What is Ford's response to common problems?
 

I just bought a `99 F-150 SC XLT 4x4 with the 5.4 and am getting a bit worried by all of these problems posted here. My previous vehicle was a `97 Nissan Pathfinder and it never gave me any problems, plus it had a 5yr/50,000 mile warranty.
I was a little wary of buying a newer American-made vehicle, but the F-150 got high reviews by consumers.
My factory warranty expires in 1,000 miles and I wasn't planning on buying an ESP.
But, if my door cracks, or my engine develops piston slap, or starts leaking oil on the passenger-side, at 37,000 miles, will Ford repair these obviously common problems?
I don't want to shell out $1600 for a warranty I shoudn't need, but if Ford refuses to stand behind their products, then maybe I should, or get a different truck.

i called customer service about the door crack issue and they were not aware of a problem with this truck(98f150)? i am out of warranty so they said there is nothing they could do.i bielieve if all of us are persistent with demanding something be done with these known problems they come around?

carpcop,

All i can say is, BUY the extended warranty.


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Ford DOES know about the door crack problems, they have issued TSBs and fixes for it, so that's admission of knowledge right there. Get the TSB number (somewhere on this site), and call them back. They will change their tune if you are armed with a little bit of knowledge. They have offered a lot of people an 80/20 fix, you paying only 20% of it. I chose to hold out, because I can't afford the 20%, and I can't see where 20% of their design flaw is my fault. They tend to dance around the issues, and you have to be really persistant to get any results at all. Just hound them all the time, your dealer, customer service, everywhere. Hope this helps!

carpcop, 19,000 members.
Would you really want to wade thru 17,000 of the same posts?

Here's one.
Purchased 4/01/99
Regular maintenance.
No door crack
No piston slap
No oil leak
Slight trickle left side of slider. (think I have stopped it)
Owned 2 yrs/ 10 mos. 46,000 miles
18.4mpg summer 17.2 mpg winter

I put the $1,600 in the bank.
If I get the oil leak, I'll get it fixed and keep the change.

If I get the door crack or piston slap, I'll just keep on keepin' on.
(I won't be happy but, the truck has too many positives to just focus on the negatives)

Carpcop, I'm in the same position as you
 

I have a 99 XLT fast approaching the 36K mark. I discovered the crack in my drivers door about 6 weeks ago and wanted to have a couple of other thing looked at before my warrenty ran out. I talked to the bodyshop manager at a local dealer and after seeing the crack and my mentioning that I had the TSB he gave me no problems about it. Due to some other problems I was haveing with this dealerships service dept.(which I won't go into here), I went to another dealership and they did not have a problem with doing the work either. In fact both these bodyshop managers called this a recall. I think this problem may be upgraded to recall status in the near future(I hope).

My point is ,I think it depends on the dealership you are working with that determines what level of customer service you get. If your not happy woth one go to another and don't hesitate to call the 1-800 number and complain.

Carp,

My truck is in the shop getting the crack fixed right now, for free ,paid for by Ford(98w/43k). I went to my local blue oval certified dealer,who has always shot straight with me, and I had no problems what so ever. All I did was mention the crack and the next thing I knew I had an appointment to get it fixed. It will not cost me anything, but I did have to give up the truck for 3 days. As far as piston slap, (about 1 truck in 100) I think that problem is mostly assoc with the oil leakers which is primarily limited to the "new" head design(just a bigger exhaust valve) in the 260hp 5.4s, I think thats 2000 and up engines,dont quote me, could be 99's as well but I know not 98s or 97s. I know Ford has replaced some of the ones with piston slap well after 36k.

My dealer sucks!
 

I asked my dealer if they would repair the door crack on my 97 and the service manager said "ive never heard of that problem", I was pissed so I say "I know you know what I talkin about and if not I can bring it to you and show you what Im talkin about. Then his story changed, oh you mean the one at the bottom corner, yeah thats the one. Well anyways all he did was give me a number of a body shop where they can perform the work. I told him to screw off and havent been back since.

carpcop- I think a lot of the response you will get from your dealer depends on your relationship with them. If you have been a decent customer of theirs getting some service done there, they may very well go to bat for you if something happens after the factory warranty. If the last time they saw you was when you picked the truck up, then it may be a different story. Just doing things like getting an oil change or other minor services can go a long way to making a good relationship that can pay off.

On the other hand, I have a '97, and it has been in the shop exactly once for unscheduled maintinence (broken tie rod end). All other service has been consumables like brakes and tires or fluids (oil, tranny, radiator, etc...). I have the door cracks, and basically forget about them. The good stuff makes the cracks seem minor to me. I had over 50,000 on the truck when they showed up.

