Taken the week I bought it.
After having a few shorter-term ownership experiences, my wife decided to point me toward what I subconsciously wanted – a truck.
I wasn’t quite sure of what I wanted. It had to be a full-size truck, and four-wheel drive. The 07-up GM trucks that we had at work I did not like at all. They had the cheapest interiors I had ever seen in a recent truck, even on the LT model we had for a shop runner. The door handle placement on them – under my thigh – was awkward to reach and was a known item to break off. It seemed like GM was punishing the customer for buying a cheaper truck. So what did that leave?
The first truck I looked at.
The first one was a Hemi-equipped Dodge SLT. Much nicer than the GM trucks I had tried, it was a nice looking truck. The engine sounded good, and had a lot of power. I had it checked over, and it was starting to rust on the seams underneath and under the box liner. The boots on the front axles were cracked, and the transmission mount was seperated. There was also a strange vibration at certain RPM’s. I ruled the Dodge out.
The salesman brought me a 2009 F-150 to look at. It had oversized tires, a lift, and a bad exhaust leak. I took it for a quick drive, and ruled it out. It felt like it was rode hard and put away wet.
They brought another F-150 from another lot. It sounded and drove much better than the other two. Being under 60,000 KM and 4 years old, I was able to put extra warranty on it too. It turned out to be a good idea.
On one of our many camping trips.
I literally bought it and two days later we took it on vacation, towing our camper. Performance-wise, it worked very well. It was an XLT model, and as such was equipped with the 295 HP 4.6 litre 3-valve engine, and the excellent 6-speed transmission. The 4.6 wasn’t scared to rev to make its power, and the 6R80 transmission was always in the right gear for the job. It’d deliver 22 MPG on the highway, and 19 MPG mixed driving back and forth to work. Towing, it was usually around 15 MPG. It seemed to be able to do this by picking a gear and locking the torque converter. I wasn’t aggressive in my driving, which probably helped.
Poor old dogger.
The interior of the truck endeared me to it as well. Unlike the GM trucks I’d been in, the Ford was trimmed in shades of brown, beige, and silver. It also had cruise, air conditioning, trip computer, and outside thermometer. The seats were comfortable, the cab was airy, and the truck was quiet and tight. Outside, the truck had aluminum rims, running boards, and I added a trifold tonneau cover. It was great until I hauled a snowblower for a co-worker without tying it back. The wind caught it, and over the chute of the blower it went. Darn.
The gauges were well laid-out.
The controls and gauges were well laid out in the truck, too. Having a nice ice-blue backlighting was easy on the eyes at night, and they all felt good. Nothing felt cheap or cheesy, either. I’ve been in some Hyundais with the blue backlighting, and found it to be overly harsh. This one was pretty good – a big improvement from the green used by older Fords. All the switches except the four-wheel drive switch was illuminated. Something that suprised me was that if the window lockout switch was pressed, the illumination would go out for them as well.
It cleaned up really nicely.
We made many trips around the Maritimes with the truck hauling the camper. It gave no trouble. We were to PEI, New Brunswick, and the Mainland. We also travelled one year while the exchange rate was good to Bangor. With the truck’s 36 gallon tank, you could go a long distance without having to refuel it. Unfortunately, when gas was expensive, it meant a $150 fillup from empty.
As far as trouble goes, it had some. On one of the oil changes, the service advisor noticed that one of the exhaust manifolds was leaking. Thankfully, it’d be covered under the warranty I bought. I don’t know if the Modular V8’s were known for this elsewhere, but the salty wet environment played hell on the manifolds in these. The tiny little 5/16 studs and nuts would rust and come off, and the manifolds would start leaking and warp. The next service, they did the other side. I think they billed the warranty over $900 per side to do the work.
The transmission developed a bad leak – the passthrough electrical connector’s seal failed, and when parked on an incline, it would leak out. Another warranty repair covered. It also developed a weird noise while driving. Another trip to the dealer, the locking hub for the 4WD had failed on one side, allowing one shaft to spin. The second one failed shortly after.
Once out of warranty, it had two more locking hubs fail, and one of the fuel injectors also failed. It had swollen up and split, and failed electrically. The brakes gave some trouble as well. All of the calipers started sticking in quick succession when the truck was 8 years old.I replaced those with some remanufactured calipers, and all was well there. However, the body of the truck was starting to show its age. Despite my having it sprayed with Rust Check, the rocker panels had rotted out.
