Cam Phaser issue scaring me from buying

[mcb345]

The Phase used in the 2020 model year engines are from a different manufacturer they do not have an issue. Plus the engine calibration has been changed to also improve the lock condition.

I have a 2018 Model Year Expedition without any Phaser issues. I disconnected the VDOP oil pressure sensor when I purchased the vehicle new to keep oil pressure in high mode all the time.

are there any negatives to disconnect f this oil pressure sensor you speak of?

 

[scottdm]

The Phase used in the 2020 model year engines are from a different manufacturer they do not have an issue. Plus the engine calibration has been changed to also improve the lock condition.

I have a 2018 Model Year Expedition without any Phaser issues. I disconnected the VDOP oil pressure sensor when I purchased the vehicle new to keep oil pressure in high mode all the time.

First I've heard of the VDOP oil pressure sensor being disconnected. Did you disable it in Forscan, or physically disconnect it? Seems like it would throw error codes if disconnected.

 

[Paul M]

I owned a 2011 F150 Lariat 4X4 first generation/first year made 3.5 ecoboost with 278,000 miles when I traded it for my current 2020 Expedition. Other than a water pump, transmission solenoid, and routine maintenance it was as strong as the day I purchased it.

Mobil 1 and BG MOA (motor oil additive) every 5k, all other fluid changes every 50 -75 K, garage kept but driven daily not aggressively, but not "babied" either.

No problems yet with the 2020 Expy with 18,000 current miles.

 

[Brent Wahl]

Are there videos , with sound , comparing the phaser issue before and after repair?

cold start up start up sound differences?

 

[Robert Bushnell]

Hi, I just joined.

For some time now I've been planning to upgrade our tow vehicle, a 2006 120K mi. Armada 9000lbs tow capacity with a new Expedition with HD tow package.

But now I'm reading here about this unresolved cam phaser issue. As you see, we keep our vehicles a long time.

We have no use for a p/u truck and want to stay with an SUV.

But with this issue, should I look elsewhere? Obviously it's the folks that have had this problem that chime in on the cam phaser threads. But how universal is it? Is it bound to happen at high millage, or even before?

Thanks for any input
Paul

We have a 2019 Expo Platinum, no issues what so ever, Expedition is much better than the Armada, had a friend who bought a Armanda and traded it two weeks later, gas mileage was horrible.

 

[Craig Payne]

My 2 cents: At the end of the day, the Expedition still tops most charts for best full-size SUV. Even looking at CR which tends to over-index on reliability, the Expedition sits at the top in overall score, and the only full-size SUV with a higher reliability rating is the egregiously old but bullet-proof Toyota Sequoia. So while there will be issues that you might encounter with any vehicle, if you're looking for the greatest statistical likelihood of not running into major issues combined with a modern and highly functional full-size SUV, it's hard to do better then the Expedition.

 

[Kreis]

ok my 2018 expidition has rattled since day one I asked dealer they said use a better grade gas . I complained numerous times . No fix for it then , now I get a recall but dealers say they have. It received reprogram for it and it would be October before repair if it works . Well I found a dealer finally said they has the program . The tried it said it didn’t work now they want to pull the whole front off and repair cam phaser . I don’t know if I like this idea is this a temporary bandaid until warranty is out . I went to synthetic oil and change regularly I have requested a ford Rep to call me . Also the electronic have to be reset constantly puts the auto engine button and the radio comes on . Turn on ac the radio comes on . Ac quit working the reprogramed it now the rear Ac fan can not be controlled from the back . Only from the front they said 1200.00 will fix it . Hahahaha

 

[cdog2964]

We have a 2019 Expo Platinum, no issues what so ever, Expedition is much better than the Armada, had a friend who bought a Armanda and traded it two weeks later, gas mileage was horrible.

Definitely disagree with this one. We have a 2019 exp and a 2020 armada and the armada is way better in terms of build quality, no rattles where the exp sounds like it falling apart, and warranty issues. Bad cam phasors, leaky struts, air went out. The exp has 28k and the armada has 16k. armada has only been in the shop for oil changes.
That being said, yes, gas mileage stinks on the armada, but ill take that any day over arguing with the ferd dealer on why they cant fix the cam phasors...

 

[Drew Nicholson]

Aloha,

This TSB seems to suggest it is supposed to be repaired under warranty. https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2020/MC-10180531-0001.pdf
Which I will be asking for as my new to me 19 is making the ticking noise.
The TSB says it affects vehicles built before 10/31/19, and includes some 2020’s.
This seems like a straightforward request; we shall see …

Mahalo

 

[Tmg115]

All vehicles have their issues. GM's have injector issues. We just got rid of 3 Tahoe's with 5.3's and 2 of them had bad injectors.

 

[Jettix2]

We researched extensively before purchasing our 2018 expedition max platinum two months ago.

We Came from a “tried and true” 2014 Escalade that had tons of issues, we avoided the 2015-2020 GMs with lifter issues, buffeting sounds, trans issues……every make and model has some issue, other than perhaps a Toyota Land Cruiser (won’t fit our family + stuff).

Yeah, the 2018+ Expedition has a few issues but we found a clean 60k mile example, it’s CPO and for $2k we put a 140k mile bumper to bumper Ford warranty on it……if we run into cam phazer problems, we’ll have it addressed under warranty.

Ours has a bit of waste gate rattle, I had the “preventative” phaser TSB software update done, and it seems to run fine afterwards. I will run synthetic oil and hope for the best. If it blows up before 140k it’s warranty, and I have awhile to decide if I decide to keep it past then…

Overall, we love ours so far and would def buy another. My vote is to find one that you like and buy an extended warranty and enjoy the car.

 

[dlcorbett]

Definitely disagree with this one. We have a 2019 exp and a 2020 armada and the armada is way better in terms of build quality, no rattles where the exp sounds like it falling apart, and warranty issues. Bad cam phasors, leaky struts, air went out. The exp has 28k and the armada has 16k. armada has only been in the shop for oil changes.
That being said, yes, gas mileage stinks on the armada, but ill take that any day over arguing with the ferd dealer on why they cant fix the cam phasors...

I'll agree the build quality on the armada is better, but the expy is a better product. My expy never had any engine rattles and nothing had to be replaced, though it did have annoying issues. I just bought an 18 armada with 15k miles and less than 2k miles in, the rear air shock needed to be replaced.

 

[sjwhiteley]

I'll agree the build quality on the armada is better, but the expy is a better product. My expy never had any engine rattles and nothing had to be replaced, though it did have annoying issues. I just bought an 18 armada with 15k miles and less than 2k miles in, the rear air shock needed to be replaced.

This is a case in point. All auto manufacturers have problems: the parts they buy are from all the same sort of companies - they don’t make them themselves. Assembly is probably the only thing they have control of, but that can be hit or miss depending on the model. Same with design. They can design things that look like they would be brilliant, but in practice, just doesn’t scale.

There are plenty of these vehicles that have no problems. A lot that do are self induced problems. And then you have some which have the cam phaser and leaky shock issues.