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.

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