Not too happy with 2024 Expedition

[dsquared]

I've had a lot of cars over the years, many beaters, currently own 3 other nice cars of which 2 are rebuilt (frame up bearings, bushings, seals) by myself, and one is a Tesla. My fourth vehicle is my 2024 Expedition XLT.

I have needed a big car for a while, I had a van I regret selling. I was very excited about getting an Expedition, I test drove a few, and bought one that was just right.. And honestly it's such a *************, I can't believe I'm writing this post. I now have around 8k miles on it.

On the first day the car, on the second startup at home the car showed a "brake failure" message on screen. Figured new car glitches, no big deal.. Turned off/on, can drove okay. I scanned it with forscan a bit later it was some communications failure in related to ABS module IIRC. In any case.
The tailgate was failing to close almost off the bat, I had to twist in the tailgate rubber bushings to get it to close. It slams closed now, but at least it closes. It's not exactly aligned great from the factory.

I had a loud cracking sound turning the steering wheel. A local dealer fixed that by replacing the steering column. Also stole sunglasses out the car (first service!), but did replace monetarily.
I now have a weird notching/binding feeling in the steering at some points. It's pretty minor, I'm guessing the quality of the steering column bearings is just absolute trash. It's ridiculous. I guess I've just been spoiled by vehicles that steer smoothly?

The Auto engine Start / Stop idiocy.. just killing your starter and battery.

And then there's the transmission. OMFG. Why does it slam from 5th to 4th? Why does it slam from 5th to 3rd? Why does it clank and bang into gears whenever you do anything around 20mph? I thought the CVT it my Maxima "wasn't great" but man do I miss it now. It's a 70k dollar car.
I also have a disbalance somewhere and a definite vibration about 70mph. At 8k miles it could be tires.

Not automatic rear windows? I didn't even think to check for that when I bought it but I should have. All the used ones I drove. had them.

I must have cursed by using it to throw out trash on the very first day. I would've bought a Shelby for sure but I'm never buying another Ford, what a joke.

 

[dlcorbett]

Damn, sucks your going through all this. Unfortunately, with all new cars its a gamble. You either get one thats perfect and has no problems, or one which absorbed all the problems of all the cars on the lot. If you like the car, but hate the quality, hopefulli ford and your dealer does right by you. If you hate the car and its quality, 2026s are coming, im sure almost any dealer would love to trade you in their car for a brand new fs suv.

 

[DieselMonk]

All I had was a glass roof misalignment a couple of recalls (the gas gauge not reading correctly after fill up and the brake recall) and the horn that failed. That’s it. Been (ab)using my SPP every day on road and light off road with the 22” rims not a problem, just a tad stiff being a SPP with HD trailer tow… but put some weight in it, the ride softens. I think you need a different Fomoco dealer, if they can’t fix nothing right.

 

[ib_jigged]

Wow, the only issue we had with ours in the last year is the vibration in the General Grabbers that came on it. Switched them out for some new Pirelli's and one year later, still runs like a dream!

 

[Trainmaster]

Just bought a 2023 leftover Police SSV and only put 1000 miles on it, but it's been flawless.

Came with Good Year Wranglers, and I'd prefer Michelin highway tires, but with the money I saved I could buy 20 sets...

 

[zeecarr]

I haven't had any transmission problems at all. The factory tires suck but now after 20K miles and rotating a couple of times they ride smoother. Rear door has always worked fine. For me the running boards are the biggest problem with the car. They constantly come in and out rather than just staying out when the car is shut off. The settings for the running board timer are also broken the software and need FORSCAN to correct.

The auto start and stop engine is horrible, but seems to be on most cars these days. I bought the 4D tech start stop eliminator. It is worth the money and installs pretty easy. It actually just adds memory to the start stop, so it remembers how you had it set rather than always turning back on every time you start the car. That way you never have to worry about it but you can turn it back on if for some reason you want the headache back and want to save 5 gallons of gas over the course of 100,000 miles ;-)

 

[NevadaGeo]

I bought a new '23 SPP off the lot in early '24 and now with over 23,000 miles, it has been flawless. I love everything about it. Sounds like OP got a lemon and needs to deal with the Lemon Law.

