Do you Have Track Key?

[KBBOSS1086]

I understand the limited production and training aspect. It's just very frustrating to run up against a wall everytime I call a local dealer or take the car in for service. Although not special models, I have bought many new cars (Toyota, Lexus & Dodge) and have never expereinced such consitently poor service and frustration as I have with the Ford dealers. Not only have the repair/service been difficult, but when I bought my car the service provided by the salesman was anything but stellar. If the car wasn't what it is I would not be a happy customer...I guess sometimes you have to deal with the worst to get the best. ;D I don't dislike the dealer I'm using (they are very responsive) but am concerned with the oil issue and that they didn't follow the written instructions on the TK install I...it makes me question if my car is in good hands. I'm kinda of stuck for dealers...there are only 3 in my area and the first wouldn't even call me back after 3 attempts to talk to someone about getting TK installed. The 3rd is owned by the same one that would not return my call. Other than that, I'm looking at a 50+ mile drive to the next closest.

I'm the sales industry so maybe my standards are high when it comes to knowledge of the prodcuts you sell and the customer service provided...I would lose my job in a second if my service / knowledge of what I sold was similar to what I've experienced with Ford Dealers. Ford itself on the other hand has been great whenever I've contacted them.

Sorry for the rant...all is well that ends well, so we'll see.

 

[Tflong24]

I'm glad you found out what the issue was. While I agree the dealer should know more about the car you have to realize they will only sell 8,000 globally when the production run ends. It's hard to justify a large scale training program for such a low volume car. If you have other local dealers try calling and talking to the service managers until you find one your comfortable working with.

I really don't care if all they sell are 5 globally of a certain car or product. These dealers/techs need to know what the bleep they are talking about and selling. I can tell you this, Ford, at least all the experiences I have had is the worst when it comes to salesman turnover, product knowledge etc. Last weekend I called a local dealer to ask if they had any 13 GT 500's in. The salesman swore they weren't close to being in production yet!!! Really. I love going in and listening to the sales pitch on a car like the Boss. Horsepower varies from person to person, I've even had a salesman say a Boss is supercharged. I had one ask what year mine was, this was in 2011 when all you could get was a 12! All this along with all the service issues with trackey and wrong oil etc. it all is just a testament to customer service in this country, not just ford. These salesman sit around idle most of the day, it wouldn't be hard to research your product. And the service is inexcusable. Putting the wrong oil in?!?!?! I'm sure there are manuals, hell we have one. So, I don't give a crap how many they sell annually. Get your crap together. This is a special product, we as customers should feel that from sale to service. But no, we deal with complete idiots most of the time that we as owners have to explain what oil our cars take, how to program trackey, etc. That's pathetic. Sorry, the truth hurts. I bought the Boss ONLY because of how it performs, I know better to expect any knowledge or service from my local ford dealers. I change my oil myself, I will do anything I can myself. Because unfortunately its actually a risk taking your car to the dealer, that's basically what you find all over this forum. And that's a DAMN shame.

 

[SVT1]

Coming from a line of supercharged Mustangs, I dread to hear the word "ping" associated with any car, even an N/A one.

I was told from a tuner once that if you hear pinging, then damage is already being done. The degree of damage is subjective ( he was referring to a boosted car) though. While our motors have forged internals and can handle 'some' detonation, they are also high compression and create a crap load of cylinder pressure. They must have GOOD, high octane fuel. I am surprised to hear anyone even mention that they have ever heard their engines 'ping' since these motors have a knock sensor on each bank of cylinders which will detect 'ping' and cut ignition timing and alter the fuel curve quicker than the human ear can detect it. As matter of fact, there has been some discussion in the tuning world that the knock sensors are overly sensitive and pull timing extremely conservatively. Some tuners have been knows to even shut them off ( which I disagree with).

I have never heard my car 'ping'. I run only 93 octane ( hear in the NE we have 10% ethanol). I drive the car mostly with the black key, sometimes the Red Key, as I try to keep it a novelty for me so I don't get bored quicker. I have never heard anything strange with the TK. My car has been tracked (both drag raced and road course, with both keys) and again, I never heard any pinging.

