EcoBoost - Long term?

[bansai]

Originally Posted by RPreeb

I think it says a lot that his buddy was towing at the vehicle's max tow rating. That means he was probably overloaded on tongue weight, and maybe overloaded period. That was just looking for trouble, regardless of the vehicle specs. Tranny and engine both overheating, and despite that, he still drove it 40,000 miles apparently without any actual breakdown mentioned.

What that tells me is that if you want to risk it, the F-150 package will take abuse beyond what it's rated for and still survive. For me, that just adds to the potential upside.

On any given summer weekend I can drive up I-70 west from Denver and see MH's or TT/TV's pulled over with their hoods up, trying to cool off the drive train. No way to tell if those folks are overloaded, underequipped, or just unlucky, but it happens to all makes, and the odds are good that something was neglected in selecting a proper TV or the vehicle was overloaded beyond it's capabilities. There is a big difference between towing in the flatlands and towing in the mountains.

Have to second this...
I have no problems with I70 from Denver to Vail pass and beyond. The only time I want a bigger truck is when I'm taking our camper up roads like the Central City Parkway, but even then it's brakes, that start to make me pucker a bit. Just have to plan appropriately for the terrain, not overdue it and stay out of trouble. It's easy with the ecoboost, that platform obviously has a limit, just like any other. Stay within the envelope and your golden.

[North of 49°]

I towed many years with our old Silverado with the 5.3 Vortec, and I thought that was a beast... until we got the Ecoboost. On our big trip last summer, we were towing into a strong headwind, around 40 mph, the Ecoboost had no problems keeping to the speed limit, and the towing experience was even better than the Silverado.The twin turbos just spooled up and kept going. But all of that power came at a price, and we averaged around 7 to 8 mpg for that trip. I agree that was an extreme case, but if you wanna play, you gotta pay.

So far, nothing too major with the Ecoboost. It does have the cold start rattle, but it's not every time. Our truck is still on the powertrain warranty, so when I have some time this summer, I'll take it in and let them fix it. A couple of electrical problems: a loose connection in the fuse box under the hood was killing the battery every so often (fixed under warranty), and the driver's side interior power lock switch doesn't unlock when it's pressed (I'll have to pay for this one). I take it to the dealer for the oil changes; they only charge a little more than what I would have to pay if I did it myself, and they're the ones getting dirty, not me. They use Motorcraft Semi-Syn, and it's documented in case there's any problems down the road. They recommend every 5,000 miles, so that's what I do. It comes out to about twice a year.

But I love the power of the Ecoboost, the 6 speed transmission makes towing a breeze, much more pleasurable than the old Silverado. Now, when coming up behind someone on the highway while towing and they're going too slow, I know I can pass them if I want; before, it was a little risky. Having said that, even though our truck is rated to tow something like 9,700 lbs, I don't think I'd want to tow anything bigger than our 24FBS with it, which was scaled fully loaded at around 6,000 lbs.

And it gets overall better gas mileage, too!

[TWP723]

EcoBoost engines have come a long way since first introduced. We see very little problems as of late. But, like stated earlier, the intercoolers on the first generation had problems. Replaced a lot under warranty. Rule of thumb, at least for me, is to never buy first generation engines. Seems they have it ironed out now. One suggestion, BUY the maintenance plan! It's well worth the money. JM2C.

[PMC]

I had a 2012 3.5 EB in a 150 Supercab and loved the motor. 4 years and 45k miles with nothing more than oil changes ever 5k, zero issues. If we didn't need more truck I'd still have it.

Only downside was an unrealistic MPG sticker as already mentioned and that it really drank the fuel while towing.

[Jopopsy]

I had a buddy lease a Ecoboost - his experience concurs with other's here whereas the mileage did NOT come close to the sticker. I wonder how Ford got those EPA numbers?

His mileage was consistently worse than my F150 w/ the Coyote 5.0 in it. I really LOVED the way that Coyote growled ....

[Sergeum]

Bansai said it best...

"Not great for a V6, but really good for the V8 it out performs"

The mileage you get out of these ecos is great considering the performance you get...

