Don't spend much time writing in forums, mostly reading but just couldn't help it today. My '05 King Ranch F150 with 165k is in the shop with a blown motor from an injector that went bad and hydro locked motor and my wife's '10 Expedition EL Limited with 144k just caught on fire this morning with her and my kids inside while traveling. They got out in time and a good sam with a fire extinguisher put it out before it burned to the ground. Thanks to the wonderful vehicles made by Ford we are now driving rental cars and facing thousands in repairs.

I am so done with Ford it's not even funny, I will never drive another one for the rest of my life!! Good luck to those of you who do I'm sure you will have many quality hours ahead of you here in the forums. What happened to Ford? My first truck was an F100 I bought and fixed up and have liked Fords ever since but this does it for me, this company has gone to pot.

Spare me any rational comments about just bad luck, I just needed to rant a little and let people know what's happening out there with Ford vehicles!!

 

165k miles out of an engine isn't so terribly bad. When I started driving the family 55 Chev 6 cyl back in 1960, it needed a rebuild at 60k miles. We've grown to expect more but it ain't that bad. There aren't any perfect vehicles out there. You pays your money and you takes your chances. I have a 2005 Dodge Magnum Hemi that I love but a certain percentage of those drop valve seats and the engine gets destroyed.

 

You are probably right, should have just planned for a new motor in that '05 but I still think the 3v triton is a disaster and a major black eye for Ford.

The vehicle fire with my wife and kids inside on the other hand just makes me mad, it's a 57k dollar car, and that's what you get after 140k miles? I wish I had your low expectations, I'd be a lot happier in life.

If the vehicle should only realistically last 3-5 years then don't charge 40-60k for them.

Give me a break.

 

I cant believe a truck with 165k miles may have problems along with a 7 year old Expy with almost 150k miles .

Sorry this happened to you and glad your family is ok but your acting like these are babied, pampered low mileage new cars when in fact they arent.

 

Probably ought to figure out what the root cause of the fire was first -- might not be what you think it is. Also, going that far on the factory injectors in an '05 5.4 is crazy -- I would have swapped them out as soon as the 11-year extended warranty expired on them!

 

Crazy is a little strong, ignorant or unaware is more on target.

Didn't know about the injector problems, just the bad plugs and cam phaser issue. I've had the truck in to dealer and other shops to be worked on for various issues and no one said anything about the injectors maybe smoking a motor or I would have.

Y'all say what you want but this is a bad motor and Ford should take responsibility for it.

The fire, who knows, time will tell. I know fires aren't a "Ford" problem, just ticked both my vehicles went in a course of two weeks. Vehicles I maintain regularly and what I don't do I take to the dealer. They're not neglected.

 

I had a 72 Pontiac Grandville 455 develop a rod knock at 50k miles. My 86SS Monte Carlo started pumping oil at 107k miles. I paid a dealer to put a new GM Goodwrench engine in it. It was replaced at 5k miles and that one was replaced at 10k miles and the 3 rd one was a pos. If it sat for a couple of weeks it would smoke like a coal burning freight train when started. I now have a phobia about anything GM. A friend had to put a new engine in his Cadillac at 188k miles. Even the Toyota Tacoma V6s tend to blow a head gasket at about 180k miles.

You had some tough luck and I hope whatever you replace them with serves you well.

 

Good comments to help me get some perspective. Your're right, there are no perfect options. Find something you like to drive and keep it going, the King Ranch has been my favorite truck to date.


Thanks, some of the posts have annoyed me but in the end everyone has helped me gain a little more perspective. Probably time to come down off the ledge and put a new engine in the '05 King Ranch and keep rolling. The Expedition on the other hand who knows, will have to wait for the adjuster to look at it, I'm hoping they total it. I'm afraid a fire recovery on the car fax will ruin any future resale value.

Guess I'll have a few more years in the F150 forums after all But in the mean time I'll be saving for a Titan XD I think. In a few years they should have all the kinks ironed out and should be a great truck. Plus my friend works at Nissan in Smyrna and can get me VPP pricing so I can't pass it up.

 

Not wanting to add to yer misery but the Titan XD is NOT a good choice. The Cummins has been a gross disappointment in power and fuel mileage. With almost any puny trailer, single digit fuel mileage is common. Not that the engine gets good mileage anyway-about 15-16 averagely. The engines are going thru DEF like water. A dealer service of an oil and filter change, and a fuel filter will knock a hole in 4 one hundred dollar bills so big there's not even enough left for McDonalds. The Aisin transmission is a major flaw and even with the newest updates is still a poor fit to this truck. From what I see locally, you can buy a Dodge 3.0 diesel, get the fuel mileage, and not have all of the headaches as you'll get with the Nissan. Otherwise, I'd give the Fords another look. The newest EcoBoost is a dandy engine. All of the previous ones, I wouldn't have one for free, but that's me. The new one comes with sequential injection for normal driving and direct injection when you need to zoom. It's hard to beat the current offerings. Don't base your opinion of Ford because the truck you currently own has one of the worst engines to sit in any truck. The 5.4 has always been a problem child and has never put the power out that it supposed to make. But, best of luck with whatever you end up with. Having vehicle issues can really drain the brain.

Just read a review from one of the car rags on the XD. They managed to use 16 gallons of DEF in 14,800 miles. That's horrendous and of course, the dealer says there's nothing wrong with it.

 

The 3 valve. The 2 valve was a great engine.

 

Ford didn't put VCT on the commercial 3 valve V10s. That tells you something right there. I think Ford should have offered cheap spark plug changes on all those engines. Would have promoted a lot of good will. Not much you can say when a relatively low mile VCT engine grenades. Those engines are definitely a black eye for Ford. Some of them last forever but too many have issues.

 

I agree the 5.0 Cummins is a disaster that they need to figure out quick but I was interested in the gasser. I saw on the TFL website where the 5.6 kicked the Cummins butt going up the Ike gauntlet. The Cummins is an expensive upgrade and a near total failure on power and economy. Torque is important but you still need horsepower and that engine is lacking especially given the massive curb weight of that truck.

I've seen quite a few posts on Ecoboost's that are lemons too though. Makes me nervous. Seems like if you get a good one you're golden, if not the problems are difficult to track down almost mysterious in nature? I think twin turbo's is a brilliant idea but do I trust Ford to pull it off?

 

Every power train and platform out there has the potential for issues and most have a specific "weak link" that you need to identify and prepare for -- it doesn't matter who the manufacturer is.

For example, the "weak link" on Gen2 Ford Escapes tends to be the transmission, which was designed for the Contour and is arguably over-matched in the Escape's SUV configuration. The way avoid trouble seems to involve frequent and religious transmission fluid flushes at an interval that would be considered unusual for a modern vehicle. On the wife's '05 I have kept up 25,000 mile change intervals on the transmission fluid since Day 1 and haven't had a hint of trouble in over 175,000 miles of use.

Hope I didn't just jinx myself by throwing that out there.....

 

You want something with tons of power and very reliable, look for a used F-150 with a 6.2. Gas mileage sucks but otherwise it's solid.

 

What are your thoughts about the 6.2 in the F-250?