Subject:  2003 Ford Mustang GT Clutch and Steering Problems
Date:     6/1/2003

March 14, 2003,

We purchased our new Ford Mustang at World Ford in Miami. The purchase
was made at this dealer after locating the car in their inventory using
the internet. Upon leaving the dealership, noticed a wobble in the
steering wheel, turned around and went back to the dealer. The dealer
stated that the wobble could be due to the vehicle sitting in one place
and was unable to help due to the now late hour and suggested that we go
to a dealer near where we live. We returned home, moved the front tires
to the rear to see if that would help, it did! For the next two weeks
all was well except for a noise coming from the clutch each time the
pedal was pushed in, the higher the rpm the louder the noise. Shortly
after the purchase we received a call from the Ford assembly plant. The
caller was interested in the quality of the fit and finish of the new
Mustang. I explained about the paint defects, scratches, misaligned left
front fender and a cut in the front seat. The dealer did promise to send
a bottle of touch up paint. Stated to this person that we would not be
bothered with these small items and we have all but forgotten them.
Called the local Ford dealer ( Advantage Ford of Stuart Florida) and
made an appointment for them to look at the clutch, also stated our
complaint of the steering wobble.

April 3, 2003

Greeted by a very nice staff of service people and explained to them
about the wobble that I had prior to rotating the tires to the rear of
the car. The Ford technicians balanced and "indexed" the four tires and
that is when the wobble returned. Over the next few weeks we tried
moving tires from front to back, one side at a time with no luck.

April 28, 2003

On or about this date, contacted Ford Motor Co. through the internet.
Stated our concern with this vehicle.

May 3, 2003

Returned to the dealer for second try at repairing the wobble. The
dealer aligned the front suspension in an effort to correct the
problem.

May 16, 2003

Took the car to a Goodyear tire specialist and they removed all four
tires and found that two of the tires were out of load range, and
replaced them, free of charge and then balanced and "indexed" the other
two tires. The two new tires were installed on the rear of the car, at
which time the technician drove the car to check for the wobble. Upon
returning he got out of the car and simply said , " I am unable to help
with this problem and I am not even going to charge you for balancing
the two older tires". The wobble that I am experiencing first started
at 48 mph and did not happen all the time. Now the wobble is there from
45 to 52 mph and happens all the time. The wobble is a rapid back and
forth movement of the steering wheel.

May 19, 2003


Ford Motor Co. Customer Relations has contacted me via telephone.
Contact was made through a customer relations person, after explaining
my situation to her she told me that she did not have access to anyone
at Ford? I asked if she was employed by Ford Motor Co. and she said she
was. It seemed odd to me that the customer relations department would
not be able to set up an appointment for a customer. After some
discussion and a little coaxing, I was asked to wait on hold while a
phone call was made to the local Ford dealer. The customer relations
person came back on the phone and said that she had contacted the local
Ford dealer and that the manager was not available but I was assured
that a phone call would be made and it was. Shortly, the general manager
called and spoke with me. Explained my situation to him and told him
that I appreciated every thing that his dealership had tried to do and
would be appreciative if they could set up a meeting with a Ford
representative and possibly refer a good front end ( suspension
specialist ) as we would not be opposed to paying for the alignment or
whatever the repair would be. The general manager then said that he
didn't want to have a "lemon law" car and that he would like to speak
to his service people on Monday. These conversations took place on a
Friday and on the following Monday the phone rang and it was the
quality control person for the local dealer, calling to say that he had
spoken with the general manager and he wanted to go on record as saying
that he thought the car was acceptable to him and at that time made a
recommendation that I take the car back to the dealer where the
automobile had been purchased. Hung the phone up feeling somewhat let
down that the dealer was not willing to continue to help, however; I
certainly understand that they would not want to be involved in a
dispute of a vehicle that they had not sold. After giving this
situation some thought, it seemed apparent to me that at some point
this dealer would be asked about his attempts and certainly would have
a part of the problem anyway. Shortly thereafter visited the local
dealer and asked for the quality control manager and met with him and
asked that he consider just calling Ford Motor Co. and ask that an
appointment be made so that the Ford people could look at the vehicle.
The wobble of the steering wheel is now from 41 mph to 55 mph. The new
tires are now back to the rear of the vehicle as I am afraid that they
will be ruined if the wobbling continues.

Each time that an effort is made to repair the wobble problem, a new
scratch or dig appears on the aluminum wheels.

May 20, 2003,

Received a call from Ford Motor Customer relations informing me that the
local dealer has determined that the vehicle is normal and acceptable to
them. She was not informed that arrangements had been made with the
dealer to have the factory representative look at the car. Additionally
she stated that she was going to forward this complaint to the
engineering department ( that may not be the exact department ) and
that we would hear from them in three to five days.

