Will Ford repair the orange spots on my F-150 King Ranch under my vehicle’s warranty? When I first discovered orange spots appearing on my Ford F-150, I wondered if paint failure or early signs of rust would be covered by warranty. I filed a warranty claim and I am still waiting. In the meantime, I’ve researched the truck’s Owners Manual and Ford Warranty Guide and this is what I discovered.
Will Ford repair rail dust on my vehicle under warranty? The 2013 Model Year Ford Warranty Guide states: “For damage caused by airborne material (environmental fallout) where there is no factory-related defect involved and therefore no warranty − our policy is to provide free repair of paint damage due to the airborne material for 12 months or 12,000 miles, whichever occurs first.” The warranty information suggests that Ford WILL repair the orange spots under warranty within the first 12 months or 12,000 miles.
Before you start your victory dance, you’ll need to read the rest of the warranty carefully. There are a few other sections that clarify Ford’s warranty policy on vehicles that are not within 12 months or 12,000 miles. My orange spots did not appear until after the first 12 months. Two other time periods are noted in the warranty: one week and five years.
The answer above came from a specific paragraph in the Warranty Guide. Read this entire paragraph from the warranty guide to better understand:
NOTE: I added the bolded text to draw your attention to the section of this paragraph that applies to orange spots.
What responsibility does the owner of the vehicle have?
The warranty expects the vehicle owner to take certain responsibilities. Ford expects the owner to inspect the new vehicle; find deficiencies; and report the deficiencies within one week! The Warranty states:
“CHECK YOUR VEHICLE We try to check vehicles carefully at the assembly plant and the dealership, and we usually correct any damage to paint, sheet metal, upholstery, or other appearance items. But occasionally something may slip past us, and a customer may find that a vehicle was damaged before he or she took delivery. If you see any damage when you receive your vehicle, notify your dealership within one week.”
Does the Ford Motor Company Warranty Cover Corrosion?
Yes, the The 2013 Model Year Ford Warranty Guide addresses corrosion specifically, it states:
(3) Your vehicle’s body sheet metal panels are covered for an extended Corrosion Coverage Period, which lasts for five years, regardless of miles driven. The extended warranty coverage only applies if a body sheet metal panel becomes perforated due to corrosion during normal use due to a manufacturing defect in factory-supplied materials or factory workmanship. For damage caused by airborne material (environmental fallout) where there is no factory-related defect involved and therefore no warranty − our policy is to provide free repair of paint damage due to the airborne material for 12 months or 12,000 miles, whichever occurs first.
This begs the question: Should I just let the orange spots corrode (rust) my paint to the point where the paint is compromised and the sheet metal panel becomes perforated due to corrosion?”
According to the warranty, Ford will repair sheet metal panels for “five years, regardless of miles driven.” So, does this mean that if the orange spots on my paint continue to deteriorate the paint; penetrate the paint; then damage the sheet metal then the repairs will be made under warranty? Hhhmmmmmm.
We originally thought this would be a legitimate warranty option. However, there are a few issues with this theory:
First, the warranty excludes damage caused by airborne material after the first 12 months. The warranty guide states: ‘For damage caused by airborne material (environmental fallout) where there is no factory-related defect involved and therefore no warranty − our policy is to provide free repair of paint damage due to the airborne material for 12 months or 12,000 miles, whichever occurs first.”
Second: the warranty states: “The extended warranty coverage only applies if a body sheet metal panel becomes perforated due to corrosion during normal use due to a manufacturing defect in factory-supplied materials or factory workmanship.”
Third, you’d need to drive a vehicle with many rust spots for years before the corrosion affects the sheet metal. It takes a long time for that little orange spot to turn into a large rust spot which is affecting the paint. Do you really want to drive your white or light colored vehicle in this condition for that long?
Fourth, the sheet metal warranty “sheet metal panels are covered for an extended Corrosion Coverage Period, which lasts for five years, regardless of miles driven.” In my personal experience, the corrosion would not have corroded my truck’s sheet metal within five years. The orange spots on my truck looked terrible, but would not have corroded the sheet metal to the warranty stage within five years.
When should I report a warranty concern?
Immediately! As soon as you suspect a potential warranty issue, you should call the 800 number in your owner’s manual and file a claim. As you can see from the information above, there are specific time frames listed in the warranty, including one week from purchase, 12 months, 5 months, etc. Claims must be made immediately.
Don’t let it slide until your next oil change! You’ll likely forget about it when your change oil reminder pops on. By that time, you could easily slip by one of the warranty time periods. At this point, you could just be out of luck and beyond the warranty time frame.
How can I file a warranty claim for my Ford vehicle?
You can file a warranty claim with Ford by phone, mail or chat. Go to the Ford Owners website, here’s a link: (https://owner.ford.com/). I found that calling the phone number was the easiest. It took less than ten minutes. Be sure to have your vehicle’s VIN number with you.
Ford and Mercury United States
Phone
1-800-392-3673
TDD
1-800-232-5952
The hours are: Monday through Friday, from 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM (ET)
Where can I find my car or truck VIN number (Vehicle Identification Number)?
You can find your vehicle’s VIN number (Vehicle Identification Number) by looking through the windshield of your vehicle, in the lower, driver’s side corner of the windshield, which is the easiest place to look. You can also find a VIN# on the drivers side door jamb and on the firewall in the engine bay. You’ll see a plate or other permanent marking. You can also find the VIN number in a more convenient location: your title! You don’t even need to leave the house! You may also find the VIN # on your vehicle finance paperwork or possibly on your vehicle’s insurance paperwork. The VIN number is a seventeen character series of letters and numbers that reveals a wealth of information about your vehicle. When filing a warranty claim, you’ll need to have your vehicle’s VIN number.
Does the warranty coverage vary from year to year?
Yes, warranties for the Ford Motor Company are separated by year at the Ford website. You can search for your vehicle’s specific warranty by using a simple search tool at the Ford Owners website. Just enter your vehicle’s year, brand, and model. (Brand is a funny question, the choices are either Ford or Mercury.)
Just for fun, I used the vehicle warranty search tool to search for my wife’ 2011 Ford Explorer. The cover page of the warranty definitely looked different than my 2013 F-150 warranty. I searched for any paragraphs specific to paint. The paragraph of the warranty that is specific to paint looked essentially the same in the 2011 and 2013 warranty guides. For comparison, here is the 2011 warranty guide paragraph specific to paint:
“(3) Your vehicle’s body sheet metal panels are covered for an extended Corrosion Coverage Period, which lasts for five years, regardless of miles driven. The extended warranty coverage only applies if a body sheet metal panel becomes perforated due to corrosion during normal use due to a manufacturing defect in factory-supplied materials or factory workmanship. For damage caused by airborne material (environmental fallout) where there is no factory-related defect involved and therefore no warranty − our policy is to provide free repair of paint damage due to the airborne material for 12 months or 12,000 miles, whichever occurs first.”
How can I find the warranty for my Ford vehicle?
You can find the warranty specific to your Ford vehicle by visiting the Ford Owners website. When you arrive at this website, you’ll find a three criteria search box to help you find your specific warranty. Click here to find your vehicle’s warranty:
Here are links to the warranty guide that was followed to write this article?
2013 Ford F-150: http://www.fordservicecontent.com/Ford_Content/catalog/owner_guides/13frdwa3e.pdf