Another *should I buy an PB* thread

[Snakebitten]

Why is an onboard 7.2KW generator a gimmick?
Is it not really a 7.2KW generator?

I already know the answer.

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[DT444T]

Sounds like you need a bicycle to get to work. And whatever other vehicle to tow with. PowerBoost would do that just fine.

I don't understand want to commute in a truck to work, especially with such relatively poor fuel economy....

 

[truck trader]

I’m on my 2nd PB and I’ve never had an issue of any kind with either. My second doesn’t get the fuel mileage I saw with the 1st, but still hovers around 19.5. I didn’t buy the PB for mileage. I just wanted a 7.2KW generator built into my truck. I‘ve used the generator several times and it performs as advertised.

With that being said, I have another truck on order and it’s the 3.5 with no Powerboost. I wanted something different this time. I spend a bunch of time on dirt roads doing outdoor stuff and I feel like I’m always worried about the PB going through muddy ruts, etc.

One of my best friends owns a Ford dealership so I trade way too often. I may end up with another PB someday, but going a different direction for now.

 

[HammaMan]

I like these replies over the 3mi trip. If they only knew mine was .85 miles. I added an EV to the stable though so my truck wouldn't only be getting 3 minutes of run time. Building a new facility though. The .05 mile journey then will require no vehicle.

I'd intentionally make up a 'long way' just to let it heat up some.

 

[Pedaldude]

Why is an onboard 7.2KW generator a gimmick?
Is it not really a 7.2KW generator?

I already know the answer.

Ask Joe Moses from Toyota:

https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/thr...-path-there-was-a-weird-one.6506/#post-112448

He’s the one talking about it being a novelty as an excuse for Toyota dropping the ball.

Also, the motor/generator in the PB is 35KW, it’s the inverter that’s 7.2KW. Then there’s the hybrid battery that probably dictated more than anything the 7.2KW number, since ran purely as a generator; the PB would likely have no problem running all day at 3X that output. The big problem is that it’s DC, which most users won’t have much use for.

 

[Jus Cruisin]

I know, going to a forum dedicated to the PB is going to get very lop-sided opinions. I have been shopping around for a truck for the last couple of years. It started with being an early Lightning reservation holder, but evidently not early enough to get a Pro before they raised the price 21k!!!

I originally was looking for a Ram Diesel, or a Chevy diesel, but reliability issues and cost of ownership has me pulled away from them. Long story short, the PB appears to give me decent mpg with my short commute (3 miles each way), comfort on long trips with family, ability to pull our 6k camp trailer, and the ability to act as a home generator in power outages (one of the biggest reasons I wanted a lightning).

But, seeing consumer reports having the PB as virtually the lowest reliability vehicle has me scared. I wouldn't buy new, letting someone else take the depreciation hit, so want to know if buying a 21 with 20-40k miles is worth it. Or is having a factory warranty required to work through all the bugs? Are the 22s better then the 21s? Are the issues largely minor inconveniences? I currently have a Fusion Energi, so understand the transmission between electric/gas operation feel, and have read about fords poor programing of the 10speed. Are the problems mostly those with issues yelling the loudest?

Talk me into/out of buying a PB.

I bought mine in January 2021. It started to strand me multiple times after about 4 months of ownership. Ford finally authorized the complete drive unit replacement. Now after that, it always started but the transmission was horrible. Never was able to get that fixed. I wanted to broom it the end of 2021 but the lack of inventory wouldn't allow it and ordering something was a crap shoot.
The times I got the best mpg was in warm weather and runs that would cover at least 10 miles. I make a lot of short 2-4 mile runs because I'm close to restaurants and stores. That related to crummy mpg with those short runs. Many times I'd shut it off at my destination and the trip summary would be 10-14 mpg regularly. It was barely warming up when I was shutting it down.
Would I buy another? No way. Would I buy another F150? Maybe.
Why did I initially buy it? I was ready for something new. I figured the aluminum body was a plus after relocating to Michigan from Florida. And I thought (back in 2021) that I could use the truck as a whole house backup with a simple 30 amp line to backfeed the house. Of course that was found not to be the case after the fact.
Why didn't I replace it with a non-Powerboost F150? I didn't want basically the same truck that had missing features because Ford can't access/source chips like GM can. So, I went GMC. I own high end models and the Denali Ultimate fit the bill for me. 1,500 miles in and I'm still thrilled with it.