The result…
After cleaning it up, and putting rust treatment on it, I welded in a new set of panels. That would have been OK but a few months later, the box was starting to bubble around the wheel wells. Additionally, the exhaust manifolds had started ticking again. I didn’t feel like repairing the exhaust – as the manifolds are located behind the frame on these, meaning access is tight. Dealing with the body rot was no more palatable. So, this past January (2018) I decided to trade it in. Having parked our new camper full-time at a campground, I no longer needed a truck. I figured I’d get something smaller. It was the longest I’d owned a non-classic car – 4 and a half years. Did I pick the best truck? I think I did – the bodies on GM and Dodge trucks seem to be just as bad as the Ford, or possibly worse.
Next to come – a convertible for my wife, a cheap beater, and a cheap classic for me.
I sure hope this isn’t a harbinger of things to come for me. I’m 2 months into a 2016 F-150. It’s only an XL, but is fairly well-equipped. Only 2wd, with a base 3.5 V6. It does seem a bit underpowered. The body panels are aluminum, but the frame is steel; however, rust is not much of a concern here in Florida. After my 2012 Grand Cherokee, I’m sick of endless repairs.
Dad’s got a ’15 with the 5.0 for a work truck. Other than a cluster replacement, it’s been trouble free. I find the cab a fair bit smaller than the older trucks, but it seems tighter and quieter. The frame and underneath had stayed good on mine, just body rot. You should have good service.
Funny thing about rust. In 2007 I purchased a 2000 F-150 with 85k miles. It was a basic XL, but with upgraded seats and a gold/blue tu tone paint. I was in need of a 2nd truck for my business, and bought it rather hastily, because it looked good and was a reg cab/long bed. Turned out it was a Canadien build, the daytime running lights kinda gave it away. As I said, I purchased it hastily, without doing enough due process; the body panels were immaculate and rust-free, but my first indication all wasn’t fine was the day I topped off the 30-odd gallon tank. I happened to drop something on the ground at the pumps, bent over, and noticed the rear of the fuel tank was nearly touching the ground. Rusted tank straps. Once on the lift, I found the entire underside to be flaking…heavily. The rear brake lines were so bubbled up I replaced them, too. A tie rod snapped not long after. Wiring going to the transmission corroded enough to cause failure in the electronic shifting mechanisms. The torque converter failed, as well as the air conditioning compressor. The last straw was a rear axle seal started leaking. Obviously this was a northern truck…with issues. I wholesaled it a year and a half and 17k miles later for $1700, after having paid $5k, not including repairs. The real stinger? I happened to run across it two years later. Asked the new owner if it had been reliable? Not. A. Single. Problem. So it goes….
Rust aside which is unavoidable in a rust belt area (lifetime personal experience), this truck has needed a lot of repair. It aligns with the experience of a couple of friends who have F series from this era and why my fleet now all wear Honda badges. I had a 15 Silverado from new that I felt was more solid bodywise than the Ford but the Ford felt roomier inside. I like how the dash falls away at the top in the Ford. There is more room behind the seat even in a regular cab. I had to choose one and I chose Chevy. But the Silverado developed some annoying electrical gremlins out of warranty (no audio in cold weather for one) that indicated to me we were heading for a rough patch. Fortunately I am at a point where I am only working on my own home and a smaller truck does the trick. We are happy with a Ridgeline and a Civic. Rust will get them but with regular maintenance I expect them to be trouble free until that time comes. We shall see.
Pic of my former ’95 F-150 shows our typical Middle West rustbelt pattern… The ’99 F-250 Powerstroke that replaced it held up better, although the bumpers and cab corners had perforation by the time I sold it. The ’99 had numerous other issues that were common on this era of Ford trucks, and the fear of an expensive diesel repair led me to replace it after just a few years with my first (and hopefully only) new truck purchase, a ’15 RAM 2500 5.7 hemi. It’s holding up well so far, although I’m now up to my fifth recall notice (all have been software flashes so far).
If you can get the Dodge rustproofed, it’d be a good idea. Our friends just bought a 2012, the rockers are bad, and the box has been repaired twice for rust.
We’ve got a fleet of 8 Duramax Chev 2500’s at work from 2006-2018 , as well as two gas 1500’s. Two are LTZ’s which are much nicer inside than the LT. The Duramaxes have been bulletproof, but they have all had electrical gremlins too. Seems like we’re always at the front ends too, but they don’t have an easy life.
We replaced my wife’s ’11 Escape with a ’14 CR-V in the hopes we’d get away from all the death-by-1000-cuts of the Ford. In 100K KM and 3 1/2 years we had the brakes, rear suspension, AC Condenser, blower motor, and rear wiper replaced. It was starting to rust, too. The way the transmission shifted didn’t inspire a lot of long-term confidence, either.
We haven’t been disappointed with the CR-V. Rear brakes at 60 K KM, front brakes at 150 K KM, and a heater core flush under warranty at 70 K KM. It’s just rolled 180 K and drives the same as when we got it. No rust, either.
I’m a big fan of the outside thermometer. In northern states it really helps you know whether the road is freezing. I think it should be a requirement for safety.
The Rover P6 had the Icelert:
http://www.federalrovers.com/icelert
Many newer cars have an ice-alert feature that will warn you once the exterior temperature dips below 39 degrees or so. I had two Volkswagens, a Chevrolet, and (I believe) a BMW that did this. The Volkswagens, after displaying a prompt and sounding a high-pitched chime, would keep a snowflake icon next to the temperature readout in the instrument cluster.
Ford has started doing the snowflake thing too.
My 2014 Lincoln MKS might have done that; I can’t remamber.
I had a Crown Vic, I can confirm, the exhaust manifolds are a universal problem among all mod motor cars. It’s worst on F-150’s, a lot of Crown Vics, but rarely Mustangs and vans. Not sure why that is. Since they all rust equally, I would buy a Dodge if I was in the market, one of those new but old design ones on sale.
It sounds like this truck wasn’t too bad. While it had some issues, much of them were likely the result of the harsh environment that Canadian trucks are exposed to. Heavy salt use doesn’t just rust the body, it also attacks mechanical parts and seals and causes early failures compared to temperate climate.
Was that mileage in US gallons or Imp gallons? 22 MPG US would be very impressive.
I am surprised even with the Rust Check your rocker’s rotted through. Our family used to use Rust Check over 20 years ago before we switched to Krown, and it always kept our cars rust free. Regardless, from what I have seen around here of the domestic big 3 pickups, I think the Ford’s have the best rust resistance, while the Dodges are the worst.
My neighbour bought an ’09 Ford F-150 with a 4.6 about a year before you did and sold it in 2017. His wasn’t rust proofed and it had holes in the cab corners, the box was also getting pretty rusted over the wheel wells. Due to the $8000 repair estimate he had, he traded it on a new 2017 F-150 with a 5.0L. He liked his old Ford, but he wasn’t willing to sink that much cash into a rusty older truck.
A co-worked has an 2010 F-150 that he babies and is in really nice shape. He washes it so much I tell him he’s going to wear the paint out. Even his truck though started bubbling around the wheel wells. Instead of patching, he ended up finding a rust free box to replace his box.
I’d considered putting a box on the truck and keeping it, but after the manifolds started leaking again I just figured I’d be done with it and trade it.
I drove it gently, and could get 22 MPG US. If I was aggressive, it’d drop to 18 MPG. It was worse in the winter, of course, but compared to older trucks I’d had it was still pretty good. I think a lot of it was due to the 6-speed transmission. It was a good match to the engine.
That is good mileage even compared to late model trucks. That works out to about 10.7L /100 km, which seems to be comparable to what the 2.7 Ecoboosts seem to be getting (real world). My father-in-laws 5.0L F-150 doesn’t get that good, and he drives pretty conservatively.
My co-worked that replaced his box went to the body shop first. The body shop owner told him that all the Fords rust there due to the design of the box. He actually recommend replacing the box rather than fixing as he said even repairing it, the rust would likely come back
My brother had been a faithful Ford owner until he drove a few 4WD Chevys in his job at a fire department. He likes the Chevrolets more than the Fords to drive, but his Silverado has rusted through the rockers faster than any Ford he has owned.
I have an 09 Crown Victoria nearing 150K miles, I did have an injector go bad several months ago, but with regular and some preventative maintenance there have been no surprises. With the 4 speed automatic transmission it manages between 18-22 miles per gallon, though I did have 3 or 4 tanks were it (seemed to) hit 25 mpg.
The 4.6 in your Crown Vic should be fine. They didn’t get the cam phasers that the 3 valve engine did. The cam phasers were quiet on mine, but they can get terribly noisy with time.
Set Phasers on verbal abuse
I’ve owned 4 of this body style Ford now, and 2 of the 4 have been very solid. They did have their issues though, especially the older 3 valves and the first ecoboosts. Having dealt with cracked manifolds on an older 5.4, I can confirm swapping shorty headers in their place was not an easy task. It took me a good day and a half to get them changed out. That truck is also the only truck I’ve ever owned that developed any rust (above the rear wheels). Finally, 3 of the 4 have been the extended cabs, and the doors need constant adjustment when used on rough terrain. It seems like Ford had these well sorted by the end of the run, especially in 5.0 and 6.2 crew cab form.
I’m still wrapping my head around the idea of a nine year old vehicle rusting out so badly. I understand how different conditions are in the Salt Belt, but I had assumed that galvanized steel and other anti-rust technology would not result in this. It’s a bit shocking. I see this as a practically new vehicle, for Oregon standards. 🙂
I really feel for you all in the Salt Belt, especially CC’ers who intrinsically care about older vehicles. Ugly.
I have spent much of my time in Toronto, Ottawa, and Southern Ontario. The salt use is especially aggressive here. In spite of this, most cars less than 6-7 years old don’t yet show the effects of serious rust, as in the more distant past. Having observed the car maintenance habits of friends, family, and coworkers, the newest cars that show premature or early rust, often simply don’t get washed on a regular basis. While typically driven regularly all winter. Driving several winters without a Fall oil treatment, or regular washing in winter, will invite early rust in many cases.
Yeah, a car that new would not rust so quickly where I live in upstate NY. Usually the rust becomes a problem after 12 years or so at the very least. And that just means replacing suspension bits and other things that go bad. Nothing nearly as crazy as that F-150.
Paul, maybe I should start shooting some rusted out late model vehicles and post them here. 😐 Actually, I saw a late model Ram pickup this morning that had severely rotted rockers and quarter panels. All of it appeared to be perforation rust. I am not sure what year it was but it was 9 years old at the oldest.
I agree with Daniel, that most cars today 6-7 years old don’t show any significant signs of rust, while that was not the case years ago. Cars have improved drastically, but the punishing environment here just kills everything. Once most cars reach the 10 year mark they will have some rust on them. Maybe not obvious to most, but close inspection will find some Of course use and car cause massive variability. The vehicles that see lots of road use, especially highway use, will rust out quicker than the little old lady who just drives to church.The bodies still will often rust from the inside out, so unless you inspect closely, a lot of the rust is hidden beneath small rust blisters that crop up. This type of perforation rust is always worse than it looks, and few are willing to invest the money to fix it properly, especially on a 8 or 9 year old car.
Further the undercarriage can have some major or even severe rust while the rest of the body will look okay to most people. I know of several people who had to retired late model vehicles that looked seemingly okay to the average citizen due to severely rusted chassis, to the point of being unsafe.
One factor that I have not seen addressed in this post is, “Where do you park it?” Parked in a garage with a vapor barrior is perfect. Parked on pavement is good. Parked on dirt is trouble especially in humid climates and if the dirt is heavy in clay. Moisture in the ground evaporates. A car, especially one seldom driven, parked on dirt acts as a moisture barrier. Moisture evaporates, settles on the underside of the car. Rust starts and then takes over. It doesn’t matter the make of car. It’s just reality.
Amen. My brother was hugely pissed when he discovered his then-7 year old Ram 2500 had completely rusted through the frame and was unsafe to drive. At 58k miles. That was on top of the infamous Dodge “death wobble” on the freeway.
He’s done with Mopar.
Probably stupid question – is there nothing the manufacturers can do to “bake in” stronger rust prevention at the factory?
surface coatings can only do so much. The big issue is if there are any “traps” inside body cavities which can get plugged and prevent salty yuck from draining out. all the primer and paint in the world won’t stop rust if salt water is in constant contact with it. every vehicle goes through some sort of multi-stage dip process, but it ain’t perfect. vehicles known for rusting usually show the root cause. The 2003-2008 DR Ram pickup was well known for the rear bed sides rotting out by the wheelwells. When enough had rusted away, you could see why. When they assembled the bed, a bead of sealer was shot into the gap between the outer bed side and the outer wheelhouse to prevent water and muck from getting down into the pinch weld joining them around the wheel, but once the outer sheetmetal rusted enough, you could see that the bead of sealer was not consistently applied and still let water and salt down there.
on the other hand, consider that a lot of ’70s cars would look that rusty before they were 4 years old. My dad’s ’73 Cougar had holes in the quarter panels, trunk floor, and wheel wells by 1977.
