Ford review: new ford fiesta - paint problem 38

I'm from Turkey and I have the same problem as well. Distributor of Ford Vehicles in Turkey hasn't dealt with the problem yet. I'm too disappointed about that. I'm attaching the picture of the problem. This problem appears on the cars of the 25 Fiesta owners in Turkey whom I've met via an internet site.

Communication: mehmetyazici1@yahoo.com

Photo

I also have a new Ford Fiesta, Chassis no. WFOJXXGAJJ8Y74307 in black. Regrettably I too am experiencing the same problem with the paintwork on both the near and off-side wheel arches.

I have a history in the motor industry and worked for nearly 7 years at a senior level in the customer care teams for both Mercedes Benz UK and Volkswagen UK before deciding to start my own business in France, where I now live.

I purchased this car in November 2008 and within 2 weeks had suffered a water ingress problem, which left the carpets sodden. It took 2 weeks for the dealer to identify the cause and repair the problem. Shortly after the car was returned, during a routine clean, I noticed this problem of missing paint on both wheel arches. Having been trained in dealing with paint issues at both Mercedes and Volkswagen, I quickly identified that these were stone chips. This is not normally covered under the terms and conditions of the warranty as it is considered to be caused by external influences and not as a result of a defect.

However, the rest of the paint work is excellent, with no other stone chips and therefore I was concerned as to why the stone chips are confined solely to this area of the car. In general if there is a manufacturing defect in the paint, it is either too soft or not thick enough, both of which a paint expect can test for. However, I believe that the design of the vehicle is such that stones leaving the front tyres are thown up in such a trajectory that they strike this area of the car, which is almost at 90 degree angle to the rest of the body work and cause this damage. therefore I believe that this is a design flaw and the vehicle is almost in a sense self harming itself. I find it unacceptable that a car should be designed in such a way that it inflicts damage on itself.

Just before Christmas 2008, I took my fiesta into my dealer, MALBET AUTOS, in AGEN, FRANCE to complain about the problem, only to be met by blank faces and advised that this had not been seen before. When I insisted that I was not happy one of the service team advised me that there was a regional technical manager that visited from time to time and they would get this technical manager to look at my car when he was next there.

By February, I still had not heard back from Malbet Autos, so I decided to pay them another visit to raise the problem again. This time I put it to the Service Operative that the paint damage were stone chips as a result of a design fault. Again this was denied and they told me that they had not seen any other vehicle with the same problem. However, upon leaving I spotted another Ford Fiesta on the forecourt, also with the exact same stone chips. For my records, I have taken photos of this vehicle along with its chassis number.

This vehicle has now become more popular and I have started to notice more and more about. This is fortunate for me, because as of May 2009, I have started to spot more and more fiesta's with the same problem. I have now started to take photos to keep as evidence of the problem occurring on a mass scale.

I returned to Malbet Autos, Agen, France again last week, armed with the photos I have taken, desperate to get some sense and a solution to the problem. Initially, I was met by the same response and that this was not a fault. However a gentleman from another Department at Malbet confirmed that he had seen this before and was sure that if I took the car to their approved body shop that it would be repaired under warranty. At last, somebody with sense!

I then, as requested took my car to MAC SUD CARROSSERIE, also in AGEN, FRANCE. When I arrived there was a green Fiesta in the car park, which on inspection had the same problem, therefore I promptly took some photos. I then spoke to incredibly helpful guy and explained my problem and showed him my car. He confirmed that he had seen this problem and had already re-painted a red Fiesta sent to him via Malbet Autos. I then mentioned that the Green model had the same problem, which when he looked at confirmed and admitted that it was actually in for something else and they had not noticed before I pointed it out.

