Section A – Warranty Policy Manual

A.5 REIMBURSEMENT POLICIES

A.5.1 Labour Reimbursement Policies

A.5.1.1 Labour Categories

A.5.1.1.1 Access Time

The Actual time taken to remove a Ford or non-Ford part (e.g., modifications such as canopies, toolboxes and other non-genuine modifications) in order to perform a warranty repair is reimbursable.

When a vehicle has been sublet to an outside shop and a Ford or non-Ford part part must be removed to perform a warranty repair, the following steps must be followed:

• When possible, the Dealership should remove the component and clock the time to be added to the repair as Actual Time.
• If Dealership removal of the component is not possible, the outside shop must provide detailed comments regarding the time required to remove the Ford or non-Ford part. The outside shop must list Actual Time separately and payment is based on actual cost if the cost is reasonable.

A.5.1.1.2 Actual Time / NST Usage Requirements

An Actual Time / NST labour operation is used only when there is no published labour operation in the Ford Service Labour Time Standards or for highly unusual repair situations when additional time is required to complete the repair. A full description of the need for the Actual Time / NST operation must be listed on the form and the request must be reasonable.

• All Actual Time/NST repairs must be properly time recorded. Refer to Time Recording Requirements.
• Technicians must provide detailed comments on the hard copy explaining why Actual Time / NST was required.
• Actual time/ NST repair codes MT/999X must be entered on the claim.
• All applicable Service Labour Time Standards must be used in claims preparation.
• Actual time may not be claimed for time spent calling the TAC, for checking OASIS, or for obtaining Prior Approvals.

A.5.1.1.3 Diagnosis Time

• Normal diagnostic time is not reimbursable for the following reasons:
• — Included Time — an allowance for basic diagnosis requiring only limited time and equipment, as called out by the Workshop Manual, is included in each Service Labour Time Standard to cover diagnostic tasks. It is not reimbursable separately unless specified in the Ford Service Labour Time Standards.
  
• — Obvious Repairs — Repairs which are easily determined by the senses (sight, touch, smell, hearing). Service management is responsible for:
• Identifying these repairs
• road testing if necessary
• issuing repair instructions to technicians


• — Non-warrantable Repairs – When diagnosis determines that a repair is non-warrantable, (i.e., damage resulting from modifications, customer abuse, etc.) the related diagnosis is not covered under New Vehicle Limited Warranty regardless of whether Company personnel are involved with the repair or not.
• Diagnostic Labour Operations — Specific labour operations listed in the Service Labour Time Standards are reimbursable.
• Abnormal Diagnosis Time is reimbursable (“MT” or “NST” time)
• — Reimbursement is allowed for diagnostic time spent beyond normal diagnosis or where diagnosis time is not covered in the Service Labour Time Standards.
• — Clear explanation of why the abnormal diagnosis time (“MT” or “NST”) was necessary must be entered in the Repair Description section of the claim and submitted to Ford.

Labour to take an assembly apart (and in some cases put it back together again) is reimbursable when it’s necessary to determine whether the assembly can or cannot be repaired. Refer to A.3.13.74 Replacement or Repair Policy.

However, where the assembly is taken apart but not put back together, only 50% of the applicable Service Labour Time Standard is claimable. E.g., if a cylinder head is removed to check the bore of a cylinder, and the engine is determined to need replacing, a claim can be made for 50% of the Service Labour Time Standard for the Cylinder Head – Remove & Replace.

A.5.1.1.4 Labour-Only Operations

• Non-reimbursable labour operations:
• — Inspections, adjustments, alignments, and clean-up included in the Pre-Delivery Inspection process (unless otherwise stated in Company publications).
• — Installing loose items placed in the vehicle at the assembly plant unless otherwise stated in Company publications (Refer to the Pre-Delivery Service Record check sheet).
• — Adding oils, lubricants, and other fluids (except refrigerant).
• — Inflating tires.
• — Touching up paint chips, scratches, or minor blemishes
• Reimbursable labour operations:
• — All other labour-only operations are reimbursable unless stated otherwise in this Manual or other Company publications.

A.5.1.1.5 Labour Performed at Other Than Authorized Dealerships

Reimbursable when:

The Dealer sublets work to an outside specialty shop.

Performed on an emergency basis and Ford and Lincoln Dealerships are closed.

Also please refer to SUBLET OF WARRANTY REPAIRS

A.5.1.1.6 Labour Reimbursement

Labour reimbursement is normally based on standard hours shown in the Service Labour Time Standards Manual multiplied by the Dealer’s approved Warranty Labour Rate in effect on the date of repair.

A.5.1.1.7 Labour Rate Policy

It is the Company’s policy to reimburse Dealers for warranty repairs at an hourly rate that is fair, reasonable, and competitive. This policy is administered through one of the available labour rate request options.

A.5.1.1.8 Labour Rate Request Options

Warranty reimbursement is calculated so that the hourly warranty labour rate reflects the current average prime labour rate being paid by the Dealer.

