• Ford has slowed production of its new 2024 Mustang to implement quality reviews.
• One of the problems initially identified was with the V8 engine valves.
• Ford has publicly committed to improving the build quality of its vehicles.
Ford has cancelled some work shifts by UAW work crews at its Flat Rock, Michigan assembly plant, this during the launch process of the next-generation 2024 Mustang. This is so the company can carry out quality reviews. Recall that Ford has publicly committed to improving the build quality of its vehicles
The Detroit Free Press was first to report the news.
The automaker cut production shifts during the week of April 24, and the plant was fully closed the week of May 1. Last Friday, company spokeswoman Kelli Felker confirmed it would be offline this week as well.
A plant employee involved in the model's launch told the Detroit Free Press that construction of the first 2024 models was completed in early April, and that the final quality review focused on three elements: fit issues with the body panels, electrical glitches and problems with the V8 engine valves.
In response to questions, Felker had this to say on behalf of the company: “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.”
She recalled that Ford has changed its vehicle launch processes to focus on quality, which involves slowing down the release of vehicles to examine every manufacturing detail rather than risk delivering vehicles that are subject to recall.
We saw this recently with the Super Duty model, which benefited from a new quality-control process implemented directly at the factory. Ford CEO Jim Farley has publicly stated that quality improvement is now a top priority for the company. Ford spends billions each year on recalls and warranty repairs, far more than its competitors. These costs, of course, eat away at profits and certainly don’t help the reputation of the automaker’s products.
Now all eyes will be focused on is what happens to the models that benefit from these new quality control processes. In principle, they should not be subject to as many recalls if many problems are solved before vehicles arrive at dealerships.