2013 F150 experience?

[GoatBoat218]

Looking at paying cash for an 2013 f150 fx4 with 80,000 miles. Got a 2001 Toyota tundra with 210,000 miles now looking for something that's a crew cab and a 6' bed. I am a Toyota guy but a Tacoma is just not big enough and the tundras are either crew cab with a short bed or extended cab with a long one, not necessarily what I'm looking for. Curious if anyone has experience with the 2013 f150s? Thanks.

 

[Jayhawkhunter]

Which engine?

 

[Dos XX]

I had a 2014 with 5.0. I put 200,000 on it. It was in great shape when I traded it in for another one.

Before that one, I had a 2009 or 2010 with the 4.6. I put 200,000 on that one, too. No problems with any of the three I have owned.

 

[Forestryguy]

I have a '13 with a V8 and 145,000 miles. I have had no issues with the motor or drive train (knock on wood). I have lived in Northern Iowa and Central Wisconsin so I do have rust on the lower body. It is not as bad I as one would think with the amount of brine they put down. I did have a front spring break only after a year or so. It was replaced by the dealer. You can not put chains on the front tires due to the tires being so close to the suspension. That was an issue for me in Iowa when I needed chains to get up my driveway. It has been a good truck so far. I do stay up on maintenance and change all the fluids as recommended.

 

[grappling_hook]

I have 145,000 miles on mine (not all easy miles, either) and it's going strong. Great for towing. There is an issue with the transmission on some that is covered by a recall; I'll probably get the recall work done at some point when I'm near a Ford dealership, but it hasn't been a problem for me.

 

[Maverick1]

Looking at paying cash for an 2013 f150 fx4 with 80,000 miles. Got a 2001 Toyota tundra with 210,000 miles now looking for something that's a crew cab and a 6' bed. I am a Toyota guy but a Tacoma is just not big enough and the tundras are either crew cab with a short bed or extended cab with a long one, not necessarily what I'm looking for. Curious if anyone has experience with the 2013 f150s? Thanks.

http://dashboard-light.com/vehicles/Ford_F_Series.html

 

[dpat]

I've got a 2013 Crew cab with the 6.5 bed and love it zero problems. I only have 60k on it as its just my hunting and hauling stuff truck. The huge back seat area with the flat floor is a big plus. It has the 36 gal gas tank which I like.

 

[GoatBoat218]

Which engine?

3.5 v6 eco boost

 

[303TrophyHusband]

I had the 2012 F150 with that engine. I finally traded it off last year after 215,000 miles on it, a lot of them tough miles pulling trailers and off road. Never had any major problems with it, once I hit 100,000, on the advice of my mechanic, I made sure my regular maintenance was more frequent. I traded "up" to a 3/4 ton diesel, which is great for pulling but I really miss that ecoboost for everything else. Probably the smoothest ride I've ever had, car or truck.

 

[Hunt_Jefferson]

Original owner of a 2013 Lariat 4x4 3.5l ecoboost 6.5’ bed with just shy of 90k on it. Only major issue I’ve had is the front 4wd system. It’s a vacuum based hub engagement and if you get a crack in the line it can cause partial engagement and strip the hub gears. You won’t really know it’s happening until you don’t have 4wd anymore.

Look up “F150 IWE” failures and you will see a ton of info about it. I just replaced all my vacuum hoses for piece of mind which was a good call because two spots were super brittle and cracked when I touched it.

 

[PNW bow hunter]

I drove one of these trucks for about a year. It was probably the nicest truck I have had. Tons of power, tons of space inside, and really nice ride.

There are a couple things to look for on these trucks with the ecoboost. Bad timing chains and vvt selanoids start to become fairly common somewhere between 75k - 100k miles. If possible have someone scan the computer to make sure the check engine light hasn’t been reset. Another thing to look for is listen for timing chain rattle noise on cold start. It usually only last for about a second or less. This is a bad sign. If someone keeps driving the truck with that cold start rattle, it can do a lot of damage to the rest of the engine.

