All Ford Edges Now on Factory Hold?

[xbillmh]

It appears that ALL Ford Edges are now being held at the factory. This includes vehicles produced after the "fix" date for the water leak issue. Can anyone confrm if this is true? Ford refuses to provide any information, either confirming or denying that this is the case. Even a dealer apparently cannot get answers regarding orders for his own inventory. If this is true, it raises some disturing questions.

[DBeth]

My Titanium AWD Edge 2.0L was finished being built on 7/7, and I picked it up on 7/24. Haven't heard anything like what you've said yet.

[built2prfctn]

Mine was built 3 weeks ago and picked it up two weeks ago

[redlancer]

build date of June 24, picked up July 17. Went back July 30 for front window tint and the dealer had a few new edges on the lot.

 

xbillnh - did you ever take delivery of your Edge? I think we had about the same original order date around the end of April.

 

-SJ

[xbillmh]

Mine had a build date of July 6 per ETIS, but never delivered to the dealer, despite indications from Ford that it was in transit and would come in July. As of now, I am not taking delivery of the car, but the dealer still has about eight other Edges that he has ordered. All of them are on hold at the factory, with no explanation. It is my dealer who told me that he belives that anything that has not shipped at this point is being held, but he can't get a straight answer, either.

 

It seems like the common theme with all of the posters here that have had issues with 2015 Edges is lack of communication from Ford. Nobody seems to know what is going on - or is allowed to say anything. In the abscence of any guidance, you have to assume the worst. My concern is that maybe they now believe that leak issue affects cars made even very recently. I am still following this drama, because I am still interested in an Edge. I am thinking of waiting until the 2016s come out to get a new car. Unfortunately at this rate, I doubt people are going to be getting their hands on 2016s until next summer. The 2015s should have never been released. They should have waited until later, done more quality control and then released them as 2016s in the fall of this year.

[CinnamonEdge]

unfortunatley they need to drive the cars to test for problems. That is why I never buy a "new" model in its first year. The second year is always better and more refined.

Edited August 5, 2015 by CinnamonEdge

[Waldo]

The 2015s should have never been released. They should have waited until later, done more quality control and then released them as 2016s in the fall of this year.

 

Sure, they never should have released the 2011 Edge since the 2015 is so much better, why not just wait for 4 years? In fact they should just stop building everything right now because the next year will be much better.

 

The water leak is not the only issue, there are likely a few other little problems, perhaps even ones that are specific to a certain trim or engine. The reason you don't have your car is for exactly what you are asking for, they are holding the units, doing more quality control, and then releasing them when they are ready.

 

If Ford were to tell you what the problem is, then they would also be telling their competitors what their problems are, not something that's good for the business.

[xbillmh]

It's not a question of a future model being a better design or having more features, it is a question of executing today's design properly and in a timely manner. There is a big difference between those two things. First of all, the 2015s were delayed quite a bit. In stead of releasing in the fall of 2014, as most other competitors' 2015 models did, Edges didn't even get into dealers for people to test drive until April of this year (at least in my city). Then production was been slow and there have been crazy delays in delivering orders. In my case, I ordered an Edge very soon after I was able to test drive one. If I were to wait and finally take delivery of mine in let's say October, after all of the Ford drama finally gets taken care of and my car finally makes it to me, it is already a one-year old used car before I have set my eyes on it. That is ridiculous, given that I wanted to buy the new Edge and would have bought one in 2014, if they would have been available. I would be taking a one-year depreciation hit on the car, because Ford could not execute on their new design.

 

As far as Ford conveying its problems to competitors, that is ridiculous. The media already picked up the sory about the leaks and they will pick up the story again, if there is in fact a new hold on vehicles produced after the magic April 28 leak date. Once Ford holds the vehicles out to the public as being ready for sale and accepts deposits for orders, they have avery legal and moral duty to communicate issues surrounding delays, quality problems and other issues. The same goes for people that have already taken delivery. The fact that the issue might be embarassing or give competitors some type of advantage is totally irrelevant.

