Hey all.....my first post here. Soon to be in a Ford Lariat from my Chevy. My question is this. Have any changes been made throughout the 05 manufacturing year. I know that from the 04's some things have been changed like driveshafts and such......but have the 05's changed at all. Would there be any advantages to buying a later build 05 instead of an earlier one. I have driven a few of these and most have driven ok but this one I drove was just exceptionally unbelievable in ride quality on the same road as most of the others were driven on. I looked and it had a build date of this month. 5/05. Do you think there was anything different about this truck than the other 05's I have been driving? Unfortunately the price on this particuliar one was more than I could really afford. Any ideas or suggestion. Thanks....this board is great!

 

I have a nov 04 built 2005 and haven't had a single problem with it in the 3k or so miles I've driven it. Other than my 05 didn't have a butyl pad on it I don't think they've made any changes to it...

Welcome to the board.

 

Bought my 05 in October. Now has 10K+ miles. Not a problem what so ever.

Smooth running, no surprises and just a good running truck.

 

From recent post here, Ford apparantly went to a larger brake caliber in Jan of 2005. This is apparantly causing fitment problems with some aftermarket 17 inch wheels.

 

There were a few changes, mostly decontenting stuff. There's a few options, like Homelink and a couple others, on the Lariat that were standard in '04 but are now optional for the '05 model year. Lariats have slightly darker colored wheels for '05s, and the tan leather interiors are darker.

 

There was also some changes in the exhaust systems from early 04 to late 04/05.

 

wow.....so i guess there have been changes made in progress. I was debating on whether to purchase one on the lot or to order one. i think i may order to be sure that any updates or fixes will be applied. i am sure they must have some reason for changing the brakes.

on another note....maybe someone with more new car buying experience can tune in to this question. if i order i should recieve in the first of july......what are the chances that the rebates or incentives will be less than they are now. thanks everyone

 

Mine was built Feb 05. I have just over 1400 miles in a little over 2 months. 0 problems but my wife actually drives it more doing what needs to be done. Our daughter has almost 6k on hers built in Jan 05 with 0 problems other then her attacking a Sonic Drive up sign with it and losing one of her 2 sets of keys. If anyone would have problems it would most likely be her but yet hers is also problem free until she loses this other set of keys.


Edited: She drove in today with a flat tire

 

I wonder if the 05 guys have any problems with brake dust.

 

Break dust is my only complaint with my 05. It has a build date of 1/05. I think is rides great.

 

My 05' Lariat has a build date of 11/04. I have had zero problems (other than a little paint issue but that was human error at the factory).

As far as ordering, if you can wait on it I would also order one. You get exactly what you want plus like you said you will most deffinitely get the newest updates.

 

Build date of 1/05 with over 2K miles. No problems and runs great.

 

Build date 10/04 Dearborn Michigan 5,400 miles no problems. With the exception of the giant plumes of dust that shoot from the wheels when I try and stop this beast!!!

 

Haha, yeah I think all of us are plagued by the brake dust that makes your wheels filthy within a day. But won't a $40 set of ceramic pads fix that problem and give you better stopping distances?

 

I thought a good set of ceramic pads were more expensive than that? If they are cheaper than the dust shields then I might have to go that route.