Shopping for 4th Gen, which 18, 19 or 2020?

vertbird · Jul 13, 2022

Guys,I'm new to the forum but thought this would be a good place to start. I'm looking at 4th gen Expeditions. It would have to be a used one but I'm concerned about all the cam phaser problems I read about. Are there year models that should be avoided or are 4th gens equal in reliability, specifically this cam phaser issue. Thanks!

TheDoug · Jul 13, 2022

From what has been posted here and other places I have read on this topic go with a 2020... but I believe you also need to look at the actual build date to see if it has the updated 4 bolt mega cap for the head/cam shaft. (Sorry I don't have the date off top of my head)

I have an 18 and had 2 sets of cam phasers so far, others here have had theirs replaced more than me.

vertbird · Jul 13, 2022

Great info, thanks TheDoug. Maybe someone will chime in with build dates or other ways to determine the change. Thank you!

Maxine the Max · Jul 14, 2022

TheDoug said:
From what has been posted here and other places I have read on this topic go with a 2020... but I believe you also need to look at the actual build date to see if it has the updated 4 bolt mega cap for the head/cam shaft. (Sorry I don't have the date off top of my head)

I have an 18 and had 2 sets of cam phasers so far, others here have had theirs replaced more than me.

vertbird said:
Great info, thanks TheDoug. Maybe someone will chime in with build dates or other ways to determine the change. Thank you!

We just purchased a 19'. We intentionally avoided the 18' model year because of all the issues we read about. Our 19' was manufactured in September of 19' so it would be interesting to know if it had/has the updated part. It was a gold cpo at the dealership so hopefully everything was gone over carefully. I will add, sometimes reading all the negative posts can be overwhelming, or cause anxiety. Be sensible, I wasn't at first.

Blackshirt5598 · Jul 18, 2022

Stay away from ‘18, period

Jettix2 · Jul 18, 2022

We love our 18 Platinum Max but it's been a bucket of problems since we bought it last summer, I strongly advise you NOT to consider an 18.....I wish we'd just spent more $$ and bought a 21/22 at that time.

apex96 · Jul 18, 2022

The updated heads I believe are a 2020 model year item and only August 20 beyond may have the updated heads.

This thread discusses the possible redesign of the 3.5 heads.

I've read about the cam issues in the 3.5, can these mechanical issues be resolved? The carfax shows this 2018 has been in the shop a couple of times.

www.expeditionforum.com

Deadman · Jul 22, 2022

My 2018 has been excellent.

2018ExpyPlatinum · Jul 23, 2022

Can't wait to watch this thread go down hill. I have an 18 with 40K and zero issues. I think I got a good one. I don't even know if I have the cam phaser issue. Even if I do, I'm not fixing it. That said, I think I would avoid an 18 due to a lot of guys on here having many issues. One thing I know, I will not keep it past it's 6 year/75K extended warranty. Like any vehicle, there are good ones and bad ones. I'd look for the newest model year with the lowest mileage that you can afford.

Fastcar · Jul 23, 2022

vertbird said:
Guys,I'm new to the forum but thought this would be a good place to start. I'm looking at 4th gen Expeditions. It would have to be a used one but I'm concerned about all the cam phaser problems I read about. Are there year models that should be avoided or are 4th gens equal in reliability, specifically this cam phaser issue. Thanks!

Buy the newest one you can. A lot of the crap has been eliminated as each MY came out. Of course now the damn thing may burn up. It is always something.

Shopping for 4th Gen, which 18, 19 or 2020?

vertbird

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TheDoug

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vertbird

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Maxine the Max

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Blackshirt5598

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Jettix2

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apex96

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I've read about the cam issues in the 3.5, can these mechanical issues be resolved? The carfax shows this 2018 has been in the shop a couple of times.

Deadman

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2018ExpyPlatinum

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Fastcar

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