Used 2015 Ford Fiesta S 4dr Hatchback (1.6L 4cyl 5M) Consumer Reviews

What Happened to Ford Quality?

I have bought Fords my entire adult life. Six of them to be exact. My current Ford Focus is now 16 years old with 98000+ mile on it. It has never broken down and has only had two items that needed repair. A sway-arm bushing and an ignition switch. Anyway, I was very pleased my daughter chose to purchase a Ford as her first new car. A 2015 Ford Fiesta. It has been nothing but problem after problem since she got it. A month or so after she bought it the parking break push knob broke, and the passenger side seat-belt retractor stopped working, requiring replacement of both. When she picked it up, she noticed that the mechanic had scratched and gouged the plastic console surrounding the parking break and shifter, so she had to schedule another appointment to have that replaced. Again when she picked it up, the airbag light was now on, apparently due to a lose plug under the passenger seat (from replacing seat-belt thing). That also required a day to fix. During the first year, she has the interior plastic molding around one of the back windows fall off, the exterior plastic molding around the other back window fall off, the rubberized "cover/strip" that goes around the windshield is coming off, and the plastic "skirts/fairing" around the bottom of both seats has broken. Last February I noticed that the front end of her was bouncing around a lot going over bumps, so I told her to take it to Ford. With less than 5000 miles on it, both front shocks had failed. This to me in unbelievable! In June she was hearing noises coming from the left front of the car, back to Ford again. This time a wheel bearing and the left shock both failed. I've never heard of such a thing. Now, just today, the airbag light is on again. Next, the transmission! Since she bought it, both she and I have on several occasions, noticed that the transmission did not feel right. Slow acceleration/hesitation for the first 2 or 3 three seconds when leaving a stop. Very slight shuddering when leaving a stop, and sometimes when coming to a stop. Ford has told us that this is normal and/or they were unable to reproduce the problem or that it did not meet the threshold for repair. I admit, it does not do it all the time, but it is annoying when it does and in my opinion it should not be doing it at all. Lastly is value. She bought the car with extended warranty for $23,000.00, it has something like 18000 miles on it and according to Kelly Bluebook it has a resale value of around $5000.00! She cannot sell it or trade it on another car because she still owes $15,000.00 on it. We are aware of the class-action lawsuit against Ford for the transmission problems, and will make a claim. But even with what she might get for that, she will be forced to keep the car until she pays it off. Now it is just about time for me to replace my car and I find myself wondering if I may have to look elsewhere instead of Ford. That makes me sad.