Mileage worry

[Woods22250]

Starting to do a 100 mile each way commute to work. Worried about longevity. Thoughts?

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[Tomatoboy]

Without knowing more about your truck and commute, all I can say is that long distance commutes generally aren’t the type of commute that presents an abnormal *reliability* concern, only the usual wear-via-mileage concerns, because everything has plenty of time to get up to operating temperature and get rid of moisture.

In any given vehicle, high-mileage commutes will present mostly concerns you’d see with any vehicle that’s driven a lot of miles or run a lot of engine hours. These Gen 14 trucks are all mostly new enough we haven’t seen a ton of high mileage examples yet, but so far there don’t seem to be unusual wear items. (Obviously, some models have a history of similar high mileage problems—I owned a Pontiac model years ago that was notorious for burning up wheel bearings early, often as early as 60k miles).

Anecdotally, back when I had long commutes, the high mileage commute vehicles I’ve owned and operated (never an F-150, never had to do a long commute with one), the general trends I saw were *earlier* wear to wheel bearings, belts, and tires and *later* wear to brakes in terms of *time of ownership* because, obviously, I was driving more highway miles.

 

[Woods22250]

Sorry forgot some important details. 21 powerboost. Currently at 55k in miles. No issues from day one other than transmission needing reprogrammed.

 

[Mike_D]

Starting to do a 100 mile each way commute to work. Worried about longevity. Thoughts?

For your 2021 Powerboost? How many miles do you have on it now? I'd make sure I'm running a good clean motor oil, keep a regular eye on the tires, and enjoy the truck in comfort! Keep a good layer of wax/protection on the front end to protect the finish. Maybe get a tonneau cover if you don't already have, and some of the commute will be high speed highway, I have Retrax XR on my Powerboost and it's solid at 80-85 MPH.

 

[Mike_D]

Sorry forgot some important details. 21 powerboost. Currently at 55k in miles. No issues from day one other than transmission needing reprogrammed.

Do you have an extended service plan/warranty? If yes then don't worry! If no then probably still don't worry! Sounds like you got a good truck, if it had any issues they should have surfaced by now (55k). Enjoy.

 

[Snakebitten]

I'd argue that a 100 mile commute might present longterm benefits compared to an 8 mile commute.
Especially the Ecoboost motor in the Powerboost.

And also note that on a Powerboost, depending on the kind of miles you are driving, all 100 of them isn't with the ICE running.

I have ~17,000 miles on mine and I think ~4000 EV miles.

 

[JJSnell]

Starting to do a 100 mile each way commute to work. Worried about longevity. Thoughts?

Just get an extended warranty.
Truly peace of mind. There are a few recommended sellers of the Ford Factory Extended warranty. Can't recall the one everyone recommends, but punch in your average miles per year and it will calculate your best recommended extended warranty.
Lombard Ford Warranties is who I have used for 20+years. Lots of comfort driving a truck with 120,000 miles on it, like it has 5,000 on it.....

 

[sts90]

A extended warranty is one time fee term insurance. The catch with ford warranty is the delay at dealership for parts or rack space. The catch with 3rd party is what they will pay and shop shenanigans. The white elephant for you is reimbursement on that level of miles on a rental is not enough. I have chosen now and before to put (x) sum of money in bank. If it is too much to repair or delay is too great trade it in on a replacement vehicle.

On a second note, speaking from experience. That distance of a commute, if you are paying a note, get out now. The math will not work. I was field service with reimbursed miles and it barely worked as a single man with a note. I would route jobs so I could hit all shopping in between calls and did not ever party. I had a 2012 f150 3.5 2WD 3.55 rear, I was right at 155k when I sold to my father when swapping jobs 3 years later. You are looking at 11 oil changes a year, set of tires every year or 1.5 years if you buy good stuff, twice monthly car washes for bugs alone, quarterly air filters cabin/ engine, brakes ever 60k if your nice to them, yearly wind shield wipers, and plugs at 100k. This does not include a blow out, recommended fluid flushes, or the odd breakdowns. It Is cost effective to do your own plugs, filters, car washes, and wipers. Brakes and oil are not cost effective to do it yourself anymore because of adds you get in services and new equipment required for brake pressures.

The truck can give the longevity, but maintenance is the killer. If you get 23 mpg overall for 55k at 3.98 per gallon National average it is 9.5k in fuel. Maintenance is tires at 1.5k, oil at 1k, brakes at 1k, and supply parts for your items at 500. That 4k yearly with 9.k in fuel and we are not counting the auto insurance mileage surcharge if your honest. Most people think fuel but it is the other items that get you.

Don’t worry about the mileage. Think maintenance.

