Here’s Why Ford Has Been Issuing So Many Recalls For Incorrect Repairs

[sinbuster007]

so im waiting on a recall from ford for my 23 bronco...but nothing as of yet....other then the "first" software update for the battery thing...which i have not done.... told that a fix was coming but was waiting for the "official" letter before i did that....and any other recalls i get between now and the next oil change....

i know all MFG's have issues but honestly this might be my last ford. my service dept is great but the vehicles are starting to really "fall off the cliff" for build and quality.
was looking at the new Honda's but i am very hesitant since i have ONLY owned Fords all my life.
My parents have had Chrysler products and complain all the time about the stuff going wrong....and working at the local Govt we have Dodge/Chrysler vehicles and they are totally trash....(but what do you expect for low bid?)

fortunately the "only" MFG so far that has something im interested in is Honda....
but time will tell....im not in the market just yet but if Ford keeps this up it might be hard pass next time......

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[sajohnson]

so im waiting on a recall from ford for my 23 bronco...but nothing as of yet....other then the "first" software update for the battery thing...which i have not done.... told that a fix was coming but was waiting for the "official" letter before i did that....and any other recalls i get between now and the next oil change....

i know all MFG's have issues but honestly this might be my last ford. my service dept is great but the vehicles are starting to really "fall off the cliff" for build and quality.
was looking at the new Honda's but i am very hesitant since i have ONLY owned Fords all my life.
My parents have had Chrysler products and complain all the time about the stuff going wrong....and working at the local Govt we have Dodge/Chrysler vehicles and they are totally trash....(but what do you expect for low bid?)

fortunately the "only" MFG so far that has something im interested in is Honda....
but time will tell....im not in the market just yet but if Ford keeps this up it might be hard pass next time......

All the recalls are discouraging.

Loyalty is good, but my experience has been that when it comes to mfrs it's rarely a two-way street.

All else equal, of course I'd 'buy American', but while that was easy 50+ years ago, there are now many "foreign" cars made in the USA (including Honda) -- and many "American" cars made in other countries, in whole or in part. Of course the BS is made in Mexico.

With that in mind, consumers should buy what makes sense for them.

Honda looks good here:
https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/advice/most-american-cars
https://www.cars.com/american-made-index/

Honda beats Ford and GM for domestic content!:
https://kogod.american.edu/autoindex/2024

 

[Bronco II]

so im waiting on a recall from ford for my 23 bronco...but nothing as of yet....other then the "first" software update for the battery thing...which i have not done.... told that a fix was coming but was waiting for the "official" letter before i did that....and any other recalls i get between now and the next oil change....

i know all MFG's have issues but honestly this might be my last ford. my service dept is great but the vehicles are starting to really "fall off the cliff" for build and quality.
was looking at the new Honda's but i am very hesitant since i have ONLY owned Fords all my life.
My parents have had Chrysler products and complain all the time about the stuff going wrong....and working at the local Govt we have Dodge/Chrysler vehicles and they are totally trash....(but what do you expect for low bid?)

fortunately the "only" MFG so far that has something im interested in is Honda....
but time will tell....im not in the market just yet but if Ford keeps this up it might be hard pass next time......

I have owned only Fords and had bought only Fords for 30 plus years. We bought my wife a 2018 Edge Titanium and we had continuous problems we the infotainment system the module was replaced several times never fixed it then we traded for a 2021 Bronco Sport Badlands. We had interior rattles almost from day one. The infotainment system started having problems, the radio would come on by itself the screen would not come on at startup and would stay out until the next time you drove it, it would never do it while the dealer had it it never got fixed. It began to have drive line noises that the dealer could never find and the wife got worried she was going to get stranded so we traded it off with 36k miles and got a 2024 Honda Passport Trailsport. The build quality alone is light years ahead of Ford we've had it just over a year now and still no interior rattles at 16k miles. I was so impressed I traded my 2019 Ranger for a Honda Ridgeline Trailsport and I love it. Go Honda.

I want to make this clear I didn't leave Ford, Ford left me.

