Hello, I was looking over my repair orders for both my Santa Fe and my F150 over the weekend and have some disturbing news. Keep in mind that the Hyundai is a first year vehicle of a Brand New platform and the Ford is just the newest version of a truck that they have been building for decades. The only problem I ever had with the Hyundai is the tailgate latch broke at 112 thousand miles. The vehicle now has 120 thousand miles and everything is fine. Also note that I'm not careful with the Hyundai. I have 2 big dogs who ride in it all the time. Besides some dog hair, the interior looks great. It also cleans up real easy. The F150 on the other hand has had many issues. The brakes squeal and vibrate. The rotors are grooved. There is a vibration between 41 and 52 mph. There is the steering nibble at 70mph. There is the throttle lag that can't be fixed. The interior gets dirty by looking at it. The last time my pit got in the Ford her nail caught the fabric and now I have threads hanging on the passenger side seat! I use to think that the plastic gas door on the Santa Fe was cheap but wait! The F150 has the same thing. Also when you go in for warranty service on the Ford, everything that is going to cost anything is "normal operating noise." I would have loved to compare that to warranty repairs for my Hyundai but there havn't been any. Looking at this I think we have to wake up, stop feeling sorry for Ford, and make them behave properly towards their customers and build a decent vehicle. You can't tell me that their going to let Hyundai beat them at their own game are you?

 

I completely agree with you. My F-150 didn't had any problems so far, but its brand new vehicle with 700 miles on the odometer. If it proves to be OK vehicle - I'll buy another one. Othervise, I'll buy Tundra.
I bought my last Ford car in 2001 (2000 Mustang). Before that I had '92 Escort and '91 Taurus. Both were old so I though that was problem why neither one of them was reliable. So I bought 1 year old Mustang with 3,500 miles on the odomoeter (currently 33,000 miles). I had problems with theft system, problems with electronics (CD player would sometimes work, sometimes won't work), very poor gas mileage (about 12 mpg in the city). I tried driving with higher RPMs (3,000+), I tried driving with lower RPMs (under 2,500)... Nothing worked and Ford dealer couldn't find anything wrong with it.

I bought all my Fords because I liked them. But I'm sick and tired on spending my money on lemons. Until they improve - I'll start driving Toyotas. Sure, they're ugly and very boring to drive, but at least I won't have any repairing bills at 33,000 miles. My mom have 1994 Camry V6 with 130,000 miles, runs like brand new. A lot more reliable car than Mustang.

 

And just how am I supposed to respond to these posts?

1) "Yeah, you're right. Dump the Ford and get something that's quality. Of course, if enough of us do this, we ALL won't have jobs sooner or later." Flame war ensues.

2) "How DARE you buy a foreign vehicle! Traitor! Buy Ford! The job you save may be your own!" Flame war ensues...

 

So I guess that we should all be content to buy inferior products then?

 

Most guys buy a car because it is an extension of their personallity or they wish to reflect a certain image to those sitting on the highway.
If you did not have that sort of flair you would A. buy a nissan micra (60mpg) or a Ford Focus and B. not be on this forum talking about a motoring icon.
We have exactly the same here in the UK 'British' 4x4 drivers always prefer to buy the Land Rover, it is in terms of reliability, build quality and on road performance crap in comparison to the Jap alternatives that flood through the ports.
But your missing the point your buying into an image not a price sensative no nonsense piece of tallentless Japanese near perfect clone. Anyway you think the santa fe is good you should try an Audi, so sterile but so perfect driven by people who are by definition posh and wish top be perfect.


Please note the reference to Land Rover that I make is the 90-110 range not the LR3 and upper range as these are now a Ford or BMW product, doh!!! we just gone complete circle..........................damn it buy yoruself a Dodge then spend you money on dog biscuits :-)

 

Excluding performance, you've got a point, and the free market will determine if Ford or GM or any other manufacturer will survive.

Considering the progress that the Asian auto manufacturers are making, the US automakers had better get off their butts - or die like the dinosaurs.

