Am I the only one that finds it frustrating that, by design it costs a great deal of money just to keep the electronics ( that were expensive to get ) operating properly. The only real maintenance costs so far have been directly related to electronics, whether improperly installed initially, or as they call it normal replacement. The control panel in the dash was improperly installed, one month out of warranty the pinched wire finally wore through causing some expensive ($800.00) repairs, The tire stems I was told only last about 5-6 years, $650.00 to replace them. The lights on the digital door lock died, I am just going to let that one go, write it off to poor quality electronics. They charge extra for Sirius radio, wait until you need to renew the service. Mechanically the truck has not been an issue, although it really doesn't have lots of miles yet (33K). I have to say, I'm disappointed with their selection of mandatory options.

 

I think it is a sign of the times as vehicles become more advanced and the option list of "convenience items" gets longer. For the most part, I have to applaud the manufacturers for developing electronic boards that can survive the harsh environment that is your vehicle.

As an aside, professionally I work for a company that sells HVAC equipment, and we have been selling VRF equipment for several years now. Besides the basic compressor and valves, the majority of the unit is electronics. There is essentially no troubleshooting - no wiring diagram with voltages you can check (like traditional equipment); if the unit throws error code 1 you replace board 'x', code 2 board 'y', etc.

However, if you look at the bigger picture the efficiency of this type of system would not be possible without all of the electronics. Just like your F150.

 

I knew all of this as a possibility going in when I bought my truck, which is why I also bought an extended warranty, any of the electronics fails in my truck they get repaired for free up to 7yrs/75,000 miles. After that I'll trade it in on a new one and start over.

 

OP, I think you should tell whoever quoted you that $650 price for tire sensors that you just want new sensors, not new wheels also.

For $36 or so per sensor, that seems like a lot for labor, does it not?

http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/f...)+sensor,12036

 

Well, there's a couple options in this case:

1. Buy the base vehicle. Electronics are a fact of life in today's (new) vehicles, but base will minimize how much there is. You give up all your "Gucci" little gadgets, but that's what you're worrying about breaking anyways. "Pick your poison"....

2. Drive it until the warranty runs out and then trade it in. Your dealer will be very happy with you but you have to resign yourself to always having a monthly payment.

3. Buy the extended warranty. Get it to cover at least the term of your payments. Go premium and it covers pretty much anything outside of brakes and fluids. Or go for a year or 2 more than your expected payments and live a couple years only paying for service items and fuel.

The thing is, manufacturers don't want you to keep a vehicle a long time. reasons are self evident: they want to sell you another in a few years. So they pack them with options to make them attractive and guys get hung up on having (or not having) those options. even if your truck is going strong in a few years, more options will come out in an attempt to make you think your vehicle is "old" or "lacking something, even if it is running fine. Same with restyling the body every few years. It's all part of "planned obsolescence".

Me? I'm more than capable of working on just about anything on my 2016 F150. It's not the labor that worries me, it's the cost of parts like that great big screen in the middle of the dash and how it's integrated into the vehicle. Having a 5-6-700 dolalr a month payment and then having to drop 800-1000 on a broken radio is just not going to fly for me. Because it's so integrated into the vehicle systems, you can't even throw in an aftermarket radio like you used to be able to.

I plan this to either be the last vehicle I buy or at least a 15-20 year ownership. So I went for the 502A Lariat loaded up with as many options as I could get and took the 8 year 150,000 Km warranty package. covers my payment years plus a couple more.

The way my body is going downhill, I may not be allowed to drive in another 15-20 years anyways......if I'm not looking at grass roots by then that is.....

 

Nailed it except for the radio part, they do have aftermarket alternatives, maybe not for your year model yet but they will very soon. They always do.

 

Perhaps so. But in order to integrate it like the OEM (HVAC controls, etc) it will probably cost as much as (or close to) an OEM one. It might eek out a little bit better sound quality or perhaps play movies or some other perceived "added features".

Might as well just go OEM if that's the case and hold on to any residual resale value you have left at that point...

 

Yup.
.

 

The valve stems at NAPA are $48.00 with a discount. Call a Ford Dealer and ask what it will cost!

 

They can be had much cheaper than that. > http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from...+tpms&_sacat=0