Hey,

I bought a 2012 GT mustang about 4 months ago brand new. I have been having a horrible experience with this car. There have been a lot of pro It is my very first Ford vehicle, and I will most likely never buy Ford again unless they can make me believe in them. I'm not new to owning new cars, I've purchased brand new cars from Chevy, Mitsubishi, and Toyota; specifically a 2006 Z06 corvette, 2008 Mitsubishi Evo X, 2011 LS3 Vette, 2007 Tacoma, and a 2011 Silverado. The reasons I'm coming to this Forums is to seek advise on what I should do in my situation. Anyways here's my story.

Short Story: heated seats, sync, steering are not working at intended, and catastrophic engine failure at 4900 miles.

Long Story

My horror story begins as a happy owner of a brand new 2012 White GT Premium with brembo brake package, 3:73 gears, and the classy 401a interior. I loved the look of the car and the reviews I'd been reading on the internet was praising the vehicle so I went shopping. After 3 months, I found a dealer, Jerry's Ford around D.C., that would meet my configuration and price. They had to bring the car in from another dealer in Pennsylvania. When I received the car it had ~220 miles on it. I asked them about those miles and they said they had to "drive" the car down, which I guess was ok. When they called the salesman said, the car just got here and was being inspected it to ensure the car was ready to be picked up. Something Ford has to do whenever receiving a vehicle transfer. So everything was good to go.

I got in the car and drove off and immediately noticed that the steering wheel was way off to the right. Secondly, my heated seats I payed like 400 extra bucks for just don't work, they barley get hot at all. Third, the microphone barely works in the car--people cannot understand what I'm saying on the phone at all, and the SYNC voice can't understand a thing i'm saying, so I've just stopped using it. I took the car back a couple weeks later (military training, had me tied down) to have them align the steering wheel, they said it needed a new camber bolt because the one on the vehicle was not long enough. I told them about the mic and heated seats as well but they reported they were "working as intended." At this point, I was a bit frustrated that a car would be sold in this condition and or even let off the assembly line this way. I've owned several new cars from other companies with the same features and they have all worked great, and why do I need a new bolt for a brand new car in order to have the steering wheel be straight? All the other mustangs work. So they ordered the bolt, but they didn't get it in time before I had to move to my next duty station here in Florida.

At this point--on my way to Florida--the mustang was irritating me, but the joy of the power, wonderful clutch, handling, and looks still outweighed the irritations. That is until 20 miles outside my destination when I began to here horrible cadence "tap tap tap" that was directly related with the rpm speed. I'd herd this tapping before... in my 67 camaro... something was wrong with the valves. I got out on the highway and popped the hood, and heard the tapping coming from a valve cover. Yep, something is wrong. I get back in the car look at the oil pressure, temperature and everything is fine. So I think, maybe a lifter is stuck, I guess I'll drive to the nearest hotel and get it to a Ford dealer in the morning. The car never made it. While I was in 6th gear cruising about 45 mph, the vehicle violently shuddered and quickly came to a stop. I immediately knew my engine just seized. The mileage was at ~4900, just before the first oil change. The words that came out of my mouth...

Well anyways, I eventually got an appointment with World Ford in Pensacola. When I came in, the service manager was sitting at his desk so I walked up to him and said "hey I'm the guy with the Mustang that blew up." He didn't look up or saying anything, So i just stood there and starred at him. Finally after about a minute he looked up and said "can I help you" with a very sarcastic tone. I said Yes, I have an appointment to have my vehicle looked at. He said "Ok well we'll get to it when we can" "I had an appointment at 9, does that count for anything?" He said, "unfortunately not." I replied "I'm in the military, I just got here, I don't know anyone, I don't have a place to live, and my brand new car just blew up. I need a car and Ford should cover me a rental" "Well, sorry Ford doesn't give people rentals anymore on warranty work." I nodded, he looked down, and I picked up my cell phone and called the Ford hot line in front of his desk. Half way through my chat with the Ford rep, he got up and left. By the time I was done on the phone. A man comes up to me and says, "your engine has to be replaced, we have a replacement vehicle for you in the mean time." Great! and off I went.

I just got my vehicle back two days ago, after about a month. The new engine seems to be running fine, but when at idle it begins to run extremely rich as if it has an old school choke carburetor and white smoke comes out the exhaust. The cab begins to smell like you're driving behind someone without Catalytic converters whenever this happens. Additionally, the bad alignment on the steering wheel is even worse now. I brought the car back to World ford and told them EVERYTHING that was wrong with the car. They check it out. They have to order "shims" to get the car aligned, and all the other issues are working as intended. Well i can tell you right now I don't want shims on the suspension of my brand new vehicle.

Ok, so that's my story. What I want is Ford to either come and take this hunk of junk away and give me all my money back to include selling price, taxes, and title/registration fees; or give me a mustang in the same configuration that works the way it was intended to work.

Is this asking too much? Because I'm sick of having to get this thing serviced, and the chances of it having more problems after an engine swap is much higher--as I'm already experiencing. Also, the resale on this vehicle is worse because it doesn't have the original engine.

As far as I 'm concerned this vehicle is a Lemon. I will never buy another Ford again unless Ford does the right thing, and gets me out of this car without anymore hassle.

I don't know what do you all think?

 

Sorry to hear about that. Every car that I have ever test driven I drove like hell. Dealers never care, they just hope you like what you saw and buy the car. As a result, I dont think I'll ever buy a car with more than 25 miles on it again. Factory order all the way.

I have my 2012 being built next week, hopefully I drive away a happy customer.

 

I'm sorry you're having those issues. But it sounds like your dealerships are, for the most part, trying to make things right.

Do the heated seats not warm up at all? Or perhaps just not as hot as you would like? As for SYNC...Have you tried a different phone with it? And does it have problems recognizing anyone else's voice/commands, or just yours? How bad is the steering alignment (in inches or degrees)? Sorry you don't want shims...But you don't replace a whole car, just cuz a tire is flat. Also, does the mileage make sense considering how far they should've transported it? Perhaps it's been around the block a few times...

Did they say specifically what happened to the engine? At least it sounds like they replaced it for you without much hassle. I recall another member having issues after his engine was replaced. If I recall correctly, they were supposed to do some special programming or something to it, which they hadn't yet. Maybe someone else can post the thread link, if I can't find it first. Have you reported this new issue to them yet?

There's also a member on here named Deysha. She works with Ford Customer Service. Hopefully she'll chime in, and maybe she can assist you as well.

 

Posted in other thread, welcome to TMS.