F-150 Production Paused (Now Restarted) Due to Door Handle Shortage

[powerboatr]

I'm right there with you!
There's a 2023 KingRanch AND Platinum Lightning in the employee parking lot where my 2022 KingRanch PowerGrid is parked.

It's so strange to walk by them and see the absence of the premium seats. It's from the window sill up that the difference is glaring. I prize those gorgeous seats.

multi contour seats ....i would not have bought my truck if they were absent.
especially in a king ranch or plat outfitted truck..those are required items IMO
i will say i do not mind the auto shut off thing being deleted
my dealer has a fee 23 and 22 that are plat, and king ranch...askign high price for trucks minus normal package equipment.. navigation missing is a bizarre one to delete as well

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[WalterMitty]

Complicated or not, I've developed a new appreciation for my 2022, with its bed camera, front camera washer, heated steering wheel, advanced security pack, and full infotainment functionality. Sure, I'm missing a few things from 2021, but I really feel for these 2023 guys.

What are everyone's bets on whether the refreshed 2024 has all of the previously deleted features/functions added back in?

I like my 2023, and getting a Tremor V8 is worth the missing heated steering wheel...which says a lot, since I'm a huge fan of heated steering wheels. I got lucky and still have a bed camera. I never wanted auto start/stop, advanced security pack, or the spare tire lock.

And if ever I feel bad about the heated steering wheel, I just need to switch it to Sport mode, move it from 4A to 2H, hold the traction control button for 10 seconds, and then bury the skinny pedal on the right!!!!!

 

[thebigdu]

I like my 2023, and getting a Tremor V8 is worth the missing heated steering wheel...which says a lot, since I'm a huge fan of heated steering wheels. I got lucky and still have a bed camera. I never wanted auto start/stop, advanced security pack, or the spare tire lock.

And if ever I feel bad about the heated steering wheel, I just need to switch it to Sport mode, move it from 4A to 2H, hold the traction control button for 10 seconds, and then bury skinny pedal on the right!!!!!

That there's a fair point about the V8 Tremor!

 

[Davexxxx]

I'm right there with you!
There's a 2023 KingRanch AND Platinum Lightning in the employee parking lot where my 2022 KingRanch PowerGrid is parked.

It's so strange to walk by them and see the absence of the premium seats. It's from the window sill up that the difference is glaring. I prize those gorgeous seats.

Yeah, I wanted those nicer seats too.
And I wanted the better headlights but not the 20" wheels (can't do that in 23)

What saving grace there might be though, is I'll hopefully have fewer glitches and recalls to work through.

 

[Snakebitten]

I in no way intended to sour anyone with the truck they purchased after the restraints kicked in for some high-desire options.
But I DO feel for some who had no choice but to come to terms with it.

As far as recalls and issues, I've had ZERO issues that would require a single visit to the dealership.

And the recalls, so far, are ignorable.

 

[powerboatr]

I in no way intended to sour anyone with the truck they purchased after the restraints kicked in for some high-desire options.
But I DO feel for some who had no choice but to come to terms with it.

As far as recalls and issues, I've had ZERO issues that would require a single visit to the dealership.

And the recalls, so far, are ignorable.

my wipers work perfect
i have wondered if they would depart at 77 mph in a heavy rain
so far so good

that being said
i have been abusing build and price the last few weeks trying to ping a PCO to arrive
really want to get #1 wife a new ride.
found a 2023 king ranch exolorer with no factory deletes ...its a rare bird

 

[Snakebitten]

Get her the Lincoln.
I bet it's a sweet ride if it ever gets here.

You could get her this in the interim and then get 100% back after the new Lincoln arrives.

 

[powerboatr]

Get her the Lincoln.
I bet it's a sweet ride if it ever gets here.

You could get her this in the interim and then get 100% back after the new Lincoln arrives.

thats pricey for an UNTECH car
i was looking at a few 2004 maruaders and crownvic SPORTS ..but the good ones are very hard to find
we had a crownvic for rental several times, it loved the highway cruise from north bama to texas

if i can find a rapid red explorer i think she is sold. gave up on the corsair ever arriving

 

[Snakebitten]

That's pricey pre-Covid. Not so much now for really clean ones.

