Last year, Ford recalled a record-breaking 12.9 million vehicles over 153 separate campaigns – an embarrassing fail the automaker is looking to remedy. And like most businesses, it's leaning on cutting edge technology to make improvements.
In a recent interview with Road & Track, Ford’s leadership revealed a new strategy they say is already enhancing the quality of its engines. And it’s about getting back to the basics.
The Ford Essex engine plant in Windsor, Ontario produces multiple engines for Ford’s line, including the Coyote 5-liter V-8 for the F-150 and the Mustang, as well as the Super Duty truck engines in 6.7- and 7.3-liter varieties.
But this story is less about what Essex is building, and more about what it’s taking apart.
Essex plant manager Neil Wilson told Road & Track that the plant has started tearing down one engine every single day and subjecting it to a battery of tests.
Previously, Ford reportedly conducted this intensive engine teardown once every three months, or when there was a suspected issue.
After last year’s recall extravaganza, however, that changed. And Ford’s new frequency is apparently catching things that would have, in the past, slipped through the cracks.
The automaker is also leveraging AI to help it choose which engines to target. Rather than pulling them randomly from the line, predictive AI-based monitoring is used to identify what the company believes are “leading indicators of potential failures.”
This switch away from reactive strategies is “providing real insight on how to protect quality,” said Wilson, and has “paid for itself” through rapid decline in Ford’s warranty claims.
