No vehicle is perfect, perhaps especially a first year, but based on this board alone it appears the 21 is better out of the gate than the 15.

The 15 also suffered from the rusty under belly at the beginning but also had bad trim on the roof, leaky sunroofs, bad seat coolers, and probably a couple issues I don’t remember.

I’ve got a 15 with 134k and it has been good with few exceptions. Maybe I remember this board incorrectly but it seems like there are fewer complaints this time around and last time wasn’t bad.

 

Its possible, its also possible that there are just fewer trucks being bought due to supply issues.

 

I went from a '15 to a '21 and they are quite different from each other, and similar. Both had/have the rusty differentials. In the five years I had the '15, the only issues I ever had was one bad coil and the fourth gear shift update. The "vented seats" on the '21 work better than the "cooled seats" on my '15 before the excellent forum member fix that many of us bought into. The '21 10 speed is light years ahead of the '15s six speed. The 3.5 eco seems much stronger and more refined. I like the Sync 4.0 jumbotron, but I retrofitted Sync 3.4 on my '15 so the size is the main difference, other than wireless. I liked my auto running boards on the '15 better than these at first, but these are growing on me. My '15 didn't have a moonroof, so I can't compare, but this one has had plenty of opportunity in the carwash and hasn't yet.
Given that, I love my '21 Plat. I just wish the presets would not go back to two banks! But if that's the worst worry I have in three months, I count myself lucky. These things are also just scary fast for what they are.

 

you really can´t compare a 2015 to a 2021. the 2021 is light years ahead in pretty much every way

 

I don't have a '21 yet, but my '15 was flawless for it's 36mo/45K lease term. Same for my '18 so far... I hope the '21's are as good.

 

Is the 2021 really as incredibly advanced as many people are stating???

Or is it more so because there are a number of higher trim options available in the XLT lineup now? ...
...so those owners think its a greatly advanced truck when really its just got a few more options than usual?

I can assure anyone who thinks the 2021 is this flawless beauty with a PHD...give it time.
I'm sure the "cracks" will show up sooner or later...they always do.

 

Other than the PB, I would argue the '15 model was a more significant development. All new aluminum body, interior, engine, and various other degrees of changes.

The '21, again, other than the PB, is a more evolutionary change....yes, lot's of changes, but smaller in scale compared to the '14-'15 change.

 

Me thinks you greatly overstate the differences. JMO; they are much more evolutionary rather than quantum leaps. My 15 has been great so far, and I see nothing that would "wow" me into a 21.

 

It seems like the '21 is a better launch than '15. But your question is going to have a huge amount of variance as I suspect those that got XL/XLT trucks, which is most of the F-150s sold, will have seen fewer issues than Lariat+ owners who will mention poor seat cooling, early adaptive cruise issues, stuff like that. The '15-'17 suffered from the freezing door latch issue which was huge, but it took a little while for that to get traction as a big problem so we are still too early to say if the '21 will have a similar problem.

The '21 CAN be light years ahead of a '15, almost everything is different with an eye on improvement, from suspension setup to driveline components, no more vacuum IWEs, etc. I think you could argue back and forth, but in a lot of ways it is a bigger leap than even the '15. The '15 had an aluminum body and introduced the 2.7L and adaptive cruise, but other significant changes like Sync 3 and that didn't come until 2016. With the 2021, they not only changed most suspension setups, 4WD IWEs to electronic, Sync 4, huge center screen, PowerBoost, ProPower Onboard, upgrades to power on most of the major engines (2.7L I think only carryover), CoPilot 360 with Lane Centering and hands free automation which while not here yet, will still be in the '21, unlike the Sync 3 introduction that had to wait a model year.

I am surprised there aren't more significant issues so far. I think Ford held back on a lot of huge changes in 2015 because of the complexity of the Aluminum changeover, which as a single item is enormous.

I think the biggest issues for the '21 are going to software related. I expect more teething issues with OTA updates, hands free "self" driving, stuff like that, but I think for all the changes that were made it's off to a great start. Many people on here don't seem to fully comprehend how significant of a leap the 2021 is, even small things like the rear wheels being pushed out a half inch on each side to improve towing stability, the single leaf setup on the lower payload trucks, the list is huge of small changes that seem to have lead to significant improvement in driving characteristics.

 

I actually held off buying a 2015 because of what I read on this forum, so my 2016 was fine.

The OP is correct about the 2015 startup, a search going back that far finds this. I especially like the "Official 2015 Complaint Thread", LOL, with 1,032 replies.

https://www.f150forum.com/f118/offic...thread-283284/

https://www.f150forum.com/search.php?searchid=19119246