MT-82 Class Action Lawsuit

[amburch08]

Update: Ford dealer called me and said my shifter wasn't up to spec and I talked to steeda again and they said that we produce 1000s of these and haven't heard of the issue you have. The dealer said they got it to work and shaved down some reverse lockout mechanism (rigged it) to get it to go into first and second. Personally dont feel save in my car anymore but theyre trying to pin that work of shaving it down on me to pay for. I'm pretty fired up atm.

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[Bikeman315]

Update: Ford dealer called me and said my shifter wasn't up to spec and I talked to steeda again and they said that we produce 1000s of these and haven't heard of the issue you have. The dealer said they got it to work and shaved down some reverse lockout mechanism (rigged it) to get it to go into first and second. Personally dont feel save in my car anymore but theyre trying to pin that work of shaving it down on me to pay for. I'm pretty fired up atm.

Wow, you have one hell of a dealer. They should have never, ever cut anything without your permission. At this point, honestly, cut your loses. Get your car out of that dealership and talk to Steeda about getting a replacement. Then go somewhere that guarantees their work.

 

[amburch08]

Wow, you have one hell of a dealer. They should have never, ever cut anything without your permission. At this point, honestly, cut your loses. Get your car out of that dealership and talk to Steeda about getting a replacement. Then go somewhere that guarantees their work.

I'm lost at what to even say at this point. I agree with the statement but these guys are trying to get me to pay for something I didn't agree to. Shouldn't be shaving anything down just to get it to work.

 

[shogun32]

So even though everyone likes to bash China these days they aren't responsible for the MT82 issues. Ford is.

The Chinese will cheat if given half a chance and the quality of output is directly correlated with strict oversight. Boeing has had to put a non-national on the floor to keep their suppliers from playing dirty and changing stuff in production because some Chinese wisenheimer thought he could save a few cents.

Are there quality products coming out of China? You bet. But also the Japanese in general don't tolerate lackadaisical manufacturing. Ford isn't Honda. If the MT82 was made in Thailand or Vietnam would it be any better? Probably not (statistically) because in both cases Ford is not doing adequate QC. There are cheats in the USA as well, but at least the old guard American worker didn't take liberties with design specs or fail to heat-treat, etc or have a rampant problem with "certified" (or not) raw materials being completely out of spec between batches.

China can and does do quality work IF you pay for it, and IF you demand it, and IF you ride their ass and check their work.

 

[EvilMerlin]

It appears that you really do not know a lot about manufacturing in China. True, just like anywhere else, you will find shoddy workmanship and cheap products. But major manufacturers have been building there for decades with no issues. I worked for a major Japanese electronics company that started building factories in China back in the late 90's. The facilities were first rate and the labor when properly trained were every bit as good as anywhere else in the Far East. And the US for that matter.

So even though everyone likes to bash China these days they aren't responsible for the MT82 issues. Ford is. I bet if our Mustang bodies were assembled in China the panel gaps would be a lot better than what we get out of Flat Rock.

Uh no. I've been dealing with Chinese manufacturing of engines and composites for nearly 10 years now in the Light Sport Aircraft world.

I will tell you right now, you send China plans and tooling to build something they will do EVERYTHING in their power to skimp, cut corners, reduce manufacturing time and ANYTHING else they can to save a dollar and reduce time to ship it to the states.

And thats in the AIRCRAFT industry one far far more regulated than the automotive.

For example. We needed a composite wing panel. We gave them every measurement, except at the trailing edge, for material thickness. So what did they do? They only used 4 layers of mats for the last 1/8th of the wing. You could literally squeeze it and break the entire wing.

Why? Because 4 mats over that area is about 1000 dollars less than using the standard 8 the rest of the wing uses.

Dimes to dollars that if you look at the materials China is using they are JUST in spec to pass inspection. Nothing more.

 

[EvilMerlin]

The Chinese will cheat if given half a chance and the quality of output is directly correlated with strict oversight. Boeing has had to put a non-national on the floor to keep their suppliers from playing dirty and changing stuff in production because some Chinese wisenheimer thought he could save a few cents.

Are there quality products coming out of China? You bet. But also the Japanese in general don't tolerate lackadaisical manufacturing. Ford isn't Honda. If the MT82 was made in Thailand or Vietnam would it be any better? Probably not (statistically) because in both cases Ford is not doing adequate QC. There are cheats in the USA as well, but at least the old guard American worker didn't take liberties with design specs or fail to heat-treat, etc or have a rampant problem with "certified" (or not) raw materials being completely out of spec between batches.

China can and does do quality work IF you pay for it, and IF you demand it, and IF you ride their ass and check their work.

Ahahahah! You literally said much the same thing I did... using much the same examples. I think we may work in teh same industry!

