Ford 5.0L V8 vs EcoBoost: High mileage experience?

[JeffRaines]

This thread kinda surprises me. Lotta guys with bad experiences.

Its a two-fold issue...

1. A lot of manufacturers are very optimistic with their maintenance intervals. Take the 3.5 as an example... 10k on a twin turbo engine? No. Lifetime fluids? No. 150k transmission fluid? Hard no.

2. A lot of people like to think they're great at maintaining their vehicles, meanwhile they're content with letting their oil go 1k+ past the change interval, or completely neglecting other needed maintenance because its too expensive, they don't know, or they get their buddy/jiffy lube/etc to do it and who knows what kind of work is actually getting done, if they're using manufacturer approved fluids, etc.

Put those two together, and you have a perfect storm for vehicle issues.

Note that this isn't directed at anyone in this thread - I don't know any of you guys. Just a general observation from someone who wrenches for a living.

 

[blbennett1288]

I have a 2018 F150 5.0L. Right now around 90k miles. All that has been done is regular oil changes, rear brakes replaced, brake lines flushed, fuel/air filters replaced, battery replaced. Tires replaced. I got an oil change and tire rotation coming up. Probably within the next 10k miles need to replace the front brakes.

I turn off the auto stop/start feature.

No glaring issues to date. 10sp transmission isn't as smooth as it was when I bought it.

 

[Bachto]

I have a 16' 3.5EB. it currently has 170K on it and I got it with 60K on it.

I have the stupid manifold leak and have for awhile now and I just keep putting off getting it fixed.
Replaced all the coil packs with high performing ones as I had some misfires but this solved it.
Had the electronic throttle body go out and fixed that easily.

Besides that it's been a great truck and I have not babied it at all.

Hoping to get another 3 years out of it before upgrading it.

 

[HNTR918]

Currently at 170,000 miles on 3.5 Eco boost with no problems and regular maintenance.
Also, turbo'd tucks in the mountains are a dream to drive.
Never go over 3,000 rpm since all the torque is down low.
V8 torque is all at high RPM.
Rode with a buddy recently and his was screaming at 5,000+ rpm going up the highway mountain road.

 

[HNTR918]

I have a 2018 F150 5.0L. Right now around 90k miles. All that has been done is regular oil changes, rear brakes replaced, brake lines flushed, fuel/air filters replaced, battery replaced. Tires replaced. I got an oil change and tire rotation coming up. Probably within the next 10k miles need to replace the front brakes.

I turn off the auto stop/start feature.

No glaring issues to date. 10sp transmission isn't as smooth as it was when I bought it.

Get a transmission fluid drain, flush, and new fluid.
It will feel brand new again.

 

[Bama67]

Didn't read the whole thread, but 2018+ is when the 5.0 started to have much more issues, like oil burning. The 2015-2017 is peak for 5.0

 

[blbennett1288]

Get a transmission fluid drain, flush, and new fluid.
It will feel brand new again.

Even at that high of mileage?

 

[HNTR918]

Even at that high of mileage?

I had mine changed at 80k and 160k.
Both times the fluid was brown, burnt, and lost alot of viscosity.

 

[Darryle]

Bumping this up to update my 2019 F150 experience. 107,000 miles. Transmission started acting funny. Hesitation and hard shifting between 7th and 8th gears, occasional violent downshifts to 2nd gear when decelerating in the tow/haul mode. Once, momentarily stuck between 3rd and 4th gears when cold. Took it to the dealer and they said it needed a new transmission to the tune of $8000. Traded it in on a new truck.

A little internet research shows these are common problems with the 10R80 transmission. Won’t use another vehicle with that transmission.

