Oh really? So how long have you been employed by Ford?
Ford's Lemons Leave Sour Taste in Consumers' Mouths
Company's Turnaround Effort Omits a Key Constituency
By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.Com
December 4, 2006
* Spark Plug Spitters
* F-150 Engine Fires
* Police Car, Taxi Fires
* Focus Ignition Lock-Ups
* Windstar Head Gaskets
No one can say Ford doesn't get lots of publicity. Unfortunately, most
of it is bad. The company expects to lose $10 billion this year and is
trying to borrow $15 billion in operating cash as its "Way Forward"
turns into a desperate dash for the exits.
Wall Street may still be wondering about Ford's future, but two
important constituent groups have already made up their mind --
customers and employees are running the other way.
Ford had a 10 percent drop in sales in November compared to a year
earlier, slipping behind Toyota for the second time this year.
Perhaps most ominously, employees are fleeing like miners whose canary
has died. A mind-boggling 38 percent of Ford's hourly workers have
agreed to take buyouts, hoping to get out before the company caves in
on them.
Newspapers and TV tend to treat it as a business story, quoting
financial analysts, politicians, union leaders and the usual
collection of talking heads. Almost no one listens to consumers -- the
lifeblood of the American economy. This is a major oversight, as no
company that spurns, ignores or mistreats its customers will long
survive, no matter how many friends it has on Wall Street or Capitol
Hill.
At ConsumerAffairs.Com, we hear from Ford owners every day ... and
they are not happy. Their Ford cars and trucks are still spitting
spark plugs, catching fire and locking up the ignition. In response,
Ford stonewalls, federal safety regulators dawdle and dealers -- well,
the dealers, as always, do whatever they can get by with.
Consumers Revolt
While Ford diddles with its finances and holds erudite discussions
about its manufacturing processes, it is alienating huge segments of
its customer base with shoddy products and an astonishingly cavalier
response to consumer complaints. In the last 12 months, we have
received four times more complaints about Ford products than about GM
or DaimlerChrysler.
No only are Ford complaints more frequent than complaints about other
brands, the problems that spark the complaints are major -- ruined
engines, disastrous fires and repeated ignition lock-ups being the
most common.
* Buy American? Not Again
* Ford's Spit-Out Spark Plugs Hit Mechanics in their Wallets
* Spit Spark Plug Ignites Ford Truck
* Ford Mechanic: Engines "Dropping Like Flies"
* 2003 Ford Trucks Now Spitting Spark Plugs
* Ford Trucks Spit Spark Plugs
* Petition Asks Feds to Order Ford Recall
* Consumers Complain of Spark Plug Blow-Out
---
* More about Ford ...
Thousands of Ford owners have suffered the ordeal of a spark plug
being spit out of their engine, damaging the head and costing
thousands of dollars to repair. Ford refuses to help, even if the car
or truck is still under warranty.
Many Ford dealers feign surprise at the sight of a spark plug blown
out of its position in the cylinder head and profess to have never
seen anything like the mess spread out before them.
Those denials are blatantly false, disingenuous and misleading. Lies,
in other words.
"Ford has known of the spark plug blow-out problem for a long, long
time," one angry Ford mechanic told us. "They even have a service
bulletin regarding it. They insist they don't but they do."
The mechanic also charged that Ford knowingly advises customers to opt
for the most expensive repair procedure: "They also say the only way
to fix it is to replace the heads and will not do it any other way. I
have personally repaired three trucks in less than 30 minutes with a
spark plug rethread kit."
"This is a Ford scam. They are making millions off these repairs. The
problem is that the spark plug holes have less than 3 threads new from
the manufacturer and over time they strip and blow out," the mechanic
told us.
Following the Ford recommendation requires owners to replace both the
cylinder head and the spark plugs. The cost varies depending upon
dealer but is approximately $3,000.
Ford Stonewalls, NHTSA Nods
Publicly, Ford continues to stonewall the spark-plug-spitting problem
and refuses to acknowledge any responsibility.
The automaker has a powerful ally in the nation's No. 1 automobile
safety regulator, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
NHTSA is backing up Ford by refusing to consider the issue beyond
stating that their analysis of 474 complaints describing the incidents
"found only a very few alleged any safety-related consequences. None
of these showed any evidence of a serious safety consequence."
NHTSA concluded its brief probe by saying, "In the need to allocate
and prioritize limited resources to best accomplish the agency's
safety mission, the petition (for a full-scale investigation possibly
leading to a recall) is denied."
