Bearing Noise Delays Ford Edge, Lincoln MKX(Pic)

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. Ford Edge (courtesy Ford) 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.