Last year I took a chance on a 04 f-150. Prior to my 02 F-150, I was a Loyal F-150 owner. One year has passed and here's my progress report on my 04 F-150.

My F-150 is a reg cab 4wd XLT long box with a 5.4 355 LTD slip. I'm employed in residential construction and My truck is driven daily on and off road depending on locations of job sites.

First problem were the Hancook tires, Replaced them due to side wall blow outs and because the tire is to lite to carry a 1/2 ton pay load.

Second problem which is repeating, charging, Starting, electrical problems, Batery would run down after ten minutes listing to the radio, than truck would not start.

Alternator was replaced and a reflash done, now I suspect the Battery is toasted.

Third problem, Brakes, Front brake pads failed to make it to 20,000 KM, Ford resurfaced all four rotors and replaced the front brake pads, Brakes are working fine.

What I don't like abought the 04 F-150 are the following, Staggerd Rear shocks, might just be the factery shocks causing my truck to hop scotch across pot holes, expansion joints, ect.

I'm not impressed with the interior lay out and poor quality seat fabric and carpet in the XLT, Also, the arm rest's on the doors are to low, hit them all the time with my knee and I whish thier was more leg room in this truck, I also miss the temp/compass pod that was on the 02/03 F-150 XLT

The extra back doors on the reg cab are a joke, Give me bigger driver pass doors, and throw away the back doors, exrta room behind the seats is great for storage, small items..

I like the rack and pinion stearing, my truck cornors on a dime, possibly the rear shocks improve handeling at the expense of utility. ( Bouncy over rough roads, Hop scotchs.. )

The 5.4 3V engine in my truck is quite good on gas, I wish the engine was quicker accelerating, but I have learned this truck acelerates best with O/D off, I aviod throttle lag if I'm not forcing the Transmisson to down shift out of third gear.

Pay load is impressive, With the upgraded 10 ply LT tires on this truck, I have had over 3/4 of a ton of sand, bricks, dry wall, ply wood, ect, but Ford did a bad design with the front lip on the box behind the cab, it's raised out half way up the top, limits the 4x8 sheet's of ply wood/dry wall you can carry with tail gate clossed, the extral depth in the box is welcome.

urganomicly (sp) Ford went back wards in comparison to the previous generation 97-03 Reg cabs I have owned, My pet peave.

My 04, has not had a stearing/vibration issue and so far is 100000000 times nore reliable than my last Ford F-150....Ford has to quit putting cheap tire's, battery and shocks in thier trucks, I'm bassing this my expierances, So far I give My Truck a A.

 

Good resume! How many Kilometers has your truck?

 

I have the two-tone seating in the XLT and love it. And as for the carpet, i have the scabs all weather floor mats w/ one of the rear matts flipped to be verticle for the middle seat and i use the other one for the rear of the regular cab and it hides the light carpet.

Mine aren't staggered

 

as far as the rear shocks being on the outside I think it I a great thing it helps the truck corner so much better. as far as it handeling the potholes and bumps. I think it is your shocks. I got the fx4 and I am vary impressed at how well it takes potholes and speed bumps. I have never had a rig I could speed over a speed bump comfortably untill this one. you should replace your shocks with the fx4 ones I think that would solve that part of the issue.
I agree with you on the low quality seat material and carpeting. thats why I got seat covers and floor liners. I like every think else about the interior though.
I can not believe how many people on here have had brake issues with these trucks. my front rotors are warped and my truck is in the shop getting them fixed right now. I hope they are putting on better rotors and pads that won't warp again so soon. they are also reflashing the pcm with a updated one that should help the poor acceleration problem.
but over all I am happy with my truck as long as the issues are taken care of under warrantee I am all good.

 

I second that... The carpet isnt too bad, could be thicker. My only dislike with the interior at this point are the god awful cheap floor mats. They do not cover enough area, also an issue with our 05 expedition. After only a year of use and 16,7XX miles, there is a hole worn through the carpet and rubber backing where my heel rests. Not impressive considering my 81 Bronco with 250,000 miles is still running the originals.

