Giving up on Ford - too many problems, need suggestions

[dishdude]

Originally Posted by edyvw

So, OP threw bomb in, and left

Would you expect anything else?

 

[FT92]

honda / toyota

 

[Cujet]

Ford does make good pickup trucks. I own 3 and all have been stellar. In fact, I may purchase another. My newest one, a 2018 4x4 Super Crew with the 2.7EB is near perfect in every way. Love it. Rented a Lincoln MK-Z a couple days ago. I'd never purchase one as it drove poorly and was less pleasant than the GMC Acadia I rented. I have no idea if the Acadia V6 AWD is a reliable vehicle, but I really enjoyed driving it and it returned good MPG. I do agree with the dislike of the previous generation Explorer. I've not driven the 2020.

 

[madRiver]

Palisade/Telluride(excellent) are in the dealer overprice stage and will never hold the value. Excellent vehicles though. The Jeep Gladiator went through a period of dealer overpricing but now can be had at discount as demand met. I'd wait till Pallisade/Telluride simmer as we are talking under a year likely. Upside top is they sort all the first year bugs.

 

[Ethan1]

Originally Posted by JOD

Originally Posted by tig1

I have not had that experience with my Ford Fusions. The 2018 has 85K and the only repair needed was the timing chain re-sealed at 59K. Nothing else so far.

you sound like most VW owners: "I've only replaced 4 window regulators so far and a few coil packs in the last 40K--it's been great!"

Gotta love a good ol' Mk4 joke. Except VW is on Mk8 now.

 

[madRiver]

Originally Posted by 14Accent

The VW Atlas has gotten atrocious initial quality reviews, and I don't condone the purchase of any German vehicle (yes, I'm biased because I worke a win to me!

Atlas I am guessing will have average or better reliability within a year or so. Brand new vehicle built only in USA and VW recently tends to sort their problems. The US spec Passats rolling out of same factory are decently reliable. That all being said the dated VR6 is thirsty.

 

[Chris Meutsch]

Originally Posted by miden851

Get a Toyota 4Runner and take it to the ground...

This.

 

[jcartwright99]

The OP is the ultimate Troll. I hate XXXX because x, y, and z. What should i do? Everyone piles on with anecdotal stories. Go buy a Pallisade or Telluride and be the guinea pig. I wouldn't want to pay MSRP or more for it though, which seems like some are doing (which is insane).

 

[Railrust]

Originally Posted by Skippy722

Originally Posted by Railrust

I've seen some rusted hoods on newer Explorers. Quite shocked actually. I'll tell you what, I wouldn't trust any of them right now...Ford, GM, Chrysler. I'm seeing issues with all of them. Just this week I've seen three new/newer Silverados starters fail (before 35,000 miles). I've seen dodge rams with exhaust manifold leaks, camshaft failures. I've seen Jeep Grand Cherokee's with rotted transmission pans, less than three years old. Kia and Hyundai's with massive oil consumption. GM too. The automotive industry actually seems to be taking a step back with some of the "new technology" they've implemented. Direct injection has changed the game. Cost cutting has always been there, but now they're also trying to squeeze fuel economy into federal regulation. And it's hurting them.

The 8 speed transmissions in the 2014+ models have a plastic pan though.

Ok, was it the 2010-2014 that had the grey/white painted pans that rotted through?

 

[metroplex]

Finally read all the informative responses. My 1981 Third, 1989 E150, 2000 Crown Vic, and 2007 Mustang GT were probably the most problem free vehicles I've ever owned and driven. Kicking myself for selling the 07 GT. 2014 SHO, trunk rubbed the rear quarter panel, hood sat lower at one corner than the other, got a weird howling noise the faster I drove, and turbos kept spitting oil. Saw over 12 SHOs at work with the same exact body panel issues at the same locations. Thanks Chicago Assembly. 2017 Fusion Sport, lost 2 tires due to pinch flats thanka to 235/40R19 Badyear Factory tires. Lost a sunroof at the dragstrip, glass completely separated from frame, power windows rolled down by themselves, trans fluid leak, engine oil pan leak, PTU leak etc... Under 15k miles. Oil pan leak is common to any Ford's running plastic pan like the 2.7/3.0 and the window issue required a DDM and PDM reflash. Dealer wanted me to leave car for a week and schedule appt 4 weeks in advance. Commonplace for Ford dealers in the area. 2018 Explorer under 10k miles. Rear door misaligned and sticking out, hood paint is bubbling. Hear that the only solution is replacing the hood due to iron contamination and can't just be repainted. No gas smell but I hear that is due to the manifolds cracking. I run a CO detector just in case. I really liked the way the XLT drives. i get 18 to 19 mpg on average. If I had gotten the 2.3 ecoboost they would have used a different PTU that won't overheat,and would probably just consider buying it except for the hood paint. My girlfriend's 2015 Malibu LTZ with the 2.0 LTG (ATS and Camaro engine) has 95k miles and uses 3 qt oil every 7500 miles. But the car drives smooth and vibe free. I took it to 125 mph at the track and never felt any vibration or shudder whatsoever.

 

[metroplex]

Regarding the window modules on the 17 Fusion.. a friend is leasing a 2017 Lincoln MKZ which is a Fusion, she has the same window issues as well. Her dealer told her it was NORMAL to roll down by itself. On the freeway. I told her her that IDS and FJDS would have reflashed the modules in under 15 minutes. Wouldn't even need the VCMII for FJDS. SAE J2534 pass thru would have sufficed as well. My dealer wanted like 5 weeks to resolve this. Or might give me the run around.

