2012 EcoBoost - Long term update

[AlmostAnOldGuy]

In June of 2012 I ordered my truck outfitted the way I wanted and took delivery in August. Per signature it is a 2012 F150 Max Payload.

Have really enjoyed the truck.

Pros:

• Electronic steering rack - drives straight and true and has the lowest sense of driving fatigue of any truck I have driven.
• Quite ride.
• Very comfortable and supportive seats. With my wife's urging I sprung for Lariat / leather and it fits my backside.
• Great low end torque and plenty of hp. Never lacked for power and as prior rig had an 8.1L I have an idea what a strong gas engine is like.
• Integrated braking trailer works very well. When following owners manual to set the controller it performs an excellent and well controlled stop.
• Well matched to my trailer.
• Unloaded gets better than 19 mpg running between Portland and Seattle (60-70mph). Given the trucks capabilities I consider this very good. With the 8.1L was about to 12mpg.

Cons:

• Engine braking is weak. Tow haul mode does a good job of shift management, but the engine is limited in this space. Has not been an issue as I pay attention as I head into a long downhill run (brake to lower speed, release, repeat as needed) and when I apply brakes the integrated brake controller works well. The 8.1L held better.
• As an early EcoBoost I had the condensation issue. Ford's fix to reduce the efficiency of the intercooler has worked fine and have not noticed any downside. Could spring for aftermarket intercooler but do not see the point unless I move to a hotter climate.
• Have had dealer replace (under warranty) front hub 4x4 mechanism twice. Apparently 2011-2014 rely on vacuum to stay disengaged and have had issues with insufficient vacuum.

Have been happy with this truck and plan on keeping it a long time. Only mod I am adding is a catch can which is something I would do on any direct inject gas engine to keep intake valves clean. Only reason I have held off this long is I have not wanted Ford to complain about a mod if I needed warranty work.

Recent photo on road trip in SE Oregon

And I want to acknowledge my thanks to SkipnChar for his help in deciding on this truck. Have not seen you for some time on here and wishing you well.

Stu

[Fordlover]

AlmostAnOldGuy wrote:
In June of 2012 I ordered my truck outfitted the way I wanted and took delivery in August. Per signature it is a 2012 F150 Max Payload.

Have really enjoyed the truck.

Pros:

• Electronic steering rack - drives straight and true and has the lowest sense of driving fatigue of any truck I have driven.
• Quite ride.
• Very comfortable and supportive seats. With my wife's urging I sprung for Lariat / leather and it fits my backside.
• Great low end torque and plenty of hp. Never lacked for power and as prior rig had an 8.1L I have an idea what a strong gas engine is like.
• Integrated braking trailer works very well. When following owners manual to set the controller it performs an excellent and well controlled stop.
• Well matched to my trailer.
• Unloaded gets better than 19 mpg running between Portland and Seattle (60-70mph). Given the trucks capabilities I consider this very good. With the 8.1L was about to 12mpg.

Cons:

• Engine braking is weak. Tow haul mode does a good job of shift management, but the engine is limited in this space. Has not been an issue as I pay attention as I head into a long downhill run (brake to lower speed, release, repeat as needed) and when I apply brakes the integrated brake controller works well. The 8.1L held better.
• As an early EcoBoost I had the condensation issue. Ford's fix to reduce the efficiency of the intercooler has worked fine and have not noticed any downside. Could spring for aftermarket intercooler but do not see the point unless I move to a hotter climate.
• Have had dealer replace (under warranty) front hub 4x4 mechanism twice. Apparently 2011-2014 rely on vacuum to stay disengaged and have had issues with insufficient vacuum.

Have been happy with this truck and plan on keeping it a long time. Only mod I am adding is a catch can which is something I would do on any direct inject gas engine to keep intake valves clean. Only reason I have held off this long is I have not wanted Ford to complain about a mod if I needed warranty work.

Recent photo on road trip in SE Oregon

And I want to acknowledge my thanks to SkipnChar for his help in deciding on this truck. Have not seen you for some time on here and wishing you well.

Stu

Thank you for the update, I'm happy to see these Ecoboost trucks performing so well and I remember when you got the truck way back. I came really close to following your lead with a Max tow F-150 but the Explorer held together too well, so we delayed new truck until a new trailer required it. I also haven't seen Skip around for a long time, and also wishing him well. Same goes for SurveyorJP I think it was...

[Bobbo]

theoldwizard1 wrote:

AlmostAnOldGuy wrote:

Apparently 2011-2014 rely on vacuum to stay disengaged and have had issues with insufficient vacuum.

Most people don't know it, but all EcoBoost engines have an auxiliary vacuum pump because the engine spends a lot of time on light boost (or, if towing/hauling, a LOT of time on medium/heavy boost). Over the years, Ford has used several different vacuum pumps on EcoBoost engines, some mechanical, so electric.

Vacuum is critical for power brakes (the booster is large enough to hold enough vacuum for at least 2 full stops even after it has been disconnected from the vacuum source.) There should be a vacuum reservoir someplace under the hood that stores vacuum fr other accessories. As a test, you might want to tee into that line and watch a gauge while you drive to see how well it holds vacuum.

