Dark Horse and other s650 recall about black screen puts delivery hold for 5 months

[Gregs24]

It's possible that your car was made before our cars were. The software is the same. Apparently, they used a different car part on the screen or something. I saw it in one of these forums.

I feel bad for the Aussies cause it's like 800 Mustangs that have the recall for that country alone. I think only a few hundred cars in Canada were recalled. sadly, mine is one of them. The like 7-8 other Mustangs in the lot at my dealership don't have that recall. I would swap to one of them, but I don't have an extra 30k for a Darkhorse like my mans @bfets lol

My car was within the date range but obviously lucky that EU/UK cars don't have the problem, or already had the fix.

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[Kaps]

Gregs24 not every car manufactured between the period is affected by recall. Only some cars manufactured between those dates have the recall as it appears Ford May be using more than one supplier for the display screens.

 

[Gregs24]

Gregs24 not every car manufactured between the period is affected by recall. Only some cars manufactured between those dates have the recall as it appears Ford May be using more than one supplier for the display screens.

Yes I realise that but none of the EU/UK cars are affected at all.

 

[ZacaZ]

I went to my dealership today to swap out my loaner car, and they told me they had a moment of joy because the recall fix was out, then quickly realized that it was only for certain ones and not out for my car yet. Hopefully, the fix will be out by Christmas for me. I think, from what was said in another post, They're updating vehicles that haven't been delivered to the dealerships yet. which is kinda dumb. Why can't they just send out a mass update?

 

[GnatsumGT]

Saw this yesterday in Johnson City TN.

 

[Kaps]

Ford has not been transparent on this issue right from the beginning and failed the customers in so many ways:
1) no detailed information provided to the customers, just before holding their vehicles at ports, holding yards and dealerships
2) dealers were not provided with any details either
3) customer care contact numbers advertised were useless and worse than any other auto maker customer care i have ever seen, they provide you absolutely no information and simply bounce you back to dealers
4) for those of you in US or EU, FORD Australia did some temp update on vehicles that they have in their compounds/holding yards before Christmas and delivered them, these vehicles arrived after the vehicles were held by dealerships, so we saw these cars arriving after our cars, get updated and delivered before us
5) why is Ford giving this step motherly treatment to the customers who patiently waited for over 2 years for their cars? There is no system in place to prioritize the delivery of vehicles in the order they were delivered
6) it boils my blood to see vehicles arriving after our vehicles (impacted by recall) and getting delivered. Clearly shows Ford is only worried about themselves and not even remotely trying to understand or resolve this issue for the owners waiting for over 2 years.
7) even the dealers are getting compensated for floor plans, if they have already received the vehicles impacted by recall but unable to deliver due to delivery holds
8) I had some info from very reliable sources that the update was supposed to be released last week or latest by this Monday the 20th of Jan. Well guess what no update for us. Ford even fooled its own staff by providing false information because there is no update and there is no information when it will be released and when contacted Customer care, they straight away bounced back to dealership.
9) I have been disappointed more than once in this Dark Horse order by Ford and this will be my last Ford ever. And I am only going to take delivery of this car because if I cancel my order, that is simply going to make Ford and dealership happy.
Ford will be happy because they do not have a unhappy customer anymore and dealership will try to sell it at a higher markup. So i will be the one losing a car after waiting over 2 years and simply because FORD DO NOT CARE ABOUT THEIR CUSTOMERS.

And what is funny is that I have seen one customer taking delivery of a second Dark Horse (bought first one, drive sell with a markup and bought another one) while I wait for my first car from same dealership.

This whole process has killed my excitement towards this car and i have lost any kind of passion towards any of future FORD vehicles.

