While traveling on the highway the hub cap on the driver’s side rear wheel came off. The truck had a little over 3000 miles on it. I was driving normally and didn't even notice when the hub cap came off. I only noticed it was missing when I reached my destination.

I attempted to call the dealer (Bluebonnet Motors of San Antonio) and left a message explaining what happened. I did not get a call back so I drove the truck into the Service Department to report it. The first guy I talked to took only a slight interest in the issue. I told him what happened and stated this should be covered under the warranty. He came out and looked at the truck, asked me some questions. He wanted to know if I had had the tires serviced or the hub caps removed. I told him no, the truck had a little over 3000 miles on it and nothing had been done to it. He said "OK" and we went back into the office. He attempted to call the Parts Department and then hung up the phone. He said they were busy and that I should go over there and talk to them. I said "OK" and went over to the Parts Department.

I talked to a guy there, who kind of looked at me like I was stupid, when I told him what the guy at the Service Department told me. The Parts guy told me that unless someone in Service called in that the part would not be covered under warranty. He at least looked up the part and told me the price, around $235 dollars. I said "OK, should I go back to the Service Department?" He said yes, so off I went.

Now I am getting a little upset about being run around and this was amplified when I made it back to the Service Department and the guy I first talked to was not there. He must have gone to lunch so to get rid of me sent me on a snipe hunt to the Parts Department. All of the other Service guys were on the phone or looked busy so I found the receptionist for the Service Department. She handed me over to the lead of the Service Department. So I told him about the day’s events and how I was getting the run around over this part. He told me flatly that they could not send any parts back without a defective one to return. I asked him why the other guy didn't tell me that and he rudely said "I don't know and don't care; we will not warranty the part without one to return.”

Now I am getting mad. I said "No, the part has to be defective; it came off down the road. I did not know it was gone and don't know where it is." He just looked at me and said "Well you can talk to Ford Customer Care about that." and gave the the 800 number to call. I said "OK sure, just send me off on another run around, I think this is futile but I will call them." and left the dealership madder.

So I got back home and called Ford Customer Care. I talked to Brittney, who took my information and complaint about the hub cap and the run around I got at the dealer. She said she would put that all in the case and asked to put me on hold to check on the warranty coverage. She came back after a few minutes and told me that it would not be covered since there was no part to return.

Now I am really mad. I told her that that was unacceptable. This truck has less than 4000 miles on it and you want me to pay $235 dollars for an obviously defective part. She said she was sorry but there was nothing she could do. I told her that I wanted to speak to someone who could. She told me I could speak with her supervisor but she was busy at the moment and she could schedule a call back for tomorrow. I said that would be fine and hung up the phone.

So, I got to thinking about the situation and being an Engineer, I decided to perform a little experiment. I went out to my truck and attempted to remove the remaining rear hub cap with my bare hands. With very little effort I was able to remove it. This was not really a surprise since one had come off going down the highway already. So I tried the front ones and they came off even easier. Then I consulted the owner’s manual and read the tire changing procedure. In the steps to remove the hub cap it states that you will have to use the tire tool to remove the cap. Now I knew these wheel caps were all defective.

I then proceeded to remove all the remaining caps with the plan to return the 'defective' parts to the dealer. Next morning I got up and headed to the dealers Service Department. I walked in the door and standing there is the Service Departments lead along with two others. He says "Can I help you?" I say "Yes, I am returning these defective parts; I can remove them by hand." One of the other Service Department guys looks at the lead and asks him what he wants to do. The Service Department lead states "No, we are not doing it!" I said "What! You told me yesterday that in order to replace defective parts you needed to return them to the manufacturer, well here are, the remaining defective parts. I can remove them by hand. Send them back!" The lead replies "No, we ain't doing it." So then he and I really start getting into it with him yelling at me to leave the office and me telling him "NO! I am not moving from this spot!" I took a step towards him with my finger pointed straight at his face yelling "So you're telling me that you are not going to honor my warranty on these defective parts?" He said "Yes we are not sending them back 'cause they (the manufacturer) won't take them." So I said "You lied to me when you said you had to have a defective part to return." I said "Tell you what, I will let my finance company know that you and Ford are refusing to honor my extended warranty on a brand new truck with less than 4000 miles on it and let them talk to your finance department! I am sure they will not be pleased at all!" The Service Department lead then yelled at me to leave the office and go talk to my sales representative that sold me the truck. I said "NO, what good will that do? I am not going anywhere; you are going to send these defective parts back!" At that point the Service Department lead turned around and walked out of the office I was standing in and retreated to his own office.

So, I am still standing there, about to walk into the cowardly Service Department leads office and proceed to continue to rip him apart some more, when I decide to take a deep breath and calm down. That's when one of the other Service Department guys says "Look, I can't go over what he says." I said "OK. I want to talk to his boss and I want him to take me over there." The guy says OK and calls up the Service Department manager. Meanwhile the Service Department lead is just sitting there while I stare at him. He's doing his best to ignore me and gets on the phone. Then he leaves his office. The other guy says the Service Department Manager will see you now and he takes me over. The Service Department lead is nowhere to be found. He ran and hid somewhere.

We get over to the Service Department Managers office. I am mad and standing there with my ‘defective’ parts in hand. He invites me in and asks me to put my ‘defective’ parts down. I say OK and take the seat he then offers. I explain the whole situation to him including the run around/yelling match I had with his employees. He listens; he empathizes and tells me that he will pay for the parts. I am stunned. I had to go through all of this to get my part replaced? I tell him that these parts are defective and need to be sent back to the manufacture. “I was told you needed the defective part to return, here they are.” He tells me “They won’t take them back.” He then tells me that when the replacement part comes in he will call me and let me know and that I can pick it up directly at no cost.

I am dumbfounded at this point. The only thing I can figure is Ford Manufacturing knew these parts were defective when they rolled the truck out of the plant with them on. They knowingly and deliberately put these defective parts on these trucks and will not warranty them.

So the Service Department Manager and I leave his office. I offered to show him or anyone else in the Service Department, how I can remove these hub caps by hand. He comes over to my truck and I recite the exact process to ensure the caps are installed properly, from the owner’s manual, as I put the caps back on. I want to ensure him that I was not putting the caps on improperly. I then grasp the rear cap, apply very little effort and pop it off. He just looks at me and goes “Huh.” I do the same for the front ones. I then say goodbye and get in my truck and leave.

The next day I get a call from Fords Customer Care service. It’s the supervisor. She agrees with me that these should not come off so easily. She tell me that she is going to call up engineering and warranty to have the parts looked at. She is concerned that I can remove them by hand and doesn’t want to replace any more that may happen later.

A couple of weeks go by and I have not heard anything from either the dealership or Ford Customer care. I call Ford Customer care and am told to expect a call later in the week. I get a call from the same supervisor and she tells me she is still working on the warranty department. The following week she calls me back and tells me that warranty will not cover it since there are no other parts other than the defective ones they have. I asked her if they were going to recall them. She tells me most likely not. But she tells me she will work with the dealer to get the cap replaced at no charge.

So at the point I am still waiting.

If you have a new 2014 Ford Super Duty dually, check the caps. I bet you can remove them by hand. If you lose one down the road, don’t pay for a replacement. Call Ford and take them up to the dealer. THEY ARE DEFECTIVE.