Powerboost CEL P237C/Exhaust Heat Exchanger Leak Megathread

[TXpowerboost]

Yesterday marked two weeks since I dropped my truck off at the dealer. I guess the bright side is that some other dealers said it would take two weeks before they would even look at it. Bottom line is they're telling me the heat exchange part is currently back ordered with no known delivery date.

The dealership will not extend a loaner vehicle. They did offer a $40 per day credit for a rental vehicle. So now I'm paying out of pocket (above their $40 credit) to drive around in a plain jane rental Toyota Camry. My experience so far with both the dealer and the Ford escalation team member has been below my expectations.

I like the truck. I think it's a great concept, and I hope they can get it fixed soon. I've never had a vehicle in for a repair for this long. What happens if this thing drags out to 30 days? 60 days, or longer as some have experienced?

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[TN Rotty]

Yesterday marked two weeks since I dropped my truck off at the dealer. I guess the bright side is that some other dealers said it would take two weeks before they would even look at it. Bottom line is they're telling me the heat exchange part is currently back ordered with no known delivery date.

The dealership will not extend a loaner vehicle. They did offer a $40 per day credit for a rental vehicle. So now I'm paying out of pocket (above their $40 credit) to drive around in a plain jane rental Toyota Camry. My experience so far with both the dealer and the Ford escalation team member has been below my expectations.

I like the truck. I think it's a great concept, and I hope they can get it fixed soon. I've never had a vehicle in for a repair for this long. What happens if this thing drags out to 30 days? 60 days, or longer as some have experienced?

If the truck is undrivable, that should put you in better position to get a replacement part (via Ford escalation). Some have escalated to Ford and gotten extended warranties or payments towards their truck. My call to Ford went nowhere in terms of a faster part delivery (compared to others it seems). I was fortunate that I could keep driving it and refilling the coolant (local Ford dealer did supply that).

You might call around to other dealers (even distant ones) and see what their parts department can tell you about the availability of the part needed. That may give you an idea of a time frame, or alert you to a place that has the part in stock.

I just got a recall from Ford for a wiper motor and the forms says no parts till Q3 2023. So they may be back to major part supply issues.

 

[MITruckGuy]

Dropped mine off last Tuesday. The 2 spigots are on order with no ETA that I've been told.

Is everyone just getting the spigots now for their repair? How long have people been waiting on them recently? The plastic parts don't look that complex - but who knows how the supply chain is running.

I have a loaner but I miss my truck!

 

[SAAUZ]

Just went through this as well, but very short turnaround time.

I got CEL on January 13th, I scanned it and got the P237C code, coolant was at the min mark, no visible leaks.

Dealer was able to look at it a week later, they confirmed faulty exhaust heat exchanger. The part (ML3Z-5A212-W) was in stock, so I was able to book service for today, just picked up the truck.

I have 27000km on it, short bed, 4/20 build

 

[JJohn]

I joined the list today. Heat exchanger ordered, no timeline.

JJohn
MY 22
6.5/V
Jan. 24, 2023
7,000
drivable y/n - Serv. Adv. is asking Manager
Jan. 24, 2023
part arrived date - N/A
installed date - N/A
any issues after - N/A

 

[TN Rotty]

Condolences and welcome to our new leakers. Hopefully two still waiting will have fast repairs

@MITruckGuy - not sure on length of time for spigots. It may be luck of the draw on delivery. (Notice the 2 posts below yours - one exchanger in stock, another no estimate.)

@SAAUZ - got your info in the list - let me know if I missed something.

@JJohn - thanks for the info stacked as you did and let me know of any missed info. Sheet is below:

Name	Blend	Bed/ Part	Told Dlr	Miles	Can Drive	part ordered	part arrived	Install Date	Issues After?
Dan65 repair#1	12/22/21​	5.5/W	1/20​	166​	No	01/20/22​		3/17/2022 56 days	YES - ~5000 miles, in May leaking again
Rhymeand reasons	01/05/22​	5.5/W	2/16​	1990​	No	02/18/22​	3/9 - arrived damaged - re-ordered 3/9 - arrived 4/7	4/8/2022 51 days	No!!!
Nasto	01/05/22​	6.5/V	2/22​	296​	No	Wrong -S part ordered: 2/23/22. Re-ordered -V: 03/09/22.	3/29/2022​	3/30/2022 37 days	no
Cuse0307 repair#1	01/15/22​	6.5/V	3/19​	3300​	No	03/20/22​	5/13/2022​	5/13/2022 55 days	YES - 900 miles and leaking again
Bellin stoke	02/01/22​	5.5/W	3/23​	2600​	No	--	--	4/14/2022 22 days	no
Thunder chief	12/23/21​	5.5/W	3/28​	1237​	No	03/28/22​	4/25/2022​	4/26/2022 29 days	no
MTPower boost	12/06/21​	5.5/W	4/8​	3127​	No	04/06/22​		5/11/2022 33 days	No - 150 miles so far
Matthyius	01/06/22​	6.5/V	4/18​	3930​	No	04/22/22​	scavenged off new truck in lot	6/20/2022 63 days	No - 2000 km so far FORD offering 3 month payments 8yr/180k km warranty
Deeds972	MY22	6.5/V	5/9​	4800​	No			5/23/2022 14 days	No
Dan65 repair#2	12/22/21​	5.5/W	6/9​	5002​	No	06/09/22​	7/25/2022​	7/27/2022 48 days
emiantan	12/20/22​	5.5/W	6/16​	6728​	No (but kept at home for mods)	06/17/22​	7/27/2022​	7/27/2022 41 days	1 month, 3000 miles good so far
PeaksFord	MY22	5.5/W	6/28​	4852​	No	07/07/22​			Truck traded out to dealer
70mach1	12/16/21​	5.5/W	6/22​	4500​	No	??	7/29/2022​	7/29/2022 37 days
Zakloosle	12/17/21​	6.5/V	4/26​	2900​	No	4/26/22?		8/11/2022 107 days
Ford Driver	01/22/22​	5.5/W	3/29​	300​	No	04/22/22​		8/18/2022 142 days
jeepin95	01/11/22​	5.5/W	9/2​	4987​	No	9/9/2022​		9/16/2022 14 days
JLOYD98	03/15/21​	5.5/W	7/19​	13500​	No (CEL since 4/20)	7/22/2022​		10/11/2022 84 days
Daniel Boca	MY 22	5.5/W	10/17​	1100​	No			10/24/2022 7 days
--------	--------	--------	-----	-----	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------
Oxford_Po werboost	09/27/21​	5.5/W	2/7​	7600​	Yes	02/07/22​	5/20/2022​	5/25/2022 107 days	no
Dmark john	12/20/21​	5.5 W	2/21​	400​	Yes	02/21/22​	3/10/2022​	3/11/2022 18 days	No- have 4K miles post repair and everything is good
iceman77	01/06/22​	5.5/W	2/22​	1707​	Yes	02/24/22​	4/21/2022​	4/23/2022 60 days	no - ~11k miles so far with no leaks
MrFarly repair#1	01/04/22​	6.5/V	4/8​	8000​	Yes	04/11/22​	5/11/2022​	5/12/2022 34 days	YES - @ 2500 miles leaking again
MrFarly repair#2	01/04/22​	6.5/V	6/6​	10900​	Yes	Corporate Ford tech expedited and looked at this 2nd leak	6/14/2022​	6/21/2022 15 days	23.5k miles and still good
Sir Choppins	12/17/21​	5.5/W	6/2​	1200​	Yes	06/06/22	7/11/2022​	7/12/2022 40 days
Boone	2/1/2021​	5.5/W	Mar 2022	20550​	Yes			7/27/2022 ~4.5 months
TN Rotty	12/19/21​	6.5/V	3/1​	1100​	Yes	03/07/22​	7/21/2022​	7/28/2022 149 days	4.5 months and watching a drop in reservoir
Cuse0307 repair#2	01/15/22​	6.5/V	6/6​	4200​	Yes	06/06/22​		8/6/2022 61 days
RyanC111	04/21/21​	6.5/V	4/7​	7694​	Yes	05/25/22​	8/17/2022​	8/22/2022 137 days
Klvanzu	01/16/22​	5.5/W	5/11​	3100​	Yes	05/11/22​		8/24/2022 105 days	over 3 months no issues since
Mosey	09/03/21​	5.5/W	8/15​	6500​	Yes - but left it			9/1/2022 17 days
DB63	12/14/21​	5.5/W	3/14​	1000​	Yes	03/14/22​	9/9/2022​	9/13/2022 183 days
wayni	44577​	5.5/W	####​	1100​	Yes	44805​		9/12/2022 20 days
VRF201	01/22/22​	5.5/W	9/3​	6200​	Yes			9/21/2022 18 days
Matthyius repair #2	01/06/22​	6.5/V	10/12​	17820 km				10/13/20221 day wow
Dadnkid	Jan 22	5.5/W	10/3​	1500​				10/18 ??	No leaks at 100 miles
bobnweave13	03/01/22​	5.5/W	10/31​	2900​	Yes
RTF150	Feb 22	5.5/ still diagnosing	11/7​	1850​	Yes	???		11/15/22 8 Days	May have been inlets & outlets leaking
mbp	Jan 22	6.5 ft	11/30​	~655	don’t want to risk it			12/5/2022 5 Days
m_bt54	08/21/22​	5.5/W	12/21​	18000​	Yes, slow leak so far			1/6/2023 16 Days - not heat exchanger	Muffler inlet pipe replaced
SAAUZ	04/20/22​	5.4/W	1/13​	27000 km		1/20/2023​	1/20/2023​	1/23/23 - 10 Days
--------	--------	--------	-----	-----	--------	--------	--------	--------	--------
Puddle	01/09/22​	5.5/W	6/20​	2000 km	No	6/23/22?
cheeser 9712	MY 21	5.5/W	Feb 2022	15468​	Yes
911spyder	MY 22	5.5/W	7/5​
TXpowerboost	2022 model	5.5'	1/4​	6990​	Yes	1/9/2023​		5500 first noticed coolant odor
JJohn	MY 22	6.5/V	1/24​	7000​	Maybe -Serv. Adv. is asking Mgr	1/24/2023​

Original part# (dependent on bed size) ML3Z-5A212-S.

