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Ford Mustang (2005 & newer) Problems and Solutions
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I travel a lot (am in Miami, FL as I type this). That means a lot of rental cars. My current rental is a Solara. Yesterday it was a Subaru Outback. I can say in all truthfullness that I've seen the distance between American cars and Japanese cars close so much as to be unnoticeable in the past several years. That's not always been the case, however.. I drive rental Buicks, Fords, Subarus, Toyotas, Nissans, etc and even drove a rental Accord a few weeks ago (which is something I've never seen before). Granted, they all drive differently, I don't know that one would be neccessarily built better than the other.
Do I think my 4Runner is built better than my Mustang? They're both relatively new, so I can't say for certain. Plus, they are both on such opposite ends of the spectrum in what they do, I'm not even sure a legitimate comparison could be made. What I can say is that they both are tight, with good paint, close panel gaps and are squeak and rattle free. The Mustang is far louder (but in a good way).
I will say that the Toyotas I've owned and driven have all been tight, with narrow seams and good build. 5 years ago, I couldn't say the same for American cars. Today, I can.
Anybody else heard any truth to that?
1) I have been shifting gears, with no "clunking" although if I put it in Drive in the Garage without my foot firmly on the brake, I catch a little chirp
2) I had to fill up tonight, and dreaded the famous pump shut-off problem. But wait, I put the nozzle in, pulled the lever all the way up, set the little holderthingie, and it pumped all 12 gallons in !
3) When I let off the gas, especially in lower gear I get the most wonderful music I've heard since my friend's AMX 390 back in '77
4) Old CD's, new CD's, and so far one burned CD aren't skipping. Sorry, I'll keep trying
5) and I need help with this one, guys, When I drive for a couple hours with the top down, I geta sunburn! What am I supposed to do, there's nothing in the manual about this :surprise:
NO Ford employee here. Actually I'm a cable guy. Actually I swore off Fords when I sold my '78 Mustang II back in 1983, THAT was a piece of ____
That was then
Hopefully the bugs that have been well overstated here were just that, a few new car bugs. It sounds as though Ford has apparently done a pretty fair job making some mid-production changes to fix those bugs. If I encounter a real problem with my Baby I promise Y'all will be the first to hear about it
I think Ford should put out a TSB for the convertibles addressing this problem. Perhaps they should just weld the top latches to the top of the windshield frame......
sonic.....I think most of the cars manufactured after the latter part of March had the "glitches" worked out. I know mine was made 3/22 (got the exact build date from vin# and a Flat Rock employee). I had one CD skip, but it was a burned CD using some "no name" bulk, blank CDs. Since I've changed to "brand name" blanks, no problems.
I've never had a fuel fill problem. No clunks, no drips, no errors.
Had the "automatic windows down" activated on my remote. So, in short, very pleased with this "first year" car.
Even so, I LOVE my car! But, what is this "automatic windows down" function on the remote? I've never heard of it (of course, I haven't read the owners manual, either), but would love to have it. Tell me more!
This came with the active anti-theft option, if you have it.
Because of some innane alleged safety issue, Ford disabled the feature at the factory. It can be "re-enabled" at you dealership with an easy reprogram.
Of course they are giving me grief along the way because I lowered the car, the stiffer ride will priduce more rattles. Other than the one in the pass. side dash near the airbag, I don't have any. In fact, the one in the dash only appears when it is cooler. Right now? Nada. In April it was there and I imagine in October it will be back. By then, i assume that there will be a TSB on it. The tech guy refuses to touch it because of the airbag. I think that this complaint is quite common from other forums and it will be addressed at some point.
Other than a little rattle, the car, even in its lowered state, is amazingly solid. In fact, that was a huge selling point when I first testdrove this car.
My '99GT was solid too, as Mustangs have been very good lately.
In some catagories the foreign brands have slipped in quality in order to get higher volume. Fortunatly these brands have a lot of quality in the bank, so they can get by. Unforunatly the reverse is true for the US brands who have a long history to overcome.
I'm a huge Mustang fan, but I still get that uneasy feeling looking back at the previous Mustangs I've owned(86 and 89 for new ones). They had some rough build quality, and the worst paint jobs I've ever had on a new vehicle. From what I hear things have changed, but even for me old feelings make a tough sell.
It could also be that the delayed lighting isn't shutting off after you get out of the car. They should go off after about 10 or 15 seconds.