In fact, my only complaint with the factory tune is the hesitation you get when you blip the throttle. It does it with both keys, only noticeable when blipping the throttle leaving a from a dead stop.

For the record, I wouldn't rely on any Ford dealer to know squat about our cars. They service and sell mostly pedestian run-abouts, that is their business model. These aren't Porsches or other purpose built car brands. They are Fords. Fortunately, they are relatively easy to work on for the shade tree mechanic though. While there are some circumstances that warrant a trip to the dealer service department, my feeling is that should be avoided whenever necessary. 5-20 oil?? Not surprised. Probably only filled it with 5 quarts too.

 

[zero]

From Ford Racing...

I hear slight "pinging" on engine acceleration from low speed. Should I be alarmed?
• TracKey alters the ignition timing and knock sensor calibrations taking full
advantage of premium fuel to deliver the maximum torque and throttle response
available from the engine. Some slight "pinging" on acceleration from low engine
speed may be audible initially but should rapidly subside.

I noticed it right away after install and was going WOT under 3000 rpm. I would bet more people would also hear this also but the removal of exhaust discs and different size ones will kill the sound of the slight ping. I have learned to ease the throttle and floor it above 3000 RPM. To be honest with larger drilled exhaust discs I would not even hear it now if it was to happen as the pinging was a slight noise. Just be aware and no WOT below 3000 rpm. I had good non- eth blended gas from day one.

 

[cloud9]

That's too bad that some of you are having a hard time finding a good servicing dealer. My Ford dealer is excellent with service and has some long-term very knowledgeable techs that understand and are more than capable of installing all of my after-market performance parts. If they run into snags (early adopter on TK), they know who to contact at Ford or Ford Racing and get the answers they need, even without prior experience with specialty cars like the Boss. It's unfair and incorrect to throw them all in the category of poor service.

 

[coboss]

My dealer has a Mustang specialist who is so into it that he has a Mustang logo tattoo on his forearm! He loves seeing my Boss.

No problem with the TracKey. Amazingly to me, I wanted a red logo key cut and programmed as a spare, and they had TWO in stock!

 

[CaliMR]

Coming from a line of supercharged Mustangs, I dread to hear the word "ping" associated with any car, even an N/A one.

I was told from a tuner once that if you hear pinging, then damage is already being done. The degree of damage is subjective ( he was referring to a boosted car) though. While our motors have forged internals and can handle 'some' detonation, they are also high compression and create a crap load of cylinder pressure. They must have GOOD, high octane fuel. I am surprised to hear anyone even mention that they have ever heard their engines 'ping' since these motors have a knock sensor on each bank of cylinders which will detect 'ping' and cut ignition timing and alter the fuel curve quicker than the human ear can detect it. As matter of fact, there has been some discussion in the tuning world that the knock sensors are overly sensitive and pull timing extremely conservatively. Some tuners have been knows to even shut them off ( which I disagree with).

I have never heard my car 'ping'. I run only 93 octane ( hear in the NE we have 10% ethanol). I drive the car mostly with the black key, sometimes the Red Key, as I try to keep it a novelty for me so I don't get bored quicker. I have never heard anything strange with the TK. My car has been tracked (both drag raced and road course, with both keys) and again, I never heard any pinging.

In fact, my only complaint with the factory tune is the hesitation you get when you blip the throttle. It does it with both keys, only noticeable when blipping the throttle leaving a from a dead stop.

For the record, I wouldn't rely on any Ford dealer to know squat about our cars. They service and sell mostly pedestian run-abouts, that is their business model. These aren't Porsches or other purpose built car brands. They are Fords. Fortunately, they are relatively easy to work on for the shade tree mechanic though. While there are some circumstances that warrant a trip to the dealer service department, my feeling is that should be avoided whenever necessary. 5-20 oil?? Not surprised. Probably only filled it with 5 quarts too.

