My 15 ecoboost saga....

[cmykpro]

Howdy folks. Just wanted to share my story with our 2015 limited with ecoboost. About a month ago I noticed that the truck seemed down on power. I had just crossed 50,000 miles (I am the original owner) and it just felt under powered. About a week later I get an engine code (I believe P209). I had the code read and it came back as under boost. I took it to my dealer as im still under factory powertrain warranty. The finding were something to the tune of one of my turbos had rusted and wasnt spinning fast enough. They stated it was a known issue and the new turbo addressed the issue. They had my truck for two weeks to replace the one turbo. I personally spoke with the tech to ensure the other turbo wasnt suffering from the same issue. He said the other turbo was fine and he installed some type of screen that Ford does now to address the rust issue. All was well with the world, so I thought...
Exactly one week later I could swear it felt under powered again. The next day sure enough I get a check engine light AGAIN... Had the code read and it is the exact same code as before. I dropped the truck off this morning back to Ford. I have a feeling the second turbo failed just like the first.
We had planned on keeping this truck until just before it hit 100k but now I am nervous as hell. Has anyone had turbo issues? Considering this was the first year for ecoboost on the expedition I have a feeling we bought the begining of the learning curve.

 

[coolzzy]

The ecoboost in the expedition is essentially the same as the one that's been in the F150 since 2011. I've not read about many issues with the turbos in the pickups but by the huge production numbers of this engine from 11 to 15 in the pickups and 15 to 17 in the expeditions, statistically you're bound to see some failures. As of June 2016 Ford had sold over a million ecoboost pickups and even a 1% failure is equivalent to 10k vehicles. You're warranty will cover the turbos but you might consider increasing your powertrain coverage to 100k miles if you plan on keeping the vehicle that long.

 

[Trainmaster]

The powertrain warranty is a good idea with a turbo because of the cost of a repair. I got a four year one on a 2010 with 94,000 miles... It cost me $1,300 from Lombard Ford on-line.

If you stick with V-8's you don't have these worries, but then you pay extra for fuel and the thing could throw a rod anyway. Machines do these things.

 

[bobmbx]

Howdy folks. Just wanted to share my story with our 2015 limited with ecoboost. About a month ago I noticed that the truck seemed down on power. I had just crossed 50,000 miles (I am the original owner) and it just felt under powered. About a week later I get an engine code (I believe P209). I had the code read and it came back as under boost. I took it to my dealer as im still under factory powertrain warranty. The finding were something to the tune of one of my turbos had rusted and wasnt spinning fast enough. They stated it was a known issue and the new turbo addressed the issue. They had my truck for two weeks to replace the one turbo. I personally spoke with the tech to ensure the other turbo wasnt suffering from the same issue. He said the other turbo was fine and he installed some type of screen that Ford does now to address the rust issue. All was well with the world, so I thought...
Exactly one week later I could swear it felt under powered again. The next day sure enough I get a check engine light AGAIN... Had the code read and it is the exact same code as before. I dropped the truck off this morning back to Ford. I have a feeling the second turbo failed just like the first.
We had planned on keeping this truck until just before it hit 100k but now I am nervous as hell. Has anyone had turbo issues? Considering this was the first year for ecoboost on the expedition I have a feeling we bought the begining of the learning curve.

You've got 2 spankin' new turbos for free. Fuggedaboutit.

 

[powerboatr]

rusty turbo??? hot side could get surface rust but enough to stop? maybe bypass valve was stuck open from some sort of contamination by oil coking
or no oil getting to the bearing?
screen?? for what. these are questions i would ask

 

[cmykpro]

Well the truck is STILL at Ford. They dont think it's the other turbo. Now they think it's the timing chain. Seriously, a timing chain at 50,000 miles?

 

[bobmbx]

Well the truck is STILL at Ford. They dont think it's the other turbo. Now they think it's the timing chain. Seriously, a timing chain at 50,000 miles?

"They think" is what they say.

"You're paying for our training program" is what I hear.

 

[99WhiteC5Coupe]

You've got 2 spankin' new turbos for free. Fuggedaboutit.

The OP did not get two new turbos for free (see post #6).

He purchased the vehicle new, which means he paid for the warranty that is included with the vehicle (basic and power train).

The turbochargers have no scheduled maintenance and I believe that failure at 50,000 miles is a sign of poor quality.

The Ford dealer took two weeks to replace one turbocharger, which is about a 6-7 hour job.

The vehicle is now back at the dealer for more repairs.

 

[cmykpro]

They are now blaming the timing chain failure on my oil change intervals. I do oil changes every 6,000 miles with Amsoil Signature series (the best they make). They are saying regardless of what oil is used it needs to be changed at 5,000 miles as they are seeing more and more timing chain failures due to prolonged oil changes on the 3.5's.

They are still covering it under warranty but who knows how long this one is going to take. I went ahead and ponied up the $1,900 for the premium Ford extended warranty for up to 101,000 miles....

 

[Plati]

Sounds like FORD is all over the map on oil changes. In the Owners Manual they specify a few different recc oil types to use ... and recent news is they changed the viscosity to use. (but I never got a letter)? The Owners manual is all over the map on oil changes, but some lawyer threw in the 5000 number in there somewhere as CYA, just never go past 10,000? Its BS. If FORD timing chains cant handle 6000 mile oil change interval then the Engineers and Accountants at Ford suck DD and should go find a new job.

 

[1955moose]

I've been reading about premature stretching of 3.5 chains causing anything from rattling, to full bent valves if a chain jumps a tooth. If the problem is anything like the Expeditions from 2005-2010, then dirty oil is clogging up a cam advancer. On these 6 cylinders though stretching chains have to be either poor quality, or worn chain guides. Either way shame on Ford. With millions of these motors, it can become a nightmare. Is this stretching limited to certain years, or is all the way up to 2018?

