Ford CEO Jim Farley has been saddled with the massive task of righting the Ford ship for the past five years. But things aren’t exactly going well, at least when it comes to quality. The company issued the most recalls of any brand in the U.S. in 2022, with 67 recalls, and the highest in 2023, with 54 recalls. Ford dropped to third place in 2024, beaten by Stellantis, but still issued 62 recalls that year. So far in 2025, it’s issued a gargantuan 104 recalls—far more than any other automaker.
Not only does bad quality reflect poorly on brand reputation, but it’s also costly. According to WarrantyWeek, the company spent over $10 billion—around one-fifth of the company’s entire value—in 2023 and 2024 combined fixing cars under warranty.
But according to Farley, those numbers shouldn’t be indicative of Ford’s current products. In a wide-ranging interview, he told the Detroit Free Press the majority of the cars subject to recalls right now were developed before 2020, when he first took charge of the brand. From the interview:
“I can’t do anything about that engineering. It’s in the field. All I can I do is deal with the problems quickly,” Farley said. “Anyone who says, ‘They should make the recalls go away.’ I can’t remake the vehicles that were made seven years ago. That’s not understanding the recall process. The recall process is when you have an issue in the field, dealing with it.”
Farley also mentioned that most of the recalls you see from Ford now are software-based. He cites this as an industry-wide issue rather than just a problem at Ford. Though I rarely side with CEOs, I’m inclined to agree with him here. Tesla recalled 5.1 million cars last year, but a majority of those recalls were to fix software-based issues, like incorrectly sized warning lights and rearview camera faults.
It’s tough to tell right now whether Ford’s current portfolio is any more reliable—the only way we’ll truly know is to wait five years to see how recall numbers and warranty spend play out. But Farley seems pretty confident he and his team have fixed the issues, going as far as to compare his vehicles to, historically, one of the most reliable car brands ever:
“Our durability of our powertrains that we’re testing are fully competitive, we believe, with the likes of Toyota,” Farley said. “Since I’ve been CEO, we’ve improved our quality of our launches. The Expedition and Navigator were our best launches in company history. We lost almost no vehicles and so far, as the vehicles mature in the field for six months now, we’ve had almost no recalls and very little issue with those vehicles. I would say we are making a lot of progress and it does take time.”
Seeing as how the number of recalls has only increased at Ford, it’s tough to rely solely on Farley’s word. But he’s not the only one noticing improvements. The Free Press also spoke to Chris Sutton, a senior vice president of automotive benchmarking at J.D. Power, who said Ford is now above the industry average when it comes to initial quality, which tracks quality after the first three months of ownership via owner surveys.
“What has been most encouraging is in this most recent study of IQS, both the F-150 and SuperDuty won their respective segments and so for Ford that has to be encouraging that they’re on the right track,” Sutton said.
Also, in J.D. Power’s Vehicle Dependability Study, which measures vehicle quality after three years of ownership, Ford is slightly above industry average.
“So both of those metrics would indicate progress in the last five years,” Sutton said.
“Above average” and “just as good as Toyota” are two very different things in my mind. Toyota’s luxury sub-brand Lexus ranked first overall in this year’s Dependability study published in February, while Toyota itself came in fourth (despite screwing up so badly it had to replace 100,000 engines last year). Ford, meanwhile, was all the way down in 13th, behind all four of GM’s brands, as well as Porsche, BMW, and Kia.
Personally, I’ve only ever owned one Ford, and it was trouble-free from the day I bought it to the day I sold it, even after a dozen track days and countless autocross events. But my dad’s Focus wasn’t nearly as pleasant. I’d like nothing more than to see Ford excel when it comes to dependability. Based on its history, I have my doubts. But going by these preliminary numbers, it seems things might actually be heading in the right direction.
Top graphic images: Toyota; Ford; DepositPhotos.com
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They have probably met in the middle I’ll give him that. Toyota quality has come down alot and Ford has brought quality up. They both use aisin ecvts for hybrids so there is some commonality. I don’t think Ford’s copious recalls will ever stop. They are proactive and that’s not a bad thing. That might be Japanese oems worst quality admitting they messed up and issuing a recall but admittedly they are getting better at it.
