Ford Motor Consumer Reviews - Page 2

BUFFALO, MINNESOTA -- I am a loyal Ford man and so is my family. Lately my trucks have been worthless and Ford will not stand behind their workmanship. I bought 2 Black f 350 trucks in 2002. Right away I had paint peel on my drivers door on the Ext. cab. Ford painted it and told me that it was just that door and the rest of the truck would be fine.

After the warranty was up, my paint started peeling on the passenger door. Ford would not stand behind it so I got rid of the truck. My other 2002 Regular cab showed signs of peeling at 24,695 miles. The whole truck needed to be painted. Because I was past three years, they would not repair it. After fighting with them for a few months, they said they would paint it but I had to pay $700. What do you do? So they painted it and I paid them $700.

Now the truck has 50,000 miles and the tranny goes out. Ford still will not help me. So out of my pocket goes $3000. Now the oil pan has rusted out on my 7.3 diesel engine. I am past the 5 year 100,000 mile warranty. I asked the dealer if they would call and check with Ford to see if they would help. He said he knew that Ford wouldn't do anything so he wouldn't even bother calling them. They want $2100 to replace the oil pan. This is a joke. It is costing me a fortune to keep this thing running.

I have never had an oil pan rust out on anything in my life. I drive a 1987 ford ranger with everything original and it runs like a top. My dad has a 1986 F150 with all original equipment and it runs awesome to. Why can't they build this stuff better or stand behind the workmanship?

TRYON, NORTH CAROLINA -- I have owned my 1995 Ford Contour since 1996. For the most part, I have been pleased with my purchase. However, one area of Ford's reliability on this car that I am not pleased with are engine compartment wiring harnesses. I have had two major failures of the vehicle, both involving wiring harness issues. The first was in 1999, in which a short in the wiring harness for the alternator took out the alternator with it. I paid approximately $700 for this repair.

Later in the year, after I moved from TX to NC, Ford issued Customer Satisfaction Program 99M03, which covered wiring harness failures and affected components for this vehicle. Since I was no longer in TX, the NC dealer said they could not reimburse me for the alternator or wiring harness since they did not have any more information on the repairs. So, I lost that money to Ford, and after a couple moves have misplaced the original receipt. The second major repair was that the transmission locked up recently and required a complete rebuild.

After the rebuild, as the tech was installing the transmission, he realized that the wiring harness for this had failed as well. It failed in a way that the repair shop said could very well have caused a fire. The harness runs under the battery compartment, with no protection from battery acid, and over time the acid from batteries has eaten through it and shorted it out, taking the transmission with it.

I called Ford's Customer Relationship Center, waited for two days while they had computer problems, only two have them say that, although the car is 10 years old, it is over the 100k mile window for harness repairs and they could not override that. After 15 minutes of talking to one Customer Service Representative, I was surprised to find that, in a company as large as Ford Motor Company, there was "no" supervisor available to talk to me. They did, however, take my number down with a promise to have a supervisor call me within another 48 hours (after I had already waited 48 hours due to their computer problems).

My feelings on this issue are that Ford is aware of engineering defects regarding wiring harnesses, they routed a harness in a way in which it was vulnerable to this failure, and they should be partly or fully responsible for this failure. This was not an issue of lack of maintenance. Instead, it was just poor engineering. Since 1996, Ford vehicles have been the only vehicles that have been present in my driveway under my ownership (I own two right now). If Ford cannot do a better job of engineering and customer relations than this, my presence will never grace the lot of a Ford dealership. Thanks for your time.

NEW YORK -- I just feel ripped off and I was told no one can do anything for me... Well that's not good enough. I had my brakes done in July at Pep Boys. The brakes kept squeaking and I went back to a Ford dealership to have them check it out. The said all 4 rotors were bad. So I had all 4 rotors replaced in September of 2003. Then in the end of April I had my rear brakes done with just a cutting of the rotors. Everything was fine. Then about two weeks ago I took my car to Ford just for an oil change. They told me my tires were shot and to replace all 4 tires. So, I had all 4 tires replaced.

