Ford, Are you Listening? 2018+ Change/Wish List

[Artie]

After 1500 miles Heres my pro and con list. Im gonna disregard any quality type problems as its the first run and not everyone will have those type of issues:

Pros

1. Space and comfort in the first 2 rows
2. Ease of use, everything is easy to work
3. Gas mileage is actually pretty good and it seems to be getting a bit better overtime
4. Quietness, one of the most quiet cars ive been in, and mines is not the platinums which are quieter
5. She handles really good for a big truck
6. Sound system actually is pretty nice, with the right quality to your media, its almost concert like.

Cons

1. Some of the systems take naps they work slow or not at all(handsfree liftgate, distance indicator, some sync 3 functions, etc.)
2. Ride is good, but was expecting great. Looking back at it(and after driving), i shouldve went with the ccd, there is a pretty big gap in comfort btw them, also idk if its a ford thing, but one day youll feel every bump in the road, the next, its buttery smooth my nav did this alot just an observation.
3. Third row headroom, its tight back dere lol
4. The shimmies, i dont kno which vehicle ford used as the benchmark, but it wouldve been nice of they worked out the shimmies. I know its a truck based suv, with a body on frame but we are so far into technology that no truck rele should vibrate on the road after hitting a bump, no matter how slight. The armada and ram trucks are great examples of this, and its a body on frame as well.

Im sure mines are different from others, nust bringing it back to the originators plans for the forum. Love the truck, and shes still the best all around and best comprise in the business.

Just to comment on a couple of items you mentioned. On my Navigator I’ve noticed that on cold days (30°’s) the first few miles the CCD has been a little on the sensitive side, it seems to pick up every single crack in the asphalt but it goes away after a few miles. As for some features sleeping, I’ve had the welcome lighting not come on all of the time but I’m not sure if there is a period between approaches that must be met or if it won’t activate if I park in the same place over and over (like parked in my garage or the same parking spot at the park). Also, if I lock the car with my wife and kids in it and walk away the alarm has been triggered a few times. I’m not sure if there is a sensor that will trigger the alarm if there is movement in the vehicle or not. As far as gas mileage, according to my calculations I’ve yet to beat 17mpg. The majority of my driving is in town but I drive pretty conservatively and have only gotten into the pedal a couple times.

 

[GaryH2]

I just had an 18 Limited as a rental and put about 500 miles on it so it was a bit "limited" (LOL!).

In my experience, it is very quiet. The visibility was good compared to my 02 and 07 in spite of the smaller windows. Performance was far beyond my 07 5.4L in both power and braking. Ride and handling were better than my EL (Although the rental was a regular length). In fairness, I have the adjustable Rancho leveling struts on the 07 so its not a stock vs stock comparison.

One issue that they need to rethink is the opening rear window in the hatch. The sill is too high to reach anything inside and if you're tall enough to reach through the open window (I am not), you'll hit you're head on the open glass. Admittedly, I had to think about that one.

Overall, its a great vehicle and I would step up to one if it wasn't $60k.

 

[shane_th_ee]

, if I lock the car with my wife and kids in it and walk away the alarm has been triggered a few times.

That’s a feature not a bug. If gives you a chance to lock it again before they escape...

 

[aggiegrad05]

Just to comment on a couple of items you mentioned. On my Navigator I’ve noticed that on cold days (30°’s) the first few miles the CCD has been a little on the sensitive side, it seems to pick up every single crack in the asphalt but it goes away after a few miles. As for some features sleeping, I’ve had the welcome lighting not come on all of the time but I’m not sure if there is a period between approaches that must be met or if it won’t activate if I park in the same place over and over (like parked in my garage or the same parking spot at the park). Also, if I lock the car with my wife and kids in it and walk away the alarm has been triggered a few times. I’m not sure if there is a sensor that will trigger the alarm if there is movement in the vehicle or not. As far as gas mileage, according to my calculations I’ve yet to beat 17mpg. The majority of my driving is in town but I drive pretty conservatively and have only gotten into the pedal a couple times.

Artie - your family is setting off the intrusion alarm. When you turn the car off, your screen displays the choice of something like “All Alarms” or “Perimeter Alarms.” If you select just “Perimeter” it’ll disable the internal intrusion alarm and that won’t happen.

 

[Meeker]

This is a pretty lousy article. Also highlights Fords SUV sales are DOWN. It overlooks the retooling of the plant and how much did they design to put out? Is the factory putting out less trucks than before and it’s all relative? No facts whatsoever. The bottom line is auto sales are down as commodities and prices rise. Ford is making Lincoln what it once was: an elite brand. They aren’t aiming to sell to masses anymore but to their original target market, high income earners. They may be producing less Navis now. Fords sales are down on Expedition 15% this month. That’s published. Not hating just stating the obvious, still great vehicles. In January GM sold over 20,000 Tahoes, ford sold only 4,000 Expeditions... really puts in perspective. Ford is making and moving a lot LESS trucks.