 

[bfets]

Ford has not been transparent on this issue right from the beginning and failed the customers in so many ways:
1) no detailed information provided to the customers, just before holding their vehicles at ports, holding yards and dealerships
2) dealers were not provided with any details either
3) customer care contact numbers advertised were useless and worse than any other auto maker customer care i have ever seen, they provide you absolutely no information and simply bounce you back to dealers
4) for those of you in US or EU, FORD Australia did some temp update on vehicles that they have in their compounds/holding yards before Christmas and delivered them, these vehicles arrived after the vehicles were held by dealerships, so we saw these cars arriving after our cars, get updated and delivered before us
5) why is Ford giving this step motherly treatment to the customers who patiently waited for over 2 years for their cars? There is no system in place to prioritize the delivery of vehicles in the order they were delivered
6) it boils my blood to see vehicles arriving after our vehicles (impacted by recall) and getting delivered. Clearly shows Ford is only worried about themselves and not even remotely trying to understand or resolve this issue for the owners waiting for over 2 years.
7) even the dealers are getting compensated for floor plans, if they have already received the vehicles impacted by recall but unable to deliver due to delivery holds
8) I had some info from very reliable sources that the update was supposed to be released last week or latest by this Monday the 20th of Jan. Well guess what no update for us. Ford even fooled its own staff by providing false information because there is no update and there is no information when it will be released and when contacted Customer care, they straight away bounced back to dealership.
9) I have been disappointed more than once in this Dark Horse order by Ford and this will be my last Ford ever. And I am only going to take delivery of this car because if I cancel my order, that is simply going to make Ford and dealership happy.
Ford will be happy because they do not have a unhappy customer anymore and dealership will try to sell it at a higher markup. So i will be the one losing a car after waiting over 2 years and simply because FORD DO NOT CARE ABOUT THEIR CUSTOMERS.

And what is funny is that I have seen one customer taking delivery of a second Dark Horse (bought first one, drive sell with a markup and bought another one) while I wait for my first car from same dealership.

This whole process has killed my excitement towards this car and i have lost any kind of passion towards any of future FORD vehicles.

Yeah I get you man. I find it really tough to continue my excitement at this stage as well. I've gone through various cycles of excitement. I just hope it comes back when I finally take delivery.

 

[neilh]

You may or may not be aware Ford has put a delivery hold on new Mustangs (Dark Horse, GT and Ecoboost) build between 10 May and 20th of August 2024 due to a recall related to screen going blank in Australia and possibly other parts of world.
I am not sure if there is any delivery hold in US or not. If you are in US please share the situation there. I have a vague information that about 7500 vehicles in US are affected by this recall.

• How many of you are affected by this and what actions have you taken so far.
• What is Ford doing about this in US, if you have any information please share?
• Are these vehicles being taken off the Road?
• Is there any hold on deliveries in US as well?
• Have you been contacted by your dealers or Ford in US about this recall and bring your vehicle in, if yes, how are they planning to fix it and what time frame have been provided to owners.?
• Are you still allowed to drive your vehicle in US if you are affected by this recall.?
• Any information will be greatly appreciated (thanks in advance)

We are just trying to find out some details about this issue, as to how bad it is and what is Ford doing to address in other parts of the world and how long it may take to fix it.

You can check online if your vehicle is affected.
This is the URL to check for US vehicles or you can simply google the link:
https://www.ford.com/support/recalls/

Below is the link for Australian and New Zealand vehicles:
Ford Owners Recall & Service Action Lookup | Ford Australia

Please note this is not dealers' fault and they are doing just what Ford told them. Dealers are not happy with this situation either because the sales staff doesn't get their commissions until the vehicle is delivered and it also costs dealers money when the vehicles are sitting in storage and not being delivered.

If you are not aware yet, the bulletin says that any car built during 10th of May and 20th of August are affected by this and they will sit in some storage ( in Australia) and will not be delivered until the end of 1st Quarter of 2025.

I know a lot of customers may be waiting for their GTs and Ecoboosts but Dark Horse owners are hit the most especially the export market because we waited about 26 months already to get our Dark Horses and now potentially another 5 months.
Vehicles will be parked in some kind of storage open or closed unknown, some owners are even told they will sit at the dock, which I do not think is possible but who knows what Ford is upto.

Our vehicles will be 8 months old by the time we get them and that is only if we get them by the end of Q1 2025. Ford as usual has bounced us back to dealers. Ford doesn't want to talk or provide any further details. No compensation can even close to the damage it will do to the vehicle when a vehicle sits for 8 months without maintenance in a proper controlled storage, especially they plan to leave them on docks.

The more i think about it the worse it gets and I believe majority of the other owners in this situation feel the same way as i have seen their comments on FB. I do not understand why there is no transparency in this situation. Unlike US we can't go and pick one from another dealer selling at MSRP because there was a limited allocation of only 1000 Dark Horses to Australia. So, if you cancel the dark Horse that is it, you can not get a Dark Horse.

I do not understand what we did to deserve such treatment from Ford after patiently waiting for 26 months. Not only we won't be able to drive our cars, but we will get a depreciated vehicle for a longer wait with several protentional warranty claims on it such as:

1) suspension (parked not driven)
2) rust issue (poor storage facility and exposure to elements - possibly even open roof and on the docks, close to ocean)
3) engine - (once again not started during this time or done any servicing)
4) tyres - (parked for 8 months exposed to elements they may go off)
5) Paint work (no maintenance and exposed to elements)
6) there is a potential of some of the other engine and mechanical parts that me affected by exposure to elements and not being maintained
7) MY 25 vehicles will already be on road before we get delivery of our My 24.5 vehicles
8) some of us have sold our existing vehicles to take delivery of Dark Horse
9) Some of us also made financial adjustments and arrangements to take delivery of Dark Horse
10) the value of this vehicle will be substantially depreciated knowing build in MAY - AUGUST 2024 and delivered/first registered in First Quarter or First half of 2025
11) last but not least and something that is not tangible, is the whole excitement of taking delivery of this vehicle is now lost because of Ford not handling it well. I can see my car but i can not take the delivery and drive it, which was the primary reason i booked this vehcile and not to make it sit in a sorage for additional 5 months.
26 months is a long long wait for a vehicle already but adding another 5 months to it only to receive an 8 months old vehicle is something I am not able to get my head around.

However there are vehicles that already got delivered which were built during this period and not being taken off the road. If the issue is not that critical then why is Ford putting a delivery hold on other vehicles.
It does not make sense. Cars being manufactured after these dates will be delivered before and very soon you will see MY25 vehicles being delivered before the cars currently put on hold.
Imagine waiting to get your car while cars manufactured after your car getting delivered and driven around after an already 26 months of wait.

And Ford doing nothing to communicate with the owners directly. We will really appreciate if anyone in US can share some information, so that we know what is going on what is expected since Ford is not giving us any information.

Below is the message we get when searching for recall on our vehicles.

Thanks in advance.

Delivery in UK is on hold. My new dark horse has been sat at dealers since new year. No date given for a fix as Ford UK currently saying they don’t have one. Ordered Feb 24! What a way to run a business.

 

[smurfslayer]

5) why is Ford giving this step motherly treatment to the customers who patiently waited for over 2 years for their cars? There is no system in place to prioritize the delivery of vehicles in the order they were delivered
6) it boils my blood to see vehicles arriving after our vehicles (impacted by recall) and getting delivered. Clearly shows Ford is only worried about themselves and not even remotely trying to understand or resolve this issue for the owners waiting for over 2 years.

I don’t want this to come across as insensitive, so please don’t interpret it that way.

I know someone who waited 23 months... for a Bronco. I just don’t get that. A Dark Horse HP? Maybe. Anyway, understand how this happened.

MDH was being built and starting around April or May of ’24, they discovered; or rather were “made aware of” a safety issue whereby the dash would go completely out, so they were forced to issue a halt delivery of those vehicles affected <snark> because heaven forbid, drivers may get out of speeding tickets. </snark>

The affected vehicles were built during a specific time frame.

So, what would you do as a company
disassemble the assembled GOOD vehicles to repair the old ones, already bought by stealerships and on their way?

have them returned and fixed for later?
or delivered to the buyer - the stealership and held?