I come from a different FI background (turbo imports), but sometimes even audible ping is not an issue. Det cans can help sort out ghost ping vs real ping, but you need someone with a skilled ear. My Evo pinged from new even with 100 octane, but when I sold it the motor was in perfect condition (had it scoped before selling it, as well as all the regular checks like compression) even after quite a few track days. Is the TK ping ghost or real? Can't tell you, as I am not an expert, but I like to think Ford engineers did their homework... though the tranny issues are not confidence inspiring.

But not lugging it at wot under 3k rpm is the work around, I don't do that anyways. At the track, I will let it get under 3k occasionally but that is not at wot as it is in slow corners with the wot coming at the exit so rpms are higher. Trying to launch the car on street tires is about the only unavoidable wot under 3k I can think of, but I personally am not a drag racer.

 

[SVT1]

Pinging is "pre-ignition," or detonation as I'm sure you are aware Cali. Some motors have a higher tolerance for detonation than others, which is the case with 03/04 Cobras, pretty much all late model GT500's and some factory FI imports. This is due to forged connecting rods and pistons.

When the air/fuel mixture ignites before the piston has reached TDC, you are forcing it downward as it is attempting to go up to compress the timed ignition event. This is never acceptable on a highly tuned motor.

I've had old carb'd cars that pinged, but it was no matter as they're specific output was very, very low.

For the record, most detonation isn't audible (at least to me, lol), as I never heard the detonation that popped the motor in my 2011 Procharged GT at the track, lol. Put a quarter sized hole in the number 6 piston and vaporized the rings.

 

[CaliMR]

Yes, detonation, dieseling basically but with bad timing. Some cars just do it. I don't know with the coyotes, but as I said pretty much every 4g63t that left the factory pings and will continue to ping. Our Jeep does it really bad, I expect that motor to pop at some point and hopefully under warranty as they won't do anything to fix it now.

If they designed it to allow detonation, then it is probably not that bad for the motor. Plug into the OBD on most cars and check out the knock counts, I have yet to see a car that is consistently 0.

 

[KBBOSS1086]

I understand the limited production and training aspect. It's just very frustrating to run up against a wall everytime I call a local dealer or take the car in for service. Although not special models, I have bought many new cars (Toyota, Lexus & Dodge) and have never expereinced such consitently poor service and frustration as I have with the Ford dealers. Not only have the repair/service been difficult, but when I bought my car the service provided by the salesman was anything but stellar. If the car wasn't what it is I would not be a happy customer...I guess sometimes you have to deal with the worst to get the best. ;D I don't dislike the dealer I'm using (they are very responsive) but am concerned with the oil issue and that they didn't follow the written instructions on the TK install I...it makes me question if my car is in good hands. I'm kinda of stuck for dealers...there are only 3 in my area and the first wouldn't even call me back after 3 attempts to talk to someone about getting TK installed. The 3rd is owned by the same one that would not return my call. Other than that, I'm looking at a 50+ mile drive to the next closest.

I'm the sales industry so maybe my standards are high when it comes to knowledge of the prodcuts you sell and the customer service provided...I would lose my job in a second if my service / knowledge of what I sold was similar to what I've experienced with Ford Dealers. Ford itself on the other hand has been great whenever I've contacted them.

Sorry for the rant...all is well that ends well, so we'll see.

Update - took the car back yesterday after hearing back from the Ford Tech via email. The Ford Tech told me to have them run a "neutral profile learn procedure" and re-install TK (using a land line this time - they used wireless despite the TK instructions stating that a lan line should be used). They did both and switched the oil to 5w50. One last thing about the oil - it appeared to be overfilled adn they couldn't give me a straight answer as to whether the they put 8.5 or 9 qts in it. I questioned them pretty hard, telling them I was tracking it this weekend and was worried that extra oil would increase the pressure. They were steadfast that tit was properlly filled and that I had nothing to worry about.

In any event, the car seems to be running very well now with both keys. and compared to my last visits I got less of a hard time from the service guys this time.

As far as avoiding dealers, I I agree completely. I'm a capable backyard mechanic but figured I'd might as well get the oil done while getting an ispection and TK install. Needless to say, I will be everything myself that I'm capable of.