 

[eharri3]

My experience.

Just over 12k and at the 1 year anniversary on my Powerboost and very happy. She is a 2021, late 12/21 build purchased 3/22

Looking at a bit over 18 Mixed on the current tank but with the ability to drag it over 20 if I'm gentle enough on the highway. I Thought maybe I fell under the issue of the tailgate dropping on its own as this is a known problem and it happened to me 2-3 times. Since being more careful with the fob it hasn't happened, leading me to believe the button was getting hit in my pocket and that may be happening to others. I honestly hate that the fob has a tailgate release and have considered taking it apart and trying to pull out the rubber insert behind that button to disable it, as I find it a useless feature. I have never once encountered a scenario in over 20 years driving pickups where I wanted to be able to open the tailgate without touching the handle.

Somehow my late December 2021 build date non Max tow truck has Dodged the more serious official recalls.

No insulation/driveshaft issue. Doesn't fall under the axle issue. Gotta get it checked for the wiper motor one next time it's in but have had no issues with them. I had to have some sort of Reflash done to the trailer brake controller which I will probably never use as I have only ever needed to pull a Uhaul once.

Radio went blank for a minute about twice several Months ago, a few weeks apart, but could immediately be turned back on when restarting the truck. Hasn't happened again but keeping an eye on it and planning to mention at one of my next couple oil changes. Hoping/guessing just a glitch that may have gone away when I reset the system or updated it.

She has done a couple 6-7 hour road trips and pulled low 20s purely highway each time. Oh also the cupholders at the rear of the center console for rear pax had the rubber band inside that keeps tension on the prongs that hold Smaller cups slip off and had to he fixed.

In terms of drive ability, both the driveline and suspension have smoothened very nicely over time. Messing around with the configurable gauges for the first time just awhile ago I found the boost gauge. I have also started running her in sport Mode, which gives the powertrain a feel like it's a dog straining on a leash pretty much all the time.

I keep meaning to drag out my 240v generator cord that branches into 4 standard outlets and a few other Cords and play around with the propower system a little bit just to get a sense of how to balance loads and what it looks like running the things I have in mind for it to run. Just haven't gotten around to it yet. Power has typically come back within a few minutes in outages as we are a block from a school. The longer ones of several hours usually only happen if there's physical damage to a line or transformer.

Two things of note: Needs 60k plug changes due to the demands of the electrical system made by propower. And the manual calls pretty firmly for brake fluid changes every 3 years, I'm guessing because with regen braking the fluid may not circulate much and needs to be changed more to prevent corrosion. They say you can go 10k or a year between oil changes because of Ev mode but I stick to my standard 6 month/5k schedule anyway.

I was originally set on a 5.0 and went PB at the last minute because I found a truck otherwise equipped close to what I want in my color on a lot. Never considered the hybrid initially. At most I would have considered a standard EB until I peeked in the bed and saw the 7.2 kw setup. I am extremely happy and satisfied and looking Forward to loading it with bikes and cargo for our next vacation rental in June.

Toughest thing on our last trip with my Mother in Law, Sister in law, and son snoozing in the back and the wife glued to her phone up front was to convince my 7 yr old to stop loudly mentioning the number on the instrument cluster when everybody else in the truck couldn't tell by feel and was happy to daydream or nap while I made good time.

 

[imnuts]

Another suggestion if you're going used, especially for a '21 MY truck, make the dealer apply all module updates from FDRS before you drive it off the lot. Ask to see the screen from FDRS in person before leaving that it says nothing is available, maybe even ask someone here to confirm it before you go to sign the paperwork so you have a heads up. This is regardless of engine choice. It could save you a lot of future headaches as there has been a lot of refinement and improvements in the past 2 years.

 

[Samson16]

To me these trucks have more than enough problems with just the basics. I had a 18 and now a 21 2.7 and the engine has more than enough to pull various trailers up to 7k. I have a Honda 6.5k generator hooked to the house, this way if I need the truck the house still has power, to me it is a gimmick.

Yes the 2.7 mixed metal EB is a good motor if they don't overcharge you for it, but it's not in the same class as the PB. I wouldn't pay 60g for 2.7 truck no matter how much bling it came with, but I'm very happy with my XLT PB because it has the best powertrain a half ton truck has ever seen.

