Hello,
I have a 2018 XLT that I bought new. I previously had a used Explorer for about a year and had no other experience with Ford cars. I only had Japanese cars before. I ran into quite a few problems, and I thought sharing them here. It's a good car in terms of the utilities, the space, and the fast engine, but it has been quite annoying in terms of its failures. As I write this, it's again with the dealer to fix new problems.
- The first problem was with the cold start rattle. I went to the dealer, and, as others have written in this forum, they replaced the VCT. I'm not sure if this would have caused damage to the engine in the long run, but I wasn't aware of the problem, although the noise was there. The dealer ignored it until I brought this up.
- Shocks were leaking before the car was one year old. They replaced four shocks when I complained about the annoying ride and noises.
- The cold start rattle returned, and they replaced the VCT.
- When I used the seat memory, it pushed my side mirrors far to the sides and kept trying to go further until I would stop the mirror manually. They replaced the motors inside the mirrors.
- Shocks went bad again, and they replaced them (about three years old).
- Once I was done with the warranty and unfortunately decided not to extend it, the car didn't take more than about a month to introduce a new noise from the front sides. The noise would increase as I accelerated. The dealer told me that the front bearings needed to be replaced, which they did, and the noise was cleared.
- I had a clicking noise in the transmission shifter. The dealer replaced some parts, and it was fixed.
- I have seen strange behavior from the 10-speed transmission. The famous Park to Drive clanking noise is always there. Every time I complain, they just reprogram the transmission, and nothing changes. The other problem is when the transmission is in the 4--6 range, it seems like it hangs and tries to switch gears back and forth and then settles. It's something that's very hard to explain, and I still hear a noise when I hit the accelerator when in 4--6. Reprogramming did nothing to fix the problem.
- A few days ago, the rear passenger side door jammed. I can't open the door.
- Check engine light is now on with the code P2240. The dealer is investigating the problem for a hefty diagnosis fee. Yet to hear from them.
In conclusion, I really want to love the car because of the space, the good A/C, and the fast engine, but it tries hard to disappoint me. I'm worried the transmission would fail altogether soon, and I'd just be spending more and more on it and leaving it with the dealer for days. Because I have never owned a Ford for a long time, I wonder if this is common and if Ford generally produces unreliable cars. I'm hesitant to buy any Ford in the future, although I still would like to exchange this for a large full-size SUV. I'm looking into GM cars, but I'm not sure if they're any better.
I have a 2018 XLT that I bought new. I previously had a used Explorer for about a year and had no other experience with Ford cars. I only had Japanese cars before. I ran into quite a few problems, and I thought sharing them here. It's a good car in terms of the utilities, the space, and the fast engine, but it has been quite annoying in terms of its failures. As I write this, it's again with the dealer to fix new problems.
- The first problem was with the cold start rattle. I went to the dealer, and, as others have written in this forum, they replaced the VCT. I'm not sure if this would have caused damage to the engine in the long run, but I wasn't aware of the problem, although the noise was there. The dealer ignored it until I brought this up.
- Shocks were leaking before the car was one year old. They replaced four shocks when I complained about the annoying ride and noises.
- The cold start rattle returned, and they replaced the VCT.
- When I used the seat memory, it pushed my side mirrors far to the sides and kept trying to go further until I would stop the mirror manually. They replaced the motors inside the mirrors.
- Shocks went bad again, and they replaced them (about three years old).
- Once I was done with the warranty and unfortunately decided not to extend it, the car didn't take more than about a month to introduce a new noise from the front sides. The noise would increase as I accelerated. The dealer told me that the front bearings needed to be replaced, which they did, and the noise was cleared.
- I had a clicking noise in the transmission shifter. The dealer replaced some parts, and it was fixed.
- I have seen strange behavior from the 10-speed transmission. The famous Park to Drive clanking noise is always there. Every time I complain, they just reprogram the transmission, and nothing changes. The other problem is when the transmission is in the 4--6 range, it seems like it hangs and tries to switch gears back and forth and then settles. It's something that's very hard to explain, and I still hear a noise when I hit the accelerator when in 4--6. Reprogramming did nothing to fix the problem.
- A few days ago, the rear passenger side door jammed. I can't open the door.
- Check engine light is now on with the code P2240. The dealer is investigating the problem for a hefty diagnosis fee. Yet to hear from them.
In conclusion, I really want to love the car because of the space, the good A/C, and the fast engine, but it tries hard to disappoint me. I'm worried the transmission would fail altogether soon, and I'd just be spending more and more on it and leaving it with the dealer for days. Because I have never owned a Ford for a long time, I wonder if this is common and if Ford generally produces unreliable cars. I'm hesitant to buy any Ford in the future, although I still would like to exchange this for a large full-size SUV. I'm looking into GM cars, but I'm not sure if they're any better.
