Has anyone heard of any recalls on door frames? I have a 1997 F150 supercab 4x4 and the door frame is cracking right buy the back of the drivers side window.

 

No recalls yet. Search Door Crack

 

I am just beginning to search for this topic. I found cracks on my drivers side door yesterday. I have a 99 F150 XLT four door. My husband's is also cracked at the same place and his is a 98 F150 XLT. I called Ford Customer Service and they acted like they had never even heard of such a problem! We were alerted to the potential problem by a friend, but thought he was just full of hot air, but now we see different. My husband's truck is still under warranty, if they will cover it. Unfortunately, since mine is the one that we always drive everywhere mine has 58,000 miles on it and I'm sure they probably wont cover it. Even though I fell it's a manufacturers defect.

 

it seems everyone has them sooner or later. its a flaw in the stamping process. seems its cheaper to fix a few cracks than to have another mold made. most people dont notice them till the warranty is up, i didnt

 

Ford Customer Service is pathetic, at least it has been recently. I think they have a policy of denying 1st requests in the hopes that you just go away.

They are aware of the problem also. There are TSB's dating back to 1998. I don't know that there will ever be an all-out recall but a customer satifaction program would be a good idea because this is such an obvious design flaw.

It would be a good idea if everyone one this site went to the
https://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/oscri...Q/VOQ/voq1.cfm and filed a vehicle defect complaint.

I do beleive that he more people who request a fix, the more responsive Ford will become. It's probably a good idea to take it to the dealer while inside the 5 year/unlimited milage warranty this is covered under so that Ford cannot say that you're out of warranty and refuse to pay for the fix when they find one. Since there is body perforation, this is covered. Imagine in 20 years how many F150's we'll see driving around with GIGANTIC holes in the doors.

It looks to me as though quality control was given a back seat to profit while Nassar was in charge. Now that he's gone I'd expect Ford to concentrate on better build techniques, realizing that better products cost less in the end.

Anyone been to a Ford service department recently??? Takes 2 weeks to get an appointment at some dealers because they are doing so many warranty repairs.

 

Camelotsquest;
If you look down a few posts in this message board, you will see an outline of my completed door crack repair experience with Ford. I mentioned the problem to my service rep once and he went to work for me. I was polite to him and he was very helpful to me. He got the work taken care after the mileage limit imposed by Ford had expired and Ford covered 90% of the repair cost of the cracks as well as the small amount of corrosion that had started inside the bottom edge of the doors. I think that a calm discussion with the Dealership will get you much better service than if you go in mad demanding repairs. If they think that you are a happy Ford customer, they will probably work harder to keep your brand loyalty. If you go in mad and threaten to buy a Chevrolet next time, they probably won't be inclined to help you. The door crack is not a recall because it is not a safety related issue. It is handled as a service bulletin because it is a bit embarassing to Ford to have customers noticing cracks in their products. Stay calm, look like a disappointed Ford lover when you talk to the service rep and you will probably get good service. If this fails, post again and I could probably talk to Ford and find out what the TSB information is for this problem, or at least give you the repair codes off my invoice. GlennMc.

 

If you file the questionare form at the NHTSA site, you will not cause a recall but it will be permanently entered into the Consumer Complaints database which Ford is certainly going to pay attention to.

I absolutely love my truck even though it's had a lot of issues. When I drive any other truck it just doesn't feel right. I am hoping that Ford will develope more complete quality contol stadards before I buy my next truck in a few years. If thing don't change it just won't be worth the trouble because of so much time spent in the dealer service department with recurring problems.

It's pitiful when you enter a search for consumer complaints about a 1998 F150 and come back with about 145 official complaints and 8 recalls posted on a single model. Chevrolet has the same problem with its Silverado. Out of curiousity, I checked BMW and came back with about 20 complaints for all their cars sold in the US the entire year on only 3 recalls.

Insead of enjoying our trucks when they are new many of us have to worry about what's going to fall apart next and after the warranty ends in a measly 3 years we have to then spend our money on repairs instead of performance and beauty.

Something is definately wrong at Ford

 

I too have the infamous door crack on my 99 Larait. The paint job is also going south as well. I noticed small cracks in the paint that looks like tiny pieces if lint. They are all over the truck and are actually starting to chip on the hood and roof. I took it to a local dealer. They sent a notice to Ford corporate and got the OK to replace the door skin for the crack. But Ford rejected the bad paint clain because they couldn't see sufficent evidance from the digital photo the dealer sent in. So the dealer is going to have me bring it back and have a local Ford rep come look at it up close and personal! She thinks Ford will change their mind after the rep see's it. At leat I hope! But it's REALLY disappointing to be having all these problem's with a 2 year old truck!

 

I discovered the door crack on my '98 F-150 and I took it to Ford. I'm well over 36,000 mi and not the first owner of this truck so it was not under warranty. I got them to get hold of a rep for FMC though and they are going to fix and repaint my driver side door and put a plate in my passenger door to prevent it from cracking. These repairs cost well over $500, but they will repair it for $150. I can't wait my door is already starting to rust where the crack is.

 

Yes, there was an article on this website a short time ago regarding door cracks on 97-2000 F-150's. Apparently Ford is replacing the doors if you go to the dealership and request this. I hear Ford has honored all requests for new doors.

 

Where do you look for the cracks? My warrenty is just about up.

Thanks

 

The bottom of the outside back corner of your window, in the door skin, about one inch up from the bottow, just run your finger along the outside of the weatherstripping on the backside of your window and you should find them if they are there. There will never be a recall, just a TSB, because it is not a 'safety' issue. Ford offers a lot of people 80/20% fix, you paying the 20%, just talk to your dealer and find out. Chances are, he's never heard of them, then look at the used trucks on his lot, garaunteed 9 out of 10 have them.

 

My good buddy rmarietta posted a Ford 1-800 number about three years ago concerning this. Couldn't find the number but, here's what happened when I called:

"As a show of solidarity I called the 800 number. I told the guy (Bob) that I was an f150 owner and I was concerned about my crack. He said, "Aren't we all?" I said, "You don't understand. I don't have one." He recommended a proctologist. This was going nowhere. I demanded to speak to his superior and implied that would be anyone else at Ford! He put his manager on (who sounded like Bob talking through his nose). I patiently explained that both my daddy an me were F150 owners and my daddy had a crack and I didn't. The manager (Robert) said, "How do you know your daddy has a crack?" I said, "I seen it." He said, "Where?" and I told him I saw it when my daddy was working on some pipes under the kitchen sink and he called me to fetch some tools out of his truck. Robert asked me how big my daddy's crack was and I told him between one quarter to one half inch and Robert, or maybe it was Bob said, "Ouch!"

I give up on this one. Somebody else call."

 

I have to be the one to say it. Why are you looking at your dad's crack?
Just kidding!
a little 3rd grade humor.

 

I have a pdf file of the current TSB for the door cracks. The current TSB is 01-18-2, dated 10 Sep 01, which superseded TSB 01-2-6, dated 29 Jan 01. The current TSB covers 1997-98 F-250 LD and 1997-2000 F-150's. To send me an e-mail just click on the 'profile' button in on my posting. Good Luck.