Hello, I just bought 2018 Expo MAX Limited

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Wally Rayban

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Hello everyone,

I'm Wally and I recently purchased a 2018 Expedition MAX Limited with 56,000 miles on it with Magnetic Metallic exterior and Medium Stone interior. I live in San Diego California and I'm looking forward to learning tips'n'tricks from you and sharing my experiences as well. I'm a pretty handy guy in the garage and with cars in general and love DIY repairs, especially if there is good video from YouTube. I Prefer Ford over GM and others when it comes to Trucks and Large SUV's. My daily driver is a Ford C-max Energi plug-in hybrid and my toy is a 1980 Shay Model A (1929 Ford Model A replica).

My Pros:
  • MAX is perfect for my family with 3 kids
  • light colored interior is way more practical and keeps interior cooler
    • I prefer it over black
  • Limited trim looks nicer than XLT, I wish it had LED headlight trim though like on the Platinum
    • If I had one wish....but too expensive to do the lighting upgrade
  • Panorama roof is so cool and limo tint of the roof glass is mandatory, especially in California
  • cooled front seats
  • push-botton start
My Cons:
  • Side mirrors have a glitch when using memory seats
    • They auto adjust all way up and start clicking repeatedly
  • Rear trunk hatch opens randomly when opening and closing passenger doors
    • So far only happens when car is in park
    • Happens both when the car is on or off
  • Occasionally see a warning for Steering Assist Fault Service Required
    • Ford Dealer wants $149 to reprogram
    • Independent Ford Specialist wants $100-$1500, weird
  • Cold starts, engine oil pump or valves or whatever, makes a tapping noise for the first couple seconds until the engine circulates the oil. Same noise before and after oil change.
  • Transmission occasionally downshifts with a bump and noticed it much more after an oil change at the Ford dealer.
    • Might need transmission and rear diff service????
I hope you all are safe and healthy with the virus going around.

Thanks,
Wally

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Wally Rayban

Wally Rayban

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Joined
May 22, 2020
Posts
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Location
San Diego, CA
Hello everyone,

I'm Wally and I recently purchased a 2018 Expedition MAX Limited with 56,000 miles on it with Magnetic Metallic exterior and Medium Stone interior. I live in San Diego California and I'm looking forward to learning tips'n'tricks from you and sharing my experiences as well. I'm a pretty handy guy in the garage and with cars in general and love DIY repairs, especially if there is good video from YouTube. I Prefer Ford over GM and others when it comes to Trucks and Large SUV's. My daily driver is a Ford C-max Energi plug-in hybrid and my toy is a 1980 Shay Model A (1929 Ford Model A replica).

My Pros:
  • MAX is perfect for my family with 3 kids
  • light colored interior is way more practical and keeps interior cooler
    • I prefer it over black
  • Limited trim looks nicer than XLT, I wish it had LED headlight trim though like on the Platinum
    • If I had one wish....but too expensive to do the lighting upgrade
  • Panorama roof is so cool and limo tint of the roof glass is mandatory, especially in California
  • cooled front seats
  • push-botton start
My Cons:
  • Side mirrors have a glitch when using memory seats
    • They auto adjust all way up and start clicking repeatedly
  • Rear trunk hatch opens randomly when opening and closing passenger doors
    • So far only happens when car is in park
    • Happens both when the car is on or off
  • Occasionally see a warning for Steering Assist Fault Service Required
    • Ford Dealer wants $149 to reprogram
    • Independent Ford Specialist wants $100-$1500, weird
  • Cold starts, engine oil pump or valves or whatever, makes a tapping noise for the first couple seconds until the engine circulates the oil. Same noise before and after oil change.
  • Transmission occasionally downshifts with a bump and noticed it much more after an oil change at the Ford dealer.
    • Might need transmission and rear diff service????
I hope you all are safe and healthy with the virus going around.

Thanks,
Wally

View attachment 36204 View attachment 36205


UPDATE 6 MONTHS LATER AND 5,000 MILES OF DRIVING

Still love driving it. I'm averaging about 13-15mpg city and 18-20mpg highway. Economy button seems to make no difference in mpg.

Installed 3 factory roof cross bars so that I can attached my 64" roof cargo carrier basket I bought from amazon. The instructions of cross bars says max load is 125lbs for panorama roof and 200lbs for non panorama. The carrier basket weights about 25 pounds so that leaves me with approx. 100lbs. I bought the third cross bar just to give me that extra piece of mind and stability and hopefully distributes the load better on the roof to decrease pressure on the panorama roof. Wind noise is not that bad because I have a wind fairing on my basket.

