2019 Ford Expedition Max Limited Overall Reliability and Quirks

[Free]

First post to this discussion with a 2 month old 2019 Ford Expedition Max Limited. I love the vehicle. I know every one of us when you buy a vehicle, you soon find out the engineering flaws, quirks and weak points that each model and year has. Unfortunately, it's only after you purchase and drive one, do you find out the quirks.

Can some of you shed some light on the Expeditions weaknesses. From reading posts, it sounds like the transmissions are not the most robust. That bothers me. I purchased this to pull a trailer and go on trips with the family. I am concerned about the tons of "trinkets" I call them, like every time you open and close the door, the runner board goes up or down. Every time you lock it, the mirrors retract. If anyone might share your quirks I would be interested to know what might be coming or goes out frequently. Thanks for your time. Rex

 

[tacoduck]

Cam phasers. 10 speed transmission. HVAC issues. My experience is these trucks fall to pieces at 100k miles.

 

[Tiger Bob]

Those running boards are a cash cow due to how prone they are to break down. If I need to go in and out of the vehicle, I just leave 1 of the doors slightly ajar to keep them down. Make sure you lubricate those board hinges religiously every few months. If you live in the snow belt, the underbody needs to be washed regularly to prevent salt corrosion from the road buildup. Same applies for debris if you off road. My former SUV, a Yukon, had an option whereby you could drive with the boards down, so I just kept them down at all times. That was, of course, since they wouldn't retract reliably anymore.The Expo doesn't permit this. You can disable the mirrors from retracting via a setting. Cam phasers are a nightmare. Consider an aftermarket warranty. I have one for my 2018 Expo Plat. and would not purchase one without said protection. A previous Expo that I owned needed 2 engines replaced, so I am quite familiar with issues of reliability. We used to call that unit our " Warranty Crusher". Other than that, love the car and how it drives.

 

[Free]

Thank you so much for the reply. This reiterates what I was thinking and I appreciate sharing this. My exact thoughts. I LOVE the vehicle but......I see........ I reluctantly purchased extended warranty (purchased with 80,000 mile) and will continue it for sure now. Last, great idea on keeping the doors open!

 

[Mr Big]

It boils down to maintenance.
Change engine oil on a regular basis, (I use full synthetic oil and Motorcraft oil filter and change every 5000 miles).
Clean and lubricate mirrors periodically
Check running board brackets. They get really dirty and grimed up, which causes resistance that will make them fail. I spray them with cleaner and lubricate them regularly
My tranny has been perfect, so I can't speak good or bad. But if you are going to pull, hopefully you have the tow package. Also, it's a good idea to change the fluid and use one of the top recommended synthetic fluids. Change the differential oil and if you have an LSD add friction modifier.
These are preventive maintenance suggestions. My last SUV had 235000 miles on it. Mirrors never failed, running boards never failed, and I never had any major issues, including engine, tranny, rear end.

 

[Going_Going_Gone]

Piggybacking on Mr Big, we own a 2019 Limited Max 4X4 ordered new. Other than a couple of software glitches with the side view mirrors and the hands-free lift gate, we've had no serious issues. Ours was built with the early version cam phasers and I guess there have been many changes to the transmission since 2018 when ours was built, but no problems with ours.

We take this vehicle in for service every 5,000 miles and feel that is the key to preventing engine issues. Only other preventative steps I've taken on it were a change to the newer thermostat and replacing the IWE vacuum check valve. That and living in a dry climate keeps ours looking and running like new.

We bought it pre-Covid planning on several road trips so bought an extended warranty for eight years/120,000 miles thinking that a power step or moonroof failure would save us that much, and then never took the road trips. The only change to the later models that I wish I had was having the speed limit displayed next to the speedometer and not on the center screen.