Picked up our 2017 Explorer Platinum - Few issues...

[TTA89]

My wife and I wanted a white one with black interior and everything we found within 100 miles had the white/cream interior which we didn't like. I found a dealer order that wasn't built yet in our color combo and was able to make a deal over the phone on it. The car showed up 2 weeks ago and we picked it up and have since put about 200 miles on it.

For the most part we love it but my wife noticed a vibration, I went for a ride with her and when it's cold the steering wheel shakes and you can feel it in the seats. It gets better after a few miles but it doesn't totally go away. I hope it's just a wheel that wasn't balanced correctly. I hope they are able to figure it out...

There are two other "stupid" issues that really aren't a big deal but on a car with a 54K sticker price I would expect them to not be there and I hope Ford will fix them.

The first one is a ding in the passenger fender. You can see the ding is outward, like something hit the inside of the fender when they put it together. It's hard to tell from the picture but the paint is kind of spiderwebed around the area.

The other one is what looks like a messed up stich in the seat leather. It's pulling the edge of the drivers seat to make it look like something heavy was sitting there. The other side seat doesn't have this and the other Platinum explorers I looked at didn't have it either.

I dropped the car off at the dealer last night to fix the vibration and they said they need approval from Ford on the ding and the seat cover. The car has 220 miles on it... I hope they don't give me a hard time.

Other than that, we love it.

 

[613GT500]

Quality is not Ford's best trait.
Paint defects, vibration (likely flat spots on the tire), low grade leather seats etc...have affected other owners as well (myself included).
The only thing keeping a smile on my face is the 3.5L EB engine and it's great towing capacity that I need for my boat and trailer.

 

[08EddieCA]

Looks very nice. Sorry about the issues you're experiencing. How is the 3.5 EB on gas mileage? It may be too soon to tell since the engine is barely broken in.

A good dent repair guy should be able to get that ding out. That sucks!!!

 

[Odrapnew]

Nice 'Splorer.

The shake could be flat spots(but the usually go away within a few miles) or just an out of balance tire.

The dent, if the paint is truly spider webbing, I wonder if you'll need more than just a PDR repair. But, the location and how it's outward does sound like it was due to manufacturing.

The seat, they should fix that in my opinion. Looks like the other side of the seat has bulge outward like the side piece was shifted during stitching.

Hopefully the dealer/Ford will make it right.

 

[TTA89]

Looks very nice. Sorry about the issues you're experiencing. How is the 3.5 EB on gas mileage? It may be too soon to tell since the engine is barely broken in.

A good dent repair guy should be able to get that ding out. That sucks!!!

I'm not really sure on the mileage, I haven't put gas in it yet. The computer showed 15.8 but I wouldn't really go by that just yet. I have a 2015 F150 with the 3.5EB and i'm getting 17-18 with 19K miles on it. One thing for sure is that they really detuned the Explorer version. I get it, it's FWD based but it's nothing like the truck tune.

 

[08EddieCA]

There are good tuner shops out there. Here in LA the LAPD fleet is mainly Explorers. I'm sure you could get the mapping changed for a boost in torque. Those LAPD units are fast, really fast. (Not that I've ever been in the back of one, lol!!)

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum TTA89.
Picked up my Platinum a couple days ago but had the Winter wheels put on before I drove it so I'll have to wait until Spring to see if the OEM's are vibration free or not.

Peter

 

[TTA89]

Welcome to the Forum TTA89.
Picked up my Platinum a couple days ago but had the Winter wheels put on before I drove it so I'll have to wait until Spring to see if the OEM's are vibration free or not.

Peter

What did you buy for wheels? I would eventually like to find a set of stock wheels for snows but I'm not spending 3K bucks for new ones.

Dealer called....

Seat - Ford told them to take it apart an adjust it. I haven't picked it up but will take some pictures.

Dent - Ford approved the repair, I have to make an appt with the body shop. They don't know what that involves.

Vibration - Tech verified and rebalanced all wheels, 2 were out of balance but they also think there are some flat spots on the tires from sitting. I'm not sure how that is the case, we picked the car up 1 day after it was delivered to the dealer. In any case, we will drive it a few hundred more miles and see how it is. If it continues I'll bring it back and see what the next step is. At least it's documented...

Hopefully picking it up tomorrow!

