Lemon Log

[FordService]

This afternoon when my stereo stopped working again, I thought it might be fun to chronicle all of the problems I’ve had with my Mustang so far, and to keep it updated as more things go wrong (until the car gets replaced). Of all of the cars I’ve owned over the last 40 years, this one has had the most problems - by a HUGE margin. Admittedly some of these issues are minor, but when taken in aggregate with the major issues, this complete quality FAIL is nothing short of mind-boggling. Perhaps this list will be food for thought for anyone that has not yet bought a Mustang. Feel free to add your own list of issues! Check back for hourly updates!!

And ... as others have posted up.
Engine light and stalling on decellearation.
Engine ticking.
Engine blowing-up.
Transmissions blowing-up.
Panel mis-alignments.
Rear window mis-alignment.
Chewed up rear brake rotors.
Cooled seats don't cool the backs, only the bottoms.
Rattles in the rear quarter panel area.

Let’s get this escalated for both of you, guys. Please PM me with your VINs, dealers, mileage, full names, and best daytime numbers.

It just keeps getting better....
Today I went to the post office to send a certified letter to Ford, as required when requesting a replacement vehicle under the Lemon Law. The postal clerk informed me that there was no such PO box in that zip code. Thinking I had maybe transposed some numbers, I double checked. This is what I found:

Here is the address posted on their website, (which is what I used):

And here is the address printed in the owners manual:

Now I suppose it is possible that the Customer Relationship Center could have two different PO boxes in different zip codes in the same city (I checked; both zip codes are in Dearborn). And I suppose it is possible that the two different PO box numbers could be only one digit off. The more plausible explanation, however, is that Ford Fucked Up Again. :tsk:

Typos in printed material are not unusual, but this time it looks like the typo is on their website. How could someone have not noticed this (and fixed it) before now???

Can FordService clarify this for us please? Is one of these addresses incorrect? And, most importantly, does the Ford Customer Relationship Center actually exist?

Yes, icarumba. Our CRC does exist. The P.O. Box in the owner’s manual is correct, but the zip is 48126. I’ll forward this information and get it corrected.

Deysha

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[Hogie]

My A/C doesn't get very cold either, but at least I am missing most of your problems. My Escape gets much colder at only partial cold settings.

 

[Chameleon]

Wow. Did yours have the shop rags too?

 

[icarumba]

Let’s get this escalated for both of you, guys. Please PM me with your VINs, dealers, mileage, full names, and best daytime numbers.


Yes, icarumba. Our CRC does exist. The P.O. Box in the owner’s manual is correct, but the zip is 48126. I’ll forward this information and get it corrected.

Deysha

Deysha - Thanks, but my CSM has already taken it as far as he can. I am now in arbitration with the BBB to get this disaster straightened out.

Regarding the typos...is there anything else you would like me to review for you guys? :lol:

 

[icarumba]

Wow. Did yours have the shop rags too?

Unfortunately, no...I could use some new shop rags!

 

[Ivabign596]

Deysha - Thanks, but my CSM has already taken it as far as he can. I am now in arbitration with the BBB to get this disaster straightened out.

Regarding the typos...is there anything else you would like me to review for you guys? :lol:

Dave, it's posts like yours that do have me concerned about buying a new Mustang. I realize not every car has issues, but I believe the percentage is high enough that it warrants concern. I'd also have to say the response from both Ford and the dealers isn't overly reassuring either.

I've seen and test driven cars that had semi major panel issues, squealing brakes and the highway vibration problem and when you point things out to the sales people they either give you a blank stare or insist they're all like that.

I also don't understand people that respond to issues by saying the buyer should fix it themselves. If I'm spending this much money on a new car I expect it to be right, and if there are problems the dealer and / or Ford will do whatever it takes to make me happy. They're not doing you a favor, they're just doing their job.

Anyway, I wish you the best of luck and I hope everything works out for you!

 

[RubyRed15]

If you're not concerned by now, you're either a fanboi or just not paying attention.

 

[icarumba]

Dave, it's posts like yours that do have me concerned about buying a new Mustang. I realize not every car has issues, but I believe the percentage is high enough that it warrants concern. I'd also have to say the response from both Ford and the dealers isn't overly reassuring either.

I've seen and test driven cars that had semi major panel issues, squealing brakes and the highway vibration problem and when you point things out to the sales people they either give you a blank stare or insist they're all like that.

I also don't understand people that respond to issues by saying the buyer should fix it themselves. If I'm spending this much money on a new car I expect it to be right, and if there are problems the dealer and / or Ford will do whatever it takes to make me happy. They're not doing you a favor, they're just doing their job.

Anyway, I wish you the best of luck and I hope everything works out for you!

Thanks for the kind words, my friend! :cheers:

Kudos for taking it slow and doing your homework; I know that I would be very concerned if I was getting ready to buy at this point, considering all of the information that is out there right now. Thanks to the issues raised on this forum by many early buyers, I was able to make a list of potential defects to watch out for when inspecting my car. Sadly, at that time I was unaware of the drive line defect, and it did not present itself on the test drive.

I totally agree with you that the onus is on Ford to fix whatever is wrong. Sure, I could drop a grand on getting a new aftermarket driveshaft installed, but I sure as hell am not going to. If a restaurant serves you a cheeseburger with a slice of rotten tomato on it, and then says "Chill dude..they're all like that", are you going to just say: "Oh, that's ok. I'll stop at the store on the way home and pick up a fresh tomato"??? Yeah...not happening.

I now honestly believe that Ford rushed a half-baked Mustang to market just so they could have a new model out for the 50th anniversary. I think it was a poor choice on their part to put out an underdeveloped product just so they wouldn't be embarrassed by missing the big birthday celebration. It looks like that lapse in judgement is now starting to come back to bite them in the butt.