I bought a new 23 Maverick EB and owned it for 18 months. Not once did I have to take it in for warranty work. Did have 6 or 8 open recalls on it. I kept putting off getting them fixed due to Ford issuing recalls left and right. Funny enough, the day I traded the maverick in, a new recall was issued for issues with the seat belt buckle.
My Maverick EB does not give me good vibes that it will survive as long as my old Tacomas. The CV axles have been a huge headache for many Mav owners. The Hybrids apparently have had 12v Battery Drain issues that are relatively common. The kicker is that the 2.0 EB engine is bolted to a transmission that is not up to the task of staying together (it’s rated for less torque than the EB motor makes). I will likely be going back to a Toyota someday.
I think ladder frame vehicles are pretty much inherently more reliable (to at least some small degree) than a unibody. Also: my ’24 maverick was $26k. I could just buy 2 in place of one fully loaded Taco. But yeah: I’d pay more or take less fuel economy in exchange for a bulletproof transmission and engine. I worry about those ecoboosts, but I guess they’ve been around a while now.
most Ecoboost are sorted by now. The 2.0 is solid, it only had some bad years around the mid to late 2010s when they used an open block design vs the closed block of the early ones or the semi-closed block of the current engines.
2.3, 2.7, 3.0, even the 3.5 that was notorious for timing chain tensioners for almost a decade is good now. The only one I’m wary about is the 1.5T 3 cyl. Every other Ecoboost like the 1.0T with the wet belt have long been discontinued (at least in NA), good riddance
I had similar thoughts on my Mav. I came from a 99 Ranger that was a tank. The Maverick is not built to the durable standards like the old Rangers were. I love the concept, but the execution was lacking.
I think it’s a really cool little trucklet. I am not even too concerned about the 2.0 engine. The 8 speed transmission scares me.
I wonder if it is just as simple as “real” trucks like the Ranger are engineered to tow 4000lbs for 100k miles, so driving it unladen is just easy miles. Meanwhile the Maverick (which I love so far!) is a reengineered compact suv. The engine and transmission are perhaps just not overbuilt such that it wears harder.
If Ford is just as good as Toyota, it says more about Toyota’s recent missteps than it does about Ford’s recent improvements.
SE Asia and Africa still prefers Toyota (and even Isuzu) over the Ford Ranger. Cost and maintenance expenses.
I’ve owned four Fords, 80 Escort wagon, 82 Econoline, 04 Sport Trac, and now 24 Maverick. Also a Geo Metro 90, Toyota Sienna 98, Subaru Legacy 92, MDX 06, Honda Fit 09 and two WRXs that were my son’s but I got to fix.
The only ones of those that didn’t have a breakdown/major repair required were the Geo and Fit.
The Fords didn’t have significantly more breakdowns/repairs but were much much cheaper and quicker to fix, both parts and service costs. The WRXs were hell.
So Fords have been good to me, the only make better has been Honda/Suzuki.
The one recall on the Maverick so far was software, they came out to my house to install it. Kinda surprised it wasn’t over-the-air in fact.
Jim Farley just had his Icarus moment. With the comment about their powertrains being more reliable than Toyota, he flew too close to the sun and his wax wings are about to melt.
To be frank it doesn’t seem like Toyota has faired any better when it comes to making reliable and durable Turbocharged Direct Injection gas engines. They all have fuel dilution in oil issues, they’re all overstressed, and their MPG benefits over the old naturally aspirated port injection engines which lacked these issues are absurdly small.
That being said even when Ford is making licensed versions of Toyota’s drivetrains (Ford Maverick Hybrid e-CVT) they still make worse shit.
Hi Frank.
I thought he was earnest.
Somewhere, Leslie Nielsen is smiling down on you both….
