Complaint Review: Famil Ford of Enfield Connecticut - Enfield Connecticut

Family Ford of Enfield Inc., 65 Hazard Ave., Enfield, CT 06082 was contracted by Arcouette Auto Center, 299 North Maple St., Enfield, CT 06082, to perform diagnostics and to do repair work on a used 2004 Ford Econoline E-350 Super Duty Compressed Natural Gas 8-cylinder cargo van with replacement motor on August 11, 2017. The servicing involved troubleshooting for engine light on issues involving error fault codes PO2195/PO2197, which resulted in rough running engine performance, outputting of little power, with different cylinders dropping out at different times. Prior to contracting the 2004 Super Duty van for service with this dealership -- currently under the umbrella company of Sarat Ford, Inc., -- at least one Family Ford of Enfield employee had advance notice that this E-350 Super Duty van was a CNG burning vehicle. Proprietor Tim Arcouette of Arcouette Auto Center reitterated this fact repeatedly in follow-up telephone calls made to at least one mechanic working at Family Ford prior to making an appointment to have service work done. However, the initial vehicle problem write-up report by advisor Gary Marino indicated that it was during this testing that he "discovered" that this 2004 Ford Econoline was a CNG vehicle. As at least one other Family Ford of Enfield Inc. company employee was made aware that this van was a CNG burning vehicle before Mr. Arcouette released the vehicle to Family Ford for service, this 11th hour "discovery" is blatantly untrue.

Based upon the Marino report, the following tests were performed with passing results: multiple injector tests for power and ground; voltage drop tests on several coil and injector circuits; removal & inspection of the intake manifold for cylinder concerns; testing PCM circuits and natural gas module to the coils, injectors and to each other; and performing manual compression tests on several cylinders. What isn't cited in this report is the damage done by Family Ford of Enfield to the fuel rail, and how Arcouette Auto Center supplied a swapped fuel rail replacement. It was now determined that cylinder four kept dropping out with intermittent functionality.

There are two sets of Family Ford of Enfield Inc. invoices to discuss in this grievance letter. The first set of invoices has the original contract inception date of August 11, 2017. The printed date on the cover invoice is October 20, 2017. The 2004 Ford E-350 Super Duty van malingered on the dealership car lot for over two months; the servicing of it merely being a "spare time project" because the company was swamped with service contract work from other clients. The second set of invoices has a R.O. date of 10/24/17. The printed invoice date on the cover sheet is 12/01/17. In Gary Marino's continued diagnosis, he states that cylinder #4 still misfires, with additional misfiring problems with #1 & #3 cylinders. Relative & manual compression tests were passing. The right valve cover was removed to inspect the valve springs & cam lobes, with no obvious damage found. The rechecking of power & ground to the cylinder injectors and coils on bank one proved to be good. It is at this point that he now determines that there are internal engine issues involving the timing chain and valves. Also, he writes that "also when injecting air into the cylinder ports, there is excessive air blowing through the valve cover".

When the vehicle owner made periodic telephone calls between August and October to check of the repair progress, he was given the assurance that Family Ford of Enfield would solve the problem in a timely manner. After $1655.44 in service charges, the vehicle has now been sold for scrap. Both Arcouette Auto Center and the vehicle owner have taken severe financial losses. As Family Ford of Enfield Inc. has little to no expertise in servicing compressed natual gas motor vehicles, the ineptness and inability to make competent repairs on a Ford CNG vehicle -- in addition to causing fuel rail damages that Arcouette Auto Center supplied swap parts for at no cost -- make Family Ford of Enfield, Inc. a prime candidate for RIP OFF BUSINESS OF THE YEAR. Avoid at all costs!!!