From my previous bullet points above:
  • Limited trim looks nicer than XLT, I wish it had LED headlight trim though like on the Platinum
    • Dealer wants $1670 each ($1169 with discount)
    • I don't know if they're plug and play on my Limited trim or if I need to do any mods.
  • My Cons:
    • Side mirrors have a glitch when using memory seats
      • They auto adjust all way up and start clicking repeatedly
        • I found out there is a TSB for this and it's a known issue
    • Rear trunk hatch opens randomly when opening and closing passenger doors
      • So far only happens when car is in park
      • Happens both when the car is on or off
        • I found out the hands-free power liftgate module has a glitch
        • Supposedly there is a TSB for it which requires wiring in a new ground??
        • Very annoying when I have my bikes on the bike rack. Already have one dent and scratch on the rear liftgate door from hitting my bike randomly.
        • When I have the bikes on, I have to remember to disable the auto liftgate. It's really annoying.
    • Occasionally see a warning for Steering Assist Fault Service Required
      • Ford Dealer wants $149 to reprogram
      • Independent Ford Specialist wants $100-$1500, weird
        • Fixed this at the dealer for $149. It took them a full hour because none of the techs could figure it out. It took a veteran tech, old buck, with the latest software updates to solve it in 5 minutes.
    • Cold starts, engine oil pump or valves or whatever, makes a tapping noise for the first couple seconds until the engine circulates the oil. Same noise before and after oil change.
      • Found out this is a major issue with the CAM Phasers that many Expeditions and F-150's have.
      • Dealer says it's totally normal. Many folks in this forum mention they got new CAM phasers and issue persists. So don't waste your time trying to fix it. Either live with it or sell it and move on to something else.
    • Transmission occasionally downshifts with a bump and noticed it much more after an oil change at the Ford dealer.
      • Might need transmission and rear diff service????
        • Still there occasionally. I'm considering doing a transmission service this oil change and then a differential service next oil change. Even though it doesn't need it until over 100k.
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theoneneo

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I like the 3 roof bars idea. How did you buy the third bar? Don’t they sell it by the pair?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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Wally Rayban

Wally Rayban

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So, they sell it 2 ways from what I could tell. Single or a Kit. The kit comes in a pair with hardware and then I bought the an additional single bar.

Kit:
JL1Z-7855100-AB
*comes with 2 bars and 8 screws
*cheaper to buy kit
*dealer on backorder, so I bought OEM new from ebay $135

Single:
JL1Z-7855106-AB - front
*$150, I don't know why it's more expensive to buy singles and why the front costs more than the rear. they look identical.


JL1Z-7855107-AB - rear or middle
*$88, I don't know why it's so much cheaper than the front
*screws cost extra, $2.50/each

Total investment for me was $135 for kit + $88 for middle bar, $10 screws
 

Gumby

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A word of caution with the bolts that come with the kit. I find that the tool to remove them is practically useless and it is very easy to strip the bolts. Trust me. Its not fun when they are. I had to drill it out in order to remove it. Now I went ahead and got myself far better bolts so it won't happen again.
 

Expedition Dave

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A word of caution with the bolts that come with the kit. I find that the tool to remove them is practically useless and it is very easy to strip the bolts. Trust me. Its not fun when they are. I had to drill it out in order to remove it. Now I went ahead and got myself far better bolts so it won't happen again.

Gumby, any info on exact size of new bolts and specs?
 

AdamNeedsInfo

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Wally, thanks for sharing this info! I was about to ask about doing this very thing (using all 3 OEM crossbars). The 3 fixed locations totally sucks. What was Ford thinking?? I have a rear opening cartop carrier and am thinking I can use both of the rear crossbars to support it (I still have to drill a new set of holes in the cartop carrier to make that work). Otherwise, the cartop carrier will be too far forward and too difficult to get to. I’d rather do that, though, than buy aftermarket crossbars that are more expensive and less aesthetically pleasing. But I think I’d like to have the forward crossbar, too, for hauling other long stuff (camping gear, etc). So, I think I’ll get the pair and then an additional rear crossbar like you did. I think some of the part numbers changed since your post, though.


Front and rear crossbar pair: JL1Z-7855100-AB

Rear crossbar: JL1Z-7855107-AA

Crossbar screws: W716332-S450B (I think it’s a 4 pack)
 

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