CMOS

 

Dude, drive your Hyundia and be happy, but spare us your comparisons with an F150. I use my truck as a daily construction vehicle which puts food on my familys' table and is putting #1 son through college, while your rig is hauling dogs with claws. No comparison.

 

Keep in mind that when you take your truck to get it serviced YOU ARE DEALING WITH THE DEALERSHIP. NOT FORD MOTOR COMPANY! Ford issues recalls and TSB's on how to fix a ploblem should it occur. It is up to the dealerships mechanics to determine weither they want to fix it or not. They make there money off repairs not so much sales. As for warranty issues. Ford does pay for that so the dealership isn't makeing money off the repair. Does Ford have problems? Yes they all do. But if they're not fixing your truck, don't get mad at Ford, get mad at your crapy service dept. You should tell them about it and find anouther place that will fix it. You don't have apple orchards without bad apples

 

What you say it partly true. But to fix a vehicle right i need parts that are engineered and built properly and with high quality. For example ford9c mentioned brake vibration problems. Since the 04 F150 came out ford has updated the front rotors 3 times. We are still having problems so they just published another "TSB" that says to cut the latest rotors. 4 trys to get a problem fixed correctly is not going to make many customers happy. Whos fault is this Fords or the Dealer. The quality of many domestic vehicles has gone down hill and this is being reflected in sales. look at what toyota is doing. Just looking at it from a different perspective.

 

2Fords1Jeep is right.

 

this is how it all starts one person tells a story with some ford problems and has a foreign car with no problems you can go back and fourth all day long the fact of the matter is everyone has a story heres mine I have two econolines, 86 and a 95 and 156,000 and 125,000 both work construction daily and you know what no major issues at all ever my sister bought a brand new corolla in 03' lets see, seat fabric "pills" dealer will not reaplace, trans shifts hard a 25k change fluid at dealer no difference, makes weird humming noises at 32k, dealer can't hear the noise, brakes loose pressure randomly, dealer says its normal, and believe me i can go on.....point being buy whatever works for you and has treated you well Ford works for me

 

dodgeMaybe his truck would've done the same thing if it didn't had so many issues. Don't get me wrong, I'm not defending Hyundai, but not all F-Series are perfect. Somebody had better experience with Hyundai than with Ford, so what? Its not the first time, its not the last time.

 

My last Ford was a 1989 Supercab F-250 4x4 with a 7.3 diesel. It had 172,000 miles on it when I sold it earlier this year. I replaced the clutch at 155,000 miles, a radiator at 110,000 miles and that was it for major stuff. I call that a very reliable vehicle since it was the workhorse for my business for 16 years, hauled my show car to nationwide locations, and brought my son to 2 or 3 of his weekend hockey games for 6 months out of the year.
I still would not compare that truck to my brother-in law's 1990 Acura that has about the same mileage and about the same reliability because I'd be comparing apples to grapes. We're talking about trucks that weigh about 6000+ pounds and are capable of carrying almost a ton vs. a car that can carry 4 or 5 passengers.
When and if Hyundai comes out with a truck we can compare them.

 

Unfortunately, I agree that Ford seems to be slipping on quality, and its a shame. I bought a Ford truck because I owned one previously, and love Ford trucks, though not a fan of the 97-03(except for Lightnings). The pre97 Ford trucks were awesome, never had a problem with mine. However, my new 05 has been in the shop more than my old truck ever was, and its new! Everything from brake failure, fluid leaks, idle vibrations, engine ticks, non-cold AC, irregular tire wear, seat stains when you look at them, throttle lag, low power, and the list goes on. Now that doesnt mean the Im going to go buy a Hyundia, but it would be nice to see Ford atleast try to care what we think and start offering higher HP engines, a different transmission(5spd), better brakes, more researched front suspension(no vibes), better seat materials, etc. I am also not sold on these mod motors, hell most of the ones Ive seen after 100k miles all knock on startup and tick like hell! Its just frustrating to see Ford go down the tubes, and they are basically killing themselves by not listening to their customers and looking at their competition.

 

Guys...

Keep it technically oriented and remember that this section is for technical comparison of Ford verses the competition, not for emotional flame wars.