 

[East-TN]

I've had a lot of cars over the years, many beaters, currently own 3 other nice cars of which 2 are rebuilt (frame up bearings, bushings, seals) by myself, and one is a Tesla. My fourth vehicle is my 2024 Expedition XLT.

I have needed a big car for a while, I had a van I regret selling. I was very excited about getting an Expedition, I test drove a few, and bought one that was just right.. And honestly it's such a *************, I can't believe I'm writing this post. I now have around 8k miles on it.

On the first day the car, on the second startup at home the car showed a "brake failure" message on screen. Figured new car glitches, no big deal.. Turned off/on, can drove okay. I scanned it with forscan a bit later it was some communications failure in related to ABS module IIRC. In any case.
The tailgate was failing to close almost off the bat, I had to twist in the tailgate rubber bushings to get it to close. It slams closed now, but at least it closes. It's not exactly aligned great from the factory.

I had a loud cracking sound turning the steering wheel. A local dealer fixed that by replacing the steering column. Also stole sunglasses out the car (first service!), but did replace monetarily.
I now have a weird notching/binding feeling in the steering at some points. It's pretty minor, I'm guessing the quality of the steering column bearings is just absolute trash. It's ridiculous. I guess I've just been spoiled by vehicles that steer smoothly?

The Auto engine Start / Stop idiocy.. just killing your starter and battery.

And then there's the transmission. OMFG. Why does it slam from 5th to 4th? Why does it slam from 5th to 3rd? Why does it clank and bang into gears whenever you do anything around 20mph? I thought the CVT it my Maxima "wasn't great" but man do I miss it now. It's a 70k dollar car.
I also have a disbalance somewhere and a definite vibration about 70mph. At 8k miles it could be tires.

Not automatic rear windows? I didn't even think to check for that when I bought it but I should have. All the used ones I drove. had them.

I must have cursed by using it to throw out trash on the very first day. I would've bought a Shelby for sure but I'm never buying another Ford, what a joke.

I think you're going to find some owners have no problems or very minor issues with their newer ('22 & later) Expy's. It sounds like some of the issues you mention should have been seen/known before you purchased (ASS and automatic rear windows). The transmission issue you mention should be brought to the dealer to get fixed/documented. The steering column is just straight poor Ford quality control and not a common breakage item that I've heard or read on this forum, that just plain sucks.

But since you mention you have a Tesla, you are probably experienced with poor QC issues and dealing with repairs/fixes. As others have said, you may want to consider trading this vehicle in for a newer '26 and see if that will fit your needs better.

 

[dsquared]

Dropped it off at the dealer today with issues documented. Tesla has been perfect in comparison, only "issue" is a tiny occlusion in the windshield out of the way I didn't bother with, and it was aligned on the 2nd day. 2021 Model Y Peformance.

 

[dsquared]

Regarding the auto windows, in general I'd agree, but I think it's such an extreme ommision in a 70k "luxury" car. It's like buying a benz in 2010 and not getting AC.

 

[dlcorbett]

In terms of the windows, its been well documented that the post covid expeditions(all full sized suvs) were decontented...it lost this function starting in 2021. Even then, global one touch windows was only offered on limited and up and it took until the 25my for the one touch windows to come back. I always tell members who are looking, grab the limited base (301), it adds convenience features that you will def notice if you look and want.

 

[dsquared]

I mention the windows as a general example of bad icing on a shoddy cake. It's not a huge problem and obviously nowhere near a trans that slams into gears. If the car was well built and well driving I wouldn't mention it. But as the car feel like a clunky junker to drive and ride in, to me it's icing on the proverbial cake of crud.

 

[dlcorbett]

Did you look and like any of its competitors? As much as I like the expy, i wouldn't get a 23 or 24, just because the other suvs around that time were a tad more comfy in the ride department. So glad ford fixed the ride for 25(ccd). My 18 expy had a clunky transmission as well, but it was still first run 18. My nav didnt have clunky shifts, but it would slip a good bit and hunt for gears. The 440hp ho engine and transmission combo works better to me and my wife than the reg eco and Trans combo.

 

[Dice Roll]

That sounds like a lemon to me. My 19 has been a good Tuesday built unit and the tsb work has corrected the issues I had. KTP does have door alignment issues, so not surprising the tailgate wasn’t on right. I had a rear door that didn’t close the last 1/8” off the hauler and the local dealer fixed it. I saw many with issues like that when I was testing them out.