[Pete6114]

unfortunatley they need to drive the cars to test for problems. That is why I never buy a "new" model in its first year. The second year is always better and more refined.

 

Same here, but in my case that didnt help much on this vehicle. Wife got a 2015 and they are tearing into the engine as i type this, with only 7k KM on it.

Someone i know has a brand new Edge, or i should say "had", for just a week. Been at the dealer for several weeks now because of the water leak issue.

Buying a new vehicle is a crap-shoot and no guarantee of a problemfree car.

[Waldo]

 

 

As far as Ford conveying its problems to competitors, that is ridiculous. The media already picked up the sory about the leaks and they will pick up the story again, if there is in fact a new hold on vehicles produced after the magic April 28 leak date.

 

No they won't, every model has 10-20 holds when they are first launched. The media picked up on the water leaks because Ford published a document describing it, they won't publish documents for the other 9-19 problems if they are convinced they have them under control. Trust me, I've seen what goes on behind-the-scenes and the media picks up maybe 5% of it. Vehicle holds/stop builds happen all the time, probably 1-2 per week at every plant even during regular production. it sucks if you're waiting but it's just part of the process, Ford doesn't legally or morally owe you any explanation, they just need to provide you a vehicle that is the best quality possible.

 

You also need to keep in mind that actual custom-ordered vehicles represent a very small portion of Ford's overall sales. Most people do just buy off the lot, so there really isn't a lot of motivation for Ford to improve the communication system.

[xbillmh]

Yikes! With that attitude, I hope that you are not really a Ford employee.

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

Being kept in the dark can be awfully frustrating! I don't know if this is a reflection of the frustration Ford itself feels or what. Considering the setbacks they have had with the new MY Edge, there must be something big going on to merit such a blackout. I don't know if they could open communications simply by signing their customers to an NDA of some sort.

 

xbillmh, I hope they get you a vehicle produced as close to actual delivery as possible, so it has not been sitting on the lot for a prolonged period. That'd be only right. They should recognize your patience and "reward" you accordingly.

[WingNut]

 

No they won't, every model has 10-20 holds when they are first launched. The media picked up on the water leaks because Ford published a document describing it, they won't publish documents for the other 9-19 problems if they are convinced they have them under control. Trust me, I've seen what goes on behind-the-scenes and the media picks up maybe 5% of it. Vehicle holds/stop builds happen all the time, probably 1-2 per week at every plant even during regular production. it sucks if you're waiting but it's just part of the process, Ford doesn't legally or morally owe you any explanation, they just need to provide you a vehicle that is the best quality possible.

 

You also need to keep in mind that actual custom-ordered vehicles represent a very small portion of Ford's overall sales. Most people do just buy off the lot, so there really isn't a lot of motivation for Ford to improve the communication system.

 

I agree with this to a certain point. Yes there are always holds during production. No the customer doesn't have to hear about every one. But there is a line when Ford SHOULD be communicating with their customers about issues (like the leak). And if a customer has placed a special order, there should be length of time when Ford should be telling the customer why things are continuing to be delayed.

 

When you leave people in the dark for prolonged periods of time, it stinks of cover-up. Be honest and up-front.

[xbillmh]

Just got an update. As I suspected, newly manufactured cars are being held at the factory for the water leak issue, in what was called a "recall." The safe manufacture date of April 28 is apparently out the window. My order was apparently taken back into the factory for re-work. Not sure that that means, but the bottom line is that a month after its July 6 build date, the car is still there with no estimated time for it to be shipped out. I guess that explains (but does not justify) the earlier secrecy on Ford's part. I still don't know if every new Edge is affected, or if they are testing each one for water leakage and finding leaks. Maybe mine sat outside and got wet and damaged was noted before shipping. Don't know what that means for people that took delivery of more recently manufactured cars thinking they were OK or were given a newly manufactured car as a replacement for an earlier leaker.

 

Maybe the 2016 models will come equipped with a bilge pump.

[WWWPerfA_ZN0W]

A bilge pump WOULD come in handy as the waters rise due to global warming ...