He then phoned Malbet Autos, explained the problem to them before booking the car in to have the wheel arches re-painted, under warranty on the 1 July 2009. I was pleased that this would be resolved, however immediately asked him that if nothing else was done, this would happen again. The gentleman at Mac Sud Carrosserie, admitted that in his opinion it was a design flaw and that it would occur again. He then advised me Ford produce the Galaxy and S-max with a special protective covering that fits over the rear wheel arches and that he would try to get hold of some and modify them to fit my Fiesta and therefore protect the paint. This I thought is a good idea, however, I am not happy to have this fitted unless it is a modification that has been designed and approved by Ford Head Office solely for the use on the Fiesta.

Upon returning home that evening, I decided to see if I could find any further information or people experiencing this problem on the internet. This is how I found this site and the 2 matching problems above. I am now in a position, where I will have to use my experience of how this industry works, my contacts in the industry, the internet and any other unhappy FORD FIESTA owners to get FORD MOTOR COMPANY to listen, accept there is a problem and come up with a viable and long term solution. I therefore urge anybody who owns a Fiesta and has the same problem to add to this complaints board and shore with me your details so that on mass we can make the FORD MOTOR COMPANY listen to our concerns and problems. I can be contacted on pedro@leclozet.com and speak fluent English, French and Portuguese as well as having some Italian and to a lesser extent German.

I currently have no other option than to advise FORD MALBUT in AGEN that I am not happy for them to solely re-paint my wheel arches and that I will not accept the car back until the FORD MOTOR COMANY of EUROPE has approached me with a viable solution that I am happy with.

Let this and the above 2 complaints be a warning to anybody considering purchasing a new Ford Fiesta!

To add to the 2 first complaints I have also attached photos of my car showing what I believe to be a manufacturing defect where the design of the car is such that it inflicts damage to its bodywork and FORD have not allowed for any additional protection as they do in the GALAXY or S-MAX or indeed as do many other manufacturers. Please remember that if the paint protection is removed from the body of the car, it may be more susceptible to problems arising from environmental pollution or weather.

photo 1

photo 2 and 3

Photos 4 and 5

6, 7 and 8

Other cars I have seen with the same problem. I also have the chassis numbers but have not added these pictures for Security. If anybody from Ford would like to contact me to discuss I can provide them. First a green model, again both near and off side rear wheel arches covered in stone chips!

A grey model

as above in local super markert car park

A black model, like mine on the forecourt of my local dealer. Please note, I have examples of more vehicles!

Another Fiesta with the same paint problem!

I just wanted to make a note to advise that I visited my dealer FORD, MALBET AUTOMOBILES in AGEN on Thursday to complain to them one last time and my salesman told me that this problem was a design fault, his exact words in French were "un problème de conception". As a result he had now washed his hands of the problem despite my contract of sale being with Malbet Autos. He has told me that I now need to complain to Ford France as he can not do anything further and the responsibility is now with the manufacturer.

I am an amateur photographer so I always have my camera with me. As a result here is another FORD FIESTA 5 door with the same problem as those above.

PLEASE NOTE - YOU READ IT HERE FIRST - FORD, MALBET AUTOS, AGEN HAVE VERBALLY TOLD ME THAT THIS IS A DESIGN FAULT!

Another 5 door fiesta with the same problem. You have to agree that this has to be more co-incidence?

I have posted some additional photos to show the extent of the damage and visually demonstrate why this problem is occurring. You can clearly see from the images that the door edge is between 4mm and 7mm inboard to the main chassis wheel arch and inevitably is allowing damage to the lower leading edge of the wheel arch.

I am yet to receive a viable long term solution to the problem from Ford, other than to re-paint the damaged area. It is clear to me and the people at the body shop that unless something else is done by Ford as the designer and manufacturer of the vehicle the paint will chip again as in the first example of the gentleman living in turkey. Personally I feel this is a waste of Fords money (which could be used to make their cars cheaper) and my time.

Where the paint has come away, the chassis is no longer protected by the paint protection systems applied at the factory to protect the body from external influences. Therefore through normal and accepted day to day use my vehicle is now vulnerable to long term damage caused by external influences, such as environment factors. Even though the re-painting of the car is to be done under warranty, the terms and conditions of the long term anti-corrosion warranty will now not cover any long term corrosion damage as a result of this issue!

