The title says it all. 2011 GT, 32k miles, not even two years old yet, and the next track and "set -" button on both sides of the steering wheel had worn enough where you could see light leakage on the raised portion of the button at night.

I took the car into my dealer and they quickly identified the issue and replaced both button banks on the steering wheel. Curious if anyone else has had this issue. It appears Ford may have switched from a more robust, two part injection mold/laser etch, to a cheaper painted style button, which doesn't appear to last. I don't have any pictures of the issue, but I'm curious whether this will happen again.

 

I think the wear depends on how much you manipulate the buttons and how clean your hands are from natural oils. You even have to be careful what you use when you are cleaning the buttons. I have a 2010 built in 2009 that I bought used and I am not experiencing any such wear yet.

 

Mine has only 7k miles and there's a little 'scratch' or something where the light is leaking through..

 

those on my 2010 were replaced for the same issue at about 27K miles.

 

My buttons are like that too. I think it's from using hand sanitizer.

On that note, My interior seems to be a lot less durable then my exterior. I have a bunch of scratches on my center console from ladies rings and jewelry. The center console is hella loose too!

Don't ask me what caused this. Lol

 

If anyone needs part numbers because they're out of warranty, they are:
AR3Z-9C888-DA (RH, $65)
AR3Z-9C888-BA (LH, $56.09)

 

I had mine replaced for the second time...under warranty

 

Never even considered theyd be under warranty, good info, thanks

 

Found locations and pricing and added them to the previous post.

 

mine replaced at 8k miles, the volume button was all gone.

 

Sounds like this is a bigger problem than I originally thought.

 

Hello members,

If you are experiencing this concern with your vehicle, please make an appointment with your Ford dealer for diagnosis. Then, you can PM me with your VIN, dealer, mileage, and contact info so I can escalate this for you to the Customer Service Manager for your area.

Deysha

 

Nice, now if the leather on my steering wheel is covered, I could stop wearing gloves! lol

 

I think all manufacturers have a problem with the MFBs (multi-function buttons)
its due to the combination of oil in the hand and lotions and hand sanitizers. BMW has had this issue for years and both my BMWs had the MFB sets replaced due to finish degrading.

Solution is Dont Touch The Buttons.... haha! just kidding

 

My 2012 GT is starting to loose paint on those buttons too. I plan on taking to the dealer for an oil change soon and getting these replaced.

 

Jeez, I paid less for a brand new Ford premium leather steering wheel ($89) than those 2 little replacement buttons cost....

 

Cheap chinese crap is why. Make it cheap to save a few pennies for Ford who end up losing money by having to replace them over and over. Yet another reason why they should be made here in the USA by American union employees.

 

Whatever you do don't get hand sanitizer on your seat surfaces. Don't ask me how I know. $600 later.

 

Our company makes the mirror control ***** as well as many of the turn signal stalks for a number of Ford vehicles. The process is a transfer printing of ink to the plastic. Even though the ink is high-durability ink & is cured as the last step of the process, HAND LOTIONS & HAND SANITIZERS are the most common enemies & will eat right through the ink. If you use either of these types of items, it is best to use them after you get out of the car and have a couple hours for them to fully soak into your skin before you drive. Also, when using lotions / sanitizers; a LITTLE goes a LONG way. It's very easy to go overboard using these products. A good rule of thumb is that if your hands are sticky or slick after using these products, there's enough to rub off on your buttons & eat through the ink.

Natural oils do very little to erode the ink on these parts. If you're not using the two items mentioned above and the ink is wearing off, it is quite possible that the affected parts weren't cured properly.

 

I will be making an appointment with my dealer for this issue. It's no biggie, but it is inconvenient