Consumer Reports Trashes the PB Again

[JJSnell]

When they cal the the motor a hybrid … it’s supposed to be a hybrid ..

It's a Hybrid.... literally....

my experience is what I know and have to live with.

You dont have to live with it... sell it.

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[PatchManager]

I think because the difference between the two is:

CR:
What is your truck?
Rate your truck: One to five
Why did you rate your truck this?

And with no 'deeper dive' CR takes Joe Idiots, "I have a powerboost and rate it 1 star cuz my stereo sucks!" and throw it into the database...

The Forum people state they have an issue and are intelligent enough to understand the PBoost has nothing to do with seat belt chimes or DRL lights....

For what its worth, this just happened AGAIN today.... All my Park Aid Sensor crap got enabled automatically and I can turn off the rear, but for some reason CANNOT turn off the front. When I try I get the next error. Ive never seen this before... but it HAS to be, because I have a PowerBoost.... right?

That isn't how Consumer Reports' questionnaires work. They don't ask for star ratings and then take an average of all the star ratings. They ask specific questions about areas that have had issues.

I did read and I agree with your summary regarding some issues that are being reported are not PowerBoost specific. That is puzzling to me. One obvious area where the PowerBoosts do seem to have more issues is with the 12 V battery, which is obviously not specific to the PowerBoost, but does seem to get reported more on this forum than non-PowerBoosts.

 

[PatchManager]

I'm curious then.....
Consumer Reports pegs the Powerboost as the most unreliable truck in the land. If Consumer Reports was such a valid source for such a declaration, then why would you purchase one?

I would say three things:

1. Hope. I hope I don't get one of the bad ones.
2. I don't think reliability is as bad as Consumer Reports suggests even though I do like Consumer Reports.
3. Reliability was not my primary reason for buying the truck I bought. I've had issues, I got them taken care of, and it wasn't a big deal. I can live with the number of issues I've had versus everything I like about the truck.

Do you think this forum suggests the reliability of '21 to '23 is good or above average? I would suggest this forum as a whole makes issues sound worse than they are because when many people have an issue, they go to the Internet looking for help. They generally aren't posting that they drove to work in their F150 and everything was great -- I did drive my F150 to work today and everything was great. If we just looked at the data on this forum, and tabulated the number of users who have reported issues versus the total number of users, I don't think the numbers would look good at all.

Do you disagree with Ford's CEO regarding Ford's quality? I don't think there is anyone who has more incentive than Ford's CEO to make Ford look good. It would of course be difficult to suggest your quality was great when you are lowering guidance due to warranty claims:

“Cost, especially warranty, has held back our earnings power, but as we bend that curve, there is significant financial upside for investors,” CEO Jim Farley told analysts on a conference call.

I've looked a lot, and I can't find a single quote from the CEO suggesting quality is good.

As you know, I'm not a Ford fanboy nor am I a hater. I like to include all the data, good and bad when making a decision.

 

[Snakebitten]

Great post ^

I think Ford engineers great trucks.
I really like their design and intent.

I also think they do a decent job of assembling trucks. But I used the word decent, rather than the word I used to describe their engineering and design.

I think Ford's quality control methodology is VERY lacking. And thus the crux of the risk in buying from them.

Having said that, these days it appears that gambling itself applies to most makes/models.
With a forum, you can at least get an idea of what the particular gamble is regarding a specific make model. Short of getting an outright lemon, the Powerboost is well documented enough for an educated buyer to know what the most likely risks are.

 

[2Lazy2P]

It isn't what CR thinks. They compile data from the tens of thousands of questionnaire respondents. It is real-world data as reported by owners of vehicles, appliances, tools, and so on.

Absolutely, CR compiles data from tens of thousands of questionnaire respondents, providing real-world insights reported by owners.

That said, I’ve noticed that CR’s recommendations sometimes don’t align with their own product reviews. As a long-time subscriber, I’ve become increasingly hesitant over the last few years to fully rely on their advice. CR was once the gold standard, but now I see it as just one of many data points in my decision-making.

 

[2Lazy2P]

I have so many service visits with 22 PB Limited it’s crazy . One of the service writers tells other customers that I’m the only guy that should be yelling and screaming about his truck. So yeah I agree with CR and their review. My “hybrid” still gets crappy mpg in town when the hybrid should shine… my first and last Ford truck.

You’re not alone regarding MPG. My ‘22 Platinum Ecoboost 3.5 (with 25,600 miles) average since day one is 16.4 MPG and that’s a blend of local and highway driving.

 

[2Lazy2P]

I would say three things:

1. Hope. I hope I don't get one of the bad ones.
2. I don't think reliability is as bad as Consumer Reports suggests even though I do like Consumer Reports.
3. Reliability was not my primary reason for buying the truck I bought. I've had issues, I got them taken care of, and it wasn't a big deal. I can live with the number of issues I've had versus everything I like about the truck.

Do you think this forum suggests the reliability of '21 to '23 is good or above average? I would suggest this forum as a whole makes issues sound worse than they are because when many people have an issue, they go to the Internet looking for help. They generally aren't posting that they drove to work in their F150 and everything was great -- I did drive my F150 to work today and everything was great. If we just looked at the data on this forum, and tabulated the number of users who have reported issues versus the total number of users, I don't think the numbers would look good at all.

