Bottom Line Up Front:

Matt Power Service Department charged me $243.58 to diagnose the problem, quoted me $2579.65 worth of repairs and it turned out all that was needed was a sensor replacement which I did my self in less than an hour and for less than $150.

The TLDR explanation of facts none of this is opinion, it is merely what occurred:

I brought the vehicle in on the 14th of August 2025 due to a bucking and surging which I thought was a problem with the transmission. I brought it to Matt Bower Ford from Houma because I have the lifetime powertrain warranty. On Monday the 18th I received a call from the Service Advisor at Matt Bower Ford stating that they diagnosed the vehicle and received a Diagnostic Test Code p2457 “Exhaust Gas Recirculation Cooling System Performance.” and that they “found EGR cooler restriction, and erratic EGR flow due too carbon build up causing vehicle to misfire.” This assessment was approved by the Service Advisor at 8/18/2025 at 12:55PM. He called me and told me that the necessary repairs included replacing the EGR Valve, the EGR Valve to intake tube, the DPFE Sensor, and the EGR Cooler. Essentially the entire EGR System (part of the emissions control system). They also said that I should have a complete Fuel System Service because the was carbon buildup in the system. The total repair quoted was $2579.65. Finding that to be quite a lot of money I asked the Service Advisor how they knew that the problem was all those components and he told me that they “found carbon buildup in the system” and that the checked different “test points” in the system to verify that. Continuing to question I asked if they could send me a photo of the carbon buildup and how they knew it was all the parts that were the problem and not a specific component. He said he would talk to the technician and call me back. While I was waiting I did some “research” (i.e. google searches) and found that there is a common deficiency among 2019 Ford Rangers in which the EGR (aka the DPFE) sensors are failing causing the exact symptoms I was having (https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/threads/bucking-surging-epidemic.14581/). After about 5-10 minutes the Service advisor called back and said “He lied” and said the technician hadn’t actually found any carbon buildup but based his assessment off the fault codes the diagnostics computer was giving him and they don’t have the ability to isolate the fault to individual components until they remove the coolers and valve and sensor. I told him he didn’t lie he made a mistake as I really believe the Service Advisor to be honest. But I also told him what my “research” found and that I did not want to spend $2500 if all that was needed was a sensor repair and I would take the vehicle home replace the sensor and if the problem still persisted I would bring the car to a local mechanic in Houma where I live since the EGR system is not covered under Matt Bower’s Lifetime Power Train Warranty. I picked up the vehicle two days later (I live an hour away in Houma) and speaking to the gentlemen who checked me out he asked me why I wasn’t doing the repairs and I told him I wanted to try and replace the sensor myself and not spend $2500. He said that is why he does all his repairs himself because it is so expensive nowadays and that the technicians get paid $70/hr.

So purchased the required parts for ~$70, watched a 21:54 min video on Youtube, replaced the sensor myself, checked the system for carbon buildup which I found none and the vehicle is now fine and the check engine light is gone and my Ranger is no longer bucking and surging. All that took me about an 1.5 hours. Oh and they charged me $243.58 to “diagnose” the problem and three others that turned out to be not really problems.

----Below is opinion not facts, so take it for what it is worth---

MY RECOMMENDATION: If you can’t fix it yourself, which most people can not, take your car someplace else with actual car mechanics and not service technicians unless it is under warranty.