new truck
Senior User
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 350
Likes: 0
I'm sorry, but I would think that somewhere along the line someone should have noticed. From assembly to dealer prep, that's sure strange to miss something as obvious as that. What doen that panel look like on non-4x4s? What's in place of the switch?
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Senior User
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 203
Likes: 0
yeah that is pretty funny that no one at the kansas city plant or the dealership noticed that. you would think that i would have noticed that sooner, well.... i had only saw the truck on the lot on sunday and then called and had the finance guy run my credit on monday morning... i didn't even test drive it. so the first time i sat in the car was with the salesman after they had it cleaned up just before i drove it off the lot, and i asked the salesman if it was 4wd and he looked at the switch and said yes....i was shocked because i thought i bought a 2wd, and couldn't believe i didn't notice that it was a 4wd. the even funnier thing is that i of all people know how things work at the assembly plants, because i work at the explorer plant in louisville kentucky...i install dash boards. but needless to say, i love my truck; the 5.4 has tons of power and it is the quietest riding and driving vehicle i have ever been in.... my wife is bugging me to let her drive it to work..not a chance! haha! thanks again guys for helping me try to figure it all out. check my gallery for pictures.
Senior User
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 425
Likes: 0
From: Roanoke
Well, I'm glad that you figured it out. That is really odd that they would put the 4x4 switch in there and not be 4x4???
That is a GREAT looking truck though, good luck and enjoy it !!!
That is a GREAT looking truck though, good luck and enjoy it !!!
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Elder User
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 662
Likes: 2
From: CO
It has to be a "can't see the forest for the trees" kind of thing.
The person assembling the dash made a mistake by installing the wrong component, and maybe someone else along the line who should have/would have actually connected the switch to the harness noticed it but gave it an "oh well", but the guys at the final inspection are looking for defects and missing items so intently that they don't notice that the switch doesn't belong in the truck at all. If there was a gaping hole, they probably would have noticed that.
It's similar to the screw up on my F150 with the Mark LT right side mirror. The truck had a mirror but not the right mirror. If the mirror had been omitted or was damaged, they would have noticed it, but not the fact that one mirror had a chrome cap while the other didn't.
If the KC assembly line is like Dearborn, there's a truck going by every minute, so most of the folks on the line don't have the time to stand back and absorb the whole picture.
The person assembling the dash made a mistake by installing the wrong component, and maybe someone else along the line who should have/would have actually connected the switch to the harness noticed it but gave it an "oh well", but the guys at the final inspection are looking for defects and missing items so intently that they don't notice that the switch doesn't belong in the truck at all. If there was a gaping hole, they probably would have noticed that.
It's similar to the screw up on my F150 with the Mark LT right side mirror. The truck had a mirror but not the right mirror. If the mirror had been omitted or was damaged, they would have noticed it, but not the fact that one mirror had a chrome cap while the other didn't.
If the KC assembly line is like Dearborn, there's a truck going by every minute, so most of the folks on the line don't have the time to stand back and absorb the whole picture.