Delivery Date Frustration

[GT-T]

I don't even know where to start with my day dealing with the vehicle...

Today was my EDD but over the past 4 days COTUS reset my vehicle back to Awaiting Transport from In Transit. Contacted Jeff and he said not to worry the site had been acting up. Didn't think much of it and took the optimistic route.

So around noon today I get a call from my dealer saying "CALL ME ASAP". Got a little excited thinking she was finally in but unknowingly I was making one of the most disappointing return calls I've made during the ordering process. I was told that the car was on a truck in Atlanta (30 miles from the dealership) and they were not going to be able to release the car because "They forgot to install the airbags". :eyebulge::frusty::headbonk:addle:

My dealer assured me that this was a mistake and that the transport company would have no way to be able to tell if they had been installed or not and must be a system error and that the car will be released later in the day once everything is sorted out. Getting out of work at 5 I gave my dealer a call to see what was going on. He notified me that Ford did forget to install the airbags and the car would have to be sent back to the dealer to have them installed and have it shipped back to the dealer.

I asked him is this was a common occurrence, thinking that this is the craziest thing I've ever heard, he told me that their Inventory Manager had the same situation with a Taurus last year and the process to have the airbags installed and redelivered took 4 months.

This is where i sit at this point, knowing that last week was the last chance to order a 2015, I have to assume at this point that I would be the absolute last 2015 delivery if this same time frame were to occur. Very frustrating and I'm not sure what kind of route I should be taking at this time.

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[Gdyup50]

Maybe you should cancel your order and prepare to order a 2016....it seems like you might not get yours until the 2016 comes out anyway

I don't even know where to start with my day dealing with the vehicle...

Today was my EDD but over the past 4 days COTUS reset my vehicle back to Awaiting Transport from In Transit. Contacted Jeff and he said not to worry the site had been acting up. Didn't think much of it and took the optimistic route.

So around noon today I get a call from my dealer saying "CALL ME ASAP". Got a little excited thinking she was finally in but unknowingly I was making one of the most disappointing return calls I've made during the ordering process. I was told that the car was on a truck in Atlanta (30 miles from the dealership) and they were not going to be able to release the car because "They forgot to install the airbags". :eyebulge::frusty::headbonk:addle:

My dealer assured me that this was a mistake and that the transport company would have no way to be able to tell if they had been installed or not and must be a system error and that the car will be released later in the day once everything is sorted out. Getting out of work at 5 I gave my dealer a call to see what was going on. He notified me that Ford did forget to install the airbags and the car would have to be sent back to the dealer to have them installed and have it shipped back to the dealer.

I asked him is this was a common occurrence, thinking that this is the craziest thing I've ever heard, he told me that their Inventory Manager had the same situation with a Taurus last year and the process to have the airbags installed and redelivered took 4 months.

This is where i sit at this point, knowing that last week was the last chance to order a 2015, I have to assume at this point that I would be the absolute last 2015 delivery if this same time frame were to occur. Very frustrating and I'm not sure what kind of route I should be taking at this time.

 

[Timo5.0]

I'm no where near in your shoes but prefer done about five weeks ago. Called yesterday and the dealership hadn't even had an allocation yet. Kind of okay with a delay late into 2015 but do wonder how long this will drag out.

 

[foghat]

Aren't these things on an assembly line? How do you forget the air bags? And if you do forget them, how does this come to light only after the vehicle has been put on a truck?

Why can't the dealer you are picking the car up from install them? I am not understanding why this wouldn't only be a day or so delay?

 

[Timo5.0]

Safety, liability, and lot traceability most likely. Pretty bad drag but that'd be my guess.

 

[mtorzews]

Something seriously wonky here. Contact fordservice here and see if they can help.

 

[foghat]

Safety, liability, and lot traceability most likely. Pretty bad drag but that'd be my guess.

So when air bags go off in an accident, the car needs to be shipped back to the manufacturer to get them reinstalled? I find it hard to believe the dealer can't install them. But, I know nothing when it comes to something like this.

 

[thehunterooo]

What the heck, how do you not install airbags? Sorry if anyone here works at the plants, but my goodness what the heck are these people doing half the time, some of these cars come out butchered, Ford must have cut the QC out completely. I feel bad for you OP, three months in and then this, what a bunch of BS.

 

[Mustang1260]

So when air bags go off in an accident, the car needs to be shipped back to the manufacturer to get them reinstalled? I find it hard to believe the dealer can't install them. But, I know nothing when it comes to something like this.

Blame it on lawyers.....
Most cars that have air bags going off are totaled..but that is another issue - but ford is off the hook at that point with liability shifted to the dealership doing the re-install on a used (damaged) car..

The issue here is product liability of the car manufacturer. If there is a later accident and an airbag malfunctions Ford will have significant liability issues, including insurance coverage issues. Ford doesn't own dealerships. Airbags are a critical safety item....selling the car new with a known defect is a dangerous game that Ford will not want to play. Maybe the dealer gets them installed correctly and maybe it doesn't--Ford ain't gonna run the HUGE liability risk.

 

[foghat]

Blame it on lawyers.....
Most cars that have air bags going off are totaled..but that is another issue - but ford is off the hook at that point with liability shifted to the dealership doing the re-install on a used (damaged) car..

The issue here is product liability of the car manufacturer. If there is a later accident and an airbag malfunctions Ford will have significant liability issues, including insurance coverage issues. Ford doesn't own dealerships. Airbags are a critical safety item....selling the car new with a known defect is a dangerous game that Ford will not want to play. Maybe the dealer gets them installed correctly and maybe it doesn't--Ford ain't gonna run the HUGE liability risk.

Makes sense. Thanks for proving I was indeed correct in that I don't know what I'm talking about when it comes to this stuff.

 

[GoBlues38]

in a modern assembly line...how the F^#% does a a major safety system not get installed. Much less pass the "start up" inspection.

Something is not right.

Did the transport company drop it off the truck? And as someone said, the transport company would not make that call. if the airbag lights were going off, they should have never put it on the truck to start. Much less find out, 30 miles away from delivery.

 

[ktp1598]

That was a BS excuse by a person thinking you were not very knowledgeable in cars. I could say a carb was missing the float bowl and a lot of people would have no idea what I was talking about. Something else has happened. I'd say there's a chance they sold it to someone else for more profit or they really have no idea what happened and were just trying to come up with something. I work on an assembly line. No ******* way the airbags weren't installed. Huge trim pieces would be missing. The only way would be a supplier saying maybe one would be missing from a seat or something. Even then there'd be a warning on the dash that wouldn't go away. Someone's messing with you. Search cities away if one's not local and fly to get it. Hell of a good ride home!

 

[Gdyup50]

You work at the Toyota plant??

That was a BS excuse by a person thinking you were not very knowledgeable in cars. I could say a carb was missing the float bowl and a lot of people would have no idea what I was talking about. Something else has happened. I'd say there's a chance they sold it to someone else for more profit or they really have no idea what happened and were just trying to come up with something. I work on an assembly line. No ******* way the airbags weren't installed. Huge trim pieces would be missing. The only way would be a supplier saying maybe one would be missing from a seat or something. Even then there'd be a warning on the dash that wouldn't go away. Someone's messing with you. Search cities away if one's not local and fly to get it. Hell of a good ride home!

 

[ktp1598]

Ford KTP

 

[Trailhiker]

I would be AMAZED if that was the actual problem. Something else must have happened. The air bag is too big a part to not get installed. Usually in the manufacturing world, things like screws or small parts may get missed. Please let us know what the final result was!

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