As I was looking over a bright red supercab at a Dealer ,I noticed a dent in the top of rear dr panel also on the drivers side I noticed a smeared drip in the paint on the gray two tone bottom. It looked like some one took their finger and tried to fix a run. I hope no one else is seeing such noticeable defects and thisa was just an exception. Anyone who took delivery finding and noticeable defects they'd like to divulge?

 

I just finished detailing my 04 Supercrew and found no flaws in the paint.

 

rush to market???

 

I don't think it's poor quality because of a rush to the market, as there has been no rush to deliver all of the trucks that are already built. I think that, just like anything else, sometimes quality suffers when things are mass produced. Quality control in the Ford factories is top-notch, so nothing really terrible comes out of the factories, but mass-production eliminates the hand-built fit and feel of the trucks.

 

Before we took delivery of a bunch of crownvics for our fleet, we personally inspected all of them before accepting them. I plan to do the same with mine when it comes in. Top, bottom, all of it. Thats just what I would do. My .02

 

We took delivery of our 04 Larriat SuperCab last Wednesday and have both been smiling ever since. No flaws, and the whole truck is perfection We argue over who gets to keep it for the day. Hubby has it now, but as soon as my hitch goes in the bed.... I can't wait!

 

I just got my 2004 f150 4x4 supercab a week ago and it is true blue outside and light grey inside. every thing in the inside is grey except for the a-pillar on the passenger side is black the dealer will fix that but every thing else is perfect and I love this new truck.

 

I was surprised by my paint when I waxed the truck. There is dirt, or a piece of a straw like substance, in the top of the right fender at the seam near the valence by the windshield and near by a scratch like they hand assembled the wheel opening valence. The right side has a lot of orange peel from being sprayed too dry and the left door beige two tone is so thin that it is wearing through. I actually thought perhaps the truck had been wrecked for a second. Also the paint is very brittle, perhaps from being sprayed too dry. It already has 5 chips in less than 1,000 miles of driving, all on the right side.

I'm not a perfectionist and do not know if I will do anything, or just live with it. There is not much paint on the truck to try to go fixing things with a buffer.

So yes, these early trucks do seem to have some finish issues that might not effect 99% of buyers. But, as a former painter in a auto body shop, I'm surprised they rolled out of a automated factory like this. This paint job looks like the way corvettes were painted in the 1970's.

When they roll out the specialty trucks like the Lightnings they are going to have to get this fixed. Those owners will not tolerate these flaws and really I should not put up with it - but the rest of the truck is so darn good that I hate to turn it in.

 

I dont know about you, but after paying 36000+ for a truck Im not planning on putting up with any defects. Like I said, I wont accept it till its right.

 

Ford isn't exactly known for their high levels of quality in the paint department. I currently have a 2001 Lariat S/Cab 4x4 in black and previously had 1999 and 1997 models as well. My 2001 is OK - better than the previous ones, which had outrageous flaws. The paint on the '99 was so thin on the lower area of the bed that I could see the primer in certain lighting. The roof of the '97 was only half painted! Well, there was some paint. Kinda like the machine was out of paint but they tried to milk one last panel out of it! Apparently the quality control guy doesn't climb into the bed during the inspection. That's how I saw it the first time I washed it. I was shocked, but I never did anything about it. But I knew it was there. I'd be interested to hear from others on the quality of their finish. ~~~^~~~, hopefully your blemishes aren't the rule......

 

~~~^~~~,
Very interesting post, although I'm not surprised to hear it. Ford leans a bit towards quantity and not enough quality.
In 2001 I bought a new 2001 f150 supercab xlt and it had a mark in the paint on the drivers door. I don't own it any more.

 

You guys, when I was in college my roommate worked at a body shop that handled work from dealers and lets just say you don't even want to know some of the stuff they fixed on new cars. I remember this mitsu 3000 GT that they brought into the shop and they literally had to get a torch to the roof, cut it out and put a new one on, fixed hood, etc, sold it as new!

 

With the high tech painting systems they have today in the automotive industry poor paint jobs are simply unacceptable. I will not accept my truck (Lariat SCrew) if the paint job is botched (including orange peel or simply not enough paint applied to an area). I encourage others not to accept them as well if they run into this...that's the only way Ford is going to fix these problems. Frankly, I'm starting to get a bit concerned with all the rumbling I'm hearing on quality for the 04 F150 in this forum. I've noticed negative comments regarding Ford quality in the Fordtruckworld 04 150 forums as well. I'll go back and reconsider the 04 Tundra D-Cab if I continue to see these types of quality issues raised. I just hope I'm not being fooled with all the marketing hype and press releases (Detroit Free Press) about this truck. Does someone on the manufacturing side of things for Ford want to comment????

 

I has a 1995 f150, bought new with a piece of dirt painted in to the rear qurter panel. You felt it every time you washed the truck. I thought for sure it was going to be the first place to rust or peel. Sold it 7 years later and it it was fine to my surprise.

 

I don't have mine, yet, but it's on the way. I'm not real worried about all of the negative reports that have been floating around on this site. I won't be happy if it happens to me and I won't accept the truck if I find some of the flaws that have been reported. I think it's dang near impossible to mass produce any product and have 100% of them delivered flawless. "No news is good news". In other words, I believe we are going to hear about everything bad... people will be vocal about it. But for those who get their trucks and love them, they won't say as much because it what they expected. Know what I mean? So as of right now, I'm not worried that there is some major flaw in the quality control at Ford and that we're all doomed to crappy trucks. I just think we're hearing about the defects from those who have recieve those trucks with flaws. I hate it for the guys who got these trucks with flaws, but I can't help but think that they are a minority.