bsamuels Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 (edited) This past week when pulling into my driveway I shifted my car into park and I could feel something give. I could not shift out of park after so I removed console to do it manually as shift interlock override was not working. I can manually shift but the dash indicator is obviously misaligned and it will never go into park or register on the dash as going into park (Only seems to recognize park when I kill the engine in neutral with handbrake on and then shift to park; thus releasing the key). Other than that I can get it to go into all other gears(R, N, D, M) with some "finagling". I took it into the dealer as this problem is above me and they just looked at it this morning (11/21/16) and they just called with a quote. They said the linkage was broken and I needed a new shifter assembly. At least that's what I think they told me over the phone. They stated they would have to pull the dash to install the new part and the price would be $1663 with labor. I realize labor is expensive but does it really take them that long to pull the dash; is this a reasonable price? I always trusted the dealer I used when I lived in Oklahoma but this now local dealer(Texas) told me in the past my wife's vehicle needed brakes but I took it to an excellent local mechanic(who is a good friend of my dad's) and they told me they were fine. So I don't know whether to trust this quote as it seems a little ridiculous? For now I'm gonna pass on fixing it as it still drives fine, I just have to manually release the lever to shift out of park which isn't a huge deal for know other than not having the console pieces in place Any and all help is appreciated. Info on car: 2011 Fusion SE Purchased Certified Pre-Owned in 2013 Has less than 40,000 miles. Filed complaint with NHTSA Edited November 21, 2016 by bsamuels 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eGuru Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 I can't think of any reason why the dash would need to be pulled to fix the shifter problem that you describe. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bsamuels Posted November 22, 2016 Author Share Posted November 22, 2016 I got the quote back from the dealer with the parts needed. They stated Cable Assembly/Selector Lever Control(73595) and Auto Trans Shift Lever(7210). The mechanic I took it to after the dealer said he has been able to "snake" the cable around to where it needs to be hooked up from the shifter assembly. I figure the dealership probably could have also but was going to charge me the "book" rate regardless. We'll see what his estimate is which I'll be interested to hear. I'm about done with this local dealer. How long would you think a dash removal alone should/would take for a "professional"? The quote said 11 hours for the whole job. I'm pretty sure I could uninstall and reinstall the dash in under say 8 hours at the most with just about 0 knowledge on it from the videos I've seen. I'm no expert but I am smart enough to figure things out along as I work. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eGuru Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 I recall dash r&r to be 6 hours in the rate book. It is necessary to do this for a manual transmission cable replacement but agree with your me hanic that the cable should be able to be snaked through. I see that you could get the parts on eBay for about $Usd 100. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drolds1 Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 If all you need is the shifter mechanism, then there's no need to pull the dash. In this video, demonstrating how to change the evap temp sensor, the shifter mechanism has to be removed prior to pulling the dash. If you FF>7:00, you can see how the shifter comes out before the dash is removed. The cable is simply disconnected and left in place. Do you need a shifter, a cable or both? All that aside for the moment, 11 hours is ridiculous to pull the dash. I agree that you should avoid this dealer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bsamuels Posted November 24, 2016 Author Share Posted November 24, 2016 The dealer said the cable and shifter assembly. The mechanic I took it to is replacing the cable without pulling the dash and said he could fix the shifter assembly. Basically my battery leaked acid onto the cable and ate through the rubber housing. Filed a claim with autozone as it was duralast with a 5 year warranty and only 2 years old. I'm just gonna let the mechanic handle the situation. He seems to be a solid one. Thanks for responses. Seems like a good community. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bsamuels Posted December 1, 2016 Author Share Posted December 1, 2016 In case anyone was interested. The batter separated in one corner where the top and bottom meet. The acid leaked and ran down the cable eating through the housing and damaging the linkage cable. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWWPerfA_ZN0W Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 Another issue caused by the battery! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bsamuels Posted December 19, 2016 Author Share Posted December 19, 2016 (edited) Yeah. When I originally took it to the local Ford Dealership they did not seem to care to inform me what had happened or did not even try to find the cause. So I assumed it was the part was defective as it should not have had this issue so soon. Also, the mechanic tested my alternator and said it was fine. So I rescinded my NHTSA complaint but have a claim with AutoZone right now. As these batteries have vents and the alternator was fine I don't see how or why this happened unless the battery was faulty. They are testing the battery and will hopefully be honest and repay me the costs I incurred due to the faulty battery. I'll post when I hear back from them on it though. If they don't accept the blame I will be filing a complaint with the BBB. Edited December 19, 2016 by bsamuels 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bsamuels Posted March 10, 2017 Author Share Posted March 10, 2017 For anyone who might be following this or care... After a few weeks with the claim going AutoZone passed the buck(after several weeks) to the manufacturer(Johnson Controls) since it was a particular dollar amount of damages. They could've passed it off sooner since they knew the amount of damages when the claim began. Then. Johnson Controls uses a certain insurance company which in turn uses Broadspire to handle claims. AutoZone sent my battery to Johnson Controls who received my battery around January 16th to test. Well they had my battery from then 'til earlier this week when I was a bit fed up. I prepared a small claims court petition and let Johnson Controls as well as the claim representative from Broadspire know I would be filing it Monday if I did not have a response. Well what do you know I get a call today it is approved. So AutoZone was decent about it although they could've sped the process along quicker by passing it off sooner. And who knows when I would've received a response from Johnson Controls via Broadspire if I did not let them know this had taken way too long and I would be filing suit. All in all it could have been worse probably and I'm just glad they honored their "work" (the battery). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirtanon Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 While I normally despise people getting litigious, this is a perfect example of proper use. Nicely done. Glad to hear they're taking care of you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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