 

[amschind]

I have a '21 with 30k miles and it is amazing. I have had zero issues with it despite messing with it far more than I should've. The big downsides are all of the little things that they are gonna have fixed/improved in 5-10 years. It WILL be outdated 5 years from now, but it will be LESS outdated than all of the other trucks on the road. I would've kept my old Exploder longer except that I got in a wreck and needed a truck.

The two big potential issues that I'm trying to proactively fix are the exhaust heat exchanger and the battery's finite life. I'm working on the first, and spare batteries are about $1k on ebay. I'm probably going to pick up a battery soon because it is a wear item that WILL go bad.

 

[Snakebitten]

GM can source chips but Ford can't?

So heated seat delete on GM isn't chip related?

I don't fault anyone for getting out of a "lemon", or even moving to another brand for any reason they have for doing so. We are so fortunate to have the choices that we do as consumers. But GM hasn't been immune to the challenges faced by the automotive manufacturing industry.

 

[Jus Cruisin]

GM can source chips but Ford can't?

So heated seat delete on GM isn't chip related?

I don't fault anyone for getting out of a "lemon", or even moving to another brand for any reason they have for doing so. We are so fortunate to have the choices that we do as consumers. But GM hasn't been immune to the challenges faced by the automotive manufacturing industry.

I have heated seats, lighted temp auto a/c control knobs, all sensors. GM did delete features on the 2022's but I have bought two 2023's (Camaro ZL1 and Denali Ultimate) in the last 6 months and they aren't missing anything (no window sticker "credits"). I couldn't find F150's (Platinums or King Ranches) with all sensors and features back in December. Is Ford building trucks with all sensors and features now? I'm obviously not following inbound inventory anymore.

I'm certainly not saying GM builds perfect vehicles, no one does. I wasn't about to spend $80,000+/- for a new truck and have anything deleted because of chip issues. And I wasn't about to give Ford anymore of my cash right now.

 

[Samson16]

I have heated seats, lighted temp auto a/c control knobs, all sensors. GM did delete features on the 2022's but I have bought two 2023's (Camaro ZL1 and Denali Ultimate) in the last 6 months and they aren't missing anything (no window sticker "credits"). I couldn't find F150's (Platinums or King Ranches) with all sensors and features back in December. Is Ford building trucks with all sensors and features now? I'm obviously not following inbound inventory anymore.

I'm certainly not saying GM builds perfect vehicles, no one does. I wasn't about to spend $80,000+/- for a new truck and have anything deleted because of chip issues. And I wasn't about to give Ford anymore of my cash right now.

Hey Jus! Thanks for helping me find this forum. That Danali of yours is sweet!

 

[PatchManager]

Like the OP, I do read Consumer Reports and think highly of their reviews even though I don't always agree. Seeing the PowerBoost with a terrible review also made me question my decision to get a PowerBoost. Regardless of whether you think Consumer Reports is right or wrong, leading the industry in recalls (even if minor) is certainly a telling sign.

If you look at the recent Consumer Reports car issue and compare the '21 to the '22, you will see that Ford is making progress in resolving issues. It is my impression that many '21 issues were due to problems with OTA, which have generally been corrected or can be corrected as many on this forum have done. If you read the review for the F150 in Consumer Reports, they were generally pleased with the truck.

Not to bash GM owners, but GM trucks have consistently been at the bottom of the reliability rankings year after year. Ram seems to have made some good progress in that area where that reliability for the newest Ram ranks above that for the Tundra.

As others have said, you are not going to see stellar MPG numbers with your short commute. However, your short commute is going to problematic for any non-electric full-size truck, and certainly problematic for a diesel. When it is cold, my F150 won't go into electric only mode for several miles, and you can't make it go into electric only mode. When it is warmer (40s and 50s) and if I shut off the heater, it will go into electric only mode within about 1 mile of driving, but that depends on a number of factors.

With that said, I think my PowerBoost is great. I was stuck in traffic yesterday morning and during almost all of the 15 minutes of stop and go slow, the truck was in electric only mode. There are many things I like about it and some I hadn't even thought about before buying it. It may seem odd, but I think this forum has added greatly to positive experience with my truck. I've learned a huge amount here that I haven't found for other brands. If had been one of the few that received a problematic truck and had to deal with an incompetent service department, I would certainly feel differently.

 

[oneinch]

Knock on wood no problems here. I don't buy based on what I need. I buy what I want. The Pro Power is a cool toy. MPG is 15-20% better than what I had. I'm tickled pink so far.

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