 

[fordtruckman2003]

Above post nails it. Truck won't have any issues running 100 miles everyday but you'll be running into expenses with maintenance.

 

[PPK]

The longest commute i ever did - and that lasted two years was Hagerstown to DC.. which was mostly trains and buses. 65 miles. It is not just your truck that will be wearing out. It is going to be a real grind - especially in the longer nights of winter. good heavens.. you will know what i mean after the first month. hang in there.

 

[JExpedition07]

My company asked me to run a job that had a 100 mile commute each way. Told me I was using my personal truck and would not get any mileage or depreciation, and the drive time was unpaid. I’ve never turned down a jobsite so fast. I made it very clear my truck is not company property nor a company tool. It’s mine. They can buy me a truck to make that commute. Wasn’t wearing my brand new truck out in 3 years for no money.

Something about getting up 2 hours earlier and wearing out my truck so fast/ not being home till bed time made that call super easy . Basically would have made my days 4 hours longer for no additional pay. Idk why boomers think you owe that to your employer, some of the old guys were very angry I turned it down, but everyone under 60 years old didn’t blame me. I don’t get what goes through old guys heads most days, it’s like they like being taken advantage of. You don’t owe that to anyone .

 

[Davexxxx]

My company asked me to run a job that had a 100 mile commute each way. Told me I was using my personal truck and would not get any mileage or depreciation, and the drive time was unpaid. I’ve never turned down a jobsite so fast. I made it very clear my truck is not company property nor a company tool. It’s mine. They can buy me a truck to make that commute. Wasn’t wearing my brand new truck out in 3 years for no money.

Something about getting up 2 hours earlier and wearing out my truck so fast/ not being home till bed time made that call super easy . Basically would have made my days 4 hours longer for no additional pay. Idk why boomers think you owe that to your employer, some of the old guys were very angry I turned it down, but everyone under 60 years old didn’t blame me. I don’t get what goes through old guys heads most days, it’s like they like being taken advantage of. You don’t owe that to anyone .

Well, I'm now an "old guy" but boy do I hear ya.

I was used to an hr. (each way) commute (and kinda liked it) but I was offered a "promotion", that would have increased it to 2.

The offered pay raise didn't near cover it, so I counter offered. They were flabbergasted and refused negotiations. Apparently, no one had ever refused a "promotion" before. I put it to them simply as, "Why would this be a good decision for Davexxxx Inc.?" That pissed them off. Accusations of not being a team player followed. It would have been funny, if not so serious. They wanted a drone and couldn't stand the thought of not being able to force someone, who could think for themselves.

I was offered it several more times, with the same result. After a while, the result was as if foretold and they started using me to fill the quota on the job search, never intending to actually offer me the job.

The odd part of it, was this was all middle manager types. The actual Director and I spoke of it and he chuckled about it and encouraged me to hold my ground.

Anyway, he retired and the place got unbearable, filling with yes men. I left and went on my own. One of the better moves of my life.

 

[MJG44]

I put on average 35k miles to 45k miles a year on my truck. I've always flipped the truck while it retained some form of equity prior to factory warranty expiring.

This time, due to the auto market, I'm keeping my truck. I'm at 35k after a year of use. Maintenance, maintenance and maintenance. Frequent quality oil changes, I have so many wheel sets I swap so tires are not a concern, keep it clean both interior and exterior, yearly oil rust spray, and follow usual scheduled (or more frequent) maintenance intervals on other fluids. I'm soon due for brakes and possibly rotors, I am sure.

I know this is a 3.5 thread, but one of my reasons for going 5.0 this time was the longevity factor.

 

[Calson]

What is hardest on engines and trucks is lot of short trips where the engine has to heat up and lubricate the bearings, etc. and not long drives.

Most of my working life I made commutes of more than 60 miles in each direction and it did not impact the reliability of the vehicles in the slightest. I had to do the required servicing much more often and that is expensive.

In the 1960's a car with 100,000 miles on the original engine was a big deal. Then lead was not longer allowed in gasoline and wear on the engine components was reduced by more than 50% overnight. Over the past 40 years the materials used and the lubricants formulated have improved greatly. There is a club of Toyota truck owners and to get accepted you need to have more than 300,000 miles on the original engine.

A truck though is not a good choice, other than maybe the new Maverick pickup, for a commuter vehicle. Better to buy a used Honda Fit or Toyota Prius that cost less for gas and less for new tires and less for DMV fees and for insurance.

 

[Buyer2021]

Starting to do a 100 mile each way commute to work. Worried about longevity. Thoughts?

Yeah, concern about effects on your own longevity is warranted, IMO. Not joking.

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