Hey everyone, I'm always poking around these forums for information on F-150s as I have been hoping to buy one for some time. I was originally planning on spending a little more and getting a lower mileage truck, but then I thought about how much I don't want a car payment, so I'll just put some of that money that WOULD go towards a payment in a little fund that I can use for repairs should they be necessary. I originally wanted an Ecoboost, but after literally hours of reading about them from real owners, I've decided against it. Overall they seem more reliable that I would have expected, and the Ecoboost shudder doesn't scare me. But the timing chain stretching problems do.

SO. I'm probably going to get a 5.0. I drove the 3.7, and it actually impressed me and had all the power I need since I will only very rarely tow, but the local one's AC is out and the tranny is only so-so. I've talked a guy down to a REALLY good deal on a 2011 supercab 5.0 XLT 4X4 with 135,000 miles. There's a lot of things I like about the truck. The engine feels strong and is actually pretty smooth, even at idle. The truck is taller than I expected, and I like the way the turn signals work. When I get back into my car after driving the truck I feel so small and lame. I also actually like the electronic steering, believe it or not. It's nice to drive something so big and not have to work so much to turn the wheel, like I have to when I've driven the company's Duramax GMC.

HOWEVER, I do have some reservations. First is the most important to me, and that's the transmission. I know Ford did a good job on these 6 speeds and that overall they are very good. But I've never driven a newer F150, so I don't know what the tranny is supposed to feel like. 1st to 2nd gear is pretty smooth when accelerating harder, but when only slowly accelerating the shift is pretty abrupt and feels like it's pushing you forward a little. All of the gears after that are pretty much the same as the 1st to 2nd shift, just less pronounced. Is this a sign of a worn transmission? The truck's at a dealer, so they don't know if it was used for towing, but judging by the condition of the hitch it wasn't used much.

My second is the engine. Like I said, I've done more than my fair share of research on the Eco and the 5.0 (there's not much to be found about the 3.7, but man it was pretty impressive when I drove it). The coyote seems to be a pretty decent powerplant, and as far as I can tell, other than the warped 3rd or 4th cylinder and engine knocking problem that's usually manifest in early miles, they are pretty reliable.

And then there are a couple smaller issues with the truck.
- The tailgate lock doesn't work, so at the moment you can't drop the tailgate, as it is permanently locked. Should be an easy fix.
- The parking assist is also not working. From research I would guess that one of the sensors is just bad and needs replaced.
- And lastly, I get a "Service Advancetrac" notice when I start the vehicle. This also might just be a bad sensor somewhere.

So my questions are these:

How long do these transmissions last, and how normal/abnormal are the shifts that I am experiencing? Will flushing the fluid at this many miles only make it worse?

Other than the aforementioned issues with the 5.0, are there any other prevalent problems that have been common? Will it last me till 200-250K miles?

And who here has a 5.0 with more than 125K miles, and what has your overall experience been like, especially as far as repairs and maintenance goes?

If I do end up getting the truck, I'm planning on taking it in to the dealer and having them do an oil change, transmission flush, spark plugs, and then addressing the backup sensors and Advancetrac issue, and maybe some other small things like greasing the slip yolk, etc. I love my local dealership, they have always been very great to work with.

Overall I like the truck. It drives pretty nice, has lots of power, and I like some of the added goodies like the power rear window, remote start, and the in-dash 4.2 in display, which are all things that my current 2010 Taurus with lots of options doesn't even have. So more info from real owners will be greatly appreciated, and thanks in advance!

 

The Service Advancetrak issue may cost you close to $2000, it may need a new steering rack. Read this thread, it's long:

https://www.f150online.com/forums/20...vancetrac.html

The transmission should be fine mechanically, but there have been TSB's on it for harsh shifts, there should be updated software for it. Do not FLUSH it, get the fluid exchanged with no chemicals, it takes Mercon LV.

 

**GASP**

Wow, I had no idea the problem could be so severe. Hmmm this definitely changes things. Well I'll fiddle with the truck a little bit to see what makes the message come up, and maybe drop it off at the dealership to get a diagnosis before I consider buying it. Thanks for the heads up!

 

On a truck with the miles on it that one has have them pull the service records. If there were no problems in its past it probably will be ok. You can also talk to the dealer about contacting the previous owner, sometimes they will talk to you about the truck.

You are buying a used truck with what some say are a lot of miles, do your research. Then offer a price for the condition of the truck you feel good about and drive it with confidence until it gives you a reason not to.

 

2012 Lariat Supercrew 4x4 5.0.

Loving the truck even at 131K. My plans changed so I will likely be keeping this truck for many years as driveway art and towing my sled trailer in the winter and hauling my bike in the summer.

I have had to replace front pinion bearings and several axle seals, grease the rear slip yoke and changed trans fluid at 60K, plugs at 100K. I have had to replace 3 rear door latches as they end up with too much road dust (woods work) and the grease locks them up.

Otherwise, gas, oil and tires.

I did just buy a OBD-II scanner off Amazon for $100 so I can pull my own codes... maybe tomorrow.

 

Local guy I bought my raptor exhaust from has like 260k on his 2011 5.0

I'll see if I can get him to comment on anything good or bad about his truck

 

I'm the one he mentioned. My miles are actually only about 215,00 right now though. But I can speak a little on my own exprerience.

I have a 2011 4x4 Screw King Ranch I bought in 2014 with about 100,000 and like other people I mentioned I did ask for service records, mine showed the differential fluids had been changed around 90,000 and oil changes about every 8-10k body was in good condition and it drove good on the test drive so I pulled the trigger.

After a couple months I would notice a hesitation when cruising in certain rpm ranges and also a harsh downshift (2-1) when coming to stops. But the shift problem was fixed with a reflash of the ecu and the cruising hesitation was fixed with new plugs at a different gap then what they recommended when they came out in 2011. (I think they changed what they recommend to gap with the newer 5.0's, so if you do your own plugs google or search around here about it)

I've got the 3.73 rear and with the stock or a litttle beefier tires it was a beast. I've towed my 66 mustang from Texas to Georgia a couple times and a boat between Michigan and Texas no problems.

I switched to 35's around 180,000 miles and I would recommend doing a gear change if you think you'll do highway driving or towing as it did a lot of shifting from 6-5 and from 5-6 which can play havoc on trans temps. So I've pieced together gears and new differential covers and that will be my next project. But besides that, everything has been routine maintainence.

I do run custom tunes from MPT. I change the oil about evey 8k unless I've been off road or towed quite a bit in that period, I've only changed the plugs and diff fluid once and will change the trans fluid when I do my gear change. Some people will tell you it is "lifetime" but if you've ever run your transmission fluid a little hot, I wouldn't trust it to retain its protective properties.

As as far as the Advancetrac message, I've gotten it before but only when I changed out the battery or programmed a new tune, etc and it never pops up again so I can't add much insight to that.

So, in my experience the miles don't scare me if you take care of your stuff. The only thing I would change in my experience is to do tires and a gear change all at once, instead of putting on tires and then figuring out you'll need to do a gear change anyway... Hope that helps, I'm new to the forum but if you need anything else, just let me know.

-Chris

 

Well, did you buy it?