📝 UPDATE Dec 12th: My Letter to the Ford Executive Team: Submitted Customer Feedback Proposal and Response

[RoLyMa27]

Land Cruiser, LX, 4Runner and GX are still made in Japanese plants in Japan by Japanese workers.

I stand corrected. I loved my '07 4Runner!

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[Cat]

You can add my Rapid Red BB to the list of misfits off the production line. I picked it up at 10 am on 11/26 and was dead in the water at 10am on the 27th. While running down the interstate, it overheated and shut down on me. After paying $200 to have it towed to the nearest Ford dealership, they found that one of the hose clamps for the coolant was not properly tightened, which caused it to pop off allow the engine to overheat. Luckily, no other damage was done, but you never expect to break down in the first 24 hours of owning a brand new vehicle. Needless to say, it dampened my enthusiasm a bit...

UNbelievable. I am incredulous at this.

 

[Efthreeoh]

Well said. Launching a new vehicle is an extremely difficult task. Throw in an entirely new nightshift workforce coupled with insane supply chain issues and government imposed covid protocols only adds nitroglycerin to a dumpster fire. There are plenty of leadership questions around not following the PAPP process (MIC top to start with) but most of the plant controllable QC issues noted on this forum are lower than expected for the circumstances MAP has gone thru.

I agree. I think adding to this is the visibility factor of a cyberlaunch coupled with a reservation scheme that is really in defiance of a 100 year old franchise dealership distribution system. The cyberlaunch/reservation made the rollout completely publicly visible on social media. That invites the SJW crowd, which easily sounds off on issues they know nothing about.

The cyberlaunch is what made this a shitshow. If there was a failure at an executive level, it was the decision to move forward with the cyberlaunch during a global pandemic.

 

[SoCalDawg]

I agree, and generally speaking you're correct. Just like there are no domestics that are %100 American made, aside from Mazda, there are no %100 Japanese made cars. So making blanket statements about how much more reliable they are than domestics is a loaded statement.

Please know that I am not bashing domestics.. owned a EB Bronco and loved it. Owned an F-150 and loved it way more than I expected to (V8). Both showed their age at around 100K miles. Two of the vehicles I am looking at buying next year are 'domestic', the new Tundra and the Bronco.

I am very thankful to the OP for writing that letter to Ford. Whether they know or not.. I agree with them and their logic and layout of the case was solid IMO. If I lay down $60K+ on a Bronco and have some of the issues we have seen here I will NOT be happy. I get quirks. I get bugs.. but some of the issues we have seen here are truly things that should not make it past great QC. I would feel the same way about the 2022 Tundra.. if I spend that much on a truck and it tosses a rod I will be pissed. I expect more from Ford and Toyota. They aren't making price adjustments due to global 'issues' so we as customers should not expect to make quality expectations lower .. logically anyways.

 

[SoCalDawg]

I stand corrected. I loved my '07 4Runner!

Let's be honest though.. fun factor.. 4Runner vs Bronco.. I am a Toyota loyalist but it isn't even close.. Bronco by a light year.

 

[Jdc]

I guarantee you if something is wrong with my Bronco, I will be at the dealership every day if I have to until it gets corrected. But, I will handle it like an adult.

The problem I have with this statement is that I have better sh%^ to do than drive to a dealership every day. I'm buying this to be my DD and the family camp-fun-mobile. As mentioned by others this thing isn't cheap and I don't expect it to be perfect but I sure as hell don't expect to have problems that just seem like car manufacturing 101: "Put the right color seats in each truck"

 

[Jdc]

Best current info on the 4Runner forums is the 2023 6th gen 4Runner will be released for sale in the 4th quarter of 2022.

I first started looking at the 4Runner a little over three years ago. The only thing that stopped me from buying it is it's age and all the cutting people usually end up doing to get larger tires onto the thing. While folks complain about the weight and GVWR of the Bronco, the 4Runner stats start to suffer once you throw on all of the off-road protection goodies like bumpers, bash plates and sliders. That was the big draw of the Bronco for me personally

 

[mpeugeot]

"She", actually. "She", did it for the community! <cheeky grin>

Are you sure about that?!? Quick, someone get QA, I want to make sure we finally have the right pronouns!!!!

 

[RoLyMa27]

Um, Honda and Toyota are Japan auto companies but their cars are made in the US with their QA standards.

US autos are always in the low end for reliability. Ford may SELL more F150 than Tundras, but Tundras have higher resell and more reliability.

Don't get me wrong, we have had great luck with my son's 2012 Escape and my other son's 2015 Escape. And as rock solid as a Toyota 4runner and Tacoma is, you can find people who
have had enough issues with them that they are ready to donate them to the US Army for mortar practice.

Loved my '07 4Runner! And loved my '07 Taco (bought in 2011) sold it 2 years ago! But man did it have a lot of problems!

 

[RoLyMa27]

The problem I have with this statement is that I have better sh%^ to do than drive to a dealership every day. I'm buying this to be my DD and the family camp-fun-mobile. As mentioned by others this thing isn't cheap and I don't expect it to be perfect but I sure as hell don't expect to have problems that just seem like car manufacturing 101: "Put the right color seats in each truck"

I agree totally! I'm just trying to point out that just because I am not raising hell, does not make me an apologist and I will certainly hold Ford's feet to the fire if my Bronco has any problems!

 

[RoLyMa27]

Please know that I am not bashing domestics.. owned a EB Bronco and loved it. Owned an F-150 and loved it way more than I expected to (V8). Both showed their age at around 100K miles. Two of the vehicles I am looking at buying next year are 'domestic', the new Tundra and the Bronco.

I am very thankful to the OP for writing that letter to Ford. Whether they know or not.. I agree with them and their logic and layout of the case was solid IMO. If I lay down $60K+ on a Bronco and have some of the issues we have seen here I will NOT be happy. I get quirks. I get bugs.. but some of the issues we have seen here are truly things that should not make it past great QC. I would feel the same way about the 2022 Tundra.. if I spend that much on a truck and it tosses a rod I will be pissed. I expect more from Ford and Toyota. They aren't making price adjustments due to global 'issues' so we as customers should not expect to make quality expectations lower .. logically anyways.

I agree totally!

 

[Efthreeoh]

Thanks for doing this. Ford should offer you some sort of an ad hoc QC position given your experience at Boeing! Hoping they will take this as serious as it sounds they are.

I'd like to see Boeing manufacture a vehicle at a rate of 900 units a day.

 

[SoCalDawg]

I'd like to see Boeing manufacture a vehicle at a rate of 900 units a day.

I wouldn’t.

 

[karguy08]

Adding this to the OCD (Owners Checklist at Delivery). Thnx.

Sure thing. It was pretty obvious though, as soon as I put it into reverse to leave the dealer it said "Camera unavailable. Please take me to your Dealership" (i'm paraphrasing)

 

[AlpineDescent]

So does this mean if we have a blended in August, our car will be super defective? I’m about to go pick up mine today. It just came in. But now I’m fucking worried

No, it certainly does not mean that. The vast majority of vehicles are without any serious issues and yours most likely will be too. That being said, Ford needs to step up the game on quality, as there is no excuse for some of these issues to get out the door like they have.

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