 

[peterk9]

What did you buy for wheels? I would eventually like to find a set of stock wheels for snows but I'm not spending 3K bucks for new ones.

http://www.explorerforum.com/xenforo/index.php?threads/2017-platinum-ordered.453750/#post-3579623
Police Interceptor 18"steel wheels from dealer. Used these on the 2014 Lincoln I just returned to the dealer (lease). I paid $88 each but in the 'States' I think they go for around $250 each or so. Caps are extra.

Peter

 

[reserved50]

I would see if an upholstery shop can steam that leather out, rather than replace it, if the new covers aren't installed properly they can make it look even worse. That fender would probably need to be repainted if its just a base clear, if its a tri coat paint etc then they would end up painting the entire side. They messed up pretty big missing that dent after it was detailed. If the tires vibrate only after sitting for a while then go away after a few miles of driving that would be normal for some brands of tires.

 

[BlueJeans17platinum]

Congrats on the New Ride!

How do you like the engine? Have you dropped it down to sport and womped on it? She goes, real nice. Forget mph. You dont buy twin turbo 365 HP for mpg. You buy it to get into it.

Yeah man!

 

[LukerDooker]

...that seat has a crease along the dent, it was like that for a while.
When my seat cover was replaced, they replaced the entire top, adjustment cant mean anything except doing something to the foam pillow inside the cover.
The crease will stay.

I would bi*ch out the dealer nicely and consistently, document whatever is said, ask for print-outs, etc.They should end up covering it.
Its a brand new 2017Plat - i wouldn't take no on any of these.

Spidered paint - PDR cant fix paint. It will eventually crack when the temps change enough as well as washing etc.
When taking it to the body shop - make sure you mention you expect the fender to be perfect-exact matching paint. (as well as above post regarding paint type).

Many posts on here about mis-matched paint. With white it will be very hard to tell, but the difference can be a white Ex with an off-white or eggshell fender.
You may need to review it in different lighting before accepting it.
Likely if its inside, seeing it in a room without full lighting, then again with more lighting, can show a difference.
Also-take pictures with a decent camera-with flash and without.
Color differences that are too dramatic will show eventually.
Dont feel pressured into not looking it over, even if you have to do all this at the dealer.

 

[Forddealz]

...that seat has a crease along the dent, it was like that for a while.
When my seat cover was replaced, they replaced the entire top, adjustment cant mean anything except doing something to the foam pillow inside the cover.
The crease will stay.

I would bi*ch out the dealer nicely and consistently, document whatever is said, ask for print-outs, etc.They should end up covering it.
Its a brand new 2017Plat - i wouldn't take no on any of these.

Spidered paint - PDR cant fix paint. It will eventually crack when the temps change enough as well as washing etc.
When taking it to the body shop - make sure you mention you expect the fender to be perfect-exact matching paint. (as well as above post regarding paint type).

Many posts on here about mis-matched paint. With white it will be very hard to tell, but the difference can be a white Ex with an off-white or eggshell fender.
You may need to review it in different lighting before accepting it.
Likely if its inside, seeing it in a room without full lighting, then again with more lighting, can show a difference.
Also-take pictures with a decent camera-with flash and without.
Color differences that are too dramatic will show eventually.
Dont feel pressured into not looking it over, even if you have to do all this at the dealer.

You don't need to B out the dealer nicely. Customers have 7 days after their delivery to point out anything that is wrong and the dealer is obligated to fix. Most of those dings can be pulled out without doing any painted on them. I had a similar ding on my fender from transporting and in 5 minutes they fixed it. Anything paint related should not need to be pictured as the whole front fender would obviously look slightly different if it was painted.

 

[bigdude2468]

I had a seat replaced, drivers side bottom due to cracking on the bolster under warranty. The dealer ordered the seat bottom and sent the vehicle to an upholstery shop to have the work done. They left the damaged seat bottom in the cargo area so I got a look at it. The leather seat is just a cover with clips that are stretched and attached to a frame under the seat. I am somewhat baffled they sent it out considering how it works but maybe they send all upholstery related work out even though this sure looked like it would be easy. I save the old one as the cracking was minor so if in the future I tear the drivers side or it wears out I could replace it with the old one that is in relatively good condition.

 

[peterk9]

You don't need to B out the dealer nicely. Customers have 7 days after their delivery to point out anything that is wrong and the dealer is obligated to fix. Most of those dings can be pulled out without doing any painted on them. I had a similar ding on my fender from transporting and in 5 minutes they fixed it. Anything paint related should not need to be pictured as the whole front fender would obviously look slightly different if it was painted.