[akirby]

Just a clarification - you didn't order a vehicle from Ford. You ordered a vehicle from the dealer. The dealer ordered a vehicle from Ford.

 

Any time you order a vehicle that hasn't left the plant you have the potential for these types of problems, especially on a new design. It sucks and it shouldn't happen but it does.

 

You would be even more upset if it was released and you took delivery and then still had a leak. At this point waiting until it can be properly fixed is the lesser of two evils.

[Chipster]

Pete; Which engine is in your wife's car that has the problem, and what sort of problem does it have?

[Pete6114]

Pete; Which engine is in your wife's car that has the problem, and what sort of problem does it have?

Chipster: 3.7 L left head is being replaced. The engineer, the mechanic was on the phone with for an hour, would not guarantee it'll fix it.

 

Engine noise at cold start. Goes away after 5-8 minutes, but out of the ordinary never the less. Nobody knew if a oil passage was blocked or what the cause is. They (engeneers) apparently suspect the left head to be problematic, since there have been 2 revisions to that perticular part since my engine was build. I'm getting the latest and the greatest.....

Edited August 20, 2015 by Pete6114

[Pete6114]

Yikes! With that attitude, I hope that you are not really a Ford employee.

Who is that?

[Pete6114]

Just got an update. As I suspected, newly manufactured cars are being held at the factory for the water leak issue, in what was called a "recall." The safe manufacture date of April 28 is apparently out the window. My order was apparently taken back into the factory for re-work. Not sure that that means, but the bottom line is that a month after its July 6 build date, the car is still there with no estimated time for it to be shipped out. I guess that explains (but does not justify) the earlier secrecy on Ford's part. I still don't know if every new Edge is affected, or if they are testing each one for water leakage and finding leaks. Maybe mine sat outside and got wet and damaged was noted before shipping. Don't know what that means for people that took delivery of more recently manufactured cars thinking they were OK or were given a newly manufactured car as a replacement for an earlier leaker.

 

Maybe the 2016 models will come equipped with a bilge pump.

Every assembly plant has a watertest booth which all vehicles must go through during it's final inspection before shipping. I cant see that leak being missed, since there are 2 Q.C. inspectors with black lights checking the entire vehicle after they exit the booth. At least that's how it was done at the plant i worked at. That leads me to believ that they been given the go ahead to shipp and let the dealers fix it. Common practice when to many repairs pile up and they run out of room to store cars. I seen it many times!!!

Edited August 20, 2015 by Pete6114

[rudeboie]

Not sure how accurate the news of the "hold" is. My dealer hasn't heard of such a thing and they received an Edge Sport this past week with a build date of August 5th. My Sport is supposed to have been built this week with a delivery date of next week.

[akirby]

If there is a hold, the dealers know about it. Whether they admit it or not is a different story.

[rudeboie]

My point is that there doesn't seem to be a hold as Edges built in late July and early August were still being delivered to the dealership as of last week.

[xbillmh]

Picked up my check today from my dealer for my original deposit on my Edge that was ordered end of April, built July 6 and, as far as I know, still held at the factory for a leak-related issue, per Ford. My dealer still has his own inventory Edge orders held up. I agree that looking at dealer inventory on the Ford web site, there are more recently built cars being delivered. In the abscence of any clear, honest communication from Ford, it is hard to know what is happening. Maybe there was another limited span of production dates for which Ford suspected there was a problem. Maybe some orders were diverted as replacement cars for damaged units or stripped for replacement parts. Who knows?

[akirby]

How do you know there hasn't been any clear, honest communication from Ford to the dealer?

 

Ford tells the dealer the status of every vehicle they have on order at least once per week, yet most dealers tell their customers they don't know anything when they ask about order status.

 

There are cases where Ford is waiting for parts or waiting for engineering and they truly don't know when something will be fixed. In those cases the dealer should simply put in another order. The Ford rep can usually get those put in at priority 9 meaning they'll be built before any other vehicles for that dealer.