Ford Quality: from Nightmare to Dream Come True

[Kaptain75329]

We can only hope that this news is

• Actually true
• Ford has changed at the core to make quality a core part of their ethos

For my part, anecdotal experience with my 2026 Mustang has been reassuring. There are two minor fitment issues on the exterior, but the interior is rock solid excellent. Beyond that, I've seen newer 2026 Mustangs on the lot that were built even better than mine. If Ford keeps this up, for sure my next car will be another Mustang.

More broadly, we've seen Ford tout quality numerous times over the years, and they had their ups and downs on this topic for a long time. All the same, this accomplishment is worth noting. I'm hopeful the company has learned it's lessons proper for the long haul and have figured out quality to be genuinely competitive in the market.

https://www.autoblog.com/news/ford-...ghtmare-to-americas-highest-quality-car-brand

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[MAT1955]

@Kaptain75329 ..... friends have noted that my 2024 GT and 2026 GT were, in their opinions, very well assembled and extremely attractive. I have noted that many of my friends' vehilces (while I didn't say so - lol) were of inferior (in my opinoion) build quality. Considering that the Mustang ethos is a sports car it is, in my opinion, a very attractive and comfortable sports car. I'm 6'6" and I have had enormous room in y 2014, 2024 and 2026 Mustangs. I can't fit in my friends' corvettes.

 

[DehTangter]

Since this is all coming from JD Power, I can't help but wonder what Mahk from Boston thinks about this.

 

[LouG]

I have no significant complaints. The holes in the front guard liners was a bit stupid, but easily fixed.

 

[Kaptain75329]

@Kaptain75329 ..... friends have noted that my 2024 GT and 2026 GT were, in their opinions, very well assembled and extremely attractive. I have noted that many of my friends' vehilces (while I didn't say so - lol) were of inferior (in my opinoion) build quality. Considering that the Mustang ethos is a sports car it is, in my opinion, a very attractive and comfortable sports car. I'm 6'6" and I have had enormous room in y 2014, 2024 and 2026 Mustangs. I can't fit in my friends' corvettes.

Agreed, and even the Corvette is not perfect in the showrooms. In particular, I've noticed how one headlight is installed perfectly, the other is always slightly off. (Still very nice overall though, and I would argue GM achieves tighter tolerances in general when compared to Ford.)

In my case, the build quality on my 2026 is actually quite good. Only two minor issues:

1. The passenger side tailpipe sticks out a little further than driver's side. It's minor, but noticable if you look directly.
2. The other issue is the same as reported in this thread just a few days ago: https://www.mustang7g.com/forums/threads/front-hood-alignment.177200/#post-3525963

Nothing I can do about the tailpipes, but I was able to fix the hood on my own.

Hood before fix:

Hood after fix:

Not perfect, but a huge improvement and now I'm very happy with the fit and finish overall.

 

[Kaptain75329]

Since this is all coming from JD Power, I can't help but wonder what Mahk from Boston thinks about this.

Love that guy's videos. He hasn't posted in about 5 years, but I hope he decides to get back into it.

https://youtube.com/@zebracorner

 

[Neggytive]

but the ecoboost engines are still garbage IMHO

 

[tankcj]

I have owned numerous new cars over the years and I am on my 4th Mustang in 50 years (yeah I’m that old) My 2026 was built in late February and aside from a wiper arm clocking issue (wiper was a few splines off and was about 2 inches up the windshield), I am very happy with the build and paint quality, panel gaps, and interior. All the electronics appear to be gremlin free also. I realize that the gremlin free electronics can change but overall I feel this is a well built car.

 

[Westphal]

We have just about 7500 miles on our '26 with nary a problem.

 

[Will2]

I've owned a '24 Eco, '25 GT, '25 Eco, and now '26 GT. To be honest I've found the quality to not have gotten much better.

My '25 Eco and '26 GT both have door defogger area rattles that weren't on my '24 Eco and '25 GT.
My '26 GT passenger rear brake is funky, pad clunk and creaks, I'll have to take it apart and lube everything up.
My '26 GT has a super annoying dash rattle/squeak that none of my others had.
My '25 Eco and '26 GT both had minor lifting at the seam of the spoiler decklid panel, not glued on well.
My '26 GT had the rear GT badge peeling off, when eventually removed it was covered with road dust underneath, showing it had been peeling for a while.
Later '25s and '26s have some bumper corner/edge paint peeling issues I've noticed.

They do fix minor things year to year, like the newer ones don't have the gauge screen rattles that the '24s had, and the newer ones don't have the rear seat latch rattles the '24s had.

I'm a super nitpicky person and notice all the imperfections, so even though I've bought a bunch of these, I still wish they could improve quality. I have begrudgingly accepted that with Mustangs I'm basically paying for just the drivetrain.

 

[Movie8327]

I've owned a '24 Eco, '25 GT, '25 Eco, and now '26 GT. To be honest I've found the quality to not have gotten much better.

My '25 Eco and '26 GT both have door defogger area rattles that weren't on my '24 Eco and '25 GT.
My '26 GT passenger rear brake is funky, pad clunk and creaks, I'll have to take it apart and lube everything up.
My '26 GT has a super annoying dash rattle/squeak that none of my others had.
My '25 Eco and '26 GT both had minor lifting at the seam of the spoiler decklid panel, not glued on well.
My '26 GT had the rear GT badge peeling off, when eventually removed it was covered with road dust underneath, showing it had been peeling for a while.
Later '25s and '26s have some bumper corner/edge paint peeling issues I've noticed.

They do fix minor things year to year, like the newer ones don't have the gauge screen rattles that the '24s had, and the newer ones don't have the rear seat latch rattles the '24s had.

I'm a super nitpicky person and notice all the imperfections, so even though I've bought a bunch of these, I still wish they could improve quality. I have begrudgingly accepted that with Mustangs I'm basically paying for just the drivetrain.

Have any dealers tried fixing any of these issues for you?

 

[MAT1955]

@Lou G ..... agreed. I fixed the front holes myself on my 2024 GT and Ford fixed them the next year. My 2026 GT's front fender liners are good.

 

[armyGT]

Most every Mustang I've owned to include two Shelby GT 500's have had poor paint. Orange peel, thin paint, debris in finish, etc. My 2024 Shadow Black is very average. My interior is very nice, no issues so far. Yes, my tailpipes aren't even. Ford has a very long way to go to match the quality of GM paint.

 

[hardy1076]

My 2025 GT PP has every option other than magneride. The car’s interior is solid with no rattles or squeaks. I do want to tune the 10 speed as I still think it is the cars biggest weakness, but looks, ride and tech are well done. I am also glad I got the S650 before Ford started cutting out some features such as lit door sills.

 

[MMM981]

Our 2025 GT---manual--has been trouble for free for 5k miles (2/25 production).

Paint is terrific, body panel match up seems the same. No issues in the interior---either with fit, materials or rattles.

Tranny and engine performance are fine, no strange noises, power seems smooth gear changes are without drama.

One beef I have with Ford ---grand touring tires on a car like this are a mistake, they compromise the handling and along with the soft springs, make driving experience less than what it could be. A simple upgrade like UHPAS tires and firmer springs would be an adequate fix and would be willing to pay for rather than $xxxx dollars for the PP.

I'll likely replace these Conti GT tires before they are done and add the strut brace package as a partial fix; I'd like to do the springs but then we're talking $xxxx. to replace components that are still functioning--a difficult sell with the wife..

BTW--has anybody switched to MIch PS 4 A/S tires yet? I had them on a 15 EB and they transformed the handling with the firmer sidewall but definitely added some unwanted noise.

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