Ford recalls Ford GT

[AlienDB7]

Ford recalls its $140,000 GT supercar for safety defect

By Eric Mayne / The Detroit News

Ford Motor Co. is recalling its $140,000 Ford GT supercar to repair a defect that could cause loss of control, the automaker confirmed today.

Nearly 450 vehicles - all Ford GTs built to date - are affected by a suspension component problem that originated with a supplier, said spokeswoman Kristen Kinley. The component is subject to cracking because of a casting process error.

"If it cracks, it could cause the wheel to become unstable," said Kinley, who would not identify the supplier. "And if the wheel becomes unstable at high speed, that's a safety issue.

The defect was discovered during a pre-delivery inspection of a single car. Of 448 vehicles affected by the reall, 111 are in the hands of private owners. Ford has contacted these owners and warned them not to drive their cars until the automaker determines how to fix the problem, Kinley said.

Ford will pick up those vehicles that are in private hands, she added.

The remaining cars are at dealerships or the assembly site in Wixom.

Ford has also told dealers not to allow test drives until their vehicles have been repaired, Blue Oval News reported Sunday.

The Ford GT was rushed into production to mark the automaker's centennial in 2003. It went from the drawing board to the street in less than 18 months - about half the time of a normal vehicle development program.

Three cars were hand-built for Ford's 100-year anniversary. Engineers then went back to work on the production car.

The 550-hp two-seater, which has a certified top speed of 205 mph, went into full production earlier this year as a 2005 model.

http://www.detnews.com/2004/autosinsider/0412/20/autos-37905.htm

[black_magician]

The Ford GT was rushed into production to mark the automaker's centennial in 2003. It went from the drawing board to the street in less than 18 months - about half the time of a normal vehicle development program.



LOL!!

:lol: somehow I'm not suprised this has happened. :arrow: (haste makes waste) :roll:

[Vansquish]

That sucks...but it explains why I saw soooo many cars on that tour hehehe.

[antonioledesma]

The component is subject to cracking because of a casting process error.

I would like to know which kind of error could it be... bad choice of alloy, mold, casting process... or simply they didn't had the time to test correctly all those cars.
lets remember, for example, the first time JC drove the gt, was a pre-production mule (a car that has 80-90% of parts of the production car)

until a really hard, long term test was done, the car begun to show the errors and defects in its making

[dutchmasterflex]

it's still a ford, what do you expect :P

[ae86_16v]

The Ford GT was rushed into production to mark the automaker's centennial in 2003. It went from the drawing board to the street in less than 18 months - about half the time of a normal vehicle development program.



LOL!!

:lol: somehow I'm not suprised this has happened. :arrow: (haste makes waste) :roll:

Could not be any more true for this instance.

[ZfrkS62]

I would like to know which kind of error could it be... bad choice of alloy, mold, casting process


more than likely it's the heat treatment after the part has been cast. If not allowed to cool correctly, it can cause some serious problems in the final tensile strength.
I think this is the same reason that ford kept having issues with their I-beam suspensions in the beginning.

The problem with the GT is, they are going for lightweight materials that will hold their strength better than their heavier counterparts. and 18 months from pen to street is not enough R&D time for the components. when you're forced to field research the components, things like this will come up. :roll:

although i wouldn't place the blame squarely on ford. i would shift most of it to the majority shareholders who wanted the car released for the anniversary and not a moment later. (when your share holders decide they want something, you had better deliver or they WILL replace you in order to get what they want). so there are many fingers to point here. :P

But i'm glad they are issuing the recall on their own instead of waiting for something to actually happen *cough*Dodge*cough*

[komotar]

Remember when Audi recalled all TT's....whan they had to put the extra little wing on the car's ass to prevent it sliding out of control when braking in high speed corners.... or something similar, if I'm not mistaken...

[ZfrkS62]

whan they had to put the extra little wing on the car's ass to prevent it sliding out of control when braking in high speed corners


that can't be right...rear wings don't fight understeer :P :wink:

[FoxFour]

It's a shame that they are recalling the car because of a serious production defect, but I remember when the the '97 Vette when it came out it had their share of first year problems too.
Toe Links (97V044000). Rear toe links (or tie rods) can fracture and cause loss of vehicle control. This applied only to the first 1,414 cars sold, and owners were all contacted personally by phone to have their cars flat-bedded to the dealer for replacement of the toe links.
Fuel Tank (97V105000). A gasket can rip and cause fuel to leak. Replace fuel tank assembly. (first 3,792 cars)
Seat Belt (97V104000). Failure in the "energy management system". Replace seat belt assembly. (first 4,369 cars)

[komotar]

whan they had to put the extra little wing on the car's ass to prevent it sliding out of control when braking in high speed corners


that can't be right...rear wings don't fight understeer :P :wink:

I don't know exactly what was going on....

If I remember corectly, it wasn't the breaking in high speed corners, but lifting off in them.......I think...

[antonioledesma]

Remember when Audi recalled all TT's....whan they had to put the extra little wing on the car's ass to prevent it sliding out of control when braking in high speed corners.... or something similar, if I'm not mistaken...

mm, as I remember... TT's rear form makes the tail to go "light" and starts to float. It was the same when you drive very fast on a highway and your car starts to feel light from the front.
so, the little wing was just to avoid that high speed floating

and... ZfrkS62,yes, those famous heat treatments are responsible for almost all failures. But we wont know what is the specific problem, maybe could be the 18 months, which aren't enough to develop a car

[komotar]

hey, antonioledesma, you have 666 posts.....hold still, let me get my camera....jk

I remember reading about the audi related problems (sorry for stealing the thread ) and if I remember corectly, a guy crashed and died on the autobahn in Germany because of this....maybe more people were killed, I'll investigate...

[RC45]

Hehehe... this is too funny...

Cheap begets sheap... ;)

Ford are probably to blame for the defect.

Why? Because just as GM does - Ford would have squeezed the supplier to lower their price for the part/parts to rock bottom.

This will alos not be the last recall.. you will see ones for engine components and body panels etc etc.

Just as the New C6 is getting - you don't keep a car's price lower by INCREASING quality.. :)

This - however does not explain why Mercedes is going through the same woes unless MB is just using the same crap parts as everyone else and artificially keeping their prices high.. :)

[ikon2003]

"Built Ford Tough" "Pacecar for an entire company" - glad it could live up to the adages.

Only semi-serious though - it's not like other companies are immune to recalls. Lets just hope the GT doesn't have any more problems...

[Pimp Racer]

"Built Ford Tough"

.
:lol: Recall huh thats some big news! Since this car has been selling like cakes everywhere!

[RC45]

"Built Ford Tough"

.
:lol: Recall huh thats some big news! Since this car has been selling like cakes everywhere!

Hot seller means nothing really.. they sell every Cavalier they make.. doesn't mean that it's a good car... :P ;)

[Pimp Racer]

"Built Ford Tough"

.
:lol: Recall huh thats some big news! Since this car has been selling like cakes everywhere!

Hot seller means nothing really.. they sell every Cavalier they make.. doesn't mean that it's a good car... :P ;)
Yeah but I mean this is a 140000 USD machine and this is way beyond that the price of a 12000 USD Cavalier (Sorry if my price for the Cavalier is wrong) But anyways what I am trying to say is making a car so great that people are paying over the MSRP is just astounding! (SP?)

[graywolf624]

it's not like other companies are immune to recalls.
Yeah, but unfortunately, ford seems to be developing a reputation for this on their performance cars.. Lest we forget the problems with the last run of mustang cobras. They are barely surviving as it is, and dont need yet another headache.

But anyways what I am trying to say is making a car so great that people are paying over the MSRP is just astounding! (SP?)
That doesn't make it great either. Lest I point to the new beatle, pt cruiser, or recent gen tbird.

[5vz-fe]

I really don't recall Ferrari having these kind of problems........

This is also a big shame to their "FORD, BUILT TOUGH" advertisement.

[RC45]

I really don't recall Ferrari having these kind of problems........


You just wont see Ferrari handled as a "recall" - it will be a "recommended performance upgrade".. ;)

[FoxFour]

Just remember kids, don't be tempted to buy the first year of any brand car.

[sameerrao]

This will alos not be the last recall.. you will see ones for engine components and body panels etc etc.


I think there was some recall earlier with reg to the 5.4 l engine - affected F150, and other cars and trucks incl the FGT

[ZfrkS62]

ZfrkS62,yes, those famous heat treatments are responsible for almost all failures. But we wont know what is the specific problem, maybe could be the 18 months, which aren't enough to develop a car


I don't know if Ford updates their bulliteins or anything, but BMW will explain what caused the failure when they find out. If Ford does this too, anyone who has access to the recall notice should be able to clear it up when it comes out.

Field Development is never the way to perfect a car. Just look at the intial reactions to the quality of the E65/66. Shareholders demanded the new 7 series be released before BMW had a chance to properly R&D. Soooo....programming produced issues, problems arose during programming causing the cars to stay longer, which in turn pissed off owners. Now that the programming issues have been mainly resolved (updates still required though now it's more like the "Windows has updates and are ready to install" message you get occasionaly with XP.)




Why? Because just as GM does - Ford would have squeezed the supplier to lower their price for the part/parts to rock bottom.


