Earlier today we talked a bit about some mysterious issues that are plaguing the 2020 Ford Explorer and 2020 Lincoln Aviator. Some of the Ford workers who are on the teams fixing the problems with the SUVs have stated anonymously that they fear Ford has lost track of quality control. The Ford workers are not coming forward publically out of fear they will lose their jobs, according to reports.
Detroit Free Press interviewed one Ford source who says that seeing a vehicle with 15 miles on it is unheard of at the factory. Vehicles tend to hit dealerships with around 4-10 miles on them from being tested for functionality and driven to and from trains or trucks for delivery.
aviator
The source says that 15 miles is unheard of, but the person also states that they have personally seen multiple 2020 Explorers and Aviators that have as many as 150-200 miles on them. The source said that one had been seen with 402 miles on it. The high miles before being sold to a consumer indicates that the vehicles have been driven extensively in testing and delivery to various locations as Ford tries to repair them.
The Ford workers have said anonymously that they fear Ford isn’t taking measures to fix chronic manufacturing problems. Managers are concerned about scheduling and meeting dealer expectations for the SUVs. UAW members are unhappy because the issues with the Explorer and Aviator will cut into their profit-sharing checks.
One source says that the number of units needing repairs is “quite high” noting that it started with 3,000 to 4,000 bad units and quickly went to 7,000 to 10,000 units. Some reports indicate the number of SUVs needing repairs could reach over 12,000. The workload was so high that Ford started to ship some of the defective SUVs to Roush for repairs to be made. It’s unclear if any of the issues stem from the recently revamped Chicago plant where the Explorers and Aviators are built.
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Comments
I’ve never been impressed with anything the Chicago plant assembled. Poor work force. Most are lazy.
what are the problems ? it might be a worker induced problem, if you can’t get a list and see the trend how do you stop it “?
FORD needs to shut down the assembly line and find the problem up front not after it has gotten out of the building.
What are the quality issues, poor assembly, poor design or component failure? It’s a broad area to say quality problems. Most companies have a “corporate secrets” policy, that is you cannot divulged information outside your company to anyone, including customers, unless it goes through proper channels. Essentially you do not want to give the competition a heads up. So those that say a fear of losing their jobs can be based on this policy but bringing issues up to you immediate management is part of anyone’s job. The UWA gives the workers a channel to vent their frustrations to bring it to the proper level of management for resolution. Most workers love their work and want to do good, when the immediate supervisor and management ignores workers concerns on the product they build, is a discredit to the survival of the company.
I say the problems are quality issues with outside suppliers. Manufacturers demand the lowest price for anything not manufactured in house. Lower contract prices mean lower quality. The supplier to meet lower prices switches production from Taiwan to Vietnam, etc., etc. and the new suppliers cuts corners, cheaper components and there you have it. I am convinced this is the problem.
The very best thing Ford could do is appoint a quailty control team…bring back Quailty Job 1….it will get them a better return than EV or Automous investing….ever who is in charge of quailty control right now needs replacing….got a Transit Tt 250 van 4 recalls…unreal….the only thing worse than having a old car or truck in the shop….is having to bring a new one!
Boy, you are so spot on. Here is Ford’s biggest problem, the F150. If truck buyers start turning away from the F150 due to quality and reliability problems Ford is done as a company.
It may be the assembly plant. My 2014 Fusion Hybrid was assembled September 22, 2013 in Hermosillo, Mexico, and in five years of ownership it had two recalls (door latch and steering bolt) covered at no cost by the dealer. The only other part replaced is the oil filter at each annual oil change. I get 54 MPG!
BTW, any vehicle assemble in the American continent is still “American built”. This includes Canada and Mexico.
I would rather have recalls(most are at no cost to the owner)then the company just not bothering and recalls effect all manufacturers on new vehicles and wear testing.
Not good at all. Quality must always be job one!
Wouldn’t taking them, fixing them and figuring out what happened to them before they reach customer’s hands be the definition of Quality Control?
At Ford Motor Company just as at GM and FCA, PRODUCTION is Job#1. Quality is a long way down on the priority list. Unless management wants to get serious about quality, these issues will only continue and continue to get worse. The #1 source of poor quality is the purchasing office. Vendor “123” might quote $XXX for a part that the component engineers have worked on with 123 to get it to a point where the engineers consider it to be top notch. Then the approval process for that part ends up with the purchasing people. They take everything that 123 did and schelp it to every competitor of 123 with a note that says “If you can beat 123’s price by X%, then you get the business”. So some company no one has every heard of cheapens the part up so that they can make money on it and presto, the purchasing guy is a hero. But the purchasing guy now washes his hands of the mess he’s created and passes it on to the assembly plants who have to figure out how to make this cheapened part work properly like the original design was meant to. I’m sure process engineers in assembly plants and manufacturing people in these same plants will all have thousands of versions of this hypothetical story. Except they will all be true.
I sold my EXPLORER ST even before my first year was even close. More like in 6 months or less. Thank Pete that prices were crazy as I got more than I paid ($3,000)
and that was to a dealer on a trade.
But the transmission was terrible…. Talk about rough shifting and downshifts were even worse. I will not keep a car with a bad trans. that’s new. No way, you’re just asking for more problems down the road.
I DID LOVE THAT ST, that puppy was fast. But I’m not about to get stuck. I DUMPED IT…
DUMB MAYBE, but after about a year… I did buy a MUSTANG GT…… I MISSED THE SPEED!
Ford does need to FIX QUALITY CONTROL!!!!! AND FAST!!!!!
Fingers crossed on the Mustang•••• SAME TRANSMISSION!!!! YIKES
Oh, by the way… I bought a 2022 Mustang GT••••
FORD, THE NEW 2024 IS UGLY••••• AND the dash is SUPER UGLY>>>>>>
What in the world did you do to our PONY car???????