mail906

This is really unbelievable [and yes this is yet another leak thread]. I have been hawking the entire leak issue, and amember here in a recent post has identified the smoking gun - clear proof thatFordis hidinga known leak problem with aband-aid.

Many have asked and wondered why a piece of white foam exists over the electrical box (SJB) within their passenger compartment side kick panel. Well, in response to one of the threads here, one of our members has now posted this:

"... in Ford's factoryservice manual under the section on replacing theelectrical box ...(SJB) ... inside the passenger side kick panel, Ford refers to the foam sheet over the SJB as a "watershield" and cautions not to remove it when installing the new box ..."

If this is true, and it should be verified by someone with access to the manuals [which I do not have], here are the facts:

Ford designs and builds a vehicle with an electrical box (SJB) located inside the passenger cabin of the vehicle. In fact, the SJB isnestled between the outer fender and the interior kick panel. But for some reason - clearly known to Ford - they find the need to include a foam "watershield" to protect the SJB from water inflitration.

Certainly this is S_H_I_T product quality at it's finest, but it would seem that it is far more. It would appear that it is proof positive for those with the problem to demand that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) force a recall of the vehicle if only enoughowners notified NHTSA accordingly [another topic/strategy discussed on these forums].

It's black and white. The SN197 leaks, and Ford has know about it for a long time, and has yet to take appropriate action. And no; a TSB does not qualify. The manufacturer is responsible for fixing the vehicle. Writing a checklist - to be used only when a owner complains about the problem - is not the same as fixing the problem.

timothyrw

i thought recalls were only issued for safety issues.

i.e. potential fires, failing brakes, failures in steering, etc...

if it's not a safety issue, they really don't HAVE to issue a recall.

from recalls.gov

"The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the U.S. Department of Transportation provides recall information including vehicle and equipment campaigns from 1966 to present. The campaigns include motor vehicle products which experienced a safety-related defect or did not comply with federal motor vehicle safety standards:"

vphokie

I would say that a leak near an electrical box could qualify as a safetyissue. Water and electrical parts don't go very well together.

Juntech

I'm behind you all the way, Mail906. Though i am still waiting to order my own mustang, i would like to help the problem even if i don't have one yet. Believe you me, if i did have a Stang and it did LEAK i would be raising an army against Ford's negligence

timothyrw

you could say that unless there is an apparatus that exists toeliminate the safety issue which there is, the aforementioned "watershield"... he didn't mention the watershield in his original post to indicate that there was a safety concern, he used it as proof that ford knows there is a design flaw and uses the foam watershield toeliminate any safety concerns.

thus, all you have is a leak.

does the federal goverment force recalls on leaky sunroofs?

bad design? yes!

issue for the federal govt? no!

6xStang

unfortunately a few cars will need to burn and the cause verified as the leak, before there will be a safety recall........

With only the 12V box getting wet, I would expect any electrical problems to surface as functional problems not safety problems. (OK...sure if you ar trying to get away from a bad guy and your car won't start, it is a safety problem...or if your Shaker will only play Captain and Tenille, it is safety problem. But I don't think the NHTSA will view it that way).

Dean Martin

Could it impact the ability of the airbags to go off properly?

07 Stang

Interesting! I was looking around the passenger kick panel yesterday and I too found the mysterious white plastic covering around the smart box. What mail906 posted is exactly what I thought too, but I felt allaround on the carpet parts and so far I have not felt any signs of my car leaking. Someone had posted in another thread that Mustangs built after September 2006would not have a leaking issue. Does that mean Ford fixed the leak with this "band aid" white piece or did they really fix the problem and put that there to protect the smart box in case of any chance a leak would occur some place else over time?

Buckshot Barry

I think the leak problem has been addressed, but just on the newer 2007 cars. Look at the numbers from the poll. We know upgrades were installed on the frame for 2007 for the 5.4L, so maybe there were other changes.

https://mustangforums.com/m_2716008/tm.htm

Virgule

If you really wanna escalate this, go here: http://www.safercar.gov/ which is the NHTSA site where you can make an official, on the record, bjtch.