Ford actually developed the basic eCVT technology decades ago, from what I’ve read, but didn’t see a use and didn’t patent it at the time. However, that’s enough prior art for Toyota to be cool with Ford using a very similar design.
Peak Ford for me was mid 90s and early 00s. After they started with complex ecoboost stuff, more gears on the transmissions, and “fancy” interiors, the game changed. Toyota kept some reliability levels but because Japanese OEMs take longer to put new technologies or features in their vehicles. Now that they started to mimic more US automakers (at least for the NA market), their quality is going down slowly.
Early 00’s Ford is what kept me from buying another one. 03 Mustang GT I had wasn’t built very well.
SN95 Mustangs cost 18k-20k riyals here in Qatar. They aren’t as common as ones past 2005 to 2020.
Pop the champagne! We are slightly above average!
Man, I hate when IQS and 3 year surveys get used as indicators of “reliability”. That’s only 50-60k miles. I’d expect most modern car’s powertrains to be completely trouble free in that period and I’d bet most are.
Although, there do seem to be a lot more mechanical issues happening sooner on cars made in the last 10 years or so. All the OEMs seem to be sacrificing powertrain simplicity and longevity for lower friction and more complexity to comply with the ever tightening noose of FE and emissions regs.
Recalls aren’t necessarily a good indication of quality. Some companies issue a recall a lot earlier than others. GM avoided a recall on its 6.2 until it had no choice, and even then, the fix for the versions that haven’t yet imploded is to use a different oil.
It is a bit early to know if the recent issues with Toyota will mean much in the long run. These problems seem to largely stem from setting up the new production lines, and if they can get those sorted and the engines act like people expect a Toyota engine to act, it will be viewed as the exception that proves the rule.
Meanwhile, Ford has kept using engines of questionable engineering and quality for years without a second thought.
The 3.5 Turbo V6 in the Tundras is a mixture of bad production quality mixed with bad main bearings from what I understand. I hope they fix the issues, as I really would love a new Tundra someday.
The L87 issue is pretty complex.
It is probably a combination of emissions, bad design and poor QC. It doesn’t explain why some units have hit 200k+ (between 2019 and 2020).
They struggled 3 times to identify the issue (when they could have stopped production), which probably explains bad management.
As for the fix, well, we will see. I don’t know what issues the 6th gen blocks will have, but I would avoid any truck regardless of brand for now.
As for the Toyota issue, ones past the recalled dates are still failing.
Let us see 10-15 years from now.
That is the tough thing about reliability. The only way you really know is to wait for years of use. Other than that, you just need to make a lot of assumptions based on past performance. If I were in the market for a full-size truck, it would likely be an older Toyota. Rams are all junk, a Ford with the 5.0 might be alright, same for a GM with the 5.3. Everything else has a lot of question marks.
Yes.
The 3UR-FE is good, but head gasket problems can come up if you don’t change the coolant (yes, it can warp the block as well, if it is fatal).
I won’t say RAMS are junk. The Hemi is reliable as long as it isn’t abused and isn’t over-idled. The ZF is rock solid as well.
But that said, electrical and infotainment issues are their biggest downfall, as with other brands.
“Our (pieces of shit) EcoBoost engines are just as reliable as Toyota’s (now, surprisingly, also pieces of shit) iForce twin turbo V-6s.” Sure, I’ll buy that. Way to go. One of the best engine builders is now also turning to shit and you’re like, “See? It isn’t just us that sucks anymore!”
(fill in your Deity of choice here) Please save Honda from itself and the government so people can at least have one reliable car to pick from when you have to have at least one sensible car to allow you to have a fleet of mechanical miscreants!”
These days, that’s not much of a flex.
Ford can’t Escape it’s reputation.
They were hoping to get away with their Maverick approach to quality. I’ll Escort myself out.
It’s ok, I think your Focus is in the direction.
Ford should really Probe this issue further; not just Transit to the next subject.
The Tempo of this nonsense is enough to make a person run away like a Monarch butterfly headed south from Durango.
