'03 Cobras Have Bad Heads?

Well, that's pretty scarey. Didn't one of the guys say something just a few days ago about his '03 Cobra making a funny noise? I may be wrong, I've been into the paint stripper again.

Kate

There are two or three TSB's/memo's related to ticks, the oldest one having been released about 10 months ago. The head swaps started 4 or 5 months ago but so far it looks like a pretty rare condition and is only recommended after the other alternatives are investigated.

Mine had a hot tick that was fixed by retorquing the cam towers back in November '02. It's still got a cold tick related to piston slap.

Yeah, the tick issue has been around for a while. Most of the people I've talked to got the head swapped with no problems, and the tick is now gone.

I just picked up my Cobra yesterday from the dock! I've had it two days, and I've already washed it twice. I put my first cost of Zaino on tonight. Oh...and so far no tick. ;)

Kevin

I've been hangin' out at the Terminator forum on svtperformance.com and almost all of us have problems with our 03 Cobra's.

There are a lot of Cobra owners with the defective head problem. Then there's the Vibe, pull, pop, overheating, and other issues.

Ford *really* needs to step up to the plate and fix these issues or this will be my last Ford.

Never had this kind of BS with my previous GT's.

Jim

That's why I don't buy a first production run of anything, and this is the first year run of the supercharged 4.6. You are the debugging process, often at the expense of your time and sanity.

Years ago, I bought a first year run of the 3rd generation (1982 year I think) Camaro Z-28. I was one of the 'lucky' ones to have the model that the back glass 'exploded' if you slammed the hatch down too hard. Several other shakes, rattles and other defects and I traded the car 2 years later. Due to the bad experience that I had with that Chevy dealership, I have never bought another GM product (and I have owned at least 10 new cars since then), and at this point in my life, I doubt if I ever will buy another new GM.

My unicorn is the 1978 Bandit Edition Trans Am, but at this point, house payments, car payments and an ill wife makes that a dream. Ah, someday.

Good luck with the Cobra.

Wow ! what WOULD they do ? I'm sure it would mean certain failure for the company.!!!

Chief,

The auto manufacturers these days can not afford to have dissatisfied customers. The business is just too cut throat! Why do you think the lifecycle of new cars is so short now and the rebates keep getting bigger? It's because the competition is so fierce! And it's proven a dissatisfied customer will often tell about ten other potenial customers about his/her bad expirence. (One hundred dissatisfied customers could take out a whole model year of SVT Mustang buyers.) I know if I was Ford, I'd be trying everything to make Jim and his on-line buddies happy about their purchase.

Patrick '93 Cobra

This proves to me that there are, for good or bad, more satisfied Cobra owners than disastified. In '99 the BON forums became the home for all the disatisfied owners. They were an incredibly vocal group and yet Ford didn't change and many of the same issues showed up in '01. Another generation of vocal and unhappy owners showed up on several forums. Now, the svtperformance.com forums are home to the unhappy '03 owners with, yep, many of the exact same complaints. It's funny to me that I see almost the exact same threads on that forum that I remember reading back in '99. Almost the exact language and the same threats are being discussed.

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that either Ford won't listen to them either or Ford gets more postive feedback than negative, despite the apparent wrath that gets show in internet forums.

I know I'm happy :). Got the coil-overs in last week-end and it's like a new car again ;).

This was evidentially, the design behind the Camaro...

Brad S

ROFL.... Yep, that just about sums it up perfectly. We'll take the Corvette engine and put it in the cheapest thing we can make.... at least it'll be fast huh?

Anthony S

I realize it can be frustrating to have things go wrong with your car. Particularly one that is brand new, but the thing to keep in mind is that (no matter what our sentimental attachment) they are still JUST cars built and designed by human beings.

They may never get it right. But every now and then, even a blind squirrel finds a nut.