 

[Kindo]

3.5 v6 eco boost

Sold my 2013 Crew cab with 3.5EB a year ago after having issues pop up one after another for the last 6 months. I didn't start having issues until about 120k. I did all the "recommended maintenance" and then some. Gas mileage took a significant hit once I was around 100k when it gradually went from 22mpg when I bought it with 75k to 17.5-18 when I sold it. In the last 6 months, I had an AC issue, some electrical issue, water pump went out and one of the turbos started dripping oil... I was only driving it once a week at that point as my daily is a 2007 4runner with almost 200k. Sold the truck and am sticking with the runner.

 

[eamyrick]

I’ve had a 2013 3.5 Ecoboost for almost 5 years. At 145k now. I’ve done recommended maintenance and haven’t had any major issues. (Sensors, 4wd switch replacements, but nothing major). Mine is a long bed 4x4 with a 36 gallon tank. Perfect hunting truck for me and really roomy inside. Plan on driving it for 9.5 more years until I can retire.

 

[Bailer]

Mine has 97k. Overall been a pretty good truck.

Had some issues with an under boost code. Was a major pita troubleshooting the cause. Ended up being a blow off valve, <$100 once I figured it out.

The 4x4 selector dial cracked while on a road trip. When cracked it wanted to engage the rear locker, which is less than ideal on the highway. Cheap enough part once I got home.

 

[nobody]

Personally, I'll be steering clear of any of the eco-blows in the future. I had a 2015 with the 3.5 on it that had 62k on it when I bought it. It was a clean one owner and I bought it from a reputable dealer in the area. I had that truck from June to January, and in that time frame it had the following issues:

1. Timing Cover Oil Leak (was later discovered this leaked because the timing chain, tensioners, and timing system had already been replaced once)
2. Transmission replacement
3. Spark Plugs and Ignition Coils to the tune of $450 per cylinder

In addition to the repairs I had performed, when I traded it in at 68k, the following things were wrong with it:

• Transmission was going out again, I blame the Ford reman unit on this one
• Transfer Case problems
• Leaking rear Dif
• Bad Turbos
• Timing Chain Chatter

I told the dealer where I traded it in about the issues I had. The tech pulled up his computer and got into the Ford repair log (I was at a Chev dealer, but they own a large chain of multi make dealers in Utah). He pulled up the repairs list and I about puked. Before I owned it, the previous owner had done the following:

• Transmission
• Turbos x2
• Timing Chain/Tensioners
• Transfer Case
• Head Gasket

I was blown away. The guy who was looking things up for me just turned to me, shrugged, and said "that's par for the course on these Ecoboosts. We see more of them in our dealers for catastrophic issues than any other vehicle make."

Additionaly, my dad drives a 2019 for work. He lost the trans at 30k and had NEVER towed with it, and he's got the timing chain chatter issue too. I'm a lifelong Ford fan, but I'll never own another one as long as I live. If I was you, unless you had EVERY receipt for the repairs and maintenance for the entirety of the life of the truck, I would run in the opposite direction of that truck. And if you were me, you'd be buying another Tundra.

 

[Jimmy]

I bought one with 99k on it and have put on 20k so far. I love it. The 4 door has so much room, plenty for 5 adults. I can comfortably fit two big carseats for kids in the back and still have leg room up front.

Did have the water pump go out and the mechanic put the wrong coolant back in which created blockage in the radiator. So I had to replaced the radiator too.

