Let’s face it, Powerboosts are not reliable

[rjulian]

Like you said….they’ve been making them for 20 years. Buy one new, it’s free. Sell one, it’s worth less.

The market does not lie.

And now…I’ll rant…

I’ve been around a fleet of around 20 each Ford F150’s and 250’s since 1994…here’s my take on the last 30 years….

4.9L I6- man…you want an engine to go to the moon with, it will take a long time, but you’ll get there

6.9 Navistar IDI- you’ll get to the moon a little slower, with better mileage

7.3 Navistar IDI- almost as slow as the 6.9, but reliable as hell - every now and again the crank pulley belt takes out all the rest of the belts and it always happens on a Friday afternoon

7.3 Powerstroke- damn. This thing is fast. Tranny doesn’t like the extra power, but the engine runs forever as long as you keep an extra crank position sensor in the glovebox

6.0 Powerstroke- pretty good until the exhaust oil cooler thingy in the V mixes around 70,000 miles.

6.4 Powerstroke- powerfull as hell until the egr cooler thingy plugs up around 60,000 miles, and you learn to pull the cab because of the high pressure injection pump all the way in the back of the engine. Might eat a turbo beforehand.

6.2 gasser- enough with the diesels and all of the emissions b.s. These are reliable as hell despite what you might hear.

4.6 V8- we should have kept all of these

5.4 2v V8- synthetic oil only. Don’t worry about the dent in the hood from the spark plug that went ICBM from the underside. Helicoil/thread chaser, you’ll be back on the road in no time

5.0 -change the oil often, use synthetic, every now and again you’ll get one that burns oil. Transmission shop will tell you congrats on the 10R80 that makes 115,000 miles…it’s the record

2.7 eco- the new fleet standard. Plenty of power, and they seemingly don’t break down.

3.5 Powerboost- Definitely the coolest of the bunch, but when your downtime at 55,000 miles is higher than a 6.4 Powerstroke at 55,000 miles, good luck with that one!

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[Snakebitten]

You do realize that there are members here that are already well beyond 100,000 miles with the 3.5 Ecoboost and the Powerboost, and have had no issues with the CDF or the engines.

I'm not trying to make a case that everyone with a Powerboost or a 3.5 Ecoboost will have as trouble free an experience. But I am saying that I don't believe that those with those trucks should expect to have poor luck.

It's a statistic that only conjecture can quantify. But this forum has so many threads that start out with a legitimate rant, and then as days go by and posts pile up, the number of members that claim their trucks have NOT experienced substantial "downtime", or even any at all, outnumber the unfortunate trucks considerably. It's an anecdotal statistic, but it's all we have to go on.

I have 3 Powerboosts that I have personally acquired. A 2021 Platinum that I impulse purchased and drove for 50 weeks while I waited for my current personal 2022 KingRanch.
And I have a 2021 XL Powerboost that I acquired for my employer.
Of course the Platinum was traded in, but the KingRanch and work truck are still in use. All 3 combined, only my 2022 KingRanch has ever visited the dealership. (it sheared a rear axle passenger side bolt)

It's coming up on a total of 8 years of service combined. Again, anecdotal. But 2 days of downtime total for near 3000 days in service.

Perspective varies. And we're human. I can respect how there are conflicting opinions depending on personal experience.

 

[JJSnell]

Your trade in is $35000? I have a 2023 Lariat PB and it's 2 yrs old with 12050 miles on it. I wonder what my trade in is ?

Cuz it's a trade in quote.
They low-ball the crap out of you on trade ins.

 

[JJSnell]

2022 PB Plat. 35,000mi
Had one sheared bolt
Static from B&O stereo
Park Assist keeps turning itself on
OTA updates sporadic

Nothing associated with PB\battery.

I am heavily contemplating my next F150 for the simple fact I have to turn my Park Assist off weekly. It has become an absolute nightmare and I'm getting really tired of it.

 

[CaptainAmericaRob]

I love my 22 Powerboost, but I have to agree with CR. Reliability wise, mine has sucked.

Everything has been warranty.

I’ve had 14 different recalls.

I’ve owned it for 30 months. It’s been in the shop 30-40 days. Mostly waiting for parts…

Exhaust heat exchanger
2 cats cleaned
2 cats replaced
12V battery
Belt integrated starter generator

We can love the truck- and I do…but we can also admit Ford really blew the execution on this one…

I paid $74k

Trade in is $35k. 53k miles, less than 3 years old.

I should have just bought the Coyote!

that sucks, im sorry to hear that. I have a 21' Lariat PB. Mechanically, mine has been great (knock on wood), however... electronics and softawre, have been an absolute pain in the bumper.
the 3 recalls that were issued on my truck, i never have had a problem with.
I got the PB for the 7.2Kw onboard generator, for my camper and as a spare, and it's been awesome!
Hope you get things ironed out.

