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My wife’s Ford Focus would stall at idle. We took the car to Lex Brodie’s, a reputable service shop in Honolulu. Since engine work is not their specialty, they had no interest in diagnosing and fixing the problem. The mechanic at Lex Brodies recommended taking the car to the dealership. I called Honolulu Ford and they were willing to see the car in a reasonable time period. We called around to other service shops, but most had long wait times. So, with hesitation, I took a chance on a dealership.
After towing the car to Honolulu Ford, we were connected to a customer service representative, whom I will call MD. MD took a history of our situation, and before the car could be taken off the tow truck, she suggested the problem sounded like a transmission issue. This is foolish to say for a few reasons. First, anyone with mechanical acumen would not hear the story of a car stalling at idle in the parking gear and intuitively conclude there is a problem with the gears/gearbox of my car, without a thorough evaluation of the car. Second, she is not a mechanic. Her uneducated opinion on the issue was not solicited. Third, regardless of intent, MD’s immediate suggestion implies that the repair is going to be expensive. Transmission repairs aren’t cheap, and to jump to a worst case scenario is irresponsible. It would be like going to an ER with chest pain and, as you’re being taken back to a hospital bed from the enterance, the nurse aide tells you that, “you’re probably having a heart attack”. I was left with the impression that MD was neither knowledgeable nor considerate. I crossed my fingers and hoped that Honolulu Ford was better at diagnosing than customer servicing.
After 5 days of waiting for the car to be seen by a mechanic, Honolulu Ford had a diagnosis. Talking with MD, I was told that the transmission was fine, but the engine was producing zero oil pressure. ZERO OIL PRESSURE! This was stunning news. As oil pressure is essential to a well-running machine, typically a car will demonstrate signs of such a problem. This was never the case. My car never demonstrated symptoms of zero oil pressure. The car merely stalled. MD’s recommendation: a $10,000 engine replacement.
When I pressed her to explain what part of the engine was malfunctioning to cause low oil pressure, MD would mindlessly parrot back that “The mechanics found that the engine has low oil pressure”. When I asked to speak to a mechanic to better explain their findings before I spend 10k on a repair, she said that wasn’t possible. I specifically asked her if the mechanics could find the non-functioning part of the engine and replaced that item instead of the entire engine. She denied that request. I’m not exaggerating. I said “So you will not offer any further diagnostic service or replace any other part on the car except for an entire engine replacement?”. She said, “Yes”. I was gobsmacked. Needless to say, MD had established herself as uncooperative and utterly incompetent. I needed to get my car out of that dealership. I ate the towing costs and brought the car home a few days later.
Quick Aside: There were other glaring issues that arose prior to, and after, the diagnosis. They should be briefly addressed. MD’s communication was horrendous. When communicating by text message, she'd send incoherent messages in a casual tone. She’d completely misinterpret what I’d say (see images below). To paraphrase, I’d say, “Let me consider my options, so do not work on my car”, and she’d reply, “Starting work on your car!”. I’m shaking my head as I write this. If you’re going to convince me that I NEED an engine replacement, the least you could do is explain your position accurately and in complete sentences. MD communicated with me like I was an old pal in a group chat, not a customer about to tap into their savings to pay for a huge car expense. She acted like an entitled and inattentive teenager.
What I did get from Honolulu Ford was a summary of the diagnostics. The concerning issue with the diagnostic paperwork is that there is little to no diagnostics work documented on the sheet. I’m not sure what their policy is at Honolulu Ford, but there was not even a mechanic assigned to my car on the diagnostic sheet. In fact, the majority of the language is copied from a “Special Service Message” or SSM from the NHTSA, which can be found by a Google Search (SSM 49918 is attached below). This was not a diagnostic, but merely a bulletin from the NHTSA that Ford Focuses of a similar build may have a particular problem.
So, when evaluating the claims made by the dealership on the diagnostic document, essentially two claims were made: 1) only my oil light turned on when my car stalled, and 2) they found zero oil pressure in the engine when at idle. Claim #1 is false. I captured a video of the issue recreating itself. This is a lie. Since they lied about Claim #1 and MD was so obtuse, I hedged my bet and assumed Honolulu Ford was lying about Claim #2. Within a few days, that intuition would be vindicated.
With my car at home and my wife in distress, I tried to find the highest rated mechanic in Honolulu to instill confidence in this process. This led me to Sumida’s Auto Repair. Although it took over a week to get an appointment, it was worth the wait. Sumida’s diagnosed, repaired, and returned my car on the same day. It was a bad fuel pump and high pressure fuel sensor. Honolulu Ford is so bad at diagnosing car problems, that they weren’t even looking at the correct half of the car to repair (fyi, the fuel pump is in the fuel tank). The other possibility is that they lied about everything. The latter seems more likely.
Since there was so little transparency in my transaction at Honolulu Ford, it’s hard to know which parties to hold accountable. What I have concluded from my interaction is that I will never solicit any business from Honolulu Ford or any business under the same ownership for any reason. I will also convey this sentiment to everyone I know. Also, in a world of fantastic machinery and plenty of options, I will never buy another Ford vehicle. Thank you for showing me the way forward MD!