The day I got the car back and started to drive, I thought they didn't balance the tires correctly because the steering wheel was violently shaking. So, I went back to the tire place. They told me it was my front rotors or brakes and to go back to Ford. So, I took my car to Ford and lo and behold it was my front brakes. They told me the front rotors were too low to be cut and I need new front rotors along with new front brake pads. I wouldn't care if I hadn't spent almost $900 in September on the same thing. There is no way rotors should go that fast.

When I told Ford this they said the reason the rotors went so fast was because of the aftermarket brake pads that were used at Pep Boys. Well didn't the other Ford dealership know this in September when they replaced the front rotors and not the brake pads? Well now I'm paying twice for Ford's mistake. When I called Ford motor company they said there is nothing they can do for me but place a complaint against the dealership... Well thanks a lot. I'm sure they will be calling me to settle this...Yeah right... I honestly think this is Ford's fault and they should take care of it.

THOUSAND OAKS, CALIFORNIA -- Kemp Ford
3810 Thousand Oaks Boulevard
Thousand Oaks, CA 91362

Dear Dawn:

Although I have moved across country, I seem to be getting bills from Kemp for a car for which I already paid in full. The obvious proof of payment in full is the pink slip, which here in Connecticut is actually blue, that I hold in my possession.

When I bought the car, I did not even haggle on the price. This was because the Flex was a tough car to find and I was happy enough just to have one. That said, your company got full price on a car. Now how often does that happen?

Furthermore, it is your company's job to get the paperwork and price right. I cannot believe that you are coming after me for an additional and paltry $31.00 on a $48,000.00 transaction. You really couldn't just pay it and not irritate me so? Really?

But I digress. And, I am floored to read that your company ominously intends to, “take further action” if I don't immediately remit the $31.00. What are you planning on doing? Taking me to collection for a debt paid in full?

Kemp Ford is out of line. I own the car. You guys said so when I wrote the check. I did not determine the taxes and such. You hire a finance manage who's sole job is get the paperwork right (oh, and try to get me to purchase things like underbelly protection).

You and your company are not entitled to come after me for additional funds. I met my contractual obligation to you. Likewise, I am not allowed to pursue a post-purchase discount from your firm. That's because we are both bound by a contract that stipulates I pay what you say I owe and then you give me the car in question.

It's very simple really. But you have, for a mere $31.00, incensed a customer who was just tip-toeing her way back to supporting an American car company.

Don't threaten. Don't be obnoxious. If you owe the DMV $31, pay them. Leave me alone. In fact, do one better and apologize. You can send my apology letter to the address below. A complimentary oil change would be nice too…

I leased a 2009 Ford Flex. Everything was fine and no late payments were made. In October 2009 I became totally disabled but still made my payments. In March of 2010 I called Ford Credit and asked for a three month payment deferral to be paid at the end of the lease. They informed me a two month extension was available but stated that to qualify for relief from April and may payments I would need to make a payment [go figure]. The cost of the extension would be an additional 221$, and they would put two payments on the end of the lease. Cost of two payments? 700$ .Cost of extension? 551$. They know how to get you when you're down.

I eventually fell two payments behind and the phone calls became incessant. Very much not the Ford your father owned. Finally in 2011 I started to get back on my feet. I sent them 800$ to cover that years apr-may payment. A month later I sent them 1400$ to cover June-July payments plus 166$ late fees plus 221$ extension fee. What they did against my request was made payments through September leaving late fees to accrue and non-payment of extension to damage my credit with them.

Now if I want to lease from them again in six months OR buy out in six months my interest rate with either will be prohibitive. I just got off the phone with Ford Credit and after about 1 hour and two different, no three different agents, the first one hung up. I was dragged around in a circle with them telling me what I should have done and me telling them that was what I was trying to do and them telling me IF I had done what I was trying to do we wouldn't have a problem.

Keep in mind the reason they paid two payments forward was to protect me from missing payments that were not due yet. Sept.2011 my statement declared no payment was due and currently there were no charges on my account. Now today my Oct. statement arrived with the payment plus 166$ in late fees and 221$ in ext fees.

