2017 Ford Super Duty trucks recalled because the fuel tank could fall off

[blwnsmoke]

Seriously... WHY????

 

Why must they screw up like this with something as important as a fuel tank bracket that is missing???

 

As much as I love Ford.. this type of crap should not happen and there is ZERO excuse for it.

 

http://www.autoblog.com/2016/12/21/ford-super-duty-taurus-explorer-flex-fire-recall/

 

 

 

Bad news from Dearborn. Ford just announced a pair of recalls, including a particularly worrying flaw in the new F-Series Super Duty. According to Ford's official announcement, there are roughly 8,000 of its big trucks on the roads with a missing reinforcement bracket – if it's not there, the fuel tank could separate from the frame.

 

[YT90SC]

First, 8k trucks is like a couple day's production, right? They caught it, and are fixing it. Since none of the 8k have had issues yet, it must not be that dire. Second, quality control is in the sh***er and has been for quite some time. Be happy this is fast and efficient. DPOS6 is still junk 5 model years later and Ford still cant build working door latches.

[fuzzymoomoo]

The door latches is a supplier problem, they aren't being built to spec, and there's a lot of finger pointing going on as to why it's happening.

 

The SD fuel tank bracket problem sounds like the part wasn't being delivered to the line and since it's a new model, nobody knew it was missing. I'm very surprised this wasn't caught in plant before any of these even left the property since they were early builds.

[Bob Rosadini]

The door latches is a supplier problem, they aren't being built to spec, and there's a lot of finger pointing going on as to why it's happening.

 

The SD fuel tank bracket problem sounds like the part wasn't being delivered to the line and since it's a new model, nobody knew it was missing. I'm very surprised this wasn't caught in plant before any of these even left the property since they were early builds.

Duh? Educate me please. " Nobody knew it was missing". I know its the age of robots, but doesn't at some point a human get involved? An inventory person who says..."we have no brackets". An inventory system that says....."Error-no stock". A guy on the line who attaches fuel tanks to frame??.."opps-this doesn't look right?

 

Scary that this can happen.

[fuzzymoomoo]

Duh? Educate me please. " Nobody knew it was missing". I know its the age of robots, but doesn't at some point a human get involved? An inventory person who says..."we have no brackets". An inventory system that says....."Error-no stock". A guy on the line who attaches fuel tanks to frame??.."opps-this doesn't look right?

 

Scary that this can happen.

My guess is it wasn't labeled an inverted delta part meaning it's not critical and thus not going to stop the line if it's not installed. Someone failed to cross that "t" when they were mapping the job layouts. I guarantee that has been fixed since they discovered the fault.

 

If it's a new part all together that wasn't part of the old model, or on a different station/line, and the line operator and/or hi-lo driver weren't instructed that the part was supposed to be there, I can see it happening.

 

I'm guessing they noticed they weren't there when either a) the part just suddenly appeared on the line one day (plausible) or b) someone did inventory in the material handling department and noticed there was a massive surplus of this part and alerted management (more likely)

[Bob Rosadini]

My guess is it wasn't labeled an inverted delta part meaning it's not critical and thus not going to stop the line if it's not installed. Someone failed to cross that "t" when they were mapping the job layouts. I guarantee that has been fixed since they discovered the fault.

 

If it's a new part all together that wasn't part of the old model, or on a different station/line, and the line operator and/or hi-lo driver weren't instructed that the part was supposed to be there, I can see it happening.

 

I'm guessing they noticed they weren't there when either a) the part just suddenly appeared on the line one day (plausible) or b) someone did inventory in the material handling department and noticed there was a massive surplus of this part and alerted management (more likely)

thx for response

[tbone]

The door latches is a supplier problem, they aren't being built to spec, and there's a lot of finger pointing going on as to why it's happening.

Unfortunately the buyer of vehicles with these door latches sees the Ford badge on their vehicle, therefore they are Ford latches. Either get the supplier to build the door latches correctly, or find a new supplier so your brand doesn't get tarnished.

 

As for this SD fuel tank issue, I'm not overly concerned. It's a complex new vehicle, and it appears they caught it early. If this same issue occurred on the old platform I would be more concerned. Is it a good thing, certainly not, but I don't see it as catastrophic.

[coupe3w]

They caught it, they fixed it, move on.

[akirby]

What is more concerning is that these problems are cropping up more frequently on new vehicles. Right now the Edge and MKX have a problem with adaptive steering requiring replacement of the steering wheel. This is after the water leaks last year. The parking sensors go off when nothing is there. Android auto and CarPlay are 6 months late and still not officially available from Ford. Fit and finish problems. How much of that is engineering/cost cutting and how much is Oakville?

