Just upgraded from 1999 XLT to 2017 Platinum....questions

[westinman]

Hello,

A little over a month ago, I took the plunge and got a new 2017 Expedition Platinum, 3.5 EB. Got a few questions wondering what y'all have to say:

(1) There's no gas tank door lock or gas cap. When I asked the dealer he said it's designed that only a gas dispenser will work so nothing to worry about. Do y'all agree or do you buy the locking gas cap ?

(2) Going from a 4.6L to a 3.5L EB, during heavy acceleration on the highway, I almost all the time, can get the check engine light to blink and the car feels sluggish. One time the engine light stayed on and I took it into the dealer and they said that it was a misfire. Anyone else experience this ?

(3) Going from complete stop to let's say 40/50 mph, there is a moment of hesitation (turbo lag ?) in the beginning. Is that normal and I'm just not used to turbos. This is my first car with turbos.

(4) Will getting the chip tuned via eg: 5 Star Tuning resolved (2) & (3) ?

Thanks in advance!

Westin

 

[AllBoostNoEco]

Congrats on your new ride first of all. They’re great trucks.
Answering your questions in order:
1) My wife and I have owned a total of 7 Fords with the capless fuel fillers since 2010, and never once have thought about adding the locking cap to any of them. Speaking from experience, even with the factory funnel, if it’s not in there just right, you’ll end up with gas going everywhere but in the tank.

2) Never experienced a check engine light at all in the 3.5 EB. My F-150 with the 5.0 used to get one for a misfire, but the EB has been flawless. I’m going to say it’s far from typical. It should be a rocket on the highway, as at those speeds boost should be available nearly instantaneously.
What octane gas are you using? You might try mixing it up and seeing if it helps (if you typically run 87, use 93 instead; or vice versa).

3) The hesitation is normal, it takes a short amount of time for the turbos to spool up. Most people drive around it by squeezing the throttle rather than stomping it, letting the boost build up somewhat before asking for more power.

4) A tune could help reduce the lag slightly, but the turbos performance won’t change because of it. They can’t spool faster than they are physically capable of.
In regards to the check engine light issue, if there’s an underlying issue it won’t be fixed by simply adding a tune. It could even make it worse, and Ford does not take kindly to adding tunes on the EB motor.
The 2011-12 F-150 had issues very similar to what you are describing that were related to moisture buildup in the CAC, but they moved the blowoff valve and tweaked a few other things and it went away in 2013.

 

[chuck s]

Check engine lights on cars are 99% emissions related. Shouldn't be getting a light more than rarely. Not sure what fuel you're using.

Turbochaged engines need the supercharger to spool up to pressure for maximum power. On ramp merging the supercharger should already be running. Dead stop is different. See the response above regarding squeezing the throttle. Just gotta get it spooling.

So called "chip tunes" are a good way to bugger the engine and the chip guys won't be responsible for it nor, I assume, will Ford. The truck has plenty of power anyway and is reliable. Sure some guys get away with it. Small samples.

-- Chuck

 

[07xln]

Turbochaged engines need the supercharger to spool up to pressure for maximum power. On ramp merging the supercharger should already be running.

Huh???

 

[07xln]

Hello,

A little over a month ago, I took the plunge and got a new 2017 Expedition Platinum, 3.5 EB. Got a few questions wondering what y'all have to say:

(1) There's no gas tank door lock or gas cap. When I asked the dealer he said it's designed that only a gas dispenser will work so nothing to worry about. Do y'all agree or do you buy the locking gas cap ?

(2) Going from a 4.6L to a 3.5L EB, during heavy acceleration on the highway, I almost all the time, can get the check engine light to blink and the car feels sluggish. One time the engine light stayed on and I took it into the dealer and they said that it was a misfire. Anyone else experience this ?

(3) Going from complete stop to let's say 40/50 mph, there is a moment of hesitation (turbo lag ?) in the beginning. Is that normal and I'm just not used to turbos. This is my first car with turbos.

(4) Will getting the chip tuned via eg: 5 Star Tuning resolved (2) & (3) ?

Thanks in advance!