The warranty labour reimbursement amount shall be obtained by multiplying the hourly warranty labour rate by the suggested standard repair time required for the specific repair task. With pass these 4 criteria as follows:

1. Certified one warranty resource per Dealer and employee service > 3 months @ certified Dealer.
2. One L3 per Dealer and employee service > 3 months @ certified Dealer. (Dealer who started service operation > 2 years)
3. TAC – Technician survey response rate > 70%.
4. Technician Tools, WS Equipments and ESST Readiness

The frequency to review 1 time per year and the new warranty labor rate will be adjusted on 1st January of every year.

Dealer with or not Passed all 4 criteria

All dealers 250,000 VND/Hour

The warranty labour reimbursement rate will be adjusted based on the passed status for each Dealer yearly once (1 January to 31 December). Warranty Dept. will review and evaluate status of each dealer in Dec of every year. Dealers are responsible for monitoring their average prime labour cost. The new rate is applicable once it has been approved and is available on the SERVIS2 System. The new labour reimbursement rate is effective on January 1, 2020

NOTE: The new labour reimbursement rates are subject to change at any time.

A.5.1.1.9 Module Reprogramming

For PCM or TCM reprogramming, please refer to Powertrain Control Module (PCM) or Transmission Control Module (TCM) Reprogramming.

For all other modules (e.g., BCM, RCM, APIM, FDIM, SYNC etc.), the applicable SLTS is reimbursable where there is customer complaint, and a warrantable defect is identified. Care should be taken to ensure the relevant, specific instructions, Pinpoint Tests or module reprogramming recommended in the WSM are carried out prior to any module replacement

A.5.1.1.10 Overlapping / Duplicate Labour

Overlapping labour is not reimbursable. Overlapping labour is that in which two operations include duplicate repair steps. The overlapping labour amount must be deducted from the second operation; the remaining labour amount of the second operation must be claimed as Actual Time (MT/NST).

Where there are multiple repairs conducted on a vehicle in a similar area, the Warranty Administrator must make an assessment of the SLTS/Actual Time/NSTs in relation to the applicable adjustment to the overlapping SLTS/s.

A.5.1.1.11 Road Test

A supplemental allowance to perform a road test is provided in all respective labour operations when it is clearly stated in the published (Workshop Manual, Recall or TSB) repair procedure that it is necessary to do so. Pre-or post-repair road testing that is conducted when not specifically instructed to do so in the published repair procedure or conducted as part of analyzing or defining a customer concern is the responsibility of Dealership Service Management (Service Manager, Shop Foreman, Service Advisor, etc.).

Please refer to Service Management Warranty Requirements

The NVH Road Tests apply to all vehicles. These road tests should be used when a customer expresses a concern with their vehicle in relation to NVH that may be difficult to produce at the Dealership premises on the customers FIRST visit.

The NVH Road Tests consists of two road tests,

• Pre-Repair NVH Road Test
• Post-Repair NVH Road Test

A Pre-Repair NVH Road Test involves the customer driving the vehicle with a service staff member in an attempt to demonstrate the concern before any attempt is made to repair the vehicle. This will enable the service staff to experience the concern with the customer resulting in a better understanding of the concern. As a result, this should reduce time of overall repair and improve on the 'No Fault Found' situations and reduce misdiagnosis.

A Post-Repair NVH Road Test involves the same service staff member drive the vehicle after the repair. This will confirm whether the NVH concern has been rectified successfully.

SLTS ALLOWANCE
(SLTS 1000B) Pre-Repair NVH Road Test: 0.2 hours (SLTS 1000C) Post-Repair NVH Road Test: 0.2 hours When carrying out work to resolve an NVH issue ONLY, the Pre & Post-repair road test SLTS allowances are claimable as a warranty claim i.e., a total of 0.4 hrs. Should an NVH concern be presented together with other retail repairs/service or warranty repairs that would ordinarily require and include a post-repair road test, ONLY the Pre-repair road test SLTS allowance can be claimed via warranty for the NVH concern i.e., 0.2 hrs.

A.5.1.1.12 Sublet Repair (Labour Reimbursement)

Please refer to SUBLET OF WARRANTY REPAIRS

Standard Repair Charges
Where a sublet repairer conducts repairs, which have a standard charge, the Dealership is required to provide an invoice which includes the information listed in Sublet Invoice Requirements, excluding the hours charged. The standard amount charged on this invoice may be claimed, subject to the guidelines listed below.

The Dealership should ensure that Ford SLTS's are not applicable for these repairs. Where an SLTS is applicable, the Dealership should query the standard charges to ensure that they are unable to be charged at an hourly rate. For example, a sublet repairer may not simply establish a standard charge out rate for a service covered by Ford SLTS's, because they wish to charge more than Ford SLTS's will allow. The Dealership should apply the principal of 'cost effective repairs' in these cases.

Examples of repairs conducted by the sublet repairer that have standard charges are "Windscreen replacement, Flywheel resurfacing", etc.

Dealership Sublet Transport Expenses
The Dealership will under certain circumstances be reimbursed for cost associated with the transport of a vehicle to and from a Specialist Sublet Repairer. These costs will only be reimbursed where the Company has specifically instructed the Dealership to transport the vehicle to this repairer. These instructions must be as a result of latest service publication released to the network in the form of TSB's or via approval from Company Representatives

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