 

[aquariuscsm]

My best cars ever were my both *made in Japan* 3000GT and 300ZX. Neither cars ever broke down or left me stranded.

 

[JLTD]

Originally Posted by CKN

Originally Posted by JLTD

Don't count out a 4Runner. Although aged, reliability and longevity are top notch.

I have one ( 4Runner)sitting in the hotel parking lot right now I rented for three days to see if any of the absolute horrible things wrong with this vehicle has changed-they haven't. HOLLOW sounding doors whenever shut, hood flexes going down the road, seats are still hard. Large rear hatch difficulty to open and close manually ( no power assist here-at least on the SR5 model. Just say no unless you need 4 Wheel Drive on a dirt snowy road. I can't fathom why these things are other wise recommended.

News for ya - doors ARE hollow. In every motor vehicle. I know that some luxury brands you only hear a "thunk" but there are plenty of vehicles that make "door closing noises". Some folks prefer firm seats so they're not sitting on the frame rails. Sitting on the seat frame rails SUCKS. Hood flexing? Not that I've noticed. And what's up with having a problem with getting the rear hatch open? Push a button and lift. Perhaps you are very short, which I can see being a problem when closing the hatch; but for any adult trying to open the rear hatch it's not difficult. Heck an 11-year-old girl has opened and closed mine with little or no difficulty. And if that's all you can come up with for "absolute horrible things", then I guess the vehicle is pretty darn good overall. Yes I'll defend my 4Runner...…

 

[4WD]

We have a 2014 Fusion with 120k … none of this stuff.

 

[Skippy722]

Originally Posted by Railrust

Ok, was it the 2010-2014 that had the grey/white painted pans that rotted through?

2013 was the last year, but yes up to 2013 they used the metal pans.

 

[Ws6]

http://www.parsintl.com/eprints/79194-3.pdf

 

[celicaxx]

My mother has a 2006 Ford Five Hundred with 156K now. She got it at 60K in 2011 and sort of overpaid for it at a dealer, but honestly it's been crazily reliable thus far. A lot more problem free than our old 2001 Taurus, actually. We got it in 2005 or 2006 I believe, so about the same age and mileage. That generation of Taurus was basically rental car grade. We had an alternator and belts go, thermostat, stop leak in it for a coolant leak somewhere, the shocks were all screwed up and both rear shocks broke springs and had the back end sag and a spring stab a tire. AC filled with stop leak goo, too. Tranny felt like it was slipping at times, hard shifting. I wrecked it at 19 with I believe about 130K. By comparison, the Five Hundred had some Lucas PS fluid thrown in and semi-flushed out, one set of plugs and coils done at 150K, and one drive by wire throttle body going on it. Bushing for the top motor mount is going (the one connecting to the strut bar.) AC compressor needed a new check valve, too (easy repair, only $30 compared to a new compressor.) CVT still shifts great, want to do the fluid when it warms up. Overall a substantially better and more reliable vehicle, weirdly it's mostly Volvo engineered, though. Needs new shocks and one control arm bushing because terrible CT roads, but at least the springs themselves aren't broken like the Taurus. I will say, the highest mileage car I've seen in real life was my father's 2006 Ford Freestar with 450K on it. He went through two transmissions and it was ran ragged, but he ran it on Rotella 15w40 diesel oil until the very end. He drove it to the junkyard. I used to kind of disrespect Ford, but now I think they're the best of the domestic companies. But apparently the very newest cars are disasters. One thing that made me respect Ford too was Ford has a decent presence in Asia. There's a lot of Fords in Taiwan, for example.

 

[john_pifer]

I see a lot of Ford bashing on this thread. I used to sell Fords at a Ford dealership from 2004-2008. They didn't have the best products back then, though some of the ones that came out in that era have turned out to be pretty good cars, like the Fusion. They've come a long way since that time, deciding to tackle the problem of customers wanting ever improving fuel economy but more HP at the same time, by embracing turbocharging. Yes, they've had some issues with the EcoBoost engines, the Fiesta/Focus dry clutch auto transmissions, timing chains/cam phasers, going back to the 3V Tritons, but they are also taking steps to improve reliability, power, and economy with the EcoBoost (revisions, to include ditching the single long timing chain in favor of 2 shorter chains, the impacted graphite-iron block on the 2.7, which gives strength and the capacity to run more boost and get better economy out of a smaller displacement engine, etc.). Small engines with turbos instead of larger, NA engines is the way of the future with the ICE, and Ford's willingness to stick their necks out and become early adopters of this technology has put them ahead of other manufacturers. And the nature of the power of these turbocharged engines (tons of torque available from a low RPM) makes them very nice to drive. Yeah, a few who have had problems have complained very loudly on the internet. But, remember, for every customer who's had a problem, there are a great many whose experience has been trouble-free. And all this is coming from a Toyota fanboy! I'll sing their praises, too. I'm generally not a fan of GM, but they have had a few models I've liked. l've always been an admirer of the Corvette, for example.

 

[Falcon_LS]

All this modern technology being pushed out at a phenomenal rate has definitely taken its toll on quality, and pushes me away from buying anything new. The only new vehicle that's really caught my attention are the GM full-size SUVs with the 3.0L Duramax, but that's a lot of dough. I would avoid anything with a 3.6L V6 from GM, never been a fan of those and they just have too many issues. I'm definitely not a fan of Ford's setup either, with the timing chain driven water pumps - there's too much at risk right there. No idea how Chrysler is doing, but I'm sure some folks will chime in.

 

[zzyzzx]

I am still driving a 1995 Escort that I bought new. I haven't had any of the issues mentioned.