While everything that you say is absolutely correct, the IWE system does not use that vacuum reservoir. They have their own check valve to hold their own vacuum. The reason they don't use the reservoir vacuum is that when you engage the 4 wheel drive, a solenoid opens that particular section of the vacuum lines to outside pressure, releasing all vacuum. That loss of vacuum engages the IWE assemblies to the hub, engaging 4wd. If the IWE system was connected to the vacuum reservoir, that release of vacuum would also vent off the vacuum of the reservoir.

[AlmostAnOldGuy]

Bobbo,

Really appreciate your comment. With the both repairs they replaced the actuator hubs and on the second repair they also replaced the solenoid that enables / disables the vacuum. Based on the symptoms observed (the noise was at low rpm during a 45 degree turn) it makes sense the check valve is inefficient. If the check valve were working properly it would retain the higher vacuum achieved before the rpms were dropped during the slow turn. Will be ordering a couple YG360 check valves.

theoldwizard1,

Understand vacuum reservoir and use by other systems. In this case the only subsystem affected is the 4x4 front hubs which Bobbo mentioned is a little too common with the F150s. Appreciate the feedback. Glad it is not like a a Hudson that also used vacuum for the wipers. : )

Thanks,
Stu

[theoldwizard1]

AlmostAnOldGuy wrote:

Apparently 2011-2014 rely on vacuum to stay disengaged and have had issues with insufficient vacuum.

Most people don't know it, but all EcoBoost engines have an auxiliary vacuum pump because the engine spends a lot of time on light boost (or, if towing/hauling, a LOT of time on medium/heavy boost). Over the years, Ford has used several different vacuum pumps on EcoBoost engines, some mechanical, so electric.

Vacuum is critical for power brakes (the booster is large enough to hold enough vacuum for at least 2 full stops even after it has been disconnected from the vacuum source.) There should be a vacuum reservoir someplace under the hood that stores vacuum fr other accessories. As a test, you might want to tee into that line and watch a gauge while you drive to see how well it holds vacuum.

[Bobbo]

AlmostAnOldGuy wrote:
Have had dealer replace (under warranty) front hub 4x4 mechanism twice. Apparently 2011-2014 rely on vacuum to stay disengaged and have had issues with insufficient vacuum

Didn't end with 2014. My 2017 had that problem, and the F-150 forum has people with 2018 trucks still reporting it. The back check valve in the vacuum line between the vacuum pump and the IWE assemblies fails, intermittently, quite often. Ford has, finally, redesigned that check valve. They did that just this year. The solution, prior to Ford's re-design, was to go to the big box auto parts store and buy a YG360 check valve to replace the one that is stock on Fords. The YG360 is still cheaper than the Ford re-design. I bought two of the YG360 backcheck valves a year ago. I installed one in place of the defective part, and put the other in the glove box under the theory that if you are prepared to fix a problem, the problem will not occur. *G* They cost less than $10 each when I bought them. The problem has not recurred since I replaced the backcheck valve.

[Groover]

"The headrest are adjustable forward and backwards."

If you pull them all of the way forward they release and go all of the way back. Then pull them forward to the desired position.

It took me a while to figure that out, I was looking for a release knob.

[Maury82]

coolmom42 wrote:
My traveling partner has a 2017 model--with the 10 speed transmission. It does an excellent job assisting with braking, and it is silky smooth. I had my doubts, and of course there is the unknown of long-term reliability, but the 10 speed seems to be perfectly matched to the Ecoboost 3.5 L.

When not towing, at interstate speeds, it stays in 9-10 gear and gas mileage is 20 mpg. In tow/haul mode, it shifts between 7-8-9, but not excessively. Our tow mileage sucked due to headwinds/crosswinds and awful roads, but hung around 8-9 mpg.

Very comfortable truck except I do not like the headrests... they tilt too far forward.

The headrest are adjustable forward and backwards.

The 10 speed transmission is indeed a good one. This is the first automatic transmission I've had since my freshman year in college, and I was very leary about it. It will actually stay in 10th gear at 45 mph without lugging.

It definitely wouldn't cut it as a daily driver, but for a truck, I can't beat it for what it is.

[coolmom42]

My traveling partner has a 2017 model--with the 10 speed transmission. It does an excellent job assisting with braking, and it is silky smooth. I had my doubts, and of course there is the unknown of long-term reliability, but the 10 speed seems to be perfectly matched to the Ecoboost 3.5 L.

When not towing, at interstate speeds, it stays in 9-10 gear and gas mileage is 20 mpg. In tow/haul mode, it shifts between 7-8-9, but not excessively. Our tow mileage sucked due to headwinds/crosswinds and awful roads, but hung around 8-9 mpg.

Very comfortable truck except I do not like the headrests... they tilt too far forward.

[MFL]

First off, if you were almost an old guy in 2011, you are now an OLD GUY!

You have a great truck, and sounds like you have enjoyed it since new. My son bought a new 12 EcoB, with all the fancy options, but never towed with it. Just a run around truck that he really liked. I drove it a few times, and it was indeed a nice truck.

I talked to him on father's day, and he mentioned he had recently purchased a new 18 EcoB, similarly equipped. He had just short of 1K miles on it, but said it was much improved from the 12. Ford certainly hit a home run, with their 150 models! The 3.5 Eco, and the 5.0, have been super engines.

Jerry