Hi all,

I'm not sure if this behavior is normal or not, but I find my 09 5.4L doesn't have the pickup I expect (especially when trying to merge onto a highway). I have to REALLY push down on the gas pedal (pretty much to the mat) before any type of real speed to happen.

Even when I'm doing 60mph or so and trying to pass someone tonight, I pretty much had to mat the pedal beore I got any pickup. The transmission even seemed buck when it down geared?

Anyways, is this what other 09 owners have seen as well with their 09's?

Thanks!

 

That is the lag from drive-by-wire that ford has put in place. I programmer will fix the lag and hesitation. My gryphon woke my truck right up. Yes they do add some power but the improved shifting and PCM management is well worth its cost. I do believe the programmers are getting geared up for a release of '09 products soon.

 

Thanks for the response.

Sorry for my ignorance, but what exactly does the programmer have to do? Would this be covered by the dealer under warranty?

Or, am I misunderstanding you, and this behavior is normal?

 

I have no problem with the pickup in the truck and I'm 30 and go to get it moving on the hwy. also had mustangs befor . the programmer he's talking about is an aftemarket deal

 

What gears do you have?

Probably no 3.73s...

 

I have the 3:55 limited slip.

It's not that the truck doesn't have power, I just didn't think I would have to give it that much gas

 

are you talked about giving it gas to kick it down in gears to get moving while merging?

 

Yes, the amount of gas pedal required before it down shifts. I thought it would be a smoother transition, not having to pretty much put the pedal to the floor.

I thought the shifting would be smoother in general, but maybe I'm not used to how a truck changes gears. Even going slow, the gears don't seem very smooth compared to a car.

This is my first truck btw.

 

Okay guys be gentle its his first truck hes expecting sports care performance it seems

Yes what you are experiencing is normal. You have a half ton vehicle your trying to go from 50-80 or so it takes a little more effort. over time you vehicle will learn your driving habits and require less input.

A programmer is something that basically reworks how the truck shifts and also gives you a little more performance. Something really nice to get on a large truck especially if you desire a little more pickup from your pickup

Not an expert thats just my quick explanation for you. Others will chime in im sure!

 

Here's what you do. Go rent an 05 F150. Drive it for a couple of weeks. THEN your 09 will seem very smooth by comparison.

If you've truly never driven a truck before, then I can understand your comments. In my opinion (my 09 is my 5th truck) this is the smoothest shifting, peppiest full size I've ever driven.

 

Thanks for your input guys. I definitely will get used to it, just more of a reassurance from REAL truck owners

This truck is amazing, just little questions I have here and there.

Take care

 

Yep this is normal. The truck does have the power to get going pretty quick for it's size and weight but the pedal doe have to be to the floor before it will downshift and it would drop from 6th to 2nd in most instances i do this so it feels like a rather nasty jolt when you suddenly drop to that gear and pull away. But it's a heavy truck so dont expect to to be anywhere as smooth as normal car because of the weight differene the trans is haveing to cope with.

 

I couldn't agree more, this 09 is so much smoother than my 05 and 07. Plus I was actually pleasantly suprised at how much passing power this 09 has compared to my last two trucks. My 07, felt like I was pulling 5k lbs when trying to pass. This new one actually puts me back in my seat a little bit.

These 09's really are impressive.

 

Bingo!! My '05 Lariat Screw was the same way...I had a hard time believing it had 300hp it moved so lethargically, especially off the line. Ford's engine management tuning is WAY too conservative (IMO). Nothing wrong with your '09 - it's just the drive by wire <delay> that is Ford's engine management programming. First thing I did to my '05 was add an Edge Evolution Tuner and it made a huge difference in overall drivabllity...went from being lethargic and sluggish to wide awake and happy to accelerate...the tuners are completly safe, and the stock tune can be reloaded in under a minute just by plugging into the OBDII port under your left knee (under the dash that is). I'm already checking with both Edge and Billy Dog into their planned tuners for the '09s....will be one of my primary mods...to put it another way, my brother is fairly "thrifty" and "mechanically challenged" and has never modded any of his vehicles....we both purchased new '05 lariat F-150's within two weeks of each other, and once he drove mine with the Edge tune uploaded, he couldn't get to his wallet fast enough to get me to order one for him...it's that big of a drivability difference. And, except for driving better, you wouldn't even know the truck has been modded as you simply unplug the tuner after uploading the tune and put it away in a drawer....I've never had any problems/issues with the tune - in the 3.5 yrs I've had it installed....

 

Hey Chrome - you are spot on...except - IIRC, aren't these trucks somewhere between 5 and 6 thousand lbs...that would make it a 2.5 to 3 ton vehicle in weight?