Ford quality and reliability...
 

Dear members,

I never thought I would ever consider buying a domestic vehicle. I have been a Japanese vehicles fan for years, because I appreciate their quality and long term reliability (I currently own a 2001 Toyota Camry and a 2003 Mazda MPV, both of which I bought brand new at the time and both of which never saw a garage/ repair shop other than for oil change). I am willing to pay (some more) for a product which I know is manufactured with good, constant quality control, thus ensuring with high probability that every item/instance of that product is going to be reliable like the previous and the next item that leave the assembly line.

Recently, I read Phil Edmonston’s: The Lemon Aid, and (among others) even he claims that Ford’s reliability and quality has considerably improved in the last couple of years.

I now became intrigued by the 2011 F-150 SupperCrew, 4x4, EcoBoost, XLT with XTR Package (this package is sold only in Canada).

You may laugh, but my interest in the F-150 is mainly because of:

1. Its comfortableness and convenience (overall width, shoulder room !!!, and spacious 2nd row) and
2. Its 4x4 capabilities (snowy Toronto)

In that order …

I am not a contractor/tradesman and I live in mid-town… (At this moment you really laugh: what the heck does this guy need a F-150 for?). I have the money, I can buy for cash… Recently, I test drove the vehicle at a local dealership, and I felt good about the driving experience. Obviously, as it's a brand new demo vehicle.
However, since I am the type of person who holds a car for "many" years, a very important parameter in my purchase decision making process is the expected vehicle's quality and long term reliability, both of which are practically impossible to be determined through a 10 minutes test drive.

It's just that I am haunted by an article I once read as part of a Business Ethics university course I took in the early 2000’s. That article dealt with the manner in which the Detroit car manufacturers used to build their vehicles, which clearly did not appeared to be a “built to last” approach. More, I would say, “built so that you’ll have to buy another car in just a few years...”. Now, people, like me, who have been reading vehicle reviews in the last 10 years, have been exposed to "somewhat" negative opinions about the quality and reliability of the North American domestic vehicles.

So, bottom line is, since you guys already own a F-150 (maybe you also had previous F-150, i.e., you are a returned Ford F-150 customer), I would be thankful for your insight on your experience with ONLY the quality and reliability aspects of the F-150.

Thanks for your reading this, and for your replies. Have a good day.

The thing to remember is they are mass produced. That said I believe in FORD because unlike the other domestics they really needed to get there act together if they were to survive. FORD did not have US tax dollars at there disposal. Furthermore they had to compete against 2 domestic rivals who were being sponsored as too big to fail by the US govt. (can you spell conflict of intrast) Ironicly at the same time Toyota was being scrutinized heavily by the US media and govt. which no doubt hurt them but helped domestics. That negative spotlight could just as easily been turned on FORD if the powers at work seen fit.

If you drive one youll buy one. They are that good.

I think you will find the F150 fits your needs well.

As for built to last, I think you can argue and find examples of both built to last and built in obsolesence(sp?) in any make.

I will say I have driven a lot of vehicles (I have owned 2 2010 F150, 2011 Cherokee, and 2011 F150) over the past year. I have test driven countless vehicles, to me, Ford has one of the nices trucks available. The Dodge looks nice, but I had some serious mechanical problems with the 5.7 Hemi, 5 spd combo in the Jeep, Chrysler won't get another dime from me (unless I buy the Cherokee SRT-8 :) ). Chevy to me is just plain, in every aspect.

Good luck in your search.

I think you will love your decision. American car makers have really stepped up with one of the best examples being the ford fusion. Also, for snow make sure you order the locking rear differential for the 4x4... Especially for snow.

My experiences with domestics has not been that great (I wont ever buy another chrysler product for a variety of reasons) as a result, I moved to imports for a long time myself. I decided to give Ford another shot and havent been disappointed yet. Cant say about long term reliability yet but I'm hopeful.