The longer the problem persists and Ford do not come up with a solution, the more likely my car and possibly many others with the same problem as seen above will suffer from corrosion, that has arisen from external influences as a result in the design of the car. I find this unfair and wholly unsatisfactory.

I also have the same painting problems with my new Ford Fiesta (WFOJXXGAJJ8E20758)
I am from France, I bought the car that was already used by the dealer
When I got the car, it was not new (6 months, 9000 kms)
Two days after delivery, I saw those painting problems which I said to the dealer were very strange
the painting of the Fiesta was more bad than the one of my 11 year-old-clio
for the dealer it was not a problem
i ask them to repaint, they told me the paint was not availaible, so they couldn't do it now
3 months later, they gave me an appointment to repair the car
they did a very bad work, they took another paint and not the Hot Magenta paint
I am very angry and then I learn that it is a conception problem seen worldwide by Fiesta owners
what can we do ?
are we several enough to do something aginst Ford and to have our car repaired ?

bonjour,
je suis de france je possede une ford fiesta depuis le 30 octobre 2008 rouge tango et au bout de 2 mois je me suis apperçue des impacts au niveau des portes arrieres
j'ai fait une réclamation chez ford france pour le moment ils ne veulent pas le prendre en garantie
je suis à la recherche d'autres témoignages ou d'un contact chez ford pour que nous rassemblions nos réclamation

merci d'avance

voici mes coordonnées
sabrina duponq
sabrina.duponq@wanadoo.fr

Another Fiesta parked next to mine today with the same problem!

The same vehicle as above

with chipped paint

Dear all,

I'm pleased to share Ford's official statement on the matter:

A small number of new Ford Fiesta 5-door customers have contacted Ford of Europe as they are concerned about paint chipping that has occurred around the lower edge of the rear door aperture on their particular car.

We are aware that a small number of cars are affected, although this issue may have been caused by particular driving conditions or terrain. We do have a remedial action in place which requires the affected area to be painted and a specially designed protection foil placed over the new paint which will avoid further damage in the future. This foil is being fitted to new vehicles as part of the production process from August 2009.

We would ask any customer experiencing this concern to contact their local Ford dealer or national Ford Customer Relationship Centre (CRC) or to discuss their particular case. The dealer can then arrange for remedial work to take place.

Best regards,
R.A.

Dear R.A.,
Are you working in Ford Company ?
The problem does not concern only the lower edge of the rear door aperture but also the hood of the car (in my personal case) and I think every part of the car
I use my Fiesta in strictly the same conditions as my previous car that was not damaged like that after 11 years of use
I think that the paint is not resistant enough so that it may concern every part of the car, especially those that are most exposed to little shocks
I have contacted Ford France and my interlocutor has not been able to explain the real problem, he should have called me 15 days ago for a solution but I had no phone call
I also think that we are now a few but a lot of Fiesta user concerned by the problem
I think that every Fiesta that has been manufactured until today is concerned, you say that the next Fiesta (manufactured from August) will be OK. We have to be very vigilent to see that the paint is chipped, so many Fiesta user can not have seen it yet
I hope we will have a clear and satisfactory answer from Ford soon

I have a 03 Ford Explorer and it seems to have a common problem on the front hood with rust under the very front of the hood bubbling up and affecting the paint. May people have said Ford wont cover it under the warranty, unless it has a hole for rust. I am going to ask them to cover my paint, as a paint situation, as its covered in the warranty. If they wont cover it I'm going to take the dealer to small claims.

Dear eva76fr,

yes I am working for Ford but I am not an official spokesperson nor do I have the technical knowledge to address your issue personally. However, I did some internal investigation and could share Ford's official statement on this matter with you. Your dealer or the Customer Relationship Centre in France should be able to help.

