mobile-menu-icon
Ford Authority

Ford CEO Jim Farley Says 2025 Will Usher In More Quality Gains

After expressing regret for not focusing on improving quality sooner, Ford CEO Jim Farley set out to right that proverbial ship and achieve best-in-class results in that area over the coming years. Over the past year or so, Ford’s quality has indeed improved – at least, according to a few recent studies – but the automaker continues to deal with recalls and excessive warranty costs stemming from prior model years. Regardless, Farley is rather optimistic about Ford quality continuing to post improvements throughout this year, too.

A rear three quarters view of the 2025 Ford Explorer.

“We are so pumped up about this year. We’ve made a lot of progress on quality and cost last year,” Farley said at the Detroit Auto Show, according to the Detroit Free Press. “It’s our chance … to take our future in our own hands to perform like we should. But we’re focused on much more than recalls. We’re focused on short-term, three months in service and long-term powertrain durability. Our quality story will start to evolve this year. It will, of course, be on reducing our volume of recalls. But we’re increasingly focused on long-term powertrain durability.” Farley added that Ford is “investing in more robust transmissions and engines and different kinds of hybrid systems for better quality.”

This focus is already paying off, as the 2024 Ford lineup posted improvements in initial quality over prior years, with the refreshed Ford F-150, specifically, avoiding a dozen recalls thanks to the automaker’s new processes. Those include implementing new ways to spot quality issues before shipments of refreshed and redesigned vehicles begin, even if that means delaying that process.

The 2025 Ford Explorer Platinum driving in Mexico.

This improvement also showed up in J.D. Power’s 2024 U.S. Initial Quality Study (IQS), in which Ford ranked above the mass market segment average this time around after owners reported experiencing 179 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) – a big improvement of 21 PP100 when compared to the 2023 version of the same study. On top of that, the Ford Explorer ranked second among all mid-size SUVs in that same study in terms of individual models.

Brett's lost track of all the Fords he's owned over the years and how much he's spent modifying them, but his current money pits include an S550 Mustang and 13th gen F-150.

Subscribe to Ford Authority

For around-the-clock Ford news coverage

We'll send you one email per day with the latest Ford updates. It's totally free.

Comments

  1. Farkley doesn’t believe the swill he is spewing.
    But he hopes the public will.
    WE KNOW BETTER!!

    Reply
    1. Right on.

      Reply
  2. Sourced parts are probably the largest issue here. So testing has to be the number one issue. Of course total project costs are always a factor as well. But company’s like Ford have been doing this for awhile now, so they really should have a better handle on this.

    Reply
    1. When your only foci are EVs and boy-racer niche models, there’s just no time, LOL.

      Reply
      1. Not having a transmission or all that other engine garbage is bound to help Ford reliability. They need to focus on the future.

        Reply
  3. First of all Farley needs to be gone, yesterday! He spews whatever the stockholders want to hear. The BS push for EV’s above all else, now after the gate was open for years he wants to shut it! As a Ford dealership MECHANIC for decades and living firsthand through all of FoMoCo’s ups and downs this is the worst!!! These ecoboost engines and virtually all of the transmissions are problematic. Poor design, poor durability and so costly to repair. Can Ford right the ship ? Maybe. Instead of gadgets and fluff design and build affordable vehicles. They can do it. They just have to want to. Going broke is a good incentive!!!!

    Reply
  4. Yes, Ford was late addressing quality. But to the naysayers just remember, the Ford family calls the shots and they don’t want their name on substandard products.

    Reply
  5. Why did it take Farley over 4 years to figure out that quality matters? It might be improving, but that is from a very low point. In the meantime, Ford has lost thousands of customers forever, including some in my own family.

    Reply
    1. I agree for over 30 years I have bought new Fords only but the wife’s 2021 Bronco Sport Badlands was the last. From interior rattles to mysterious drive line noises and a infotainment system that gave everything from black screen to the radio coming on by itself and I might add her 2018 Edge Titanium had the same infotainment problems. I didn’t leave Ford, Ford left me

      Reply
  6. As another pointed out, supplier quality needs to be addressed immediately. Past performance doesn’t insure future quality. Ford needs to back up suppliers standing by to respond to failures. Considering the cost of failure, so-so suppliers simply can’t be tolerated.

    Reply
  7. To taught that build, hold and inspect is the solution to high quality products dates back to the pre-Deming era.
    Farley doesn’t have a clue and it shows in the products he produces.

    Reply
  8. It really sounds like Farley is offering everyone Kool-Aid but the only people who are drinking it is the people at Ford. As long as people are buying cars Farley doesn’t care about quality.

    Reply

Leave a comment

Cancel