New-To-Me 2018 Expedition Platinum - Mistake?

[mn_gopher]

Hi everyone, I'm a newb on the forum but found my way here after just recently purchasing a 2018 Expedition Platinum. First off...my wife and I love(d) the vehicle...or so we thought. Originally we were looking to buy a 2022 Tahoe/Yukon but the issues getting one and the amount of time we were going to have to wait was going to delay a trip that we've had planned for a good long time....so I opted for what I thought was the next best thing...a low mileage Expedition. Ours is a CPO 2018 with 5,000 miles that was a corporate fleet vehicle at one point and must have sat during the pandemic. Either way, on the surface everything seems fine. I noticed some hesitation when doing a full throttle test and the transmission seems kinda jerky at times. Nothing that I would consider severe but did seem strange considering I've driven others that pull like a freight train and shift like butter. I honestly just chalked it up to the fact that it's been sitting for a long time not being driven.

Then I came to the forum and started reading about the timing chain rattle, shudder, transmission issues, electric gremlins (rear hatch opening on its own) and so on and so forth. While reliability ratings from CR were not good, other places had it with a reliability rating that was quite high compared to GM. So here I am...getting ready to pile our family in this vehicle for nearly 2 months of cross country tripping and I'm feeling somewhat gun shy about it. It's too late to undo the purchase, but I can't get over reading this (which I did not see until too late):

Buying a 2018 Ford Expedition Is Like Throwing Money Away

Since its introduction in the mid-1990s, the Ford Expedition has been an almost ideal SUV for large families. With robust engine options and three rows of

www.motorbiscuit.com

Are the rumors true about these vehicles? Am I in for nonstop headaches if I keep it? Reading about the hatch opening on its own, for example, is enough for me to trade it in right now if it's a common occurrence since I'll have my two dogs back there.

Feel free to tell me if I'm being ridiculous...but also please be honest about these 2018 problems as well. Thanks!

 

[ColoradoJon]

I can feel your anxiety. I felt similarly after reading this forum. I don't know if the worry is really worth it. Certainly some legit horror stories on here but also some good ones. You can program the rear hatch in the menu to no longer be auto if you want. I find I can stop it quickly cause it is usually when we are standing there. It is startling and annoying but manageable once you can anticipate it and it stops with not a lot of pressure.
The tranny hesitation is probably it learning. Had mine reset recently due to the hard shift from park but it didn't really help that but did intro more hesitation. It is smoothing out I feel. The hard shift from park is something I just consider the ebrake more and it doesn't do it as often.

This engine power and seat capacity is unrivaled in my opinion. I have found my non CPO purchase at 45k to still be a good one. Got some things I want to do and probably will keep my ESP money and then some with the cam phaser stuff. I love driving it so I am going to stick with it. Just my 2 cents. I know some people here want to drop it quickly but I will hang on for as long as we need it.

 

[99WhiteC5Coupe]

Hi everyone, I'm a newb on the forum but found my way here after just recently purchasing a 2018 Expedition Platinum. First off...my wife and I love(d) the vehicle...or so we thought. Originally we were looking to buy a 2022 Tahoe/Yukon but the issues getting one and the amount of time we were going to have to wait was going to delay a trip that we've had planned for a good long time....so I opted for what I thought was the next best thing...a low mileage Expedition. Ours is a CPO 2018 with 5,000 miles that was a corporate fleet vehicle at one point and must have sat during the pandemic. Either way, on the surface everything seems fine. I noticed some hesitation when doing a full throttle test and the transmission seems kinda jerky at times. Nothing that I would consider severe but did seem strange considering I've driven others that pull like a freight train and shift like butter. I honestly just chalked it up to the fact that it's been sitting for a long time not being driven.

Then I came to the forum and started reading about the timing chain rattle, shudder, transmission issues, electric gremlins (rear hatch opening on its own) and so on and so forth. While reliability ratings from CR were not good, other places had it with a reliability rating that was quite high compared to GM. So here I am...getting ready to pile our family in this vehicle for nearly 2 months of cross country tripping and I'm feeling somewhat gun shy about it. It's too late to undo the purchase, but I can't get over reading this (which I did not see until too late):

Buying a 2018 Ford Expedition Is Like Throwing Money Away

Since its introduction in the mid-1990s, the Ford Expedition has been an almost ideal SUV for large families. With robust engine options and three rows of

www.motorbiscuit.com

Are the rumors true about these vehicles? Am I in for nonstop headaches if I keep it? Reading about the hatch opening on its own, for example, is enough for me to trade it in right now if it's a common occurrence since I'll have my two dogs back there.