Best,
R.A.

my regional dealer is a robber and I am waiting for the Customer Relationship Centre 's help for 3 weeks
I have no official statement from them
they just agree there is a problem, that's all at the moment

i got charges on my bill that i never aurthrized

My wifes 2009 Fiesta Zetec also has paint quality issues, in fact the paint fell off the inside off the bumpers when washed for the first time, and the paint began bubbling on the lower front wing.With less than 3000 miles on the clock the car was rejected but was turned down by Ford UK because they love to bodge-it's second nature to them! Sandicliffe Garage of Stapleford Nottingham UK only did half the work first time, so the vehicle had to go back again to be done properly.On both occasions they omitted to stick down the loose roof trimwhich had been pointed out to them.Ford has a paint quality issue with the new 2009 Fiesta and their agent has an issue with attention to detail and pride in what they do. From Mr G Yeomans Derby UK

Photos from Mr G Yeomans-Fiesta paint problems

Having trouble downloading photos can anyone help thanks Mr G Yeomans(OLD AGE)

Fiesta 2009 G Yeomans

Have given up with trying to download photos to this site so please buy a new a new 2009 fiesta and put your own photos on if you can

New Ford Fiesta -Paint Problem

FORD MOTOR COMPANY

First of all, I want to introduced myself. I am a paragliding ınstructor in Turkey, city of ANKARA. I bought a New Ford FİESTA titanyum 1.4 TDCI at 13 th November 2008, engine number:8Y78859 and identification number:WFOJXXGAJJ8Y78859, color of my car is Red, I bought it from Turkey İn Afyon “Budan FORD Vehicle Company” ( 2009 model)..I paid 31.000 Türkish Lira( 18.000 $) for my car.I have got a lot of advantages with New Ford Fiesta, for example exterior and interior styling, easy fuel capless refuelling system with mis-fuel inhibit, rain-sensing wipers, auto headlight. trip computer, electronic automatic temperature control, cruise control etc.. Finally, I have got a lot of reason to buy New Ford Fiesta because New Ford Fiesta is car of the year 2009. When I bought this car two months later, I began to encounter some problems especially paint problem. On my car under the right and left back door has some paint problem but these aren’t scrape and scratch problem, some paint began to shedding or spilthing, if you see the picture of my car you will understand me easily. I will send you some photos of my car. I know paint warranty; Ford Paint Surface Warranty protects our vehicle’s paint from corrosion and defective work. This doesn’t cover scratches and scrapes caused by the driver. Absolutely, I agree with you. But my problem is different and mixed problem. In January, I released this problem. I went to Turkey/Afyon “Budan Ford Vehicle Company” which one I bought my car. When the representative of paint department look at my car and than they said they could mend this problem as painting this side if I pay their explaination was really funny “some little rocks which are shooting out from the front whell damaged this area “This is impossible for physics rules, in momentum if objects have diferent mass and speed and direction they could not shoot the same place.On my car, paint damage is on a linear direction not on doors and not on the other sides I THİNK FORD TURKEY LİE TOO ME. as you understand me, this is a new car and I don’t want to paint some parts of my new car. I want to gave back my car because of this paint problem. Because, I’m sure of that you will agree with me, nobody want to drive a new car which is has a problem like this. But Ford Turkey/Afyon Budan Vehicle Company didn’t accept my offer. I insist that my car has PAINT PRODUCTION FAULT. One mount ago I presented a case to the judge and I took an expert report .İn this report the experts says there is an PRODUCTİON FAULT İf you examine New Ford Fiesta you will understand me and you will solve the paint problem. According to me All New Ford Fiesta have same paint problem but will appear in time. Unfortunately I think All New Ford Fiesta have got PRODUCTION FAULT about the paint problem. Because, there is 4 (four) cars just in TURKEY which are have same problem. İf you are interested in my problem, I am very pleased .I am trust on Ford Company. As you said to internet website ‘’ While value for money has always been a top priority in developing Ford vehicles, that concern has never compromised quality or the pursuit of quality solutions.” Ford has always strived to meet consumers' real-life requirements—from smaller cars for Europeans to "smarter" cars for the ever-changing environment. I know that you pay attention customer satisfaction and you will help me and will solve my problem. But I couldn’t say same sentences for Ford Distributor of Turkey. They were really unpolite to their costomer satisfaction. Finally, I want to get back my money. I will send some photos of my car.

