Ford specialist has plan to overhaul culture, stop warranty claim finger-pointing

[Dgc333]

If you want to read a good book about the troubles the US auto industry has had I would suggest this one. It's a great read.

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[dtech]

If you want to read a good book about the troubles the US auto industry has had I would suggest this one. It's a great read.

thanks and here is one that I read back in the 90s regards the US steel industry , having spent some summers working in a Bethlehem Steel Plant that once employed 20k I wasn't surprised at the eventual collapse, a lot of people just didn't do a whole lot of work and they were well paid.

And the Wolf Finally Came: The Decline and Fall of the American Steel Industry

 

[puckdodger]

When I was on the line in at GM, warranty costs were a daily discussion item in the managers meetings. If a customer had a "walk home" experience in one of our cars they would review what happened, and then talk to the assembly operator in the hopes they could gain some insight into what might have happened during assembly, and try to find ways to ensure it wouldn't happen again. Sometimes the parts were not in spec, sometimes it was tooling issues but the idea was to build a better vehicle for the person shelling out big bucks. It wasn't a perfect system, but it did tell me that they wanted to ensure the customer had a s few problems as possible.

 

[MT2003]

I'm sure GM could be more laid back when they've gotten use to the tax payer keeping their doors open.

Taxpayer money being used to keep GM open 10 - 15 years ago is a big reason I don't even consider buying one.

 

[Dgc333]

When I was on the line in at GM, warranty costs were a daily discussion item in the managers meetings. If a customer had a "walk home" experience in one of our cars they would review what happened, and then talk to the assembly operator in the hopes they could gain some insight into what might have happened during assembly, and try to find ways to ensure it wouldn't happen again. Sometimes the parts were not in spec, sometimes it was tooling issues but the idea was to build a better vehicle for the person shelling out big bucks. It wasn't a perfect system, but it did tell me that they wanted to ensure the customer had a s few problems as possible.

That's one of the reasons GMs warranty costs are a 1/10 of what Ford's are.

 

[Clank]

That's one of the reasons GMs warranty costs are a 1/10 of what Ford's are.

I have also read elsewhere that getting things covered under warranty at GM dealers is not always easy. Being stingy with the warranty will also help lower costs.

 

[AzScorpion]

Well this newest article doesn't look so good.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/fords-self-inflicted-recalls-warranty-014315096.html

Worse than GM and even Apple

Eric Arnum, editor of Warranty Week, aggregates all warranty data for companies globally based on their federal regulatory filings. These costs include recalls.

"Ford was the largest claims payer of all in the U.S. last year," he said in April, "bigger than Apple, IBM, HP, Raytheon or even GM."

Arnum emphasized that all automakers have bad years with warranty and recall costs.

"It just so happens, it's Ford's turn in the doghouse," Arnum said this month. "I hope they recover from it. I expect they will."

More: 2021 Ford Expedition, Lincoln Navigator customers sue over unfixed fire risk

More: Ford recalls 350,000 SUVs including about 39,000 for engine fire risk

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Every year, automakers set aside a dollar amount for every car sold to budget for anticipated warranty repair costs, which include recalls. According to Warranty Week data, Ford towered over its competitors in per vehicle budgeting in 2021:

• Ford was $1,041 — up from $940 in 2020
• General Motors was $713, up from $498 in 2020
• Hyundai was $651, down from $1,171 in 2020
• Stellantis NV was $630, up from $576 in 2020.

Meanwhile, Toyota fell from $423 to $401 in its fiscal year that ended March 31, 2022, and Honda plummeted by more than half from $782 to $347 during the same period, reported June 23. The other companies have a fiscal year that ends Dec. 31.

Ford has budgeted more for these repairs since 2017, when it was just $342 per vehicle.

In fact, Ford’s $1,041 accrual rate per vehicle sold in 2021 was its highest level ever, or at least since warranty expense reports went public in 2002, Arnum said. Second place was 2020 when Ford was at $940 and third is $591 in 2019.

In recent weeks:

• Federal safety regulators opened an investigation into the 2021 Ford Bronco for "catastrophic" engine failure while driving after 32 reported experiences from customers.
• Ford stopped delivery of the 2022 Ford Mustang Mach-E in mid-June because of an outstanding recall related to the 2021-22 models losing power while driving. A fix is expected sometime in the third quarter, possibly as early as July.
• Owners of the 2021 Ford Expedition and 2021 Lincoln Navigator filed a lawsuit against Ford because their vehicles have been recalled for a defect that may result in spontaneous combustion and the company has not identified a solution yet.
• Ford notified regulators that the four-door 2021-22 Ford Bronco may have a defective child safety lock on the passenger side of the back seat, allowing young children to open the door from inside despite indicating otherwise.

Also, the past has come back to haunt Farley, who took the helm of Ford in October 2020 with the promise of improving quality.

Ford recalled 2.9 million vehicles earlier this month that may shift into different gears than intended or roll away while parked, specifically the 2013-19 Escape, 2013-18 C-Max, 2013-16 Fusion, 2013-21 Transit Connect and 2015-18 Edge.

 

[Bob902]

Well this newest article doesn't look so good.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/fords-self-inflicted-recalls-warranty-014315096.html

I saw yesterday where they are recalling explorers due to parts flying off?

 

[Bob902]

Sorry. Not a recall. Just an "investigation"

https://www.usatoday.com/story/mone...hield-parts-detach-investigation/11153878002/

 

[Trigganometry]

Honestly it’s not all on Ford and more on their suppliers and keeping the thumb on them for quality of materials and ISO standards that they themselves agreed to. If ether is deficient then we see the issues play out the way they are right now. So shortcuts to pad profit are not caught by quality incoming inspections. Or they’re aware and use them anyway. My guess on HVAC is plastics used were not to standards. They degraded fast and the failures were high. Doesn’t seem to be ongoing though. In the end it’s wack a mole warranty

 

[AzScorpion]

Honestly it’s not all on Ford and more on their suppliers and keeping the thumb on them for quality of materials and ISO standards that they themselves agreed to. If ether is deficient then we see the issues play out the way they are right now. So shortcuts to pad profit are not caught by quality incoming inspections. Or they’re aware and use them anyway. My guess on HVAC is plastics used were not to standards. They degraded fast and the failures were high. Doesn’t seem to be ongoing though. In the end it’s wack a mole warranty

But how much of this was Fords fault too? Trying to find a cheaper vendor and getting inferior parts because of it? Probably a combination of both but in the end it's Fords name on the vehicles and they're responsible for fixing the mess. Seems like the others have figured it out since their recalls and warranties are a lot lower.

 

[Jason B]

It's like with government. Contracts are rewarded to the lowest bidder in most cases. In cases where it's not, there's probably kickbacks from the contractor to higher ups in the company or gov.

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