Ford Is Taking Action To Fix Serious Quality Issues

Jun. 30, 2022 1:22 PM ET byGerhard Horn Industry News /7 Comments

What's going on at the Blue Oval?

Like many other automotive manufacturers, Ford is currently facing several issues. Apart from the worldwide semiconductor chip shortage, it also has the deal with nefarious dealers jacking up the prices of what little stock is available. But for the Blue Oval, the biggest problem of all appears to be quality control.

Ford has been having a bad year as far as recalls are concerned. In February 2022, it recalled 330,784 Mustangs for substandard wiring in the car's backup camera system. Ford waited fairly long to rectify this issue, as theFeds were already demanding answersin August 2021.

Following that, Ford recalled nearly 740,000 Escape andBronco Sportmodels equipped with the 1.5-liter EcoBoost engine. It seems not a week goes by that another Ford product isn't recalled, and the Blue Oval has now realized it has an issue.

TheDetroit Free Presspicked up on the all the high-profile recalls this year and approached several high-ranking automotive officials to find the source of the problem. It also dug deeper and found some disturbing statistics.

Did you know, for example, that Ford took the number one spot for warranty payouts in 2021? Not just in the automotive industry but in appliances in general. Ford's EV sales increased by over 200% recently, but it means nothing if all that cash it's raking in is being spent on warranty claims.

The theories about why things are so lousy range from Ford cutting corners to get as many vehicles as possible to using substandard parts from the lowest bidder. At least Ford has acknowledged the problem, albeit indirectly, and has appointed Josh Haliburton as the executive director of quality. Haliburton comes to Ford directly from J.D. Power, and if anyone can fix these severe problems, he can.

2020-2022 Ford Escape Front View Driving

Other models recalled within the last six months include the F-150, F-250, F-350, F-450, F-550, Maverick, and Expedition. The F-Series, Maverick, and Escape are allhigh-volume models for Fordwhich is cause for concern.

In late May, Ford recalled the Expedition and Lincoln Navigator forpotential fire risk, and on June 10, it issued a recall for 49,000 Mustang Mach-Es. While this recall concerns thebattery contactor possibly overheating, it does not pose a fire risk. In a worst-case scenario, the Mach-E will lose all power while on the move, which is critical.

Such a massive recall is not ideal for Ford's primary rival against the Tesla Model Y. While Tesla still beats Ford when it comes to range, the Ford is supposedly a superior product in terms of build quality. Ford does not want to lose its main selling point against an already dominant force.