Ford's Plan for Fixing Quality - CEO Reponds

Cruising68 · May 30, 2024

Can’t argue with that although I kind of hit the lottery as far as defects go. I remember decades ago buying new cars was a big deal for most dealers. Great vehicle prep and they went to great lengths to make the delivery pleasant. Now a days, few brands and dealers follow that path. I don’t even have dealers prep the outside, leaving the factory plastic and stickers. I have seen them do more damage than good prepping the paint.

My first new car cost $10,500. A Cavalier Z24. It was delivered well prepped at $49 over dealer invoice. I would expect that level or better on any $60k vehicle.

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RacerX33 · May 30, 2024

I wish I had hit the lottery with the two I have owned in the past 11 months.
Im a new FORD owner and this stuff is crazy. My dealer just gets them off the truck and puts them on the lot.
They apparently check nothing. When I buy a new car. The only thing I want to take it back for is the 5000 mile service.
Ive been back to the dealer 3 or 4 times since I bought this ST in April.
I still have to bring it in another time to replace a wheel and a rear door panel that was put together sloppy as can be.
And Im having a new exhaust put on it to be fair thats one of the reasons its going back in addition to the door panel and the wheel.
I like the ST, Im just put out about the quality issues.
The dealer is going to fix it all but, its not good for FORD to
put its customers through this kind of stuff on an expensive purchase.
Dont know why they have not realized how much their quality issues really cost them?
Because if I have mechanical problems,
Im going to get rid of it and turn my back on FORD forever.

CoHPhasor · May 30, 2024

If I were to look at this from the dealer's perspective - I might not be checking that much either.
Think about it. If suddenly the factory loses its damn mind, and ships partially-defective goods, what am I supposed to do, pay a small team of mechanics to fix merchandise?
(Yes, you'll feel personally attacked by me saying anything like this, but don't check out just yet)

Is there recourse for a dealer? As in, is there a program for dealers to be able to say "It took 'x' man hours to fix your bullsh**, and 'y' money had to be spent fixing paint. Pay me full rate for it"?
Imagine being a dealer, paying out interest for vehicles sitting around needing repairs? (They already suffered this for 360 cameras, etc)
Think about it for a minute. Your job is car sales. Yes, you have a service department, but it is there to make you money, not give Ford Motor Company extra manpower.
This is an example of "sh** rolling downhill", and absolutely none of us like it. In fact, we're here complaining because the dealer let sh** roll downhill, right?
It comes down to who gets the short end, and the dealer is doing what they can to avoid it.
Unfortunately, dealers are using Used car sales tactics here where "the buyer has to find the problem" is the motto.
^ ***This really sucks and should not be the case***

I wish this was not the case, and that dealers were being reputable.
Honestly, dealers should be filing a class-action against Ford collectively, to correct Ford Motors' bad behavior.

Cruising68 · May 30, 2024

I believe dealers DO get paid to fix anything found in delivery. Now their warranty rate is lower than their shop rate so they do make less on warranty work. Still, no excuse to not check IMO.

At my old business, we ran into a quality problem with one of our computerized tool manufacturers. I told my staff that for the next year they would test every tool that came in before going to the customer. In the long run it saved us money and customer goodwill.

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RacerX33 · May 30, 2024

CoHPhasor

No I dont feel personally attacked.
I can see your point about the dealers plight.
However, as a customer buying a ridiculously expensive product,
Dealers issues with FORD and selling cars are not my problem.
Or at least they should not be.
I want a good quality product.
I dont give a rats rusty that its hard for the dealership to be in business.
Im a customer. I didnt instruct them to open their business.
Im a paying customer and have no sympathy for what FORD does
or fails to do. This is what Im talking about. I didnt sign up for all this Mickey Mouse stuff. I signed up
for a good quality product and so far its hassles.

Am I supposed to say great job? I do like the car but the lack of quality leaves a person wondering
what the heck did I get myself into. Not a good feeling.
Down the road after the flaws are taken care of and the new exhaust has gone on and
some time has gone by, I'l get back on here and report how it goes down the road.
So far the whole experience Im shaking my head.
I guess maybe its typical for these times?
Or is just typical of FORD?
Is this why people buy Toyotas etc?
Better Quality? Better Service?
Hey maybe thats it?

CoHPhasor · May 30, 2024

^ I don't disagree at all.

To be honest, I spent my youth ridiculing Ford, because they had become so crappy over the years. A while back a friend had impressed me with the changes Ford made, showing that they weren't a joke anymore, and I bought an explorer. Then I leased a Fusion Energi and at my 20K mi oil change they messed up and rod-knock hit it.
I forgave that as a "mistake", and now here we are. Pandemic-era desperate-manufacturing produced shitty vehicles? Or has Ford gone back to those crappy 80s-90s roots?
I cant say.

Am I disappointed that we have to talk about it? Yup.
Does Ford get a pass in my eyes, especially for such an expensive vehicle? Hell no.
Does Ford deserve every bit of vitriol being spewed here? You bet your ass.

I'm simply a pragmatist and an observer. I would be remiss if I didn't look at the entirety of the situation to observe and report on all aspects.

RacerX33 · May 30, 2024

Hey Bud,
I didn't realize I was "Spewing Vitriol" ?
I thought I was relaying my experiences with
FORD and FORD Dealers and FORD Products and their quality issues
I have experienced over the last 11 months.