As for locker and snow. Not needed. In fact, if the roads are crowned there, the locker can be dangerous if you're not used to it. I've never needed to use a locker on a road. Offroad is another story.

Psst. until 2010, ford had a majority stake in mazda. So you have already experienced the reliability of ford. :)

Just for comparison. 2000-2005 owned a ranger; 2005-2011 owned a FX4 F150; 2011 - present own a FX4. During this time I have also owned a 350Z, M3, a MINI, and now a BMW 135i.

During this period, which vehicles do you think i was constantly having issues with. Here's a hint... It was NEVER my ford trucks! Just oil changes and standard maintenance. Thats IT!

Like another poster said, you can find lemons with every vehicle. I happen to have my own proof of that, just wasnt with FORD. haha

I will say my dad owned two different Ford TEMPO's and they were POS's lol

The most serious fault with my 2005 was the lack of 3M body glue in a seam from the factory that led to water dripping under passenger A pillar and pooling below the fuse box. I noticed the problem changing a fuse before anything bad happened but I was already out of warranty. Ford split the cost with me and I paid $585 and I was unhappy that Ford didn't cover an obvious omission on their part.

I also had a problem with one of the stock tires. Ford never replaced it but eventually force balanced the tire on a Hunter 9700. The partially delaminated tire should have been replaced by Ford but it never was until I replaced all of the tires with Michelins.

I've had several rattles that where fixed under warrantee. Currently with 42K miles on my 2005, the front passenger seat belt rattles when not in use, a wiring harness rattles in the drivers' door as does the window regulator (the two are likely related). The top of the dash rattles at the two dash vents and the center flip-down armrest in the front bench seat lightly squeaks.

The tensioners in 5.4 allow some tappet noise at idle but oil pressure takes up the slack off idle and the valve lash noise goes away. I understand this problem was sorted by Ford in later versions of the 5.4L V8.

The front brake rotors warped with plenty of material left. As a result of Ford ignoring the design flaw, the caliper slide pins wore and now the driver's front caliper clunks after the brakes are released as the warped rotor rotates and pushes the caliper past the worn "divot" in the caliper slide.

That said, as a Minnesotan familiar with all things snow, don't get a locker. Instead get a limited slip 3.55 rear differential. The rear end will "wander" around a bit in snow as it slips a bit and there is a greater tendency to fishtail, but overall the limited slip will greatly enhance your ability to get through deeper snow.

Hello fellow Canuck! I've had a few Ford myself, and I can tell you that they were NOT money pits. I owned a 1996 Mazda B2300 ( Made by Ford ), a 2002 F150, a 2008 F250, and now a brand new 2011 F150 FX4 with Ecoboost. During the same period, I had a Saab 93 that was a real Princess to maintain, a Pontiac Transport that blew a head gasket on me, and a Subaru Impreza that was very reliable, but still blew the ECM on me. Don't forget that when uou buy a truck, the conception in it's core is different. Everything is sturdier than on a car and will last longer, but will cost a little more to replace. My 2002 had a blown exhaust manifold gasket, and it sounded like a lawn sprinkler. That's the only thing that let me down on that truck! I changed the brake pads all around only once in 5 years, and that is because we were moving from Ontario to Alberta. And I was pulling a 28' camping trailer with it!! No issues with my F250, the only things I had to change were the tires and I added sidesteps 'cause the truck was too high for the kids!! I'm sure you'll love your F150 and that, for many years to come!!

Thanks for sharing your opinion and experience!

I just turned in a 2009 Ford Fusion SEL off of lease with 40,000 miles. It was easily as good or better than any foreign vehicle I've rode in or test drove. I had zero issues and only changed the oil in 3 yrs. It also had options that foreign cars couldn't touch for the price. It's ride was comparable to more of a upscale foreign car. It was very similar to a BMWs ride but at half the price. We also have a 2009 Ford Escape with 40,000+ and service record is exactly the same as the Fusion. The Escape isn't as high quality as the Fusion is compared to the competition but it does what we need it to do without any issues.