Overall FORD Quality

[MagneticRanger]

I've never had an issue that would have resulted in me being stranded somewhere but out of the 2 Rangers I've had so far....my 2 biggest quality issues to date...

1. HVAC box assembly replacement (XLT manual control system)....I had all the tell tale signs leading up to the failure....key on / turn off a (audible popping and cracking of the blend doors trying to do their thing) then finally no temp control no matter the position the temp dial was placed in - Resolved under warranty

(Dealer stated repair cost out of warranty would have been around close to the $3000 CDN mark)

2. Broken rear sliding window clasp - I would of assumed the plastic clasp was its own piece but alas it's actually molded into the glass itself...entire rear glass window was needed to be replaced to correct the issue - Resolved under warranty

(Dealer stated price for rear window assembly plus labor would of been close to the $2000 CDN mark)

2 issues both non powertrain related within a year and a half of ownership...still making payments but if I was out of warranty I would have had to cough up another approx $5K to correct the items I've mentioned.

I took advantage not shortly thereafter of the high (used vehicle) trade in value and traded up into a '21 Tremor XLT...no issues so far....I handle my rear window slider clasp like I'm holding a dove's egg.

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[CB750F]

Apart from the front brake hose rubbing on the front wheel to finaly make a
hole & lose brakes, no, all good. 1 yr of bumper to bumper warranty left.
That HVAC thing is a MY19 issue, right?

 

[AzScorpion]

Apart from the front brake hose rubbing on the front wheel to finaly make a
hole & lose brakes, no, all good. 1 yr of bumper to bumper warranty left.


That HVAC thing is a MY19 issue, right?

It was 2019 - mid 2020.

 

[Friday yet?]

It was 2019 - mid 2020.

Oh good! Well, I didn't mean it like that. Sorry.

What I meant was, I've already been sweating that potential problem and I don't even have my truck yet.

On the other hand you '19 guys did get all those extra parts... you could sell them to help pay for the HVAC repair. How much you want for your engine cover?

 

[AzScorpion]

Oh good! Well, I didn't mean it like that. Sorry.

What I meant was, I've already been sweating that potential problem and I don't even have my truck yet.

On the other hand you '19 guys did get all those extra parts... you could sell them to help pay for the HVAC repair.

How much you want for your engine cover?

lol I know what you meant. You have nothing to worry about except your wallet getting smaller.


How Much?

 

[Friday yet?]

I'll have to talk to the boss lady. That's a bit over my authorization (normally about $5.00 for things I deem "necessary") level.

 

[AzScorpion]

I'll have to talk to the boss lady. That's a bit over my authorization (normally about $5.00 for things I deem "necessary") level.

Just tell her it's an original off a 2019. The collectors edition. ?

 

[Cmar]

ok - do you make that assertation from personal experience or ? just wondering where Ford stands in comparison to other makers. As I've stated in the past I'd prefer a manual control system, have only had one auto HVAC system in a car (1991 Taurus SHO) that worked satisfactorily and back then it was a simpler single zone system, highly likely the dual zone increase the issues. The current one in my Ranger is ok but being temp sensitive I often have to adjust the temp level plus when driving in 100 F temps had to use the manual fan control to keep the cabin cool. I'll be really p*ssed if the thing sh*ts the bed at some point.

Sorry about the late reply I've been away. Yes indeed it is from personal experience. My own XLT has the dreaded actuator "crickets" clicking away under the dashboard -seem to be more prevalent in hot weather or else after the car has been parked in the hot sun. Can go for days or weeks without it and then have it EVERY drive for maybe a week . As they still seem to work albeit with the annoying noise, I'll leave it alone until they actually die as a couple are quite hard to reach without ripping out the dash. I also notice crawling under the dash with a light, that one of them has already had the access hole drilled into the steel brace over it, so I assume at least one actuator has already been replaced once before under warranty. (I bought my truck second hand) This is a VERY common complaint from Aus Ford Ranger and Mazda BT50 (Ranger clone sold here through Mazda here) owners. I also had problems with the blend door actuator in an Explorer I once owned. HVACS parts just don't seem to be Ford's strong suit. I have no issue with the climate control system itself, easy to use, and works perfectly well. Like you though when it's like 35 -40 deg C outside I find just setting it to say 21 deg doesn't always really quite do the job, better to turn it all the way down to say 16 deg or so and let it run continuously, for a while and then back it off a bit.

