Ram, I just can't handle the PRND shift dial on the dash next to the radio with an 8 speed trany. Soooooooo Sorry!

 

Get used to it - I hear that one of the new Lincolns will have an electronic pushbutton trans.

Hehehe - I had a pushbutton trans in a 1958 Chrysler!

 

I had a plymouth with the push button one and it wouldn't shift until the car warmed up. Really was a downer at times. The car was a cool 57 tho just not for me over time i owned it. Willnever buy the Ram too.

 

More numbers for the mpg.

The end of next month, I will have owned the truck for two years. There is a fair amount of mpg data here for anyone interested.

Yesterday, filled up. 396mi. 17.97 by hand with a 17.9 on board. Driving style and winter gas/weather taking it's toll on my mpg. I fear that my average may have dropped below 20. Still, 19.XX aint such a bad average.

The truck has been running great. My only complaint, and it's been there since I got the truck, is it's occational refusal to properly downshift, when I tell it I want to get moving quickly. It's extremely annoying. The tuner didn't stop it. I think that I'll bring it up to the dealer at my next service.

 

Get an F150 !

 

Ok. A couple more numbers for this thread. Filled up tonight. After 448mi, got a hand calculated 19.73 with a 19.6 onboard.

Had a couple trips to hiking trails on roads that this truck generally likes. Todays trip up to VT had a lot of hills that were seemingly chipping away at my mpg, but at some point I had to go down the hills too. The onboard readout was as low as 18.4 but by the time I pulled into the gas station it was a reasonable place.

I've got to say something about this truck, which probably isn't just to do with the 3.7. This transmission can be EXTREMELY irritating at times. I've complained here about the reluctance to downshift. Well on the way home tonight, we were going through the hills of VT, in heavy fog. I'm not so familliar with this route so I had to be pretty damn cautious. At times I couldn't see more than a car length ahead of me, so I had to ease into the throttle. The transmission could not make up it's mind an seemed to be shiffting at random. I understand why it shifted so often, but it would be nice if there were a way to hold fouth for a while. Honestly, this truck would be a much better truck with a manual transmission.

 

wittom: Have you ever tried the Manual (M) mode of the automatic trans? I haven't used it much, and if I'm in that mode, it's probably a mistake, but I wonder if you or anyone has ever had success using it in situations like you describe, where a person wants more control without the transmission or computer thinking for you. Isn't that selection (Manual) designed to give you pretty much full control of what gear you're in? It may not be as good as an actual manual trans, but would it be enough for what you want the truck to do? As I understand it, you have to hit the + or - button to change gears when you are in Manual mode., and unless you are doing something the computer says will hurt the truck, it will do what you want.

 

I have a base model truck which doesn't have the select shift transmission. Though this truck has been great in most ways, there are times when I wish I'd got something a little better. Sometimes I think that I should get something a little better.

I'd be curious to hear from folks with the select shift transmission, to know if it's a cure to the problem I had.

 

Hi Whittom,

Have you taken your truck into Ford? Possibly the issue can be fixed. But the select shift would definitely help you if the truck is in a situation where its not sure what gear to be in. It will pretty much allow you to hold gear as long as you want but if engine gets too meek, it will downshift automatically. It will hold very well - great for towing up a hill. It is very much like a Manual when in M mode.

Hey - we all wish we bought something better. I bought a 5.0L F150 SuperCab. Now I wish I had more options. Especially a back up cam - that would be handy. And many times I wish I had a 3.7L like yours. My total fuel economy is about 16.1 mpg over about 10,000 miles. I have never reset Trip A on the odomoeter so I get a total average of fuel economy from all driving. So your doing alot better than me in fuel economy. Around town, my economy really is low in range of 12 mpg without 4X4 on. Im sure yours is much better in town. The 3.7L has a much nicer feel as well when accelerating. I believe more of its torque is at lower rpms. I wish the 5.0L was like that.
You have a great truck- and remember that it doesnt have to be the last one you will own.

 

Witton, I am still dying to drive the v-6. As mentioned last year, I rented a 5.0 and got 19 mpg on mostly highway. Since it was a rental I don't know axle ratio. Its easy to always long for something. Hey, even I get tired of driving a 381 hp tundra and long for something with better fuel mileage. I would not want the v-6 without the select shift though.

 

Knowing what I know now, I concur.

When I bought my truck, I was too focused on price. My truck stickered at just over 31k. I didn't want to get higher than that. I wanted a rcsb. I wanted the 3.7. I didn't want chrome. If I could get a do over I would have paid a little more and opted for an XLT, delt with the chrome and perhaps even gone for the 5.0, with 3.55's. I've had car payments for way too long now. I need to keep one for a while. This truck isn't perfect, but a majority of the time I'm happy driving it. I'm going to try to hang onto it for a while. We'll see what Ford offers down the road. Maybe they will have something that better suites my wants/needs.

 

Hi Wittom,

If your truck is the grey one in the picture, its a nice looking truck. I see you swapped rims with the newer style. But if you are not happy with it, you could post an add on Kijiji in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick or Ontario. Trucks are much more expensive in Canada. If you are willing to go through the process, you can sell it in Canada, get most or all your money back, then buy something new.

After reading your posts, Id recommend a F150 XL Regular Cab EcoBoost. It will give you the performance you are looking for plus the better fuel economy over years of ownership. Id get the Ecoboost if I could go back.

 

The truck is just the way I got it new. Other than the bed cover. The STX decor package gave me the 18" wheels. The STX trim level looks cool on the outside, while remaining pretty simple on the inside.

I wouldn't say that I'm unhappy. This is really a good truck. I'm just a bit too critical at times. I've traded my trucks in after just a few years, for years now. There is always going to be something better.

I'm getting older now. Would like to, but don't need to drive as fast as I used to. I'm more concious about how much money I'm putting into the gas tank. I could use that monthly car payment on better things, though that is a very hard thing for me to admit. I still like new stuff. Better stuff. But I need money more than new stuff right now. I need to be happy with what I've got. Like I said in the last post, a majority of the time, I am happy driving this truck.

 

Mine figures in at 7 miles to the dollar. My temps are in the 40's and mostly expressway around the mega-op-olis.

 

That's really good. I'm only getting 6-6.25 miles to the dollar right now.