This past Saturday, I had that IAC valve installed in my car at a Ford place in another city, no worries there. The mechanic also addressed the starting problem and that smell of petroleum in the cabin of the car.
Turns out that Courtesy Ford didn't install my fuel filter properly when they did the 60K mile scheduled maintenance, leaving a dangerous fuel leak in my car. This was the cause of the smell inside my car. So here's a bit of advice, if your fuel efficiency drops about 10-15 mpg and you smell gas inside your car, take it in immediately.
The mechanic at this Ford place was quite courteous (no pun intended) and charged me only a half-hour of maintenance labor to fix the problem. However, Courtesy Ford still left my vehicle and my life in grave danger with their bumbling.
Below is a copy of the letter I faxed them.
September 13, 2003
Courtesy Ford
XXXX XXXXXXXXX St.
XXXXXXXX, XX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXX XXXXXX Ave.
XXXXXX XXXXX, XX XXXXXDear Service Manager:
On September 6th, 2003, I brought my 1999 Ford Escort LX to Courtesy Ford for a scheduled 60,000-mile maintenance and to address a problem with my idle air control valve. As a part of the scheduled maintenance, your mechanics replaced my fuel filter. However, they were unable to replace the idle air control valve because the part was unavailable.
Unfortunately, the fuel filter was installed incorrectly. When I drove the vehicle off of the lot, the cabin smelled of petroleum and the car had difficulty starting. I assumed this was due to some problem related to the IAC valve that was not replaced.
On September 13th, 2003, I brought my Escort to Ford-Lincoln-Mercury to have the IAC valve replaced. At that time, William Wilson, the Service Advisor of XXXXXXX Ford noticed that the fuel filter was incorrectly installed, causing a leak of gasoline. This left my car in a dangerous state, according to Mr. Wilson, that could have resulted a fire causing in "total loss of the vehicle."
With this fax, please find included a copy of the invoice I received from XXXXXX Ford-Lincoln Mercury. They removed and reinstalled the fuel filter of my Escort. I request that Courtesy Ford reimburse me for this cost in the amount of $24.50. This covers one half-hour of maintenance labor—a small sum, considering the danger to my vehicle and my person resulting from the negligence by your mechanic.
If you have any questions or concerns about this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me. You can reach me on my cellular phone at (XXX) XXX-XXXX. Please leave a voice-mail message and I will return your call. You can reach Mr. Wilson at XXXXXXX Ford-Lincoln-Mercury at (XXX) XXX-XXXX. He will be happy to explain any of the details that may be unclear.
Sincerely,
Freeshell.org member homepages were having issues but they seem to be back up. Sorry for the inconvenience.
I forgot to add: I spent $65 this weekend to have the IAC valve installed and the fuel filter reinstalled.
Current total: $1285
Courtesy Ford told me over the phone today that they would be happy to reimburse me for the amount I requested. Fucking super.
Something you never want to hear your boss say. But since the company I work for apparently thinks software is free and it takes zero time to write, I didn't get 5 minutes to myself today. But oh well, I don't have to work weekends yet. [Bitch mode off.] I'm glad I have a job.