 

are you kidding me bigger doors. i dont know where you park but im skinny and can barly get out of my truck cause the doors are so big. i'm always having to hold them while i sqeeze out so i dont hit another car.

 

If you have an XLT.. It should read outside temperature and have a compass.

My XLT does.

 

I wish my 04 was holding up that good..

 

My screen is very bright so i dont know if some of you will be able to see the floor mats, but you get the point...

 

I'm at 23,000 km right now....Rear Shock's out side the frame is what I should have said instead of stagerd...and yes, I do have a compass and temp....also the doors on the 97 to 03 reg cab are bigger than than the o4 f-150..

 

Quite frankly, I HATE the seats with a passion. The cloth seats in my 98 were so comfortable and didnt stain with every thing that touches them.

I LOVE the 5.4L 3V engine because the power potential it has. I know some of you guys hate the stock config. All this engine needs is a few bolt ons and it wakes up ten fold. TRUST ME.

I do dislike the drivetrain. The rear diff clunks at low speeds and it just doesnt feel sturdy or reliable. Tranny doesnt seem too strong either.

My 98 F150 2WD XLT Supercab with a 4.6L and 3:08 gears was THE most impressive vehicle I owned. I traded it in March 2004 and I hated to see it go. In 6 years it never saw the inside of a dealer or service shop. Ever. It had 89,000 miles when I traded it and it looked brand new. I keep my vehicles very meticulous.

I am a speed freak so I wanted my RCSB 5.4L and Ford offered it when I special ordered the truck. I have done alot to the truck and the potential is there for more. The performance has been amazing. BUT, if I could go back...

I would have dropped some 3:73's in my 98, supercharged it, dropped some 20's with low profile tires, lowered it 2/4 and had some fun. After all, it was paid off and I loved it.

But, I love my 2004 too. It just has some tweaks to be worked out.

Brakes need fixed (pads and rotors)
Engine click needs resolved (not the injectors)
Drivetrain clunk needs fixed
Seats need some covers
Rear shocks need to be more sturdy. The bed looks like it shakes when I drive or hit bumps.

Thats about it.

 

Good review.

I agree that the interior fabric they are using with the new bodystyle trucks is not the best feature of the vehicle. I truly HATED the material when I first saw it, but now that I have lived with the truck for awhile I am growing more accepting of it. I have to say that the actual design of the seat frame is pretty nice, though.

As far as the carpet goes (I have an XLT) I have to agree that it is not very plush. Everytime I hop into my truck I see the carpet and think to myself that I have carpet that looks as if it should be in the XL model, not the XLT!

There are not enough miles on my truck (only 325 miles after two months of ownership) to make any comments on the mechanics of the vehicle (other than the frustrating Ford brake dust) although I have noticed none of the clunks, shakes, or shimmies that some owners have mentioned. The only sound I hear driving around town is the sweet purr of my Magnaflow cat-back system!

I also have to admit that I am intrigued about possibly adding some aftermarket shocks to see what kind of impact they might have on the handling of the vehicle -- from some of the posts I have read the results have been encouraging (?).

 

The seats and fabric SUCK, in both comfort and stain protection, I dont mind the look!! Ive spoken to a gentleman who works in the R&D dept and he laid it down plain and simple, they fret over pennies when picking this stuff. Ford uses the very cheapest materials the can find that meet the minimum spec. Wouldnt you think theyd spend a little extra $$$ where WE spend ALL of our time while using these things? I rode for 20 minutes in the passengers seat of a new chevy last weekend and walked away longing for a GM truck. What makes matter worse is since they put the damn seatbelts in the seats, we have no aftermarket choices either.

 

Hellbound, how about some Sparco racing seats? Now that would be serious!

 

The Leather in the 04 etc is nice.
Ive had real good luck with mine, only had a few minor problems, i had the clunck and the nibble and my power rear window went out and my a/c wasnt too cold, all fixed right the first time and i have no problems not even any rattles.