IT was only appropriate that we were nearing Halloween.
I was barely out of the driveway when my 2001 Ford F-150 seemed possessed by some wicked force. Interior lights flashed on and off. Wipers wiped, then didn't. The radio buzzed one second, then went silent the next. The blower blasted -- long after I'd removed the ignition key.
I checked the back seat for Stephen King taking notes.
That it all took place on my way to a Ford dealer to have a recall completed -- for a completely unrelated problem -- makes this story even more, well, sinister.
But though it may have started out with all the elements of a B horror flick, it eventually unfolded into a much more compelling story -- one that taught me a great deal about automobile recalls.
I eventually learned, with some help from those meddling mechanics, that rain was reaching my truck's gem module -- that small computer that controls all things electrical in the vehicle. So, find and fix the leak -- likely from the windshield, I was told -- and my horror story would end.
I got about eight words into describing my creepy story to Ron Akers of Akers Auto Glass in Lindsay, Ont., when he piped in: "Yeah, we're very familiar with that problem in (F-150s). It's happened with new ones right off the lot."
He conservatively estimates he's replaced about a dozen F-150 windshields -- all of them seemingly sound like mine -- in the past few years for this reason. And here's the scary part: "We've tried removing and resealing the existing windshield and it never works," says Akers.
"We're not 100 per cent sure why what we do -- installing a new windshield -- solves the problem. But it does." Indeed, it did.
And, though there was some solace in knowing others had shared my F-150 fright. An Internet search proved F-150 owners in the United States have also been haunted. I wondered why an official recall hadn't exorcised these demons. And, truthfully, I wanted to recoup my $240 repair bill.
"You're the first to officially make this complaint," points out Nicholas Blouin, a recalls officer with Transport Canada. "And we can only act on complaints."
True to his words, his department did act in the hope of determining whether mine was part of a widespread epidemic or a rare one-off occurrence. (And, to be fair, my truck is the biggest-selling model in North America.)
Transport Canada conducts this exploration largely by researching technical service bulletins (TSBs) -- alerts carmakers send to their service technicians when they foresee a potential manufacturing problem. Insurance companies, understandably, are also happy to impart information about potentially popular hazards.
From there, Transport Canada could even go so far as to install a faulty component in a vehicle at its research facilities in Ottawa and measure its impact.
"Like a coroner, we like to see what the problem is," says Peter Male, a defect investigator.
Transport Canada also deems how much of a safety hazard a defect actually is, which affects its status on the recall scale.
"We're not concerned about a malfunctioning radio or interior lights," says Blouin.
And, sure, my faulty windshield wiper motor could cause some risk given certain conditions.
"But," adds defect investigator Jeremy Hamilton, "not as much as faulty brakes."
A few weeks after my initial call to Blouin, I was informed that, regrettably, mine was an isolated case as far as Transport Canada was concerned.
Or, at least, there weren't enough similar cases out there to warrant a recall. The department, however, would forward my complaint to Ford of Canada.
But even if I'd spearheaded a recall via my own windshield, there's no guarantee Ford would have paid for its repair.
In Canada, unlike in the U.S., car manufacturers are only obligated to issue the recall notice. Though they usually also pay for the recall repairs -- about 99 per cent of the time, says Blouin, adding Ford is one of the easiest car companies to work with on these matters -- there's no law that says they have to dole out the dough. Now, that's scary.
--CanWest News Service
PREVIOUS
