longevity of the 3.5L ecoboost engine

[Melanie83103]

Hello everyone -

We were having such a hard time deciding on a new tow vehicle that we ended up renting a 2015 F-150 with the 3.5L ecoboost for a camping trip last week. So we got to try it actually towing our small camper (16 foot Amerilite). It did great!! It was such an amazing step up from our minivan. I had no idea that towing with a minivan was so different than towing with a truck.

So now we are seriously considering purchasing an F-150. We usually keep our cars for 8-9 years and put over 100,000 miles on them (my last Honda SUV had 140,000 miles on it when I finally sold it). I have been trying to find out how this twin turbo would do over that many miles. Anyone have input? I know it has not been out that long, so I'm not sure if we know yet how long this engine will last....

Thanks!

Melanie

[jerem0621]

Just a word of caution...

Make sure you are hitched properly. beware of the upgrade bug.

New bigger truck will give you confidence...that will potentially lead to looking at bigger campers....which will put you right back in the situation you are in now...meaning in a few years you will be asking about add ons to make your truck tow better with the new bigger camper.

IMHO...now is the time to buy the heaviest duty truck you can afford. You are looking at 35-40k plus purchase this weekend. I'd recommend looking at F150's with the Max Tow package at a minimum. And would try for 1700-1900 lbs of payload..minimum

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[Melanie83103]

Also, Turtlenpeeps, thanks for the links. I will look into this before the big purchase.

[Melanie83103]

Thanks for all the info everyone.

We rented the truck from a local Ford dealer. I had a really hard time finding a place that would allow us to rent a truck and use it for towing - none of our enterprise (or other rental places) would allow it. I'm so glad we did because now we know.

What I loved was that there was tons of power, and also the stability was SO much better than with the minivan. I do a lot of towing on my own (hubby works a lot and me and the kids go on camping trips without him in the summer) so it has to be something I will be comfortable with. I have not felt comfortable towing the new trailer on my own, and so me and the kids have not been able to go camping as much as we'd like. I did fine with the pop up, but the trailer handles so much differently.

We also tried the 2015 Explorer with the 3.5 Ecoboost towing our camper - the local dealer let us take it home and hook it up to the camper to try it out. We just did a short 5 mile test on the freeway, and immediately saw a difference between the explorer and the f-150. The explorer was very similar to my minivan except with more power - the stability was not there. That is how we settled on the truck.

Anyway, thanks again for the info. My husband and I will likely be making the leap with a new (or lightly used) truck this weekend!

Melanie

[Targa]

Lessmore wrote:
I prefer the sound of a V8...such as the 5 liter...to a boosted V6.
That's just me and I know my love for the sound of a healthy V8 is in the minority.

Im with ya, there are few things better sounding than a V8 especially when you wring its kneck a bit. I do like trucks and muscle cars to actually sound like trucks and muscle cars...:B

[tatest]

Ford had little idea of Ecoboost longevity beyond a few high mileage track tests out to warranty periods, and considered the first buyers to be the test drivers for the technology.

For the 3.5 Ecoboost, it has actually done pretty well with part time towing, running out to over 200,000 miles now. Ford has been adjusting the engine build based on in-service experience, so you can expect to do better than the first Ecoboost customers.

The 3.5 V-6 was already obsolete (3.7 replacing it) when picked for turbocharging and beefed up for the loads. The idea was, if it worked, they would develop a replacement engine designed from ground up for boosting. The interim choice has done so well that Ford is keeping it now.

Not so for some of the early 4 cylinder Ecoboost, where an older engine was picked for the turbo experiment. Most of those applications are now seeing new smaller, lighter 3 and 4 cylinder engines that were designed to be turbocharged only, with no normally aspirated versions used. Much like with turbo diesels, which started out as "let's put a little boost on this old thing" to be replaced by a heavily boosted engine of smaller displacement and more cutting edge engineering of internals, newer materials technology.

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

There is a couple of big elephants in the room on this one.

#1. Timing chain stretch.

#2. Valve carbon issues.

The second issue is a tough nut to crack because it's a design problem with DI induction. This is a cumulative issue and will happen over time. The longer you keep you truck the more of a chance of encountering this issue.

The timing chain stretch can be fixed with a better superseded part. The first issue is a problem.

[Lessmore]

I prefer the sound of a V8...such as the 5 liter...to a boosted V6.
That's just me and I know my love for the sound of a healthy V8 is in the minority.

[tragusa3]

Fordlover, thanks for the post and info. It is comforting to see some of these with reasonably high miles. I've not been overly concerned, but it creeps in my mind.

We've towed about 10k miles with ours, and it has never missed a beat. It has been more than we need in all situations.

[rexlion]

Melanie, the power difference from your minivan to the 3.5 Ecoboost had to be amazing. But how do you feel about the handling and the ride, by way of comparison? Were there other factors that made an impression on you?

[carringb]

Enterprise Rent-A-Truck, Budget, Herz Equipment rental, Penske, United Rentals and probably others all have tow vehicles for rent. They are marketed for commercial users, which is the only reason you don't here much about it.

Also, many Ford dealers have a rental department, and some allow towing if you pay the extra surcharge.

Even some van rental outfits likeBandago allow towing.

[phil-l]

Quick somewhat-related question: How did you rent a pickup truck such that it allowed towing? Every vehicle I've rented (well, short of box trucks) came with an agreement that specifically prohibited towing a trailer. Test-towing a trailer before buying the tow vehicle sounds like a great idea.

[bikendan]

Melanie83103 wrote:
It was such an amazing step up from our minivan. I had no idea that towing with a minivan was so different than towing with a truck.

and you wonder why many of us don't recommend a minivan to tow a TT.:R

[brulaz]

Well, if you are worried about the Turbo, there's Ford's 5L V8 which also has a good rep.

But it has less power at low rpms than the EcoB so, when towing, the engine will be running faster. Personally, I prefer the low rpm power of the 3.5L EcoBoost. We love ours and work it hard. But only about 50K miles so far.

If you are towing a lighter trailer, and buying a new 2015, you might also consider an F150 with the 2.7L EcoB. A lot of folks have been impressed with its capabilities. Or if good mileage while towing a lighter trailer is important, then the RAM 1500 with the EcoDiesel would be a good choice.

Point is: any of these trucks will be a major improvement for towing over your van. And these days, they are all very "car-like" in ride and comfort. (one of the reasons so many pickups are sold).

And like others have said: make sure the truck, or any vehicle, has enough PAYLOAD for your trailer.

[Tystevens]

Of course, nobody knows for sure, since it has only been out 4 years now. But I spend a lot of time on an Ecoboost forum, and it doesn't seem that there are a disproportionate amount of problems compared to other engines.

I love mine, and would have no qualms about buying another one. IMO, it is the best towing 1/2 ton engine out there.

[Fordlover]

Actually, now that the Ecoboost has been out for 4+ years, the miles are starting to pile up on some of them. A quick filtered search on autotrader.com showed the entire first page filled with Ecoboosts each with over 100K miles. One had 226K miles, another had 196K miles, another with 172K. You get the idea.



150K miles shouldn't be an issue for ANY engine in ANY mass production vehicle these days. My wife's previous turbocharged volvo went well over 100K miles without any engine issues, but we had to sell because we started a family and needed baby seat room. I still see it occasionally in the area.

One last thought, if you buy an ecoboost, you'll be in good company: Ford produces 5 millionth car with EcoBoost engine