Dang man, I always get bummed out when people ditch their Expeditions.
This was my take. Not a vehicle or ESP issue, but an incompetent dealer. Unfortunately a dealer can make or break ownership.
I am having to learn to not take it personal when people I know are frustrated with their EXP. My SIL purchased a used Platinum about a year after we got ours. They have not had the best experience with it, or rather the dealers in our area have been terrible. They have an ESP and they have had nothing but trouble anytime they went in for service. I know it is not my responsibility to defend the vehicle or the dealerships, but I hate they are not enjoying it. I feel partly responsible, as when they had another child and needed more room from their Lexus GX, the EXP was a good fit for their needs.
But again, the dealership experience is ruining their ownership experience with FORD in general. She would drive straight to Lexus and buy a car if she could months ago, but they would be so under on the exp and rates are terrible. The service she is used to from Lexus just cannot be beaten. I cannot blame her though. Anytime I try and schedule service, or a diagnosis for repair, FORD usually is 1-2 weeks out, then 24-48 hours for diagnosis, (if the tech assigned to the car shows up), then another day or two for repair. Oh, and good luck getting a loaner car or a rental out of them. Fortunately, I have a 3rd party esp, and a local ford specialist mechanic shop was able to replace alternator and have it back within 48 hours of the failure. I have no confidence our FORD dealerships in our area could have been that prompt.
Has our Exp been problem free? Certainly not, but I do not have that type of expectation out of a 6 y/o car with 110K miles. My wife and I are learning to practice contentment and patience. We don't want a car payment, and our car is very nice and comfortable, Fortunately the couple repairs have been relatively simple and quick fix.