Ford surely wants to fix the issue, but clearly not at the pace that governments want it fixed. I’m not saying it’s right or fair, but halting delivery to the consumer is the only practical option.
The sad thing is, it may not ever be a problem. I’ve got an affected car, and it’s not grounded, or illegal to drive. So obviously it’s not a “true” safety problem like ... say failing brakes, or steering.

Sort of like when there’s a recall for a backup camera failure.

What on earth did we do before backup cameras?

Anyway, I do sympathize and you’re certainly not alone. When the covid virus went public, there was widespread uncertainty, amplified by governmental panic and gratuitous overreaction. We’re past it, but supply chain disruption set things back a long way. I read a couple articles saying that car makers wouldn’t recover until about 2028 MY. I don’t know if that’s really the case but it sure feels that way.

 

[Kaps]

I don’t want this to come across as insensitive, so please don’t interpret it that way.

I know someone who waited 23 months... for a Bronco. I just don’t get that. A Dark Horse HP? Maybe. Anyway, understand how this happened.

MDH was being built and starting around April or May of ’24, they discovered; or rather were “made aware of” a safety issue whereby the dash would go completely out, so they were forced to issue a halt delivery of those vehicles affected <snark> because heaven forbid, drivers may get out of speeding tickets. </snark>

The affected vehicles were built during a specific time frame.

So, what would you do as a company
disassemble the assembled GOOD vehicles to repair the old ones, already bought by stealerships and on their way?

have them returned and fixed for later?
or delivered to the buyer - the stealership and held?

Ford surely wants to fix the issue, but clearly not at the pace that governments want it fixed. I’m not saying it’s right or fair, but halting delivery to the consumer is the only practical option.
The sad thing is, it may not ever be a problem. I’ve got an affected car, and it’s not grounded, or illegal to drive. So obviously it’s not a “true” safety problem like ... say failing brakes, or steering.

Sort of like when there’s a recall for a backup camera failure.

What on earth did we do before backup cameras?

Anyway, I do sympathize and you’re certainly not alone. When the covid virus went public, there was widespread uncertainty, amplified by governmental panic and gratuitous overreaction. We’re past it, but supply chain disruption set things back a long way. I read a couple articles saying that car makers wouldn’t recover until about 2028 MY. I don’t know if that’s really the case but it sure feels that way.

In response to your comment, and once again i am also not taking it the wrong way, simply responding to it.

The affected vehicles were built during a specific time frame. So, what would you do as a company disassemble the assembled GOOD vehicles to repair the old ones, already bought by stealerships and on their way? have them returned and fixed for later? or delivered to the buyer - the stealership and held?

I am very well aware of what happened there, only some vehicles (using part from specific supplier) during a specific period were impacted.
If the issue is fixable by software update, they should put some resources into releasing a patch to address the immediate issue and then release a final update.
Why i say that most software company do that, and even Ford Australia did it her in Australia but did not update all vehicles, and only updated the ones in their yards or held at ports.


Ford surely wants to fix the issue, but clearly not at the pace that governments want it fixed.
Biggest issue is Ford doesn't seem to be too much focused on it and is taking it very lightly. If they wanted to fix it, it could have been done quickly for sure.

I’m not saying it’s right or fair, but halting delivery to the consumer is the only practical option.
I don't think so, there are other alternatives, such as release the vehicles after asking owners to sign a waver form or release the vehicles after installing and interim update/patch, which they did in Australia but only for the vehicles in their possession.

The sad thing is, it may not ever be a problem. I’ve got an affected car, and it’s not grounded, or illegal to drive. So obviously it’s not a “true” safety problem like ... say failing brakes, or steering.

The issue is definitely not that critical as they made it look like because if that was the case then how come vehicles impacted by this issue are already on road being driven. None of those vehicles have been grounded.

Supply chain issue have been long sorted, after Covid. The only vehicles that may be impacted by supply chain are electric and hybrid due to battery supply.

