Ford... What is your problem? GT500 owners, you need to read these quality control issues...

[IceAge]

I love all my Ford’s and honestly if it’s all about the fine details than it’s probably a foreign product which I love those as well. But damn these Ford’s lately IMO are better built than previous years. And I grew up A Chevy guy and Mopar guy but at this time in my life I really like the Ford products. And sure I have owned the Land Rovers, Audis, VWs, Toyota’s, Hyundai’s, BMWs and all of them have their Quirks. But all out American Muscle IMO is just so much fun

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[kilobravo]

Those roof stripes are not cheap.

 

[smoke_wagon_6g]

I love these folks that criticize auto workers from behind the wheel of an expensive new car. You're too loud.

Did you forget that all cars are built to a price point? Mustangs of any kind are unbelievable bargains. ADM is different, that's not Ford's profit. Why people bring up that sucker's tax I'll never understand.

Just where do these high expectations come from? A competitive Porsche, for example, is literally twice as expensive as a GT500. And wait until you need service on that Porsche! Your Ford dollar went into performance, not panel alignment. I bet the Porsche dealer also has better coffee in the waiting room.

Enjoy your car. If you are inspecting it with a magnifying glass and tape measure you may be missing the point.

 

[yosv0610]

I love these folks that criticize auto workers from behind the wheel of an expensive new car. You're too loud.

Did you forget that all cars are built to a price point? Mustangs of any kind are unbelievable bargains. ADM is different, that's not Ford's profit. Why people bring up that sucker's tax I'll never understand.

Just where do these high expectations come from? A competitive Porsche, for example, is literally twice as expensive as a GT500. And wait until you need service on that Porsche! Your Ford dollar went into performance, not panel alignment. I bet the Porsche dealer also has better coffee in the waiting room.

Enjoy your car. If you are inspecting it with a magnifying glass and tape measure you may be missing the point.

You are right. Absolutely, if you want perfect alignment and the best quality material, a Porsche is the way to go. I used to out first design and premium material until I fell in love with American cars. Now, there is no reason why people can't express their disappointment. It's not a $165K-$250K car, I know, but it will cost me $115K at the end of the journey. People care about their money, as should be, so you cant accept a car with a lot of paint issues, bad/terrible gaps in panels, and sometimes with issues like "secondary timing chain tensioner" just because a guy that was supposed to do his work by memory forgot that step. GT350 is a special car and owners won't like to go to the dealership every month. Believe me, we just can't keep quiet because if you don't scream Ford will do it worse. Why a $20K-30K car has a better alignment than a $78K car? The thing is we can't justify everything just by saying: "It's an American car, what else you can expect?" I would buy another Ford car, a Dodge car, or a Chevy car, but as a customer, I will expect a little more respect and effort in the product I'm buying.

 

[btown93]

I love these folks that criticize auto workers from behind the wheel of an expensive new car. You're too loud.

Did you forget that all cars are built to a price point? Mustangs of any kind are unbelievable bargains. ADM is different, that's not Ford's profit. Why people bring up that sucker's tax I'll never understand.

Just where do these high expectations come from? A competitive Porsche, for example, is literally twice as expensive as a GT500. And wait until you need service on that Porsche! Your Ford dollar went into performance, not panel alignment. I bet the Porsche dealer also has better coffee in the waiting room.

Enjoy your car. If you are inspecting it with a magnifying glass and tape measure you may be missing the point.

Based on what you said, why does my 30K 2017 Fusion have perfect alignment on every single panel, and unbroken paint at the fender bolts? It's disheartening to see touch up paint on those bolts on a car in the showroom with 10/20/30K markup. My S197, SN95, and Fox fender bolts were perfect. My GT350 had one fender that was untouched, the other had touchup paint on it. We are what, 8 years into S550 production?

 

[Tomster]

I love these folks that criticize auto workers from behind the wheel of an expensive new car. You're too loud.

Did you forget that all cars are built to a price point? Mustangs of any kind are unbelievable bargains. ADM is different, that's not Ford's profit. Why people bring up that sucker's tax I'll never understand.

Just where do these high expectations come from? A competitive Porsche, for example, is literally twice as expensive as a GT500. And wait until you need service on that Porsche! Your Ford dollar went into performance, not panel alignment. I bet the Porsche dealer also has better coffee in the waiting room.

Enjoy your car. If you are inspecting it with a magnifying glass and tape measure you may be missing the point.

High expectations, lol. Like a kinked supercharger cooling hose? Paint defects? Incorrectly routed electrical harnesses? I could go on. I would call you an idiot, but that may be against the rules.

