Well, I finally picked up my Screw FX4 on Monday 2 weeks ago, went home, packed the truck, and hit I-94 West with 25 miles on the clock. When I returned yesterday, I had clocked 5,055 miles…

The first 100 miles I alternated the rpm’s quite a bit without pushing it at all, then the next 400 I stayed below 2,000 rpm somewhat steady (whatever traffic allowed – I don’t use cruise control at all), and by the time I hit I-70 in Denver, the odo was over a 1,000 and it was time to press the machine a bit through the mountains, let’s just say that only a Porsche 911 passed me on the climb. Then to Moab, UT, did the Schaefer Trail from Moab to Canyonlands, Arches, then down to Mesa Verde in Colorado, back via Mexican Hat to Monument Valley, to Glen Canyon Dam and Antilope Canyon in Page, AZ, then Grand Canyon and its Caverns, Hoover Dam, Vegas, Fire Canyon, Zion, Bryce, and finally once more through the Rockies back to Michigan.

I rode through sun, rain, snow and sleet, covered nice and smooth highways, scary pothole covered scenic byways, Interstates in pretty sad wavy shape (mostly I-80 through Nebraska), jeep roads, rocky stuff (Schaefer trail), washboard, sandy valley trails, hairpin curves, super mountain climbs and fast descents, tried out the 4x4 high and low and pretty much put the truck though its paces.

So I believe I have gotten to know my new truck on this trip and here are my experiences and comments:

 

Mileage:

Best tank got me 450 miles, on 27 gallons. By speeding constantly between 85 and 95 for a few 100 miles straight, I was still able to get 350 miles, not too shabby.


Positives:

1. The truck cruises at 90mph like a dream, totally quiet aside from the wind, no rattles, no shakes, no engine or exhaust noises – quite a new experience compared to previous trucks. And even the wind noise is OK, just the wind blowing around a big truck. There is of course some tire noise on certain asphalt types.

2. The fit and finish of the interior and exterior materials, borders and seams are very unlike Ford, as they are surprisingly very good. There are even spaced gaps throughout the cabin, the hood lines up perfectly, the bed is centered and even.

3. The paint is of good quality (I had quite a few issues with flying debris and have surprisingly very few rock chips)

4. The interior looks very good, almost car like, smooth lines, sweet design, good job Ford

5. The exterior is rather massive (which is good) and simply the best looking truck out there. I always made it a point to park next to a Chevy, Dodge or Toy to compare sizes (a boy thing I suppose) and I always had a smirk on my face when walking away. Even compared the <’03 Screws the ’04 seems more massive (even though the exterior dimensions are pretty much the same)

6. The trucks 4x4 seems to work well, the front pulls noticeably when engaged (good, compared to a rear pushing 4x4), it is smooth through sand and I expect it to be smooth in the snow

7. The transmission shifts smoothly

8. Acceleration is what you want it to be, when you floor it, it goes (there is no hesitation with the drive-by-wire system on my truck). I am of course somewhat bias as I owned a ’00 Lightning before and still have a 560 HP Big Block Chevy in the garage. You can never have enough power in a vehicle, but considering the weight of the ’04 Screw FX4, Ford did a pretty good job… did someone say supercharger???

9. Even in overdrive at about 2,000 rpm the truck pulls nicely on some highway inclines without loosing too much speed (not like a Powerstroke of course, but enough)

10. The truck handles surprisingly well through the curves, I would consider the road-holding capabilities rather excellent, even far past the posted speed-limits. The truck has hardly any lean and corners solid.

11. Braking capabilities are excellent

12. If you don’t need a massive stereo, the base CD setup is OK, remember, the truck is quiet to start with, so there is not too much noise to overcome in the first place

13. I really appreciate the large center storage space, and change in the provided coin holders does not rattle


Issues:

1. I have a serious doubt about the functionality of the passenger side airbag. It is turned on by someone of a certain weight sitting in the passenger seat. In the same token it is turned off when not enough weight is applied. So when a passenger shifts his or her weight, or bends backwards to get something, or bends sideways for whatever reason, the airbag turns off (at least the airbag off light comes on). If the airbag deployment is directly linked to the indicator light, the system has some serious issues and may cause some serious injury (or worse) in a crash. Maybe some expert can shed some light on this issue.

2. There is a noticeable slip in the differential or transmission when cornering and accelerating. I had the same phenomena with my 2000 Lightning, but not as bad. I don’t really know what to make of it yet.