If it's neither of those, you probably have a bad ground somewhere.
Personally, I don't think it's the UAW that is the culprit (although, for many years, they didn't seem to care much other than to get a new and better contract). I believe it was the manufacturing process that got in the way. After years of Big 3 and UAW arrogance, they finally woke up after plants started closing. They either became competitive or would find themselves losing the car market (which is what has been happening recently). I don't attribute the loss of car marketshare to shoddily built cars, though. They just took their eye off the ball to focus on trucks (which in turn were all the rage from the American buying public up until recently).
Since my sister is a Mustang fanatic, she forgave a lot of the foibles of the earlier models. She would actually buy a new one every year or two. After she turned me on to the early "looks" of what was to become the current Mustang, I took an interest in it. I began researching the '05 Mustang. Plenty was written about them after it's debut at the North American Auto Show in Detroit about 2.5 years ago.....including their new assembly home in Flat Rock. Mazda introduced their manufacturing techniques since the 6 is built in the same plant.
End result is, this Mustang is built worlds better than any of the previous versions.
Having already done a lot of research, when my much loved RX8 was rear ended, and subsequently totalled, the '05 Mustang was on my short list of replacements.
It's not disappointed me.
I do believe that some of the problems that have surfaced with the Mustang have to do with people buying it because of the styling, and not realizing it was going to ride firmer and be louder than whatever it was they owned previously. Some of it is related to the fact that there were a couple of hiccups early in the production cycle, namely slow fuel fill and some Shakers skipping. But, Ford quickly issued TSBs and made running production changes for models built after the first few months of production.
Only time (and miles) will tell whether it remains as totally solid as my 4Runner (or vice versa).
One of the features of the "active anti-theft" option was the ability to roll down the windows with the remote by holding down the "unlock" button.
For some sort of "safety" issue that's something I don't understand, Ford "disabled" the feature.
My owners manual outlines the feature (it is outlined on page #65 in my owners manual under LOCKS AND SECURITY...Opening All Windows). Show that to your dealership's service dept to have them reactivate it (if they will....it's a simple 5 minute process).
Truthfully, the dealership isn't supposed to "reactivate it" because of the alleged safety issues. But, mine had no issues doing it. That said, there was a rumor that Ford totally did away with the feature starting sometime in April or May. Don't know how true that is, though. Since all owners manuals and MSRP stickers state that Ford with holds the rights to change features at any time, they may have indeed, done just that.
The paint has three swirl marks on the drivers side. You can't see them in the shade, but they reflect light differently from the rest of the paint, kind of a slight "prizm" effect in bright sun or (in my garage) under flourescents. I didn't see them when I picked up the car because the drivers side was in the shade. The first time I saw them, I thought I had more handprints (Actually been a problem, every time I return to the car in a parking lot there's finger prints and even nose prints on the windows!!) I think the detail guy at the dealership was overzealous with the buffer, but no matter. The dealer wants to take it in and wet sand the marks. I'm assuming that they will need to reapply the clearcoat when that's done, but I need to call him back and get more details. Any comments?
I just wonder why they wouldn't try to "buff" the marks first.
I do agree. A detailer who is too aggressive and/or is using a dirty bonnet, will indeed leave swirls. Does the dealer have one of those automated car washers that uses nylong bristles? Any sort of "spinning" car washes will leave swirls, too.
Please help. This drives me crazy!
Alex
You should still be under warranty. Take it into the dealer (preferably cold and when the windows don't work). It will probably take a while for them to find out where the actual moisture is, so be patient with them.
Probably best to take the car out and run it a little more, though. That will help with a myriad of things.
Get this - I had to take my new mustang in because when it rained the back windshield was leaking. So I brought it in Ford brought in a subcontractor to take out the window and reseal it. I called today the asst service manager says that they resealed it and I could pick it up. I had to go after hours because of work - I look at the window and see the following:
--glass chipped where they removed the windshield
--paint chipped where they removed the windshield
--trim runners on the roof are now loose
--besides all that where the problem with the leak was there is now a glob of sealant that can be seen when looking at the windshield!!!!!!!!!!!!
I left the car there (don't know why - because if they have to order me a W/S it will probably take forever)
What do you guys think I should have then do? Do you think I need to escalate this or wait and see what the local svc dept says?
I am totally disgusted at my Ford service dept..