Originally Posted by bansai

Related, due to the turbos in the truck, I fully recommend a high quality full synthetic oil. I know oil can be controversial in some forums, but with those turbos you want all the protection you can get and the full syn oils are just better. I seem to lose about a half quart between 6000 mile oil changes. No drips, it just eats it. Mobile 1 for me, but there are obviously other good ones.

Being at altitude, I never get the MPG on the sticker, I think I get about 17 in the city last time I checked. Not great for a V6, but really good for the V8 it out performs.

[Mustang65]

I am averaging 10MPG (9 - 11mpg) while towing a 9000lb TT at 62mph, actually do a little better in hilly terrain as I use the down hill portion to build speed and get up most of the next hill . I never expected any more that that so I am happy, I never have had any faith in the MPG given by any of the companies... even back to the 70's.

Without the TT, I average around 15-16 in the city (light footed), on the Interstate (70mph) I get about 19-20mpg, on the back roads at 55 I get 24mpg. So if I compare that to the 6 mpg in the city in my old 65 Mustang, it is not bad.

Don

[Flapper]

My Eco is a 2012, XLT with HD Payload and Max Tow. 3.73 rear end.

Currently 68,000 mi, ~12,500 of them towing our ~8.5K lb 5th.
Last big trip was a grand circle tour from Minn, to CO, to Utah and back - about 4,500mi, a lot of it spent above 7,000 ft. Up to 11,000 ft.

Service items to-date:
2 months in, one of the cat. converters failed and was replaced under warranty.
2 years ago, it went into "limp" mode while towing (no turbos). A full day at a dealership on the road, and the issue turned out to be a cracked electrical connector.
Last summer, it had a couple instances of going into limp again, while not towing. Local dealer could not diagnose (no codes stored). They replaced the throttle body. Have not seen it again, and completed the above big trip with no incident.
Just got back from a dealer oil change yesterday. They advise I'm getting close on front brakes, need to start looking at replacing all tires, and there is a leak in the rear differential that needs looking at.

Towing average mpg has been about 10-10.5. Around town, it's at 16.5 Unloaded highway I can get about 20.

No issues on many, many long 6% grades, up or down. Could pass almost anyone if I wanted, although I usually tow at about 65mph. I-70 and the Eisenhower tunnel were non-issues going west to east.

[Mustang65]

Nice color truck:-)

Don

[mike837go]

Thanks for all the input. Seems no one has first-hand bad experience.


Well RAM doesn't sell a 1/2 ton SUV and Nissan's Armada is over 5,900# curb weight (commercial plates on anything over 5,500# in NYS)


I disapprove of the "We Know Better" attitude in the controls of Toyotas, but I'll see what the Sequoia is about before I dismiss it.


Ford Excursion (EcoBoost is standard/only engine, I believe, for 2017) or a Chevy Suburban with a V8 (interior on the Tahoe feels deliberately cramped).


Still have a few weeks before VW takes FNPOS back. Taking all the time I need to shop properly THIS TIME!

[Wireman]

mike837go, you might want to look at the Jeep Grand Cherokee with the Hemi or the 3.0 Eco Diesel. Very comfortable vehicle.


I have a 2015 JGC with the Eco Diesel and tow a Jay feather 23RLSW. Loaded weight about #5800 lbs. Rated to tow #7200. Where I'm at on weight is about all I would want to pull.


Did a 5200 mile trip this summer throughout the west, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Montana, a lot of mountain driving.


My actual towing mileage was 13.5 mpg. Driving around through Yellowstone, Bear tooth pass, and to Cody, on 1 tank, not towing, I averaged 32.3 mpg.


Your TT is smaller than mine and you would not have any issues towing your rig.


Just something to consider when you look around as a option.

[TaftCoach]

I went with the V8 in my 2013. At the time I thought of turbos for sports cars, V8 power for trucks. Now I will seriously consider the eco in my next truck. Although after replacing the fuel pump after 65,000 miles a HEMI may be in my future.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk