Overheating ecoboost when towing
#16
09-05-2014, 05:11 PM
2011 Ford F-150 EcoBoost Heating issue
I have a 2011 ecoboost with max tow (35,000 miles) and I keep getting the dash lighting up for overheating when I tow up a grade. I am pulling a 2012 Jayco Eagle 284BHS, which dry is 7,066 lbs, and when last scaled loaded was at 7,943. I had pulled this with my 2004 f150 a few times which pulled very well but worked a bit too hard for my comfort, then later upgraded to a new to me 2011.
On my last trip from Salt Lake City, UT to Bear Lake, ID the dang thing lit the dash up like Christmas 5 total times. The 1st time was on I-15 where it was fairly flat. I pulled over and it cooled very quickly. The other 4 times it was pulling up the canyon, and it was in the upper 90’s when this happened. It was even worse on the way back. We had left late in the evening and it was 78 degrees and I had to limp that bastard all of the way up Sardine canyon. There is no shoulder or pull offs, and traffic was blazing by. I was fit to be tied.
The next day I took it into the dealership to report the issues and show them the video I took of it with my phone. They inquired about fuel octane and I told them that is all the truck ever gets. They had it for 4 days and called me back to say that they couldn’t find any codes other than an overrev code (no idea how that ever happened) or couldn’t find any issues. They had contacted Ford, and the response that they were given was that this is a known issue with select F150 ecoboost trucks, and that there currently was no fix available. I am to check back every couple of weeks to see if any updates are available.
Anyone else have this problem, and if so what solutions were you able to find? I am pissed that I have the most capable half ton ever, but only on a cool day going downhill.
On my last trip from Salt Lake City, UT to Bear Lake, ID the dang thing lit the dash up like Christmas 5 total times. The 1st time was on I-15 where it was fairly flat. I pulled over and it cooled very quickly. The other 4 times it was pulling up the canyon, and it was in the upper 90’s when this happened. It was even worse on the way back. We had left late in the evening and it was 78 degrees and I had to limp that bastard all of the way up Sardine canyon. There is no shoulder or pull offs, and traffic was blazing by. I was fit to be tied.
The next day I took it into the dealership to report the issues and show them the video I took of it with my phone. They inquired about fuel octane and I told them that is all the truck ever gets. They had it for 4 days and called me back to say that they couldn’t find any codes other than an overrev code (no idea how that ever happened) or couldn’t find any issues. They had contacted Ford, and the response that they were given was that this is a known issue with select F150 ecoboost trucks, and that there currently was no fix available. I am to check back every couple of weeks to see if any updates are available.
Anyone else have this problem, and if so what solutions were you able to find? I am pissed that I have the most capable half ton ever, but only on a cool day going downhill.
#17
09-09-2014, 11:03 AM
#18
09-10-2014, 02:40 PM
Ford Customer Service Team
Paul, I too have a 2011 F-150 XLT with EcoBoost and a 3:55 rear end. I thought I had the cat's meow purchasing this with dual turbos etc. Driving it back from Iowa pulling a 28 foot travel trailer weighing in at around 8,000 and pulling a gradual incline my wife stated you have a heat warning on the dash and I sure did. I immediately took it out of cruise and tried to figure what was causing it. I thought it would have plenty of power to pull a hill like this which it did, however it began to overheat. I slowed down and the heat gauge immediately came down. Since then while pulling a hard incline, I have found that if I slow down to 50 or so rather than 60, it remains cool. It is when I put my foot into it is when it heats up on me. Totally shocked it does this with all this power. Turbos must be overheating the engine or the cooling system can't keep up. I am looking for a more concrete solution other than this if there is one.
Have you spoke with your Ford Dealer about this?