What Ford Credit will do is once they realize you are a repeat lessor they will systematically manipulate your billing to damage your credit, incur late fees and have you believe it is your fault. Don't believe it. It's not you. At the end of my phone conversation I asked ** to stop talking about it, I had a solution. I would simply return my Ford Flex at term and not buy from Ford anymore. That won't be too difficult. By the way, my Lincoln was built in Mexico and most of my Flex was built in Canada.

Ford was able to QUICKLY bury media reports of a court case that they lost in 2001. The court disposition was that Ford was to reimburse current AND FORMER Ford owners, whose cars had DOCUMENTED repairs related to this problem. It was an ignition module, that failed when hot, and left NO diagnostic clue in the car's computer. That in itself was a free ticket to the dealers to clean out your wallet. I had one of these vehicles - a 1995 Ford. I had ALL records for failed repairs, etc., etc., etc. Total losses to me were almost $3,000, DOCUMENTED.

Ford played dumb, and one day I heard about the court case closing, and they lost. By the time I got home, Ford already had the story off of the National Public Radio website, which carries stories for at least until the next day. I had to go to the radio station to get the press release. Ford still played dumb, all the way to corporate offices. "What court case?" they said? I took my business-vehicle Ford to the dealer, left it, told them about the failed part, and the court case. I went to the Chevy dealer and bought a new Chevy. A week later, I picked up my Ford. The next day, it broke down.

I wrote Ford Motor Credit, and said to come get my Ford - no more payments for you, with breach of contract. 3 months later, they came to get it, and entered a INVOLUNTARY repossession on my credit record. If they had had a case, it WOULD have been VOLUNTARY repo, but that didn't matter to them. They had no case anyway, since they had LOST the court case!!! And they went through my dad to find me, even tho' I told them where to get it. They shouldn't have done that, because I then told my dad why his Ford-equipped motor home shut down when hot.

Wall Street said this might bring Ford to its' end. It was supposed to really hurt them. Fortunately for them, the web was in its' infancy, and 'viral' stuff didn't happen like it does now. Supposedly, you were to get $186 if you had any records for this problem (I have LOTS more). I don't know if that applied only to CA residents tho'. Supposedly, law firms in 5 other stated are (were) assembling the same case against Ford, pending a federal case. Google 'TFI Settlement'. Do you have any receipts for service on Ford vehicles???

I owe two ford explorer's. One is a 01' model and the other is a 05' model. Both have the 4.0 motors. Not two long ago the belt on the 05' started to make some squalling noise. So being a little knowledgeable about car's. I bought a new serpentine belt & replaced it. The new belt did quiet it some but did not get rid of the noise. So the next step was to call a friend of mine that works for ford (In the service dept.) and ask him what he thought. He told me that the Harmonic Balancer pulley was defective. He began to explain that the center of the pulley is made of plastic and the outer ring is metal.

Over time the metal separates from the plastic and the serpentine belt would slip down on to the plastic part of the pulley and the metal ring slides back closer to the motor. So I asked sense this is a defective product ford would fix it at no cost to me. NO was the response. So my next question was how much is it going to cost. 550.00 dollars. So then I told him I would have to wait to get it fixed b/c I do not have that kind of money. He then told me not to drive it until it was fixed b/c they had a ford ranger with the same type of motor and that the pulley came off and went through the radiator, & it cost him over 1300.00 dollars to fix it.

So I paid, but not before I called ford to ask them about the problem with all of the 4.0 motor's. They said it was the first that they had heard about the problem,& they were not responsible. So then I called six different dealership in the area and asked them if they have been fixing any problems like mine. Every one of them said that they were fixing at least two a week and that it was all of the 4.0L. That sounds like it should be a recall to me. What do you think. I hope this will help some people decide not to buy a FORD.

Ever since I can remember my Dad has had a Ford. Growing up it was always Mustangs, and Power strokes in my family.. As a matter of fact my first truck was a hand me down '97 Powerstroke, and I absolutely loved it. A few years ago my Dad started saving money to buy a new Ford truck. It took several years, but he finally saved up enough money to get the truck he wanted.

