was it passenger side of a 04-06 escape? theres a LOT of those in nice shape pushing shocks into rear seats..THAT problem appeared to be corrected in 07, but really shoulda been a recall. my sister-in-laws, mother-in-law (wow) has one that had this problem, I thought she was getting taken by the dealer that had to repair it- but started reading up on it, NHTSA has a bunch of incidents- luckily no injuries to rear seat passengers yet from suspension penetration into the cabin, but wow... I looked at hers, the drivers side was as solid and dirty as any typical car, she keeps it washed frequently, the car looked clean everywhere- she showed me a cellphone pic her son took of it- you wouldnt believe the rust on the passenger side panel

https://www.facebook.com/pages/2005-...97923900236108

 

No, it was a '96 Cougar. Yeah, not "really" a Ford but the same **** car as a Thunderbird. It was in pretty nice condition except for that. For whatever reason ONLY that area rusted (the other rear wheel well was bad as well, but didn't completely disintegrate).

By that point I just drove it without a rear shock until a fuel line sprung a leak somewhere up near the tank and I just junked it.

I get it when small parts fail, possibly prematurely, requiring replacement or repair. But a major structural component of the vehicle shouldn't fail so soon. After it happened I asked around and apparently it's a known issue with those cars. Guess I should've done more research...oh well.

 

I %100 agree. They don't need to do anything because the hood only lasts the length of the warentee. That's all it NEEDS to last right? (This is sarcasm).

 

Yes, because the 100,000s of Fords with Aluminum hoods out there that are not corroding really shows that Ford has a major problem on their hands. I have to say both of my Mustangs don't have any corrosion of issues, and a lot of the other cars that I know of haven't had any corrosion issues after quite some time.

 

It may be sarcasm on your part, but reality is -- the paint on the hood does not have to last beyond the warranty period. That's why they expire, Ford is not going to guarantee every part of their vehicle in perpetuity.

 

You're missing the point. Having a mentality of "just good enough" doesn't result in a good product. It's good for the company's bottom line (at least for a while...) but it means the consumer gets a product that isn't as good as it could be. Eventually that will catch up to any company. A car that rusts within 3 years is just no acceptable by modern standards, and after a while folks just won't put up with it.

They don't need to guarantee that everything on the car will last a longer amount of time, but they should strive to make a vehicle that lasts as long as possible without issues such as this, especially when it's so easy to fix. This hood issue isn't happening because people live in salty environments, nor does it appear to be an isolated incident. It occurred over a length of time, and the cause was improper handling of the raw part. Could that process have been fixed, to prevent these issues? Of course, but someone at Ford decided that the issue generally doesn't get noticed until after the warranty period was up, and that it would cost more money to fix it then to just let it be and fix a few hoods here and there.

And that's the real issue: not that it happened, but that Ford didn't care. And it's not just hoods, this has been going on with many different Ford vehicles (and other manufacturers...) over many years. Mistakes happen, and Ford could be a MUCH better company if they took the responsibility to fix these mistakes in a more appropriate manner. They don't have to do a recall every time some mickey mouse issue comes up, but at LEAST fix the issue once it's found so future vehicles don't exhibit it as well.

 

And to further drive my point home, what if the entire car just fell apart after the warranty? What if the entire car started rusting BAD after the bumper to bumper, and the head gasket and gearbox blew right after the powertrain warranty? By your thinking, none of those parts need to last much more then 60,000 miles...and if most Ford vehicles were dilapidated by 60,000-100,000 miles NO ONE would buy them.

 

I'm not confusing any point.

You guys are confusing responsibility with a business decision, and trying to lump them together. The two are separate issues.

Ford has absolutely no responsibility to ensure that the vehicle lasts beyond the warranty period, just like any other manufacturer. You want a car guaranteed to last more than 3/60, buy an extended warranty.

As for the business sense, they've got guys who are a lot smarter and have access to a lot more information than you or I. Maybe they've done the research that shows customers don't care after the warranty period. Maybe it promotes new vehicle sales. Maybe the cost is too exorbinant to re-tool the assembly line and makes the mustang non-competitive price-wise. Whatever the reason within that is of absolutely no concern to you or I.

If you don't like the fact that some Fords have had this issue, you're more than free to purchase another vehicle from somebody else.

 

just a guess, but bet if you open the hood and look around the edge where the top panel is crimped to the bottom, somewhere around the perimeter you will more than likely find some blisters somewhere... they grow fast once the paint gets split from heat cycling or whatever... the blistering *might* start from painting over dirt/ecoat/mastic/whatever- but paint is supposed to be applied over clean surfaces... non clean irregular surfaces can have thin spots/pinholes/whatever- my 06 hood went from the small irregular bubbly edge to huge blisters over about 3 months- oddly, the hoods still sitting up in the rafters, doesnt seem to have progressed much- guess it needs rain exposure...my undriven 09 hood blisters havent changed much either, but its only been washed twice, sits covered inside...

 

I agree too. These are not hand made Bentley's. They are essentially 'disposable' cars in a light sense of the word, meaning, they are made to last a while but not indefinitely. All the big manufacturers hope we tire of them and buy the next generation. They are mass produced and satisfy enough quality assurance to hopefully avoid recalls or bulletins. They are not handmade Bentley's for $400,000.

 

This is an excellent point. However, it's not the cost, nor who makes it.

I know that I'm not looking to Ford past this Mustang. If this is how they paint their cars, I won't be buying a new Ford anytime soon.

In this case, Darren, it does not matter that Ford is not Bentley. It matters that Ford's paint sucks so much, I won't be buying one.

I love my Awesome. I am resigned to the fact that her hood is going to get painted. I accept this. But I won't put anything Ford's made in the past 10 years in my driveway beyond that.

