Ford Dealership Messed Up My Car

Hey everyone, I need help.

Back in December, Ford sent me a letter stating that they could replace my purge canister valve for free because many cars across the country were experiencing issues like stalling or the check engine light turning on. My car had these symptoms, but it still ran perfectly fine and could reverse. The only time it had any trouble was when the temperature dropped to around 10–20°F. Other than that, my car was in great condition.

Since I received the letter, I figured I’d take my car to Ford so they could fix the problem. When I dropped it off, they simply told me they could do the repair, and that was that. However, when I picked up my car the next day, it was barely drivable and wouldn’t reverse at all. I immediately noticed a dashboard warning that said “Transmission Service Needed Now,” which had never appeared before.

Confused and stressed, I took the car back to Ford, and they told me my only options were to sell the car (a car that can’t drive would barely sell for any money) or pay $3,000 to fix the transmission. They claimed that the issue was caused by the part they replaced, explaining that it acts as a “new brain” for the car, which isn’t working well with the “old brain” of my transmission. However, this didn’t make sense to me because my car was running fine before I took it in.

I was incredibly frustrated because I went to them for help, but they ended up making my car undrivable. They are now saying they are not responsible because my car had “underlying transmission issues.” However, those so-called issues matched exactly what Ford’s letter described, which is why I assumed the repair would resolve them.

To make things worse, I had to pay to tow my car over an hour away back to my house because I’m a college student living in a dorm, and I can’t afford to fix this. It’s frustrating because I initially had a working car, and now I don’t. I even called Ford’s corporate office, but they told me they couldn’t do anything about it either.

Now I’m stuck between taking them to small claims court or somehow saving up for either a new car or a transmission repair—both of which are extremely stressful options.

I also contacted the Ford dealership and asked if I had signed anything holding me liable for the issue. They sent over my receipt, which does have a liability section, but I never signed it. I’m not sure if that works in my favor, but I wanted to mention it.

What upsets me even more is that they never warned me about any risks before changing the part. When I brought this up to them over the phone, they tried to lie and say they did, which isn’t true.

Luckily I actually didn’t sign anywhere at all. I really need advice on what to do next because I’m completely stuck and don’t have a way to get home now. Any help would be greatly appreciated.