*science not guaranteed
A HUMOUROUS OBSERVATION
More 2012 focus problems...
SydneyRoo
*science not guaranteed
A HUMOUROUS OBSERVATION
61 - 80 of 97 Posts
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418 Posts
Car and Driver did an excellent article that commented directly on Ford's dropped ratings for JD Powers, and personally I feel that hit the nail clearly on the head in that article. In a synopsis they basically were saying the reason behind the MFT complaints were due to people's inexperience in using such a system. In the months I've been frequenting this site I've seen this to be true in a large percentage of the cases, where people's complaints have turned to bliss after they figure out the fix to their problem, such as specific format of the thumb drive or that MFT prefers clean-up of the music files before indexing, those type of things.
Car and Driver also commented on the complaints for the transmission on the Focus saying majority of those were due to unrealistic expectations, meaning drivers were expecting the transmission to be something it wasn't. It's not your typical automatic (as we've all seen). It was built with efficiency in mind first and foremost, not performance, so illusions of it being a bullet off the start are misconcieved by many.
Now I realize there are legitimate problems and I also acknowledge dealers/service centers were not prepared to address questions/issues for their new product and those items fall directly on Ford, but for the most part we all should have known going in that this is a first run year of this new model and there are going to be issues. You should have known that when you signed your name and if you didn't, then shame on you for not doing your homework before shelling out your hard-earned money.
Having said all that, use this forum to address your issues and to get trained on how best to use your car's technology. There's a lot of suffered experience out here and everyone seems more than willing to share that knowledge. Just quit diss'ing the car because for the most part we all love our Focus and take a lot of those negative comments to heart.
Enjoy it...drive it....have fun!
Car and Driver also commented on the complaints for the transmission on the Focus saying majority of those were due to unrealistic expectations, meaning drivers were expecting the transmission to be something it wasn't. It's not your typical automatic (as we've all seen). It was built with efficiency in mind first and foremost, not performance, so illusions of it being a bullet off the start are misconcieved by many.
Now I realize there are legitimate problems and I also acknowledge dealers/service centers were not prepared to address questions/issues for their new product and those items fall directly on Ford, but for the most part we all should have known going in that this is a first run year of this new model and there are going to be issues. You should have known that when you signed your name and if you didn't, then shame on you for not doing your homework before shelling out your hard-earned money.
Having said all that, use this forum to address your issues and to get trained on how best to use your car's technology. There's a lot of suffered experience out here and everyone seems more than willing to share that knowledge. Just quit diss'ing the car because for the most part we all love our Focus and take a lot of those negative comments to heart.
Enjoy it...drive it....have fun!
BS cop-out.
I whole-heartedly recognize that the JDP survey isn't so much about quality as it is about meeting/satisfying expectations. However, that's the point - people's expectations weren't met, and there's no sugar-coating that. The solution isn't to lower your customers' expectations; that's cutting off your nose to spite your face.
Ford tried too many new things all at once, and it burned them this go around. That's often what happens on a 'first-run year,' but it doesn't justify it. The transmission issues were bad with last year's Fiesta, and it seems Ford got that one fixed pretty quickly. (The problems reported on that were real, not merely customers not knowing what to expect.) I won't fault the transmission in the Focus because it seems Ford generally solved the 'first year' issues with the Fiesta, and didn't carry them over to the Focus.
OTOH, Ford knew MFT was inadequate (from its release in other vehicles the prior year), yet they still pushed it. They made the mistake of placing more importance on being first, trendy, and 'neat' than on delivering a quality product, so they deserved to get bit on that one (Hopefully they get the problems solved prior to the next model year.) I also don't buy the argument of 'once you fix your problems, then MFT is great.' If my music files work on every other computer/device but not on MFT, then it's MFT that has the problem, not the music files.
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+1 Well said.
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I have to agree with revdev on this especially the part about the music file clean up. I have done that and although it improved things, the random freezes of the volume and controls still happen. Heck it happens without anything plugged into the USB ports. Sometimes there is no sound at all after starting the vehicle. My conclusion is there are random issues that just appear for no reason. It could be software or hardware bugs, but it is definitely Fords issue to fix, not user error.
I certainly knew about and researched the transmission before I bought this car and for the most part it is working well for me but it does slip out of gear sometimes and I cannot repeat it. It is also a random failure of one of the two clutches to engage at lower speeds. I feel that this is a safety issue because pulling out into traffic is where the failure usually occurs and if you suddenly have no power, you can potentially become a sitting duck. Right now I will not pull out into traffic aggressively like I used to with a transmission I could rely on. I have to wait until it is totally clear.
I certainly knew about and researched the transmission before I bought this car and for the most part it is working well for me but it does slip out of gear sometimes and I cannot repeat it. It is also a random failure of one of the two clutches to engage at lower speeds. I feel that this is a safety issue because pulling out into traffic is where the failure usually occurs and if you suddenly have no power, you can potentially become a sitting duck. Right now I will not pull out into traffic aggressively like I used to with a transmission I could rely on. I have to wait until it is totally clear.
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180 Posts
Since I fall into the category you are referencing, first let me say that I would have no need to "complain" if the system had worked right from the start , you know, the way that Ford marketed/advertised/promoted and still continues to advertise the MFT system.
I never said that I wouldn't recommend another Ford, I did say that I would NOT recommend a 2012 Ford Focus Titanium with MFT, based on my personal experience with my own vehicle. My car will be 4-months old next week....the vehicle still is riddled with constant MFT issues with no end in sight.
