When are new model QC improvements made?

[papashango3]

If the first year of this mustang has various problems that have been documented here : cooled seat, electronics dying, Ac conking out, various rattles etc...

Do they make improvements/fixes ASAP and introduce them the first available time, even in the first model year? Do they work on them all behind the scenes and then wait until 2nd year or mid cycle refresh? Do manufacturers actually try to improve things like rattles within the same model cycle? Or if things are not broken but do not work as well as they should (vented seat works but is weak), do they improve them behind the scenes. The problem is you never hear them advertise that they fix or improve such things (because it is admitting there are QC problems). Do they wait for mid cycle refresh? They only advertise improvements in HP, visual changes etc. Sorry lots of questions and dont know who would know the answers.

You always hear to never buy the first year of a new model, but I am trying to pin point how and when they actually fix things, and if it is only for genuinely broken design issues or if they try to improve things that work ok but can be done better. :ford:

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[Plimmer]

My guess is Ford makes them immediately but probably takes awhile to trickle down through the supply chain.

 

[GT Pony]

QC will improve when they slow down the assembly line a little bit. Most of these issues are due to sloppy assembly, not design flaws. A few are design related, like the cooled seat issue. Ford just released a TSB with a retrofit kit for the fix. I'm sure they will incorporate the new design into production at some point in the 2016 model year.

Seems like getting a good or bad one is luck of the draw. Some guys have all kinds of issues while others have none. This is somewhat typical with all vehicles that are mass produced.

 

[Turbo Ghost]

Most quality issues are corrected ASAP during assembly. Of all the quality issues that we find as customers, there are probably 5 times as many that are caught and corrected.

Design changes take a lot longer. The design has to be generated, tested, and then the manufacturing process changed, parts tested on mass scale, and released.

The problem with the A/C seats would be a design change. Since the TSB has been published, I would expect current production vehicles have the updated/improved part.

 

[jhols]

Most quality issues are corrected ASAP during assembly. Of all the quality issues that we find as customers, there are probably 5 times as many that are caught and corrected.

Design changes take a lot longer. The design has to be generated, tested, and then the manufacturing process changed, parts tested on mass scale, and released.

The problem with the A/C seats would be a design change. Since the TSB has been published, I would expect current production vehicles have the updated/improved part.

More of the same. If its an easier/cheaper design change it will be changed during the year. If its more complicated or across multiple vehicles lines it could be only on a model year update

 

[ultimate warrior]

I have a 2016 now and I haven't seen that many improvements, yet. Same interior rattles, exterior panel misalignments, etc. It's like playing the lottery. They still have a lot of work to do.

they just dont care.

ford = aint care.

as long as they're selling and not catching too much bad press.

for the price they're the most attractive offerings out there.

literally - they dont care.

 

[FordTechOne]

they just dont care.

ford = aint care.

as long as they're selling and not catching too much bad press.

for the price they're the most attractive offerings out there.

literally - they dont care.

That couldn't be farther from the truth.

 

[redline727]

It's not just Ford. All manufactures go through things like this. I'm a service advisor at BMW and see things like this all the time with much more expensive cars. I will say not the body panel alignment issues. Ford just seems to have a much wider tolerance than I am used to. That's the one thing that really bothers me. Other shit like TSB's and updated parts is to be expected.

Take the new M4 for example. There is a TSB for the rear brake backing plates. There is an updated backing plate out to keep small rocks from getting caught between the plate and rotor making an awful brake noise. I had a customer come in with the same complaint. 1280 miles on a 74k+ M4. Sounds something awful from a rock caught in the RR brake assembly. Pull it apart and find it already has the updated backing plate...can't do anything but clean it out. It will unfortunately happen again. Sticky Pilot Sports throw pebbles up everywhere...You drive over any loose gravel I guarantee it will happen. It's easy to fix but a huge inconvenience to the customer.

 

[ultimate warrior]

That couldn't be farther from the truth.

how do you explain the misaligned panels everywhere on the car

or the fact that no one has gotten around to redoing the left rear quarter to bumper alignment thats plagued most cars since 2015?

oh yeah - aint care.

also my hood is misaligned (if you look at it straight the driver side is cocked up more).

there is almost no symmetry left to right on panel fitment


would you like me to go out and draw you a map of panel gaping around the car with measurements? id love to if you'd think it would help.

but i dont expect a lot from a 25k ford. sorry. prolly why im not mad. comparing it to an SN95 is like a biplane to a leer jet.

 

[jasonstang]

Judging from my 2016, nothing is made to insure QC.

 

[Ayabe]

My 2016 has all the same issues the you 2015 guys have, headlight switch rattle, rear passenger quarter rattle, cooled seats that aren't that great, etc.

I haven't actually checked super closely for alignment issues but I don't see anything egregious.

 

[FordTechOne]

how do you explain the misaligned panels everywhere on the car

or the fact that no one has gotten around to redoing the left rear quarter to bumper alignment thats plagued most cars since 2015?

oh yeah - aint care.

also my hood is misaligned (if you look at it straight the driver side is cocked up more).

there is almost no symmetry left to right on panel fitment


would you like me to go out and draw you a map of panel gaping around the car with measurements? id love to if you'd think it would help.

but i dont expect a lot from a 25k ford. sorry. prolly why im not mad. comparing it to an SN95 is like a biplane to a leer jet.

You purchased a mass produced vehicle with a starting price of $23,000. Panel alignment is not going to be the same as a $300,000 Bentley. Its just the way it is.