John

2020 F150 5.0 10R80 transmission 98,000 kiles

List of problems:

Sounds like it has a rattle all the time
1qt oil consumption at 2500ish miles regardless of how it's driven, at the qt back and it will be gone again in 2500ish miles
Hard shifts from 7 - 8
Hard downshifts
Hard upshifts on first trip, remote start helps occasionally, eco/sport mode helps occasionally
Skip shifts or shifts out of gear/hang shifts and slams back into gear
When using E85, you have to run it dry to get the 2 speed pump to recognize regular fuel, otherwise you get glowing catalytic convertors and excessive catalytic convertor temperatures, in excess of 2000º
Sync/Head unit and dash shut off intermittently and restart usually while driving in traffic, only GPS keeps me updated on speed.

I am on a waiting list for the transmission replacement, ECU flash to fix the oil consumption and rattling and replacement of the fuel pump and sensors.

My first new Ford and unless Ford steps up, my last. My selling dealer has stepped in when the servicing dealer started giving me the run around. I have the factory Ford platinum 6yr 150k mile bumper to bumper warranty, $50 copay, selling dealer was surprised that the servicing dealer was being such a dick about the entire situation, since they were going to get paid regardless. My selling dealer steps up and fixes it like they say they will, I will be buying a new Bronco from them, no need for a truck any longer. They don't, I will sell it outright and go back to Toyota, hopefully by then they will have the new 2 door FJ out or I will be getting a 4Runner.

 

[WV Mountaineer]

2011 f150, 5.0. 213,000. Needed a speed sensor. So, I did it all. Needs reset at dealership. Shifts hard in lower gears when it’s cold. Shifts slow into over drive sometimes. Sometimes goes for a long time on that. It has more to do with how you are engaging the throttle.

Accelerating and letting the truck shift, it’s perfect everytime. Problem is you are doing 80 miles an hour. Pull out slow and it slides into 6 at 55-60 and it Sometimes will do it often. Then not for 100 shifts.

Going to schedule it up this week. Other than the transmission sensor, it’s been one fuel pump. And a window washer reservoir. Just tune ups and maintenance.

I like this truck. It’s my personal ride I like it so much. Way too much to go in personal debt due to a truck payment.

 

[Muleychaser28]

I have the 2019 Ford F-150 with the 5.0 V8 and it consumes oil like no other. I’d love to trade it in but I’d take such a hit on it. So I just keep dropping oil in her! Should have stayed with my GMC!

 

[Baddog]

Variable valve timing is the crux of all newer gas engines it seems, doesn’t seem to matter manufacture either

 

[Rob960]

Recently traded my 2011 F150 5.0 with 130K on the clock. Great until this past year. Terrible oil consumption, went from 25mpg highway to about 16mpg highway, rusting out rockers and cab corners and the annoying drive shaft bump when first pulling out. Had that fixed and was good for a few months then resurfaced.

 

[Machingeaneer]

Like others have mentioned I'd strongly consider a 2.7. For all the grief people love to pile on the ecoboost engines, Ford seems to have gotten something right and the 2.7 is generally trouble free. The 2018+ trucks with 400 ft/lbs of torque and the 10 speed are powerful and plenty fast while turning in 22+ mpg regularly.

 

[WV Mountaineer]

Variable valve timing is the crux of all newer gas engines it seems, doesn’t seem to matter manufacture either

Yes.

 

[prm]

The ‘18 and ‘19 5.0l are the bad years. If I recall it was the cylinder lining that has issues.

 

[WHALL]

Anyone have experience with these engines, 2016 and newer, with 100k+ miles? Looking for reliability and maintenance experiences.

I’m looking for a new or close to new F150 and need to make an engine decision. FWIW, I own a 2016 T250 Transit with the 3.5L V6 EcoBoost. First gen of that engine I believe. No real complaints other than approximately 1.5 mpg drop since new. I’ve towed one heavy load from Chicago to Texas and felt it did great. Averaged 11 mpg (it was still pretty new at the time) driving approx 70mph. Pulled a Subaru Outback on a Uhaul trailer with about 600 lbs in the cargo bay.

