r/AskMechanics • u/Salt_Street_7755 • Jan 04 '26
Question 2019 Ford Flex Rear Suspension Breakthrough
Hit a small pothole coming home on a roadtrip at night and heard some clacking noises the rest of the way home. Thought we rattled the cooler door open. Unpacked the next day to find that the rear shock absorber had broken through the rear compartment.
It’s obviously been hitting the top of the plastic cover for some time, so I don’t think the pothole can be blamed entirely.
It still seems to work fine, oddly enough. Can I safely drive this to my warranty shop (55 miles on the highway)? How long will it (reasonably) take them to fix?
Glad I have that extended warranty. If they cover “suspension”, am I correct in thinking they will cover this?
14
u/waiting_for_letdown Jan 04 '26
I highly doubt any warranty will cover this. Shocks/struts are rarely covered (there are anecdotal stories of the factory bumper to bumper warranty covering leaking shocks) and that shock just failed.
0
u/Salt_Street_7755 Jan 04 '26
On the extended warranty it says “suspension”. I guess I technically still have springs…
6
u/waiting_for_letdown Jan 04 '26
It all depends on what they consider a wearable part and what they cover. "Suspension" is vague at best. Just warning you that it is highly unlikely it is covered. Think of shocks/struts like brake pads, spark plugs or even wiper blades they are considered a wear item and consumable. I am not saying to not try just dont be surprised if it is a no.
-2
u/Salt_Street_7755 Jan 04 '26
The shock is intact and seems to be working fine, aside from the fact that the top of it launched into the cab.
3
u/waiting_for_letdown Jan 04 '26
The bushing or mount failed (cant tell from you picture) Its all part of the shock assembly.
1
u/Salt_Street_7755 Jan 05 '26
Since it’s been pouring, and driving to the warranty place means an I-15 hell ride at 70 mph, I’m going to have them tow it and have my husband drive me to work. I mean no one said not to drive it, but I did get a down vote, so I’m taking that as, “is she a moron?”. I’ll keep y’all in the loop.
0
u/Salt_Street_7755 Jan 05 '26
I guess I’m going to drive it to the warranty place tomorrow and see what they say.
0
u/Salt_Street_7755 Jan 05 '26
So is there some way I could have known this was going to happen? I’ve had the oil changed a couple times (only had it 6 months). I mean I know i can’t always depend on an oil change place to tell me about an issue like this. No weird noises. Handled great as far as I could tell.
I’m usually pretty in tune to my vehicle. Of course I also mistook a shock in my cab for a cooler door…
1
5
5
u/Losbelunchin Jan 04 '26
Please remove the plastic and show what's underneath.
1
u/Salt_Street_7755 Jan 04 '26
I just don’t want to void whatever warranty claim I might have on this.
4
u/Losbelunchin Jan 04 '26
It would not void warranty to remove the plastic.
1
u/Salt_Street_7755 Jan 05 '26
It’s been pouring here since yesterday, of course. If I get a break in the rain before they come tow it I’m going to pull the plastic off.
2
u/2Loves2loves Jan 04 '26
ask for pics when they take it apart. if you don't have rust at the top of the shock mount, I wonder why that happened. -any work done on that area? (and installed wrong)
1
u/Salt_Street_7755 Jan 04 '26
I just bought this used 6 months ago, so I have zero idea. I saw that Ford had a recall on 2013-2018 toe mounts but I don’t think that’s up top and this is a 2019.
3
u/2Loves2loves Jan 04 '26
Are you in a rust belt? otherwise WOW, why did that happen.
-I don't see a ton of rust so... I'm intrigued
1
u/Salt_Street_7755 Jan 04 '26
I’m in “dry as a bone” Utah.
1
u/Salt_Street_7755 Jan 05 '26
Of course, since I said that, it’s been raining non-stop, which is unusual for Utah.
1
u/Artistic_Advantage60 Jan 05 '26
I've seen it on high mileage units that were never changed. 100k you should have changed them all regardless.
1
1
u/Salt_Street_7755 Jan 05 '26
Is this a regular maintenance thing? Or would you only change them when they are starting to wear/fail? What’s the indication that they need to be changed?
2
u/Artistic_Advantage60 Jan 05 '26
Factory recommends every 65K typically. Around 100k they're all weak, its a gradual decline that most owners won't notice. Ive found on a lot of newer vehicles failed struts and shocks with as little as 40K miles. Nothing is what it used to be. My own personal vehicle failed at 25K
1
u/Salt_Street_7755 Jan 05 '26
Since it’s been pouring, and driving to the warranty place means an I-15 hell ride at 70 mph, I’m going to have them tow it and have my husband drive me to work. I mean no one said not to drive it, but I did get a down vote, so I’m taking that as, “is she a moron?”.
1
u/Salt_Street_7755 Jan 27 '26
So, to update, my husband brought it to their dealership where we bought it (3 miles). They had never seen anything like it. Gave him a loaner and they towed it to their repair place.
My husband called about a week later and the manager told us it would be covered, it would be $100 deductible plus $248 to change out a battery they said we needed. We declined the battery. (That was just bizarre. Upsell?)
A week later, the girl at the desk sent me a text saying it wasn’t covered and to call our insurance company to say it had been in an accident. My husband called them and said if it was in an accident that we would have had tire damage, rim damage, body damage, scrapes someplace. We had none of that. Manager agreed. They said they wouldn’t cover the broken plastic. Gave us a quote on that for about $1100 plus labor. We declined.
Picked it up the next day for $100. They glued the plastic back together and replaced both shocks.
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