What would you do?
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: May 2021
Posts: 192
Likes: 103
What would you do?
I leased a new 2025 F150 Lariat PB last year and surprise, like my 2021 it had a noticeable hum/whirl when on throttle from the front end when in 4W Auto or 4H. I monitored it for 6 months with it going from a on throttle light hum to more of a howl. I brought it to the dealer and first they claimed there is no noise by running it on the lift, (Yes no load, no noise). Then pushed for a test drive and was told this was normal for the truck as when in 4W Auto the front is now spinning and you feel it. I had to remind them that my truck does not IWE as the front drivetrain spins all the time. It seemed like I was the first person in the world to inform them of this. I will add that I am a full on reformed gear head with mechanical OCD. (Reformed as in I buy new vehicles as much as I enjoy it, my time is more valuable outside of full contact wrenching) After wasting a day, I figured I will just drive it and wait till it further deteriorates to the point where it will hopefully be undisputable. So off I go with my throttle-on whine in 4W Auto.
The issue from my perspective, appears to be bearing related either due to a mfg defect, or poor initial setup. My guess would be carrier bearing preload was not set correctly, leaving a small amount of play in the bearing laterally in the race.
By Dec the whine/whirl was much louder and now was accompanied by oscillations at lower speeds felt through the wheel and floor along with some growling that matches them. (Which I am assuming is the carrier bearing race now rotating at low speed due to the further bearing deterioration creating increased friction.) In April, I had enough so I dropped in the dealer. They had their driveline expert come with me and drive the truck. The drive was short as he said right away he could feel and here the issue. He then explained to me that it was most likely a bad IWE.....I mentioned to him that the truck doesn't have them, where he pushed back that it did. So much so that when we parked, he cut the front wheel to full lock and got down on his hands an knees to show me. (It was awkward but he actually seemed mechanically sound as we chatted) Regardless, he said we will get to the bottom of it. Made an appointment, dropped it off for the day.
Received a call that it was ready. Spoke to the advisor and was told....They put it on the lift and ran it and could find any noise. (Of course not, how do you induce a load based noise with no load) He also proceeds to tell me that I should not be driving the truck all the time in 4W Auto. (I reminded him that was BS as isn't that the benefit of 4W Auto? I also reminded him that the truck automatically goes to 4W Auto in Sport mode. Is he saying I shouldn't drive it all the time in Sport mode? I pushed back hard this time as I have now wasted 2 days on this. He tells me they will go and road test it. Calls back and tells me, yes there is something wrong. Again, I mentioned the front diff. Fast forward to the end of the week where my truck is still there. They tell me they have involved Ford and are working with them to diagnose. I ended up opening a case with Ford as well because I for the life of me can't understand why they don't pull the diff, or even drain the fluid to look at it? (I have confirmed with them that they have not done either as part of their troubleshooting)
Ford customer service called them to push and in the end they tell me that they are replacing the.......Transfer Case, specifically thinking it is a bad clutch?. Ok, doesn't make any sense to me as the truck has never showed any signs of driveline binding or wind-up. No clunks, no binding, nothing. On top of this the sounds and vibrations often go away when turning, which to me would be the opposite. I suspect this is due to the clutch dropping as you but angle on the steering wheel.
At this point I feel like all of this is on a path for more time wasted. Now I consider my options:
1.. Let them replace the transfer case and hope it actually is the culprit? (Maybe it is). If it is not, my guess is that they are going to say "all fixed" and hand it back to me and I have to go back at it again, more days wasted.
2.. Drive the 1.5 to 2 hours to another dealer. Most likely reset the wasting time clock. Drive 3 hours at best case for them to say yes, we think it the front diff to have to make another appointment and drive the 3 hours and wait?
3.. Go order a new front diff assy from Ford ($1157.00.) Swap the front diff out in my garage. (Like to the old days). Then document the disassembly of the current diff and take ford and the dealer to small claims court for my $$ and more importantly my time.
4.. Just drive it in 4W Auto until it either comes apart or reaches epic state of failure? (Not really an option as because the truck has no IWE's the front is forever spinning, not like my 21 where if it go bad on a long road trip, you could just drop back to 2wd and leave things stationary)
Apologize for the long winded email but I am beyond frustrated.
