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The eBearing News
November 15, 2006
Bearing Noise Delays Ford Edge, Lincoln MKX
copyright © 2006 eBearing Inc.
The critical launch date of the new 2007 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX crossover vehicles has been pushed
back at least a month, to mid-December, due to several quality problems.
Along with warped trim and similar issues, a key problem was excessive noise from the rear wheel
bearings used in the four-wheel-drive version. The four-wheel-drive configuration uses different
(driven) rear wheel bearing hub assembly units than front-drive-only vehicles.
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Ford Edge (courtesy Ford)
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Manufactured in Oakville, Ontario, success of the Edge and MKX are considered critical to Ford's
survival strategy, particularly in the highly competitive crossover segment. Crossovers, usually built
on car platforms, target the market segment between minivans and SUVs.
The troubled automaker considers a successful, trouble-free launch so crucial that it is
going far beyond its normal pre-launch quality audits and customer review programs. In the past,
similar problems were often passed, with the expectation they would be fixed on the fly.
However, that meant important problems were often missed entirely, leading to problem-riddled
vehicles, unhappy owners and high warranty repair charges.
2000 article: Ford recalls 4x2 trucks built with 4x4 rear bearings
2000 article: Ford recalls 260,000 Focus cars for wheel bearing problems
Ford said crossover vehicles are so important because they are the fastest-growing segment of the auto market.
U.S. market crossover sales in 2005 topped 2 million, and the company said sales in 2006 are on pace
for the first time to outsell "traditional" SUVs.
Edge and MKX are based on Ford's CD3 car platform, shared with the Fusion, Milan, Zephyr,
MKZ, Mazda6 and Mazda CX9. With a 3.5 litre V6 engine and 6-speed automatic transmission, it will be
offered in several trim levels, as front-drive and as four-wheel-drive.
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- by Bruce A. Carr
from individual research,
tips and commercial sources.
Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
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eBearing.com ... for everything that moves™
Entire contents Copyright 1999-2008, eBearing Inc. All rights reserved.
eBearing.com and "... for everything that moves" are registered
trademarks of eBearing Inc.
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eBearing.com ... for everything that moves™
Entire contents Copyright © 1999-2008, eBearing Inc. All rights reserved.
eBearing.com and "... for everything that moves" are registered trademarks of eBearing Inc.
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