3. The truck is strangely enough quite vulnerable to side wind, despite its weight.

4. There are quite some “high pitch” vibrations in the truck on rougher roads (and I don’t mean off road, just your plain ride on sadly enough pretty normal Interstates). There are no rattles from the truck, but everything which is not bolted down, will totally annoyingly start to vibrate, things like bottles, loose change, plastic bags, hard items in your door storage bins and such

5. I have the sunroof and with an open roof you cannot exceed 30mph without causing serious wind noises and massive air trying to pry between the roof and the sunroof liner. I suppose a roof channel/wind deflector would cure this problem. Also I would opt for the power rear sliding window on a Screw if I would have to order another one, this would let the wind exit and make the noise more bearable.

6. Regarding the stereo, CD’s with rough textured labels have a hard time ejecting and all CD’s are rather very warm after being played.

7. There is a distinct vibration coming from the front speakers at deeper bass at quieter settings. And it is the plastic panel and not the speaker. When the stereo is turned up, it is not noticeable. I am wondering how the panels hold up with the more powerful system?

8. The rear view is very limited in city driving / parking, hiding small cars quite well, so watch out you Cooper owners…

9. As mentioned in another post, I have a problem with my driver seat cushion not being even, it is sagging in the left rear, making me lean towards the middle. Not much, but enough to notice.

10. The weight of the truck clearly limits its off-road capability, or at least puts a serious dent in the fun factor. Not that the new F-150 is not capable, but the bouncing weight over rocks and uneven rock surfaces or washboard just seems to terrorize the whole suspension set-up.

11. The front rotor brake dust has been discussed extensively on this board, so I just wanted to mention it as an issue

 

Ford Cost Savings?:

1. I totally dislike the fact that Ford does not provide a sunglass storage in front of the sun roof (there would be plenty of space for a small door like storage space)

2. I have the base Stereo with the single CD and it is quite strange how half the buttons have no function. The face seems to be identical to the fancier CD changer version, which seems rather idiotic.

3. The buttons to adjust the seats (power driver seat and manual passenger seat) are plastic of the cheapest kind, not even deburred. One accidental kick with a work boot while entering or exiting the truck will certainly bust them right off

4. The black plastic on the steering wheel (between ring and the center) as well as the plastic base of the radio head are very soft and very easily permanently scratched.

5. There are no lights on the sunshade mirrors, not even on the passenger side, now how expensive could they be?

6. No engine compartment light

7. The fuel cap should be lockable, or at least there should be a door release button. Also, there is just an old plain hole for the fuel, no safety flap which needs to be pushed in, very inviting to the sugar-bandit

8. The grey somewhat textured plastic on the center console/dash (captain chairs) is apparently bonded onto a black base plastic, easily rubbed off, exposing the said ugly black plastic underneath. Over time this will be an issue, as my girlfriend already managed to rub off a small patch in the leg area

9. The shift lever on the center shifter is wrapped in very cheep sounding and feeling plastic. Ford should provide a lever to either match the black leather steering wheel or the faux carbon panel inserts (preferred).

10. There should be some kind of protection for the exposed fog light housings to prevent flying rocks of the tires damaging them.

11. I dislike the fact the rear vents are just plain black in a FX4 Screw, compared to the fancy chrome ringed grey ones in the front, just plain cheap


Nitpicky Nags:

1. I am a very visual person, so I have to make this comment, when driving at night in total darkness the light from the speedo cluster backlights the battery indicator on the bottom left enough to make it faintly lit, creating an uneven picture. As I say, I notice the small things sometimes.

2. In the same category falls the fact that the FX4 letters in the dash are not optically centered. They are certainly in the center, but as the italic letters are not straight, it looks like they are off (to me)

3. I also dislike the fact that the letters and numbers in the electronic display are not bolt enough (they are to thin). It is OK at night, but in the daylight it takes some getting used to

4. The O/D button on the center shifter does not light up at night, is it supposed to (it should)?

5. The engine oil dipstick should be made out of one piece and maybe a little thicker to avoid bending the thing while checking the oil

6. The air-filter box and supply line are way to small, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to see that the engine could be breather much easier, so I guess some aftermarket guy is going to cash in on a newly designed air intake some time soon

7. I have a problem when the dimensions given by Ford for the ’04 F-150 do not include the side mirrors and I have to find out when trying to pull into the garage that it will not fit without modifying the door (next project)

8. It seems odd that in all the quietness of the cab that you can clearly hear the clicking of the high beam relay…

9. The Ford snap soft-cover is junk in my opinion, it flaps in the wind at high speed, it is too short in my opinion as it barely covers touches the rear bed lip, it is square and the outline of the bed is not. So optically it is not a good fit, and it bothers me every time I look in the rearview mirror when I see it flap around. I can actually see the rear of the frame rail slightly lifting off when on the Interstate.