Sent from my N9131 using Tapatalk

 

[chuck s]

Sounds like FORD is all over the map on oil changes. In the Owners Manual they specify a few different recc oil types to use ... and recent news is they changed the viscosity to use. (but I never got a letter)? The Owners manual is all over the map on oil changes, but some lawyer threw in the 5000 number in there somewhere as CYA, just never go past 10,000?

Can you point out the "recent news" and where the oil changes are "all over the map" in the owners manual? The info from the owners manual you posted contradicts much of this.

Change the oil whenever the computer directs isn't confusing. 5W-30 synthetic blend or 5W-30 full synthetic ain't confusing either (to me).

-- Chuck

 

[AllBoostNoEco]

They are now blaming the timing chain failure on my oil change intervals. I do oil changes every 6,000 miles with Amsoil Signature series (the best they make). They are saying regardless of what oil is used it needs to be changed at 5,000 miles as they are seeing more and more timing chain failures due to prolonged oil changes on the 3.5's.

They are still covering it under warranty but who knows how long this one is going to take. I went ahead and ponied up the $1,900 for the premium Ford extended warranty for up to 101,000 miles....

Your dealer is full of it. Of course they are covering it under warranty, they can blame it on your oil change interval all they want, but considering Ford does NOT have a mileage-specific oil change interval unless it doesn’t get reset properly, what possible reason could they give for denying a warranty claim based on the oil change interval Ford recommends? Could this be to cover up the fact that they replaced a turbo for absolutely no reason because they said it was “rusty”? Which basically isn’t even possible on these turbos as nearly all the parts are made of material that doesn’t rust? Your dealer screwed up, and it’s easier to blame it on you and your maintenance habits than it is to accept responsibility for their mistake in not diagnosing it correctly the first time. Any claim they have to knowing about the EcoBoost was lost as soon as they showed their ignorance by blaming a rusty turbo.
There isn’t any variation on the issue of oil change interval. The 2011-18 manuals all say the same thing: change when the computer says to using 5W-30 synthetic or synthetic blend. Ford has never made recommendations to either change the interval of the oil type.
The 5K miles number is due to that being the earliest the computer will tell you to do an oil change based on usage. The 10K miles is the longest it will go. It came from the engineers, not the lawyers.
If you want to change it sooner, have at it. You aren’t wrong. I have 65K miles on a truck with 6 oil changes and my wife has 85K miles on a truck with 8. I’ve read enough about the EB to firmly believe the odds of overly long intervals causing an issue to be small.

The EcoBoost timing chain issue and matching TSB was issued for 2011-14 engines. They revised the timing chain and tensioner design with the update for the 15 F-150 they did. This is the design our trucks have, and I haven’t seen a ton of complaints about timing chains on the 15+ engines. Doesn’t mean it can’t happen, but everything has a chance of failure. The issue on the earlier engines may not have been as widespread as you’d believe based upon reading forums. You naturally hear about the failures, but extrapolating the total number of failures versus total number of engines is nearly impossible. I wouldn’t live in fear my EB is going to come apart unexpectedly some day.

 

[Plati]

Can you point out the "recent news" and where the oil changes are "all over the map" in the owners manual? The info from the owners manual you posted contradicts much of this.

Change the oil whenever the computer directs isn't confusing. 5W-30 synthetic blend or 5W-30 full synthetic ain't confusing either (to me).

-- Chuck

The recent news was from JE07 on a post that you read and posted on several times, maybe you missed his post? He said "We are now finding out down the road some of the issue is Ford used 5W-20 weight oil in the U.S market for CAFE reasons over VCT component reliability......now they are telling us to switch to heavier oil." Of course, I have not seen the official communication from Ford. I believe everything I read on the internet.

The (2015) Owners Manual specifies two types of oil to use. Both synthetic, I thought it said 3 & included normal oil so you're a lot more right than me on that. I wonder what manual I read that in? My 2014 with 5.4 has different specifications.

I'm an Engineer and think a consistent "use this type of oil & change it after this many miles", where the type of oil used didnt change after a few years ... would be a little more stable. However, I reread the documentation and can appreciate the different types of driving that is possible with different oil requirements.

I use the on board oil monitor myself, never said that was confusing.

 

[chuck s]

now they are telling us to switch to heavier oil." Of course, I have not seen the official communication from Ford. I believe everything I read on the internet.

They again. I doubt there is anything from Ford.

I was under the impression this thread was about the 3.5V6 EcoBoost, not something else/

We stopped time/mileage based oil changes in the Army decades ago in things like armored vehicles and aircraft, and only change it when the oil analysis requires it. This is mission critical equipment.


-- Chuck

 

[99WhiteC5Coupe]

Information on 3.5 turbo replacement: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2015/SB-10058245-9372.pdf

 

[jeff kushner]

Wow, some of those labor figures sure are a lot less than I would have expected to see for turbo replacements but it's prob only because it's reimbursed hours?

jeff

 

[MidwestBoater]

I agree with Jeff.. I estimate repair times for myself in 1/2 day increments. When I look at the location of the turbos on this thing I estimate a day per side (along with 2 bloody knuckles, one modified tool, and 3 new curse words invented). lol.

 

[cmykpro]

Just heard back from them. They confirmed timing chain has been "significantly stretched". We're going on months of this thing being in the shop with Ford... Now they are telling me they hope to have it done by the END of next week...

 

[Boostedbus]

Wow I think your dealer is just throwing parts at it until they stumble over a fix. Why does a timing chain take over a week to fix? I know the flat rate isn’t paying for a week of labor.The parts should be available next day at dealer. Something doesn’t sound right with your dealer.