TH
mustangsally3
Mustangsally3
I'm having the same problem with my sonic blue GT. And some fool body shop manager wanted to blame me for washing it with a new sponge. I had an environmental protection coating applied by the selling dealer, I think that's when the micro-scratches appeared especially on the hood. And it's true, you can only see them at an angle and it bright light. And my clear coat is very dimply (orange peel). The orange peel is a factory defect. I got another opinion and they are re-surfacing my entire car, dusting it with sonic blue paint, then applying 3 coats of clear coat. I'm a little nervous. It'll take about 3 weeks to complete. Let's stay in touch on this subject if you don't mind. Do you also have the orange peel??
mustangsally3
Sally....a certain amount of orange peel is noticeable on all cars. The only way to get no orange peel is to go to a custom paint shop and have them sand, paint, saind, paint several times. That said, the times I've seen those "environmental packages" (or super fancy wax jobs) applied by a dealer, more often than not, they do more harm than good. In general, those packages are little more than a profit maker for the dealership.
I've yet to see one of those applied that did a better job than a good old fashioned wash and wax detail I do myself. As a point of reference, I never let a dealer even wash my new car before delivery. I don't want them to use whatever "shop rags" they've got lying around to mar my finish. Again, since this was a dealer application, they should stand behind their work and correct the swirls.
taz......I have absolutely no idea what your post means. But, glad you're happy!
Graphic is right---if you want totally flawless paint, you'll have to give a custom body shop $6,000--$8,000 to do it right. I once paid $1,600 just to have the FENDER paint on a car made perfect. I wanted to be able to shave in it, and that's what I got. But that was a car of considerable value that I needed to sell for a tasty price---it had to be perfect.
mustangsally3
Any posts that violate the rules of Member Conduct will be quickly deleted, so if you don't want to be writing in disappearing ink, think before you hit the keyboard.
Thanks and we now return to our regular programming,
Shifty the Host
On with another question for MustangSally....I'm a little confused about your dealership's statement that they are going to take your car apart and "dust it with paint". Did they mention exactly what they meant by that?
I'm curious for no other reason than I've never heard of that process. Doesn't mean it doesn't exist, I'm just curious as to what that process is.
Does anyone else have a problem with the radio / computer too. It's only intermittant, but every 3rd journey (approx), I start the engine and the miles have been set to km, the radio settings are all wiped, and the clocks been reset.
I'm also having a problem with the trunk. I've had the tape up the internal trunk release as the trunk kept opening when I was driving along. The internal release is so sensitive, that a slight bump in the road opens the lid. The tape seems to have worked.
I really welcome any tips re the radio, and as for the paintwork, wellI 'm having to seriously consider spending another $2.5k on a re-spray for the car.
Ill keep everyone posted but KEEP THE FAITH.
To be honest - a 2 year warranty would be brill. I'd imagine (or hope) that once these initial probsare sorted, there shouldn't be anything else needing a warranty. I've spoken to Ford UK and, just like when I asked them about importing through them, they don't want to know.
What have you been told re servicing intervals? In my handbook (I'm guessing the car came from Canada, as it's in French & English), it's sayingit should be serviced every 5k km.
In terms of ford UK even knowing how to work on a V8 I am still to be convinced. Im very dubious when Ford UK say "we would have to read about how to fix the problems". Surly there must be some step by step instructions available within Ford to tell them how to do things?
Im not sure if I want my GT to be ford UKs guinea pig.
As for the servicing Im going to do my first at the 5K mark then 3K after that.
I need to get my problems sorted as I have only found one petrol pump in the surrounding area that allows me to fill up without cutting off.
All you American owners be glad that you can at least go down and have it out face to face with your dealer!
Kai
I think you've got me confused with graphicguy....... :confuse:
Chocolate Tea pots?
Build month/year will be on the driver's side door sill with all sorts of other info like tire size, etc.
Another incident which happened in the first week that I purchased this vehicle is that the hose to the windshield fluid came off and most of the fluid drained. I discovered that accidentally when I stopped on the side of the road to buy something at a fruit stand.
It is very frustrating and disappointing to experience something like this, especially when a lot of money is invested into something you would think you could rely on. I'm a single parent and don't particularly like the feeling of having to complain about something that I am paying a lot of money for.
Something has to be done about these complaints.
Windshield washer tube is an easy fix. If you purchased this in March and it happened in your first week of ownership, this should be fixed already.
Getting parts from the mainland will take a bit longer, but look at it this way......you're living in paradise...... :shades: