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Anyone else unimpressed by the build quality? Some examples inside

JimParker256

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Here's the problem Jim:

This is the only truck that gets 40+ MPG but it's also the only truck not going to last 50,000 miles that worries me.
Drive it for four years or 48,000 miles, and sell it. I'll probably still be waiting for my Hybrid Lariat, and there will likely be others still waiting for an XLT. (Written with tongue firmly in cheek, and fingers crossed that the second sentence is NOT true... But I'm not betting the "under" on that one, either.)
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Yes its a 20-30k truck so i shouldn't expect luxury. these are some of the build quality issues ive come across not even gotten through my first tank of gas.

1. There is no insulation between the engine and the cab. When i open my drivers door i can see inside my engine bay. Ill elaborate more on this later on.

IMG_20221125_232306107.jpg




2. The fender liners dont align, mate, and cover the wheel well. tons of dirt, salt, etc gets up inside the engine bay from here and accelerates corrosion in hard to reach spaces, especially the pinch welds. Dirt and grime also easily migrates to the door seals, door wiring boot and can seep its way inside the frame.

IMG_20221125_231729004 - Copy.jpg



3. The rear wheel well fender liner and splash guard doesnt cover or protect the rocker panel and the wheel constantly shoves water and dirt into it accelerating corrosion. i dont think there is a product that could even help this as theres just to much water flow.

IMG_20221125_231113925.jpg



4. this one is a little more specific to me, The steering wheel upholstery is torn and not fitted well, you can easily see inside the steering column into the engine bay.

IMG_20221125_232427607.jpg

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besides the torn upholstery are these same issues on everyone else mavericks? or worth raising a warranty claim?. Anyone else have things they've noticed?
Just got my Maverick 2 weeks ago. XL hybrid. it doesnt have the fender insulation either. MY dealer said the XL's dont have the insulation but XLTs and Lariets do.. Also my steering wheel upholstery is torn or just not connected like yours. Neither one is a deal breaker to me but i prob will show my dealer the upholstery when i take it in for an oil change. Liking the Maverick otherwise. Great intown mileage. Its a cheap vehicle so im not expecting much.
 

Oscarcat

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Any ideas how i can prove that they're missing? is there a tech document or exploded view somewhere that says it should be there? i tried my dealer and they said "the insulation is the way it is" - meaning they wont do shit about it unless i prove its missing. they also deflected pretty hard on fixing the upholstery and told me twice the upholstery guy was MIA, seems odd hed be gone 2 weeks in a row with no explanation.
I don't think you need to "prove" anything. Just go to your dealer and show them what your concern is. Better yet, start at the dealer's parts counter. Don't state your complaint, they just locate and sell parts. Ask them to bring up a parts diagram of the body that includes the front fender. Sometimes, parts like insulation are included under another heading but they should be able to find it. Ask them to print it out. Take the print-out to the service advisor. If you get grief, ask to be in contact with the zone manager [Canada?] for your area. If you saw my response, my Lariat 2.0L has what looks and feels like a black plastic bag in the area between the fender and the body with I am guessing, insulation inside. It is not molded and does not appear to be vehicle specific. This is my first ever Ford. My other vehicles, GMC, Lexus, Chrysler, have molded gray or black foam designed to fit the area. In my Mav the bag is just stuffed in there. The good news is, when I looked under the hood, it appears one can easily work the bag into the area from the engine compartment. No disassembly required. We all purchased a budget first model year vehicle - early adopters- during a time of supply chain and related constraints. I tend to agree with the post that pointed out it was designed to be a USD $21k vehicle. But fit and finish should not be a mystery to the auto industry and Ford's reputation is on the line with every new vehicle it sells. Good luck and post back after you talk to your dealer.
 

apstephen

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I bought a used '99 Ford Escort dirt cheap in 2000. It was a totally uninspiring little rattletrap with more annoying idiosyncrasies than I could count. But....it lasted 21 years and just shy of 200K miles, with nothing but routine maintenance and a fuel pump at 120k.
The build quality of my Maverick is light years better in every way, and in fact, I have yet to find a single thing lacking. So for what it is worth, I am not the least bit concerned it will crap out before 50,000 miles....or 150,000 for that matter.
I commute 110 miles a day in a 2017 Ford Focus. When I bought that car, many told me that I would regret because of the transmission. Now there were many, many issues with the earlier Focus transmissions, and admittedly they were pieces of crap. Ford kept working on them and finally got them to a reliable condition. I have had 0 issues. I do scheduled maintenance as required and on time. My maverick hybrid on order will replace the Focus. Why replace a working vehicle? I want the driver assist items and the bed. I have no worries with the Maverick making 50,000 miles. The hybrid component warranty is 8 years / 100,000 miles. My dealer also has an additional 20 year, 200,000 mile drive train warranty provided at no cost.

I am familiar with Ford, their good sides and their bad sides. Their are 3 fords in my yard, 2009 F150 Lariat 4X4, 2017 Focus, and 2020 Edge. I honestly don't expect many surprises, except for if and when my Maverick arrives. I ordered in Sept and fully understand that I may not see the truck as a 2023 model.

I've been a helicopter mechanic for 39 years, I've gotten used to items that don't make overhaul. I also understand something that can be financially unrepairable. I doubt that are very few Mavericks that have made it to this state, especially Hybrids that have made it to this state yet. If you really don't think that your truck will not make 50,000 miles...get rid of it, or make sure that you have a good warranty. Anything made on a production line, on delivery to customer is capable of having major component failures, items not installed, wiring issues, paint issues, faulty electronics the list goes on and on. Doesn't matter if you spent $25,000, or $25,000,000. You can trust me on this. It sucks when it happens, ESPECIALLY when it is with your money! Fully understand.

All of us have taken delivery or ordered at best a 2nd year production vehicle. We are in effect the Beta Testers. No one should be surprised at issues that pop up. Take the battery harness as an example. A first year production hybrid vehicle experiences a wiring harness issue...who would have thought? It was just extremely unfortunate that it happened to be the main harness. Guess what? As the fleet gains more miles, there will probably be another harness issue. Weak point in electrical items are just about always related to power distribution.

People like to try to compare 20 year old vehicles to new vehicles. It can't be done....a new car today is a rolling computer. A 20 year old F150 has perhaps one computer and is certainly only analog. If you told someone that ordered a new 2002 F150 that there would be no delivery due to chip shortage, most people 20 years ago would have asked what a chip is and where does it go. The hybrid maverick is pretty much all electrically driven components. Modern electrical components are unbelievably reliable. Do they fail at times? Of course they do.

Look this is 2022, if you have bought a new vehicle (from any manufacturer) that you publicly doubt that will make 50,000 miles, because of the body or the drivetrain or anything in between you should really get rid of it TODAY, cause it ain't gonna get any better.

Everyone take a deep breath, everything is gonna be ok for probably about 99.9% of us. For the 0.1% I hear ya....in the immortal words of William J. Clinton " I feel your pain".
 

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I bought a used '99 Ford Escort dirt cheap in 2000. It was a totally uninspiring little rattletrap with more annoying idiosyncrasies than I could count. But....it lasted 21 years and just shy of 200K miles, with nothing but routine maintenance and a fuel pump at 120k.
The build quality of my Maverick is light years better in every way, and in fact, I have yet to find a single thing lacking. So for what it is worth, I am not the least bit concerned it will crap out before 50,000 miles....or 150,000 for that matter.
Um... no.

I have 17 years experience driving Specifically Ford Hybrids.

A 2005 Escape Hybrid. (235,000 miles)
A 2010 Fusion Hybrid.
A 2018 Fusion Hybrid.

(Also a Prius, Rav4 Hybrid, and Venza Hybrid - current Wife's car.)

This one is doing lots of things it shouldn't be doing. I'm not talking fit and finish.

I'm talking spit & sputter. Bumping & grinding, smoke & smell type stuff. I'm talking engine and powertrain.

And I know what I'm talking about.
Sad. I so wanted to love this truck.
First generation Escape Hybrid was bulletproof. Then this. SMH
 

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apstephen

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Um... no.

I have 17 years experience driving Specifically Ford Hybrids.

A 2005 Escape Hybrid. (235,000 miles)
A 2010 Fusion Hybrid.
A 2018 Fusion Hybrid.

(Also a Prius, Rav4 Hybrid, and Venza Hybrid - current Wife's car.)

This one is doing lots of things it shouldn't be doing. I'm not talking fit and finish.

I'm talking spit & sputter. Bumping & grinding, smoke & smell type stuff. I'm talking engine and powertrain.

And I know what I'm talking about.
Sad. I so wanted to love this truck.
First generation Escape Hybrid was bulletproof. Then this. SMH
Why do you still own it? With its value right now, why keep it? Wouldn't it be better to be rid of it now while the value is high?

Just trying to understand the logic involved.
 

MLA62563

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Um... no.

I have 17 years experience driving Specifically Ford Hybrids.

A 2005 Escape Hybrid. (235,000 miles)
A 2010 Fusion Hybrid.
A 2018 Fusion Hybrid.

(Also a Prius, Rav4 Hybrid, and Venza Hybrid - current Wife's car.)

This one is doing lots of things it shouldn't be doing. I'm not talking fit and finish.

I'm talking spit & sputter. Bumping & grinding, smoke & smell type stuff. I'm talking engine and powertrain.

And I know what I'm talking about.
Sad. I so wanted to love this truck.
First generation Escape Hybrid was bulletproof. Then this. SMH
Sorry, I didn't read far enough up the chain and took your post as a statement on general Maverick reliability.
Yes, that sounds pretty bad. On the plus side, at least these are demonstrable problems that will be hard for a dealer to dismiss as fantasy. (Which they love to do.) I would think it should all be addressable under warranty. But if they do the work and you still aren't convinced they made it right, best to take advantage of this vehicle's stellar resale value and walk away. 🤷‍♂️
 

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Why do you still own it? With its value right now, why keep it? Wouldn't it be better to be rid of it now while the value is high?

Just trying to understand the logic involved.
As soon as there is a non Santa Cruz alternative, probably will.
 

apstephen

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As soon as there is a non Santa Cruz alternative, probably will.
Thanks, I sincerely hope you get the Maverick straightened out. I feel the same about the Santa Cruz..
 

Taxman100

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As soon as there is a non Santa Cruz alternative, probably will.
Reminds me of my wife's minivan. We bought one new off the dealer's lot, and it ran and performed well for about 30 months. My wife ran a stop sign and totaled it.

To replace it, we bought a used one of the same model year and similar mileage. It has never been right - weird electrical glitches, check engine light is always on, premature rust, etc.

All that to say:
1. Late model used cars are not always better than older model years. Why did the previous owner sell it?
2. quality control can be a crapshoot
3. If you have an old car that seems well put together and runs well, realize something new may not be better...
 
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GPSMan

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Yes! Couldn't agree more.

There's bound to be good and bad specimens of any make & model.
 

LSchicago

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It's a $22K entry level vehicle. I would never expect it to be high quality. It should do what I ordered it for for at least 10 years, which is all I'd ever expect of it.
 

New2AZ

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It's a $22K entry level vehicle. I would never expect it to be high quality. It should do what I ordered it for for at least 10 years, which is all I'd ever expect of it.
Agreed. Granted, I paid more than $22k, but my expectations for this vehicle were never that high. Just run and not cause too many problems while doing so. The extra money I spent were for some creature comforts. I've never kept a vehicle longer than a few years (typically leased) and I never expected to be in the Mav more than a few years either. The build quality is quite clearly not Job #1 though, and as it is, I'm already looking at the new CR-V Hybrid and will be taking one out for a test drive when they arrive on the local dealer lots. My Maverick journey may be even shorter than I originally thought.
 

LSchicago

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Agreed. Granted, I paid more than $22k, but my expectations for this vehicle were never that high. Just run and not cause too many problems while doing so. The extra money I spent were for some creature comforts. I've never kept a vehicle longer than a few years (typically leased) and I never expected to be in the Mav more than a few years either. The build quality is quite clearly not Job #1 though, and as it is, I'm already looking at the new CR-V Hybrid and will be taking one out for a test drive when they arrive on the local dealer lots. My Maverick journey may be even shorter than I originally thought.
I usually get bored with vehicles after 4-5 years. Being that the Maverick will strictly be a commuter for me, I will probably keep it 10 years. Adding $5,000 or $15,000 in options does not change the $22K quality point. It just adds a few nicer things. The one I ordered is $25,240.
 
 







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