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Terrible ride quality on lariat with max tow

F-150 Prius

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I have a '21 Platinum PowerBoost 6.5' bed with max tow and FX4. I'd say the ride quality is very good, though cornering is a bit rubbery (no doubt due to FX-4 designed to have compliance and allow body roll.)
I was concerned about combining max tow and FX-4 – I was (incredibly!) lucky to get a quick demo drive in a Lariat with max tow and fx-4 and it rode well across some pretty terrible potholed city roads.
I do notice the vibration in the accelerator pedal – that seems like a poor design.
Steering is very good by any standards. Some transmission gear shifts are harsh – this is a "known" problem and there are software updates, which I've not done yet.
I mostly travel on the freeway with hundreds of pounds of gear and people, and the freeway ride is excellent. The seats could be better for long distances. I've done 1000 miles in a day, two days in a row and could walk when I got there (not possible after a much shorter haul in a 2015 Super Duty … : )
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Daily22ssv

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I’ve also talked to a handful of others with similar issues. I took my 150 to the dealer this weekend and test drove another max tow while I was waiting for them to diagnose mine. No vibration/rough ride on the one I test drove. Of course they came back and said mine was “within spec”… I’m going to trade it for a super duty.
Yep! Dealer keep doing the same with mine. I was going to get a super duty but ended up with Raptor. It's been great so far! Ended up getting more money than I paid for it on trade in. I'm very happy it's gone!
 

Mike D

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wow, didn't realize it was a problem, sorry to hear some folks had issues. Mine is an XLT max tow FX4 and rides great. I wonder what the difference is?
 

Stubblejumper

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My truck almost shook my teeth out on a rough road. I checked the air pressure the next morning and found 45psi in the tires. I dropped the pressure to 36psi, and it feels like a different truck.
 

daemonic3

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I think everyone's threshold and opinion on what is smooth versus rough is very hard to calibrate across a message board. Personally, I feel like mine is super smooth (KR FX4 Powerboost maxtow) which doesn't help the original poster at all because he has no idea of my thresholds.

My suggestion is that to see if its the truck or just the sensitivity of the driver/passenger, test drive a similar truck from a dealer to see if the roughness tracks with driver or with the truck.
 

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daemonic3

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My truck almost shook my teeth out on a rough road. I checked the air pressure the next morning and found 45psi in the tires. I dropped the pressure to 36psi, and it feels like a different truck.
You know what... you may have hit the nail on the head. When I got mine from the dealer the PSI's were 45-46. When I noticed that I bled them out to 38. I figured it was probably freezing in Feb in dearborn and that was probably why.
 

Stubblejumper

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You know what... you may have hit the nail on the head. When I got mine from the dealer the PSI's were 45-46. When I noticed that I bled them out to 38. I figured it was probably freezing in Feb in dearborn and that was probably why.
Air temperature may make a 4-5 psi difference at most, not 10psi difference. And the dealer should have adjusted the pressure, for the local normal temperature, before delivering the vehicle.
 

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I traded my 2020 F250 for this 2021 F150 with the goal of easier parking in the city and a smoother ride… couldn’t be more disappointed. My F150 rides super rough, gas peddle vibrates and the steering wheel feels loose. I added the fox 2.0 leveling kit and new tires hoping that would fix the issue and it did not. Is this normal? Any suggestions on what could be causing these issues?
Sounds like you got something wrong with you truck, Mine is the smoothest truck I have ever driven. I have not of the issues you are describing, Did you not test drive before your purchased?
 

Tizzzo

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i test drove the 2021 f150 fx4 and passed on it due to how different a truck rides over a suv/car (this is my first truck). though i wanted it bad enough such that i ordered a 2021 f150 without fx4 and WITH CCD in hopes that this would remove the ridiculous float after hitting a bump. i don't think this is going to help all that much, but i have hopes...
Just upgrade the shocks, I bought a set of Bilstein 5100 off of stage3motorsports for $389 for the whole set front and rear and I'm happy with the ride quality now. Its firmer than stock and eliminated the floaty feeling.
 

Dadofjax

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I’ve also talked to a handful of others with similar issues. I took my 150 to the dealer this weekend and test drove another max tow while I was waiting for them to diagnose mine. No vibration/rough ride on the one I test drove. Of course they came back and said mine was “within spec”… I’m going to trade it for a super duty.
My original dealer didn't even measure the vibration just said computer says its fine. I had to open a case with Ford for a different issue.

When my front camera shows up towards the end of August the new dealer I'm working with will look into the vibration issue also.

I have an f150 Lariat 3.5 eco with tow package.

Here is my vibration no way this is normal.

 

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Millb67

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My original dealer didn't even measure the vibration just said computer says its fine. I had to open a case with Ford for a different issue.

When my front camera shows up towards the end of August the new dealer I'm working with will look into the vibration issue also.

I have an f150 Lariat 3.5 eco with tow package.

Here is my vibration no way this is normal.

My truck does the same thing!! Sometimes it vibrates like crazy in idle. Other times is fine.
 

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psambrose

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Definitely check the air pressure in your tires. My truck came from the factory with 45 psi in all four tires. After releasing 10 psi, the truck rides nearly as smooth as the Navigator I traded in.
 

Dadofjax

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My truck does the same thing!! Sometimes it vibrates like crazy in idle. Other times is fine.
Have you had it in to be looked at? Mine is going in next Thursday I don't want to wait until end of August incase its something that will damage my truck if I keep driving it. So its been sitting in my garage for a couple weeks now only driving it when I have to.
 

Mortonsk9s

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I traded my 2020 F250 for this 2021 F150 with the goal of easier parking in the city and a smoother ride… couldn’t be more disappointed. My F150 rides super rough, gas peddle vibrates and the steering wheel feels loose. I added the fox 2.0 leveling kit and new tires hoping that would fix the issue and it did not. Is this normal? Any suggestions on what could be causing these issues?
My 21 xlt 302a fx4 max tow rides a lot worse then my 18 f150 fx4 same configuration same rim size. I am disappointed as well. It floats front to back like a boat and when it hits bumps to only one tire it bounces like crazy.
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