[YT90SC]

FYI: the "bracket" is a glorified washer glued inside the crossmember to keep the bolt from pulling through. It's quite small and inside the cross member. Would be easy to miss.

Edited December 22, 2016 by YT90SC

[sullynd]

What is more concerning is that these problems are cropping up more frequently on new vehicles. Right now the Edge and MKX have a problem with adaptive steering requiring replacement of the steering wheel. This is after the water leaks last year. The parking sensors go off when nothing is there. Android auto and CarPlay are 6 months late and still not officially available from Ford. Fit and finish problems. How much of that is engineering/cost cutting and how much is Oakville?

My parking sensors have done this since new. Dealer can't find anything. Does it happen on your MKX? I've gotten in the habit of turning them off.

[MKX1960]

My parking sensors have done this since new. Dealer can't find anything. Does it happen on your MKX? I've gotten in the habit of turning them off.

I get the parking sensor thing and sometimes red lights flashing when cars are not really THAT close to me in my 17 Explorer. I really like them when pulling into the garage, but they are a little startling when they activate for no apparent reason.

[sullynd]

It happens to me when there is nothing near by. I can make it happen if I stop quickly for instance.

[akirby]

It happens to me when there is nothing near by. I can make it happen if I stop quickly for instance.

Same here. The other day it went off on the right side and there was an empty lane between the vehicle and the curb. Has to be a software issue.

[Bob Rosadini]

FYI: the "bracket" is a glorified washer glued inside the crossmember to keep the bolt from pulling through. It's quite small and inside the cross member. Would be easy to miss.

Well thx for posting this bit of news. That makes the failure to spot this a lot more plausible. Makes me wonder-gluing a washer? Perhaps they should have considered a specific bolt with an enlarged head/shoulder. One less step in the assembly process.

[SoonerLS]

Well thx for posting this bit of news. That makes the failure to spot this a lot more plausible. Makes me wonder-gluing a washer? Perhaps they should have considered a specific bolt with an enlarged head/shoulder. One less step in the assembly process.

I'm guessing that a glued-in washer is quite a bit cheaper than bespoke bolts, particularly on the scale of the Super Duty. If you can do the job for a nickel, why spend a buck?

[BORG]

My parking sensors have done this since new. Dealer can't find anything. Does it happen on your MKX? I've gotten in the habit of turning them off.

 

 

I have a 2016 MKX and there can be odd occasions when this happens, it's typically not a major concern for me. The onscreen interface pops up when there is something really there and it tells you where in the perimeter it is. I still wish that the cross-traffic alerts appeared on the backup screen instead of the instrument panel. When you're backing up, you're NOT looking at your instrument panel so some of these features seem poorly considered.

 

I can't complain about the quality in my car, there are some dashboard buzzes and rattles that crop up occasionally and there is some fit n finish issues that Ford is simply incapable of resolving and I never expect them to. Every Ford and Lincoln my family has ever bought has had some noticeable fit issues (in my '16 MKX the a-pillar headliner was not fastened on properly and the right headlight has a significant gap along the fender). But those are the only things I would describe as a 'quality issue'. The rest of my complaints really come down to some familiar stuff, MyLincoln Touch is still problematic with an unresponsive touch screen and malfunctions that break major functions until the car is restarted (like Media or Navigation). I've never had to bring the car in for warranty issues over a year later. I probably won't get the light leather again just because it stains REALLY easily from clothing, wasn't an issue on previous Lincolns so I guess the softer leather isn't as resistant.

 

My MKX didn't get adaptive steering but the technology sounds very problematic, especially since it was delayed a year. It's just far too mechanical and by most accounts it doesn't work smoothly and causes some noise and vibration in the wheel.

 

I have a '16 Escape that was suppose to get CarPlay but that update never came.

Edited December 23, 2016 by BORG

[akirby]

You don't need to SEE the cross traffic alert - it's audible. As for the seats we've had light colored leather seats in the wife's vehicle since 1993 and we've never had the first stain. And that includes raising 2 kids.

[SoonerLS]

You don't need to SEE the cross traffic alert - it's audible. As for the seats we've had light colored leather seats in the wife's vehicle since 1993 and we've never had the first stain. And that includes raising 2 kids.

My '06 LS has light colored leather, and after more than 100K miles, it doesn't have any noticeable stains. It has a rear door ashtray that's half full of wax from where my niece forgot a crayon, but the leather is still good.