GT350R Engine #3 and the problems continue!

[FogCitySF]

While I absolutely love the GT350R, I’m pretty much at my wit’s end with this engine and the poor diagnosis being done by Ford. I’m not sure they (Ford Performance) know how to diagnose and properly repair the engine problems, which is really scary.

Had 1st engine replaced after the first time on the track. No symptoms other than lost oil pressure, coolant temp too high and kaboom! There were no oil leaks and there was enough oil. Engine replaced under warranty.

18 months later, start experiencing some throttle hesitation at part throttle on the street, car won’t hold cruise control, and get misfire code. Take to dealer, they reset the code, test and nothing appears for about 6 months.

Take car to the track, one of the coolant hoses comes undone due to improperly torqued clamp, shut off the car immediately, get towed to the dealer, they did a compression test and engine was ok.

6 months later, get multiple instances of throttle hesitation, won’t hold cruise control, misfire code. I take to dealer and per service bulletin, they replace the driveshaft sensor (which can come loose apparently).

2 months later, same issue, instances of throttle hesitation at partial throttle, won’t hold cruise control, get engine misfire code take car back to the dealer. They perform compression test and cylinder rings on 3 and 8 are bad. Engine #2 get replaced under warranty.

Drive approximately 100 miles on the 3rd engine, get instances of throttle hesitation at partial throttle (4k rpm), with engine “bucking", won’t hold cruise control, and get engine misfire code. This is while babying the car at break in!

Never have I experienced anything like this before in owning other high-strung performance cars that I track and this situation is getting extremely frustrating. The number of hours spent on this, back and forth with dealer, plus uber rides, test drives etc is no longer making this ownership experience fun for what is supposed to be my non-daily fun/track car. What is Ford missing when doing these engine replacements and making suggestions (albeit poor ones) to the dealers? The only things I can think of are replacing throttle body, the ECU, or maybe the manifold (the Charge Motion control valves). Any advice (online or PM) is appreciated. Thx.

 

[BlackFiveOh]

Just get a Grand Sport and call it a day...


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[FogCitySF]

Just get a Grand Sport and call it a day...


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Sadly, I think American car companies have a lot of catching up to do. My M3 has 100k miles, multiple track days and engine was bulletproof! Same stories with my track buddies with BMWs and Porsches. The good news is that Ford is completely standing up to their engines, which is the right thing to do, but not sure they have their arms completely around the potential culprits.

 

[BlackFiveOh]

Sadly, I think American car companies have a lot of catching up to do. My M3 has 100k miles, multiple track days and engine was bulletproof! Same stories with my track buddies with BMWs and Porsches.

Yep. Agreed. My ‘14GT has a crap tranny. Now my ‘18GT is doing fine so far, but 30% of the 18’s engines are bad. If not more. It’s a joke. I’ll be going corvette or 911 in the next year.


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[TMSBOSS]

Curious where you get the 30% engine problem number from. Seems a bit high.
Third engine should get you to Lemon law coverage. Have you asked Ford to pony up and replace bumper to bumper?

 

[byronj]

Man sorry to hear about you engine issues.

I’d ask for a replacement car or have Ford buy it back and move on.

 

[VoodooBoss]

Curious where you get the 30% engine problem number from. Seems a bit high.

This. No way it's 30%. Even 3% would be extremely high.

Sorry to hear you're on your third engine but good to hear Ford is taking care of you. The GT350 is an awesome car but I wish it had come with an aluminator instead of the FPC voodoo.

 

[FogCitySF]

Yeah, 30% on the regular Mustang GT seems very high (to be clear, that's not my number as was discussing the 350). From other forums with respect to the 350 looks like about 60+ documented cases, but I think there is underreporting. My dealer alone has replaced 10 so far, which is very high. Also virtually every engine replacement has been cars that have been tracked. The street/DD ones that never see the track seem to be fine.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Tough to hear this , as we all love the GT 350, but having been in the business over 30+ years , I think when we have problems, there is a tendency to think others do not also have limited instances of concern. I am sure many remember , just a few years back , the severe issues with Porsche GT3s and the numerous complete engine replacements that occurred? The large problem of BMW's sudden engine failures involving up to 700,000 vehicles seems to have been quickly forgotten too!

My logical consensus is , from a casual observer's standpoint, is today's high performance vehicles may have a bit higher risk for problems, regardless of make , as many folks are pushing them to the max, and the max is what pure race cars ran less than a decade ago.

Regardless , this is a sad deal and super frustrating, but before we condemn one Manufacturer, check out others, as perceptions can easily sway the reality of similar problems in the entire industry.

