PO15

I bought a brand new 2015 f150 with the 2. 7 V6, [3:55 axle ratio 4X4.] in August of 2015. It was my dream truck, with the new aluminum alloy body [no rust] and the powerful new 2.7 Ecoboost. Everything was perfect on the truck until last fall, when I noticed what appeared to be a misfire while pulling the hills at say, 55-65 MPH while in 6th gear. The problem was very hit and miss, and happened occasionally.... so I was not overly concerned. I waited to take it in till December 2015 to the dealer, mainly because of my hectic schedule. By then the problem was so bad, that at times, I was afraid to drive it. I worried about causing damage to the engine that could later come back and bite me after the warranty expired. The first dealer said, ''We can't replicate the problem'' I also asked them to listen to the noise the engine made at idle, while fully warmed up, that was ''plunking sound'' for lack of better words.. The 2.7 engine did not have this noise until it got up to 10, 000 miles. They said that my engine was a lot louder with regards to the noise, than some of the other trucks they have seen. They said, ''Ecoboost engines make a lot of noises. You have a lot of warranty left, don't worry about it.'' I forgot to mention that I'm currently at 17, 000 miles on the odometer. Now on to the second dealer.... the tech took a test drive with me and said, '' Wow there is something definately wrong, I think it's a cylinder misfire, probably a coil pack''. I was later told that diagnostics indicated everything was/is normal, so they could not replace any parts under warranty. During all of this, I had multiple check engine lights during a cold start up. Took the truck to the dealer, they say, ''no codes logged !'' Finally the light came on again, this time I drove the truck straight to the dealer so they could pull the code. The code was a Crankcase Pressure Sensor issue [something along these lines] and they ordered the part and replaced it. No more check engine light since... my problem is, I STILL have the intermittant shutter or misfire going up hills in 6th gear. The problem comes and goes. Towing makes the problem worse. Dropping down to 5th gear with the select shift, helps a little sometimes, sometimes not. As i said, sometimes the problem disappears, the comes back really bad, then sometimes it's mild. The dealer does not know what to do. Ford tells me it's in the dealers hands. Meanwhile, I have to live with this driveability problem on my new truck! Any thoughts on how I can get this solved would be much appreciated. Thanks so much!

D2Abbott

It sounds like an intermittent misfire too me and it's something I see a lot of although not necessarily on EB engines. Many technicians will simply look for codes in history and if they see none then they are too quick to shrug the problem off.

You need to find a technician that is familiar with "Mode 6" data and has a scan tool capable of reading such. Simplified down, mode 6 data is the data your computer is reading in order to determine if a problem exists. Example: each cylinder is being tested for a misfire. Ford might have programmed in, say, 4000 misfires before it will set the malfunction indicator. If it only misfired 1912 times it will not set the light. The mode 6 data stores the value for most recent test regardless of pass or fail.

What that means is that your technician should be able to look at the mode 6 data for each cylinder and see which one is the culprit. I'm guessing he/she will see just a few hundred misses on a single cylinder but not enough to light a warning.

And for the record there is mode 6 data stored for nearly every behind the scenes operation that an OBDII vehicle is running to detect a malfunction. I was lucky enough to spend a few weeks of training on the very subject. Beware, however, that this data IS NOT required for manufacturers to share so knowing where to look is up to someone with experience. You'll get a dumbfounded look when you bring the subject up at most places.

Cheers,
Doug

D2Abbott

Forgot to mention. Some manufactures, GM is one of them, actually make a misfire counter live data. Much, much simpler for even a novice mechanic to simply watch for misfires live on their scan tool.

stormsearch

I'm no certified mechanic but if you haven't tried, try a different grade of gas.