I should not be getting my hood repainted this early. Period. End of that line of thought.

 

I don't think I'd go anywhere near that far. If they only built to the warranty period, they'd be out of business a long time ago.
Certainly from a business standpoint, they don't want to have to make many repairs during the warranty, but that hardly means they only build to 36/60 months. The warranty is provided for customer reassurance, but its the longevity of the product in the marketplace that generates repeat business.
I bring Ford repeat profits because of the hundreds of thousands of trouble free miles over 30 years their vehicles have delivered for me.

 

Handmade Bentleys aren't that much better. I've worked on them. Same with Ferraris, Lamborghinis, etc. They're all just "cars" in the grand scheme of things. Their plastic will creak when you press on it, they have orange peel in the oaint, they have cheap parts underneath the leather and carbon fiber. You're paying for the name, some metal ***** instead of plastic, some wood trim and some leather covered plastic. Yes, they are partially still hand assembled, but so are Mustangs, F-150s etc. In the case of Bentleys, their cars share a large percentage of their platforms with the VW Phaeton and Audi A8, while the Rolls Royce cars share a lot with the BMW 7-Series. The presentation is definitely a few notches above a Ford, but underneath, they're not all that different.

 

Again, do not confuse responsibility (legal obligation) with business decisions.

It's a business decision to invest in ensuring their cars last. It's their legal obligation to make sure the car lasts the warranty period, or repair it during that time.

Don't get me wrong, do I think Ford should fix these paint issues at the factory? absolutely. But, that's me as a consumer with absolutely no insight as to the cost, and/or actual rate of occurrence of these problematic hoods. The guys at Ford engineered an incredibly successful turnaround -- they're smart guys and know what they're doing. Do I think Ford should incur the cost of repainting the hood on a 7 year old car? absolutely not.

 

Your point has been made, but the fact is we've been reading about this issue for years! The affected cars were well within the warranty period, and many weren't addressed because people didn't notice it right away.

 

Well, if you don't care about your car enough to notice it during the warranty period, that would be your problem.

I haven't heard of a single instance of Ford denying warranty coverage for this.

 

next time you check your oil, pleae look closely around the perimeter underside of your hood... odds are your disposable 2013 has this problem already too... somewhere around the hem, if not numerous places. odds are it will blister up in a year or three, and any repairs will be temporary at best...so expect to toss the hood and replace it, prep/seal paint properly, or keep getting it redone every couple years. it starts between the layers, it cannot be cleaned out without opening the hem.

I was well aware of the issue when we had our 09 flatbedded down from michigan 5+ yrs ago, its still got 4 miles on it, never been driven - ever. I poked thru the paint under the hood hem on the brand new car the day I got it, it was powdery white underneath. just wanted to confirm wether it was crap that wasnt cleaned or corrosion. the corrosion was there from day 1.
I oiled the little hole I poked, the little blisters havent spread yet, but the car never gets wet. before I ever drive it, Ive decided right or wrong to clean/seal the hem edge with 'automotive goop', its messy, but has enough toluene to melt into the paint securely, then tape up the hood(off the car), pour or inject a liberal amount of ospho phosphoric acid and roll the hood around coating the inner perimeter with the acid, then rinse well with water, again with alcohol, then one edge down at a time shoot some heavy paint inside, tilt so it runs the length of the hem, let dry, repeat one edge per day till its sealed...I might not be around in 20 years, but hopefully the car will, and will still have a unblistered hood.

seems silly? I tore my new 06 apart before it ever got dirty and sealed every seam that wasnt properly sealed(drivers rear had missed spots all around the shock mount) injected paint into all the downward pinchwelds, used truck roll-on bedliner in the rear wheelwells and the front unibody structure with the hood/fenders off, poured paint inside the door bottom hems... a weeks labor, but the car is a U-Boat underneath- still looks like new at 60k underneath. the wifes 07 she didnt want me to tear apart, it just gets washed, and at 20k looks like most well maintained cars underneath, but not like new, a few little spots of surface rust showing at things like controlarm seams, etc... not mine

our 65 galaxie hood has original caspian blue enamel, no blisters, shines a mile deep. my 69 mustang hood has no blisters on its Acapulco blue paint, but its old paint is checked, will be stripped. my 2000 merc has original paint, car has rusted away bad, will be junked after this winter due to frame rot, but the hood is perfect. my sons 98 ranger, other sons 2000 expedition ave perfect original hoods, only my 3 mustangs have had ANY crappy hem work. dummy me didnt do anything on my 06 hood, as I knew it was aluminum, and *assumed* it wouldnt matter... didnt take much time to learn aluminum oxidizes faster than steel- at least this crap does...only aluminum Ive ever worked with was 6061-t6, it looks great forever.

I just dont see how anyone can defend the bad processing of the new mustang aluminum hoods.
please go back and look at the auto show pics- ford has still not got a ear to the ground a year later. I really hope competitors start showing their quality- if hyundai had a commercial that said -"look at our panel finishing, then go look at your ford" fords market share would drop overnight- and deservedly! it just stupid that this simple issue noone else has has not been fixed a decade into it.

mark my words- if that all aluminum F150 is slapped together like this it will be the end of Ford. they CANNOT let their best selling moneymaker fall apart before its paid for and ever expect to sell another. too much of our economy is riding on the few remaining manufacturers here... guess the 'big three' dont have to include ford forever...

 

Well, that's the thing. Aluminum doesn't corrode like steel. It won't fall apart, it'll just look ugly when the paint flakes off and such.

 

Friedmaster, do you work for Ford or do you just like arguing? I think we all get YOUR point but most of us don't agree with you. We can go like this until we have 1000000 page post... it's getting old. Thanks for your input.

 

What's not to agree with?

What makes you think that Ford should repair your vehicle beyond the period of the warranty you paid for?