Ford dealership exterior sign — hapabapa via iStock

Ford Explorer Owner Gets Free Oil Changes for Life After Catching Dealership Employee Quietly Putting Miles on His Leased SUV

The customer tracked his car’s movements over multiple service visits using the Ford app.

by Sarah Kennedy

Published on November 2, 2025 7:19 am

2 min read

When Jonathan Gregory dropped off his leased Ford Explorer at Fair Oaks Ford in Naperville, Illinois, he expected a quick fix for a noisy sunroof. Instead, he got a front-row seat to an unauthorized road trip. It actually played out on his phone screen while he was 4,000 miles away.

Using the Ford app, Gregory said he noticed his Explorer taking daily joyrides around Berwyn, a city about 25 miles from the dealership

At first, he thought it might be a glitch. Then he saw his odometer climb from 8,302 to 8,440 miles while the car was supposedly in the shop.

FordPass screenshots and I-PASS toll data confirmed what he suspected: someone at the dealership was putting real miles on his leased Explorer.

It wasn’t the first time he thought something odd was going on

He had already noticed strange mileage increases after a previous visit, so this time he came prepared with photos of his odometer before dropping it off.

When he confronted the dealership, staff reportedly told him a technician needed to drive the SUV to replicate the noise from the sunroof.

Gregory said that explanation didn’t line up with several days’ worth of highway driving.

He filed a complaint with the Illinois Attorney General and demanded out of his lease

That request was denied, but the dealership scrambled to make things right.

Fair Oaks Ford offered him a lifetime of free oil changes and maintenance, refunded the repair, and even detailed the Explorer inside and out.

According to ABC7 Chicago, the company attorney’s letter also promised to cover any tolls and waive extra mileage fees up to 340 miles.

The dealership’s general manager said the incident prompted an internal review, and the employee responsible was fired

The GM called the situation an isolated breach of policy and said it has reinforced its employee training to prevent a repeat.

For Gregory, the ordeal was less about the miles and more about broken trust. A leased car isn’t cheap, and few drivers expect their service visit to double as a personal Uber for a rogue technician.

Modern cars and dash cams can tattle on bad behavior

Apps like FordPass track real-time location and mileage, offering proof if a repair shop takes liberties. Dash cams recording interior and exterior goings-on might also reveal unnecessary drives or neglectful service.

Editor-in-Chief

Sarah Kennedy

Sarah Kennedy is the Editor-in-Chief of MotorBiscuit. She joined the team as Managing Editor in 2021 and has more than 20 years of automotive and operations expertise. She held ASE certifications as an Automotive Service Consultant and Parts Specialist and was a licensed car salesperson for many years. Sarah often focuses on helping drivers navigate used car buying and vehicle ownership. She created “Shop Smarts,” a column for MOTOR Magazine, and was a contributor there for eight years. Her work earned her a Gold Medalist award from the American Society of Business Publication Editors in 2014 and Bronze Medalist awards from the International Automotive Media Competition in 2014 and 2015. She attended the Automotive Management Institute and earned her bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University.