[FordTech]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to this site and have been looking at various topics and replies and I think its funny how people get so upset over such minimal items like rattles. First of all let me say that I am a Ford Tech and have owned and worked on everything from Hondas to Lincolns to Jeeps. What bothers me is that I hear all the time that the dealership didn't fix their car and I am sure thats correct. I have worked at several dealers and have worked with all kinds of mechanics, some good and care about their workmanship, and others that don't. However, most of my experiences where something wasn't fixed was due to a lack of communication between the customers complaint and the technician. Everyone who purchased a brand new vehicle should know that there are growing pains that come with new vehicles. Just as you are learning things about your car, so are the technicians. If you bring your car in for a rattle allow for enough time to ride with either a technician or service manager and show them the EXACT rattle you are concerned about. Dont rush in drop it off and say, "I got a rattle" and leave. I recently purchased a Fusion and I noticed that there is a popping noise from the dash on right hand side. I believe that it is due to the expansion or contraction of plastic behind the dash in the heater ducts when the car is warming up. I am sure a fix will be out soon. Just be patient. I havent had time to mess with mine yet  because I have too many customers cars to fix, but when I do I will put a post out.  I recommend going to your dealer and be very nice and personable and you will get so much further than if you go in with a chip on your shoulder cause your new car has a problem. Also, Keep in mind that techs are paid on a comission basis and it really sucks to chase rattles. Talk to the service manager and see if they can set up a car for you to drive and let them spend a day or two trying to fix your car. Lets face it these cars are brand new and things are going to need to be addressed. I dont care if you buy a brand new Lexus or Kia, there are going to be fixes for problems with first year vehicles. I recommend anyone who buys a car needs to take it home for a night and drive it and find all the little characteristics before buying. By the way, I do agree the Heater fan is loud on high, but I turn it to med and turn the seat heater on and tune in my sat radio and go. Let s face it the Fusion is a great looking and driving car. Who cares about a few rattles that can be fixed when you are getting looks like you are driving a Corvette. You wont get those looks in anything else in that price range. Go buy a camry or accord and see how many people actualy notice.

If anyone has any questions feel free to let me know and I will be more than happy to help.

Ben

 

[mz6zoomzoom]

Welcome aboard Ben. While I agree that every first year car has its problems - I have a first year ('03) Mazda 6s - there's possibly nothing more annoying to have in a new car than rattles. While any major problem can be easily tracked down, it's hard to deal with a rattle - and it's massively annoying. So I can understand peoples frustrations, and I hope you do as well. One of the biggest problems with rattles is that often dealers will NOT fix them, no matter how perfectly you point them out. As you say in your post, you note a problem that is probably due to expansion and contraction of the plastics. While you seem optimistic about a fix coming for it, I would doubt it. To fix it in one temperature scenario is to cause problems in another - this is a problem I still have, to this day, with my 6's radio bezel.

But you're right, a first year car is a first year car, and unfortunately their are growing pains. I just hope that Ford fixes them quickly.

 

[88asc]

Gee, when I bring my car in for a rattle the service manager writes a generic thing like "rattle in dash" and I am very specific as to where the rattle is coming from. I have NEVER had a Ford dealer fix a problem of any kind. I end up fixing it myself. They did fix my gas guage once, scratched the hell out the dash. Fixed the dash, gouged the console. The list goes on and on....

 

[mz6zoomzoom]

[quote author=88asc link=topic=39771.msg578193#msg578193 date=1139857145]
Gee, when I bring my car in for a rattle the service manager writes a generic thing like "rattle in dash" and I am very specific as to where the rattle is coming from. I have NEVER had a Ford dealer fix a problem of any kind. I end up fixing it myself. They did fix my gas guage once, scratched the hell out the dash. Fixed the dash, gouged the console. The list goes on and on....
[/quote]

See now, I've had good and bad experiences with dealers of every stripe. Never had a problem with the Ford dealer back home though.

 

[Showtime]

Rattles are completely unacceptable for any car. I saw a program on the developement of the 6 series. The amount of testing they do is insane. Everything was was gone through and complaints of test drivers where fixed before the first car was assembled. They even redesigned the heater duct because it was too loud. It might be nice if they did that with the GE Turbo Fan we've got in the dash. Yes a 6 is a $80k car, but why can't some thought and R&D be put into lower priced cars? Don't sell me a POS for $18k. Fix it before it hits the assembly line and sell it for $20k. I don't know one person who has a Toyota and is complaining about rattles. I'm sure there are some but it seems a majority of people here have them. I've torn my dash apart chasing down a rattle and it's the most plastic filled POS I've ever seen. Everything is held together with metal clips that well..rattle. Almost every car I've bought I've torn apart and put a stereo in, my 90 Taurus was put together better than this. Fords attitude is push shit out the door and fix only those cars that come back for a complaint. Ford and domestic brands just don't get it. Price only sells the first car, QUALITY is what sells the second.

