Biggest Ford Reliability Disaster

[Unit 5302]

What car gave Ford the biggest black eye in terms of reliability?

I say it's the 1997-1998 Ford Taurus SHO. Known for an engine that's disposable at random once you hit about 30,000 miles due to timing system/camshaft failures, it's the ultimate embarrassment.

[Dark_5.0]

I'll agree with that.

Following close behind is the head gasket issues the 3.8L had in 94-95. My sisters mustang blew them twice in three months @ 30,000 miles.

Not Fords fault but they also suffered a big black eye from the Firestone incidents.

[Mr 5 0]

While all of the individual failures named in the list were big problems for Ford, the Focus and,to a lesser extent, the Taurus managed to retain customer confidence. Not that many people know about the SHO V-6 longevity issue because they were a niche car and the Tempo and Mystique sold O.K. with many still around. I think the wide-ranging publicity about the Pinto - with the eruping gas tank, seen exploding in flames by millions in living color on TV in the 1980's, really hurt Ford's image for some time, but obviously not in a fatal way. We still buy Mustangs.

I have a '93 Mercury Topaz 2.3 and it's O.K. for what it is (a beater). It was a 'gift' from a friend who didn't want to fix it but wanted to give it to someone who would be able to use it. One new distributor later it ran fine and has for well over a year, with 95k on the clock and a total of over 12,000 miles put on the car by myself and family members. Not bad for a 'free' car. It's clean, too, and while not a head-turner, it's 'reliable transportation' - as they say in the classified ads.

[Rev]

My brand new '75 Granada Ghia with a 351W was my Ford disaster. It was nothing but trouble from the beginning. The only part of the car that was OK was the 351W. The rest of the car was completely shot before reaching 50,000 miles. To top it all off, the car came with 5 brand new Firestone 500's, LOL. The treads started flying off almost immediately. All the tires had failed within one year. I payed for replacements myself as it always happened at highway speeds when I was on a road trip and I ddn't want to proceed without a spare.

Rev

[bmxmon]

I have had quite a few friends that had tempo's, and we beat those things like crazy, and they would keep going. (they will go through more mudd than some trucks) They did all, in the end, die. But they were also cheap.

[PKRWUD]

I'd have to agree with Jim on this one. The Pinto was a major black eye for Ford.

[LX5liter]

The Pinto was definitly the most publicized one, even though there wasn't as much danger as was reported...I think the Chev truck gas tanks outside of the framerails (73-87 ?) were more of a hazard.

[Rev]

Originally Posted by LX5liter

The Pinto was definitly the most publicized one, even though there wasn't as much danger as was reported...I think the Chev truck gas tanks outside of the framerails (73-87 ?) were more of a hazard.

The Chevy trucks were easier for the national TV news networks to rig gas tank explosions on, anyway, LOL.

Rev

[Capri306]

Oh, I have an even more recent one that has yet to be seen as widespread. My dad has a 2000 F-250 Super Duty with the 6.8L V10. He has just hit 80,000 miles, and it blew a spark plug. Literally. The #5 cylinder chucked the spark plug out of its threads (stripped out, of course), and completely destroyed the coil above. Mind you, the spark plugs have NEVER been changed, so it's not like someone changed them and didn't tighten them to spec.

From what they said, the spark plug "somehow got loose and just went back and forth, up and down, until the threads were gone."

It cost over $600 to fix it. This didn't involve removing the cylinder head or any other major components. The dealership just vacuumed out what they could, used a flexible optic probe to see if big chunks of metal had fallen in, helicoiled the spark plug bore, and called it good.

Now, as a (studying-to-be) engineer, I'd say they have a quality control problem. Even worse, the dealership said this is a "common thing" and that they wouldn't/couldn't do anything about it as far as service costs. The very dealer he had bought the truck from would/could not do anything to help, nor did they offer to. Other than a "tough $h*t" attitude, the repair and a lighter wallet is all we got.

What are we giving Ford in return? The assurance that the four members of my family will NOT buy Ford products any time soon. Hate to say it, but it's what we're doing. My dad just put his order in for a 2005 Honda Accord, as did my mom, and I can say from experience that they are fantastic cars in most every respect.

"Quality is Job #1"? How bout STOP THE PENNY PINCHING, THE STRANGLING OF YOUR T1 SUPPLIERS, AND MAKE A DAMN VEHICLE THAT GOES 200K W/O MAJOR REPAIR?!?!?! WE WOULD ALL *LOVE* TO BUY MORE AMERICAN CARS, EVEN IF THEY COST A *LITTLE MORE*, IF THEY'D JUST LAST LONGER. I don't know if it's the engineers or the bean counters (possibly the suits), but someone's got to get the axe.

/rant OFF

FWIW, the '05 Mustangs rock. I will remain faithful to the Mustang always.

[LX5liter]

Wow, from an F-250 Superduty to a Honda Accord?? He must be REALLY P.O.ed!! I have heard of that problem before though, and Ford probably should have issued at least a technical bulletin on it to the owners to get them checked.

[Capri306]

He's mad, all right. He was mad enough that my poor mother was driving the truck when it happened, but this "screw you, we don't care" from the dealer was a kick in the jakes. The particular Ford dealer in question has been nothing but a pain in the arse to my family, which extends well beyond my father and his unfortunate experience. I wish I knew why Ford doesn't sell directly to its customers instead of through the dealerships. They are antequated and are seriously usurping the company image Ford wants to project. But what is the true culprit in all of this?

