HCFX2013

Based on my poor fuel consumption, taps, deceleration rattles, knocks and having to have my foot planted in the carpet to maintain 65mph up a hill with my 4500lb camper, I am more than happy to report that this one is my last 5.0L.

capt911

Hello everyone. First of many posts here. I am about to buy my first F150. I was originally sold on getting the 2.7 for gas mileage and so forth. There are no 2018's left with that engine and the options I want anywhere close to me in Tennessee. I am a ship captain away from home and my wife went to the local dealer to test drive one today. The only one they have with the options I am looking for has the 5.0. She loved the comfort and feel and ride of the truck so that was a plus for me. It was raining and she did not push it so all the noise issues and sounds I have been reading about she did not hear obviously in a brief drive.

I will do some limited towing boat about 4000 lbs so either engine would work for that when needed. I almost had myself convinced to accept the 5.0 and lesser gas mileage because it is there and I can have it when I get home just before Christmas and take a road trip to Florida her idea to visit friends in my new truck.

This particular thread is all about issues with the 5.0's so I understand the issues everyone is posting. I am on many other forums for my boats, bikes and toys and know you get a lot of negatives as well as positives. Rattles and noises in vehicles drive me crazy. I would be trusting my wife to do a better test drive and listen for these but it sounds like they manifest themselves over time as well.

Anyway I am rambling here with my thoughts! I do not want to be impulsive buying this truck. I am sold on buying my first F150 and wondering if the 10 speed on the 2.7 will have to same issues. But the 5.0 has it own internal noises that bother me more and TSB 18-2354 that did not work as of yet. I have heard great things about the 5.0 as well.

On another note what realistic gas mileage are you all getting in everyday driving as well as 70 mph highway speeds?

Knowing what you know now and it is year end I can buy this truck for at least 10k plus off the sticker price probably more. Would I be crazy to move ahead with this deal? Maybe have her bring is up with the salesman and see what his reaction and or comments are? We all think different and I am just asking for options good or bac from everyone.

Thanks in advance, I appreciate all your inputs good or bad. Have a safe holidays to you all.

Cap

xrlizard

@capt911, welcome to the forum. I bought a 2018 XLT Super Crew with the 5.0 in July. My first truck, and I really like it. Mileage is not great on mine, as I am only getting around 15 mpg combined, however, I drive fast on the highway, but otherwise try to use a fairly light foot on the thing. Most of the guys are reporting better mileage than what I am seeing, and since nothing seems wrong with my truck, I guess that foot has more lead in it than I realize. I've got about 8,000 miles on it so far.

Mine makes the little noises, like the low rpm rattle, and the transmission whistle at low speed, but these have not really been a bother to me so far. At this point, the only rattle I hear with mine is the cupholders will squeak sometimes if you have a plastic cup in them on a rougher road, so I have no complaints in that area. I am having an issue where the rear end seems to have developed a whine audible from 50-60 mph, very quiet but can be heard. I am going to take it in to have it checked when I can, and expect they may need to replace the gearset, or at least adjust something, as this sounds like a backlash issue. Other than these issues, the truck is great, rides nice (FX4 package, so a little stiffer than others, but overall good). I am impressed with the overall fit and feel of the truck, and like the options mine has, 302A package, XLT chrome, manual heat/ac, 36 gallon tank, and bed step.

I chose the 5.0 because I felt like the long term maintenance and reliability would probably be better than the turbo options. That said, the 3.5 and 2.7 both have plenty of fans who aren't having any issues, so I imagine any of these engines would work fine for most. Mine has the regular tow package, but I only expect to do light towing maybe twice a year for short distance, so not a big consideration for me. One thing I really like about the 5.0 is when you put the foot to it, that thing jumps! It really surprises me how fast this thing is, and the 3.5s are just as fast, maybe faster. Not sure how quick the 2.7 would be. Obviously not something you want to push any more than you have to, but it is really nice to have the acceleration when you need it. I also like the 10 speed, as it is pretty smooth, and other than the whine, I am not seeing any problems with it.

Right now you should be able to get a smokin' deal on any of the 2018s you can still find, so I would go with the one you are considering, unless you have time to search further away from your home dealer. Good luck and be sure to post some pics when you get whichever truck you decide upon.