Feel free to tell me if I'm being ridiculous...but also please be honest about these 2018 problems as well. Thanks!

The 2018 Expedition has six safety recalls, and numerous TSB’s issued by Ford (on how to repair common defects).

You can check the safety recalls and read the TSB’s here: https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2018/FORD/EXPEDITION/SUV/4x4#recalls

I would check with a Ford dealer or on the NHTSA website to determine that all safety recalls have been done to your vehicle (using the VIN).

I would also suggest reading the various TSB’s and see if you are experiencing any of the problems listed. If so, you could have them repaired under your CPO warranty.

 

[Soliyou]

Are the rumors true about these vehicles? Am I in for nonstop headaches if I keep it? Reading about the hatch opening on its own, for example, is enough for me to trade it in right now if it's a common occurrence since I'll have my two dogs back there.

People on the forums are either car enthusiasts or owners having issues. The majority of owners don’t have issues and don’t visit the forums.

As a result, you will see all possible problems reported here in the forum, but not all of them would affect all vehicles.

Based on my experience being a member of this forum, the 2018 is not less reliable than 2019-2020 (except very early builds). I see the same issues occurring for all the years. I excluded the 2021 since I think they fixed the cam phaser issue by then.

The hatch opening on its own doesn’t happen while the vehicle is in motion, so there is no safety risk. Also there is a TSB on that, so the dealer can fix it.

 

[Soliyou]

The Only issue you are having is the hesitation. For this, I would do a stress test before taking the trip to gain more confidence in the vehicle. Take it on the highway, wait until things are hot and give it couple of heavy throttle applications. If there are issues, let the dealer address them.

The only mistake you are making is spoiling the joy of owning a new car! These are very nice vehicles, especially the platinums.

In fact, it is still the best package in the market even after the release of the new Sequoia (IMHO).

For now, I would say congratulations on your new purchase! Enjoy the boost!

 

[Squark]

I bought my 2018 Expedition new and have 60k miles on it now. It's a great vehicle! I've had a few issues like cam phasers and turbo rattle that were fixed by the dealership under warranty. Both were just annoying sounds; nothing that left me stranded on the road. Since yours is CPO, you have nothing to worry about. All vehicles have issues and their forums are full of reports of problems.

I've taken our Expedition thousands of miles on roadtrips with 3 kids and all their gear. I've towed our 7,800lb travel trailer through the mountains many times and driven on the beach in the Outer Banks. It's very versatile, comfortable, and gets surprising good fuel economy for its size. I would buy it again if I were in the market today.

Also, I've read a couple of MotorBiscuit articles in the past and no longer read them. I've found their articles are poorly written (grammatical mistakes, inaccurate facts about different vehicles) and come across as clickbait to me. I wouldn't take what they say as fact.

 

[TheDoug]

There at one point was an update for the transmission tune to help with jerky acceleration. Not sure if yours was done or not, but ask the dealer to check before your trip.

Also some just posted a TSB about transmission slipping to neutral under heavy acceleration, maybe your issue?

I also have an 18 platinum and I never had the Trans problem others reported. Just had my cam phasers replaced twice which is annoying. But all in all I love the vehicle and there isn't anything I would trade it for.

 

[2018ExpyPlatinum]

I agree about MotorBiscuit. Their articles are either really good or scare the crap out of you. CR I have mixed feelings about too. Sometimes right on, other times I think they are full of poop. As my father used to say, doesn't matter if it's a Yugo or a Rolls, there are good ones and bad ones.

I bought my 2018 new. I have 40K on it now. I thought it was the best choice out there when I bought it. I can honestly say, I think I got a good one. Almost none of the issues out there that most talk about. Do I have turbo rattle? IDK. Do I have cam phaser issues? IDK. I will not get the two cam phaser TSB done. I do notice a valve ticking noise. I think there is something "not right" with my AC, but I have accepted that, and maybe it's me. Other than that, I'm still pretty happy. Will I keep it beyond the 6 yr 75K extended warranty? NO!

I agree with the above. Have a dealer check for all TSB's. Give it a good run. Best of luck to you.

 

[Rob6805]

Hey!! At least your 18 wont bust into flames at any moment like my 21 can..