In a nutshell, FORD handles this recall really poorly.
1) no communication with customers
2) no loan vehicles to customers who sold their cars so close to delivery date
3) customer care does not know anything at all and bounced you back to dealerships while not even the dealerships were provided with any update
4) the situation is slightly different in Australia where only a limited number of dark Horses were allocated about 1000, where you do not have choice to go and grab the next vehicle in stock, you simply have to wait for the vehicle you booked and if you cancel the order you do not have a Dark Horse at all.
5) Ford AU did not apply the interim update to the vehicles in the order they arrived in country. They simply ignored the vehicles held at dealerships and released the vehicles in their own holding yards. How selfish and pathetic is that on Ford's part. We saw vehicles impacted by same recall, built and arriving in country after our vehicles and then getting delivered before Christmas.
6) Why didn't ford apply this interim update to the vehicles in the order they arrived and update all vehicles in the country instead of only doing a few which were in their possession
7) dealers are getting compensated for their floor plans which is good, but what about the owners waiting for their cars
a) my car would be about 6 months old now from the date of manufacturing
b) no car to drive since i sold my car after knowing the car has landed in the country and is at dealership now, because you obviously need money to pay for the new car
c) obviously the issue is not that critical since none of the other vehicles impacted are grounded, so there is no logic to hold these vehicles
d) to make it worse Ford has not really cared about the customers and only worried about themselves by releasing the vehicles with interim update which were in their possession and not the ones which are already at dealerships

None of that makes sense, and any logic the way Ford has handled this whole situation. This is frustrating and disappointing.

 

[prestj1]

In response to your comment, and once again i am also not taking it the wrong way, simply responding to it.

The affected vehicles were built during a specific time frame. So, what would you do as a company disassemble the assembled GOOD vehicles to repair the old ones, already bought by stealerships and on their way? have them returned and fixed for later? or delivered to the buyer - the stealership and held?

I am very well aware of what happened there, only some vehicles (using part from specific supplier) during a specific period were impacted.
If the issue is fixable by software update, they should put some resources into releasing a patch to address the immediate issue and then release a final update.
Why i say that most software company do that, and even Ford Australia did it her in Australia but did not update all vehicles, and only updated the ones in their yards or held at ports.


Ford surely wants to fix the issue, but clearly not at the pace that governments want it fixed.
Biggest issue is Ford doesn't seem to be too much focused on it and is taking it very lightly. If they wanted to fix it, it could have been done quickly for sure.

I’m not saying it’s right or fair, but halting delivery to the consumer is the only practical option.
I don't think so, there are other alternatives, such as release the vehicles after asking owners to sign a waver form or release the vehicles after installing and interim update/patch, which they did in Australia but only for the vehicles in their possession.

The sad thing is, it may not ever be a problem. I’ve got an affected car, and it’s not grounded, or illegal to drive. So obviously it’s not a “true” safety problem like ... say failing brakes, or steering.

The issue is definitely not that critical as they made it look like because if that was the case then how come vehicles impacted by this issue are already on road being driven. None of those vehicles have been grounded.

Supply chain issue have been long sorted, after Covid. The only vehicles that may be impacted by supply chain are electric and hybrid due to battery supply.

In a nutshell, FORD handles this recall really poorly.
1) no communication with customers
2) no loan vehicles to customers who sold their cars so close to delivery date
3) customer care does not know anything at all and bounced you back to dealerships while not even the dealerships were provided with any update
4) the situation is slightly different in Australia where only a limited number of dark Horses were allocated about 1000, where you do not have choice to go and grab the next vehicle in stock, you simply have to wait for the vehicle you booked and if you cancel the order you do not have a Dark Horse at all.
5) Ford AU did not apply the interim update to the vehicles in the order they arrived in country. They simply ignored the vehicles held at dealerships and released the vehicles in their own holding yards. How selfish and pathetic is that on Ford's part. We saw vehicles impacted by same recall, built and arriving in country after our vehicles and then getting delivered before Christmas.
6) Why didn't ford apply this interim update to the vehicles in the order they arrived and update all vehicles in the country instead of only doing a few which were in their possession
7) dealers are getting compensated for their floor plans which is good, but what about the owners waiting for their cars
a) my car would be about 6 months old now from the date of manufacturing
b) no car to drive since i sold my car after knowing the car has landed in the country and is at dealership now, because you obviously need money to pay for the new car
c) obviously the issue is not that critical since none of the other vehicles impacted are grounded, so there is no logic to hold these vehicles
d) to make it worse Ford has not really cared about the customers and only worried about themselves by releasing the vehicles with interim update which were in their possession and not the ones which are already at dealerships