May 21, 2003

The phone rings today and it is Ford Motor Co again to tell me that
the local dealer is considering the Mustang to be normal, seems like we
have heard this before. He offers an alternative, take the Mustang to
another dealer! It seems that this is the only way to get someone to
acknowledge that this car has problems. The Ford person that called is
very hard to understand and I did not get his name.

May 22, 2003

Following instructions, phoned the second Ford dealer ( Sunrise Ford
of Ft. Pierce Fl. ) and explained to him that the Mustang had been
into the local dealer and to Goodyear Tire. They are kind enough to
listen and agree to look at the car tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM.

May, 23,2003

Arrived at the dealer 7:50 AM , explained to the service writer that
the Mustang had been in for front end shake at the local Ford dealer
and that the tires had been balanced and "indexed". Also explained
that the front end had been aligned and the two rear tires replaced.
The service writer turned the information over to the quality control
manager and we were off for a test drive. The Mustang was quite
willing to demonstrate the back and forth movement of the steering
wheel and we then returned to the service area. The quality control
manager instructed the service writer to write that the steering wheel
shakes and that is when the work began. For the next four hours the
Mustang was treated to yet another round of tire switching, "indexing"
and balancing. Now after waiting for nearly five hours the technician
tells me that he has called Ford "hotline" and that they think that
this is a characteristic of this vehicle. I was invited to test a new
Mustang for comparison purposes and it also had somewhat of a front
end shake. As I am writing this, the phone rings and it is the local
Ford dealer to let me know that I will be able to meet with the Ford
representative on Wednesday, May 28, 2003. My question to Ford will
be- If this is a characteristic of the Mustang, then when will there
be a bulletin or notice of repair to all Ford Mustang owners? The
service manager and all of the staff at both dealerships have been
very courteous and genuine in their efforts to assist with my troubles.
The technician explains that he has raised the air pressure (35 psi )
in the front tires in an effort to make less of the tire grip the road
and to be sure to explain this if the vehicle is taken to a front end
specialist. Having owned many new vehicles in the past, this is the
only one that I have ever owned that has a steering wheel shake that
seemingly cannot be repaired. Perhaps more of concern is the fact that
the Ford dealers have worked on this vehicle on three occasions,
totaling several hours and seem to be using the same language in their
repair orders. " cannot duplicate the problem or is a characteristic of
the vehicle". The one time that an outside technician works on the
vehicle he states immediately that the vehicle has a problem. One
observation on my part is that everyone who has worked on this vehicle
has shifted the tires with the most problems to the rear of the car,
just as I first did, except that at some point those tires will have
to be rotated to the front of the vehicle. The service manager at one
of the dealers said that he would keep the Mustang that we compared to
our car and continue to try and remedy the wheel shake. The quality
control person at that dealer thought that a caliper was possibly
hanging and could be the cause of the car pulling to the right. The
technician suggested that a front end alignment was needed but there
would be a charge for that since it was aligned under warranty three
weeks earlier. I did not ask this second dealer to look into the
clutch problem. I have taken the time to check into some the Mustang
web sites and have gotten some interesting feedback.

May 27, 2003

Received a call from the second dealer ( Sunrise ), wanted to know if
satisfied with the work performed? Nothing good to report except that
the survey will not be sent in until a positive remedy is at hand.

May 28, 2003

Today is the day that Ford Motor Co. will listen to the customer and
perhaps offer the much needed assistance. The Ford representative was
pleasant as all have been and I appreciate that. The first thing we do
is take the Mustang on a road test to demonstrate the wobble of the
steering wheel and the noise of the clutch. The representative says
that the steering "nibble" is a characteristic of this vehicle and
that he will look into the noise of the clutch as he has never heard
this noise before. His wife owns a Mustang and it has the "nibble"
also. With that I ask how many other complaints has he had with
regard to steering wobble or nibble? "Two". Does that make it a
characteristic of the vehicle and if so does that make it correct? As
my arm is vibrating from the nibble. What if the nibble turns to a
full shake after the tires are cupped? "You won't get any miles out of
these tires anyway as the compound is very soft". As for the noise
from the clutch! "Remember if you run the engine over 3000 rpm you
will not get any gas mileage". These are direct quotes from Ford Motor
Co. representative. As a show of good faith, offers to make a car
payment for me. Frankly, that statement leaves me speechless ! Managed
to say no thank you, as one might wonder what that would have to do
with the problem at hand. As in all the other attempts of Ford to
repair this vehicle, it does show some acknowledgement of
responsibility on the part of Ford. Response to that is simply no,
and that my expectation is for full repair of vehicle including the
fact that the alloy wheels have been damaged in the multiple attempts
at "indexing" the tires. Now the problem is compounded! The
representative brings up the "Lemon Law" and states, " That would be a
crap shoot and it would depend on two out of three if they drove a
Lexus or not". Explained to the Factory representative ( Joe ) that I
will not be satisfied until this auto is repaired, including the the
replacement of the damaged wheels.  Should anyone have similar
problems we would love to hear from you.