 

[spiritrider1]

And now…I’ll rant…

5.0 -change the oil often, use synthetic, every now and again you’ll get one that burns oil. Transmission shop will tell you congrats on the 10R80 that makes 115,000 miles…it’s the record

2.7 eco- the new fleet standard. Plenty of power, and they seemingly don’t break down.

3.5 Powerboost- Definitely the coolest of the bunch, but when your downtime at 55,000 miles is higher than a 6.4 Powerstroke at 55,000 miles, good luck with that one!

Quite the experience! But relevant for today are the 3.5 EcoBoost, 6.7 PowerStroke, and 6.8 & 7.3 big Gassers. What can you say about those?

 

[Suns_PSD]

My PB has been good, but really all my vehicles hold up well for 100s of thousands with minimal issues.

I'll keep this one for many years as I just really like it, it's setup just right & has depreciated a bunch to boot.

My only complaint is the BC is pretty lame. Anyone in CTX up for updating me to 1.4 for cash?

It might be only worth $35k today, but in 7 years it'll still be worth $20k. Now the slow depreciation occurs.

Sorry for those that have had many troubles.

 

[rjulian]

Quite the experience! But relevant for today are the 3.5 EcoBoost, 6.7 PowerStroke, and 6.8 & 7.3 big Gassers. What can you say about those?

I’ll rant about my Powerboost with a sample size of 1.

6.7’s- we got away from diesels for fleet. It’s cheaper and a lot less headaches to run gassers. 6.8’s and 7.3 gassers we don’t have just yet. Have around a dozen of the 6.2’s in F250’s. No 3.5’s in the fleet except mine.

6.2’s have been good. Have one good story- about 4-5 months ago a 6.2 threw the serpentine belt. New belt and a day or two later it’s saying low oil pressure. Dropped the pan and there’s a piece of the serpentine belt in the oil pickup. Darned thing - part of it got past the front seal at the crank pulley, got in the engine and wound up in the pick up tube, never dripped a drop of oil. Cleaned it out, made absolutely sure it wasn’t an internal belt, and back on the road she went.

 

[v8440]

What the HELL, that's a first for me. Better go play the lottery.

 

[rjulian]

What the HELL, that's a first for me. Better go play the lottery.

It was one of those things where you say “No way….how the hell? What are the odds? Bet we never see that again!”

And the engine is fine. 6.2’s are tough!

 

[HammaMan]

23 PB here and so far so good except the 12V battery under the hood and one time getting the aux transmission pump warning which looks like it has been rectified after sitting at the dealer for half a day! I refuse to change the battery so I connect it to the trickle charger every Sunday night.

Don't take chances with the aux trans pump. If you had issues with it, I'd replace it myself if ford won't. The aux trans pump going out will destroy the trans and hybrid drive unit. Keep a close eye on that.

 

[spiritrider1]

[Don't take chances with the aux trans pump. If you had issues with it, I'd replace it myself if ford won't. The aux trans pump going out will destroy the trans and hybrid drive unit. Keep a close eye on that.
[/QUOTE]

Did yours fail? What symptoms did you experience?

 

[HammaMan]

Did yours fail? What symptoms did you experience?

No, but I assisted w/ someone whose truck before they owned it reported issues with it that were ignored. Trans and hybrid drive unit ended up completely destroyed (all of the clutches were toast). The aux pump is responsible for engaging the hybrid clutch and spraying the electric motor with oil.

Also check your trans fluid level.

 

[rjulian]

No, but I assisted w/ someone whose truck before they owned it reported issues with it that were ignored. Trans and hybrid drive unit ended up completely destroyed (all of the clutches were toast). The aux pump is responsible for engaging the hybrid clutch and spraying the electric motor with oil.

Also check your trans fluid level.

Yeah, paging through the 23,981 page service manual, that checks out. Had no idea the drive clutch between the engine and the electric motor was actuated by the transmission pump and fluid.

The amount of extra “stuff” these have in them to be a hybrid. Page through the manual there are hybrid components I’d never even think of….electric motor coolant pump…electric motor electronics radiator….high voltage battery coolant diverter valve. I wonder how much extra it costs Ford the make the powerboost versus a conventional 3.5EB? I’m thinking it’s got to be at least $6-$7k.

Gotta love CAFE standards!

 

[Shane150]

Don't take chances with the aux trans pump. If you had issues with it, I'd replace it myself if ford won't. The aux trans pump going out will destroy the trans and hybrid drive unit. Keep a close eye on that.

Where can I find a detailed procedure for replacing it?

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