Just remember, no matter what kind of car you drive, you're sitting on parts all made by the lowest bidder :wink:


You just wont see Ferrari handled as a "recall" - it will be a "recommended performance upgrade":wink:


no no no...recall=required..therefore, "REQUIRED performance upgrade" :twisted: i think that's a bit more apt to get owners flocking in :D

[antonioledesma]

Just remember kids, don't be tempted to buy the first year of any brand car.

seems the car industry will follow the software... just as the popular advice not to install any kind of software that is completely new (I still don't download the service pack 2 for win xp)
Too bad that this can't be used with all cars, limited editions.
With my laptop came a free wifi card... a shitty 3com somewhat... version 1.0 and I don't get at all times the wifi signal even when I'm below the antenna.

[Vansquish]

SP2 has been pretty widely accepted as far as I know. My brother, the nerdiest computer nerd I know (we call him "the guru" in my family) thinks it's definetely worthwhile to Windows users, but he prefers Linux on his own machine hehe.

[evoWalo]

Just remember kids, don't be tempted to buy the first year of any brand car.
That'll make waiting for the E90 even harder. :lol: It is true though about first year of newly updated cars. I only know of headaches with my C class.

[FordGTGuy]

i can't believe how ignorant some of you guys are being. They did say component but they also said supplier that means the component made by that brand is defected it doesn't mean Ford made a bad car or with bad materials.

[666fast]

Fixed
Or
Repaired
Daily


I think there was some recall earlier with reg to the 5.4 l engine - affected F150, and other cars and trucks incl the FGT


Was that the spark plug fiasco? I remember hearing about it on the news not too long ago. The threads on the plug itself we too short and the plugs would blow out of the engine.

[ZfrkS62]

Just remember kids, don't be tempted to buy the first year of any brand car.
That'll make waiting for the E90 even harder. :lol: It is true though about first year of newly updated cars. I only know of headaches with my C class.

but the key is, the E90 has been in development for some time and will be using the same technology as the Z4 and maybe a little more from the E60. The E46 has already recieved a final facelift for '05 (one peice headlight/turnsignal) so the E90 is ready to make it's appearance 8)

The only possible problems i can see will be minor issues with the turbocharger on the 330's. and possibly the magnesium block's reaction to certain regions here. but that remains to be seen. :wink:


The threads on the plug itself we too short and the plugs would blow out of the engine.


"honey, what was that noise?"
"i don't know.but how long have these holes been in the hood?"
"what holes? maybe they have something to do with the glowing streaks the just flew out that side of the truck..."

[FordGTGuy]

No, a mechanical problem wouldn't be overlooked like that and mostly spark plug threads. This is also common sense since the engine blcok is used commonly in svt lightnings.

[FordGTGuy]

Fixed
Or
Repaired
Daily


I think there was some recall earlier with reg to the 5.4 l engine - affected F150, and other cars and trucks incl the FGT


Was that the spark plug fiasco? I remember hearing about it on the news not too long ago. The threads on the plug itself we too short and the plugs would blow out of the engine.

First
On
Racing
Day

[ZfrkS62]

Fucked
Over
Rebuilt
Dodge

[FordGTGuy]

Fucked
Over
Rebuilt
Dodge

yea a small block v8 is really a rebuilt v10 viper engine hah and it still makes more power!.

[ZfrkS62]

not really a fan of either company so i don't really care :wink: just find it funny that there are so many acronyms for one company :lol:

FORD for dyslexics:

Driver
Returns
On
Foot

[antonioledesma]

SP2 has been pretty widely accepted as far as I know. My brother, the nerdiest computer nerd I know (we call him "the guru" in my family) thinks it's definetely worthwhile to Windows users, but he prefers Linux on his own machine hehe.

yes, but they've updated the SP2, they could be at sp2.3.4.5.. :lol: and by being windows, it could be garbage.
Ofcourse some day I'll install sp2

they also said supplier that means the component made by that brand is defected it doesn't mean Ford made a bad car or with bad materials.

in this modern world, where car manufacturers try to cut costs, you have a list of suppliers that could make a certain part, and the winner is the supplier that gives more benefits.
We're not saying that ford cars are garbage, but a normal R&D time or process with the ford gt could have avoided that problem
nowadays, car brands need to run to get out new models, cars, platforms, etc. Some years ago, VW needed 7 years to develop the passat mkII or III (I don't remember), now almost all car manufacturers don't go beyond 3 years making a car.
remember how many models and cars have been recalled over the past years. I've lost count... i.e. the beetle, focus, windstar, stratus/sebring, etc etc etc

the gt is a great car, but it has some flaws, that's all-

[FordGTGuy]

well no car is perfect and i can live with that.