 

[FordTech]

I am optimistic that a fix will be out for some of these rattles. Ford sends dealers out a squeak and rattle kit that is filled with all kinds of noise eliminating tools. I do a lot of squeaks and rattles and water leaks. As a matter of fact I have had our Ford rep send a couple of his trouble vehicles to me to fix so they dont have to buy the vehicle back. There are a few vehicles with special service messages and TSBs to fix rattles. So I am sure enough techs will submit suggestions of how they fixed these cars that ford will send out a message. Also, I actually have a friend who has a new accord and it has a rattle on the right hand side where the airbag and a-pillar trim meet and it rubs and squeaks like hell. I fixed it for him, but that just shows how any car can squeak. I have drove some cars that are  rattle traps and some that are quiet and they can be the same car. However, I am sure that some dealers dont have a guy who does this kind of repair and the tech that gets is just kicks it to the side and never fixes it. Keep in mind these things are inaminate objects that one comes off the line every 60 seconds. Its a hunk of metal. Most of these cars have parts from the same parts vendor like Viestion and Delphi who are the lowest bidders. They can be fixed and will eventualy need repair no matter what car. Everything wears out. 
I do hate to hear about people who purchase new vehicles having a bad time getting repairs. I pride myself on making the customer happy and them comming back to me when they need something else. I wish all the dealers had the same attitude. Sometimes you just have to take it as a lesson learned. By the way. I have removed dashes from several different cars and they all use metal clips and push pins. Its quick and cheap. Plus most of them dont really rattle. Some of them do but over all they work fairly well. If you want a perfect car you better look at a hand built Rolls Royce with real wood and Real leather. But since most of us dont have the budget for that we have to deal with small stupid things like a few rattles until it gets fixed. Basicaly, Want more Fly Higher.

 

[Cross Bolt]

FordTech: You are a true professional and your statements stand the test of time. As one who has been in your shoes, I have seen a lot of dodo in my life and just because it doesn’t make the Consumer Reports, it doesn’t mean that it hasn’t happened to other manufactures.
What really blows me away is how they are able to keep it quiet. I can’t seem to find anybody that’s had problems with Honda Automatic Transaxles but if you talk to my brother, he will tell you that he has had to replace them in both, his Accord and Mini Van. By the way,( in far less than 100,000 miles)!
I picked up a Milan at Christmas time,for my Wife and the build quality has been excellent.Is there any areas that could stand improvement, ( yes ).They need to have more coverage of the plastic wheel well liners.

Glad you came aboard!

Cross Bolt

 

[Brett1]

[quote author=FordTech link=topic=39771.msg577473#msg577473 date=1139760620] Let s face it the Fusion is a great looking and driving car. Who cares about a few rattles that can be fixed when you are getting looks like you are driving a Corvette. You wont get those looks in anything else in that price range. Go buy a camry or accord and see how many people actualy notice.

[/quote]

I made a whole thread about this fact!! I get MAJOR looks in this car

 

[Fordsschic]

[quote author=Cross Bolt link=topic=39771.msg578772#msg578772 date=1139885563]
     What really blows me away is how they are able to keep it quiet. I can’t seem to find anybody that’s had problems with Honda Automatic Transaxles but if you talk to my brother, he will tell you that he has had to replace them in both, his Accord and Mini Van. By the way,( in far less than 100,000 miles)!
[/quote]


Its all a matter of brand perspective and the dealer experience. When someone brings a car in for repair and its fixed right away with no problems or high costs, it basically becomes a NONISSUE... the customer is more likely to tell 20 ppl about a bad experience rather than a good experience.

Case in point: my uncle's Toyota minivan has his horrible clunking noise in the rear axle. He still claims to this day that he loves Toyota and never has had a problem any of his cars. When I brought up the noise, he was just like "oh yeah.. that is a well known problem with Toyota minivans, they just dont know what causes it, but they know about it :?" as if its no big deal. I bet if that was a Ford minivan he would have already traded it in and told everyone how they make horrible vehicles.

