From a 2004 to 2011 to 2015 FX4's impressions
#1
02-18-2015, 10:06 AM
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From a 2004 to 2011 to 2015 FX4's impressions
I bought my first truck January 2014, it was the "new style" not heritage extended cab flareside red/grey FX4, the one advertised in all the ford ads. It had a years worth of bugs in it, but aside from the rear clutch packs shuddering all the time and rear backup sensors failing, it was a solid truck.
Then after 8 years, I traded it in on a black Crewcab FX4, the one with the darkend Head and Tail lights. I never liked the style of that model, but it was time to upgrade as my last truck only had 80,000kms but was starting to give trouble. The black truck with dark lights was stomachable. There was some getting used to, the doors sheet metal seemed to wobble when you closed it, the truck was longer and harder to back in (until I got used to it) but there were no bugs that I can remember aside from the front driver power seat made a high pitch squealing when operated. That was fixed no problem at the dealer.
After 3 years and 50,000kms I was in for an oil change and see the new model and sat inside. It was an XLT with some $6000 convenient package and a Sport option and an FX4 option thrown in on top of that. I instantly fell in love with the style, unlike the last.
I traded the 2011 in on this and after 6 weeks of use I have some good and bad things to say about the new truck.....
1. They brought back the grab bar for the driver, that was great. it was there for the '04 but omitted for '11
2.The rear tailgate now has the grab bar integrated inside the gate instead of on the gate as was the case in '11, this is good as skidoos will tear that up. But why the tailgate has to be so thick, way overexagerated.
3. My '04 and '11 had no touch screen, just buttons, I do not like the touch screen, and use the buttons whenever possible. But the button placement is not good in some cases. When I try to turn on my seat heater, its easy to hit the button above it which shuts off the HVAC. and to adjust the fan speed with the round ****, its easy to hit the eject CD button just above it.
4. The '11 had a backup camera screen in the rear view mirror, now its in the big touchscreen. The resolution is probably the same, thus looks worse on a bigger screen. But it was more natural to view it in the rear view mirror.
5. This is a big design flaw..... The running boards are up closer to the cab, and doors. Any snow buildup on them turns to ice right away from road spray. When you open the door all you'll hear is a harsh scrap and crunching sound as your door tries to open back the ice buildup. I never had this issue on my '04 and '11. Even trying to remove the buildup is hard as the gap between the running board and cab is small and the ice wedges itself in there. Same can be said for tailgate, but that was always the case.
6. The '11 FX4 came with full rubber floor mates, nice thick mates with high perimeter lips to keep water or spills in. The '15 didn't come with mates and so I purchased a set, the front mates barely cover the carpet at all, much smaller, the rear mat is not as thick/heavy and there is little to no lip around the perimeter. Not impressed.
7. The center console got wider, which is nice for storage, but under the console lid there is no usable functions, what a waste of space, I think there is a pen holder, that's it.
8. The storage HOLE up top center by the front windshield is now deeper and this harder to access, its smaller and sunglasses barely fit.
9. There is no ideal spot to put a cell phone, the '11 had a spot where the trailer break controller went that was big enough for a cell phone, now that hole is to small for anything sensible. There is a sliding door where the center console meets the center instruments that hold an SD card slot, two USB slots and a 12v adapter. Its nice to see extra USB slots but again, this "hole" is not comfortable to access and I usually use it as storage with the top sliding door closed.
10. Under the back seats, there is a storage area but its not accessible with the seats down, and I have two car seats installed in the back, so the rear seat is immovable.
11. The box now has LED lights installed, which is a great idea because I always use a tonneau cover the cab light over the rear window never served any usable function.
12. My '04 and '11 had slots in the box where I could place a proper cut 2x4 to section off the box to keep stuff from sliding around. It worked very well, but that is now gone. In its place is a "system" where you can purchase a big plastic wall which will section the box for you, but this cannot be easily removed and if removed will take up a lot of space in the box afterward. The 2x4 was small and functional.
13. I had a soft folding ford brand Tonneau for my '11, and purchased the same for the '15. Ford has made the new model cheaper in every way, from the clips, to the snaps, to the hooks.
14. I like how the remote start is included in the packages that come with the truck.
15. The glove box still has no room for anything, barely get the thing closed with the truck manual in there. What a waste of potential.
16. The truck came with those kick out steps to access the box. This is located just in front of the rear tires, I can't see how these are going to function after going through a winter with salt and sand spraying them on every ride.
17. The door pockets, front and rear are smaller and shallower, I used it for coffee thermos and as a garbage can, now garbage blows out easily and im afraid to put anything like a tumbler in there as it will flip out.
18. The bells in the cab sound nice now, not a harsh ding!
19. Its not all bad, the styling is awesome, the truck runs tight, great acceleration, and handling.
Im sure I will think of other likes/dislikes and will update later.
