Report: Mulally facing pressure to fix Ford tech and quality glitches
06-05-11 | 03:21 PM
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Report: Mulally facing pressure to fix Ford tech and quality glitches
Ford has had its share of quality issues with its fledgling MyFord Touch technology, and watchdogs like Consumer Reports and J.D. Power have taken notice. Bloomberg reports that Ford CEO Alan Mulally is all too aware of the automaker's latest technology glitches, saying, "We've had just a few issues with some technologies associated with Sync and MyFord Touch."
The "just a few issues" Mulally is referring to include reports of touchscreens blacking out, general complaints about a steep learning curve and a recent crossover ranking by Consumer Reports that placed the 2011 Explorer 17th out of 19 vehicles tested due in large part to the tech. CR also dropped the coveted "Recommended" nod for the 2011 Edge because of MyFord Touch.
Mulally's recent statements come just before the release of J.D. Power's June 23 new car quality report. J.D. Power's VP Dave Sargent claims the automaker's own data shows that quality has taken a hit, adding that Ford is "making an early warning to the market that this may be a problem." There is no telling how car buyers would react to Ford slipping a bit in the rankings, but the company's stellar performance in the study over the past few years has likely been a major reason why the Blue Oval managed to re-pass Toyota on the sales charts.
Ford isn't taking the potential quality issues lightly, recently spending $100 million to deploy laser-guided robots in 17 factories to help reduce wind noise in its automobiles. The robots will enable Ford to install doors to within one tenth of one millimeter of specification. The automaker is also working hard to stay on top of quality even as it continues the torrid pace of new vehicle launches.
The "just a few issues" Mulally is referring to include reports of touchscreens blacking out, general complaints about a steep learning curve and a recent crossover ranking by Consumer Reports that placed the 2011 Explorer 17th out of 19 vehicles tested due in large part to the tech. CR also dropped the coveted "Recommended" nod for the 2011 Edge because of MyFord Touch.
Mulally's recent statements come just before the release of J.D. Power's June 23 new car quality report. J.D. Power's VP Dave Sargent claims the automaker's own data shows that quality has taken a hit, adding that Ford is "making an early warning to the market that this may be a problem." There is no telling how car buyers would react to Ford slipping a bit in the rankings, but the company's stellar performance in the study over the past few years has likely been a major reason why the Blue Oval managed to re-pass Toyota on the sales charts.
Ford isn't taking the potential quality issues lightly, recently spending $100 million to deploy laser-guided robots in 17 factories to help reduce wind noise in its automobiles. The robots will enable Ford to install doors to within one tenth of one millimeter of specification. The automaker is also working hard to stay on top of quality even as it continues the torrid pace of new vehicle launches.
Michael Gilbert
A few issues??? I'm an owner of a 2011 Ford Edge with the MyFord Touch system. It is a constant source of frustration. The screen going black occassionnaly is only one of the many bugs with this system. I consider myself somewhat tech savvy. If you plan to use the system to listen to AM radio only, your in luck, MyFord Touch might just be for you. I've completely given up on listening to music on a USB, bluetooth or tethering my iPhone to via USB. Often, after a reboot I find that the system has defaulted to AM radio (I NEVER listen to AM radio)
It takes a good 3-4 minutes for the voice command system to become available once the vehicle is started. I'm able to talk on my phone via Bluetooth 50% of the time. The other 50%, I get the dreaded "sync is trying to pair to a previously paired phone..." all while displaying Connected to Michael's iPhone.
I'm glad to see reduction of wind noise will fix all these issues according to this article. Thank god they've invested 100 mil to fix that.
Yesterday at 9:21 AM
+2
1 reply to Michael Gilbert's comment
wheezymofo
I bought a 2011 Edge for my wife with MyFord Touch and Sync. I totally agree with you on all your comments as we have experienced all of the same issues. Our particular peeves have to be with the Voice recognition system and navigation system. Using an old school giant fold up map works better and is less distracting for the driver.
8 hours ago
1 reply to wheezymofo's comment
wheezymofo
I should be fair and mention that other than Sync/MyFord Touch, the rest of the experience with our Edge has been great. Its comfortable, handles nicely, actually gets the advertised gas mileage, and has excellent build quality. Bringing it in for servicing and updates to the Sync/MyFord touch has also been as pleasant as possible due to the great dealership nearby. Unfortunately, because of the poorly developed electronics, I will be surprised if my wife agrees to another Ford in our future.