I know the 4 brothers who own the used dealership. They were trained by their dad and they are fantastic buyers. I don't even have to drive there to look it over. If it isn't really clean, they don't buy/sell.

Purchased 7 or 8 cars from them. Never a regret.

I wish I was ready to admit that I was old so I could go fetch it and put 100,000 miles on it for penny's per mile as a defensive move on putting miles on the Powerboost or the Porsche. But I still have a touch of vanity making me pause.

 

[JJSnell]

Crap @Pedaldude beat me to it....

 

[fordhouston]

Yeah, I wanted those nicer seats too.
And I wanted the better headlights but not the 20" wheels (can't do that in 23)

What saving grace there might be though, is I'll hopefully have fewer glitches and recalls to work through.

since when does the 501A come available with a heated steering wheel??

 

[Polo08816]

multi contour seats ....i would not have bought my truck if they were absent.
especially in a king ranch or plat outfitted truck..those are required items IMO
i will say i do not mind the auto shut off thing being deleted
my dealer has a fee 23 and 22 that are plat, and king ranch...askign high price for trucks minus normal package equipment.. navigation missing is a bizarre one to delete as well

+1

I will not accept a de-optioned higher trim level truck. I will wait until they have this figured out or if their competitor figures it out before them.

 

[powerboatr]

+1

I will not accept a de-optioned higher trim level truck. I will wait until they have this figured out or if their competitor figures it out before them.

yup that was my thinking
i was lucky i found a nov of 2021 build truck that had only the auto engine shut off delete

 

[tilefordude]

New deleted feature!

They reduce the sticker price by $25 and your new truck comes without door handles.

you know we blame ford, but i blame the entire industry, yes ford has some blame
there is no reason for the parts issues. We as American industry need to get off the pot and roll on the steam.
i bet my left toe there are machine chops in USA and Canada that could ramp up and be the SUPPLIER in short order.
i am waiting on a GE profile convection advantium oven, that was killed by lighting last weekend...MAY 22 is expected date...WTHHHHHHECK

BUT YES door handle shortage???????????????????

The problem is if they made the product in the usa less people would have their hand in the cookie jar

 

[GregBC]

The problem is if they made the product in the usa less people would have their hand in the cookie jar

I disagree. Making things overseas is almost always a “bottom line” decision, as well as responsiveness decision. I recall an article about Apple on Foxcomm that highlighted how quickly they could respond to changes. Lots of articles on the horrid working conditions at Foxcomm but at the end of the day, SO MUCH that we purchase is made under similar conditions. This isn’t hyperbole, not one bit.

One can blame industry for how they outsource but I say it’s far more than that: we have to look in the mirror - if you invest in mutual funds, stock market, etc, publicly traded companies thrive off profits, profits come from decreasing costs/increasing revenue. Decreasing costs comes from reducing labor costs (predominantly; I’d say labour costs are 50-80% the cost of a product, with rare exception). A company will happily bring manufacturing back to the US if it makes financial sense, but that might mean justifyinghigher production costs (to say “made in America”, for example).

The example of small shops churning out parts might be valid, but consider a few things:
- door handles are injection molded; that’s not some small-shop process, generally.
- small shops develop/work at great risk. If your sole profit line is driven by sales ofjust a few products, it doesn’t take much for you to go under if that product line stalls or falters. Here’s a good example: SSN-21 SEAWOLF class submarine:
- originally envisioned to be 50 boat class
- US DOD acquisition rules favour small businesses (and other criteria) in order to diversify manu base and mitigate the risk of just having a few super-suppliers (like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, etc)
- SEAWOLF program farmed out lots of small businesses to build parts
- Congress cut program from 50 -> 2. (then expanded to 3)
- loads of suppliers shut down or moved on to other jobs after announcement
- result: huge % of parts are inobtanium and must be custom made when needing replacement, driving up costs significantly and delaying overhauls (which has significant knock-on effects)

So while I’m 100% in favour of local manufacturers too, just understand why companies are always gun-shy to go that route (both the prime manu’s like Ford and the smaller suppliers).

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