 

[DarthMalice]

Wow...hard to see this kind of stuff on the flagship model. Totally agree that Ford's QC needs work...and the issue lies at the heart of UAW/workforce. No getting around that. My 2016 had all kinds of things that should never have passed QC. Visor mounting was cracked...the rubber seal around both side windows was atrocious...wish I still had pics. It never leaked but it looked like utter shit. Anyone with any pride assembling that vehicle would have not put that on the car. And when they see that...it should stop the line and get fixed like it does in a company that practices LSS or similar high quality standards. At the Mustang plant, it seems to be more of the "it is not completely @#$%ed up so just let it go" mentality. My Mach 1 is much better. Only thing I have found so far is I was missing a number of the pins that hold some of the rubber seals in the engine compartment down. Not a big deal but just damn sloppy. Dealer gave me a few and I put them in. This thread does make me wonder what might be lurking...I don't go digging around in my wiring/suspension and other areas.

 

[Bulldog9]

All the $h!t in this thread reminds me why I abandoned American Cars in the 80's and happily drove P cars and my M3 (well other than my Jeeps) for years.

My 2020 Bullitt #L3124 was my first Mustang and first Ford. Going on 2 years the fit, finish, performance of the car still amazes me. I tell people all the time that 'The only thing I don't like is that it is a Ford" Sure the paint and clear coat sucks, but the body panels are straight, nothing looks out of sorts, and I am one to poke and prod and look at everything. 13K and 2 years and I like the car more and more. No one is more shocked than I am, but the 40-50K I kept in my pocket makes me smile every day, and the long term cost of ownership is pennies on the dollar for what the Euro cars would have cost me.

I had an M3 for 20 years have had several 911-912's, still have a 76 (love of my life), and my wife has driven BMW or Mercedes the last 30+ years. I think it is INEXCUSABLE that Ford asks what it does for a GT500, and has such piss poor QC.

But hey, what to you expect when you hire workers from Detroit? (relax I jest, I jest)

 

[Tomster]

Another GT guy poking around in the 500 section. Bla bla bla.

 

[dpAtlanta]

Another GT guy poking around in the 500 section. Bla bla bla.

Not surprised…!

 

[Tomster]

Not surprised…!

I mean WTF? This issue was specific to the GT500s and the 2020 build year. Along comes some GT guy who is so far removed from the issue with his expert guidance and wisdom.

Just because it says mustang on their owners manual doesn't mean they have anything to do with Ford Performance vehicles (along with the issues that go hand in hand with a FP vehicle).

Gee, my car is a Ford. Maybe I should hang around the Ford GT forums and offer my advice.

They would bounce me out of there in 2 seconds flat.

At least I know my place.

 

[dpAtlanta]

At least I know my place.

Some do… some don’t.

I don’t offer unqualified advice in the GT500 threads or the Ecoboost forums since I have no qualified knowledge… I’ll help if I can if I’m not bloviating.
I’m a lowly GT350 guy… not even “R”worthy.

Know your place when giving technical advice is what my Grandfather taught me….!

 

[Tomster]

Some do… some don’t.

I don’t offer unqualified advice in the GT500 threads or the Ecoboost forums since I have no qualified knowledge… I’ll help if I can if I’m not bloviating.
I’m a lowly GT350 guy… not even “R”worthy.

Know your place when giving technical advice is what my Grandfather taught me….!

Eh.... GT350, GT500. Potatoe, Tomato.

Like I said to Bikeman, well thought out and pertinent advice is always helpful and appreciated when it is thoughtful and pertinent.

The issue of the topic was the build quality of the 2020 GT500. My complaints were valid. Others were as well.

I must say that after I got past the issues I discovered (and mostly took care of myself) the car has been a joy in my life.

Recently, a ford engineer got hold of someone I know and gave him a ration of crap over this thread. Ford reads this stuff and the reason for the thread is so that Ford gets their (stuff) together and fixes their mistakes. But as many know, the problem isn't the engineers, but the average Joe worker who does not care.

I happened to be friends with a guy on the floor at flat rock. The ones who genuinely care about the product are far outnumbered by the ones who don't.

I dont appreciate some guy coming along who tries to rationalize poor workmanship. There is no excuse period. I'm glad his bullitt GT was so great. My 500 had major issues and I was not alone. I fixed the issues and got over it. Now I am a happy 500 owner and the car is amazing.

Oh, and Ford, thanks for reaching out like that. That was nice of you.

 

[Tomster]

Follow up:

I reread a lot of the old posts pertaining to this thread. I stand behind my observations, but what has changed over time was the fact that the car is amazing. Once those initial quality issues were taken care of, the rest of the experience has been very favorable. I dont know why someone chose to resurrect this thread, but looking back over the years since it was originally posted, Ford seemed to correct many of the issues that were had. Covid was a F'd up time (and still is), but many of the issues are non repeating in the '21 model years.

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