None of that makes sense, and any logic the way Ford has handled this whole situation. This is frustrating and disappointing.

I believe the reason the cars sitting at the dealerships were not updated In Aus, is there was an issue with the tools the dealers use when updating the cars would override the software fix being deployed by Ford, hence why they were only updating the cars being held by Ford at the holding centres.

 

[Kaps]

I believe the reason the cars sitting at the dealerships were not updated In Aus, is there was an issue with the tools the dealers use when updating the cars would override the software fix being deployed by Ford, hence why they were only updating the cars being held by Ford at the holding centres.

Its all done by laptops these days and only via OBD-II port. Its a very basic system to update software. The cars are already out with the interim update and they could have done exactly same to the cars at dealership.
But they simply don't care about customers and that is why making up all these excuses and hiding behind dealerships, so that they don't have to face the customers and tell them the truth and answer to any logical questions or face a logical reasoning, as to why they are holding the cars, while they could have done so many things to avoid this situation.

 

[Kaps]

That said, does anyone know if the update has been released in US yet. The stories we are being told by Ford AU here is that Ford US has already released the update in US on 29th of Jan 2025 and it was sent to Ford AU on 30 Jan ( 29th in US)
Ford AU is now going through some documentation check and formalities to release it today 3rd Of Feb (AU time).
Its now 2:30 PM or say 3:30 PM AEDT in Australia and still no news. Ford has been buying time by providing 1 week or two weeks at a time to drag it all the way until the end of Q1 and beyond.

This is simply ridiculous and disappointing how a company that big can keep feeding rubbish to customers, holding their cars and selectively releasing the vehicles impacted by exact same recall and to make matter even worse, the vehicles impacted by same recall still on road (delivered prior to delivery hold).

 

[bfets]

That said, does anyone know if the update has been released in US yet. The stories we are being told by Ford AU here is that Ford US has already released the update in US on 29th of Jan 2025 and it was sent to Ford AU on 30 Jan ( 29th in US)
Ford AU is now going through some documentation check and formalities to release it today 3rd Of Feb (AU time).
Its now 2:30 PM or say 3:30 PM AEDT in Australia and still no news. Ford has been buying time by providing 1 week or two weeks at a time to drag it all the way until the end of Q1 and beyond.

This is simply ridiculous and disappointing how a company that big can keep feeding rubbish to customers, holding their cars and selectively releasing the vehicles impacted by exact same recall and to make matter even worse, the vehicles impacted by same recall still on road (delivered prior to delivery hold).

Bear in mind this information we have in Australia is also hearsay. It might be true, but it's not official information. I just don't know who to trust anymore.

 

[Kaps]

Bear in mind this information we have in Australia is also hearsay. It might be true, but it's not official information. I just don't know who to trust anymore.

Yes its hear say, but it is coming from quite a reliable source (a Ford official, i won't mention name to maintain his privacy), which tells me Ford is feeding rubbish information to its own staff too.
So exactly who to trust?
But the question is if they have no fix why not release the vehicles after installing an interim update. At least the vehicles will be out and customers can have their cars, they have been waiting for over 22 months and about 3 months sitting at dealerships.
Not sure who is running the show now, but definitely doesn't look like capable of making rational decisions on this issue.
Quite pathetic to be honest, how Ford dealt with this issue. It has a lot of room for debate as i find no logic in them holding the vehicles.

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