8 hours agoReport abusePermalink
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John
Hey, I'd take the MyFordTouch issue over what Mustang owners like me are going through right now with our transmissions.
http://www.allfordmustangs.com/forum...hread-282.html
A few issues??? I'm an owner of a 2011 Ford Edge with the MyFord Touch system. It is a constant source of frustration. The screen going black occassionnaly is only one of the many bugs with this system. I consider myself somewhat tech savvy. If you plan to use the system to listen to AM radio only, your in luck, MyFord Touch might just be for you. I've completely given up on listening to music on a USB, bluetooth or tethering my iPhone to via USB. Often, after a reboot I find that the system has defaulted to AM radio (I NEVER listen to AM radio)
It takes a good 3-4 minutes for the voice command system to become available once the vehicle is started. I'm able to talk on my phone via Bluetooth 50% of the time. The other 50%, I get the dreaded "sync is trying to pair to a previously paired phone..." all while displaying Connected to Michael's iPhone.
I'm glad to see reduction of wind noise will fix all these issues according to this article. Thank god they've invested 100 mil to fix that.
Yesterday at 9:21 AM
+2
1 reply to Michael Gilbert's comment
wheezymofo
I bought a 2011 Edge for my wife with MyFord Touch and Sync. I totally agree with you on all your comments as we have experienced all of the same issues. Our particular peeves have to be with the Voice recognition system and navigation system. Using an old school giant fold up map works better and is less distracting for the driver.
8 hours ago
1 reply to wheezymofo's comment
wheezymofo
I should be fair and mention that other than Sync/MyFord Touch, the rest of the experience with our Edge has been great. Its comfortable, handles nicely, actually gets the advertised gas mileage, and has excellent build quality. Bringing it in for servicing and updates to the Sync/MyFord touch has also been as pleasant as possible due to the great dealership nearby. Unfortunately, because of the poorly developed electronics, I will be surprised if my wife agrees to another Ford in our future.
8 hours agoReport abusePermalink
rate uprate down
John
Hey, I'd take the MyFordTouch issue over what Mustang owners like me are going through right now with our transmissions.
http://www.allfordmustangs.com/forum...hread-282.html
06-05-11 | 05:48 PM
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Ford, by domestic-American-nameplate standards, generally makes good vehicles now, but I've said before that I think they need to work their interiors better......GM and Chrysler are clobbering them in the quality of their latest interior trims. I also wasn't (and am still not) a fan of a lot of high-tech stuff like the Sync and Ford-Touch. We see here, in this article, that many Ford owners, even those who want such devices in their cars, are not particularly satisfied with how they actually operate in service.
So, IMO, Ford would be wise to take the money it is now putting into electronic devices and use it, instead, to make interiors like what we see on the new Chevy Cruze and Jeep Gran Cherokee.
So, IMO, Ford would be wise to take the money it is now putting into electronic devices and use it, instead, to make interiors like what we see on the new Chevy Cruze and Jeep Gran Cherokee.
06-05-11 | 06:17 PM
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I drove a rental new ford focus last week while i was out of state. It was a complete POS. I had such high hopes for this new ford focus but it was a let down.
It was a SEL trim. Not sure if that's high end or low end. The rental came with a lot of high tech stuff that I don't care about.
Overall, it was noisy, slow, numb, ride is *****ty yet felt like the car was floating, the transmission does not like to shift, the throttle takes eternity to response, but pretty high interior quality. 1989 Corolla is a far better car. I'd take the 1989 corolla over the new focus, no doubt.
It was a SEL trim. Not sure if that's high end or low end. The rental came with a lot of high tech stuff that I don't care about.
Overall, it was noisy, slow, numb, ride is *****ty yet felt like the car was floating, the transmission does not like to shift, the throttle takes eternity to response, but pretty high interior quality. 1989 Corolla is a far better car. I'd take the 1989 corolla over the new focus, no doubt.
06-05-11 | 06:34 PM
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I drove a rental new ford focus last week while i was out of state. It was a complete POS. I had such high hopes for this new ford focus but it was a let down.
Overall, it was noisy, slow, numb, ride is *****ty yet felt like the car was floating, the transmission does not like to shift, the throttle takes eternity to response, .
Overall, it was noisy, slow, numb, ride is *****ty yet felt like the car was floating, the transmission does not like to shift, the throttle takes eternity to response, .
06-05-11 | 06:38 PM
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I agree that the new Focus could use some improvements (especially the awkward-looking center-dash), but, with all due respect, you are the only person I've seen pan the car that severely and call it a POS. This latest Focus, in a number of ways, is a major improvement over its Ho-Hum predecessor, which WAS a rental-grade car.
I do agree with slow response and PDC - both were evident for a while on euro-fords, even if euro media praises them, PDC was never anything special and gas pedal response is a lot like eco mode of other vehicles. I guess thats how they get 40 MPG ratings.
06-05-11 | 06:56 PM
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The MT review, BTW, also left out a couple of models, like the Dodge Caliber and Jeep Compass, that the new Focus would have probably outscored. (The Compass is really a compact FWD car, not a true Jeep)
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06-05-11 | 07:35 PM
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actually while it uses microsoft OS, it is written by 3rd party company...