Most of the complaints of spit spark plugs involve vehicles with
Triton V-8 and V-10 engines in model years 1997 to 2002. This includes
the Econoline vans, F-Series trucks, the Explorer, Expedition,
Excursion, Crown Victoria and some models of the Mustang.
Clarence Ditlow, president of the Center for Auto Safety,
characterized the NHTSA decision to take a pass on spit spark plugs as
the agency at its worst.
"They're waiting for accidents, deaths or injuries before ordering a
safety recall," he said.
Customers Feel Cheated
Thousands of Ford customers feel cheated by the automaker and
abandoned by their government safety regulator, NHTSA.
Mike of Sarasota, Florida put it this way: "My Ford F350 pickup blew
out a spark plug in cylinder number three. I spoke with a friend who
works at a Ford dealership. I said you'll never guess what happened to
my truck Bob. He said make you a bet. You blew out a spark plug."
Mike got the usual treatment -- no help from Ford and an estimated
repair cost of nearly $3,000.
"I can't afford it. My truck is a 2003 with only 69,000 miles on it,"
he said.
Jim blew a plug on a 2001 Excursion with 75,500 miles on it that he
had just bought. The truck was still under the 30-day used vehicle
warranty. "Our local Ford dealer blamed it on the spark plug threads
and it cost over $3,000 to fix even with the warranty.
In Buford, Georgia, where Chris had his engine repaired, the dealer
had a hard time placing the blame on the spark plug.
"The plugs were installed by a professional Ford Certified Mechanic
using Motorcraft plugs recommended by Ford," Chris told us.
Nevertheless, Chris is out $3,625 following the spark plug repair.
Ford Truck Fires
Flaming Fords
* Ford Fire Hazard Recall Creeps Along
* Ford Escape, Mazda Tribute Continue Ford Fire Tradition
* Ford Fires Kill Pets and Spread Despair as Year Ends
* Ford Lacks Parts for Fire Recall Repair
* New F150 Erupts in Flames as Ford Truck Fires Rage On
* Red Hot Texas Car-B-Que
* Kerry Vows Action to Get Flaming Fords Off the Road
* Flaming Ford Scandal Disgraces Ford, Feds
* Ford Tries Again to Fix Fire Problem with Massive Recall
* One Ford the Recall Missed
* Ford Stops Sales of Big Super Duty, Recalls 2008 Trucks
* Ford Recalls 155,000 More Trucks to Fix Fire Hazard
* Feds Probe Fires in Ford Escape, Mazda Tribute
* Feds Wind Up Ford Engine Fire Probe with Massive Recall
* Ford Truck Fires Mount as Recall Rolls Slowly
* Ford Trucks Burn As Recall Fiddles
* Ford Truck Fire Fix Delayed by Parts Shortage
* Ford Recalls 4 Million Trucks to Fix Fire Risk
* Nader Demands NHTSA Warn Ford Truck Owners
* Wrongful Death Suit Charges House Fire Started in F-150
* Feds Look Deeper for Ford Fire Causes
* Recall Leaves Many Questions Unanswered
* Houston Lawyers Sue Ford
* Ford Recalls Some Fire-Prone Models
* Feds Probe Ford F-150 Engine Fires
* Ford Recall Was Biggest Ever
---
* Bronco
* Crown Victoria
* Dump truck
* Expedition
* Explorer
* F-150
* Other F-Series Trucks
* Focus
* Mustang
* Ranger Pickup
* Taurus
* Windstar
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently ordered a
major recall and another large investigation is still underway at the
agency probing why so many Ford vehicles seem prone to catch fire.
NHTSA is looking into complaints that models of the Ford Escape and
Mazda Tribute SUVs have inexplicably caught fire.
The investigation involves more than 600,000 SUVs from the 2001-2003
model years. NHTSA has received eight complaints of engine fires
around the antilock braking system's electronic control module.
The newest investigation follows the massive recall of 6.7 million
Ford vehicles in August because the cruise control switch might cause
a potentially devastating fire that could spread throughout the engine
compartment and set the vehicle ablaze.
Despite the recalls and NHTSA investigations, Fords are still burning.
In early October, a 1996 Ford F250 pickup truck erupted into flames
after sitting parked for four days. The owner told ConsumerAffairs.Com
he had scheduled an appointment with Ford for the speed deactivation
switch recall three days later.
The fire destroyed the truck and a 1994 Nissan Maxima sitting in the
driveway. Ford replied that "the damage to the truck was too severe to
determine if Ford was at fault" and denied any claim of liability.
In November, a 2000 Ford Explorer caught fire along I-95 near
Richmond. The owner said that the fire "appears to have started
somewhere under the driver's side tire.
