Keep or upgrade to 4th gen '17

[EKBlake]

I have a 17 Max with 127000 km or 79000 miles. It's been good to us so far. It's going in for a rumble shudder on acceleration 0-30km/hr. But other than that it's been good so far. The question is do I upgrade to a 4th gen or stick with this one and prepare for cam phasers soon?

 

[BigOleFordFan]

If it were me, I would keep the 17, as a lot of the 4th gens have a fair amount of well known issues, most of which are harder & more expensive to fix......(just read thru the 4th gen sub-forum for more info)

79K is pretty low mileage for a 17, so there should be a LOT more miles left in it, IF properly maintained, so once you get the shudder resolved, happy motoring awaits you

Just an FYI, there are folks here with 3rd gens with 150k-300k, that's why I would keep it & "drive it till it dies"...

 

[Fasttimes]

I have a 17 Max with 127000 km or 79000 miles. It's been good to us so far. It's going in for a rumble shudder on acceleration 0-30km/hr. But other than that it's been good so far. The question is do I upgrade to a 4th gen or stick with this one and prepare for cam phasers soon?

I debated a year or so ago between going from my 2010 3rd gen V8 to a 2017 well conditioned or to a 4th Gen. I went back and forth over it but ultimately choose the 17'. Decision makers were all the issues that 4th gens were/are having would require me to purchase an extended warranty for at least 100k miles more to feel ok with dropping the amount of money on a 4th Gen. The 17' Limited came with everything I needed including tow package for about half the price of what the 4th Gen would cost me with the extended warranty. Do I get envy sometimes when looking at a nice 4th Gen, sure, but I feel I have a more trust worthy vehicle, knock on wood, that has caused zero issues so far.

Do let us know what the shudder ends up being on your 17 if you get it fixed.

 

[EKBlake]

I talked to an old loyal mechanic from my previous town and he said as long as it's in good shape and no rust, which it is, the best thing to do is keep it. Anything pre covid is still built well. Even a big maintenance such as a timing job or torque converter (likely the rumble he said) is still cheaper than a newer one. The post covid builds even after 5 years are still struggling and not all OEM parts, or even if they are OEM the quality is not the same. Not to mention the 10R80 transmission issues, still don't seem to be resolved. So I'm going to put the maintenance $$ in and keep it.

 

[Wahoogator]

I have a '17 MAX with 73000 and the only issue I've had was to replace the battery, Knock on wood! My daughter has an '19 with 40k+ and it has been in the shop at least 30+ days of ownership. her camphasers have been replaced twice with all kinds of lil BS issues. I had a '07 MAX V8 that I drove to the ground after around 125k. I found the '17 had all the new bells and whistles with the basically the same interior as the '07. At the time my dealer, who is a good friend, tried to talk me into waiting on an '19, and even offered me a loaner while I waited on delivery. I'm glad i have the '17 and will drive it till the issues are worked out either the generation 4's and now 5's... I hope my "Land Yacht" has many more miles...

 

[Anonymous98]

Check the drive shaft and the bearings. The 3rd gen has an unusual feature which attaches the differential to the frame in front of it to both anchor it and allow it to move up and down as required. Many of those, if not all (my 2010 Eddie Bauer 2wd does), have independent rear suspensions, which require more support for the differential. The problem with 3rd gen models is that many of the key electronic parts, i.e. the ABS Module, are no longer made or available; used ones are expensive, typically not guaranteed and have to be reprogrammed.

 

[EKBlake]

I have a '17 MAX with 73000 and the only issue I've had was to replace the battery, Knock on wood! My daughter has an '19 with 40k+ and it has been in the shop at least 30+ days of ownership. her camphasers have been replaced twice with all kinds of lil BS issues. I had a '07 MAX V8 that I drove to the ground after around 125k. I found the '17 had all the new bells and whistles with the basically the same interior as the '07. At the time my dealer, who is a good friend, tried to talk me into waiting on an '19, and even offered me a loaner while I waited on delivery. I'm glad i have the '17 and will drive it till the issues are worked out either the generation 4's and now 5's... I hope my "Land Yacht" has many more miles...

I agree, sounds like gen 2 eco boosts have a lot of unresolved issues, those cam phasers and if you're in there might as well the oil pump and water pump but $$ it adds up. And then there's all the cooling issues, so many plastic connecters that leak like crazy. Hopefully the 3rd Gen ecoboost resolves all those issues but I guess we'll have to wait and see.

 

[MikeN]

Did you ever figure out what the shudder was? I have a 16 that they told me was my vacuum hoses. Not sure about that one. My main issue is the paint peeling on the hood and tail gate.(16 made in Oct 15)

 

[MidnightBruce]

I feel this post as shiny and New always sounds better. My 16' EL has 120k miles and aside from some sync 2 issues that I don't care to fix and 1 driver side manifold stud, it's been perfect. Regular maintenance keeps him running strong, and it's important since this is my wife's daily for all my family. Never getting rid of it.