It's the Detroit automaker mentality: people will buy whatever crap we put out, because they don't want to buy a foreign vehicle.

Well, they might have half of that right.

But the thing is, most of the 'foreign' cars are built right here, with more American components than any American car maker's product. It's SO SAD, and I hope one day, things turn around. I personally want to do something about it; I'm just busy getting my BSEE right now.

I realize that it's a 'global economy,' Mr. Suit. However, most educated people know that 'global economy' just means 'we want to get it from overseas because it's cheaper, and will send our profits higher.' You don't care HOW you make the profits, you just care if you GET THEM. You've been looking at the Japanese business model for some years now, and yet, you refuse to change. I say to you this: we will lose and they will win, if you do not change.

This type of business plan has absolutely NO FUTURE. You, Mr. Suit, are not thinking long term at all here. If less and less Americans have good-paying jobs, how the heck are they supposed to buy your products? Why do you not see your own demise? Why do you not see that people won't buy cheap crap for long?

Yes, it will indeed be a sad day when the automotive capital once known as Detroit is no longer. The day is coming; no matter how hard you hit these people in the head, they don't see it.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Okay, I've used my soapbox time for this evening. Hope this doesn't come across the wrong way to people, but I believe that some things are going to have to change, or we will all end up losing. My father's experience with his Ford truck was just but a slice of this problem afflicting America, let alone Mustang enthusiasts such as ourselves.

[Mr 5 0]

American automobiles have a generalized quality problem and always have. Not every car or every model; my 1990 Mustang 5.0 (bought new by me) has had next to zero factory quality problems in almost 15 years and 125,000 miles, but even 'Stangs have had their share of quality glitches. Not as bad as GM, of course, but still, Ford has had quality problems and we all can name a few.

In my opinion, the corporate penny-pinching stems from a combination of factors: the obvious need for return on investment and stock price stabilty and the union factor, which pushes up some labor costs that Japanese manufacturers don't have. Although all the assembly is now done in America, many car parts for the Japanese manufacturers come direct from Japan, where manufacturing costs are lower. In addition, I doubt that the Japanese auto executives receive mega-millions in annual salary and perks, as their American counterparts do, regardless of how auto sales or the company stock price is doing. They have more sense.

The Japanese have learned economy of design and how to build-in quality and still keep the price affordable. When we bought our new '04 Honda Civic (which replaced a tired '95 Mazda 626 with 141k) about this time last year, we found that a fully-equipped, automatic transmission, Honda Civic LX sedan was priced at $2,000. or even more over the Ford Focus. Even so, I never seriously considered the Ford Focus or any other American car because I knew the quality of the Honda line and the fantastic re-sale value (near 60% of the original price after five years) was well worth the extra cost at purchase. I still do. So do tens of thousands of other car buyers out there. Apparently, Ford doesn't. They will.

[Unit 5302]

It's really unfortunate that the big three have decided it's okay to sell disposable cars to the folks in the US. I used to think the people with 200k on the clock with their Toyota, Nissan or Honda were the lucky few.

I've come to realize, they're the normal drivers. Going 200k without a major mechanical failure is simply taken for granted on their cars. Even the much more reliable than average Fox Mustang 5.0 will likely puke a an AOD or T-5 before then. Fuel pump at 100k, tranny at 130k. At least the engine doesn't automatically self destruct at 120k like a lot of domestics.

[aar0s]

every so often i hear a nasty rumor that ford has already started moving the mustang to mexico. with co. like toyota (a few friends work there) and bmw and closer to me, asian mfg. moving to the U.S. what IS an american made car now?

[Mr 5 0]

Originally Posted by aar0s

every so often i hear a nasty rumor that ford has already started moving the mustang to mexico. with co. like toyota (a few friends work there) and bmw and closer to me, asian mfg. moving to the U.S. what IS an american made car now?

The home office and top executives are in the United States. That's about it.

[Capri306]

My own 1993 Accord and my mom's brand new Accord were both built right here in the USA. Spooky, huh? It kind of reinforces the fact that we as Americans are more than capable of producing quality vehicles, yet profit margins are more important than the number of people that buy American cars to the Big Three (and a half). What shortsightedness...and that is the true shame.

[MEDIK418]

You know, that Honda will ride better but I don't think it'll haul near as much wood.

[Topless In Texas]

OMG! I have been gone wayyyy too long! Kell, when did you come back to MW?? Jim...lol.... my first car was a Pinto. and it sucked.
Good to see ya'll again. man, how wierd.
TNT

[Unit 5302]

After hackers attacked and destoyed intelforums, I've been killing time here. Nothing like losing 1000s of hours and dollars all because some 13 year old punk has nothing better to do.

Anyway, the hauling ass point is pretty mute. A TT Mark IV Supra without any money in mods is more than enough to take nearly any stock Mustang ever produced. I find the TT Supra to be less reliable due to a few electrical and cooling gremlins than normal cars from Japanese manufacturers, but still.

My 96 Explorer has been what I consider to be "good to me."

I bought it with 99k, and now with 113k the tranny is starting to get weak. The O2 sensors are shot. The belt tensioner, and thermostat have been replaced. Fuel pump is getting noisy, the U-joints need replacement, the front differential is leaking a little, and one of the hub bearings is going out.

[1965GTO]

Best Ford I ever owned was a 77 Pinto. Had a 69 Mach 1, 68 Cougar, 88 mustang Gt, and a 65 Thunderbird. Pinto cost the least, got the best mileage, no major breakdowns, easy to work on, and quite good looking. Only problem was alot of rattles, but a loud stereo cured that.