Battery replacement by Ford Mobile Service.

[AZ_Ryan]

Last night after I got home from work (yes Thanksgiving) I got this message from the Ford app.

The battery issues in these cars have been well documented of late. Last weekend my heart beat got replaced by the chime again. So I put a battery tender and charged it. I drove the car all week with no issues.

So I decided its time for a battery replacement and scheduled a mobile appointment for this morning on the app. I fully expected a call to schedule service, but they showed up at my door at 8:30 in the morning!

The tech was as polite as he could be and explained he was there to change the battery and top off my fluids. So I pulled the car out of the garage, (which started just fine despite the warnings on app and dash). After he replaced the battery, he said the battery monitor sensor was still saying the battery was low. So he had to do a BCM reset. After that everything was good. He said he be happy to come back out for a mobile oil change too. So I tipped the guy and went back to my coffee. Great experience from Ford!

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[MAT1955]

@AZ_Ryan very interesting but even more interesting (to me) is that you tipped him which I think is an awesome idea. I tip the techs who work on our vehicles. I always say please take the time you need to do the job right. If it goes over "menu time" I'll cover that. At oil change time I tip BEFORE the work as I hand the keys over and ask please pre fill my oil filter before you start the process (to let that oil soak into the filter) and then top it up again just before you spin it on. Don't want that Coyote Tic. LOL .....I do the same when they are installing custom rims on my wife's car, etc. etc. Does this pay-off ....100%. My 2024 GT was in the dealer's the other day for an oil change and a new dealership kid who shuttles the cars from the service reception to the tech's bay was told by a tech walking by - "That's MT's Mustang - put a floor mat cover in and a plastic sheet over his seats (space grey), wash your hands to get the dirt off before you get in and don't rev that engine." Long ago the word went out in both dealerships about my and my wife's vehicles, how we treat them and how we treat the techs. Our vehicles are handled "white glove". What goes around comes around - respect is met with respect, but you obviously get that, some don't.

 

[Starship Enterprise]

Awesome! After my experience with the Mobile Tech, that's the only way I want to go for everything possible they can do.

For some reason it's much easier to tip a mobile tech...I guess because he's right there 1 on 1, as opposed to sitting at the waiting room at the dealership while some random tech inside doesn't have to care because he's anonymous to you.

 

[ER95]

Very nice to see from Ford!

Definitely going for mobile service for everything they can do in the future!

 

[MAT1955]

@Starship Enterprise ...... Nothing "random" with how my vehicles are treated. I ASK to speak with the tech - to MEET with him/her and I give them the keys. That's when I make my requests and give my tip. At this point with both dealer relationships, they both know the tech(s) we prefer and assign them to us if its anything more than a tire rotation.

 

[Junkyard Dog]

Last night after I got home from work (yes Thanksgiving) I got this message from the Ford app.

The battery issues in these cars have been well documented of late. Last weekend my heart beat got replaced by the chime again. So I put a battery tender and charged it. I drove the car all week with no issues.

So I decided its time for a battery replacement and scheduled a mobile appointment for this morning on the app. I fully expected a call to schedule service, but they showed up at my door at 8:30 in the morning!

The tech was as polite as he could be and explained he was there to change the battery and top off my fluids. So I pulled the car out of the garage, (which started just fine despite the warnings on app and dash). After he replaced the battery, he said the battery monitor sensor was still saying the battery was low. So he had to do a BCM reset. After that everything was good. He said he be happy to come back out for a mobile oil change too. So I tipped the guy and went back to my coffee. Great experience from Ford!

Ugh. Sorry you had to work on Thanksgiving.

Given that he replaced the battery and it still said it was bad, do you think it really was bad?

 

[jeffnudi]

Was the battery replaced under warranty?

 

[AZ_Ryan]

Was the battery replaced under warranty?

Yes.

 

[Starship Enterprise]

@Starship Enterprise ...... Nothing "random" with how my vehicles are treated. I ASK to speak with the tech - to MEET with him/her and I give them the keys. That's when I make my requests and give my tip. At this point with both dealer relationships, they both know the tech(s) we prefer and assign them to us if its anything more than a tire rotation.

