Let’s face it, Powerboosts are not reliable

[Captain Dirty Beard]

It's a real shame

The real shame is Ford's quality control. If the PB design were flawed, we would see a lot more lemons than we do. The few handfuls of trucks that persistently have issues, are likely ones that were not put together properly from the factory.

Sponsored

 

[Snakebitten]

The real shame is Ford's quality control. If the PB design were flawed, we would see a lot more lemons than we do. The few handfuls of trucks that persistently have issues, are likely ones that were not put together properly from the factory.

Yeah, I have been all over, under, inside of my 2022 Powerboost. I even have a 2-post lift in the barn and have spent relaxed time looking and tracing and researching the components in the 18,000 page service manual.

Frankly I'm amazed that my truck traveled down an assembly line that spits out an F150 every 37 seconds, and yet not one single tiny pin in any of the hundreds of connectors failed to find the intended receiver, with proper contact for conductivity.

Or put another way, it's amazing more trucks/cars of this modern electronics era aren't failing, as a result of micro voltage conductivity.

 

[Captain Dirty Beard]

Yeah, I have been all over, under, inside of my 2022 Powerboost. I even have a 2-post lift in the barn and have spent relaxed time looking and tracing and researching the components in the 18,000 page service manual.

Frankly I'm amazed that my truck traveled down an assembly line that spits out an F150 every 37 seconds, and yet not one single tiny pin in any of the hundreds of connectors failed to find the intended receiver, with proper contact for conductivity.

Or put another way, it's amazing more trucks/cars of this modern electronics era aren't failing, as a result of micro voltage conductivity.

I know one thing- every single one of the fuses and relays in the engine bay power distribution block on my truck were loose. Not sure if a human slots those, or a machine but it's stuff like this that makes me concerned about more complicated and harder to get to items.

 

[Snakebitten]

I too was able to push the fuses farther in than they were when I took delivery. But my personal opinion is that the blade length on those fuses were more than adequate enough to function as designed.
I do think the robot or fixture that is used to fill the fuse box during manufacturing, could be adjusted for a better seating of the fuses though.

 

[Mtnman1]

I love my 22 Powerboost, but I have to agree with CR. Reliability wise, mine has sucked.

Everything has been warranty.

I’ve had 14 different recalls.

I’ve owned it for 30 months. It’s been in the shop 30-40 days. Mostly waiting for parts…

Exhaust heat exchanger
2 cats cleaned
2 cats replaced
12V battery
Belt integrated starter generator

We can love the truck- and I do…but we can also admit Ford really blew the execution on this one…

I paid $74k

Trade in is $35k. 53k miles, less than 3 years old.

I should have just bought the Coyote!

Zero issues with my coyote. Had the owners manual recall and the wiper motor replaced, though never had an issue. Only 2 recalls.

And to be honest, I would never spend 75k on any vehicle. That is insane. Dont care what it is. Just wasting 45k. At least. Roll down the window and toss it.

I was close to not spending the 37k on my 22. Still a waste of $$.

 

[scott011422]

Just a guess, but once the service department has tried all the software updates and/or module replacements, and the issue still pops up, it begs to be a harness or connector problem. But for whatever reason, that task is avoided at almost all expense. Even buying back and auctioning off. So the next owner, with even less chance of having it solved now owns the problem.

Literally, a $70,000 vehicle can be destined for few miles ever being accomplished, because of a harness or connector fault. It's a real shame.

This is my irritation. Especially with electrical issues. Something set the code. Some person wrote code that when certain conditions are met, To trigger that code. Yet the manufacturers lock everything down. The machines in our shop, which granted, are 100's of thousands of dollars, Every alarm is traceable. Not only by the logic of the programming, but by the individual ins and outs of all the components. You know this is possible at some level with our newer vehicles. Buts thats a tool the manufactures don't want to give out sadly.

 

[rjulian]

Yeah, I have been all over, under, inside of my 2022 Powerboost. I even have a 2-post lift in the barn and have spent relaxed time looking and tracing and researching the components in the 18,000 page service manual.

Frankly I'm amazed that my truck traveled down an assembly line that spits out an F150 every 37 seconds, and yet not one single tiny pin in any of the hundreds of connectors failed to find the intended receiver, with proper contact for conductivity.

Or put another way, it's amazing more trucks/cars of this modern electronics era aren't failing, as a result of micro voltage conductivity.

I got the service manual as well - bought online for $50 or $60 - pirated version probably, but it’s got my VIN
Only problem is the hyperlinks don’t work. It can take me a half hour to find the right pages when there’s 18,000 of them lol.
I think it was 800 pages or so just dedicated to the PCM/BCM,etc fault codes!

 

[vaeyedoc]

Unfortunately, I agree with OP. In addition to multiple recalls (Ford overall quality, not hybrid specific) mine 22 Powerboost has been in shop three times for hybrid/engine related issues. Current issue is a harness for high voltage battery. BUT, it died on November 23 when I was 600 miles from home. It has been at a dealer there since then. They had to speak to Ford engineers and replace three other components before they finally solved the issue. Just fixed it this week. Now I have to fly out there to get it….