I agree, that if there is a blatent quality control issue, that FOMOCO should indeed reslove it and make the proper repairs to existing vehicles. Thus, the warranty on the vehicle. Though I think 3/36 is a pretty chincy warranty. I would like to see them go 5/75 on the drivetrain.

Kate

| > > Wow ! what WOULD they do ? I'm sure it would mean certain failure | for | > > the company.!!! | >

| > Chief, | >

| > The auto manufacturers these days can not afford to have dissatisfied | > customers. The business is just too cut throat! Why do you think the | > lifecycle of new cars is so short now and the rebates keep getting | > bigger? It's because the competition is so fierce! And it's proven | > a dissatisfied customer will often tell about ten other potenial | > customers about his/her bad expirence. (One hundred dissatisfied | > customers could take out a whole model year of SVT Mustang buyers.) I | > know if I was Ford, I'd be trying everything to make Jim and his | > on-line buddies happy about their purchase. | >

| | This proves to me that there are, for good or bad, more satisfied Cobra | owners than disastified. In '99 the BON forums became the home for all the | disatisfied owners. They were an incredibly vocal group and yet Ford didn't | change and many of the same issues showed up in '01. Another generation of | vocal and unhappy owners showed up on several forums. Now, the | svtperformance.com forums are home to the unhappy '03 owners with, yep, many | of the exact same complaints. It's funny to me that I see almost the exact | same threads on that forum that I remember reading back in '99. Almost the | exact language and the same threats are being discussed. | | I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that either Ford won't listen to | them either or Ford gets more postive feedback than negative, despite the | apparent wrath that gets show in internet forums. | | I know I'm happy :). Got the coil-overs in last week-end and it's like a new | car again ;). | | | -- | Dan | '03 Cobra convertible | With some stuff on it | |

You're damned right Chief.. Me and 12,000 other Cobra owners who are having problems. And this is just for ONE model. How do their other products fair these days? What if they have a million dissatisfied customers that will never return?

Sorry, but are you talking about the '03? Where do you see 12000 disatisfied '03 Cobra owners? Exactly like in '99 and '01 I see at most a couple dozen, maybe a hundred at most. Anywhere. I'm not disatisfied and I know many, many other '03 owners who aren't disatisified.

I remember when the '99 owners tried to get *everyone* to sign a petition on BON. A class action suit was even formed. I remember when '01 owners tried to get *everyone* to sign a petition. The '03 owners on svtperformance even tried it. It's all fizzled away because, so far, it would seem there are more happy folks than unhappy.

Sure, there are issues. Yep, Ford is fixing them. They are having mixed success just like they did in '99. But '99's still sell. '01's still sell. The majority of the owners I know from all three of the last years don't seem to be unhappy. What message is Ford supposed to be getting again?

Hey, don't get me wrong, we should all write Ford letters and give them criticism. It does help. But I wouldn't expect miracles unless you can truly get all the owners to agree :).

The '01 has its own set of problems, one of which is "The Ping" (a detonation issue) which Ford still hasn't fixed over 2 years later.

Several responses to that spring immediately to mind, but I'll be a disciplined young man and let it go. :)

Let's take a poll:

Of the '03 owners in this group, how many are having problems with their car?

I'll start by raising my own hand. My '03 Cobra convertible has

The tick The vibe The pop Plus various other more minor issues (like a trunk light that has an intermittent connection).

OK, everyone: your turn.

Uh huh.

Then why are there so many 2001 Cobra owners whose engines STILL ping even after two years? When do you suppose Ford is going to get around to replacementing them?

I have absolutely no QC issues with the Cobra. (And I can be pretty fussy) It don't "tick", it don't "vibe", it don't "pop", nor does it overheat. I don't much care for the suede on the seats and the blower is a tad loud, though. (but I ain't complainin') :D

The GT was in and out of the shop for minor issues throughout the first 30k miles. The Cobra hasn't been back to the dealer since it left the lot. :)

With approx. 8k miles, so far so good.