Thst's good to hear. Sometimes service dept. act like gatekeepers.

 

[glenng6]

Last night after I got home from work (yes Thanksgiving) I got this message from the Ford app.

The battery issues in these cars have been well documented of late. Last weekend my heart beat got replaced by the chime again. So I put a battery tender and charged it. I drove the car all week with no issues.

So I decided its time for a battery replacement and scheduled a mobile appointment for this morning on the app. I fully expected a call to schedule service, but they showed up at my door at 8:30 in the morning!

The tech was as polite as he could be and explained he was there to change the battery and top off my fluids. So I pulled the car out of the garage, (which started just fine despite the warnings on app and dash). After he replaced the battery, he said the battery monitor sensor was still saying the battery was low. So he had to do a BCM reset. After that everything was good. He said he be happy to come back out for a mobile oil change too. So I tipped the guy and went back to my coffee. Great experience from Ford!

Glad it went smoothly! I am beginning to think I may go with something other than a Motorcraft battery. My marine batteries, 4 of them, last for years and suffer far worse conditions and use! Glenn

 

[MAT1955]

@glenng6 ...... I had 6 series 31 AGMs in my cruiser. I used Mercruiser brand but they were made by one of the big manufacturers. Motorcraft usually use top shelf manufacturers for their brand and gets them to add specialty items ..... sort of like when we used to buy Sears Kenmore appliances - which had specialty add-ons but were made by whirlpool etc. and were better that even the manufacturer's own line. Guys I know buy various brands of oil thinking its waaay better than Motorcraft - Nope - Conoco makes Motorcraft to Ford's specs (very high and model specific) and SI oils (one of the best in the world - if not the best) makes the viscosity improvement packages. Last I heard Wix made the Motorcraft oil filters and we used Wix in our racing engines. So, I stick with Motorcraft as 99% of the time IMO you can't do better than Motorcraft.

 

[BimmerDriver]

@Starship Enterprise ...... Nothing "random" with how my vehicles are treated. I ASK to speak with the tech - to MEET with him/her and I give them the keys. That's when I make my requests and give my tip. At this point with both dealer relationships, they both know the tech(s) we prefer and assign them to us if its anything more than a tire rotation.

That's a great idea. My biggest problem with doing these kind of things is, how much do I tip? Do you go with a standard percentage of the cost of service (like for a waiter/waitress) or a typical flat rate like $20?

 

[Starship Enterprise]

My first oil change was free, so I tipped $80. Yeah that's high, but I was so happy to have a decent alternative to taking it in, and I like the tech that showed up. He went the extra effort and did a full drain, not siphon.

These people don't have the convenience of a lift. They show up to your house, jack the car up, crawl under.....and risk serious injury or worse of anything goes wrong for every oil change. They deserve a tip much more than someone bringing your sandwich to your table.

$20 doesn't even fill a gas tank. IMO $40 - $50 is bare minimum for what they do. More if they rotate the tires too. I figure what the hell, it's a once a year expense.

Now for a simple battery change like Ryan had, maybe $20 is good.

 

[MAT1955]

@BimmerDriver .... just my opinion but I give $50.00 for simple and more if it's a complicated job. Oil change with filter double lubed $100.00 I purchased expensive aftermarket rims that my wife wanted. This was on a brand new vehicle. We had him take the "summer" tires of the OEM rims and put them on the new aftermarkets". We then had him put the new "winter" tires we purchased on the OEM rims. He also had to install two sets of McGard locking nuts. He balanced all eight rims/tires. Then he used his rattle gun to spin the lugs and McGards on most of the way and did the final tightening "old school" with a hand held torque wrench. New car, expensive aftermarket rims for summer and decent OEM rims to be used in the winter. Lots of opportunity for parts/vehicle to get scratched. You could view the whole process from the waiting room. He took great care not to scratch anything. I tipped him $150.00. He thanked me and said he was going shopping that night to buy his daughter her first bike and the money would come in handy..... Respect...... Attached - the wife's new rims - telling the wife her new rims got scratched.....not good ..... LOL - Pic attached

 

[Starship Enterprise]

Nice rims! What's the wife's car?

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