... but main problem here is that they have linked it with other ecus, unlike entune which is completely independent... so you have ford owner stories of system rebooting for several minutes which caused AC to blow stone cold at max speed in winter :-).
... but main problem here is that they have linked it with other ecus, unlike entune which is completely independent... so you have ford owner stories of system rebooting for several minutes which caused AC to blow stone cold at max speed in winter :-).
06-05-11 | 07:37 PM
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True, but I was comparing the new Focus to its old American-market prececessor (I've reviewed both). Since you are in Europe, I don't know if you got to sample the old pre-2011 American-spec Focus or not.....it was a completely different cookie from its Euro-counterpart. The new 2011 Focus, here in America, unlike ths old one, now comes from Euro-roots.
The MT review, BTW, also left out a couple of models, like the Dodge Caliber and Jeep Compass, that the new Focus would have probably outscored. (The Compass is really a compact FWD car, not a true Jeep)
The MT review, BTW, also left out a couple of models, like the Dodge Caliber and Jeep Compass, that the new Focus would have probably outscored. (The Compass is really a compact FWD car, not a true Jeep)
this is basically pre-emptive damage control as it seems that JD Power will downgrade some Ford models in 2011 ratings to be announced in 3 weeks.
Problems dont seem just sync based - Explorer had other issues, Mustang has broken manual transmission, etc, etc.
06-05-11 | 07:58 PM
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I don't necessarily have a low opinion of JD Power, but I generally respect Consumer Reports much more. Let's see if they agree with Power's findings.
Problems dont seem just sync based - Explorer had other issues, Mustang has broken manual transmission, etc, etc.
I wasn't impressed with the Mustang's 6MT when I reviewed the new GT some time ago. Too easy to miss a gate and nick the wrong gear, forced 1-4 shifts at certain RPMs for gas-economy, hard to go from reverse to first (and back), and now, apparantly, unreliabilty as well.
06-05-11 | 10:07 PM
#11
actually while it uses microsoft OS, it is written by 3rd party company...
... but main problem here is that they have linked it with other ecus, unlike entune which is completely independent... so you have ford owner stories of system rebooting for several minutes which caused AC to blow stone cold at max speed in winter :-).
... but main problem here is that they have linked it with other ecus, unlike entune which is completely independent... so you have ford owner stories of system rebooting for several minutes which caused AC to blow stone cold at max speed in winter :-).
predicted headlines:
"blue screen of death leaves motorists stranded..."
06-06-11 | 02:10 AM
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Looks like the media is slowly getting off the Ford hype train. Don't get me wrong, I think Ford has done great under Mulally. They've improved a lot, have some desirable products, and have good momentum. However, their quality still is not close to the best, and they have some new quality and usability issues with their MyTouch and Sync systems.
Sometimes, being new/trendy or different just for the sake of being new/trendy or different is a poor decision. The problems with MyTouch are an example of that. Don't fix what isn't broken.
Also, any notions that Toyota should be "copying" Ford is silly. This big improvement that Ford has made under Mulally? It is thanks to Toyota. Mulally has publicly mentioned several times he admires and respects Toyota, and many changes he made at Ford were modeled after how Toyota does things.
Sometimes, being new/trendy or different just for the sake of being new/trendy or different is a poor decision. The problems with MyTouch are an example of that. Don't fix what isn't broken.
Also, any notions that Toyota should be "copying" Ford is silly. This big improvement that Ford has made under Mulally? It is thanks to Toyota. Mulally has publicly mentioned several times he admires and respects Toyota, and many changes he made at Ford were modeled after how Toyota does things.
06-06-11 | 02:24 AM
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Looks like the media is slowly getting off the Ford hype train. Don't get me wrong, I think Ford has done great under Mulally. They've improved a lot, have some desirable products, and have good momentum. However, their quality still is not close to the best, and they have some new quality and usability issues with their MyTouch and Sync systems.
Sometimes, being new/trendy or different just for the sake of being new/trendy or different is a poor decision. The problems with MyTouch are an example of that. Don't fix what isn't broken.
Also, any notions that Toyota should be "copying" Ford is silly. This big improvement that Ford has made under Mulally? It is thanks to Toyota. Mulally has publicly mentioned several times he admires and respects Toyota, and many changes he made at Ford were modeled after how Toyota does things.
Sometimes, being new/trendy or different just for the sake of being new/trendy or different is a poor decision. The problems with MyTouch are an example of that. Don't fix what isn't broken.
Also, any notions that Toyota should be "copying" Ford is silly. This big improvement that Ford has made under Mulally? It is thanks to Toyota. Mulally has publicly mentioned several times he admires and respects Toyota, and many changes he made at Ford were modeled after how Toyota does things.
06-06-11 | 02:34 AM
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I think the simple fact is that a lot of people are very bitter and jealous of Toyota's success and overall accomplishments, thus the tremendous hate.
06-06-11 | 09:35 AM
#15