Gen 3.5 owners.... any regrets

[Aces]

Hey everyone,

This is for the gen 3.5 ecoboost owners, who may have come from the v8 side.

I currently have a 2011 with the anemic yet thirsty 5.4. Eventually, I plan going to an ecoboost and swapping all my parts over to it. But I want to know from current owners, how do you like yours? fuel mileage, reliability, performance, interior comfort.

Thank in advance.

 

[buffy]

I'm rolling over 200K on my 2016 Expedition with the 3.5 Eco. Just change the plugs every 50K and you're golden. I had a lot of concerns coming from a V8. They were all unwarranted. Here's the money I had to spend: 6R80 went out at 103K ( I hadn't flushed every 50K like recommended), plug went bad at 103K and 190K, fuel pump went bad at 153K and throttle body went bad at 160K. Engine is still purring with plenty of power.

Get a '17. All the Sync 3 is updated to do Android Auto and Apple CarPlay (you can upgrade the '16 to do it). King Ranch leather holds up the best. 16.5 mpg combined driving fast.

 

[JasonH]

It's great when it works. Get an extended warranty. Pulls my camper like a train, but repairs are pricey.

 

[gkretro]

I had a V8 Toyota Sequoia, traded for 17 XLT. Toyota had the smaller V8 and I found towing a bit of a chore. Expy has more torque for sure, towing is much easier. Fuel economy is good for such a large car, even towing at interstate speed milage is about what I got in the Toyota (and I was going slower). So far the only repair I've needed is the ETB, which seems to be a thing with Ford. Comfort/ride is good.

 

[GlennSullivan]

Hey everyone,

This is for the gen 3.5 ecoboost owners, who may have come from the v8 side.

I currently have a 2011 with the anemic yet thirsty 5.4. Eventually, I plan going to an ecoboost and swapping all my parts over to it. But I want to know from current owners, how do you like yours? fuel mileage, reliability, performance, interior comfort.

Thank in advance.

If you look at my avatar and sig you will see I currently own both 2011 and 2017 Limited’s. Both standard length, 4x4, Sync with factory Nav and HD Tow. I also owned a 2014 which was an exact match of the 2011. I traded that for the 2017.

The 2017 is much more powerful and much less thirsty, as long as you keep your foot out of it. It takes much less throttle pressure to get moving quickly in the 17.

The 2017 trans shifts beautifully and does not have the strange shift issues that the 2011 has that Ford never resolved at least in my case.

The 2017 Sync 3 / Nav is also so much better than the 2011 Sync

We have not had any engine problems with either the NA 5.4 or TT 3.5, but I am super **** on maintenance, with Mobil 1 oil changes every 4000 miles and because we have a few different vehicles, we don’t run up huge mileage on any of them - 2011 has 60k, while the 2017 has 40k.

The leather on the 2017 has been cheapened up since 2011, the drivers seat sides are cracking on the 2017 already, while the 2011 still are not.

I like the bright new dash on the 2017, but really don’t like the lack of guages.

I also don’t like the changes in the front suspension on the 2017 over the 2011 as the 17 tends to be noisey over rough pavement where the 11 is not, even though the 2012 has 20k more miles on it. I noticed this on the 2017 from day 1.

Another difference, which comes down to preference, the 17 steering is much lighter (more assist) than the 11. Around town the 17 is easier to maneuver because of this, but on the interstate at higher speeds, I much prefer the heavier more stable steering of the 11 which requires less input / management.

 

[larry1971]

Yes, I have regrets, in 18’ bought a 17’ with 59,000 miles, bought an extended warranty until 119,000, at 121,000 in Colorado the first check engine light came on, an underboost code, cleared and didn’t think to much about it due to the elevation, light came back on before we left, cleared once I got home, fast forward 5 months later it just quit on my wife, loaded it up and took it to ford, before I got home they called and said it needed a new engine, told them ok give a price, they called the next day $12,000 dollars.I got a call the first of the following week from an older service rep. Stating he wanted to dig into it, they found the turbo was bad on one side, suggested both turbos and new converters, gave the ok, $6600 later, up and running, this was in 19’, now after 30,000 trouble free miles hooked it to a small boat, once again same code popped up, cleared the code, now while back to Colorado the same code again, I am not spending anymore money on this thing, once I get back it is getting traded in on a GM product (I think the expeditions are better looking, but I am done with the“ecojoke”) if ford would offer the coyote I would gladly stay, but I can’t wait for them to dislodge head from you know what.
2009 f250
2008 expedition (another rant)
2003 mustang
1998 towncar

 

[rollinstone]

I’ve been sooo happy with my 2014 I can’t part with it. It’s been a super tow vehicle, looks good and gives a comfy ride. I’ve taken it to Burning Man 6 times and the alkali dust there is hell on metal and electronics. I’ve always given it a thorough cleaning and so far no issues. I’ll stick with it for now.

 

[Aces]

Hmmm ok. Thanks everyone for the input. I'll be sticking with my 5.4 for a bit longer. Just got the timing job done so I won't really look around quite yet. Currently at 188k. Maybe later on I can figure out how to shoehorn a 6.2 or 5.0 in one of these.

 

[Pilgrim]

I have an '08 with about 280,000 miles and a '15 with about 130,000 miles.
15 is much quieter and nicer to drive and much better fuel mileage. However, it's had several smaller repairs. The 08 has had virtually nothing done to it, except a starter about a month ago ($185 Cdn). Of course, I'm not including wear items like tires, brakes, shocks, and fan belts.
So, we like the 15 but it will never match the 08 for reliability. Both get Mobil1 on a regular basis. Everything done at home by myself.

 

[chuck s]

No regrets whatsoever. I went from a "first year" Gen3 (2007 V8) to a "last year" Gen3 (2017 3.5EB) and was happy with both. These exist in our family purely to tow a travel trailer. The '17 is much more powerful and gets better fuel economy. Got the '17 rather than an '18 because of the Gen4 changes like no gear shift lever and other nonsense.

'07 had burned wiring at the fuel pump sometime well after 100,000 miles that almost stranded me in the dead of winter. '17 needs a catalytic converter at just over 30,000 miles -- on backorder. Only problems with either.

-- Chuck