I’m a KISS kinda guy, keep-it-simple-stupid, so bells and whistles, in general, don’t excite me much. But I’m no Luddite and I won’t avoid tech so long as it can be trusted and add value that interests me. The increased power and MPG of the EcoBoosts would be nice. But not at thousands in extra expense over the life of ownership. Performance wise I‘m indifferent to the V8 vs 3.5L EcoBoost, either will accomplish easily more than I’ll demand from them on a regular basis. But, I’d like to own this for the next 10-15 years so I’m focusing on reliability and long-term maintenance cost. Thanks!

If you want reliability, your not going to get it consistently from a ford, none of the 18’ and newer EB we have at work make it past 100k without major problems. The 10 speed trans will probably be recalled at some point, I would personally go with the 5.0 v8, or better yet by a GMC/ Chevy

 

[WV Mountaineer]

2011 f150, 5.0. 213,000. Needed a speed sensor. So, I did it all. Needs reset at dealership. Shifts hard in lower gears when it’s cold. Shifts slow into over drive sometimes. Sometimes goes for a long time on that. It has more to do with how you are engaging the throttle.

Accelerating and letting the truck shift, it’s perfect everytime. Problem is you are doing 80 miles an hour. Pull out slow and it slides into 6 at 55-60 and it Sometimes will do it often. Then not for 100 shifts.

Going to schedule it up this week. Other than the transmission sensor, it’s been one fuel pump. And a window washer reservoir. Just tune ups and maintenance.

I like this truck. It’s my personal ride I like it so much. Way too much to go in personal debt due to a truck payment.

Well. The dang truck drove like a brand new one. All day. I mean perfect.

 

[lhough89]

Anyone have experience with these engines, 2016 and newer, with 100k+ miles? Looking for reliability and maintenance experiences.

I’m looking for a new or close to new F150 and need to make an engine decision. FWIW, I own a 2016 T250 Transit with the 3.5L V6 EcoBoost. First gen of that engine I believe. No real complaints other than approximately 1.5 mpg drop since new. I’ve towed one heavy load from Chicago to Texas and felt it did great. Averaged 11 mpg (it was still pretty new at the time) driving approx 70mph. Pulled a Subaru Outback on a Uhaul trailer with about 600 lbs in the cargo bay.

I’m a KISS kinda guy, keep-it-simple-stupid, so bells and whistles, in general, don’t excite me much. But I’m no Luddite and I won’t avoid tech so long as it can be trusted and add value that interests me. The increased power and MPG of the EcoBoosts would be nice. But not at thousands in extra expense over the life of ownership. Performance wise I‘m indifferent to the V8 vs 3.5L EcoBoost, either will accomplish easily more than I’ll demand from them on a regular basis. But, I’d like to own this for the next 10-15 years so I’m focusing on reliability and long-term maintenance cost. Thanks!

If you haven't found them already, there's a couple well qualified mechanics who have done some fairly in-depth reviews of these two engine on YouTube. I think one guy is a Ford mechanic and the other guys runs a semi repair some and does "heavy mechanical" reviews for engines. If I recall correctly, they both seemed a little partial to the Coyote. I've heard good things about the Coyote, but it seems like you can always find good and bad stories about every engine. My last truck was a Gen 1 3.5 Ecoboost. Thing performed well but I had to replace the turbos twice and address oil leaks several times until I sold it with about 150k miles. Ended up with about $8k in repairs on the motor, so I wasn't too happy with that engine. But I've heard the new gen Ecoboosts are much better. I've actually heard the 2.7 ecoboost is built really well. I ultimately went with a Ram 1500 with the 5.7 Hemi most recently since they're about $8k cheaper than Fords about now and I wanted a simply engine that would come with lower maintenance costs and didn't require a specialized mechanic to address issues. I'd like to get the Ford powerboost, but I'm concerned I'll have an issue in the middle of nowhere and the small town mechanic is going to have no idea what to do with a brand new ford hybrid engine. Anyways, good luck with your decision. Both would probably be good options to be honest.

 

[Iowafarmer]

2011 f150 5.0 140k basically zero problems fuel pump relay once gotta say not real impressed with mileage wife was driving 97 f350 7.3 powerstroke before that mileage is about the same 15mpg ish