All in all I love the truck, the dark shadow grey metallic looks majestic and chic, the medium flint interior leather matches nicely, and the 18” wheels round off the package.

Some of my “Ford Cost Savings” and “Nitpicky Nags” could be argued by saying “it is a truck, so what do you expect”. But I believe that once a truck’s window sticker hovers close to the $40,000 mark, certain expectations, particular the very basic ones, have to be met.

What would I do different if I would be in the market for a new truck right now? I would get the same truck and would add the power rear window option, that’s it. Where is the button for the rear window located by the way?

 

Nice review, thanks....

The Power Rear Sliding Window switch is next too the Power Sunroof Switch.

 

WOW now thats a trip. Good write up. I enjoyed reading it.

 

Thanks for the review I have been keeping a list of my small gripes over the past 6500 miles and will try and post it tom.

 

A 5000 mile road trip! With only 25 miles on the clock! Way to go! I appreciate your spirit.

I'm a big road trip guy myself, having hit many of the places you listed last March, albeit in a rented Lincoln Navigator (which is similar to '04). I just got my new truck yesterday and will be hauling my 21' bassboat to Florida next month. Not quite the epic journey you took, but about half of it. You've answered many questions about roadworthiness of this truck on long hauls, except for towing part.

One question though.....You commented on it being vulnerable to cross winds, but how do you feel about the steering on the highway without the wind. The reason I ask is that my previous '01, '99 and '97 F-150's all drifted/wandered just a bit on the highway. Not the dreaded "twin I-beam drift", but just enough to warrant constant small corrections. I'm hoping for better on center feel out of this new truck.

Anyhow Venusfly, thanks for the good reading and congrats on your new truck.

I'm jealous of your roadtrip however, as mine from Md. to Fl. doesn't offer much scenery wise. I just don't have any family in Utah........

 

The steering is solid, light and centered, and under normal not-too-windy conditions there are barely any corrections necessary.

So if you are not too rear heavy pulling your boat, it should not pose a problem.

Have fun on your trip.

 

Nice write up. I have the exact same truck. Cool pic! I'll have to forward it around to my friends and tell them I went there, haha..

 

I also have the exact same FX4 DS Gray with Flint leather. Except I opted for the rear power slider you talked about, and the Audiophile. The rear slider does work nicely with the sunroof to let the breeze flow thru. The Audiophile is nice, but I miss the lost storage under the rear seat.

 

Nice write up, great pic. I have the exact same truck exept a Super Cab. I agree with you on the issues up to number 5. From 6 on, I dont have those issues. I did notice however that the automatic dimmer doesnt dim out the sun when it is directly behind you...I dont get that. Even on the Scab I wish I had gotten the power rear window. I also noticed that everything not nailed down vibrates on dirt roads. If you notice the flap in the front of the moonroof, if you push it down with your fingers, the wind noise is reduced substancially. ??? I also noticed that if the doors on the Scab arent very tightly shut, a vibration and a squeak result on dirt roads with washboards. And yep, I noticed that limited slip feeling too.
Sunglass storage would be nice, I hate the plastic on the shifter, cant belive there isnt a light under the hood or in the glove compartment and O/D button, and I dont see why Ford couldnt put the same display for mi/trip etc. as the Lariat.
Whats the Ford soft snap cover?
But like you, I love the truck! I took it hunting and put my first mod on it, the ARIZONA PIN STRIP! It can probably be buffed out though.

 

My radio on/off/volume **** is not illuminated.
Is it supposed to be? Rather odd.

04 FX4 Screw w/ audiophile.

 

Is is correct, my radio on/off/volume button is not illuminated either. I suppose it's normal...

 

Congrats on your new truck. Your experience and comments were well written. The pic is great. You should submit it to 4-Wheeler magazine.

 

Excellent write-up! Very honest and very informative, I'm sure everyone is appreciative of your efforts to keep track of everything and write it all out for us here!