Nick
#19
10-16-2015, 11:07 PM
Hi All,
Same problems as described earlier. Have a 2012 FX4 Max tow pkg. tow with premium a 24 ft toy box empty new weights in at 6850lbs and goes into reduced power overheat on the pass from Vegas to Pahrump. Been to the dealer 3 times! Last time had my trailer and the tech towing the pass to prove what was happening. Was only 79 F. outside! Truck has only 41,000 miles on it. Ford hot line just says..... Its normal for what I am asking it to do. Give me a break..... What a line of crap. Head sensor read normal also. Too many people having this problem for them to not know what is wrong. Any suggestions? Thanks
Same problems as described earlier. Have a 2012 FX4 Max tow pkg. tow with premium a 24 ft toy box empty new weights in at 6850lbs and goes into reduced power overheat on the pass from Vegas to Pahrump. Been to the dealer 3 times! Last time had my trailer and the tech towing the pass to prove what was happening. Was only 79 F. outside! Truck has only 41,000 miles on it. Ford hot line just says..... Its normal for what I am asking it to do. Give me a break..... What a line of crap. Head sensor read normal also. Too many people having this problem for them to not know what is wrong. Any suggestions? Thanks
#20
10-19-2015, 10:31 AM
I talked with a fellow camper this summer and he said he bypassed the radiator and installed a fan cooled transmission cooler. Another model truck but made sense. You are removing the additional transmission heat from the radiator.
I believe from my experience they don't have a large enough radiator to handle the heat generated by the turbos. The reason I think it is the radiator size is I have pulled the same passes at two different times. Once when it was over 100 degrees and I really had to slow down to around 25 mph to keep from overheating and once when it was in the 80's and didn't heat up but barely once going 50 - 55 mph. That tells me cooling capacity.
Now I go up passes slow and it doesn't overheat and go down equally as slow so the brakes don't overheat. I did it this summer on some 7 and 8 percent passes and had no problems.
#21
10-19-2015, 02:16 PM
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Heh Vegas. Same truck here, 12 with max tow. Only one ever PCM update at 60000km just before my holiday this past July towing through the Okanagan in BC. After the "overheating" incident on the way home I got it in the shop and it showed CHT temp sensor code, engine speed code, and one other I can't remember. But no resolution from Ford. I live 4-6 hours away from these hills so trying to replicate will be virtually impossible. I suspect I will NEVER get the real reason this happened. I'm just waiting to hear from someone that this happens to and then over reacts to the bells and whistles coming from their dash and gets in an accident trying to pull over in the mountains where sometimes this is just not possible. If this happens to me again I'm just gonna go pedal to the metal and hope she blows up cause that's what I have extended warranty for!
#22
10-19-2015, 04:32 PM
Hey guys, new to this forum. Same problem here can't tow up a hill in my EB without overheating, it does cool down immediately as soon as I let off or start going downhill. Didn't know that pressurized water can cool that fast which leads me to believe its something else. Might be worth mentioning that my truck has 50,000 miles and this only started happening after the dealer did the radiator flush on my truck. So I took it back to the dealer and told them to fix their mistake since I didn't have this problem before. They cant find anything wrong with it, no stored codes no leaks nothing, all fans work.
#25
10-20-2015, 10:36 AM
Ford Customer Service Team
Crystal
#26
10-20-2015, 01:25 PM
#27
10-20-2015, 01:49 PM
Ford Customer Service Team
I sent a PM to you this morning on another site you post on. Let me know if you have any difficulty finding my message.
Crystal
#28
10-20-2015, 05:56 PM
#29
10-20-2015, 11:30 PM
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Some things you guys have to consider.
1. Elevation kills performance, you loose 3-4% per 1000 ft.
2. The harder you push the truck, the more heat you generate. No matter how much ford can test these trucks there will always be a longer harder hill than what they live test against. Including the previous comment this multiplies the effects of altitude issues.
3. Forced induction generates ALOT of heat.
Take that into consideration when towing your trailers. Back out of the throttle a little bit and grab one more gear and you should be fine. Maybe roll the windows down and blast the heater to eliminate hot temps.
Hope this helps...
1. Elevation kills performance, you loose 3-4% per 1000 ft.
2. The harder you push the truck, the more heat you generate. No matter how much ford can test these trucks there will always be a longer harder hill than what they live test against. Including the previous comment this multiplies the effects of altitude issues.
3. Forced induction generates ALOT of heat.
Take that into consideration when towing your trailers. Back out of the throttle a little bit and grab one more gear and you should be fine. Maybe roll the windows down and blast the heater to eliminate hot temps.
Hope this helps...
#30
10-26-2015, 07:03 PM