Creaky doors - now fixed

[patpeke]

First off- I love my car. But it's had a couple of annoying problems. 

 

1 month after I got my car last October, I started hearing an odd noise that appeared to be a creaking sound- it was coming from the left rear wheel well area. Caruso Ford in Long Beach determined it was actually a loose antenna (!) - so that was fixed! Then, the problems with creaky doors began in earnest.

 

I took the car in 5 times over 3 months. First attempt- the lubricated the seal around the door. It didn't make a difference. And the problem continued. Finally- the problem was found - after 19 days total in the shop (and I'll give the dealership credit- I got a free rental car) - they had to completely take apart the front doors - and the problem was with the window glass mechanism and all the parts inside the door. Wow.  I was told the standard line- gosh, no one's had this problem before (sure) - no one at Ford Technical knew how to fix the problem (true) - my car was a "unique case" no one had experience with - which I certainly had problems believing.  It's not that unique. It's not unknown. But the problem is - for the vast part - is now fixed completely. I've got 49,000 km / 28,000 miles on the car - all other parts of the car have been great - and it makes a great vacation car. Except for the fact that it really could use just a little bit more luggage space - but i knew that going in (!). 

 

So - was it build quality? Or an engineering issue? I suspect a bit of both. The antenna was build quality - the creaky doors? Not so sure. But I love the car. But one comment - American car companies have had 30 yrs of warnings on the need to improve quality. Why the heck can't this lesson be fully learned? I really do want to support the home team - I do. But to have these problems is - well- a concern. But the good news? The Energi powertrain is absolutely fantastic.

 

 

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[stevedebi]

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So - was it build quality? Or an engineering issue? I suspect a bit of both. The antenna was build quality - the creaky doors? Not so sure. But I love the car. But one comment - American car companies have had 30 yrs of warnings on the need to improve quality. Why the heck can't this lesson be fully learned? I really do want to support the home team - I do. But to have these problems is - well- a concern. But the good news? The Energi powertrain is absolutely fantastic.

 

 

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Just a small note - you do realize that you are on the "normal" C-Max forum? There is a separate forum for the Energi. Look up at the top of the page, left side, and click on the Energi forum.

 

I find lots of interesting stuff over here on the C-Max forum (much of the car is identical to the conventional hybrid), but you may encounter things that only affect the Energi, and you will get more response over there.