 

[2018ExpyPlatinum]

@Rob6805 .....well, there's that! Good point

 

[mn_gopher]

Thank you to everyone who commented. Definitely a bummer and sad to say, we no longer own this vehicle. The other night we were driving and noticed the vehicle was struggling to get power going up a hill with the turbo cutting in and out...seemed like it was misfiring/hesitating under moderate load. Then I went to go pass someone 15 minutes later and RPM hit about 3000 and just sat there jerking before finally kicking in seconds later. It was too late to finish the pass so I ended up following a guy going 10 under for several miles until he finally turned off. Was concerning. No blinking CEL but was clearly misfiring. That combined with a vibration at 75 MPH and whistling at speed put my wife over the edge who kinda fought me on buying it in the first place. My wife asked me to return it...believe it or not, the dealership we worked with was fantastic and obliged. We lost our super low APR financing and we're now back at square one to find something new. That being said, we really liked the Expedition and feel like its space along with low-end torque and power when running correctly was exactly what we needed to tow our camper. We had a fairly bad experience with a previous Ford vehicle that ended up getting lemoned after nearly 3 years of Ford stonewalling and refusing to fix a defective engine and transmission (needed two engines by the time it was bought back and the squawking transmission never got replaced). My wife said she would not endure that again or be willing to take the inevitable loss.

I felt crazy looking at a Ford again but with the exception of not having air suspension, I personally think the Expedition is a better overall package than the Yukon/Tahoe. That being said, prices are crazy for the new ones and they seem to be almost impossible to find much like the GM competitors. There's a 2021 Platinum they want MSRP for (like 80K)...definitely not the same deal as our CPO 2018 but it seems like 2021 have been doing better other than the fire recall. My only alternative is a 6.2 based GM that will cost me north of 80K for even lower trims if I want to get one now (that's if I can find one). Or...I wait for the 23 Sequoia...which in my opinion landed like a dud. Thanks again for the tips...I'm still hoping we can be Expedition owners...just not the one we had.

 

[Rob6805]

We have had zero issues with our 21 other than the aforementioned fire recall.

 

[Jamaican Cruiser]

The forum is a good place to learn about the potential challenges and solutions for the vehicle. However it is unlikely that you will experience ALL the challenges discussed on your vehicle. I have been fortunate and have not had many challenges, however when I did the conversations on this platform enabled me to have a more informed and/or principled based conversation with the dealership.

Remember, common good vehicle maintenance is the greatest starting point (wash, wax, lube, oil change ... etc.). An example, when I first purchased my 2019, it had been on the dealer lot for 10 months. The roof rattled, the floorboards worked whenever they wanted to, and on the highway the wind noise from the drivers door sounded like a train was coming through. From the forum I learned about the sunroof maintenance, cleaning the retractable floorboard and cleaning and lubing the door seals. Now I do those things regularly and have had no more issues with those items. Good place, if you temper what you read/hear

 

[Maxine the Max]

People on the forums are either car enthusiasts or owners having issues. The majority of owners don’t have issues and don’t visit the forums.

As a result, you will see all possible problems reported here in the forum, but not all of them would affect all vehicles.

Based on my experience being a member of this forum, the 2018 is not less reliable than 2019-2020 (except very early builds). I see the same issues occurring for all the years. I excluded the 2021 since I think they fixed the cam phaser issue by then.

The hatch opening on its own doesn’t happen while the vehicle is in motion, so there is no safety risk. Also there is a TSB on that, so the dealer can fix it.

When we first got our 19 max platinum in April, I poured over the posts here. It gave me anxiety about our purchase. I was worried about every little thing. But you are right, people come here to post about problems. So of course that's what you see. All vehicles, across all brands have issues. I love every square inch of my mom bus. And I shouldn't let naysayers spoil it.

 

[Clif Keely]

I can feel your anxiety. I felt similarly after reading this forum. I don't know if the worry is really worth it. Certainly some legit horror stories on here but also some good ones. You can program the rear hatch in the menu to no longer be auto if you want. I find I can stop it quickly cause it is usually when we are standing there. It is startling and annoying but manageable once you can anticipate it and it stops with not a lot of pressure.
The tranny hesitation is probably it learning. Had mine reset recently due to the hard shift from park but it didn't really help that but did intro more hesitation. It is smoothing out I feel. The hard shift from park is something I just consider the ebrake more and it doesn't do it as often.

This engine power and seat capacity is unrivaled in my opinion. I have found my non CPO purchase at 45k to still be a good one. Got some things I want to do and probably will keep my ESP money and then some with the cam phaser stuff. I love driving it so I am going to stick with it. Just my 2 cents. I know some people here want to drop it quickly but I will hang on for as long as we need it.

 

[3rd Expyowner123]

Ordered a new 2018, Limited, delivered in April 2019, now have 71k miles and my truck has been wonderful. Ford did replace my cam phasers once, water pump began leaking and was replaced, have done rear brakes and replaced tires.
Enjoy your Platinum!

 

[Pancho258]

Turned our 2018 Mac Limited in at 34,000 miles. Was going to buy the lease out because we had Not had any issues with ours the entire time and could not find either another Expedition or F150 available in the trim we wanted. we ended up with a 2022 Timberline.

