Becca

We recently traded in our '06 F350 and bought a new 2011 F350 XLT 4x4, fully loaded, xtra payload package, chrome package, backup camera, etc... We were super impressed with the 19.2 miles per gallon it was getting on the way home! Now here's where the problem started...

We took a trip out to Glamis 2 weeks ago, and hauled our 18k pound toyhauler. Mileage was around 14mpg going out there (which is super impressive lol), and the power was unmatched. But on the way home, it dramatically dropped- to 8.9mpg and the truck refused to downshift on hills, and we could not gather a sufficient speed for anything... All of the sudden, we were getting 11-12mpg on the freeway while not towing.

All of our friends who have an '11-'12 say that they never have gotten below 14mpg while towing... even our buddy, who is the fleet manager for a Ford dealer, said he's never heard of such crappy mileage on these new trucks, and he has a new F450. We brought the truck into the dealer, and the service tech manager asked if we were kidding him, and then he looked at the trip meter. His jaw dropped... Long story short, they re-flashed the ECU to see if that would fix the issue. The mileage is back up (it was getting 19.8mpg yesterday on the freeway). Now we need to see what it does while hauling, as far as the downshifting thing goes...

Anyone else had this type of issue? Here's our baby

Becca

LOL, guess not...

We JUST got the truck back today after they repainted it twice... bad factory paint job. I sent a letter to Ford's Consumer Affairs Dept. It reads as follows (and explains all of the other problems were dealing with with this truck);


To whom it may concern;

My husband and I recently bought a "new" 2011 F350 XLT in February of this year from Sunrise Ford in Fontana, CA. We were told that our particular truck was about 45 miles away at a dealership in Hollywood, CA, which was fine because it was the perfect truck for our needs. They did not deliver the truck to the Fontana dealership until nightfall, and that's when we picked it up. Come to find out, our new truck already had nearly 300 miles on it! Apparently, what they forgot to tell us, was that the truck was driven up from a dealer in San Diego, and delivered to the Hollywood dealer. We were not too pleased with this, as 'new' vehicles do not typically have 300 miles on the odometer...

Anyhow, we brought the truck home, and averaged 19.3MPG on the way. I, for one, was super excited about this, because our 2006 F350 6.0 only got about 12MPG on the freeway. We started noticing a gradual drop in MPG as it started to get more miles on it... when we took it out for it's first camping trip, we towed our trailer, and got 8MPG... NOT impressive at all, and very disappointing. We called the salesman, who informed us that that was highly unusual (as his 2011 F450 dually was getting 14MPG while towing), so he told us to bring in the truck to have it looked at. The service tech also said this was unusual, and said they would look into it. We got a call the next day, and was told that they were going to 're-flash' the ECU... When service was done, we picked up the truck, and the higher MPG seemed to be back to normal. Again, mileage has dropped to about 12-14MPG with no change in driving habits.

Also, the day after we bought the truck, we noticed in the sunlight that the paint had hundreds of small, rough rust spots down the driver's side rear door and bedside, along with a lot imperfections in the paint and different colored rear fender well. Again, the dealer told us to bring it in. They looked at it, and agreed that the paint was very poor in the way it looked. They said they would repaint it. After a few days, they called us, and said the truck was done. My husband went yesterday to pick it up, looked it over, and declined to accept it. The paint looks just as bad as it did before they repainted it. They said they would repaint it again... we ended up getting a rental car from Sunrise (which we're paying $15/day for)... they said they would call us today, and we have yet to receive a call...

The over-head console that has 2 sun-glasses holders was poorly made as well. One of the holders is warped, and hangs down a bit. The driver side window whistles (of which Sunrise said the rubber piece was warped, and that they'd replace that as well).... all in all, we don't feel like we got a 'new' truck We've always had Ford vehicles, and I feel like this is the first time we've ever been let down... We traded in our 2006 F350 Lariat, which was an outstanding truck, for the 2011 F350 XLT and also have a 2008 F150 which is also a great truck. I'm not sure what I'm asking for, but we are very dissatisfied with our truck, and the mediocre service from Sunrise Ford.

Regards,
Rebecca Cooke

Twisty

I hope they get it right for you, and soon.
The mileage that you WERE getting is fantastic!

Becca

Thanks, I thought so too! LOL, the truck is fabulous, but we have bad luck I think...