I hate my Powerboost

[jesaf00]

I have had a '21 powerboost for a full year now with 15k miles. Beyond issues with stupid things from day 1 like power mirrors not working and the 11 month debacle that has been, I just really dislike the ride. I was so excited to have this truck, after my '20 Ram was rear-ended and totaled after less than 2 years, because after living through the Texas snowpocalpyse the 7.2kw generator in this truck seemed to make it perfect. But since day 1, my Lariate pb has been a downgrade and disappointment from my Laramie 1500.

First, I love the idea of a hybrid with great mpg, lots of power and speed, and the built in generator. Not to mention the fact that I was able to put a hefty sum down and get 0% interest in Oct 2021. I thought this truck was going to be the best of all worlds. But what I found was this truck drives like complete crap. There are very noticeable jerks when switching between gas and electric plus accelerating or decelerating, especially around 3rd gear is extremely rough. Every time I accelerate or decelerate I feel these jerks, pauses, and jolts and it is driving me insane.

When accelerating up a hill I will hit third gear and then it feels as if it downshifts and throws me in to the back of my seat as it shifts higher. When decelerating it can be very sudden that it shocks people in the vehicle. Sometimes there is a hesitation when accelerating causing me to hit the gas a little more which then leads to a jerk forward once the truck catches up. Nothing about the ride is consistent or comfortable. I hate comparing it to the ram but the hemi ram was smooth in acceleration and deceleration all the time. During the last 11 months of dealing with other issues I have mentioned the issues with the ride quality each time I took the truck into service and the dealer has done nothing for it. On the work order it says "no work done." I Paid 68k for this truck, full sticker 1 year ago, and I couldn't be less happy with it.

Most likely I will need to hold onto this truck because current interest rates are terrible and no one will give me a decent trade in. I am one service appt away from filing a lemon law claim here in Texas for a buy back. If we have a power outage in the next winter or 2, the generator may be the only saving grace, if it's not in the shop.

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[jcaspar]

You should so a private party trade with someone. I am sure there are some 3.5EB or 2.7 owners that might be interested. Might even get some cash out of it. Not worth the aggravation if you dislike a vehicle that much.

 

[aybe09]

Do you have any other dealerships you could take it to for service? I would start there.

 

[Snakebitten]

Have you ever had your VIN looked up for possible updates available?
A Job1 Powerboost will have had 2 or 3 PCM updates at this point. Those are critical updates relating to drivability issues.

 

[Str8Shooter]

I'm curious if you test drove your truck before you bought it. If you did a test drive first, did it drive like that then? I'm guessing it did the same thing from day 1 and you decided to still buy it for some reason.

I have had sales people from several manufacturers tell me in the past that the vehicle would "with time" learn how I drive and improve drivability when I told them that I didn't like the shifting points. I told the salesman that if the new vehicle wasn't smart enough to know how to shift correctly on day one I wasn't going to buy it.

If you do not like how the vehicle drives and can't get a satisfactory resolution in a reasonable time I'd go get a different vehicle that you like whenever you can get a good deal.

 

[speedracercjr]

Have you ever had your VIN looked up for possible updates available?
A Job1 Powerboost will have had 2 or 3 PCM updates at this point. Those are critical updates relating to drivability issues.

@jesaf00 Post your VIN and we can see if you have updates (willing to bet you do). I live in Houston and wouldn't mind helping you update if you do and see if the ride gets better.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

I have had a '21 powerboost for a full year now with 15k miles. Beyond issues with stupid things from day 1 like power mirrors not working and the 11 month debacle that has been, I just really dislike the ride. I was so excited to have this truck, after my '20 Ram was rear-ended and totaled after less than 2 years, because after living through the Texas snowpocalpyse the 7.2kw generator in this truck seemed to make it perfect. But since day 1, my Lariate pb has been a downgrade and disappointment from my Laramie 1500.

First, I love the idea of a hybrid with great mpg, lots of power and speed, and the built in generator. Not to mention the fact that I was able to put a hefty sum down and get 0% interest in Oct 2021. I thought this truck was going to be the best of all worlds. But what I found was this truck drives like complete crap. There are very noticeable jerks when switching between gas and electric plus accelerating or decelerating, especially around 3rd gear is extremely rough. Every time I accelerate or decelerate I feel these jerks, pauses, and jolts and it is driving me insane.

When accelerating up a hill I will hit third gear and then it feels as if it downshifts and throws me in to the back of my seat as it shifts higher. When decelerating it can be very sudden that it shocks people in the vehicle. Sometimes there is a hesitation when accelerating causing me to hit the gas a little more which then leads to a jerk forward once the truck catches up. Nothing about the ride is consistent or comfortable. I hate comparing it to the ram but the hemi ram was smooth in acceleration and deceleration all the time. During the last 11 months of dealing with other issues I have mentioned the issues with the ride quality each time I took the truck into service and the dealer has done nothing for it. On the work order it says "no work done." I Paid 68k for this truck, full sticker 1 year ago, and I couldn't be less happy with it.

