Greetings all,

Has Ford moved past the stereotypical "Friday Quality?"

I just had my window sticker show up and the build day is next friday...

http://services.forddirect.fordvehic...BP8CF2C5214267

 

Superbowl Monday is way worse :P

 

My '11 GT/CS showed a build date of a Thursday on the window sticker.....once I got the specs from Ford on the actual build, it was completed on a Friday. The car has been great. No problems to speak of and it runs great. I would say don't let it bother you.....

 

Just be happy that yours is being built soon!

 

My 2007 GT was coming off the line at 5:00am in the morning after an overnight build on a Friday morning. The quality checks are going to be performed regardless of the day.

Anything could happen on any day which has little to do with "worker attentiveness".

Do you have anecdotal data or otherwise that suggests Ford as a manufacturer has more occurrences of warranty claims for issues that correlate to the build day than other manufacturers?

If I personally was going to use anything to predict how many defects a car would have, it would be directly related to the production facility itself, not the build day.

 

Gimme a break. Really, you think Friday Quality is any different than any other day? Do you realize that a new Mustang is on the assembly line for 32 hours? With 2 eight hour shifts daily, your car will be on the line for 2 or 3 days - not just Friday. Plus, so much of the assembly line is robot assisted - and robots don't have hangovers - that the human factor just isn't as big an issue anymore.

 

At least you have a build date!!

 

By no means was I trying to be a pretentious *****, as much as it may seem.

It is a genuine question, based on previous experience. I have many friends in Unions and some of their stories of other workers just plain scare me. Ford has made great strides in quality, as such it is a valid question to see if the culture of that factory has changed compared to others across Ford and other companies.

Secondly, the "quality checks" are largely superficial, unless my car is selected for the more extensive testing. They turn on the engine, check the paint, make sure the switches work, and call it a day. This does not catch long-term issues.

The robots do not do those checks so the "human factor" is always going to be an issue.

 

I am thankful for that and then some! It has been a long wait.

 

My '12 is a Friday car (build date: 04FEB11) and it's been absolutely perfect. Other than stupid Sync shenanigans (he said it!), I haven't discovered a single flaw. I'm about to roll over 2,000 miles on mine.

 

+1,,for real!

 

I dunno. I work in robotics and people tell me all the time they grow a brain and play practical jokes......just because.....

 

What kind of unions? What kind of industry?

Have you read some of the industry quality ratings that have been publicized regarding Ford and the S197 Mustang in particular? One can surmise there have been much improvements.

The robots do not do those checks so the "human factor" is always going to be an issue.[/quote]

Having toured AAI where these cars are manufactured, there is testing that occurs all throughout the assembly process from the beginning. That includes major subcomponents like the dash, wiring, fit and finish, electronics operations, etc., etc.

In addition, a lot of the fastening and welding processes are checked by precision tools and gauges.

Regarding "long-term" issues, component durability could be affected by batches of parts having problems or design factors that weren't considered. If you review the forums here for themes, you can see that the major problem areas included the new transmission and clutch assemblies for the GTs. And those arose, I am fairly certain, independent of the build day.

Having owned a 1996 Cobra, 2000 GT, 2001 Bullitt, 2003 Mach 1, and 2007 GT, I can safely say that every model year of Mustang was improved more than the previous, and my warranty repairs were the least in the 2007 GT (had it for 3.5 years for 2 repairs) and my current 2010 (purchased in Dec 2009 for 1 repair). Neither of my S197 Mustangs had to be refused delivery because of initial fit and finish or inoperability problems on the day I picked them up.

You owe it to yourself to go see the assembly processes at AAI. There might still be some videos on YouTube for your review.

 

I got a Ford in '07 that was made on a Friday, and it was the Fri before 4th of July when the plant was closing for a week..
First thing we noticed right away was it had 2 different door-sills plates, then saw the instrument panel bezel cracked, and also the brake pedal was making a clicking noise like it was hitting something. Turns out they mounted one of the hinge bolts backwards on the assembly line..

 

i don't know...i hear this guy might be working the friday shift....could be a concern

 

What's wrong with stone cold?

sent by underground wire tap

 

Be thankful its him and not our guy. His other hand would be in this guys back pockets looking for change.

 

Tony, please tell us how to arrange this factory tour?

I cannot find any info on the Web except for a tour of the F-150 plant in Dearborn. Nothing at all for the AAI plant in Flat Rock. Any ideas?

 

I have been on the tours with IMBOC and the Mach 1 Registry groups when they were there. I believe that is the best way to see the plant.

This year, I thought I read somewhere that there might be tours during the Boss reunion in August.

Other than that, I don't think individuals can arrange for tours on-demand. There might be some other forum users here who have the connections to arrange something.

 

Out of curiousity, I checked my '11 GT's build date. It was finished on Monday, 1/24/11. So far no quality issues, just the annoying axle hop at WOT (needs aftermarket lower control arms badly!).