 

[Bikeman315]

Uh no. I've been dealing with Chinese manufacturing of engines and composites for nearly 10 years now in the Light Sport Aircraft world.
I will tell you right now, you send China plans and tooling to build something they will do EVERYTHING in their power to skimp, cut corners, reduce manufacturing time and ANYTHING else they can to save a dollar and reduce time to ship it to the states.
And thats in the AIRCRAFT industry one far far more regulated than the automotive.
For example. We needed a composite wing panel. We gave them every measurement, except at the trailing edge, for material thickness. So what did they do? They only used 4 layers of mats for the last 1/8th of the wing. You could literally squeeze it and break the entire wing.
Why? Because 4 mats over that area is about 1000 dollars less than using the standard 8 the rest of the wing uses.
Dimes to dollars that if you look at the materials China is using they are JUST in spec to pass inspection. Nothing more.

I hear you but that is not what I'm talking about. You left the selection of materials to them. Of course they are going to skimp. Do you think manufactures in other countries wouldn't do the same. The company I worked was totally vertical so no leaving part quality up to an outside source. The quality of our China made product was every bit the equal as to what was being made in Japan. Again this is a Ford issue not a country of manufacture issue.

 

[Bikeman315]

America can and does do quality work IF you pay for it, and IF you demand it, and IF you ride their ass and check their work.

One minor change.

 

[shogun32]

You left the selection of materials to them. Of course they are going to skimp.

so what do you call changing suppliers mid-stream after initial production and validation and without authorization, let alone documentation? Because somebody's nephew works for a different supplier and could give them a better deal? Even though the certifications are total lies? This is the kind of nonsense that is endemic in Chinese manufacture.

Materials certifications mean nothing. Incredibly a couple of big Japanese firms got caught "going Chinese" a couple years ago. Same with plastics. They'll just change the formulation by a couple percentage points and not tell anybody. And all of a sudden what used to be fine and had been signed off, is breaking all over the place. Some plant manager thought he knew better.

Does that crap happen here, sure. But even as stupid and ill-educated as the average American worker might be, they are/were not nearly as predisposed to playing fast and loose.

 

[shogun32]

One minor change.

Fair point and we've gone WAY down the 'give a damn' and 'quality is #1' scale as a country which used to be built into our cultural norms and expectations.

 

[Sig556]

I have had (4) MT-82's two of them seized in my 2011 and the last one (#3) lived until I traded it. My 2015 was Auto with zero problems. So I rolled the dice again when I bought my 2018. All I added was a Polyurethane shifter bushing to replace the rubber one and the Steeda clutch spring. This trans never missed a beat and was a pleasure to drive. I guess what I'm trying to say is over 7 years and 4 transmissions you would think FORD would have corrected the Chinese made transmission problem on cars that cost upwards of $40,000.000. MY 2020 GT is a 10 speed auto and I will not be going back to the Standard Box anytime soon.

 

[EvilMerlin]

I hear you but that is not what I'm talking about. You left the selection of materials to them. Of course they are going to skimp. Do you think manufactures in other countries wouldn't do the same. The company I worked was totally vertical so no leaving part quality up to an outside source. The quality of our China made product was every bit the equal as to what was being made in Japan. Again this is a Ford issue not a country of manufacture issue.

Quite simply. You are wrong.

 

[texaswrx]

I have had (4) MT-82's two of them seized in my 2011 and the last one (#3) lived until I traded it. My 2015 was Auto with zero problems. So I rolled the dice again when I bought my 2018. All I added was a Polyurethane shifter bushing to replace the rubber one and the Steeda clutch spring. This trans never missed a beat and was a pleasure to drive. I guess what I'm trying to say is over 7 years and 4 transmissions you would think FORD would have corrected the Chinese made transmission problem on cars that cost upwards of $40,000.000. MY 2020 GT is a 10 speed auto and I will not be going back to the Standard Box anytime soon.

The 2015 Auto was the 6R80, correct? I had that in my 2011 GT.

 

[EvilMerlin]

The 2015 Auto was the 6R80, correct? I had that in my 2011 GT.

2015 to 2017 used the 6R80 automatic. Since 2018 its been the 10R80

In earlier Mustangs when Ford moved to the Coyote (2011 MY), they moved to the 6R80.

 

[GT Pony]

so what do you call changing suppliers mid-stream after initial production and validation and without authorization, let alone documentation? Because somebody's nephew works for a different supplier and could give them a better deal? Even though the certifications are total lies? This is the kind of nonsense that is endemic in Chinese manufacture.

Materials certifications mean nothing. Incredibly a couple of big Japanese firms got caught "going Chinese" a couple years ago. Same with plastics. They'll just change the formulation by a couple percentage points and not tell anybody. And all of a sudden what used to be fine and had been signed off, is breaking all over the place. Some plant manager thought he knew better.

Does that crap happen here, sure. But even as stupid and ill-educated as the average American worker might be, they are/were not nearly as predisposed to playing fast and loose.

If I was in charge of overlooking manufacturing, it would be written in the contract that any manufacturer caught cheating (and they would be heavily over-looked to watch for it) would be paying large fines, and be replaced if deemed necessary. If someone can't do the job specified by all the engineering specifications, and they go changing all kinds of manufacturing specs and processes on their own, then they wouldn't be someone I would use. They would be paying for it and straightening out their act, or they would be replaced ASAP.

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