Where I live, there is no "lemon law" procedure and I'm not prepared to trade it in and loose thousands of dollars because Ford screwed up big time, sorry ain't going to happen. That does not mean that I am not exploring other options with regards to Ford being held accountable for these on going and yet unsolved MFT issues. I would never negate someone else's opinion and I realize that some with the MFT system are not experiencing the same problems that I am and that's great for them......but this is a Focus Forum, so I will continue to post "the good, the bad and the ugly" regarding my experience with the 2012 Focus. Other forum users are free to agree/disagree with me or choose not to read my posts, whatever floats their boat.
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1,178 Posts
I don't get it. In your profile it says you drive a Mazda. Still, you are here bitching about Focus. Do you have a Focus or all you say is from "a friend told me" ?
My experience with my Focus is great. MFT works as I expect, even better. It doesn't crush on me as frequently as my iPad 2 with iOS 5 does since the last update (at least 3 times a day [B)]). One thing I understood from the first time : MFT is not iPad 2 nor a performace computer that can multitask in a blink of an eye. It has its ups and downs, but I was the one that wanted it in my car, it was not Ford who forced me on it. And yes, I knew about the problems I may have with it but I accepted them as I accept the iOS 5 and its crushes. I know for sure that sooner or later these are gonna be addressed.
So, my advice for you all complainers would be: next time you buy a car, do your homework before, not after buying it. If you expect perfection from a 30K car, what would you expect from a 80K+ car ?
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4,342 Posts
Uhh... perfection with higher-end materials and more complex components?
Perhaps an Italian hood emblem of some sort? [
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Perfection is obtained when you have more higher-end materials and complex components, not when you have two horses and a cart.
But maybe I didn't understood well your question, so don't be too harsh on me.
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Now you are talking ! But to speak true, I don't mind neither of these :...Perhaps an Italian hood emblem of some sort? [
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Maybe Ford developed MFT when microsoft windows was Vista? That would explain a lot.... Keep in mind this is a random thought and in no way based on fact.
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But if you want two horses and a cart......Perfection!
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[thumb] or Windows ME...Maybe Ford developed MFT when microsoft windows was Vista? That would explain a lot.... Keep in mind this is a random thought and in no way based on fact.
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Very True! I used to work at a Future Shop which is a Best Buy clone that BB actually ended up buying up this way - anyhow, out of the products that were returned to the store, and there were A LOT, I would say 99.8 of them had no real issues. The people who bought them just didn't know how to use them or didn't even bother to read the instruction manual.
I'm not saying that MFT is perfect, but having a background in programming long ago I can recognize severe problems from just bugs, and as of 2.11 the system has a few bugs. Not even half as many as you may think based on the comments here. Just a few and they are even far between. As long as you know how to use the system and your associated devices and that most of the time if something messes up ITS YOUR DEVICE, NOT THE CAR then you can troubleshoot and fix the issues more effectively.
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Hehehe ! Nice one ! Even though, after the SP2, Vista became as stable as Windows 7 SP1.Maybe Ford developed MFT when microsoft windows was Vista? That would explain a lot.... Keep in mind this is a random thought and in no way based on fact.
P.S. I am not sure if MFT is programmed by MSFT but do you remember the first presentation of Windows 98 and the BSOD Bill got ?
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668 Posts
After about $30K or so there is an inverse relationship between the cost of a car and its reliability. In other words, generally speaking, the more money you spend, the more problems you're likely to have.
Personally, I don't expect perfection from ANY car. But for the most part I expect a car to do what it's advertised to do. Taking a care into a dealership for the same or similar problems time after time is not acceptable.
Tony
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668 Posts
I've shared this exact sentiment before too, usually applying it to "smart" phones, but the same applies to "smart" cars.
The only way these companies are going to learn is if we hit them in the pocketbook and either refuse to buy the "latest and greatest" (which is becoming increasingly difficult nowadays) or by demanding that if your car can't be fixed, they either compensate you, refund your money, or give you a new car (that's not broken) in its place. This last option is particularly tricky because so many of the problems inherent in "smart" devices are universal.
Tony
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1,178 Posts
I am not convinced about what you say about expensive cars. Try a Porsche or a Bentley first and judge after.
P.S. Have you ever considered to change the dealer you take the car to ?
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Tony, I don't intend to disrespect you, but what you are saying is something like : "I got screwed too many times by their products but still, I didn't learn the lesson and again and again I buy them based on advertising".
There is a saying here, I don't know if it is also there : You trick me once, shame on you. You trick me twice, shame on me ! I think you should start learning your lesson and never ever buy a "first year" product of everything. Wait till the second generation is on the market. Yes, problems may appear with these "first generation" products. Take your time and deal with Ford or its dealers if there is something wrong with your car. Maybe you just got one built on Friday ("Wheels" by Arthur Hailey).
It's not hard - I drive a Mazda but it's time for a new car. The Focus is #1 or #2 on my list, and as soon as it is more desirable to drive than my car, I will buy it. That means I have an interest in how it works, its development, etc. Also, I'm not so much 'bitching' about the Focus as I am about individual's comments/attitudes about Ford & the Focus. If something was done wrong or poorly, it deserved to be mentioned, and the car someone drives doesn't disqualify them from having a valid opinion.
Now, that's funny. First you criticize someone (me) for doing research & having an opinion before buying the Focus, and then you tell others to do exactly that. After all my test drives & messing with the car, I have decided to wait to buy until the problems that I have with it are solved. (And from my own personal experiences with MFT on my test drives, I've decided that I don't want it. My biggest complaint is actually not MFT, but the fact that the non-MFT sucks even worse.)
Do I expect perfection? I don't think so, but I do expect a new car to work at least as well as my 10 yr old one (priced under $17k at the time). IMO, I don't think that is unreasonable.
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