Quality Issues Hound Months-Old 2021 Ford F-150

It hasn’t been long since the redesigned Ford F-150 for the 2021 model year arrived at dealerships across the United States. The model is easily one of the biggest releases in recent months, owing to Ford’s efforts to ensure build quality.

One thing the Blue Oval wanted was for the new F-150 launch to be the exact opposite of what happened with the Explorer and Lincoln Aviator about two years ago. But this early, the well-loved truck model is plagued with quality issues.

In a report published by the Detroit Free Press, several owners of the newly released Ford F-150 in different parts of America have expressed concerns over heavy rust and significant corrosion on critical parts of the vehicle like the axle.

One owner from Michigan reported water dripping off the metal components beneath the vehicle, which created dark stains on his garage floor just days after the delivery of the $75,000-truck. According to the customer, the 2016 F-150 he traded in had no such corrosion despite having been driven 65,000 miles.

Similar experiences from F-150 owners were posted on Facebook and other online forums, with rust and corrosion being the common complaints. But the bigger problem, according to the truck owners, is that Ford simply told them little can be done to resolve the issue.

A spokesperson for the company claims there is no problem with the vehicles. “While some F-150 underbody steel components may show signs of surface rust, this will have no impact on part performance or life.” The spokesman added that it is also possible that the parts in question were stored in moist conditions or corroded while in transit, to which, he said, the automaker is already checking with suppliers.

Customers are also not pleased that the issue is not covered by warranty, and that it might affect the vehicle’s trade-in value later on. Moreover, while it may not compromise the safety, it appears the quality control was not properly done during production.

“I’m not questioning the integrity of the axle. The surface rust and appearance is an obvious product quality issue,” one customer was quoted saying. “There is no way Ford doesn’t know about rusty axles going down the assembly line. They’re shipping a sub-par product out. If Ford is allowing a compromise in quality that’s extremely visible, what about things that aren’t visible?” he added.

It remains to be seen what Ford plans to do to formally address the issue, or whether it is actually planning anything at the moment.