I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Yours Faithfully

Murat BİNİCİ

Paragliding Instructor Pilot

E-Mail: yppilot@yahoo.com

Dear Murat and all other Ford Fiesta owners,

As you have seen from my previous posts, I too am in a similar situation. I raised this problem with my dealer 9 months ago when the car was 3 or 4 weeks old and the issue remains unresolved to my satisfaction. Ford France has the worst level of customer service I have ever seen in a company and in my opinion is close to the point of being dis-honest (although they may say economical with the truth)

I have been offered what appears to be a good fix for this problem by Ford Europe as I was unhappy to deal with ford France. I accepted the fix on the 5 August but due to holidays here in France had to wait until the beginning of September to have the repair done. Initially I was not happy about this and managed to find an alternative dealer in Paris who was open and prepared to repair my car.

However Ford France refused to move my car to Paris to have the repairs and modification done as it would cost them too much money, however they offered me a free service if I was prepared to wait until the beginning of September. Initially I was furious, however after further discussions with Ford Europe on the matter, I gave Ford the benefit of the doubt and agreed to the repair being carried out at the beginning of September. Ford Europe assured me that Ford France would contact me at the beginning of September to arrange the repair and alternative transport.

Despite a call to Ford France on the 3 September, they did not contact me again until the 14 September, which was I presume as the result of contact with Ford Europe on from the 13th to say that I was unhappy with the level of service received from Ford France and therefore would reject the car in favor of a new car without the fault or my money back. Ford France only called me on 14th to advise that they would not be accepting my request to change the car or refund me.

Ford Europe have advised that they are unable to help me further in this matter as I have now rejected the vehicle, therefore this is a legal matter between my dealer and Ford France.

I have been in contact with a representative of the Ford Motor Company (USA) and he has advised that they will pass my concerns onto Ford Europe again in the hope that the issue may be resolved amicably.

Therefore, I am stuck with the second rate service offered by Ford France, a dealer who was dismissive of the problem at the start and then shed the responsibility to Ford France when it became clear there was an inherent problem with the Fiesta.

It is interesting to note that you have had a judge rule this as a manufacturing defect and have also rejected your Fiesta. I believe this problem to affect to a varying degree every 5 door Fiesta that has been assembled at Cologne.

As you do, I wait to hear from Ford

Dear all,
I am very glad to have news from you
I also have sent photos of my car to an expert and his mind was exactly the same as mine : there is a problem with the quality of the paint
I told that to Ford and gave them 3 choices :
-they repaint my car entirely (with a good paint process)
-they give my another car (I also have problem with air conditionning)
-they give my money back
I told them If I have no positive answer from them, I ask from juridical help.
I am still waiting.
Please, would you all be ready to give me a written testimony, that would be very helpfull fot my juridical file. If yes, I would give you my adress. I am ready to do so for you if you are interested.
I do think that Ford has no other choice that to give us what we are asking for.
We can't give up
I am waiting to hear from you
Regards

fiesta paint faults

Paint durability data associated with the auto industry and Ford is
documented in the research publication:
MAKING IT RIGHT
Why your Car Payments are lasting longer than your
FACTORY PAINT JOB

There has also been an independent review done of this publication by
"ForeWord".

Automotive paint durability research publication documents vehicles released to dealer and consumer below automaker's minimum paint thickness specifications.

Refer to link for details.

Link: http://www.forewordreviews.com/reviews/making-it-right-why-your-car-payments-are-lasting-longer-than-your-factory-paint-job-basic-guide/

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