2019 Overheating After ~30 Minutes

[Gorp2007]

We've got a 2019 Max with the 3.5L Ecoboost. For the past few days, after about 30 minutes of driving it will start slowly overheating and making a growling noise when you hit the accelerator. The two ways to eliminate the noise are 1) slow down to <45 and go easy on the gas or 2) hit the gas and engage the turbo.

Friday night when it started I checked the coolant levels and they were very low so I refilled but the problem persisted. We were 3 hours from home, so we took it in and the code reads P0012, which references cam shaft positioning. The mechanic said we could limp home but there was nothing he could do for us yesterday, so we carefully drove back home today, stopping every 30 minutes or so to let it cool down.

There's at least one small leak where the hose exits the reservoir that I'm keeping an eye on, but wondering what could be causing the noise and overheating even with a full reservoir.

 

[DWs-TTEB]

Some have had this issue & turned out to be a stuck thermostat.

 

[DWs-TTEB]

@Gorp2007 check this thread out:

Normal coolant temps?

Im a newbie to this forum cause im a new 2020 xlt 4x4 owner. And was wondering what your temps are running at? Mine is running between 200- 212 deg and trans temps running about 196 or so. Seems high to me. I see the temps cause i did the forscan gage mod. 1st gens run even hotter up into...

www.expeditionforum.com

 

[Gorp2007]

@Gorp2007 check this thread out:

Normal coolant temps?

Im a newbie to this forum cause im a new 2020 xlt 4x4 owner. And was wondering what your temps are running at? Mine is running between 200- 212 deg and trans temps running about 196 or so. Seems high to me. I see the temps cause i did the forscan gage mod. 1st gens run even hotter up into...

www.expeditionforum.com

Thanks! Hopefully it's as simple as a t-stat swap. We've had it for 3 years, so we're right around the the timeline from that thread. Appreciate the response!

 

[8131full]

Thanks! Hopefully it's as simple as a t-stat swap. We've had it for 3 years, so we're right around the the timeline from that thread. Appreciate the response!

yup, super easy swap. Mine started acting up @ 40k. New tstat seems to be a better design, too.

 

[bbenz3]

As for your leak it could be similar to the first gen in my truck where the quick release connection would fail at the tank. I bought a prepackaged kit from Amazon with the hoses and clamps needed to fix it.

 

[Gorp2007]

I'm also wondering if the tstat getting stuck closed may be what's causing the pressure build-up and creating a leak between the hose and reservoir.

 

[Hectorsvt]

Had the same problem with the overheating. It would hit 240 degrees at times on my 2018 Fx4, got the new t-stat design from ford added some water wetter and problem is now gone. Took it out of town the next day on a 3 hour highway trip to elpaso hitting 70-85 mph and no overheating no more.

 

[Gorp2007]

Thanks for all the replies, I'm hoping it's a relatively easy fix. For an update for all you excited subscribers, I talked to some independent mechanics who all recommended we take it to the dealership in case it's something more serious than the thermostat. So far the dealership experience has been a little frustrating, we scheduled it for 7:00 yesterday morning but they didn't even get it checked in until 4pm. They're hoping someone can look at it today but they're reluctant to commit to anything because "that's a really long time to drive it, I don't know if our techs will have time." This has been our fourth warranty issue in under three years and each dealership has been about the same falling somewhere on the spectrum of disinterested to actively unhelpful, which is unfortunate because we honestly really like the vehicle when/if it's running correctly.