 

[hellb0y]

I had the same thought as you but then what would propel Ford to take action

The real issue is with the quality, cost cutting and drum beat to make cheaper parts which every manufacturer does … why is Ford not doing as well as the top 5 auto manufacturers?

you are missing a key component….engineering.

Many automakers go after the same suppliers, often times one supplier is building the same kind of components for a bunch of automakers…

There are key differences, for example…Toyota has top engineers that design parts that are simple but strict requirements for quality and performance, they are not afraid to design the best part first and then think about cost later.

Ford really needs to fire all of their engineering department and rebuild them with top talent…same can be said about their unionized workforce - they make so many mistakes, it’s embarrassing….

Overall, most of us understand why the big 3 went to Detroit 3….and continue to lose marketshare.

 

[Dude]

Ahhh engineers always the scapegoats

In reality engineers are constrained typically by management direction and morale suffers during the periodic de-staffing cycles like recently when the Ford CEO stated Ford had too many engineers

Your option could be correct but I have my doubts and see far more likely reasons for the issues Ford has

Ford has engineers all over the world and I bet employees many of the brightest engineering talent

 

[hellb0y]

Ahhh engineers always the scapegoats

In reality engineers are constrained typically by management direction and morale suffers during the periodic de-staffing cycles like recently when the Ford CEO stated Ford had too many engineers

Your option could be correct but I have my doubts and see far more likely reasons for the issues Ford has

Ford has engineers all over the world and I bet employees many of the brightest engineering talent

I mean, Farley isn’t wrong - Ford has a higher number of engineers than other automakers….even Toyota, and Toyota is a much bigger world-wide company, where as Ford only sells in a few markets. This is yet another symptom of an engineering problem - too many cooks in the kitchen trying to do things in different ways.

I don’t disagree though - management does play a role as well…

 

[Bill G]

I mean, Farley isn’t wrong - Ford has a higher number of engineers than other automakers….even Toyota, and Toyota is a much bigger world-wide company, where as Ford only sells in a few markets. This is yet another symptom of an engineering problem - too many cooks in the kitchen trying to do things in different ways.

I don’t disagree though - management does play a role as well…

As do the accountants — low bid for a part is not always a good deal

 

[Dude]

Here’s a better explanation about what happens in engineering (not Ford .. it’s about GM)

Get a few cups of coffee ready ... It’s an hour+ video but very enlightening

https://www.broncosportforum.com/forum/threads/not-a-ford-but-gm-tech-video.16222/post-255971

 

[Arcee]

<Seth Meyers> "Back in my day, we worked 18 hours a day. If we were lucky we got 4 hours of sleep -- and we LIKED it!"

Older generations have been criticizing younger ones since the beginning of time.

That said, now that I'm approaching SS age...all of the kids today are lazy slackers!! In all seriousness, I try to be objective but it does seem like younger people are less interested in working than my friends and I were at that age. We baled hay; worked at an egg farm; installed fences and aluminum siding; and worked on an aqueduct construction project where we got paid $1/hour extra if we didn't get injured!

Flipping the script -- we often hear, "Americans won't do those jobs!" That leaves out the most important part: "Unless the pay and benefits are reasonable."

Maybe the pay and benefits at assembly plants are reasonable, IDK. But if they don't pay very well, that could explain the high percentage of stoners.

I have been in the workforce now for almost 40 years. While I agree that us "older" workers are cut from a different cloth, I have been relatively impressed with the quality of the younger workers at my current company [maybe my company's recruiters are just exceptional.] They are very conscientious, quick learners, and productive. While I tend to agree that they are a little over sensitive to stress and high volumes of work during peak times, they do get their work done and with an extremely high degree of accuracy. Their willingness to adapt to change, however, can present some challenges.

 

[Arcee]

I have owned only Fords and had bought only Fords for 30 plus years. We bought my wife a 2018 Edge Titanium and we had continuous problems we the infotainment system the module was replaced several times never fixed it then we traded for a 2021 Bronco Sport Badlands. We had interior rattles almost from day one. The infotainment system started having problems, the radio would come on by itself the screen would not come on at startup and would stay out until the next time you drove it, it would never do it while the dealer had it it never got fixed. It began to have drive line noises that the dealer could never find and the wife got worried she was going to get stranded so we traded it off with 36k miles and got a 2024 Honda Passport Trailsport. The build quality alone is light years ahead of Ford we've had it just over a year now and still no interior rattles at 16k miles. I was so impressed I traded my 2019 Ranger for a Honda Ridgeline Trailsport and I love it. Go Honda.