Westin

My 17 is the first vehicle ive owned with no gas cap. Even after owning it a year I sometimes still reach for a cap that isn't there. Its odd for sure but I guess becoming the norm

You should not be getting a CEL under heavy acceleration. I can floor mine from a dead stop, go WOT on the highway and it runs like a beast. If the dealer says "its just a misfire" then they need to locate the issue and resolve it. As others have said what octane fuel are you running? People swear by 87 as the truck will run fine on it but 93 is preferred and IMO it runs much better with 93 in the tank. If youre running 87 try filling up next time with 93 and go out and stomp on it and see what happens.

The hesitation is turbo lag and completely normal

Chip tunes don't even exist any more and are more commonly known as flash tuners. If you get one from a reputable tuner like 5 Star then youll be fine. Theyre completely safe and the bulk of the time improve performance significantly and even improve gas mileage. Will it resolve the misfire and turbo lag, no. I would get the misfire resolved first then tune if that's the route you want to go.

I'm actually going to buy a SCT tuner from 5 Star today for my 17 EL. I do a lot of towing so I'm looking for more power and torque so I can pull more efficiently.

 

[ExpeditionAndy]

Hello,

A little over a month ago, I took the plunge and got a new 2017 Expedition Platinum, 3.5 EB. Got a few questions wondering what y'all have to say:

(1) There's no gas tank door lock or gas cap. When I asked the dealer he said it's designed that only a gas dispenser will work so nothing to worry about. Do y'all agree or do you buy the locking gas cap ?

(2) Going from a 4.6L to a 3.5L EB, during heavy acceleration on the highway, I almost all the time, can get the check engine light to blink and the car feels sluggish. One time the engine light stayed on and I took it into the dealer and they said that it was a misfire. Anyone else experience this ?

(3) Going from complete stop to let's say 40/50 mph, there is a moment of hesitation (turbo lag ?) in the beginning. Is that normal and I'm just not used to turbos. This is my first car with turbos.

(4) Will getting the chip tuned via eg: 5 Star Tuning resolved (2) & (3) ?

Thanks in advance!

Westin

Congratulations on your 17 Platinum Expedition. I have a 17 Limited Expedition.

I was a little leery about the gas cap when I first bought mine but I have gotten used to it. I didn't get the gas cap because I didn't want to have to fumble for keys in the winter to open that cap and it's a nice time saver. There is a special funnel in the jack storage area that you can use to open the internal flap if you need to add gas from a can, If you just tried to stick the gas can nozzle in the opening the gas would spill all over the place.

I floor it quite a bit getting on the highway because I love the acceleration. I have never seen a check engine light come on. (I've got 5600 miles on mine now - I've had it since February.) I use 87 octane gas most of the time and I have no complaints with performance. If I'm going on a long trip I will switch to Premium gas.

If you floor if from stopped you will notice a hesitation while the turbos spin up - this is normal. The best thing to do is feed it gas to get it moving and then floor it. You will not notice a hesitation. You will also notice if you are slowing down and then try to quickly speed up you will feel it searching for the right gear along with the hesitation as the turbos spool up - they work off exhaust gas so it takes a couple of seconds to spin up.

Yes and @jeff kushner mentioned a device that will allow you to adjust the turbo lag but I don't recall what it is right now.

 

[chuck s]

Turbo charger is an abbreviation for turbine supercharger. It's what they do.

-- Chuck

 

[DF5.4]

Did you buy it new? How many miles are on it?

 

[westinman]

Thanks everyone for your feedback.

Yes, I bought this new and today it's only got a little over 1000 miles.
I believe it's 91 octane (Costco) fuel. But I'll try to get 93 and see what happens when I floor it.
I've been trying to slightly wind up the turbo at red lights so I can "launch" without lag and it seems to be working. Guess it's just getting used to it.
I suppose I'll also get used to not having a gas cap. It just feels strange.

But so far, I'm liking the Expedition. Comfy, quiet. Also trying to get used to the differences between Android Auto and the already on board apps. I was really hoping that the Google Maps from my Android phone would simply work and display on the car but it doesn't. I'll figure it out.

Thanks again !

 

[07xln]

Turbo charger is an abbreviation for turbine supercharger. It's what they do.

-- Chuck

Actually an abbreviation for a turbocharger would be "turbo" and an abbreviation for a supercharger would be "blower"

While I'll agree at one point in time decades ago, hell over a century ago they were called "turbo superchargers". They have never been called "turbine superchargers" as you say. At least that's what the dictionary and Wikipedia say lol!

But in todays world a turbocharger and supercharger are two different things. It just doesn't look or sound right when you use both terms to describe one or the other

Carry on