WARNING...long read...

As many may know, Suzy and I have been fighting Ford over a fairly serious airbag issue since October. We finally went through the Lemon Law arbitration and LOST! Evidently my seven videos showing the "PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF" light turning while traveling at 55mph on with my wife buckled into the passenger seat is normal operation.

I had the choice of getting an attorney and going to state arbitration, which would probably suck up another 3-4 months of my life. We would still run a decent risk of being unsuccessful even at the state level with an attorney, at which time my vehicle would be worth even less AND I'd probably have attorney fees to pay out of pocket. Decided to take it in the ass and trade this piece of shit in as is. Don't really want talk specifics, but my savings have been substantially hosed thanks to Ford....my wife's safety is worth more than what I had to pay to get out of this car. Our sanity is also worth the cost of jumping ship at this point.

To get an idea of what sort of product Ford is selling...read this next paragraph:

When I traded the Focus in yesterday, the car was approximately 5-months old with around 5500 miles on the odometer (still spelled new on the inside). The known problems it had when I traded it in were: creaking/popping driver seat, slow start conditions (I think the starter was going), malfunctioning CD player, rattling rear seatbelt tensioner, creaking rear suspension, clunking rear suspension, some sort of clicking issue with the power steering, and a noisy throw-out bearing. Found out from the dealership who took the trade that the car's struts/shocks were already blown out on it. I never raced or abused this car, and these blew out in only 5500 miles? What a piece of shit. That explains the clunking from the rear suspension. The person doing the inspect also thought the car had been in an accident due to the misaligned front and rear bumpers. No accident...just Ford Quality shining through.


Bill Currie Ford service and Ford Motor Company have been completely useless during this entire ordeal. No one was helpful. No one was willing to stick up for their product OR the consumer. No one took my concern seriously. Ford's rep spewed fictiontal bullshit regarding the cause of this issue during our arbitration hearing that the arbitrator unfortuately bought. Both Bill Currie and Ford Motor Company LIED through their teeth in regards to the events that transpired with the vehicle.

Thanks to these two organizations I will most likely NEVER own another new Ford vehicle. My plans were to buy a beater Focus to setup for NASA's Spec Focus series, but Ford has left me with such a bitter aftertaste that I'm even hesitant to go this route (series is sponsored by Ford Racing...last thing I want to do at this time is give more money to a company who refused to stand behind their product).

Lastly, I'd like to say the Better Business Bureau did a poor job with the arbitration proceedings. I had agreed to an independing mechanical inspection on two conditions. BBB advised that once the inspection was done that I would be able to review the mechanics report and submit any comments to the arbitrator for consideration before coming to her final decision. I never recieved the report. The only thing I recieved was her final decision to deny my request. In her explanation I found that the mechanical inspection did not meet the two conditions that we had agreed upon. Needless to say I'm not thrilled. This organization is supposed to represent the rights of the consumer...yet they blatantly did not live up to the conditions agreed upon for the inspection.


So long story short, as much as I absolutely hate to say it I am done with Ford (but not with the Ford Forum). Despite this ordeal I will still be a fan of the older Mustangs/Fords and hope to see you guys at the next gathering.



BTW...I'm now in a 2007 VW Rabbit. Pat from the fatherland should be proud.

 

Oh yeah here comes the hate !

Warming up the lock button now.




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Oh yeah P.S..






















































IB4SBFMS

 

Damn that really sucks, I am sorry you had a bad experiance but on the other hand no matter what make car you buy new "none of them will stand by there cars unless total lawsuits could weigh more then profit". Glad to see you will stick by us ford guys!!

 

thats AAALLL on the dealer dude. I had a lemon chevy ( dealer said this is a lemon!) truck which i got on sale for columbus day not only did they refund my money BUT they gave me FULL BOOK NEW which was more then i paid. they then gave me dealer cost on a truck of my choice. Too bad this one was an equal piece of shit , it just took the 3 year warrienty expiring and 20 somthing thousand miles to figure out. The piece of shits complete under coating fell off , im thinking they put 1/2 ton or less springs in the front of a 3/4 ton as its nose diving so hard ya couldnt slide a flood jack under it. the murderous CONNECTICUT SUN has baked the pant to a chalky pastel , 3 or 4 FULL sets of brakes and rotors , 2 front axles , inside and outside axle bearings , the rear limited slip locks up in turns , 3 sets of tail gate straps have rotted out and a few other things. YES the truck is a 2000 , but its only got 36,000 miles. the tin the body was made from is SSOOO thin i can literally take my hand and with steady preasure NOT punching it put a dent in the truck. If i punched it it would crease I swear!

The best part was the dealer ,, clearly not looking at the odometer made a comment like well this truck has what 136,000 miles on it? u cant expect much better from it. when i was bitching about it while there on a recall. my retort at like INSAIN FUCKING ANGRY ILL KILL YOUR FAMILY volume was this truck has 36,000 miles on it and its the biggest piece of shit ive ever seen , serviced by this same dealer since new. you fucking assholes couldnt air up a tire right.

BTW I feel your pain and am glad you bought an import. not if only some import would start making 3/4 and 1 ton trucks!

 

There are still a few companies out there that actually stand behind their products. This is one reason why I decided to go with a Volkswagen. While VW does have a relatively tarnished reputation for reliability, I've been told VW corporate is not hesitant about stepping up to the plate and making things right for a customer. The same can't be said for most auto manufacturers (particularly US manufacturers).

 

Sorry your dealer and Ford didnt stand behind your POS. There is a reason why 99.9% of this forum drives/races Mustangs and not Focus's or is Foci???

 

Good to hear but bad to hear. My friend gordon just bought a new GTI, hes had it back for 6 factory recalls and to have the day time running lights turned on since they werent at the factory. VW's are fairly plagued with electronic issues.

 

no, its foceese...

 

Mine also doesn't have the DRLs turned on. It is a simple reprogramming through VAG-com at the dealership...but I dislike DRLs, so I'm happy with it.

The GTI has an entirely different motor than the Rabbit. The majority of the issues with the GTI are related to the motor and that new automatic transmission they are using. The Rabbit is into the second year w/no major issues.