 

[GoatBoat218]

Personally, I'll be steering clear of any of the eco-blows in the future. I had a 2015 with the 3.5 on it that had 62k on it when I bought it. It was a clean one owner and I bought it from a reputable dealer in the area. I had that truck from June to January, and in that time frame it had the following issues:

1. Timing Cover Oil Leak (was later discovered this leaked because the timing chain, tensioners, and timing system had already been replaced once)
2. Transmission replacement
3. Spark Plugs and Ignition Coils to the tune of $450 per cylinder

In addition to the repairs I had performed, when I traded it in at 68k, the following things were wrong with it:

• Transmission was going out again, I blame the Ford reman unit on this one
• Transfer Case problems
• Leaking rear Dif
• Bad Turbos
• Timing Chain Chatter

I told the dealer where I traded it in about the issues I had. The tech pulled up his computer and got into the Ford repair log (I was at a Chev dealer, but they own a large chain of multi make dealers in Utah). He pulled up the repairs list and I about puked. Before I owned it, the previous owner had done the following:

• Transmission
• Turbos x2
• Timing Chain/Tensioners
• Transfer Case
• Head Gasket

I was blown away. The guy who was looking things up for me just turned to me, shrugged, and said "that's par for the course on these Ecoboosts. We see more of them in our dealers for catastrophic issues than any other vehicle make."

Additionaly, my dad drives a 2019 for work. He lost the trans at 30k and had NEVER towed with it, and he's got the timing chain chatter issue too. I'm a lifelong Ford fan, but I'll never own another one as long as I live. If I was you, unless you had EVERY receipt for the repairs and maintenance for the entirety of the life of the truck, I would run in the opposite direction of that truck. And if you were me, you'd be buying another Tundra.

Uffta thanks for the warning.

 

[tim tarras]

I had a 2011 but with the 5.0L.

The lower rear corners on the cab rusted out. Which is a known issue with from 2010 to the new aluminum bodies.

Vacuum on the 4 wheel drive went out.

The fan for the climate control kept blowing out and had to replace the module behind the glovebox 3 times.

It had a 6.5' box and the bearing on the axel went out. Turns out you cannot just replace the bearing as it is fused to the axel. Cost $1,000 to replace the axel.

Traded it in when we found out the steering was starting to go which was minimum $1,200.

There was @160,000 on it when we traded it in this year and got $12,000 for it.

 

[Dirtbag]

I have a 2012 V8 with 118k on it. Love it and will be sad when I have to get a different one.

 

[Cubby]

I work at a Ford dealer and have for the past 20 years as the parts manager, I also own a 2012 ford f150 ecoboost and the problems described here are not the normal for these trucks granted all trucks have problems but that truck did not get the right fixes for the problems that it had. Transmissions are not a problem with these trucks nor are transfer cases, timing chains yes if maintenace isn't done on the regular then problems happen but over all the F150s are a very good truck.

Personally, I'll be steering clear of any of the eco-blows in the future. I had a 2015 with the 3.5 on it that had 62k on it when I bought it. It was a clean one owner and I bought it from a reputable dealer in the area. I had that truck from June to January, and in that time frame it had the following issues:

1. Timing Cover Oil Leak (was later discovered this leaked because the timing chain, tensioners, and timing system had already been replaced once)
2. Transmission replacement
3. Spark Plugs and Ignition Coils to the tune of $450 per cylinder

In addition to the repairs I had performed, when I traded it in at 68k, the following things were wrong with it:

• Transmission was going out again, I blame the Ford reman unit on this one
• Transfer Case problems
• Leaking rear Dif
• Bad Turbos
• Timing Chain Chatter

I told the dealer where I traded it in about the issues I had. The tech pulled up his computer and got into the Ford repair log (I was at a Chev dealer, but they own a large chain of multi make dealers in Utah). He pulled up the repairs list and I about puked. Before I owned it, the previous owner had done the following:

• Transmission
• Turbos x2
• Timing Chain/Tensioners
• Transfer Case
• Head Gasket

I was blown away. The guy who was looking things up for me just turned to me, shrugged, and said "that's par for the course on these Ecoboosts. We see more of them in our dealers for catastrophic issues than any other vehicle make."

Additionaly, my dad drives a 2019 for work. He lost the trans at 30k and had NEVER towed with it, and he's got the timing chain chatter issue too. I'm a lifelong Ford fan, but I'll never own another one as long as I live. If I was you, unless you had EVERY receipt for the repairs and maintenance for the entirety of the life of the truck, I would run in the opposite direction of that truck. And if you were me, you'd be buying another Tundra.