 

[Fitzmotor]

This slow decline in quality happened before when Jack Nasser was running things in the late 90's, I had a Ford FSE (field service engineer) tell me that what happened was when they got quotes from vendors for a part, they started going with the lower or lowest quote, where before they would go with middle range quote, as a result quality was lower and failure rate went up.

He flat out blamed it on Jack Nasser, Jack promised profits and did it anyway he could, spending less on parts to build vehicles, he also reduced warranty labor times, which just killed a tech's paycheck.

The rep said it will take a few years to cycle through, they will make revised parts for the failure prone ones and it will be fine.

I was bitching at him about the rash of wire loom problems we had, it seemed one in ten cars was an electrical problem that traced back to the loom.

 

[Cmar]

This slow decline in quality happened before when Jack Nasser was running things in the late 90's, I had a Ford FSE (field service engineer) tell me that what happened was when they got quotes from vendors for a part, they started going with the lower or lowest quote, where before they would go with middle range quote, as a result quality was lower and failure rate went up.

He flat out blamed it on Jack Nasser, Jack promised profits and did it anyway he could, spending less on parts to build vehicles, he also reduced warranty labor times, which just killed a tech's paycheck.

The rep said it will take a few years to cycle through, they will make revised parts for the failure prone ones and it will be fine.

I was bitching at him about the rash of wire loom problems we had, it seemed one in ten cars was an electrical problem that traced back to the loom.

I can believe that, if you pull an actuator apart it's really a pretty simple assembly, a cheap stepping motor, and a plastic worm gear and sector gear, and a couple of copper tracks with brushes so the assembly can sense open and closed positions and a splined axle extension to drive the flap. All in a plastic snapped together housing Maybe $10 worth of parts ( which Ford sell for $40 over here) So not all that much to go wrong. The ones in our cars are made in Thailand, probably because the Rangers for Oceania market are built there. Not sure where the US built ones are sourced from.

 

[Ranger X3]

I took the wife's Maxima to ford for the works package yesterday. While there, a bunch of the techs and managers were complaining about not being able to buy an $8 part from ford to fix a Bronco transmission. They were told to spend $5000 on a new one. They went on for ten minutes complaining about how the company is going down hill.

 

[Hickesy]

Touch wood, nothing major here, though every split second delay when I step on the gas has me worrying about the transmission after being on here lol. Paint quality ain't the best.

 

[Bob902]

I took the wife's Maxima to ford for the works package yesterday. While there, a bunch of the techs and managers were complaining about not being able to buy an $8 part from ford to fix a Bronco transmission. They were told to spend $5000 on a new one. They went on for ten minutes complaining about how the company is going down hill.

Back in my younger police days, we were going through transmissions like crazy in the crown vics. Ford kept tearing them down and rebuilding them. Finally, one of the techs tells me there is a $2 spring that will keep it from happening again. I told him to put it in. He said he wasn't sure how to write it up and if ford would cover it. I gave him $2 and said we never had this conversation. It shifted much firmer but no more trans rebuilds. He kept a bunch of the Springs on hand and as soon as a transmission went out, in went the spring. Problem solved. Since the crown vics were designed as a grandpa car, they made a really soft shift to them. But for what we did, just didn't work.

 

[DaveT]

lol I know what you meant. You have nothing to worry about except your wallet getting smaller.


How Much?

 

[DaveT]

I know quality and reliability are not exactly the same, but of the 15 least reliable autos, Ford is only #7. Mercedes is number 1.

https://www.topspeed.com/most-unreliable-car-brands-2023/#lincoln

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