Most likely I will need to hold onto this truck because current interest rates are terrible and no one will give me a decent trade in. I am one service appt away from filing a lemon law claim here in Texas for a buy back. If we have a power outage in the next winter or 2, the generator may be the only saving grace, if it's not in the shop.

Have you been taking it to the same dealer? If so take it somewhere else as the one you are going to is not that good if they cannot or will not address your concerns.

There was a TSB on the harsh shifting that should resolve the 3rd gear issue. Also try resetting the transmission adaptive tables with Forscan. The 10R80 is an adaptive system and is notorious for picking up odd shift behaviors. Especially if towing in normal but leaving in Normal mode and not locking out 8-10.

When you reset it drive it calmly around town for 10-20 miles. This will set the initial adaptation just know that during this time shifts may be erratic as it relearns. Don't rhomp on it or it will pick up the odd harsh shift again. Then over the next 250-500 miles it will adapt to your individual driving style. I recently did this for @fordhouston when he had some odd issues with his and last I heard it fixed them on his.

 

[Snakebitten]

I have to remind myself consistently that statistically speaking, the VAST majority of the F150's, especially 2021's, are running down the road pretty much exactly as they were produced on the assembly line.

This forum is a teeny tiny slice of 1%
So only a small percentage of those 2021 owners are aware of the solutions available to update the truck they purchased to better represent the F150's that are CURRENTLY coming off the assembly line 2+ years later.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

I have to remind myself consistently that statistically speaking, the VAST majority of the F150's, especially 2021's, are running down the road pretty much exactly as they were produced on the assembly line.

This forum is a teeny tiny slice of 1%
So only a small percentage of those 2021 owners are aware of the solutions available to update the truck they purchased to better represent the F150's that are CURRENTLY coming off the assembly line 2+ years later.

Exactly. This is exacerbated when many dealerships out there have not provided ample time for the techs to lean the new systems or just plain suck. So many Job 1 owners go by what the dealers tell, do, or don't do which often times leaves them feeling very frustrated such as OP is.

 

[jesaf00]

I'm curious if you test drove your truck before you bought it. If you did a test drive first, did it drive like that then? I'm guessing it did the same thing from day 1 and you decided to still buy it for some reason.

I have had sales people from several manufacturers tell me in the past that the vehicle would "with time" learn how I drive and improve drivability when I told them that I didn't like the shifting points. I told the salesman that if the new vehicle wasn't smart enough to know how to shift correctly on day one I wasn't going to buy it.

If you do not like how the vehicle drives and can't get a satisfactory resolution in a reasonable time I'd go get a different vehicle that you like whenever you can get a good deal.

Yes I definitely test drove it and the issues may have been present at the beginning but it probably comes down to a few different things. First when test driving you generally don't drive it like you will, you baby it, and that continues usually for a couple thousand miles. When the truck is new its just exciting and you have blinders on because you just spent a tone of money. Any weird quirks are kinda waved off when you are excited about the other features like the built in generator. Those quirks have a way of slowly eating at you, becoming more noticeable over time to a point where I feel every little issue with drivability.

 

[oneinch]

I think one should not give the Powerboost a ? for powering a house. It's a great party trick though. Sure, it'll supply power to a house, but it won't power a house unless you live in a home that doesn't require much power. It sure won't power my house. Turning off the AC to run the oven is not powering the house. That's robbing Peter to pay Paul. Get a whole house generator instead.

 

[jesaf00]

@jesaf00 Post your VIN and we can see if you have updates (willing to bet you do). I live in Houston and wouldn't mind helping you update if you do and see if the ride gets better.

I have not posted the vin on here before, here is my vin and if there is anything that can be done that would be awesome. 1FTFW1ED3MFC29320

 

[jesaf00]

I think one should not give the Powerboost a ? for powering a house. It's a great party trick though. Sure, it'll supply power to a house, but it won't power a house unless you live in a home that doesn't require much power. It sure won't power my house. Turning off the AC to run the oven is not powering the house. That's robbing Peter to pay Paul. Get a whole house generator instead.

I have Gas appliances and I posted a video here showing how I can power almost everything including 2 furnaces, lights, tv, internet, microwave, gas range hood, and more. But I totally take your point on a regular generator. The truck is a much quieter generator, though.

 

[erixgix]

@jesaf00 Post your VIN and we can see if you have updates (willing to bet you do). I live in Houston and wouldn't mind helping you update if you do and see if the ride gets better.

This is amazing. Love to see you members helping out and being so generous with your time. Good on ya @speedracercjr

 

[Snakebitten]

I think one should not give the Powerboost a ? for powering a house. It's a great party trick though. Sure, it'll supply power to a house, but it won't power a house unless you live in a home that doesn't require much power. It sure won't power my house. Turning off the AC to run the oven is not powering the house. That's robbing Peter to pay Paul. Get a whole house generator instead.

Much more than a party trick. And hauling generators, gas cans, and listening to them run for hours isn't a better way. Admittedly the house isn't big. But the Powerboost can run 2 of them! Now that's a pretty good party trick, I'll give you.

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