Im writing this from the passenger side of my ’13 F150 (4×4, 5.0, 6spd), with 170k miles. I would really have to attribute a lot of your problems to climate-even with Ohio salt, I’ve changed a radiator hose and a fuse on this one, and it looks, dents and scrape excepted, like new. I’ve had three of this generation, two company trucks and this that I own. The first company truck had 96k when I got laid off and was the reason why I bought one of my own. I’ve found them all much more reliable than your experience, tho the v6 company truck is a bit of a dog and needed more work than either v8. I also feel that the 5.0 is a big improvement over the 4.6 in EVERY way, so that may be part of it too.
I don’t hear the 5.0’s and 6.2’s with noisy exhausts, so you might be on to something.
It was a first-year truck – and the brake pads and calipers were one year only parts.
IME plugged body drains are the biggest culprit for premature rusting. esp. in the rocker panels and at the bottom edges of the doors.
Eight years and done. I don’t know whether to attribute that to life in the Salt Bath or luck of the draw. I feel for you guys up there, it would be hard to watch a vehicle dissolve. I’ve spent some time in a 2010 with the 5.4, and it lives a hard life with less salt exposure and it seems to be doing OK. I like the 5.4, very smooth, and the surprisingly carlike driving demeanor. It’s nice, I can see why so many people daily drive these. But the doors feel like they will rattle off their hinges on rough roads and the interior is pretty dire.
Yeah that is shocking after 8 years. That exact same vehicle around here at 8yrs and 100k miles would still bring about half of its new value. But closer to zero with that kind of rust. I already think they are hugely expensive, for that outlay you’d certainly hope for more longevity.
I’m seeing lots of these rotted like mine. I don’t think there were any real drains, so water would collect around the rockers and not be able to drain. There were lots of holes underneath from the factory for water to get in though.
As for the box, I’ve heard that there was lots of urethane foam used around the wheelwells on the inside for moisture to get trapped.
We’ve got a 2011 Silverado at work that the rockers are rusty and the box is rust-blistered.
Do trucks really need that giant-ass high hood to fit the engine, or is that a styling thing emulating a big rig? Ugly AF
Not really. There was lots of room between the top of the engine and the hood – and the engine sat low between the frame rails.
The height is OK for a work bench for the tailgate, but for me at 5’9″, a pain for going over the box sides into the box.
The 6.2 takes up most of the space under the hood, but the V6s look almost lost down in the engine bay. It makes them a little different to work on, especially the Raptor. I had to use a ladder when changing my oil, and I’m 6’2.
In my experience, newer vehicles have improved quite a bit against the typical road salt used in the snow belt. Salt air near the ocean is another story. I’ve seen what it does to vehicles in Hawai’i. It permeates everything. Insulation and coatings only serve to trap salt air against metal and constant humidity makes rusting a continuous rather than intermittent process.
Marc, I don’t know where you live, but if your vehicle is exposed to both road salt and salt air, I suspect 8 years from the Ford is actually pretty good performance.
In Wisconsin, the common wisdom was go south for a used car and north for a used boat.
This rusting to pieces on late model trucks has me scratching my head like Paul
American car makers have been telling us since 1960 about the dips sprays
galvanized self washing rocker panels Even the Vega bragged about super
elpo rust protection ! And in 2010 a 30 thousand dollar truck is rusted junk
after 8 years I cannot understand it
Surprised to see that. Around here in Minnesota, it’s typically the Rams with rocker rust issues and GMs on top of the rear wheelwells. My ’06 F-150 didn’t have any rust on the body when I traded it in a couple months ago. I do run my vehicles through the car wash frequently in the winter and get the underbody wash, I believe that’s critical.
But yeah as for the rest, it seems all the domestic trucks still suffer from reliability issues stemming from poor engineering. Ford still uses that vacuum actuated IWE hub design, which has been notoriously unreliable since at least 2004…but just reliable enough to make it out of warranty, usually. The only reason they get away with stuff like that, IMO, is because the Tundra is outdated and Ram and GM have just as many if not more issues.