He bought a 2008 Ford F-450 for around 60K. Needless to say he was very happy that he had finally achieved his goal of buying the new truck of his dreams. That was fairly short lived when he found out that it gets about 10 miles to the gallon highway, and around 6 MPG while pulling a trailer.

Also, while pulling an empty trailer on a two hour highway drive a horrible sound started coming from the transmission housing area, then a over heating warning came up on the screen. When returning with a loaded trailer we went 50 MPH all the way home out of fear that the thing was about to blow up!!!! The next hit was the electrical problems.. At 25,000 miles one of the blinkers went out, then it started beeping every time you hit the brakes because "Trailer Brake Fault" when we weren't even pulling a trailer!!!

All of this has happened in the last two months with 27,000 miles on the truck. It has become a weekly chore to take the truck to the local Ford shop, and try to get them to fix the problems. When I took the truck in for the Transmission noise the guy at the Ford shop told me "Oh, yeah these 450's have a lot of gear noise.. That's normal, when they get hot" and they did not fix anything!!! The 20 plus years that my Father has been loyal, and bragging about Ford have now come to an end because of the overall disappointment with the vehicle, and the service that Ford has provided.

I have a 2006 F550 Diesel w/ 26K miles and 5 months out of warranty. Brought it to dealer and was told the fuel tank was delaminating from the diesel we were using. Needs new pump, fuel lines, injectors blown out and cleaned..$2500. We have been using the same 2 stations for 10 years and have 2 other, older Ford trucks and no problems. This truck is only 3 years old.

I called Ford and they said they knew of it happening on trucks and blame it on the fueling stations. (Like we all fuel up at the same place) But it was up to the dealer to credit or not credit the repair. Very rude people on the phone at complaint department. When I asked to speak to a supervisor I was told, "This is as far as you will get on this call." Ford Motor Corp will do nothing. My dealer took off $800 for the $2500 repair, but it is not his fault. His dealership did not build the trucks. I was told that it has been happening so much that if he was to fix everyone at no charge he would be out of business. This is clearly a defect and safety issue and FORD will not acknowledge it.

I was driving at 40mph w/ a trailer when my truck bogged and died and would not start. There was no shoulder to pull over on. I had to get another truck to move trailer then to move truck. Traffic was backed up for a mile. It is a Safety issue and everyone needs to contact the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) http://www.nhtsa/. dot.gov/ and call up to file a complaint. The phone # is (888) 327-4236. These are the people who would make Ford recall the tanks due to a safety problem.

ST PAUL, MINNESOTA -- I should have known better than to buy another one of your wretched vehicles! I was burnt on the previous bucket of bolts (2001 Ford Explorer) you turned out of the assembly line and dared to call a vehicle. I thought maybe I would give you another chance. So I replaced it with another one of your products called the ford free star. I actually bought this car off of a Nissan Dealership. I was just over the my previous ford inflicted injury (Transmission failure ie $2300) when the dealer showed me my new 2004 Ford Freestar. I of course bought it reluctantly anticipating catastrophic failure! When It didn't actually come I was quite surprised.

It has actually held up well so far. I thought maybe this is the one! That is until I washed it and found that the paint on my roof is peeling away from the top. I plan on calling Ford to see what they can do about this. But from reading hundreds of other posts it does not sound promising. I'd like to think that may be with some of the bail out money that you will receive, you will bail out your poor quality Craftsmanship and fix my roof.

It is problems with your craftsmanship (mainly poorly made transmissions) and cars that do not live up to there EPA estimated mileage (my Freestar is getting 16-20 not 22-24) that is going to bankrupt you people if you do not do something about it. If you bother to read other peoples reviews on your vehicles you will find thousands of disappointed consumers. So please, for the sake of the economy and the American auto maker, take this serious. Otherwise call your vehicle what they should really be called... Take mine for example, I call it the ford 3 stars, Meaning it got three out of ten stars.