Ford Problems

SINCE we ran the letter relating to paint problems on the Falcon we have had a lot of responses. I'm asking Ford to confirm or deny a recall to correct paint issues.

KEEP the pressure on your dealer and Ford to fix this before it spreads and, you are right to be concerned about what lies beneath the paint that hasn't yet surfaced. The letter below suggests paint quality is shoddy.

THANKS for your support, and it's good to hear Ford has done the right thing by you. That should send a message to other owners who are being told their balljoints need replacing. If you're one of those owners, demand Ford cover the cost of replacing them.

TALKING to Bruce after getting his letter, he tells me the dealer replaced the hoses with later BF hoses, which appear different from the BA hoses taken from his ute. A staff member of the dealer's service department told him the hoses were to go back to Ford for testing. Bruce's son, who runs an Ultratune service centre, says when Falcons are jacked up and the wheels off the ground, the brake hoses are very taut, as if the suspension is hanging on them. Sounds much like the reason Ford gave for recalling the Territory, and adds to the evidence of a problem.

THE recall was only just announced so I would give Ford a little more time before you get too upset, but I take your point.

I ALSO believe it is a design issue. That impression is backed up by Ford's move to change the front balljoint/control arm in the just-announced Series II Territory. I cannot comprehend how a carmaker can release a model with such a flaw and not do anything about it until now. It is completely unacceptable that such a critical safety issue like a balljoint could wear to the point of needing replacement at such a low number of kilometres.

THERE should be a recall on the Territory to replace the front balljoints. Such wear at 30,000km is an indictment on Ford's engineering standards, testing regimen and quality control. Also, the inconsistent approach by different dealers is incomprehensible.

WHEN cars are fixed under warranty Ford pays the dealer for the work done, and usually approves the work before it's carried out, hence the dealer's reluctance to go ahead without first getting the nod from Ford. In that sense I don't think the dealer did anything wrong. As for the so-called fix, that's another thing altogether. They clearly didn't fix the problem to your satisfaction, so the first course of action is to take the car back to the dealer and ask them to do what they said they would do when you first took the car in. They accepted the job and told you they fixed it, so to now come up with the excuse that the car had been in a crash and that was the reason for the problem is a bit lame. If they persist with the argument, ask them to show you what is causing your problem and prove that it is the result of the crash.

YOU are not alone. Many people say the Magna/Verada was a good car, but they had an image of it being boring. If Mitsubishi had somehow been able to race it against the Falcon or Commodore it might well have been able to change its reputation.