Ford to sell vehicles without features enabled

[Flying68]

Dealers must be overjoyed at this.  Decontenting after a vehicle has been ordered to a given spec will make many people refuse delivery if said vehicle ever gets built, which will allow the dealer to then put it on the floor and add markup to their hearts content.

[rmc523]

16 hours ago, tbone said:

 

This shits getting ridiculous. I’m highly skeptical that this is all chip related. I find it hard to believe that the value of the multi contour seats is only $300. Some things removed from the F150 were definitely not chip related. I personally think this is Ford decontenting in disguise.  At what point do you not just buy a base model, as they are removing all the features that make the higher trim models what they are, especially if there is no ability to add them later.  
 

I haven’t diligently tried to identify what the other manufacturers are removing from their vehicles, but at the same time I haven’t seen many headlines about them removing content for their vehicles

either.  
 

I have two new vehicles on order and this will give me second thoughts about taking them once they become available.  It’s highly disappointing you aren’t given an option to wait longer for your vehicle to get the options you expect, for  those willing to wait.  At this rate, what options are going to get cut next, air conditioning?

 

Off the top of my head, GM is removing heated seats from certain vehicles.

 

And you could request your dealer to give you a low priority in order to wait.

[tbone]

3 hours ago, rmc523 said:

 

Off the top of my head, GM is removing heated seats from certain vehicles.

 

And you could request your dealer to give you a low priority in order to wait.

I had seen that, heated steering wheel, and ventilated seats are still an issue for them as of an article dated today.  They had previously removed Climate control digital temp displays, side blind zone alert, and super cruise on some models but have since added them back due to a better flow of semiconductors. 
 

I’ll be shocked if Ford adds back everything they have taken away.  

[fuzzymoomoo]

6 hours ago, tbone said:

I had seen that, heated steering wheel, and ventilated seats are still an issue for them as of an article dated today.  They had previously removed Climate control digital temp displays, side blind zone alert, and super cruise on some models but have since added them back due to a better flow of semiconductors. 
 

I’ll be shocked if Ford adds back everything they have taken away.  

I thought I read wireless charging pads are an issue too

[rmc523]

12 hours ago, fuzzymoomoo said:

I thought I read wireless charging pads are an issue too

 

I find the wireless charging pads kinda gimmicky/useless in that they usually are in the only space you have for some exposed/open storage, so I have to pick one or the other - leave it completely empty to charge, or use it for storing some items and not be able to charge.

[silvrsvt]

I’ve heard the wireless chargers on Ford products suck anyways-so May not be that much of a loss. 

[fuzzymoomoo]

32 minutes ago, silvrsvt said:

I’ve heard the wireless chargers on Ford products suck anyways-so May not be that much of a loss. 

Most wireless chargers suck 

[mechanistic]

Thinking in terms of process continuity: vehicle produced with parts/systems/firm-/software/yadi yada then hours, or weeks even months later, missing items installed! yay! Off to transport, etc. 

 

Is it just me? I'm trying to decide how bothered I am by the 'chaos factor'. For example, I had rodent damage on a 2008 Prius - totalled the car. Only an example, but the concept of in process vehicles, with all these various levels of rework, essentially...toss in the '5 o'clock on a Friday' phenomenon....let's say I'm apprehensive about QC, or whatever

[2005Explorer]

From what I have been hearing on the Ranger it went from the ability to delete the Auto Start/Stop if you wanted (all models except Tremor) to Ford just deleting it on all of them now. Mine was built just before this change took place. I’d say the majority of people will be glad the ASS is gone.

[jflottawa]

10 hours ago, fuzzymoomoo said:

Most wireless chargers suck 

True... you can't have a case on your phone, etc. I have a rigid Otterbox case on my phone and it doesn't charge with most wireless chargers.

[jflottawa]

10 hours ago, mechanistic said:

Thinking in terms of process continuity: vehicle produced with parts/systems/firm-/software/yadi yada then hours, or weeks even months later, missing items installed! yay! Off to transport, etc. 

