Some minor annoyances in the (lack of) quality

[LakersCentral]

I'm experiencing some small things going wrong with my 2014 Explorer Sport. At only 1 year, and 5700 miles... its a bit disconcerting. It makes me think this car is going to completely fall apart in like 5 years. Wonder if anyone else has seen any of these things, and what they did about them?

1. Window Roll Down Stutter, passenger side- struggles a bit rolling down. it stutters like it has too much friction by rubbing up against something.
2. Windshield Wiper Blade, passenger side- gives off a fairly loud buzzing sound caused by vibration at higher speeds (70+). apparent more at night / when its somewhat colder / damper.
3. Child Proof Door Locks, rear- keep turning back to being locked by themselves. rotate to unlocked, and stay that way for about a week. then somehow go back to locked. no one ever sits back there, and the doors are rarely even opened.
4. Leather Seat- passenger side- the leather came totally unstitched from bottom/front of seat. dealership fixed.
5. Seatbelt Padding, drivers side- little fabric "spacer" (that keeps the seatbelt lock from rubbing up against and scratching the center console) tore off after the first week of ownership.
6. Hitch Cover- poorly designed with cheap plastic tabs that break off easily. If I ever tow things, I'm sure I will have to replace this piece many times.
7. Battery Life- mentioned in other threads, but radio only lasts anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes without engine running (1 hour plus on any / all of my other cars). More info.
8. Underbody Air Deflector- very poorly attached, falls off. details here.
9. Door Lock Malfunction- struggles in cold weather to unlock. details here.
10. Tailgate Misalignment- also mentioned in other threads, tailgate has more space on one side than the other. it sound like it struggles to open, and seems like the motor will go out... probably right after the warranty ends.

That's all I can think of at this time. Any others?

 

[Halwg]

Read the other threads about lack of quality, especially in the higher end Explorers. Yours are but a few of the many complaints about these vehicles. My XLT is a 3 year lease, I have 2 years left, so I'm not overly concerned about it falling apart.

 

[bigdude2468]

The front window stutter has a TSB to change the motors. My 14 Ex is at the dealer today for this repair under warranty. There is a thread on this forum under "window stutter" search it.

Rear door misalignment can certainly be fixed. Also the hitch cover will be fine if you just take it easy. I spray a little WD 40 on the tabs and have not had a problem at all. My wife remarked last weekend how she likes the fact there is a cover as most vehicles leave the hitch out there all the time.

 

[LakersCentral]

thanks bigdude. i'll look into that tsb / thread.

i know all this can be fixed... it just amazes me there's soooo many things going wrong with this car just a year and 5k miles in. sad to say, but i think its foreign cars for the rest of my life. never had problems with my infiniti or hondas.

 

[pup5581]

thanks bigdude. i'll look into that tsb / thread.

i know all this can be fixed... it just amazes me there's soooo many things going wrong with this car just a year and 5k miles in. sad to say, but i think its foreign cars for the rest of my life. never had problems with my infiniti or hondas.

I had a engine blow in an Infiniti G35 at 62K...my 14 Altima had 2 transmissions by 8K....I am 100% forever DONE with Nissan...quality control now is awful. Foreign has their own issues...

BTW for the windown shutter..make sure they replace the regulators as well..they replaced JUST the motors in mine..and in 3 weeks the problem came back

 

[Halwg]

My '14 XLT just turned 1 year old on 6/18. I'm going to write a thread and give my assessment on the vehicle after 1 year and 15,000 miles. Spoiler alert...it's a very average vehicle. No major issues with mine, but QA/QC could be much better.

And I have driven Fords, both sedans (Ford Taurus) and Explorers, since 1994 and there are still some items, brakes and transmissions, that I feel are still below industry standards.