I just ordered my 2018 XLT on Friday and was told 8-10 weeks delivery time as well. Are Navigators and Expeditions built on the same line? I would think so, but you never know...
This seems longer than would normally be the case for Ford - my Dad's F-250 only took 4 weeks to factory order. I can't see that the Expy would take much longer to physically build. I'm sure there must be a backlog of orders at the plant for these kinds of delivery times.
The really surprising thing was the lack of Expy's at the dealerships in Alberta - I test drove one of the 3 XLT models in the whole province, and even the Platinums and Limiteds are hard to find - seems like only about a quarter of the dealers even have a 2018 Expy on the lot.
I've been told by the dealers that Canada takes second place to the US for delivery because the US buys way more Expys. Does that sound right or are they just pouting?
---
Just to add a few things to the pros/cons list, based on the changes I noticed compared to my 2006 Limited (sadly totalled by a flying Silverado during the commute to work):

Pros
1) They actually have cargo tie-downs in the rear(!)
2) If you think there are issues with SYNC 3, compare to the original SYNC, which was already 1x10^6 times better than the 2006 Navigation system. That was the worst system I've ever seen in a vehicle. My list of issues with that was very very long.
3) Lots of small increases in usable space in the back, like the storage next to the jack (not there in the 2006), and the storage bins on the left side.
4) Tons of other items but I suspect they're obvious to most people. Way more pros than cons actually.

Cons
1) Not interested in the big sunroof. In 12 years with the previous Expedition, I only used the sunroof for one thing: I would stand up on the drive seat with my body through the roof to make it easier to attach my Thule to the roof rack. Other than that it was always too bright/too dark/too cold/too hot to open the damn thing. Did not add this to my new Expy order...
2) I suppose this was done for cosmetic reasons, but the roof rails still end too far back from the front windshield. To put a canoe up there properly, you either have to center it on the third row seats (doesn't work if you're towing a travel trailer), or get very creative with supports and tie-downs (which is the way I have to go). Probably only an issue for me but... oh, and very few of the competitors, if any, are any better.
3) I wanted the B&O stereo as well, but not available on XLT. Shame.
4) I was a little perturbed that I couldn't order both the FX4 and HD Towing packages for a reasonable price - even though the big items are in both packages (transfer case, ltd slip 3.73 diff, radiator), it would still have cost full price for the FX4 for basically stickers, shocks, and skid plates. I declined the FX4.

Mike

 

[JExpedition07]

^ im assuming that’s your white 2006 limited in your avatar, beautiful truck. Shame it got totaled, those white on white 2nd gen Expeditions have always been my favorite of the bunch.

 

[Meeker]

Yes I was definitely not ready to upgrade yet - wanted a couple more years out of her. Very capable vehicle, although I'm looking forward to better towing from the 2018 (from the reports I've seen anyway)...

 

[shane_th_ee]

...I'm sure there must be a backlog of orders at the plant for these kinds of delivery times...

Oh, either my dealer is lying to me, or it's worse than that. There's currently a hold on new orders for the 3.73 rear axle due to unexpected demand and/or unexpected production issues. So although the dealer put in our order 3 weeks ago, we still don't have a production date or a VIN.

I was a little perturbed that I couldn't order both the FX4 and HD Towing packages for a reasonable price - even though the big items are in both packages (transfer case, ltd slip 3.73 diff, radiator), it would still have cost full price for the FX4 for basically stickers, shocks, and skid plates. I declined the FX4.

Here in the US, they do lop ~1/3 off the price of the HD towing package if you get the FX4 package. Or you can just do the trailer brake controller as a $500 dealer installed option...

 

[Kevink109]

This is a pretty lousy article. Also highlights Fords SUV sales are DOWN. It overlooks the retooling of the plant and how much did they design to put out? Is the factory putting out less trucks than before and it’s all relative? No facts whatsoever. The bottom line is auto sales are down as commodities and prices rise. Ford is making Lincoln what it once was: an elite brand. They aren’t aiming to sell to masses anymore but to their original target market, high income earners. They may be producing less Navis now. Fords sales are down on Expedition 15% this month. That’s published. Not hating just stating the obvious, still great vehicles. In January GM sold over 20,000 Tahoes, ford sold only 4,000 Expeditions... really puts in perspective. Ford is making and moving a lot LESS trucks.

really won't know sales numbers for Expeditions until production catches up- its a brand new design on a retooled line- so typically the line is not at full capacity for 2-4 months. As a buyer in December- all I can tell you on the west coast- pickings were slim. For an Expy max, most dealers have received only one unit from launch thru mid January - so sales are limited based on availability - lets look at the numbers in a couple of months and see where were at.

Overall new vehicle sales are expected to trend down- we just had a couple of years of peak purchasing and the used vehicle market has lots of capacity- so there is more pressure on the new vehicle market than previously

 

[gtnator]

really won't know sales numbers for Expeditions until production catches up- its a brand new design on a retooled line- so typically the line is not at full capacity for 2-4 months. As a buyer in December- all I can tell you on the west coast- pickings were slim. For an Expy max, most dealers have received only one unit from launch thru mid January - so sales are limited based on availability - lets look at the numbers in a couple of months and see where were at.

