I was just curious if anyone had ever used the Ford Roadside assistance and what his or her experience was. I have not had to use it yet, and hope that I never have to. Perhaps I should of asked this question on a Chevy site about their Roadside assistance since I am sure they use it A LOT.

 

Yes, my wife has used it, she broke down 600 miles from home... with our two sons... for some reason, before she could even use the cell phone to call for help a tow truck arrive (no, not sent by Ford). She allowed them to tow it, but upon arriving at a motel, she called the 800 number on the roadside assistance... they were very helpful, sent a tow truck to get it to a Ford Dealer, and even though the ford dealer could not locate the part (some retainer plate on the throttle that caused it not to work), service rigged it to get her home and I think at no charge. Good by me.

If you get stranded, don't forget you have it, free tow and free rental car....

John

 

We used it many times in the wifes Windstar, pos.
It's saved us a fortune on tows.

I think the service is a good one, never have to wait long.

Alex

 

I haven't used it but a guy we had doing some work for our company locked his keys in his truck. Called Roadside Assistance and they sent out one of the local tow shops to help him.

Personnaly, I though they should have sent out a locksmith. Lets just say there's no way the dude they sent would have put hands anywhere near my truck. He did not have what I would consider proper tools to open a locked door.

Roadside Assistance is good, but watch out for who they send and keep and eye on what they're doing.

 

[i]When does the coverage n? I' guessing when the original warranty is over, right? Is it possible to but this coverage seperately?[/i[

 

Cowlady:

Yes it ends at the end of the warranty 3yr or 36,000 miles which ever comes first. I am not sure if you can buy it or not. I would recommend asking Ford. I may be wrong, but I believe it is basically the same thing as the roadside assistance that most auto insurance policies offer.

 

When I had my lemon F-150, one of the times it was in the shop earlier this year, I had a rental Dodge Ram. I locked the keys in it and called Enterprise. They called Chrysler Roadside assistance. They had somebody there within 15 minutes. I was amazed.

 

Cowlady,

Yes, you may renew your roadside assist when the warrenty ends.
It works just like any other auto club, pay your fee every year, and you are covered.

Alex

 

I didn't know you could renew it after the warenty was up.

 

When we arrived in Las Vegas three years ago, it was averaging 110 degrees. We were staying at a military campground while we were house hunting. We stopped by the campsite to get something really quick, my wife insisted on not coming in (wanted to stay in the truck with it running because it was nice and cool).

Well minutes later my wife was standing next to me in the trailer. When I asked her if she left the truck running - the reply was "well of course, it's hot out there and I wanted the truck to stay cool, don't worry I locked it".

Then I asked, "where's your set of keys?" which the reply came "in my pocketbook".

"And where is your pocketbook?"

"Duh, it's in the truck, I left it there because I'm only coming in for a minute! (talking to me like I was the fool)"

Well it took her a few minutes of me staring at her and consistently repeating "your keys are in your pocketbook and the pocketbook is in the truck" several times before she caught on.

I used FORD's free road service, one call a locksmith was there to open the truck in about 30 minutes. The only time I needed it...

 

Yes,

They will let you renew the service after the warrenty is up by paying a yearly fee.
Can't remember what the price was, but it was in line with the other services.

This is the number for Canada to renew:
1800-665-2006 They can prob tell you the US number.

Alex

 

If roadside assistance is all you're out to obtain, you may check with your insurance company to see if service is provided.

We carry roadside assistance through Geico on my wife's Honda Accord for less than $11/year. The way I see it, we use it ONE TIME, it's paid for itself plus, I used it a few times when I had my 1997 Blazer (POS) (Yes, I was young and stupid and bought a Chevrolet). Excellent service and very prompt. Several tows to the dealership later it had easily paid for itself many times over.

It may be easier on the pocket book by doing it this way and not having to pay either Ford's higher price or a motor club membership fee.

Just a thought...

RP

 

It's surprising that more manufacturers don't install keypads on their vehicles. I bet 60% of service calls to roadside assistance are in regard to lockouts.

 

Remember that Ford's Roadside assistance is contracted out.
You don't get a 'Ford' expert on site.
My Windstar needed to be towed in and I called the number on the 1-800 Roadside assistance number..
A tow truck arrived and the driver promptly started to hook up to the back of my van. I asked him what he was doing because these vehicles have to be towed from the front as I had read in the Owner's manual.
He said, "Oh, I thought this was an Aerostar.".

The reason I had to get towed was the shifter wouldn't come out of 'Park'. Even though I had my foot on the brake, the sensor telling the transmission that failed, so it would not shift into gear. Of course, I didn't know that at the time, I just thought it was 'stuck'. (this is the same shifter in our trucks) I tried a little harder and snapped the shifter off about two inches from the steering column. The shifter was dangling from the Overdrive wire that runs inside it.

So, don't mess with me

 

Not a good thing when your stick gets stuck