Every once in a blue moon, you get word of an impossible auto repair story that leaves you scratching your head in wonder. One such story might get you just as worked up as it did for the Ford F-250 owner at the heart of this tale. One minute, his trusted pickup was running fine. Then, all of a sudden, it wasn’t running. But that wasn’t the weirdest part of the story. The 2018 truck’s transmission wire harness completely disappeared.

The tale of the missing Ford F-250 transmission harness

CarComplaints.com is a great platform for vehicle consumers to share information. One man, a proud owner of a 2018 Ford F-250, shared an experience that flabbergasted everyone.

He had been hauling cattle when he stopped for a brief lunch. He went to leave after dining, but all of a sudden, his truck wouldn’t turn over. Being somewhat savvy under the hood, he found the battery to be good. There were no in-dash warnings. Not knowing what else to do, he phoned roadside service and had his beloved pickup towed to the dealership where he had originally made his purchase.

Madera Ford took in the Ford F-250 and got to work. They called the next morning, having identified the culprit of the stalled truck. The transmission wiring harness was missing, a part necessary for the vehicle to run. The truck owner responded in bewilderment. It drove to the restaurant just fine, and then, poof, the harness was missing?

The dealership suggested that someone may have cut the wiring and a police report would be in order. To back up his experience, the truck owner had neighboring business surveillance on his side to document that no one, in fact, tampered with the truck.

How Ford handled the situation

Upon hearing about the video proof showing that the truck ran fine then stopped running with no human interference, the dealership and Ford’s official response was jaw-dropping. Citing that the wiring still appeared to have been cut, meaning someone other than a dealer certified tech must have been involved, the replacement would not be covered under warranty.

Even Ford Motor Credit, in response to the complaint this truck owner filed, agreed with the non-coverage policy. In this case, this F-250 owner was facing a $1,500 estimate to replace it on his own. Needless to say, he was beyond furious.

How you should handle warranty repair requests for the Ford F-250

According to the Federal Trade Commission, the consumer protection agency, a dealer cannot refuse to honor the warranty if someone else has performed repairs or routine maintenance. Usually, this protects consumers from voiding their warranties should they decide to have oil changes or tire rotations with another, non-dealer provider.

In the case of the missing transmission wiring harness, it seems this clause could have helped. Or Ford could have handled the odd situation by satisfying the customer’s predicament.

It’s hard to know for sure if there were other extenuating circumstances in this story beyond what this truck owner shares on CarComplaints.com. Wiring harnesses don’t cut themselves, of course. With video proof of his truck running when he pulled in, the Ford F-250 owner clearly wasn’t misleading with his testimony.

Since no one is on video tampering with the pickup, it tends to lend credibility to the idea that the harness wiring may have already been faulty or missing from the start. It’s one of those tales that may lead everyone to scratch their heads. But Ford could have handled it differently, especially since “the customer’s always right.” For this, self-proclaimed, long-time Ford truck owner, a new badge may be in order for future purchases.