[nthfinity]

That sucks...but it explains why I saw soooo many cars on that tour hehehe.
sorry i couldnt respond to your pm...
sometimes i think its funny how many goofy things leaked may cause a loss of job :roll: :wink:

as far as future recals, i shouldnt anticipate, but i suspect one piece in particular based on a bid ford made on a cheaper piece up-front... i only know of this one based on info from the competing manufacturer's president/ceo.

then again, its likely the structurally weaker/cheaper part wont cause any problems

[T-Bird]

Well I don't think it's that big of a deal that a brand new car had a recall and I bet if Ferrari had a recall they would never let it out in the open if possible.
And Built Ford Tough is refering to their Trucks not cars.

[kenezzite]

I bet JC from Top Gear will be pissed. He's been bitching about not getting his Ford GT for a while now, and also he said they keep rising the price. I can't wait to see what he will say about this recall issue.

[SFDMALEX]

HAHA-HA! Thats all I have to say.

[lamboman3140]

here's a pic of the Ford GT from automobile magizen the issue with the cover story "The 200 MPH Club" with the Lamborghini Murcielago, SLR and Carrera GT
im saying that because in the pic of the back of the GT the Murcielago in in the pic.
I think this accedient may have had something to do with the faulty Control arm.

http://www.wreckedexotics.com/gt40/gt40_20041223_002.shtml

http://img221.exs.cx/img221/4084/gt40200412230022kp.th.jpg (http://img221.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img221&image=gt40200412230022kp.jpg)

http://img221.exs.cx/img221/3609/gt40200412230014dn.th.jpg (http://img221.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img221&image=gt40200412230014dn.jpg)

[nthfinity]

ok... since i know something about this ;)

the faulty part which demanded all GT's be grounded until fixed is both rear bottom control arms are cast aluminum which ended up not being up to prototype spec, and prone to fracture (likely due to temperature cooling faults) ford has replaced the part with an above prototype spec bilit aluminum controler arm.

in order to replace them, they arent taken to dealers shops... as it wont fit on a hydrolic lift, but special wooden blocks are placed underneath the car, and a team is going around the country to replace the defective parts.

while doing this, they are also using a 'speedy sleeve' to fix a main bearing oil leak that is on some of the cars... that is caused by uneven metal to metal contact. a several hour job, but quite cheap when compared to using a bilit aluminum vs. cast aluminum.

i dont believe any cars delivered after mid november had either fault

[RC45]

while doing this, they are also using a 'speedy sleeve' to fix a main bearing oil leak that is on some of the cars... that is caused by uneven metal to metal contact. a several hour job, but quite cheap when compared to using a bilit aluminum vs. cast aluminum.

i dont believe any cars delivered after mid november had either fault

Ford should be obligated to speedy deliver a new fucking engine.

[nthfinity]

Ford should be obligated to speedy deliver a new fucking engine.

ill just say i have a few reservations... but time will tell the true matters... i want to see these cars pushing 100,000 miles in a few years time

[detltu6]

I am a huge Chevy fan but I would be proud to bring my Ford GT in for service cause that would mean I had one.

[Lotus340R]

Some info about Ferrari and recalls:
http://www.automotive.com/used-cars/recalls/01/ferrari/
Try to search in google and you will find even more. Even Ferrari is not perfect. These days customers want to have perfect cars, but also new models much more often then before. Each car company is under big pressure. Well, except the special car manufacturers.

[Fleischmann]

LOl...first they increase the price 3 times, and now they want their cars back :D

[nthfinity]

LOl...first they increase the price 3 times, and now they want their cars back

i dont think any left the owners' posessions, but were told not to drive them until they could rectify the situation.

and... the price here was never raised from original expectations... just for the lucky 29 in the UK ;)

[Guibo]

I think this accedient may have had something to do with the faulty Control arm.

There's nothing in the caption, nor in the magazine article itself to suggest that's what happened. Think about it. One GT in particular has been tested by the Euro press relentlessly (same one that was thrashed on Top Gear) and no failure has ever been reported on that one. As has been said, the fracture that appeared happened on a mule that had 100K miles on it. Ford doesn't even warrant the car for that long, but at least they seem to want to do the right thing and not sweep it under the rug. And as mentioned, they're replacing these cast pieces with ones machined from billett, which while it's not the cheapest way to go certainly seems to be the way to ensure nothing breaks at the hands of an owner. This proactive response seems to be the right way to go (maybe Ford has learned from the Firestone debacle).
Speaking of which, some of you might want to google "Porsche" and "RMS" and "leak"; no official recall on what is most obviously an inherent defect in engine design or machining.