Brake Pads and Right to Repair

[Knownman]

You heard wrong - they're a family-owned company and don't use AI. They are hosted on Amazon AWS and don't appear to reach out to any AI hosts for anything. I don't know what they'd even use AI for anyway. However, external sites are definitely referencing Rockauto using the external sites' AI scrubbers to get part numbers and availability info etc. That being said, from the get-go, there's no customer service. Everything is automated using traditional digital tools that have been around since like 2008. NOT AI.
Sources:
https://bitscale.ai/directory/rockauto-llc
https://mcpmarket.com/server/rockauto

OK wasn't my experience as of late but I kind of do like knowing if I have a return or the wrong part arrived there is someone on the other side that can make it happen. I always preferred Summit for that reason alone.

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[userdude]

Poor web design and restrictive store policies are not legal issues and have very little to do with right to repair.
They would rather not have a sale than have to process a return.

Occam's razor.

 

[Nibroc99]

OK wasn't my experience as of late but I kind of do like knowing if I have a return or the wrong part arrived there is someone on the other side that can make it happen. I always preferred Summit for that reason alone.

I've actually never had na issue with returning parts on Rockauto. They send me a label, I ship the part back, I see the money in my bank account, transaction complete. Always been a fine experience for me. Just make sure to return it within the 30-day window or whatever.

As for Ford tracking your self-repaired things... THAT is why I can't take this thread seriously. You sound like a conspiracy theorist because you seem to feel that you're important enough for Ford to track your every move. They don't care enough. The service techs/advisors are the ones that make the determination of if a part has been improperly installed and therefore voids a warranty, or whatever the case is.

 

[Smocaine]

Best way around this kind of stuff is to get to know your local parts counters. Your Ford dealers often play the same game as the cut-rate part sites, so you may be able to get competitive prices and no shipping cost.
Things like brake pads will already be in stock.

 

[Knownman]

Right to Repair is actually under attack by Ford and GM specifically. They recently lobbied to restrict the ability of the consumer to be entitled to fix their own purchased products.
Maybe this thread is not a good case study for that argument but it is fact that they want you and your local mechanic to not be allowed access to parts and technical diagrams. The claims being it's a "Safety Feature" or it's too complicated for untrained "non manufacturer" technicians to be able to do correctly. It will become more obvious as each of us adopts newer vehicles that require programming to change a battery, or in the case of the Bronco the need to enter the Brake Service Mode before attempting to work on the rear brakes on our vehicles.

 

[Nibroc99]

Right to Repair is actually under attack by Ford and GM specifically. They recently lobbied to restrict the ability of the consumer to be entitled to fix their own purchased products.
Maybe this thread is not a good case study for that argument but it is fact that they want you and your local mechanic to not be allowed access to parts and technical diagrams. The claims being it's a "Safety Feature" or it's too complicated for untrained "non manufacturer" technicians to be able to do correctly. It will become more obvious as each of us adopts newer vehicles that require programming to change a battery, or in the case of the Bronco the need to enter the Brake Service Mode before attempting to work on the rear brakes on our vehicles.

But you can enter Brake Service Mode by literally pressing the buttons and pedals included with the vehicle. That's also not a great example of right to repair being violated. Check out John Deere... They are a fantastic example of right to repair being violated.

 

[Thor_1]

The Taco Bell drive-thru required my VIN to order a chalupa.

That’s so the insurance company can deny the seat cleaning after making a poor lunch choice.

 

[Knownman]

I've actually never had na issue with returning parts on Rockauto. They send me a label, I ship the part back, I see the money in my bank account, transaction complete. Always been a fine experience for me. Just make sure to return it within the 30-day window or whatever.

As for Ford tracking your self-repaired things... THAT is why I can't take this thread seriously. You sound like a conspiracy theorist because you seem to feel that you're important enough for Ford to track your every move. They don't care enough. The service techs/advisors are the ones that make the determination of if a part has been improperly installed and therefore voids a warranty, or whatever the case is.

There is a difference between being informed, researching and forming opinions based on recent and past experiences and being a conspiracy theorist or someone who believes they are so important. But I appreciate your inability to digest that.

 

[HalfmuleFarmer]

Default orientation to things matter. If you only have a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

 

[ChrisB351]

I stopped reading and started skimming about halfway thru... What scares me is if OP is having this much trouble figuring out how to get parts, imagine when he goes to actually work on it... and then learns the hard way about service mode which he will then come on here and blame Ford.

 

[Knownman]

Yep I don't know nothing

 

[Easy-v]

In common speak this is Ford Monitoring who is working on their own vehicle.

Did you read the privacy notice on their website? (I'm thinking no....)

Again I call this all BS and it's quite irritating to have my right to repair tracked by the manufacturer.

You are conflating your right to repair, and a manufacturer's ability to track parts, demand, etc....

Stop doing that. You can repair your Bronco to your heart's content.

 

[userdude]

I stopped reading and started skimming about halfway thru... What scares me is if OP is having this much trouble figuring out how to get parts, imagine when he goes to actually work on it... and then learns the hard way about service mode which he will then come on here and blame Ford.

"We're sorry you're having a bad experience. We don't want this to happen, and we can help. Private message us your VIN and--"

 

[TrailDamage]

Seems like less hassle to just have ordered from the Ford.com/parts site. Never in my life have I been required to enter a VIN to order parts there and I'm constantly doing so. You can shop around dealers a bit in your area if you want to dial in the price a little better, some are better than others. Orders are tracked to your account so you can create a totally anonymous one if you're that paranoid about it but if anything I'd rather give my info to that than direct to some random dealership who may or may not be running a legit site.

 

[Knownman]

I'll just move along now so everyone can keep sharing the same thoughts amongst each other in the echo chamber.
Cheers

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