Dealership broke off transmission pan bolt during inspection

[Merc4x4]

Raptor. Not sure why they use that specific illustration since the section showed pan removal for a 2.7.

Thanks!!

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[Ford Motor Company]

6 weeks ago, I made way for an emergency vehicle and unbeknownst to me, there was a sizeable boulder in my path just off the highway. It was night and I didn't see it and when I ran it over, it cracked the transmission pan (base with no skids - this is my daily and I have a dedicated off road rig).

It was night and I could not assess the damage, so I had it towed to the dealership. Dealership gave me an estimate of almost 2K to replace the pan and another 1800 to replace the rear driveshaft. USAA gave an estimate of ~$600 to replace the pan and $1200 for the driveshaft.

I could could not get the dealership to explain the massive cost difference for the transmission pan. The driveshaft was not damaged beyond having some rock rub on it, so I decided against replacing it. The pan is not a difficult job and the parts priced out was less than $400 with fluid. So, I decided not to make the insurance claim and would do the job myself.

So, I had the Bronco towed home and upon inspecting it in my shop, the first thing I noticed was that the dealership had taken out the bolts for the transmission cross member (odd) and that there were only two bolts holding on the cracked pan. Once I removed the pan, I found the rest of the bolts and when I counted them could only find 17 out of 18......

Turns out the 18th was broken off in the transmission......under the exhaust crossover, so no easy way of getting to it without removing the exhaust and the transmission cross member. They did not bother to share this with me at all. Overall experience was very bad with service writer and its all documented in emails.

I have been chasing them to get an answer on what they are going to do to make this right. I have a feeling this dealership is going to cause issues, what are my escalation options with Ford?

Thanks,

Rich

Hi Rich! I can look into your bronco's concern on my end. To get started, could you please send a private message over with the name/location of your local Ford dealer and your bronco's VIN?