2024 Ford Mustang Quality Review Delays Production
The Ford Motor Company has cut shifts and has plans to stall the Flat Rock Assembly Plant ahead of the sales debut of the S650 generation 2024 Ford Mustang. According to a report by the Detroit Free Press, the production slowdowns have come as a result of quality control issues with the car, which the Blue Oval is attempting to rectify before the pony car hits dealer lots.
Ford previously cut production at Flat Rock assembly during the week of April 24th, before closing down again on May 1st. Ford spokeswoman Kelli Felker confirmed to the Detroit Free Press that that facility will yet again face a shutdown during the week of May 8th. While on its face this type of behavior could be the result of retooling, that doesn’t appear to be the case. The Detroit Free Press spoke with an anonymous member of the launch team inside the facility, who stated that FoMoCo completed the build-out of the pony car back in early April. Instead, the source suggests the automaker is undergoing a quality review process, in which it has determined a few problem areas. These include body panel fitment problems, engineering-related electric faults, and valve issues with the 5.0-liter V-8 engines.
Ford was unwilling to comment directly on the identified problem areas, but Felker did note that the brand has recently adjusted its approach to vehicle launches. The automaker now intends to focus more heavily on quality, which requires a slower rollout so that every detail can be addressed. This adjustment is being made in an effort to reduce recalls after launch, an area Ford has struggled with in recent years. These have included issues with the launch of the all-aluminum F-150 back in 2015, when Ford issued 13 recalls tied to leaky brakes, warped exhaust manifolds causing loss of power, and doors that opened while in motion. In 2020, the launch of the Explorer was so bad that Ford openly admitted to botching it. More recently, we've seen recall and quality issues tied to models like the Bronco and the F-150 Lightning.
"We are committed to ensuring our vehicles are built with the quality our customers deserve and will take the appropriate actions to deliver this commitment,” Fekler told the Detroit Free Press.
Ford’s desires to cut down on recalls are nothing new. CEO Jim Farely recently stated that quality is the brand’s top priority, which likely is playing a role in the situation with S650. Regardless, the situation is understandably frustrating for the UAW employees who face downtime and the potential for temporary layoffs. Hopefully Ford gets things sorted quickly so that we can finally get a taste of the last internal combustion-powered car in its segment.
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