 

[Cross Bolt]

I agree. Oh, my brothers Honda Mini Van ( All Most $30,000.00 Worth ). and on it's third Automatic. He starting to think about it because the warranty is about up.
Anybody remember about all the ball bearing problems with the Toyota 4x4 pickup transmissions and all the headgasket problems on Toyota 4 cylinder engines. How about cracked exhaust manifolds on the Toyotas.
How about the Chevy LUV ( AKA Isuzu ) and all the engine design changes because they couldn't keep a head gasket in them.
Remember the Mickey Mouse rubber donut on the back of the 320-I BMW transmission. It took the place of the u-joint and how
they rotted out along with there center support for the drive shaft.

Problems: No manufacture is without them. You are all right, the Dealerships need to pay attention to Customer Satisfaction. They will live or die on this alone.

 

[FordTech]

You mentioned hondas issues with transmissions and toyotas older problems with head gaskets ... I totaly forgot about this until today.... The early to mid 90s BMW 740il would leak oil off the transport truck. The font cover would migrate during engine assembly and when it got to the dealerships they would leave a spot under the car of oil right off the truck. Plus they had so many recalls on those that it would take one experienced tech an enitre day to do all the recalls on one car... I was told 740IL stood for "740 I Leak". Every manufacturer has their trouble spots.

 

[bartman1]

I have owned Toyotas, Saabs, and BMWs. The so called "dealer experience" is useless when the idiot in the 3 piece suit - your "service advisor" writes down everything you say, but doesn't know s**t about the car.

My Ford dealer lets me talk to the guy with the grease on his hands. If there's a problem - he understands it or asks questions until he does. Not quite as classy as a paneled office and leather couches, but much more effective.

Once I had my '94 SHO in for an ABS problem (it turned out to be a loose wire). I gave them SPECIFIC instructions about removing and reinstalling wheels - including the demand NO IMPACT WRENCHES. SHOs were warping rotors like toast in an overheated oven. When I picked up my car there was a note that the mechanic wrote - he hand installed the lug nuts, torqued them individually to the spec I gave him (MINIMUM factory setting with lubricated studs), and wrote "NO IMPACT WRENCH USED".

That's service - and I'm a satisified customer. BTW they are now called "Blue Oval" dealers because they know what the hell they're doing!

 

[jarth3000]

I've been patient with Ford on the popping in the dash, and I called again yesterday to check the status of the fix. The service manager said he'd call me right back. He did. He said the group of engineers working on the project don't have a date yet for when the fix will be made. A WHOLE GROUP OF F'ING ENGINEERS CAN'T FIGURE THIS OUT? COME ON!

....i think we all deserve a discount or something....

 

[Mich321]

Dare I say, I have not experienced any rattling or popping sounds of any kind with my Fusion? How many miles are on the cars with these issues? Is this something I have to look forward to? Did the noises start right away or after you broke in the vehicles?

 

[Cudos]

I also have no rattles or popping yet and we've gone from warm to very cold a number of times. Mind you I only have 600 klm's on her so far. But that dam blower motor is loud as hell when on high )-: have to freaging near yell to talk to someone.

Cheers

 

[shadowfall1976]

I hate noises too, but come on, let it go.. all cars at any price range are junk, with the exception of some of your 80k + cars, anything under 60k is junk even Lincolns and Chryslers, we all know that the companies could build them better, I mean after all they used to.
look at the cars in the pre 80's, the 80's (late 70's) was the intro into junk phase. cars got cheaper construction and did not hold up as
well, also in any car you get your POS's and you have your best cars ever, this is the firsy year any company without 80k + cars don't
do the R&D needed to find and fix everyt bug and even if they did they can't test every car off the line to put it through the same tests they do for their testers, if they did that we would not want them after they did.

I had a 2003 Ranger that was a piece of SH*T, I mean literally, I love cars but I hated this thing more than anything I had ever seen, I know many other people with the same complaints I had, but too I know that there are a few that don't make a sound and drive right.
everyone wanted this car (Fusion) you have it now, if you didn't like the way it looks or the way it drives, or the way it sounds why did you buy it?

I bought mine because I had done a little research into it and I saw pics of it over a year ago, and said "Hey that is a bad assed car, I want one when it comes out", and I loved the grille and the lights and yes even the taillights that most of you have issues with, I love the car as it sits, I bought it for many reasons and "stock" looks were one of them, one feature that seems to come standard on cars of some color that I didn't realize at the time is the looks that people give me while driving it. other than stock I am only going to possibly tint the windows and buy a spoiler for it, and put the ventshades on.

and my car has no noises, the 4cyl is not that loud and it rides better than anything i've ever owned, if anyone wanted to own a sports car, go buy a BMW 3 series, and not a family sedan, although this is more than just that, that is exactly what it is a midsize family sedan, but yes it does have serious potential to become much more. and I love it for that fact.