And the defects are not even the worst part. The worst part is - as you mentioned - the "they all do that" attitude. First of all, they don't all do that; with regard to the drive line defect, I have personally driven two 2015s that were fine. Secondly, if Ford really believes that "they all do that"...well then, here's an idea:

Shut down the freakin' assembly line until you understand how to make cars that don't do that!

And the universally accepted excuse that "all new models are going to have problems in their first year" is only valid up to a point. Sure, that's the way it was in the olden days, but in an age where the car can be designed and tested in a virtual environment before the first prototype is built, bringing a product to market with major flaws is absolutely inexcusable. A little glitch here and there is inevitable and acceptable, but what we are seeing here is not. TWO recalls on the EB in the first few months of production? No. Grumpy Cat and I do not accept that. Both of those things should have been vetted during prototype testing.

Mazda is a tiny company compared to Ford, and yet all five of my Mazdas were free of major defects for the entire time I owned them. My last one was the best yet; the only problem of any kind I ever had with it was a minor one on a dealer-installed Mazda accessory.

Ironically, two of my Mazda 6s were built at the Flat Rock Assembly Plant, right on the same line as the last generation Mustang, back when Ford owned part of Mazda. I guarantee you that the line workers knew that if they did a half-assed job screwing together a Mazda, they were going to hear about it. It's a damn shame that a little bit of that Mazda pride didn't rub off on the Ford management.

So yes, it can be done. And yes, it can be done (profitably) on a sub-$30,000 car. All it takes is the desire to do it right, and the mindset that "good enough" is not good enough.

I really, really hope that somebody of responsibility at Ford is embarrassed enough by this ongoing epic QC fail to kick some ass and get this train wreck cleaned up. They have a real gem of a sports car here, and it just kills me to see it ruined by their "screw-you-we-already-have-your-money" attitude.

 

[icarumba]

If you're not concerned by now, you're either a fanboi or just not paying attention.

Absofreakinglutely.

 

[RubyRed15]

I really, really hope that somebody of responsibility at Ford is embarrassed enough by this ongoing epic QC fail to kick some ass and get this train wreck cleaned up. They have a real gem of a sports car here, and it just kills me to see it ruined by their "screw-you-we-already-have-your-money" attitude.

They should be fired. This is too big a travesty to continue with the current staffing. They have demonstrated their total lack of competence and incapability to manage high profile product lines and important decisions in a global marketplace, and only gutting the staff and starting over with people who understand the customer-centered ethic will do.

 

[Todd15Fastback]

They should be fired. This is too big a travesty to continue with the current staffing. They have demonstrated their total lack of competence and incapability to manage high profile product lines and important decisions in a global marketplace, and only gutting the staff and starting over with people who understand the customer-centered ethic will do.

What did I just read????

 

[RubyRed15]

:shrug:

 

[icarumba]

What did I just read????

He said:

They should be fired. This is too big a travesty to continue with the current staffing. They have demonstrated their total lack of competence and incapability to manage high profile product lines and important decisions in a global marketplace, and only gutting the staff and starting over with people who understand the customer-centered ethic will do.

Does that help? :lol:

 

[icarumba]

They should be fired. This is too big a travesty to continue with the current staffing. They have demonstrated their total lack of competence and incapability to manage high profile product lines and important decisions in a global marketplace, and only gutting the staff and starting over with people who understand the customer-centered ethic will do.

Precisely. The whole corporate mindset must change if they are ever going to shake their lousy reputation. All companies make mistakes from time to time, but companies like FedEx or Amazon will apologize to their customers, figure out what happened, and make sure it doesn't happen again.

On the other hand, Ford be like: "They are all like that...there is no problem...that's normal...you voided the warranty...we didn't do it...it's not our fault...it's not covered...squirrel! :eyebulge:

 

[GT Pony]

I now honestly believe that Ford rushed a half-baked Mustang to market just so they could have a new model out for the 50th anniversary. I think it was a poor choice on their part to put out an underdeveloped product just so they wouldn't be embarrassed by missing the big birthday celebration. It looks like that lapse in judgement is now starting to come back to bite them in the butt.

Since not all cars have the same issues (as anyone here reading this chat board knows), a problem usually boils down to two things:
1) Defective parts ... and/or
2) Poor production process.

You can have the best design and processes on paper, but if materials and parts aren't made per drawing, and hardware assembly isn't done per the right process (be it by robot or by human), your quality is going to suffer along the way.

Just like the squeaking break issue on the GTs and EB with the PP. Not all of them do it ... probably because there was some bad metallurgy or manufacturing process on the brake rotors for some reason. The thing is, Ford probably gets 90%+ of their parts from source vendors, so if there is a lack of QA on parts and assemblies that are made by a 2nd party vendor, then Ford is stuck with the problem when it shows up on the car in the customer's hands. There is a lot or risk in outsourcing parts unless you have a way to ensure you will be receiving quality parts from vendors.

These cars are made so fast (it's like 300~400 per day) that it's no wonder there can be some production issues (ie, body panel alignment for instance where human finesse is required). If the line was slowed down just a little things like that could probably be improved tremendously.

It's unfortunate that some cars have a myriad of issues, while others seem to be almost ideal. Guess that's why warranties exist as well as lemon laws. And I do agree that Ford and other auto makers seem to put up as much fight as possible before admitting there is a problem. As in the squealing front brake issue, they finally wrote a TSB and came up with new parts to fix the problem. Obviously on issues that are effecting many owners they will do something like a TSB or even a recall if it's a safely issue. But on very isolated problems all they can do is fix it under warranty ... if you can convince them it's a real problem.

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