 

Is it just me? I'm trying to decide how bothered I am by the 'chaos factor'. For example, I had rodent damage on a 2008 Prius - totalled the car. Only an example, but the concept of in process vehicles, with all these various levels of rework, essentially...toss in the '5 o'clock on a Friday' phenomenon....let's say I'm apprehensive about QC, or whatever

 

It's fair to say that most of the world's supply chain, not only vehicle, is in chaos. Factories have had to shift from building inventory for dealers or retailers to sell from the show floor to building custom orders only. Not much differs, except for the visibility not previously visible to the end consumer. Add to that the real parts shortages (again, across most industries) and you get some irate customers.

I'm trying to remain positive - I ordered a truck because I wanted "the perfect" truck. I'm *hoping* to receive it by end of June, in time for my first summer vacation but totally understand that the world is different for another couple of years. Took over 1 yr to receive our factory-ordered refrigerator - and that was just after the first wave of the pandemic.

 

Patience is a virtue, and I'm practicing

[jflottawa]

On 4/6/2022 at 8:28 AM, Flying68 said:

Dealers must be overjoyed at this.  Decontenting after a vehicle has been ordered to a given spec will make many people refuse delivery if said vehicle ever gets built, which will allow the dealer to then put it on the floor and add markup to their hearts content.

Maybe some dealers... I think most dealers want to make every buying customer happy by doing whatever they can in their control. Happy customers mean referrals which means more business. Having someone refuse their order and tell the world how pissed off they are isn't worth the extra couple of bucks they'll make with the markup on 1 vehicle.

[j2sys]

6 hours ago, jflottawa said:

True... you can't have a case on your phone, etc. I have a rigid Otterbox case on my phone and it doesn't charge with most wireless chargers.

 

I can and I do just fine.  Can even fast wireless charge a Samsung Galaxy S21 through an OtterBox Defender.  An iPhone 13 Pro wirelessly charges just fine through the same, even with Ford's charging pad.  But sure, you totally can't, while it's my primary means of charging.

[jflottawa]

1 hour ago, j2sys said:

But sure, you totally can't, while it's my primary means of charging.

 

I sense sarcasm, was just sharing my experience.

 

I have an iPhone 12 with the defender case and I struggle to find the exact spot where I can reliably charge my phone. I don't have my truck yet, so I haven't tried it. My comment was about my wireless charging experience in general.

 

I'm (cautiously) optimistic that it'll work

[TJAldridge]

25 minutes ago, jflottawa said:

 

I sense sarcasm, was just sharing my experience.

 

I have an iPhone 12 with the defender case and I struggle to find the exact spot where I can reliably charge my phone. I don't have my truck yet, so I haven't tried it. My comment was about my wireless charging experience in general.

 

I'm (cautiously) optimistic that it'll work

 

I never had any luck with it working in my previous 2020 F450 with either my iPhone or my Android.  So I guess I don't care either way.  So someone can have my wireless charger if it helps!

[caplanm]

I've never had a problem with the wireless charger on  my 2018 Expedition, with either an iPhone 8 w/Otterbox case or iPhone 12 w/Otterbox case.    My only complaint is that dropping the phone on the slanted charger is sometimes a bit cumbersome.

[bandoom]

On 3/14/2022 at 4:21 PM, T-dubz said:

I’m not buying any vehicle that missing features that I want. I usually keep my vehicles around 5 years or so. That means I’d be without those features for possibly 20% of my ownership. That’s a big ask. If they aren’t compensating me for that 20% then I’m not buying. With that said, I can see how some are in a tight spot with this. Maybe you need a vehicle for work or your current vehicle broke down. In those situations you don’t really have the luxury to wait. 

 

 

 

In most cases, they do compensate you $50-$100 for each item they will deliver later. 

 

I think something like second row climate control delay is far more palatable than shipping the full size SUVs without proximity sensors and reverse braking like with some Chevys. 

Edited April 9, 2022 by bandoom
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