Wow… that sounds like it would be quite the Expedition down there, who knows, you might even spot a feral Bronco or II.
The Mercury is often high, but they are known for their great weekly Fiesta.
And out in desert at Nite you can spot a Comet
Oh-Ka-y, I think that’s enough of that.
You might see an explorer on the ranch ero in the desert. It’s a big Galaxy
It’s a Fairlane to stay in
Ford has a Super Duty to make reliable cars for their customers.
That’s where I met a couple of cougars wearing tight tops and capri pants, and let’s just say we had an edsellent evening.
…he told the Detroit Free Press the majority of the cars subject to recalls right now were developed before 2020, when he first took charge of the brand…
With the exception of the 2024 Super Duty, 2024 Transit, 2025 Mustang and 2025 Ranger (I’m sure I missed a few), he’s absolutely correct.
(/eye roll)
The Ford family must really like Farley. They kicked Mark Fields out in less than three years and Jim Hackett “retired” about three and a half years after taking over.
I’ve long said Farley seems like a cool guy, probably the most Autopian of the CEOs. But I’m not at all sold that he’s particularly good at running the business (which, I suspect, is also a very Autopian trait if any of us actually got a crack at being in charge 😉 ).
PROVE IT.
Talk is cheap. Actually having the most reliable powertrains is a whole other matter. And why stop at just the powertrain? Interior and exterior components can also have quality problems.
I don’t believe that Toyota is nearly as reliable as they once were. In fact, I think the industry gives Toyota, and the other Japanese carmakers, too much credit these days. Still, I wouldn’t recommend most Ford because I see their quality as being rather shit. They have to prove they are serious by improving their quality rankings year after year after year.
I think we went through a golden age for reliability in the 90s to aughts. The same features that have made our current vehicles safer and full of modern conveniences come from making them far more complex, and every new system is a potential failure point. That’s the tradeoff. I find myself going back and forth on if it is really worth it. Nobody wants cars to go backwards on safety and efficiency, but they also have to be affordable to run long term.
I’m sick of pretending that our cars need to turn into the equivalent of “private jets” in terms of their obnoxious amounts of luxury and features. I’m just going down to Home Depot for fucks sakes, I don’t need a massaging seat with 53 levels of adjustment and 23 speakers pumping out 50000 watts of music. It’s 3 miles. I can even make it there without the GPS. 90s to 00s level of features and tech is perfectly adequate.
Hey there, some of us fancy pantsed folks are going to fancy places, like the Applebee’s, and want to do it in style!
The folks who spend commuting hours in heavy traffic each day might want some of that “private jet” comfort.
I left Ford in 2022 but before that i know there was a HUGE push for implementing architecture that was compatible with OTA updates to fix software issues.
Some of the software issues are actually supplier driven since they like to keep it all proprietary and a black box to the OEM.
There sure was.
The company was/is pretty obsessed with pulling more stuff back in-house; the embedded software issues are actually a huge problem for all manufacturers who haven’t kept a tight grip on vertical integration in that space.
Offloading that responsibility to suppliers and then having your integration team make all the boxes talk to each other is a nightmare.
The edict came down from on high: “start every meeting with what you’re doing to improve quality…”
Seemed like a freak out.
Quality is Job 1!
*OKTB, Job 1 is deprecated
can you call any old buddies – I just want to change musical artists on a USB with mp3s while I’m driving. Next time I’m test driving cars I’m bringing a usb stick just to try this out. I hate hate hate my maverick’s nanny minder.
None of my contacts are in the UI area. if you have trouble with your mirrors though….
I guess the recent issues with the Tundra could give Ford the impression Toyota will soon decline to Ford quality.
“Our durability of our powertrains that we’re testing are fully competitive, we believe, with the likes of Toyota,” Farley said.
The ones you’re testing. OK, sure. Then why don’t your put the ones you’re testing into production? I mean, I’ll believe it when you increase the powertrain warranty.
This. If auto makers want us to believe it then back up your product with a warranty.
Ford seems to love to brag (the others do, but Ford does it as well).