Never owned a Ford before.
"Spewing Vitriol" ?

Caster · May 30, 2024

My previous brand new Explorer ST was a 2022 model year. Like others, I had to find the issues the factory and dealer did not. Right off the bat I saw a drip in the paint on one of the front fenders, the wiring harness for the tow lights wasn't ever attached correctly and was lying directly on the exhaust pipe at the back of the vehicle, a wiring harness going to the 2nd row seats was never attached correctly either and was dangling in the area your feet would be and lastly there was a nice chip in one of the black spoked rims. Complete BS to deal with all of that. It is well known in the industry that the CAP (Chicago Assembly Plant) is a shitshow. Between the union and it being in Chicago says enough about what comes out of that factory.

Sgt1411 · May 31, 2024

RacerX33 said:

Your comments and frustrations are bang on.......some people just dont like holding others accountable. That's completely fine but not all of us are sheep and we all don't have to bend over. I say this as a customer who loves my ST but after purchasing 6 Explorers in a row I won't be buying another one when my lease is up. That's for all the reasons you articulated plus many more. The fact that Ford is THE MOST recalled car company should speak for itself. I actually don't even mind the recalls if the OEM handles the recall correctly. That's investigate, find a solution quickly, work with suppliers to produce new parts, deploy to dealership network as quickly as possible. Ford simply cant do that, the RVC recall is a classic example. or the rear end bolt fiasco whereby I have to have the parking brake on now every PARK cycle because some supplier didnt produce a strong enough bolt. STill no bolts for retail customers, how long is that 18-24 months?

EDWYER · May 31, 2024

RacerX33 said:

Read the whole thread, many have had various QC issues. He is saying the entire thread, relax buddy.

"Does Ford deserve every bit of vitriol being spewed here? You bet your ass."

katmandude · Jun 1, 2024

Ford cutting corners to save a buck is rearing it's ugly head,, the production line and untrained / incompetent personnel My '23 ST had no heat coming out the vents. It turned out a heater hose clamp to frame was never done at factory and the hose managed to kink and pinch off water flow to core, dealer tech fixed this defect, I waited for 2 hours wasting away until they finally found the problem. So this Einstein CEO's plan having some schmuck joyride the vehicle to find issues with it?
That's like giving your dog a bone for crapping on your bed..
The quality control department needs a thorough house cleaning

bluesnake01 · Jun 3, 2024

Cruising68 said:

IDK, growing up, I remember people always said never get the first new year models, they always had issues. That was in the 90's. The difference in today's time is there are more electronics even on standard cars, something that was mainly used on BMW's/Mercs back then and were considered hugely unreliable in those years because of that.

I agree though, new vehicles in general need to be prepped better whether they cost 20k or 100k. Still remember my dad's friend having issues on his brand new 99 Mustang that was month's old. Then there was that Firestone fiasco on the Explorer's as well in the 90's....

60k is a lot, but there are some that feel entitled because of it. In reality, it is a 34k~ vehicle from early 2000's after inflation lol Wasnt exactly top status back then, still isnt now. Love the vehicle a ton but some people put it on a pedestal.

Sgt1411 · Jun 3, 2024

I'm not sure if that old adage "Never buy the first year of a new model" still holds true today. Reason being there are a ton of different prototype builds that get built and are driven by Engineering staff before production is approved for public sale. I had no idea how many vehicles they (any OEM) builds before the final "OK TO BUY" stamp is given. PP builds, TT builds, PP1 builds, PP2 builds, etc etc etc. Its crazy and they all get crushed afterwards. Did they do that back in the 80, 90, 2000's?

For the Explorer and PIU I know they are using the Mod Center for a second QC check.

GregALewis · Sep 30, 2024

1600 miles on my 2025 ST
I have been a Ford guy since my first used 1966
Mustang to my last Ford a new 2017 F150.
The quality of my new 2025 ST is soooo below what I’m used to I’m actually thinking about selling it at a loss.
Four defects so far. Not sure how they are going to fix the moonroof interior that does not close all the way without tearing the entire car apart.
Sad. Just plain sad.

enphor · Oct 1, 2024

The way I see it is you have your dealership problems of them not doing the proper diligence and checks on new vehicles they get from the manufacturer and of course service quality. Then you have the actual mechanical physical quality of the vehicles (on Ford).

As for dealerships, I don't think its a secret that with any car maker there are good ones and bad ones.

As for quality of the vehicles. All I know is that this is my first Ford. I have owned mostly Subaru and one Infiniti. Nearly all of them had their issues. Subaru Tribeca would eat front suspension parts after 30K miles, WRX had a fuel line issue which hit me spraying fuel all over the engine while driving!, Infiniti was the worse with piston ring defects causing crazy oil consumption necessitating a huge fight and them finally replacing the block.

So my personal experience is that problems will happen, some dealerships suck, and what counts is that the issues are resolved with minimal fuss. I am also of the mind that small things are forgivable, however massive major mechanical design deficiencies are not (such as those with cursed engines that no matter what you do they will self destruct prematurely, like the BMW N20 engine fiasco).

That being said, if there are widespread quality problems with assembly that stuff needs to be addressed, seems that is most of what I'm reading here about ST complaints. Maybe thats why they are moving everything to Mexico as they can which is sad.

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Ford's Plan for Fixing Quality - CEO Reponds

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