"Someone traveling alongside me was constantly honking their horn and
flashing their lights until they got my attention." she wrote us.
The owner said that there had no previous work done on the Ford
Explorer other than regular maintenance and the truck had been running
fine.
By the time the fire department reached her along the busy Interstate
highway, "the truck is nothing but ashes, totaled."
Another Ford owner in Dayton, Ohio, watched his F150 truck burn to the
ground in his own driveway.
"On October 6, 2006, my 1999 Ford F150 caught fire in my driveway. It
was not running. According to the Dayton Fire Department and the
forensic firm that inspected the vehicle, the fire originated at the
master cylinder, the exact place that the Ford cruise control
engineering defect is located." he wrote.
The owner was in contact with Ford's legal department. He told
ConsumerAffairs.Com that Ford is "refusing to make any accommodations
for my losses."
Here are some other examples of Ford products which have caught fire
since the NHTSA order to recall 6.3 million Fords in August.
* Amos in Houston, Texas: "On October 21, 2006, my 2000 Ford F150 crew
cab pick up truck caught fire while parked in front of my daughter's
apartment. The vehicle was destroyed."
* David in Clovis, California, suffered a Ford fire in October. "My
2005 Ford F350 caught fire while parked in my driveway. Truck is
totaled."
* Jacob in San Jose, California: "My 1998 Ford Expedition XLT caught
fire when parked in the lot at Georgio's restaurant after driving for
about 20 minutes. The fire started in the engine compartment and
burned a hole through the hood damaging everything forward of the
firewall."
* Patsy in Helotes, Texas lost her Explorer in August. "My 2000 Ford
Explorer caught on fire sitting in my garage and burned down the
garage and everything in it. I have good insurance but they will not
pay for what burned in the car, all the landscaping that burned and a
melted sprinkler system."
* Jerry in Rayle, Georgia: "The truck was a 1994 F150. It had a recall
on the cruise control. It was just sitting in the yard one day and we
were fixing to go to town. When I looked out the window there was a
flame coming out from under the hood."
Ford Vans and Cars
Other Fords have caught fire as well. On November 12 a Ford Crown
Victoria caught fire in Richmond, Virginia, while sitting in a
driveway. The owner had not driven his Ford for 12 hours.
* Deb in Durham, North Carolina, lost her Ford Windstar. "My four
children and I awakened to what sounded like gunshots being fired in
our driveway. It was not gunshots, however, it was the sound of my
2000 Ford Windstar's tires exploding from the heat of the fire that
had engulfed my vehicle while we all slept," she wrote.
* Sheyed in Burnt Hills, New York: "My 1996 Ford Windstar caught on
fire due to the speed control switch that is the subject of recalls in
various other models. My wife and two young children were in the
vehicle when it caught fire but they were close to home. They parked
in the driveway and got out quickly. I was able to extinguish the fire
before significant damage but it was quite frightening for them."
* Martin in Brooklyn, New York lost a Taurus to fire. "My Ford 2001
Taurus caught fire, spontaneously, while I was parking the car in
Manhattan. Right now the car is a total loss and is in storage near my
house awaiting word from my insurance company as to how much they will
pay for coverage.
The Ford Focus
The Ford Focus ignition switch is among the most bitter of lemons
because the problem can recur. The switch is known to break again and
again ... and sometimes even again. Consumers have complained for
years, to no avail.
Carrie in Grand Haven, Michigan "was stranded at a friend's house
until the early hours of the morning."
Joel in Oak Park, Illinois says he has seen it all before. "My 2000
Ford Focus ignition switch has failed and won't turn for the second
time in 80,000 miles.
Heather in Wahiawa, Hawaii summed up her problems with her car this
way: "My 2000 Focus is a piece of junk. The ignition switched has been
replaced three times and is jamming again. Ford continues to insist
that I pay for these replacements," she wrote.
Helene was "stranded in a seedy part of town unable to start my car"
in Colorado. Dalila and her daughter were stranded in 101-degree heat
in the summer while she was pregnant.
In Kyle, Texas, Shelia found that the ignition in her Focus "would not
turn and left me stranded. I live 50 miles from my cafe in Bastrop."
The faulty ignition is the most nagging unresolved problem with the
Focus. Many Focus consumers have even had a broken ignition repaired
under the Ford warranty only to have to replace the locking mechanism
themselves once the warranty has expired.
The replacement cost can exceed $500 each time the lock fails -- a lot
of money for something that's supposed to be an economy car.