I agree with LukerDooker. It never hurts to be nice when dealing with the service personnel. Since the 'ding' has paint damage it is likely the entire fender may have to be repainted. I had some slight paint damage done to my previous MKT in a parking lot and the entire front bumper area was repainted and it was a perfect match.

Peter

 

[TTA89]

Just an update...

Seat - It looks much better after they adjusted, but it's not 100%. The bottom contour of the drivers seat doesn't match the passenger side. The dealer said Ford wouldn't authorize them to replace it, I would have to call Customer Service. I'm not sure it's even worth my time....

Ding - Talked to the body shop, they will need to fill and repaint the fender. Upon further inspection, it doesn't look like there is any paint damage. Ford will fix it but I don't wait to open a can of worms and have something else not look right. We will live with it and I'll keep an eye on the paint over the winter.

Tires - It's better but I can still feel the flat spots. I told my wife to put 1000 miles on it and we will re-evaluate.

I'm not a "Ford" guy per say, I usually evaluate who has the best stuff and buy based on that. I've owned them all... This happens to be the 3rd Ford I've bought new in in the past 5 years and the first one I'm not happy with. The dealer we bought from is 45 minutes away so it's a pain to keep going back and forth. The issues are minor but disappointing for a top of the line model. We will live with the factory defects but I wouldn't buy another Ford sight unseen in the future. Had this been a car on the lot, we would have at least noticed the seat issue as soon as we opened the door and I would have walked away knowing it would be a pain to get it fixed. Other than that, my wife is enjoying it and getting used to it.

 

[613GT500]

Just an update...

Seat - It looks much better after they adjusted, but it's not 100%. The bottom contour of the drivers seat doesn't match the passenger side. The dealer said Ford wouldn't authorize them to replace it, I would have to call Customer Service. I'm not sure it's even worth my time....

Ding - Talked to the body shop, they will need to fill and repaint the fender. Upon further inspection, it doesn't look like there is any paint damage. Ford will fix it but I don't wait to open a can of worms and have something else not look right. We will live with it and I'll keep an eye on the paint over the winter.

Tires - It's better but I can still feel the flat spots. I told my wife to put 1000 miles on it and we will re-evaluate.

I'm not a "Ford" guy per say, I usually evaluate who has the best stuff and buy based on that. I've owned them all... This happens to be the 3rd Ford I've bought new in in the past 5 years and the first one I'm not happy with. The dealer we bought from is 45 minutes away so it's a pain to keep going back and forth. The issues are minor but disappointing for a top of the line model. We will live with the factory defects but I wouldn't buy another Ford sight unseen in the future. Had this been a car on the lot, we would have at least noticed the seat issue as soon as we opened the door and I would have walked away knowing it would be a pain to get it fixed. Other than that, my wife is enjoying it and getting used to it.

As stated before, I have found over a dozen deficiencies (paint issues included) and decided to live with majority of them, as they are not affecting the driveability and function of the vehicle.
For the tires, just swap them out now and take it as a loss, as it is night and day when you throw on a good set.

 

[TTA89]

I'm going to swap a set of snows on next month... I might just try to sell the stock tires and then find another set of wheels for good summer tires.

 

[613GT500]

I'm going to swap a set of snows on next month... I might just try to sell the stock tires and then find another set of wheels for good summer tires.

As an FYI (against my better judgement), I went with Hankooks Ipike rw11 for my winter set and they also suffer from flat spotting, albeit; they're gone after 5min of driving.
As a comparison and not bashing Hankooks by any means, Yokohamas and Michelins that I have on my other vehicles have no flat spotting issues and my two summer vehicles are parked for a good 6 months on the same spot and don't have issues whatsoever.

 

[TTA89]

As an FYI (against my better judgement), I went with Hankooks Ipike rw11 for my winter set and they also suffer from flat spotting, albeit; they're gone after 5min of driving.
As a comparison and not bashing Hankooks by any means, Yokohamas and Michelins that I have on my other vehicles have no flat spotting issues and my two summer vehicles are parked for a good 6 months on the same spot and don't have issues whatsoever.

I swear by Blizzacks. I've been using them since around 2001 on everything and they are awesome. I have a set on 19" GT/CS wheels if you want to drive your Shelby in the snow. The Explorer has Hanooks on it now (Do all the Platinums come with the same tires? They make some good performance stuff but for normal passenger car stuff I think I'll pass.