Personally, I'd save the $1600 and move on. If you were that worried about this stuff, why did you buy a truck within a 1000 miles of going out of warranty?

What?
 

F150s have problems? As-if!

That is the tune from Ford and the dealers. Get use to it.

I would suggest a powertrain extended warranty. It should not cost $1600, but more like $500 for like a 75K one. That will cover the engine tranny and axles which are the $$$ part of repair beyond the HVAC systems.

Door cracks, we all have them. Ford seems to think that since the door is not rusting off and people are not falling out of the rusted out door at speed killing them selves that it is cheaper to deny the truth. You have to remember this is Ford we are dealing which and they are using the Ford Pinto Math == cost of recall is more expensive than cost of a few people dying here.

Sad world here. All I can say is that I would not buy anything newer than a 99 Ford at this point and even 99s I would be extremely hesitant. The only reason a 99 is cause of the 4th door in the 150s. I bought my 97 with 65K miles, and it never had been offroad until I bought it. So I knew there was no major problems by driving it, looking over, under and around the vehicle when I bought it. I really have had no problems with it. A squeeky pitman arm that needs some grease and Ford plug wires that suck, but nothing major. And yes the door and roof cracks are there. Personally it would be great to boycott all new F150s until ford decides to fix their issues with them. I know the FX4 extra cab that I took out 3 months ago is still at the dealer today waiting to be sold. I would hope it is the same everywhere at the moment for a big "in your face" to ford.

Ok, soap box off.

I love my truck!! Y2K F150 XLT ORP. Have not had any of the problems you mentioned in the almost 2 yrs and 25 k miles I've had it. Dealing w/ the service depts can be a pain, but at the same time some people come without properly maintaning their vehicles and wondering why they are having problems.

Personally I've had one persistant vibration and I've been to the dealer three times. First time, I didn't think it was a problem since it was only a very minor vibration, second time the took notice of it, now they are workinging w/ me to try to fix it. personally, I'm not convinced it's not the tires, and I have to take that up w/ Goodyear.

I also had one speaker replaced that started working intermittently - no problems or hassles from Ford fixing it.

'87 4x4 5.8L 2 Dr. RC. No problems other than it having an alternator belt that's next to impossible to tighten properly and a bit of surface rust which required an expensive paint job when it was about 8 years old. Lousy mpg. Glad it had two gas tanks.

'97 4x4 4.6L 3 Dr. SC. Engine was flawless. Wind noise was fixed with replacement of weather strips. Leaky rear slider required 3 fixes (not surprising since I probably had one of the first leaky sliders). Never leaked again after the 3rd fix and according to the present owners, still doesn't leak. No door cracks. No rust. Good mpg.

'99 4x4 5.4L 4 Dr. SC. Engine had a rough idle. Fixed with help from pkrwud on this forum. Leaky rear slider. Fixed the first time. No door cracks. No rust. Replaced signal mirrors when mirror backing parted from glass. Mediocre mpg.

'01 4x4 5.4L 4 Dr. SCr. Totally flawless, so far. Decent mpg.

You can see a pattern in my purchases. Went from a 2 door Regular Cab to a 4 door SuperCrew. I'm satisfied with the comfort, convenience, ergonomics, and interior space of my latest truck. I think I'll keep this one for at least 5 years.

Thanks for the responses! I have a good relationship with the dealer, since I've known the salesman for about ten years and bought a `76 F150 4x4 from him a while ago.
I bought my last three vehicles from a different Ford dealer in the area, but after getting screwed by their service department, I decided to go to this new one.
I don't think I'll have too much of a problem with this dealer, if I can show the proper TSBs and make enough noise.

Also, it helps if you are at the dealer and they say that they don't have any idea what you are talking about, go to the used side of their lot. Garaunteed they will have used F-150s, probably all with door cracks. Point out to them that the ones they are selling have the same crack and that it isn't just 'yours'. Usually helps to change their tune a bit. I have found that acting 'informed, yet cool' helps, getting an attitude with the dealer will get you nowhere. Good luck!:cool:

Well Ford has its problems but then so does Chevy
Go to PICKUPTRUCK.com and read the Chevy Forum
MAJOR problems with their 5.3 and up engines and Chevy won't even admit it
Owners are PO'ED BIG TIME

I am not a brand loyal person and try to decide what is best when I go for a new truck by reading and asking etc.

I just hope if I do decide on a new F150 this year it is as good as my 93 which I still have . ZERO ZILCH warranty work . Radiator at 100,000 and a door actuautor at 95000. EGR passage clean out at 102000.
That's it

After reading about Chevy's problems there are out of the running.