A California lawyer is suing Ford but the company insists that "based
on our review of reports Ford has received, a technical service
bulletin to help technicians repair an ignition cylinder problem is
the appropriate action."
Jeffrey Fazio thinks otherwise. His lawsuit on behalf of all
California Ford Focus owners claims Ford knew about the problem before
it began selling the Focus in the U.S. back in 1999.
Fazio says that most of the failures do not occur until after the
three-year, 36,000-mile warranty has expired. The lawsuit also accuses
Ford of providing free repairs to some consumers whose warranties were
expired, but not to others which would be a violation of California
consumer protection laws.
In El Cajon, California, Paul is thinking about the future when he
thinks about the broken ignition switch in his Ford Focus and
expresses his thoughts this way. "My warranty will cover it this time,
but what about next time? Thank God we are going back to Toyota."
What Can You Do?
Now and then, a company in trouble will turn to its loyal customers
for help, asking them to buy more of its products and recruit their
friends and associates to do likewise, perhaps even offering to fix or
replace any of its products that have proven to be defective.
After all, it's a generally accepted principle of business that the
cost of acquiring a new customer is much higher than the cost of
keeping an existing one, but this is perhaps news to Ford, which seems
to think it can magically reinvent itself without worrying about the
millions of its customers who buy a new car or truck every few years.
Thus, a prudent consumer might want to look elsewhere for a new
vehicle. While no automaker is perfect, few can match Ford's record of
ignoring major problems with its products.
Those already stuck with a trouble-plagued Ford have several options,
none of them very attractive:
* Keep good records Hang onto all your repair estimates and receipts
as well as all the receipts for routine maintenance. Keep copies of
all letters and emails you write to or receive from Ford, your dealer
or others. If you have face-to-face or telephone conversations, write
a memo outlining what was said.
* Review lemon laws Every state has an auto lemon law, though some are
much tougher than others. Generally, they cover any recurring problem
that the dealer has been unable to fix after three or more attempts.
In most states, you need an attorney to pursue a lemon law complaint.
Check our state-by-state guide for more information.
* Consider small claims court For problems that don't exceed a few
thousand dollars, small claims is usually the way to go. Consumers can
sue their dealer or sue the manufacturer for the cost of repairing
defects. You don't need a lawyer in most states. The maximum amount of
your claim varies widely by states. Check our state-by-state guide for
more information.
* Don't count on the feds As Hurricane Katrina showed, government can
be -- and, in fact, usually is -- slow to act. By the time the feds
get around to recalling your vehicle, it may have already incinerated
itself or you may have pushed it over a cliff. Sadly, class action
lawsuits against auto manufacturers are seldom successful because the
companies have so much legal firepower they can outspend and outwait
the plaintiffs.
* Complain loudly Complain to ConsumerAffairs.Com, NHTSA, your local
newspaper and TV consumer reporters, the Better Business Bureau and
other consumer sites. Don't go overboard -- be factual and succinct,
avoid name-calling.
* Keep insurance up to date If your Ford incinerates itself, you'll
need comprehensive coverage if you hope to get anything out of your
auto insurance policy. If it sets fire to other vehicles, your garage
or your house, your homeowner's policy should cover at least some of
the damage. Don't expect Ford to voluntarily pay for anything.
* Injured? Get help If someone is seriously injured or killed by a
Ford fire or other mishap, it's important to immediately contact the
best-known personal injury lawyer in your area. Don't try to negotiate
with Ford yourself; you must have an aggressive, competent trial
lawyer representing you.
* Be safe Maybe Ford has fixed the problem of its vehicles exploding
into flames while parked and unattended, but do you want to bet your
life on it? Our advice: Leave Fords outside and well away from your
house. Never leave children, pets or disabled adults alone in a Ford.
A Winning Strategy?
Ford may believe that its strategy of stiff-arming owners of defective
vehicles is a home run. It has certainly been practicing it
consistently, starting decades ago when it ignored the tendency of the
Ford Pinto to burst into flames when hit from the rear.
Since then, it has stonewalled complaints about Ford police cars'
proclivity to catch fire. It ignored complaints about head gasket
failures in the 3.8L V-6 engine used in the Windstar and other models.
Only when a class action lawsuit was filed did the company agree to
extend the warranty on some models, a solution that was accepted by
the court but left many consumers without help of any kind.
But Ford's not-our-problem, too-bad-for-you strategy may prove to be
the classic example of the operation-successful, patient-died paradox.
While disclaiming responsibility for its products' safety and utility,
Ford may succeed in chasing off so many customers that it is no longer
a viable business.
That would be a real non-starter.
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