Then after 8 years, I traded it in on a black Crewcab FX4, the one with the darkend Head and Tail lights. I never liked the style of that model, but it was time to upgrade as my last truck only had 80,000kms but was starting to give trouble. The black truck with dark lights was stomachable. There was some getting used to, the doors sheet metal seemed to wobble when you closed it, the truck was longer and harder to back in (until I got used to it) but there were no bugs that I can remember aside from the front driver power seat made a high pitch squealing when operated. That was fixed no problem at the dealer.
After 3 years and 50,000kms I was in for an oil change and see the new model and sat inside. It was an XLT with some $6000 convenient package and a Sport option and an FX4 option thrown in on top of that. I instantly fell in love with the style, unlike the last.
I traded the 2011 in on this and after 6 weeks of use I have some good and bad things to say about the new truck.....
1. They brought back the grab bar for the driver, that was great. it was there for the '04 but omitted for '11
2.The rear tailgate now has the grab bar integrated inside the gate instead of on the gate as was the case in '11, this is good as skidoos will tear that up. But why the tailgate has to be so thick, way overexagerated.
3. My '04 and '11 had no touch screen, just buttons, I do not like the touch screen, and use the buttons whenever possible. But the button placement is not good in some cases. When I try to turn on my seat heater, its easy to hit the button above it which shuts off the HVAC. and to adjust the fan speed with the round ****, its easy to hit the eject CD button just above it.
4. The '11 had a backup camera screen in the rear view mirror, now its in the big touchscreen. The resolution is probably the same, thus looks worse on a bigger screen. But it was more natural to view it in the rear view mirror.
5. This is a big design flaw..... The running boards are up closer to the cab, and doors. Any snow buildup on them turns to ice right away from road spray. When you open the door all you'll hear is a harsh scrap and crunching sound as your door tries to open back the ice buildup. I never had this issue on my '04 and '11. Even trying to remove the buildup is hard as the gap between the running board and cab is small and the ice wedges itself in there. Same can be said for tailgate, but that was always the case.
6. The '11 FX4 came with full rubber floor mates, nice thick mates with high perimeter lips to keep water or spills in. The '15 didn't come with mates and so I purchased a set, the front mates barely cover the carpet at all, much smaller, the rear mat is not as thick/heavy and there is little to no lip around the perimeter. Not impressed.
7. The center console got wider, which is nice for storage, but under the console lid there is no usable functions, what a waste of space, I think there is a pen holder, that's it.
8. The storage HOLE up top center by the front windshield is now deeper and this harder to access, its smaller and sunglasses barely fit.
9. There is no ideal spot to put a cell phone, the '11 had a spot where the trailer break controller went that was big enough for a cell phone, now that hole is to small for anything sensible. There is a sliding door where the center console meets the center instruments that hold an SD card slot, two USB slots and a 12v adapter. Its nice to see extra USB slots but again, this "hole" is not comfortable to access and I usually use it as storage with the top sliding door closed.
10. Under the back seats, there is a storage area but its not accessible with the seats down, and I have two car seats installed in the back, so the rear seat is immovable.
11. The box now has LED lights installed, which is a great idea because I always use a tonneau cover the cab light over the rear window never served any usable function.
12. My '04 and '11 had slots in the box where I could place a proper cut 2x4 to section off the box to keep stuff from sliding around. It worked very well, but that is now gone. In its place is a "system" where you can purchase a big plastic wall which will section the box for you, but this cannot be easily removed and if removed will take up a lot of space in the box afterward. The 2x4 was small and functional.
13. I had a soft folding ford brand Tonneau for my '11, and purchased the same for the '15. Ford has made the new model cheaper in every way, from the clips, to the snaps, to the hooks.
14. I like how the remote start is included in the packages that come with the truck.
15. The glove box still has no room for anything, barely get the thing closed with the truck manual in there. What a waste of potential.
16. The truck came with those kick out steps to access the box. This is located just in front of the rear tires, I can't see how these are going to function after going through a winter with salt and sand spraying them on every ride.
17. The door pockets, front and rear are smaller and shallower, I used it for coffee thermos and as a garbage can, now garbage blows out easily and im afraid to put anything like a tumbler in there as it will flip out.
18. The bells in the cab sound nice now, not a harsh ding!
19. Its not all bad, the styling is awesome, the truck runs tight, great acceleration, and handling.
Im sure I will think of other likes/dislikes and will update later.
Last edited by mxz600; 02-20-2015 at 10:46 AM.
#2
02-22-2015, 03:25 AM
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#3
02-22-2015, 09:23 PM
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I haven't noticed any movement yet on the '15 model. I installed it and from the differences in mounting it uses I don't see it moving front back left or right but the locking mechanism on the tail gate end uses a spring latch and with it latched down I can lift the tonneau up about 2 inches with my hands against those springs down force. Don't know if it'll be a problem as when your driving the down force from the wind will keep it secure.