 

[VoodooBoss]

Tough to hear this , as we all love the GT 350, but having been in the business over 30+ years , I think when we have problems, there is a tendency to think others do not also have limited instances of concern. I am sure many remember , just a few years back , the severe issues with Porsche GT3s and the numerous complete engine replacements that occurred?

There was a known engine defect in the GT3 and Porsche was very open about the issue and handled it well. Gotta love how they stood behind their cars.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/a11658728/porsche-991-gt3-engine-warranty/

 

[Bill Pemberton]

As VoodooBoss noted Porsche took care of the issue , and it appears Ford it doing the same. My example was simply to show that many high performance machines have concerns over the years and we should not express blanket statements without realizing it actually does happen with many automotive companies over time.

 

[TymeSlayer]

Funny how these things work out. I have a buddy with a M5 BMW he rarely tracks and it resides more at the dealer than in his garage.
And whomever is throwing around that 30% number must be blowin' on some weed.

Sadly, I think American car companies have a lot of catching up to do. My M3 has 100k miles, multiple track days and engine was bulletproof! Same stories with my track buddies with BMWs and Porsches. The good news is that Ford is completely standing up to their engines, which is the right thing to do, but not sure they have their arms completely around the potential culprits.

 

[VoodooBoss]

All high performance cars can have issues. It's how the manufacturer handles them that matters.

 

[FogCitySF]

All high performance cars can have issues. It's how the manufacturer handles them that matters.

Spot on..this is my point exactly. Dead giveaways of Ford not getting its arms around this GT350 engine issue are numerous including 1) not running proper tests with original fault; 2) not pulling the ECU; 3) not replacing the ECU (yes they do go bad, it's rare but it happens); 4) testing and replacing electronic components; 5) replacing throttle body throttle control sensors; 6) replacing intake manifold; 7) replacing O2 sensors; 8) evidence of fully understanding and identifying the defect and providing a prescriptive remedy. I really don't think the engineers know what is going on given every time I get a new engine back, seems to throw codes and exhibit throttle hesitation/bucking under certain conditions. Sorry, but that's not normal.

Away from my own experience with the high-revving M3 (bulletproof), when I tell all my track buddies about my diagnosis and experiences with this car, they all believe it's a new data point in manufacturer negligence and customer service lows (other than yes, Ford is replacing the engines, as they should). Yes, they've all had engine issues/failures etc, but the way the manufacturer handled and seemed to be able to even understand the problem was the differentiator with these other brands. Ford has a big gap to close in this regard.

 

[TMSBOSS]

I stuck my toe into two different websites this past week. Both were fantastic places for exaggeration, accusations, smart ass comments and a general running down of all things automotive and human. On one site I had made my 8th post since 2011. Someone asked me why so few posts. Yea right.
Its good to be here with adults.

 

[honeybadger]

There was a known engine defect in the GT3 and Porsche was very open about the issue and handled it well. Gotta love how they stood behind their cars.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/a11658728/porsche-991-gt3-engine-warranty/

One thing of note to me: the entire relationship between the owners and Porsche seems much more mature. Owners were being a lot less childish (tech pack Lawsuit, cough* cough*) and manufacturer more open about problems.

Would love to see that for Ford and their performance vehicle owners. A lot of work needed on both sides, tho.

 

[VoodooBoss]

I stuck my toe into two different websites this past week. Both were fantastic places for exaggeration, accusations, smart ass comments and a general running down of all things automotive and human. On one site I had made my 8th post since 2011. Someone asked me why so few posts. Yea right.
Its good to be here with adults.

I used to visit other Mustang forums just to see what I might be missing. I stopped that a couple of years ago. Our FB page has enough drama for me.

 

[TMSBOSS]

Honeybadger. I could only give your post one like, should be more.
Totally agree. How dare Ford actually deliver what they promised. Could they not simply deliver what the client needed and not simply what they asked for? Sarcasm. Just because you spec'd out a car without cooling doesn't mean you should not receive said cooling.
I left GM years ago when their Pontiac motors were eating cam shafts. They would delay and deny until you were out of the 12k warranty period. Yes, i have a long memory.

 

[Bill Pemberton]

Been on Forums , actively for over 20 years , and this is not only one of the most mature ones in existence, it is easy to become friends with members and humor is kept at a good natured level. Easy to see folks genuinely like each other and operate on our Grandmother's premise , " If you can't say something nice about someone, then don't say anything at all!" When we do tease each other, it is easy to read between the lines that it is just ribbing from your buddies. They are the same ones who are willing to help you when in need, hang out with you at the track , and find this as a pleasant place to talk about their passion for driving fast , racing , etc.

 

[TymeSlayer]

No comment.