Back to the 18. We did not have a single issue with our truck during the three years we owned it. I believe I took the truck in twice under warranty. Once for the sunroof not closing and a second to replace the middle brake light and the front camera squirter developed a drool.

We took a number of long road trips. used to buy only Suburbans. The 18 was our first big Ford and I won’t go back to anything else.

Good luck on your road trip.

 

[Bmanxx13]

Thank you to everyone who commented. Definitely a bummer and sad to say, we no longer own this vehicle. The other night we were driving and noticed the vehicle was struggling to get power going up a hill with the turbo cutting in and out...seemed like it was misfiring/hesitating under moderate load. Then I went to go pass someone 15 minutes later and RPM hit about 3000 and just sat there jerking before finally kicking in seconds later. It was too late to finish the pass so I ended up following a guy going 10 under for several miles until he finally turned off. Was concerning. No blinking CEL but was clearly misfiring. That combined with a vibration at 75 MPH and whistling at speed put my wife over the edge who kinda fought me on buying it in the first place. My wife asked me to return it...believe it or not, the dealership we worked with was fantastic and obliged. We lost our super low APR financing and we're now back at square one to find something new. That being said, we really liked the Expedition and feel like its space along with low-end torque and power when running correctly was exactly what we needed to tow our camper. We had a fairly bad experience with a previous Ford vehicle that ended up getting lemoned after nearly 3 years of Ford stonewalling and refusing to fix a defective engine and transmission (needed two engines by the time it was bought back and the squawking transmission never got replaced). My wife said she would not endure that again or be willing to take the inevitable loss.

I felt crazy looking at a Ford again but with the exception of not having air suspension, I personally think the Expedition is a better overall package than the Yukon/Tahoe. That being said, prices are crazy for the new ones and they seem to be almost impossible to find much like the GM competitors. There's a 2021 Platinum they want MSRP for (like 80K)...definitely not the same deal as our CPO 2018 but it seems like 2021 have been doing better other than the fire recall. My only alternative is a 6.2 based GM that will cost me north of 80K for even lower trims if I want to get one now (that's if I can find one). Or...I wait for the 23 Sequoia...which in my opinion landed like a dud. Thanks again for the tips...I'm still hoping we can be Expedition owners...just not the one we had.

I actually had the same issue with mine, but couldn't find out what was causing it. Whenever we'd go up north I couldn't pass anyone going uphill. Literally would have the pedal to the floor and could feel like the engine/turbos were struggling. I would watch the turbos and experience what you mentioned -- a bunch of boost would apply, then it would drop to nothing. Rinse and repeat. What fixed the issue for me was when they replaced my cam phasers. Not sure if it was related, but after they changed all the parts for that I haven't had an issue since.

 

[Going_Going_Gone]

When we first got our 19 max platinum in April, I poured over the posts here. It gave me anxiety about our purchase. I was worried about every little thing. But you are right, people come here to post about problems. So of course that's what you see. All vehicles, across all brands have issues. I love every square inch of my mom bus. And I shouldn't let naysayers spoil it.

I think that Ford made improvements between 2018 and 2019 that made them somewhat less troublesome. We too are extremely satisfied with our 2019. My only regret is that it took Ford a few years more to perfect the cam phaser design. After 4-plus years, we just had our first engine management issue--an 02 sensor beginning to act up intermittently, but that could happen to any car nowadays.

 

[Calidad]

First just know that all auto makers are having issues with parts suppliers changing materials mid run to materials not specced for the part. This ends up being a recalled part eventually.

The 10spd was co developed with GM and is actually pretty impressive kit in both Ford and GM.

All the tsbs and recalls on your 18 should have been delt with before it ever was listed for sale so thats a pretty low concern.

Its new to you. Go drive it. Get use to it. Yes at times the 10spd can get mixed up lots goes into gear decisions on rare occasions especially with confusing inputs from driver the 10spd can get caught in the wrong gear.

Hesitation can be many things just drive it.. Run premium gas in it for a while the Ecoboost does run differently on 91 vs 87 ect.

Its not a sports car so don’t beat on it. Its a big SUV with a 3.5L engine.

As for the 3.5 it has an established history of going long miles with minimal maintenance but there aren’t ANY turbo engines that tolerate abusive use very well. If you treat it like a teenager that doesn’t pay a dime for maintenance or vehicle damage there isn’t a vehicle made that won’t break.

My neighbor has an early 3.5 with 380,000 miles on it. No issues just basic maintenance and 5000-6000 mile oil changes. The later versions of the 3.5 have been tweaked and perfected. They are even better today.