Do you disagree with Ford's CEO regarding Ford's quality? I don't think there is anyone who has more incentive than Ford's CEO to make Ford look good. It would of course be difficult to suggest your quality was great when you are lowering guidance due to warranty claims:

“Cost, especially warranty, has held back our earnings power, but as we bend that curve, there is significant financial upside for investors,” CEO Jim Farley told analysts on a conference call.

I've looked a lot, and I can't find a single quote from the CEO suggesting quality is good.

As you know, I'm not a Ford fanboy nor am I a hater. I like to include all the data, good and bad when making a decision.

I miss the good ‘ol days at Ford when Quality is Job 1. /s

 

[JJSnell]

One obvious area where the PowerBoosts do seem to have more issues is with the 12 V battery, which is obviously not specific to the PowerBoost, but does seem to get reported more on this forum than non-PowerBoosts.

I have not paid close enough attention to the 12v battery complaints to see who is PB and who isnt. It very well could be majority PB owners. I have a PB and have not had any real issues with the battery except my updates fail unless I trickle the battery the day before and Im too stubborn and cheap to buy a new battery if everything else is working fine.

I think there is also attention that needs to be paid that this is an 'extra' option. Anytime you throw more crap into a bowl, there will inevitably be more potential parts to fail. And that goes for everything. A Platinum will have more parts, components, wiring etc than an XL and therefore by simple numbers there will be more failure.

Anyway, I feel for the above poster, he clearly has had bad luck or maybe just a flat out lemon. If something gives you grief or stress, cut it out of your life. We just bought (mistakingly) a new house in June and we are already, ready to move. Not sure why we bought a 6br house when our TWO kids are in college.... that was stupid and we will probably move (again) soon....

 

[PatchManager]

Great post ^

I think Ford engineers great trucks.
I really like their design and intent.

I also think they do a decent job of assembling trucks. But I used the word decent, rather than the word I used to describe their engineering and design.

I think Ford's quality control methodology is VERY lacking. And thus the crux of the risk in buying from them.

Having said that, these days it appears that gambling itself applies to most makes/models.
With a forum, you can at least get an idea of what the particular gamble is regarding a specific make model. Short of getting an outright lemon, the Powerboost is well documented enough for an educated buyer to know what the most likely risks are.

I forgot to mention when I stated I don't completely agree with Consumer Reports, there are only two people that I completely agree with -- my wife and @Snakebitten.

 

[Snakebitten]

Lol

You are living dangerously.
I'm just saying

 

[Kshort62]

Someone stated earlier I thought , that the Powerboost wasn’t badged a Hybrid and it doesn’t matter .. it is a hybrid or supposed to be one.

It's a Hybrid.... literally....

You dont have to live with it... sell it.
[/QUOTE

you are correct , in order for me to do that I need Ford to fix it so I can …

 

[Snakebitten]

Yeah, it is a Hybrid by definition.

But I don't think it was some kind of oversight that Ford doesn't put the word Hybrid on it anywhere. Not one place.

Intentional, in my opinion.
And I think I get their point.

They badged it POWERboost

And that actually is perfectly fitting

 

[powerboatr]

Nissan titan number one is laughable

#1 in ugly
I agree with tons of discussion points in this thread
As well as not agreeing with discussion points
Yeah i know
But in our little bit of heaven
We tend to be bias towards ford in regards to new or used vehicles
However....we look at many that would fit the task at hand
If we find something that is worthy. We go test, drive,etc
100% agree with abusing forums for each brand, read, disect, ask
A few times we almost bought a lincoln, jaguar and vw...

20 years ago...it was hard to find actual owners and read about real issues.. now it's just a Google search and few days reading.
And online dealer searches to find the exact match

I agree ford has talented engineers
But have serious issues getting the production going
Or execution of such.
I have said hundreds of times
For us since 1984.. we have had really freaking great service from our ford's.
Stuff breaks, but for us..getting in and driving 12 hrs straight for days and no issues is awesome
Stuff is also assembled wrong...humans and machines do screw up...
Some on purpose...most not
I have a small collection of assembly line tools left behind
I bet gm owners do to.
I had a 150 with a 250 badge on one fender and a 150 badge on the other..
Our explorer ST is a neat rocket.
But ford shit the bed in the IPC arena .
It's put together freaking very well
Most important...wife really likes it , and has taken owner ship..I am merely the maintenance guy for it
That says alot.

 

[Calson]

I bought the Mercedes 2001 CLK and learned as an owner how unreliable the car was. I needed to have the entire alarm systems wiring replaced and the rear window shade and the front struts at 30K miles and just before selling the car the transmission locked up and I needed to have the vehicle jacked up and put on stands with wheels and winched up onto a flat bed tow truck. The transmission locking up without warning turned out to be a defect that had been reported for the prior 10 years and Mercedes did not bother to upgrade the design.

The Consumer Reports annual survey is far more comprehensive as it includes all car owners and not just the few that are on forums. If I see that 10 people have commented about a problem I see no value in adding an eleventh report by myself. 99% of car owners do not participate on internet forums.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

I said it before and I'll say it again. CR is nothing but a shill rag that panders to corporate investors ... sorry "donations." They barely qualify as a non-profit these days.

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