I want to make this clear I didn't leave Ford, Ford left me.

I have been considering a Bronco Sport for a couple of years now, or possibly a new Explorer. They keep coming up on my short list of new vehicles.

My previous Ford experiences has been with two Fords, both purchased new. First was a Ford Explorer. It spent several weeks in the shop for a mysterious noise in the body somewhere. After numerous repair attempts, an engineer was called in. They determined the frame wasn't properly welded at the factory, causing the bottom of the B-pillar to "float" and smack the top of the frame going over bumps. They welded and refinished it and that solved that. Then it started developing interior noises, had numerous brake issues, and other problems.

Traded the Explorer for a Ford Focus. The Focus was fine for the first several months, but started developing interior rattles and a very odd vibration around the driver's door. The dealer kept the car for a few days and determined the door noise was the sound of the door vibrating in the frame due to "normal" unibody flex. No remedy needed. After they replaced some interior trim pieces they literally destroyed in the process, I got the car back. I put a strip of DynoMat sound deadening along the inside top of the door and it pretty much stopped the noise. A few months later the check engine light would start randomly going on and going off. I had enough and traded it.

The more I read about ongoing issues, it sounds like Ford hasn't changed much over the years. Might be time to look elsewhere.

 

[sajohnson]

I have been considering a Bronco Sport for a couple of years now, or possibly a new Explorer. They keep coming up on my short list of new vehicles.

My previous Ford experiences has been with two Fords, both purchased new. First was a Ford Explorer. It spent several weeks in the shop for a mysterious noise in the body somewhere. After numerous repair attempts, an engineer was called in. They determined the frame wasn't properly welded at the factory, causing the bottom of the B-pillar to "float" and smack the top of the frame going over bumps. They welded and refinished it and that solved that. Then it started developing interior noises, had numerous brake issues, and other problems.

Traded the Explorer for a Ford Focus. The Focus was fine for the first several months, but started developing interior rattles and a very odd vibration around the driver's door. The dealer kept the car for a few days and determined the door noise was the sound of the door vibrating in the frame due to "normal" unibody flex. No remedy needed. After they replaced some interior trim pieces they literally destroyed in the process, I got the car back. I put a strip of DynoMat sound deadening along the inside top of the door and it pretty much stopped the noise. A few months later the check engine light would start randomly going on and going off. I had enough and traded it.

The more I read about ongoing issues, it sounds like Ford hasn't changed much over the years. Might be time to look elsewhere.

While all mfrs have problems, there is a big spread between the most and the least reliable.

The last I looked, Ford was somewhere in the middle.

To be honest, while there is a lot to like about the BS (particularly the BL) it was my wife's 'turn' to get a new car, and she really liked/likes the appearance of the BS. There are a few other SUVs with a similar boxy look, but most are 2-3x the cost. There really was no practical option to the BS BL.

If I was buying for myself, I'd get something different, but that's for mostly subjective reasons.

FWIW, at least initially, CR rated the BS "Very Good" for reliability, so that eased my concerns somewhat. Two days after we took delivery, the reliability rating fell off a cliff. OK, more than 2 days, but the reliability did drop dramatically -- presumably due to all of the recalls (the majority of which did not affect the BS BL).

While recalls should definitely be taken into consideration, they are in a different category than random unpredictable failures. A recall means that while there is an issue, it will be corrected and (usually) no longer be a concern.

Subaru has a good rep for reliability. Unfortunately, my 2002 WRX had multiple recalls early on -- 2 were potentially serious (raw fuel spraying onto the engine and sudden partial brake failure). Definitely points off, but once the problems were corrected they never reoccurred and the WRX has been very reliable ever since.

 

[Dude]

#1 again

 

[jkernitzki]

#1 again

“I’m feeling much better!” “No, you’re not.”