The SN95 mustang debacle, and the lower output Godzilla are two examples I can think off.
It would not happen but if Ford offered a lifetime bumper to bumper (like chrysler did a dozen year ago) I would be out test driving Broncos.
An easy way to demonstrate you believe this would be to extend the powertrain warranty on your products.
The fact that they aren’t says a lot about what the actual confidence level is.
And I say this as someone who has bought three Fords new, and would consider another.
V10omous: But why does the competition have an extended powertrain warranty?
Jim Farley: Because they know all they sold ya was a guaranteed piece of shit. That’s all it is, isn’t it? Hey, if you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed, I will.
Wrong Farley 😉
They are cousins, isn’t that close enough 😀
On a more somber note, there was a really good piece in the Detroit News about the Farley cousins. Apparently, they were decently close while Jim was at Toyota and Chris was getting famous in Hollywood. Worth the read: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/entertainment/2025/02/11/my-cousin-chris-ford-ceo-jim-farley-opens-up-about-chris-farley/78049392007/
I’ve been waiting for a few manufactures to attempt this. The last was VW after dieselgate, but they took that away VERY quickly. Probably because they were drowning in warranty claims.
This has repeatedly been my “what would you do if you were to be in charge of Nissan/Stellantis/VW” strategy. Extend warranties in an effort to bring new car buyers back to the brand. If there’s one thing American new car buyers want, it’s to know that their long-ass car loan won’t be concurrent with powertrain failure costs. Hyundai/Kia’s entire ascent has been made on the back of long warranties.
Ram has actually done this. 2026 model years now have a 10/100 powertrain warranty on them. So they at least are listening to you.
Finally someone has, lol.
I’m pretty sure FCA did this in the early years of owning the CJDR brands to bring people back in after those brands had spent a solid 5-10 years peddling absolute garbage cars. I would recommend that they continue to lean into that strategy if they have any faith in their upcoming designs.
IIRC it was Cerberus who instituted the lifetime powertrain warranty in a “Please keep buying our vehicles so that we can stay afloat” move. FCA ended that program soon after coming into existence, but they continued to honor the Cerberus warranties.
Ah, there you go.
Put it on the Pacifica PHEV or any of the Jeep 4xe stuff and I’d be impressed.
I mostly agree but also would point out Hyundai and Kia have their first-owner-only 100k mile/10 year powertrain warranty and nobody who’s in-the-know would say their powertrain dependability is proportional to that. (so warranty can be extended but it has to be backed up with execution and less fine print)
They do deserve credit for issuing recalls willingly and honoring warranties.
That’s a high bar these days.
Yeah. I’d rather they recall then sweep problems under the rug.
I wouldn’t personally say it’s a good thing to compare the quality of your powertrains to those of a company who’s just had to recall a bunch of them for occasional exploding.
Exactly. Did Ford rise to Toyota’s quality, or did Toyota stoop down to Ford’s quality?
Both?
“You said it yourself, they only exploded occasionally. Jeez, Mr. Sensitive over here!” — Toyota
If he means that Toyota’s new powertrains are now just as unreliable as every other automaker’s has been for the last 30 years, then yes, Ford is now as reliable as Toyota.
Yeah, this says more about how far Toyota has fallen, than it does about how much Ford has improved.
Possible, but remains to be seen.
Some of Ford’s old stuff was really reliable too, just inconsistent across the product/trim lines.
Sometimes the stuff that is not the drivetrain that make the difference in the vehicle’s quality.
Agreed, take nearly every Stelantis / FCA / Daimler-Chrysler product for the last 30 years. Overall I’d say that their drivetrains were above average with only a few notable exceptions, but the cars they were attached to fell apart in record time.
Jeep even longer. Motors have been least of issues.
I know Toyota hasn’t looked pristine lately but let me know when Ford drops the wet oil pump belts.
And the disposable plastic oil pans.
Fords are harder to work on than Toyotas.
It depends on the model (300 I6, Crown Vics and 7.3s are easy to work on).