Despite a dizzying number of recalls over the last few years, Ford is confident that its quality-improvement strategy will reap positive results for buyers. In 2025, Ford CEO Jim Farley said its powertrain durability is now on par with Toyota’s. But the Blue Oval is also working hard to improve all areas of the customer experience, and that now includes the time it takes to have your Ford repaired. Given that Ford dealers complete 35 million repair orders annually, getting them done faster will be highly impactful. The company has now shared its bold ambition to help franchised dealership service departments achieve same-day vehicle repairs.
Related: 5 Changes Ford’s Making to Correct Recalls Costing It Billions
Ford Launches ‘Uptime Assist’ Initiative
In 2025, Ford launched an initiative known as Uptime Assist. Dealerships can enroll in it for free, with the goal being to achieve same-day customer repairs. While that hasn’t been achieved yet, Ford says it has already managed to cut hours off repair times. The service revolves around a team of 25 employees based in Michigan. This team, together with hundreds more based at global call centers, monitors each new repair order opened by dealerships. Should an order take longer than two days, Ford is alerted. The dealer is then contacted to find out if they require additional technical support or assistance in ordering parts. The dealer can also proactively contact Ford if a specific repair proves especially complex.
“Ensuring our dealers understand the importance of uptime is the biggest thing,” Daniel Justo, vice president of the Ford Customer Service Division, told Automotive News. “We want customers to be back on the road the same day.”
Although 70% of repairs are done in under two days, the average time is five days, indicating that a small number of repairs are taking especially long. However, Ford has already seen improvements in average waiting times for customers.
Reduced Repair Times Save Customers Money
Uptime Assist launched exactly a year ago, in February 2025. Since then, repair times have improved by 10 to 15%, equivalent to roughly half a day being saved. This is of particular value to fleet vehicles, as executives estimate a business can lose between $500 and $1,000 for each day a fleet vehicle is off the road.
Most of us have had to endure a frustrating wait for a specific car part at some point, and it’s this area that has seen the biggest improvement thanks to Uptime Assist. That’s according to Morris Smith III, owner of two Ford stores in Kansas, who enrolled one of his stores in Uptime Assist last year.
“One of the biggest complaints we’ve had as it relates to recalls is parts availability,” said Smith to Automotive News. “With Uptime Assist, a customer makes an appointment and parts get shipped, you do an inspection and already have the part on hand. It definitely helps from a customer satisfaction standpoint, as well as from a dealer standpoint with throughput.”
One example given by Smith was the replacement of an A-pillar in several Ford Explorer SUVs that were recalled. This was a 20-minute job, but the wait times extended to days because parts weren’t available.
Related: Ford Recalls 412,774 Explorer SUVs Again Over Rear Suspension Fracture Risk
Why It Matters
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The aftersales experience can significantly impact brand loyalty in the automotive industry. A year or two of good service from a new car can be completely undone by one bad experience at a dealership.
Last year, Ford ranked below-average in the U.S. Customer Service Index (CSI) Study by J.D. Power, far below brands like Subaru, Honda, and Chevrolet. This study came out weeks after Uptime Assist launched, so it will be interesting to see the results from this year’s study.
It’s encouraging to see a prominent mass-market brand like Ford taking nothing for granted. This is an automaker that sold over two million cars in the U.S. alone in 2025, so it’s easy for complacency to set in. If Uptime Assist continues to succeed at the current rate, it could be a crucial part of Ford rebuilding trust after years of recalls and quality concerns.
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