Overall new vehicle sales are expected to trend down- we just had a couple of years of peak purchasing and the used vehicle market has lots of capacity- so there is more pressure on the new vehicle market than previously

EXACTLY! It's way way too early to compare Expy sales to sales of Tahoe/Suburban. Expy's are supply constrained. We'll see what happens by summer.

Navigators are also supply constrained:

NEW LINCOLN NAVIGATOR IS SELLING WAY BETTER THAN YOU’D EXPECT
http://www.motortrend.com/news/new-...630DCE371EA3B126522EAB2C8C7A9F0B06484EE1973AE

My favorite part of this article is this: "Navigator sales were up a whopping 97.5 percent year-over-year last month, jumping from 652 to 1,288."

Sales are up NINETY-SEVEN FREAKIN PERCENT! And this is with the supply constrained. Wow. The redesign of the Expy and Navi are definitely going to be a home run! Yes, it's one month, but OMG that's off to a great start.

 

[Artie]

Artie - your family is setting off the intrusion alarm. When you turn the car off, your screen displays the choice of something like “All Alarms” or “Perimeter Alarms.” If you select just “Perimeter” it’ll disable the internal intrusion alarm and that won’t happen.

I just saw the option to have it ask me when I was looking through the settings this upon shutting off the car.....I’ll have it ask from now on. Thanks!!

 

[Fordalways]

Artie - your family is setting off the intrusion alarm. When you turn the car off, your screen displays the choice of something like “All Alarms” or “Perimeter Alarms.” If you select just “Perimeter” it’ll disable the internal intrusion alarm and that won’t happen.

I was wondering what those options in the menu tree actually and the dealer didn't know. He had pointed out the eyeballs in the ceiling console and knew they were part of the security system, so your response makes sense if All Sensors Active include these motion detectors and Perimeter Sensing relies only on the door and hood switches.

 

[Fordalways]

Change/Wishlist:

Offer extendable side mirrors similar to the F-Series to complement the Expedition as a tow vehicle.

Add additional lights at the bottom interior of all the side doors to illuminate the running boards when entering or exiting in the dark. The light on the bottom of the mirror is shaded by the front door.

Replace the 12v power point on the dash with a pair of USB ports. There never seems to be enough. There is already a 12v port in the center console, an additional one could be placed convenient for the 2nd row. While at it, do away with the chintzy doors covering that dash 12v port and the USB ports and 120v receptacle for the 2nd row seats. It won't take much for them to break off and then the remaining hinge stubs will look worse.

Offer splash guards for the front wheels to cover to somewhat shield the running board mechanism.

 

[Garrett]

My guess is splash guards don't work when you have auto running boards...similar to GM products.

 

[shane_th_ee]

The last page of the brochure lists splash guards as an available accessory. My guess is they'll be available at some point in the not-too-distant future.

 

[Scottorama]

EXACTLY! It's way way too early to compare Expy sales to sales of Tahoe/Suburban. Expy's are supply constrained. We'll see what happens by summer.

Navigators are also supply constrained:

NEW LINCOLN NAVIGATOR IS SELLING WAY BETTER THAN YOU’D EXPECT
http://www.motortrend.com/news/new-...630DCE371EA3B126522EAB2C8C7A9F0B06484EE1973AE

My favorite part of this article is this: "Navigator sales were up a whopping 97.5 percent year-over-year last month, jumping from 652 to 1,288."

Sales are up NINETY-SEVEN FREAKIN PERCENT! And this is with the supply constrained. Wow. The redesign of the Expy and Navi are definitely going to be a home run! Yes, it's one month, but OMG that's off to a great start.

See this:
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2018/02...nt-but-ford-turning-up-the-wick-at-its-plant/

It's not GM that's being impacted by the new Expy and Navi...Its the imports. From the article:

Despite the Navigator’s early success, internal data from Cadillac has shown the SUV isn’t swaying its buyers. Most of the Navigator’s conquest buyers have come from Mercedes-Benz and Land Rover thus far. Meanwhile, Escalade sales rose last month, as did the SUV’s transaction prices.

Read more: http://gmauthority.com/blog/2018/02...rning-up-the-wick-at-its-plant/#ixzz57HccLKEs

 

[Garrett]

Like I said in another thread, I do feel GM is getting worried though. I saw an ad locally that shows new 18 Escalades are on sale for about 2-3k more than a platinum expedition!

 

[deweysmith]

Ford stealing business from Land Rover and Mercedes-Benz.

There's something I never thought I'd read.

Can't say I'm surprised, either. European manufacturers don't understand the humongous SUV market quite like Ford/GM do.

 

[zarga]

Please add a way to lock out the audio volume control in the back!

 

[edizzle]

LOL, my daughter LOVES that she can override any song or volume selection.