35psi. The missing oil cap was the nail in the coffin for taking my car to them. I went to St. Thomas Ford, which is out of the way but leagues better in terms of service and they are a Ford Performance dealer. They knew what I was talking about when I mentioned a Ford Performance mechanic - she actually said they work on FP cars all the time and I saw him working on a GT350R as she said it. He had done a couple of head gasket recalls already and knew my car well, and actually came out to meet me and chat for a few minutes. Have trusted them there ever since and will drive an hour to get there every time I need even an oil change now. I would highly recommend them over any of the Ford dealers in London.