Cheers,
The issue from my perspective, appears to be bearing related either due to a mfg defect, or poor initial setup. My guess would be carrier bearing preload was not set correctly, leaving a small amount of play in the bearing laterally in the race.
By Dec the whine/whirl was much louder and now was accompanied by oscillations at lower speeds felt through the wheel and floor along with some growling that matches them. (Which I am assuming is the carrier bearing race now rotating at low speed due to the further bearing deterioration creating increased friction.) In April, I had enough so I dropped in the dealer. They had their driveline expert come with me and drive the truck. The drive was short as he said right away he could feel and here the issue. He then explained to me that it was most likely a bad IWE.....I mentioned to him that the truck doesn't have them, where he pushed back that it did. So much so that when we parked, he cut the front wheel to full lock and got down on his hands an knees to show me. (It was awkward but he actually seemed mechanically sound as we chatted) Regardless, he said we will get to the bottom of it. Made an appointment, dropped it off for the day.
Received a call that it was ready. Spoke to the advisor and was told....They put it on the lift and ran it and could find any noise. (Of course not, how do you induce a load based noise with no load) He also proceeds to tell me that I should not be driving the truck all the time in 4W Auto. (I reminded him that was BS as isn't that the benefit of 4W Auto? I also reminded him that the truck automatically goes to 4W Auto in Sport mode. Is he saying I shouldn't drive it all the time in Sport mode? I pushed back hard this time as I have now wasted 2 days on this. He tells me they will go and road test it. Calls back and tells me, yes there is something wrong. Again, I mentioned the front diff. Fast forward to the end of the week where my truck is still there. They tell me they have involved Ford and are working with them to diagnose. I ended up opening a case with Ford as well because I for the life of me can't understand why they don't pull the diff, or even drain the fluid to look at it? (I have confirmed with them that they have not done either as part of their troubleshooting)
Ford customer service called them to push and in the end they tell me that they are replacing the.......Transfer Case, specifically thinking it is a bad clutch?. Ok, doesn't make any sense to me as the truck has never showed any signs of driveline binding or wind-up. No clunks, no binding, nothing. On top of this the sounds and vibrations often go away when turning, which to me would be the opposite. I suspect this is due to the clutch dropping as you but angle on the steering wheel.
At this point I feel like all of this is on a path for more time wasted. Now I consider my options:
1.. Let them replace the transfer case and hope it actually is the culprit? (Maybe it is). If it is not, my guess is that they are going to say "all fixed" and hand it back to me and I have to go back at it again, more days wasted.
2.. Drive the 1.5 to 2 hours to another dealer. Most likely reset the wasting time clock. Drive 3 hours at best case for them to say yes, we think it the front diff to have to make another appointment and drive the 3 hours and wait?
3.. Go order a new front diff assy from Ford ($1157.00.) Swap the front diff out in my garage. (Like to the old days). Then document the disassembly of the current diff and take ford and the dealer to small claims court for my $$ and more importantly my time.
4.. Just drive it in 4W Auto until it either comes apart or reaches epic state of failure? (Not really an option as because the truck has no IWE's the front is forever spinning, not like my 21 where if it go bad on a long road trip, you could just drop back to 2wd and leave things stationary)
Apologize for the long winded email but I am beyond frustrated.
Cheers,
5 Year Member
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 395
Likes: 163
From: Victoria Harbour ON
Honestly, it's a lease. I would keep all documentation from the dealer that "repaired" it and return it at lease end. They will either repair it or sell it off. I assume its under warranty so let it fail. I know you tried to do the right thing but if they are not listening then not your problem any more.
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: May 2021
Posts: 192
Likes: 103
I am most likely going to get them to proceed. I will be honest, if it solves it I will be happy and gladly admit I was wrong.
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: May 2021
Posts: 192
Likes: 103
Honestly, it's a lease. I would keep all documentation from the dealer that "repaired" it and return it at lease end. They will either repair it or sell it off. I assume its under warranty so let it fail. I know you tried to do the right thing but if they are not listening then not your problem any more.
I can sum this up to love the truck, wish I had another local option for the dealer. (I know all brands have issues, but the situation I find here is approx 5 visits to get issues fixed.