New 2022 SPP - First service

[rd618]

Not sure how many of you with ‘22s can relate, but first 200 miles have been met with a few mixed feelings.
- Fit and finish, miles ahead of the 18-21, sorry but you can not just see you can feel the difference. Not just the soft touch and trim but the tech upgrades. Other reviews have said it too. But this puts the expy back on par or better than the updated GM triplets.
- ride, non CCD, not as subtle as the non CCD ‘21. Might need a bit more breaking in. But it feels a bit firmer and more ridgid. Could be that “sport tuning” but I doubt it. Might upgrade sway bars in fall.
- Ride/tires, already in the shop and needs 4 new tires. Tires are both out of balance and out of round. Warranty covers all 4 replacements. Probably from sitting for months.
- power, I’m bias, it’s also not broken in yet. but it’s never enough. Pulls great, gets to 70 quick. But I’d be disappointed with less power than this (I also run 93 octane). Fuel economy is too early to gauge.
- Driving, is nimble enough, biggest complaint is Lock to lock the wheel requires too many turns. It’s electric assist. They could just adapt the speed to the turning ratio, would help a lot.
-Tech, it’s like when the iPhone came out, everyone complained about something. Then they all got used to it. It’s well integrated and fairly intuitive, takes a few trips to acclamate, then you’re fine. Camera button is 2 taps. It’s not that bad, but quick memory buttons would be better. Lots of options and settings. But organized well.
-auto start stop is not intrusive. Actually works pretty well, this is my 5th or 6th vehicle with it, second only to BMW 340’s implementation.
-Running boards both deploy at the same time, not an issue, I don’t care. But would be nice to have some Zerk fittings on them as they get a lot of use.


These are only initial thoughts. Early on. As updates and more wheel time, might change my perspective on things.

 

[Rob6805]

Both running boards deploying at the same time on the 22's is the most idiotic thing ever. I can imagine the scenario where you park next to your porch and open your driver's door and the passenger side deploys and hits the porch. My home driveway has this set up. So dumb...

 

[Infra246]

How did you convince the dealer to replace tires based on flat spots? Mine had a vibration and I took it in for road force balance. All four needed rebalancing. There is still a vibration at highway speed which I am assuming is flat spots from sitting four months. Not sure how to approach it with the dealer without getting the excuses and run around.

Agree on the running boards dumbest step backwards ever, unfolding then on unlock is stupid too. They are just needlessly opening and closing wearing out the already fragile motors.

 

[rd618]

Both running boards deploying at the same time on the 22's is the most idiotic thing ever. I can imagine the scenario where you park next to your porch and open your driver's door and the passenger side deploys and hits the porch. My home driveway has this set up. So dumb...

I agree it’s ridiculous, but I can’t see that scenario happening. You’d have to be really close to the porch. Once it hits resistance it does stop though to prevent damage.

 

[rd618]

How did you convince the dealer to replace tires based on flat spots? Mine had a vibration and I took it in for road force balance. All four needed rebalancing. There is still a vibration at highway speed which I am assuming is flat spots from sitting four months. Not sure how to approach it with the dealer without getting the excuses and run around.

Agree on the running boards dumbest step backwards ever, unfolding then on unlock is stupid too. They are just needlessly opening and closing wearing out the already fragile motors.

I have the same situation. Balanced and still vibrates at highway speeds.
The dealer could feel the vibration too so they voluntarily did the road force tests on all 4. Once they failed that test it fell under the 12 month 12k mile tire warranty for new vehicles.
Two dealer options, either volunteer to pay for the road force test and if they find the issue then tell them to process it as a warranty item, or find a dealer willing to actually ride along and feel the same as you.

These things should ride smooth as glass.

 

[Infra246]

I think the fact that a brand new truck needs all four tires rebalanced tells me that sitting for 4 montha altered the tires enough to need rebalancing. I wonder if a third party tire shop could visibly see the issue and document it as evidence. Have seen YouTube videos of guys turning tires and being able to see the flat spot but not sure how easy it is to identify in this case.

 

[Rob6805]

I agree it’s ridiculous, but I can’t see that scenario happening. You’d have to be really close to the porch. Once it hits resistance it does stop though to prevent damage.

Once it hits resistance it's been damaged (scratched). But agree it'd have to be pretty close. Still the dumbest thing ever...

 

[rd618]

446 miles on the odometer, and i'm now on my second set of tires, plus one that was bad from the second batch. For those keeping track, that's 4 original, 5 new (1 was bad).
Drove the tech myself today, he was a great guy, immediately saw what I was saying about the wheel vibration. I also noticed when the lane centering was off, the car drifted to the right, so he suggested alignment was off.
2 hours later, he said the tires (road forced) were technically "within spec" but not great. He suggested getting 4 new ones from Michelin or some better brand. The Generals seem to have crappy quality control. Alignment was off, toe on both front and rear was "just shy of the red" but combined it was off enough to feel it. So alignment is now "green", truck tracks straight, but still have some subtle vibration above 65.
Next stop, new tires, if this doesn't work we have to pull ford's regional techs to take a look. The tech thinks new tires will help, one wheel has 7.5oz of weights, which he said is excessive, but possible for a 22" wheel. He feels a better tire brand would drop that weight substantially.

 

[Infra246]

Quick update on my situation. Called dealer near me who did the road force and service rep started giving me BS when I told him it still vibrates. Did you buy it here? Need a shop foreman to drive it, he's on vacation etc. Unbelievable!

So I called the selling dealer who is two hours away. They sent a driver to pickup the truck and bring it back. They confirmed it drives like crap and said according to the other dealers own numbers from the road force balancing, which they could see on the warranty claim, the fronts are out for sure and the back two are boarderline. They will push Ford to get 4 new tires so will see what happens next.

 

[Infra246]

Finally heard back from the dealer last week. Ford approved two new tires. Went to get them put on and service advisor says one of the new ones is failing the road force balancing as well. Argh.. only good news is she says they will push for all 4 of another brand because these crappy Grabbers are hard to get. More waiting and time wasted. Looks like 2019 was the best year for me.