Most manufacturers (Ford included) constantly strive to make improvements during production. But when you have customers demanding their vehicles yesterday (see thread about forum member visiting Flat Rock) and have multiple cars rolling off the assembly line every minute, there isn't time to have a person hand inspect and measure each and every vehicle to ensure that the panel gaps are all perfect down to the millimeter. It's just not realistic.

All feedback is beneficial though. If you are dissatisfied with an aspect of your vehicle, bring it to the dealer and have them document it. This is how engineering gets the info that they need to make improvements.

For example, many owners reported that their rear seat cushions didn't cool well. If it was one or two people out of tens of thousands, its a perception issue. But when you have hundreds of reports, engineering takes notice and remedies the situation. Hence the reason that a TSB was released to address the issue and replace the blower assembly within the seat back.

 

[ultimate warrior]

You purchased a mass produced vehicle with a starting price of $23,000. Panel alignment is not going to be the same as a $300,000 Bentley. Its just the way it is.

Most manufacturers (Ford included) constantly strive to make improvements during production. But when you have customers demanding their vehicles yesterday (see thread about forum member visiting Flat Rock) and have multiple cars rolling off the assembly line every minute, there isn't time to have a person hand inspect and measure each and every vehicle to ensure that the panel gaps are all perfect down to the millimeter. It's just not realistic.

All feedback is beneficial though. If you are dissatisfied with an aspect of your vehicle, bring it to the dealer and have them document it. This is how engineering gets the info that they need to make improvements.

For example, many owners reported that their rear seat cushions didn't cool well. If it was one or two people out of tens of thousands, its a perception issue. But when you have hundreds of reports, engineering takes notice and remedies the situation. Hence the reason that a TSB was released to address the issue and replace the blower assembly within the seat back.

if i can tell the panel is not aligned right, the factory can as well. i can tell by looking at it.

if people looked at things they would see they are the way they are. when they dont see them or care then it gets passed down the line to the consumer that way.

this is taken from another forum, that is comprised of automotive photographers, brand designers, builders, consultants, and drivers.

I was super into the new mustang until i went to the dealer. The fit and finish was just garbage. The panel gaps were all over the place on the four that they had out. We went over and looked at a couple 2014s they had and the gaps were dead on. Must be the first year blues.


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Ha, yeah, good eye.

So that press event they were doing at Laguna, ALL the bumpers had a dip where it met the rear quarter. The guy prepping the cars had a grease pen and circled the same correction on every single one. Not sure if it's correctable, or something they just edit out in the video.

They're referring to 2015s. Here I am in 2016 with the same issue.

It's great that you want to have a good product but in order to do that someone needs to look at whats rolling off the line and then make actual, timely changes to said production - instead of relying on enthusiasts to complain enough that a problem sees attention. id rather stay quiet with my poorly lined panel then have some monkey at the dealer poke at it and hope for the best.

Still a pretty car though. I guess you could look at it as a value add - in the same way they charge more for glasses and cups at Crate and Barrel because they have purposefully injected imperfections to give them a more 'homemade' appearance. So you've got that going for you, which is nice.

 

[Ayabe]

You purchased a mass produced vehicle with a starting price of $23,000. Panel alignment is not going to be the same as a $300,000 Bentley. Its just the way it is.

Most manufacturers (Ford included) constantly strive to make improvements during production. But when you have customers demanding their vehicles yesterday (see thread about forum member visiting Flat Rock) and have multiple cars rolling off the assembly line every minute, there isn't time to have a person hand inspect and measure each and every vehicle to ensure that the panel gaps are all perfect down to the millimeter. It's just not realistic.

All feedback is beneficial though. If you are dissatisfied with an aspect of your vehicle, bring it to the dealer and have them document it. This is how engineering gets the info that they need to make improvements.

For example, many owners reported that their rear seat cushions didn't cool well. If it was one or two people out of tens of thousands, its a perception issue. But when you have hundreds of reports, engineering takes notice and remedies the situation. Hence the reason that a TSB was released to address the issue and replace the blower assembly within the seat back.

I've owned many cars, all were mass produced aside from my AMG, I've never had these issues. There's been Toyota's, a Lexus, a Suzuki(really), Honda's, Acura's, BMW's, an AMG MB, and a Subaru, none have had these issues.

I didn't pay 23K for my car, I paid ~40K, the guys buying 350R's are paying 60K, we are all in the same boat and it's not acceptable.

The dealership experience for me has not yielded positive results in getting these issues addressed, many others have experienced the same.

This is my first Mustang, my first Ford, shit my first American car period and I'm disappointed. It's a beautiful car, with a 'nice' interior and I really thought Ford had turned the corner. Even putting my gimped transmission aside - because shit happens - these others issues are just crazy.

While I get where you are coming from, I think there is a bit of Stockholm Syndrome going on here. Some diehard Ford owners are so easy to overlook or dismiss these issues with those same lame excuses. Just because your Daddy and Granddaddy bought only Ford's it doesn't mean you have to, the grass really is greener elsewhere. It only gets better if you demand it gets better or vote with your wallet. Just shrugging and saying 'Oh well, 'Merica' and buying another one in a few years is what enables these outcomes.

Go check out a cheap ass Camry, won't see these gaps, paint issues, rattles, etc, how many of those do you think Toyota cranks out?

 

[tolzer]

Agree there is no excuse for the problems other than they really don't care, its about sales and that's it. The Cooled seats as an example so no one caught that during testing?? and a year model later its still the same broke ass system even when Ford has other models that use the same setup and it works great. Rattles and Vibrations there is no excuse for a car built in 2015, I really like this car just was hoping it was better and as long as I don't driver over 49 mph its great!
Yes others have issues but as an example my wife's BMW has had zero issues in 4 years ,no rattles or vibrations . I used that as an example because the Mustang is in that price range now.

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