Tue at 6:46 pm
I purchased a 26 Outer Banks with Sas and Lux back in mid-August. I recently noticed that it leans very heavily to the driver's side. Very visible to the naked eye.
I did some googling and it seems to be a known issue, but I can't find much about anyone else's experiences with the issue.
Through chatGPT, I found some info and was encouraged to do some measuring but haven't been able to find anything from Ford on measuring a 25 or 26 model, just the 21-24.
Though not ideal, I measured from the floor to the center of the fender at all 4 positions:
Driver Front - 38 5/8"
Passenger Front - 39 1/2"
Driver Rear - 39 5/8"
Passenger Rear - 40 1/2"
I dropped it off at the dealership yesterday to have it looked at and the finally called me today. Though the service manager agrees, the lean is very visible to the naked eye, based on Fords measuring directions, it is within Ford specs.
The service manager went on to say that even with this, they still tried to swap shocks from one side to the other, to see if they would settle and the issue remained the same and did not follow to the opposite side, so they say the shocks are good.
They further loosened bushings and sway bars to see if it would shift and settle and even upon retightening all that, it still leans heavily.
After all that, he felt the need to make me aware of a Ford program called VLA (Vehicle Loyalty Allowance) where Ford will offer manufacturer assistance that can add a set amount (often up to 10% of MSRP) to a "Trade-In" value to help offset the cost of a replacement vehicle. But it is not a "buyback" in accordance with Lemon Law.
Is anyone familiar with the issue first, and second, is anyone familiar with the VLA program at all?
I did some googling and it seems to be a known issue, but I can't find much about anyone else's experiences with the issue.
Through chatGPT, I found some info and was encouraged to do some measuring but haven't been able to find anything from Ford on measuring a 25 or 26 model, just the 21-24.
Though not ideal, I measured from the floor to the center of the fender at all 4 positions:
Driver Front - 38 5/8"
Passenger Front - 39 1/2"
Driver Rear - 39 5/8"
Passenger Rear - 40 1/2"
I dropped it off at the dealership yesterday to have it looked at and the finally called me today. Though the service manager agrees, the lean is very visible to the naked eye, based on Fords measuring directions, it is within Ford specs.
The service manager went on to say that even with this, they still tried to swap shocks from one side to the other, to see if they would settle and the issue remained the same and did not follow to the opposite side, so they say the shocks are good.
They further loosened bushings and sway bars to see if it would shift and settle and even upon retightening all that, it still leans heavily.
After all that, he felt the need to make me aware of a Ford program called VLA (Vehicle Loyalty Allowance) where Ford will offer manufacturer assistance that can add a set amount (often up to 10% of MSRP) to a "Trade-In" value to help offset the cost of a replacement vehicle. But it is not a "buyback" in accordance with Lemon Law.
Is anyone familiar with the issue first, and second, is anyone familiar with the VLA program at all?