The updated part for a 5.5 foot bed is ML3Z-5A212-W.
The updated part for a 6.5 foot bed is ML3Z-5A212-V.

For any new records get me the info in a column like so :

Forum Name
Blend (build date of your truck)
bed length/part letter
told dealer date
mileage when leak noticed
drivable y/n
part ordered date
part arrived date
installed date
any issues after

Example:
TN Rotty
12/19/22
6.5/V
03/01/22
1100
Yes
3/7/2022

If you have no info for a field, no worries - just put ??? or similar for that item

 

[TXpowerboost]

31 days since I dropped the truck off at the dealer with the heat exchanger coolant leak. No one at the dealer or Ford has any answers. Part is back ordered with no known delivery.

No Ford employee I’ve dealt with during this process has actually treated me like a guy that bought one of their trucks. I’m just the current pain in the butt they’re having to deal with. I’ll update this as to how long it takes, but Ford is going to be buying this truck before this is all said and done. And no one at Ford seems to care that this might affect my next purchasing decision.

 

[Snakebitten]

These trucks are really great trucks.
The after purchase support is abysmal! Unforgivable.

I'd have a completely different opinion if an otherwise perfectly performing truck had a faulty component that was available immediately, repaired promptly, and those representing the product made me feel like they cared.

 

[Dr.Will E Stroker]

I just got the code. P237C
No Leaks, Coolant Level is full.

 

[S14suspense]

I just got the code. P237C
No Leaks, Coolant Level is full.

Same here.

S14Suspense
Late 2021
5.5/?
2/12/23
20,000
Yes
part ordered date
part arrived date
installed date
any issues after

 

[iceman77]

I thought I will never come back to this thread, at least not with bad news, but fate has its irony on its own it seems. I have put 24,000 miles on the truck since my exhaust heat exchanger was replaced. And till today, it holds up well, no leak, its bone dry. However, as of yesterday, I have started getting PCM fault codes for the Exhaust Heat Exchanger valve, P2C23 (Exhaust Heat Exchanger Exhaust Bypass Valve "A" Position Sensor Performance) and P237F (Exhaust Heat Exchanger Exhaust Bypass Valve "A" Control Performance). I have had my fair share with this "Muffler Inlet Pipe" assembly and have taken it apart several times when I was trying to fix the leak I had last year. There is an actuator mounted on the muffler assembly that controls the valve that redirects hot exhaust gases through the heat exchanger when needed. It looks like this:

I suspect my valve is either stuck, or the actuator died. I don't get open circuit fault (like @Oxford_Powerboost reported on the beginning of the thread) only "performance" error, which indicates that the valve/actuator position mismatches the commanded position. I am horrified to even think to take my truck back to the delaer again, and have it imponded for another 2 months with part still on back order. The truck is drive-able, I don't have CEL, but having to deal with this heat exchanger again plain pisses me off to the point of desperation. Ford has definitely done a shitty job on this part. No excuse whatsoever!

Just wanted to share my frustration, feel free to chip in yours. I will see what dealer says for the part back order, perhaps I will just try to find the actuator and replace it myself

 

[Snakebitten]

While it's a lousy reason to hear from you, it's good to hear from the infamous Iceman.

If you clear the code, does it immediately return?

 

[iceman77]

Yup, both codes return after clearing. SM refers to monitor the EHE_EBVA_POS_ST PID on PCM, guess what mine shows:

The SM then suggest to INSTALL a new muffler inlet pipe.

I will go to visit my dealer tomorrow morning and see what he says

 

[Snakebitten]

Do you think the actuator is the issue? Or is the valve itself inhibiting the actuator?

Like a blend door catching on something and stopping its actuator from successfully moving the blend door through its requested motion?

If that makes sense.

 

[iceman77]

Okay, so I went to see the dealer today, explained my fault codes, and that CEL light is on (it came on last night) and guess what, they tell me, they have the part in stock, right at the dealership. WOW! I left the truck there in the morning, picked it up same day in the afternoon with a new muffler inlet pipe installed! I could not be happier that my truck is fixed just before upcoming cross-country trip! Kudos to my dealership for the prompt service and same day delivery

@TN Rotty, not sure if you want to update the spreadsheet with my info, but in case you want to, here it is:

- no leak after 24,600 miles
- CEL showed up with exhaust heat exchanger valve (P2C22, P2C23, P237F)
- dealer replaced muffler inlet pipe - part number NL3Z-5A212-B

What's worth mentioning, the ML3Z-5A212-W (short bed) has been replaced with the new revision NL3Z-5A212-B. Hope this one works well with no further issues.

Truck drives well, CEL is gone, FS shows no codes, no leak observed so far.

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