WildernessLVR

You are way more sadistic than I am!! All these years you've been jumping from problematic F150 to problematic F150... I hope it's just bad draws and not you who have a bad thing with cars and your next one might be great... maybe better luck with money? LOL! Anyway I don't know man. All of your trucks have been super cool, especially the last FX4, but this jinxs you have with all I don't know... Your dad still has his truck? Lincoln, right? Any gripes there?

Are you eyeing RAM or one of GM's?

WildernessLVR

@ capt911

I don't know if you already made up your mind, but I'm a very picky guy with some OCD, who would be stressing out if my truck had any issues at all.
I am on the other side of the fence, knock on wood, and on my second flawless Ford truck and 5.0. I drive in heavy stop and go and low speed roads and my mileage is really bad compared to many here driving in cities. I stomp on the pedal from stop to stop, just like an elephant tippytoes from nenuphar to nenuphar on a lake's surface LOL!!
I do get awesome mileage for a 5L brick on the highways and I would not want a different engine for the few times I'm not listening to music, which usually is on family trips and the V8 sound is very entertaining!

I have no idea what tickles, rattles, vibrations, leaks are all about (hopefully it'll continue this way) and it saddens me to hear so many unhappy, but hopefully everything will be solved sooner rather than later.

Each of the EB and V8 engines will give these trucks a different usability, and easily tow around 7,000 LBS. Don't forget there's another 3.3 engine lurking around

Masi1926

As long as a man or woman is involved in the building equation, every truck on this planet makes a noise somewhere.
The 3.5 and 2.7 have their own set of noises, if you go through their threads.
The complaints with the 10 speed carry over to the Eco's as well and it drives me nuts... when certain folks isolate it to the 5.0. The 'low pitched acceleration whistle' seems to be our's, but it doesn't affect how it performs. Personally I can't remember the last time I heard it.

Like some others, I had the 'leaf spring clunk' (fixed), the '10 speeds heavy shifting' (fixed). Other than those issues. My 5.0 has been perfect and I have zero worries that it won't.
If there's a good deal to be had, grab it.
My 2014 's 5.0 was another rock solid engine. The two 5.4 before made a few noises, but never let me down.
This is the place people come to complain and is barely only a third of the actual ownership and only half of that are guys that like working or modding our vehicles.

You end up defending your choice on here. It's the whole "How dare you question my choice" thing, is what most actually end up debating without even realizing it.
And fwiw, I live in area where there's an abundance of bored police officer's so I'm getting an average of 17 mpg around town unfortunately. It's tough keeping 395 HP caged..!

9663mu

Mike FX4

I'm going to pick up my truck from the service dept in a few minutes. It sounds like we have the same truck. LOL
They just did a reprogram on mine this time, but it'll probably need a lot more work soon. Not sure how a program will stop excessive oil consumption!
Around here, stuff has to break before Ford will actually fix anything.

isthatahemi

The latest reflash makes the shifting pretty slick and the rattle disappear.

Mike FX4

Made my trans much worse. Before, the shifts were just confused. Had extremely delayed downshifts and harsh upshifts. Now it actually thumps/clunks into most upshifts at light throttle. Can feel and hear it louder than the radio and with HVAC on high. Actually shifts pretty smooth at full throttle though.

For downshifts, it is still confused. If I'm cruising on the freeway at 65 in 10th and want to accelerate to go around a slower car ahead, I'll give it medium throttle and expect it to drop a few gears. Mine will drop 1 and pull for a second, then immediately drop 1 more and pull for a second, and repeat until it actually finds the right gear and starts to accelerate at the correct rate for the throttle input. Annoying for on-ramps behind a slow car trying to merge into faster traffic, but really sucks trying to move around in heavy traffic. Full throttle downshifts are slow, but at least go to the correct gear. Don't really want to have to hammer it for increasing just a few mph.

The engine still rattles. Still sputters and stalls while braking and still moving about 15mph. Hasn't stalled on acceleration again yet. Still burns lots of oil. Still gets 10-11 mpg hwy.

I was on the phone with the service advisor immediately after I left the dealership with my truck. Some of the other problems that also weren't fixed happened repeatedly before I hit the first traffic light from their driveway. Stuff they "couldn't duplicate" in their supposed test drives. I'm taking a technician for a ride next week.