Ford F-250/F-350

The vehicle is just under 100,000Kms and now I have to bring it because the DEF sensor does not work and have to change it as well as the wiring harness for $1100 (Canadian). I am told it is usual for those vehicles at this mileage and not covered by the power train warranty! So basically a Ford is not built to last more than 60k miles?! I will hopefully never again buy a Ford.

Now truck has a bad engine and has been in the shop for 2 weeks, and will probably be in the shop for another 2 weeks, due to Ford's idiotic warranty policies. Instead of just replacing the faulty engine with a new crate engine they are wasting time by the slow procedure of a tear down and inspect. This truck and ford as a company are awful.

As a business owner, the potential of a reoccurring maintenance cost in this category does not make sense to move forward with. I asked the dealership service department about the research I had found and they were very tight lipped about it. I asked about the claims of it reoccurring after it was replaced and they did agree that the likelihood of having the issue again was very high. Ford Corporate service department also agreed that the cost of the "repair" was excessive and didn't make sense. I spoke to both parties about Deleting the system and both of them agreed that the cost of deleting the truck (which removes the likelihood of it occurring again) was more cost effective.

The Ford corporate representative said that they were willing to pay for half of the repair, if it was done at the dealership. Half of the repair estimate from the dealership is $4,575. I found this to be very generous and an admittance that the cost of the repair may be excessive or possible a design flaw for the climate in which I live. I asked Ford Corporate for a settlement of a little over half of their offer, $2,300 to have the repairs done at another mechanics shop and they said it had to done at the dealership in order for them to pay double that amount, or half of the total. I told the customer service person I would be picking up the truck and they offered to pay for the dealers diagnosis invoice charges.

In the end I picked up the truck from the dealership and Ford Corporate paid the fee of $378 to the dealership. I will now seek an alternate method to get the truck running. I am very disappointed in the fact that everyone involved, the Dealership service department, Ford Corporate Service person, myself and all of the research I found online indicated that it was a design flaw and that the repair costs would not justify completing them.

Next would be the crazy auto high-beam feature which most people will want to turn off. While driving towards someone at night, the high beams would come on and go off briefly in between cars which makes oncoming cars think you're flashing them as though to tell them, they have their high beams on; naturally, they flash their high beams back at you. Then there's the auto cool/heated seats and heated steering wheel. Another feature that can be annoying. If it's cold out, you'll forget about the auto steering wheel heater and wonder why your hands are on fire; the same with the heated seats.

The push button, automatic lowering tailgate? It's hard to get used to wondering where your key fob is or if the truck is unlocked; otherwise, you can't let the tailgate down. Many times, you'll have your hands full with everything but the keys. There's also a tailgate button on the console, but it doesn't always work; if you shut the truck off and push the button to release the tailgate, it may not open the tailgate; oddly, you have to push the tailgate release on the key fob instead; I still haven't figured that one out.

The surround video cameras (5) and the viewing options on the console screen makes parking a piece of cake with its 3D view from above the truck as though you were looking down from above the truck. The system doesn't allow you to view the cameras when the truck is moving faster than 1-2 mph. It would have been a nice security/safety feature if there was a record option since it is pretty much a super dashcam; would come in handy if ever in a wreck or someone was to vandalize or attempt to steal your truck.

The Driver side window... Still a nuisance since the 2012 model with its one touch all the way up or down feature. Sometimes when you just want to put down the window a little and you nudge the control, it thinks you want to lower it all the way and continually lowers the window; the same if you want it up just a bit, the window will automatically go all the way up unless you stop it.

The center console? What happened? The 2019 console has this big open tray on the driver's side and two cup holders on the passenger side. There is a slide tray so you could technically turn it into 4 drink holders, which were made for the largest fountain drink, thermos or mug you can think of; a normal bottle of water or soft drink just rolls around in them. Petty, but when you're driving and reaching for a drink (which we all do) and you're forced to look down because you're not sure what position it's in. Should have left the 2012 console alone; it was perfect.

Lights, lights and lights.... There's lights on the side mirrors that let you see what's out your door on either side. You can't turn these lights on when you're moving though which would be great when you're coming to a stop sign and you want to see if a pedestrian is crossing from either side. In a dark neighborhood, you have to pretty much roll down your windows at a stop; all you can see is the reflection of the interior dash on the windows; a side light really comes in handy. But if you come to a complete stop, then push the light button, it'll come on... but the person behind you doesn't want to wait for you to activate your hi-tech, push button side mirror lights.

All option buttons? Wow... It's as though someone thought it would be funny to make a puzzle out of what switch goes to what. In the 2012, if you wanted an interior light, you literally just pushed on the light; for 2019 you need a flashlight to turn on an interior light or you'll accidentally push the sunroof open or slide the sunshade back or blast off to the moon before you get a light on. Even the sunroof/sunshade buttons are quirky; you'd figure the sunshade open and close buttons would be first but they aren't, it's the open/close/vent buttons first. Many times, I'd blindly reach up to open the sunshade and end up opening the sunroof; ten months and I still can't get it all memorized.

The 2019 is always a treasure hunt to find what button does what; mostly it is laid out like the 2012, but some things like turning on the fog lights in the dark is a challenge... it's that small micro button next to the BIG round headlight knob, just above the light for the bed. In the dark, all small buttons are getting pushed; I look like a lit up Christmas tree before I get it right. In the end, it's just all about memorization. Oh, and watch out for the sensitive turn signal lever... it's very easy to push it forward while trying to put on your turn signal.. And pushing forward is the high beams.

The FordPass Mobil Application? This app allows you to view information about the truck such as fuel level, DEF levels etc. as well as remote start the vehicle from anywhere in the World... Not really useful to me. I never think about these things until I'm in the truck; sitting around in the house wondering what my fluid levels are like is really really lazy; this feature would benefit a company keeping up with its fleet of trucks. And, I don't see a need to start my truck from Japan... not even to keep the battery up; Plus, you're lucky if FordPass is even working. Mine says "Sorry, FordPass isn't responding, Please try again later". So apparently, not even the app cares enough to see what's going on with my truck.

Trailer Hitch/Receiver/Thingy... My 2012 came with a reducer and a pin; My 2019 came with absolutely nothing; I had to go to a store and buy an adapter, ball and pin. The 2019 truck has a larger receiver than previous models, so anything from my 2012 wasn't going to work. Overall, I like the truck; there's a lot of good features such as trailer control and braking, navigation, satellite radio, AT&T mobile service (if you're into AT&T), 5 point camera system with overlay for backing up to a trailer, rear sensors, standard power outlet on the dash, heated/cooled seats, increased horsepower and so on.