PO15

Thank you so much for the great information on the Mode 6 data. I'll do some research into this, and see if i can get the dealer to listen. Question: I wonder if the scan equipment that the dealer is currently using has Mode 6 capability?? I notice they are using a lap top and plugging in to the truck. They also sent me home one time with a Ford Rotunda vehicle recorder with a hand held remote. They said I had three tries with the remote button to capture the event. The week I had the recorder, of course the truck didn't want to act up to bad. I'm a veteran marine technician myself, and while I'm not an auto tech, I do have some knowledge of computer controlled engine systems. I know that codes are a diagnostic aid, and sometimes one must look deeper for the real problem. Interesting that these engines must have such a high number of misfire events before logging a fault code.. I just assumed that a few misfires would turn on the light. I had also thought that when the check engine light stays illuminated for 3 days at a time, that the PCM would store these codes for retrieval later on. Is this not the case?? The dealer told me over and over there were no stored codes present... Even my 1996 Lightning stores codes ! Apparently that no longer is the case on this engine.

PO15

I forgot to reply the gasoline question... I originally had been using 87 octane fuel at a local Murphy [Wal mart] station. for some time now I have been using a Top Tier 87 octane fuel. I've also tried a few different gas stations. This seems to make no difference.
One thing I have noticed though, is that a long 100 to a 150 mile highway trip seems to help this problem subside. Seems to clean something up. If this is a misfire with a direct injection engine, maybe I'm cleaning the spark plug/s with a good highway run? Do these spark plugs look black and carboned up on an ecoboost engine when inspecting? I just wondered if they were the same as some direct injection outboard motors I've worked on..

I have ran 92 octane ethanol free premium in the truck a couple of times. It seems to have more power, MPG's are about the same. haven't tried the 92 octane since I've had the misfire issue though.

zx12-iowa

Ths 3.5 ecos were known to wear out plugs. Did u check plugs for correct gap

D2Abbott

I would assume that the dealer has access to mode 6 data. (It's actually typed M$06.) Not sure about the Rotunda. What they were trying for is for you to "freeze" data at the moment of misfire.

Another option would be to drive in the conditions where your problem is most likely to happen while in graphing mode of a cylinder balance test. A single misfire would clearly show up but it would have to happen during the drive so that might not help in your case.

The 4000 misfire number was a hypothetical number and I'm not sure what that number actually is as is it varies by vehicle. It normally is in the 1400-4000 range though.

A bad tank of gas will rarely show up as a misfire and never as an intermittent misfire. Normally that would be seen in the fuel trims but that's a different story.... Poor quality gas has long term effects, bad gas has instant short term effects. Most spark plugs are now platinum tipped and should never be gapped or lose their gap. They DO, however, fail and when they do you can usually not tell by looking at them unless there was a fueling problem or someone used too much fuel additive. Yes, I ALWAYS can tell when a customer has been using additives regularly as it leaves a buildup on the plugs often CAUSING a misfire!

As for the code clearing, well, that fortunately you cannot help. Misfire codes are can be quickly erased from memory after just a few passing tests by the PCM.

And for another option, and this wouldn't be my first choice, you could pay about 1.3 hours of labor plus parts and just change out all the plugs. While doing such physically check very close for signs of arching on each coil boot. It's a long shot with such an intermittent issue though.

PO15

Doug, thanks for the info on the scan equipment. I at least have some understanding of what I'm up against. I'm so aggravated that I'm tempted to replace the plugs myself, and maybe the coil packs at the same time. I've did it on a 4.6 Triton, so I'm guessing this engine would be similar. Interestingly enough, my old 4.6 Triton had a similar problem, [with no malfunction indicator light !] going up hills at about 90,000 miles on the original spark plugs. I replaced the plugs with Motorcraft platinum, and also the coil boots... never had another problem.
In the marine industry, we also battle problems with platinum tip plugs malfunctioning. As you stated you rarely can see a bad one with the naked eye.
Here's another thought I've had.... what about RFI interference from a defective plug or maybe a coil pack ? I wonder how shielded the engine computer is to combat this ? The reason I ask this question is that we deal with these issues on marine engines quite often.
What I don't understand here, is that after all of these month's of battling this problem, multiple calls to Ford Customer Service, and multiple trips to the dealer, why won't Ford just replace the spark plugs, coil packs, boots, etc. and just be done with it? In my industry, most manufacturers would have already done just that, and thus made the customer happy. I appreciate all of the replies to this thread ! I've got more help here than anywhere else thus far.

tsigwing

There have been some issues with throttle bodies...