Overall, a dealer has had my truck for 4 1/2 months out of 31 1/2 months

 

[rjulian]

Unfortunately, I agree with OP. In addition to multiple recalls (Ford overall quality, not hybrid specific) mine 22 Powerboost has been in shop three times for hybrid/engine related issues. Current issue is a harness for high voltage battery. BUT, it died on November 23 when I was 600 miles from home. It has been at a dealer there since then. They had to speak to Ford engineers and replace three other components before they finally solved the issue. Just fixed it this week. Now I have to fly out there to get it….

Overall, a dealer has had my truck for 4 1/2 months out of 31 1/2 months

Woof!!!! That stinks. Sorry to hear that.

 

[cjm83]

Why would I go looking for them? I see you bashing without explanation, which is normal trolling behavior. Get a grip or trade your truck for something better for you.

I'm half way through all of the posts on this forum and so far its trending that for every one negative experience with the PB there is about 6 positives ones. Of course we'd like it to be more like 100% positive but that is not going to be the case with any model or manufacturer. I have a 2025 Platty PB on order and just have my fingers crossed that I dont draw one of the roughly 10% of machines that experience issues. Im sorry to all the folks that drew the short stick and completely understand your bitterness.

 

[JohnMcClane]

Let’s face it, non-Powerboost trucks are not reliable at powering a house.

Machine with more points of failure are experiencing failures at said points, more at 11!

If you came to complain about Toyota launching an unreliable Tundra, agreed, how do you screw up a twin turbo when Ford has been turning them out for over a decade.

Ford having so few issues with a first ever hybrid truck that can also power your house launched during one of the largest supply chain disruptions in decades is actually impressive to me.

 

[Pelican]

I believe I have read nearly every post in this particular thread and I am convinced the the issues people are having with their trucks can be resolved if FMC and the dealerships hired the right people for the job and provided them with the opportunity to obtain the specific training they need to troubleshoot, diagnose and fix.

A client of mine has no college degree; however, he did a stint in the service where he received training in electronics. Now, he works for a major manufacturer of medical equipment used throughout the world in hospitals. He's a technician and his job is to work with field support staff to install, troubleshoot and diagnose equipment. It's an expensive cost for the manufacturer to retain him; however, they recognize manufacturing isn't perfect and the importance of having experts to provide top notch expert service to it's customers when things do go south so they can get the machine back up and running quickly.

Having said all that, it appears to me Ford needs to hire a group or retrain a group of that are trained to be experts and are strategically based all throughout the country so they can be called upon to take calls, conduct video calls and even be deployed to a dealerships to assist with troubleshooting and diagnosing vehicles.

As others have said, regardless of the motor we have chosen, our new vehicles are rolling mobile offices very capable of many things, but often one component can characterize that vehicle as a POS simply because no one is capable of working on it.

My biggest concern is FMC may stop producing the PB because they are unable to change the narrative in the media and the warranty costs become too costly.

Edited to correct grammar

 

[Kanuck]

This is my irritation. Especially with electrical issues. Something set the code. Some person wrote code that when certain conditions are met, To trigger that code. Yet the manufacturers lock everything down. The machines in our shop, which granted, are 100's of thousands of dollars, Every alarm is traceable. Not only by the logic of the programming, but by the individual ins and outs of all the components. You know this is possible at some level with our newer vehicles. Buts thats a tool the manufactures don't want to give out sadly.

One would think this is possible. I had a Ford van that threw a CEL on me. Checking the code, mass air flow sensor out of range. Talked to a mechanic about it. He said to change the O2 sensor first. After some discussion between us, I did that and my CEL cleared. O2 sensor was throwing the mass air flow sensor out of range.

My point is, even with all the information techs have and tools, nothing is cut and dried. One part is causing another to screw up. A quote from a Starttrek movie...Scott said" the more complicated the system, the easier it is to plug up the plumbing". A lot of experience is required to fix these trucks and the dealer techs are getting there....slowly but getting there.

 

[JExpedition07]

Oh the Tundra, I’ve driven their hybrid a bit but never the Ford. I really don’t feel the benefit on the butt dyno its such a heavy truck.

 

[CowboyJohn]

I thought I would chime in, not in regards to the PB per se, but I am fairly new to this forum, spent the last 8+ years on Ford Truck Enthusiasts (FTE) with my son's 78.

At least for me on both Forums I typically post because of an issue/problem that I would like insight on before going to a shop. With so much tech on these and so little understanding (at least on my part) I foresee most of my future posts being in the same manner. (Why the hell is this light/dinger etc... going off)

On the 78 section of FTE, no much complaining because those trucks have been on the road for mostly 40 plus years.

So as others have said on the surface it might seem like a lot of issues, but how often does anyone post at the end of the day when they had no issues.

After my initial post, I thought about somewhat similar situation.

Back in 2000 I was teaching a Computer Literacy class in HS. We ordered 20 brand new Gateway computers. Once we got them all set up, I realized that not all 20 were identical. Differences in programs and updates installed etc...

I spent hours on the phone with tech support trying to figure out which one needed what.

I think all new cars have similar issues because of all the "tech" that really does make them better, just not all the time.

Sponsored