Mine has been best overall vehicle I’ve ever had and I’ve had over 40 cars, including many brand new ones. Not bragging, it’s that I’m into classics big time and go on to the next one when I’ve done what I wanted with what I have.

 

[dsquared]

Yeah I looked at the GM counterparts but found the Ford interior better designed and seats more comfortable. And the V8s are failing too. The Stellantis is too expensive and the company sucks. Unfortunately the Japanese large SUVs didn't have a large enough 3rd row (or at least I though so at the time, turns out I don't really need the 3rd row as much as I thought I would). But I really should have gotten one of the last "real" Land Cruiser / LXs premium price be damned.

 

[dsquared]

That sounds like a lemon to me. My 19 has been a good Tuesday built unit and the tsb work has corrected the issues I had. KTP does have door alignment issues, so not surprising the tailgate wasn’t on right. I had a rear door that didn’t close the last 1/8” off the hauler and the local dealer fixed it. I saw many with issues like that when I was testing them out.

Mine has been best overall vehicle I’ve ever had and I’ve had over 40 cars, including many brand new ones. Not bragging, it’s that I’m into classics big time and go on to the next one when I’ve done what I wanted with what I have.

I popped a few plastic interior bits into place on a few of them. To be fair, I also popped a few into place on new Toyotas..

It's just a sad state of affairs nowadays in the new vehicle department.

 

[Hellwig]

My 2024 had the same symptom, harsh downshift from 5 to 3, sometimes 5 to 4. After dealer replaced the valve body, it behaves better now. However, I feel it comes back occasionally when transmission temp reaches 200F above. Anyway, it is still much better than before. Before the valve body replacement, I could feel the harsh downshift 9 out of 10 times. Now I only feel like 1 out of 10 times. Online third party enhanced valve body for 10R80 costs more than $3000. I can't afford it and I don't want to void my 9yrs/125k ESP.

 

[dsquared]

I'm sorry to hear that. Yeah that's about my experience with the downshift. I watched this excellent trans rebuild video on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zAUFd6kqyQ last night.. I mean if it comes to that I could follow along and do the work myself, but on a new car under warranty?

We'll see what the dealer does, they took my concerns this morning pretty well, so far they asked for nearly $700 deposit in case the car has been tampered with, to troubleshoot.. Should be refunded I hope.

I really do want to like this car, I'll try to work patiently with the dealer, bringing it back if I have to for the next few months, but if it's not actually fixed by next year I'll probably dump it. They did suggest a new 2026 Lincoln to trade up to, "it's not a Ford". At least they have a sense of humor.

 

[Hellwig]

I'm sorry to hear that. Yeah that's about my experience with the downshift. I watched this excellent trans rebuild video on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zAUFd6kqyQ last night.. I mean if it comes to that I could follow along and do the work myself, but on a new car under warranty?

We'll see what the dealer does, they took my concerns this morning pretty well, so far they asked for nearly $700 deposit in case the car has been tampered with, to troubleshoot.. Should be refunded I hope.

I really do want to like this car, I'll try to work patiently with the dealer, bringing it back if I have to for the next few months, but if it's not actually fixed by next year I'll probably dump it. They did suggest a new 2026 Lincoln to trade up to, "it's not a Ford". At least they have a sense of humor.

Here are the three things my dealership found on the valve body:

1. The oring seal inside E cluch piston is torn;
2. Scoring in valve body bores;
3. A clutch valve sticking "THER MOST" (thermostat?);

 

[BigOleFordFan]

Well, my brother & SIL bought 2x 24 Max's last year and they have been flawless, with the exception of the 2 recalls that came out a few months afterwards, which of course were fixed asap by his dealership nottaproblemo

And as part of the deal, they had the factory tires swapped out for Michelin Defenders before they drove either of them off the lot...

So it seems it's the luck of the draw for some folks, kinda like my computer-building buddies say when buying new CPU's, "get your tickets now for the aptly named "silicon lottery", hahahaha

But out of the 200 or so that I have bought in the past year, only 2 of them were out of spec from the factory, at which point they were replaced by the etailers, no questions asked !