Why I sold my 2021 F-150 Limited Powerboost

[Slade]

I don't have the power boost but I would agree that the down shifting is rough.

Prior to my 2021 f150 I had a 2021 trailboss with the 10 speed transmission and the 5.3. I barely ever noticed the down shift. That being said, the f150 has far more initial acceleration, at least in my opinion. The trailboss was a dog from a standstill.

Also, my trailboss was held back when going downhill without pressing the accelerator, the transmission really held the truck back. That's not the case with my f150, the transmission will just push the engine, or I guess let the wheels push/move the engine and my rpms will increase accordingly. Without applying the accelerator I'm at or over 2000 rpms. It's kinda wild when coming from the trailboss.

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[Azizo]

A lot of people take some time getting used to driving hybrids and EVs. I was always a bit put off by a newer Civic I used to drive every once in a while that would freewheel instead of engine braking below a certain speed and every time, it felt like the brakes gave out.

One thing that I always need to remind myself and others test driving a new car is that their old cars would feel just as good as the old car if they rebuilt the suspension, something that isn't too expensive if you can do the work yourself and even if you pay a shop to do the work relatively cheap compared with buying a new car or getting into an accident because your shocks are bad and it takes 20 extra feet to stop your car.

I'm not that impressed with the technology Ford is putting in their trucks, the adaptive cruise is not smooth at all compared with the similar system that Acura has which is super smooth and nearly the same as if I were manipulating the throttle. My truck brakes too hard for vehicles slowing down and wants to maintain the set distance too rigidly, the lane centering is impressive but you have to yank the wheel over to one side or else the put hands on wheel warning constantly sounds and I am not comfortable with actively steering away from my desired path to keep the lane centering centered in the lane.

Just today my center screen went blank, pretty much making all the extra options unusable. I think that if I were to order a truck all over again, I would get the base XL or an F250 with the 6.2.

Hopefully you will enjoy your next vehicle more, good luck and thanks for sharing your experience!

Thank you for your kind words.

And to echo your thoughts, yes the new technology is great compared to last gen's, but the technology still needs to be improved drastically! I feel like a lot of the things about this truck were released without proper and rigorous testing

 

[Azizo]

Thanks for sharing. What seems crazy to me is the number of people experiencing the clunky transmission but also the number of people who say they don't have issues. I'm wondering if every truck is clunky but some people don't see it as clunky, but I find that hard to believe as those who describe it say it's very noticeable and detracts from the driving experience. How can there be such a mix of trucks with and without the problem? There also seems to be a significant number of people who had the clunk but then their dealer was able to remap it. To counter that there seems to be a number of people who took theirs in to be looked at and the dealer was not able to make a difference. Really weird how it's all revealing itself.

It really is weird. I guess it is based on individual "thresholds" of how good to great driving experience should be

 

[TheGoatman]

The shifts in my powerboost have been great and in line with what I would expect. I just passed 13,000 miles.

The 1-3 is a bit rougher than the 1-2 but let’s think about this, it now doesn’t need to make an extra shift.
I have a manual camaro, it forces a 1-4 shift in some instances, that will always be rougher than a 1-2. That’s just the way skip shifts are..

also they lock up the converter a lot, this is a positive in my eyes. This makes trans tuning much more challenging. When the converter is unlocked it masks a lot of clunking and such but gives a sloppier driving experience.
Locking the converter trade offs better mpg, lower trans fluid temps, and direct driveline feel.
Also when there has been an update it feels like the adapts have cleared and takes a few shifts in the beginning of that drive to resettle then is good for a few weeks.
If your truck is not right I would go to the dealer, adapt reset is a good idea, a fluid swap might also be worth while. Good luck

 

[ldsavow]

1- The powerboost engine/transmission. Oh my gad has it become extremely clunky.

2- The brakes! t is extremely grabby

What a completely different experience I have had over the last 10,000 miles in my Platinum Powerboost.

So HAPPY to say I have NOT been experiencing those problems.
My truck is just insanely SMOOTH in shifts and braking.
Not a clue why it is so different from yours.

The one thing I will agree 100% on is that the BATTERY IS TOO SMALL.

I would VERY GLADLY PAY for a LARGER, say 3.5-5.0kW battery UPGRADE.

If someone in the aftermarket arena offers this at some point down the road I will absolutely buy it.

 

[Unleaded]

my 21 powerboost shifts way better than my 18 5.0 10 speed.

i don't have harsh downshifts at all on the powerboost and the 1-3 shift is miles better on the new one. the 18's 10 speed felt like there was a stall converter when cold and i dreaded that first 1-3 shift

 

[Unleaded]

What a completely different experience I have had over the last 10,000 miles in my Platinum Powerboost.

So HAPPY to say I have NOT been experiencing those problems.
My truck is just insanely SMOOTH in shifts and braking.
Not a clue why it is so different from yours.

The one thing I will agree 100% on is that the BATTERY IS TOO SMALL.

I would VERY GLADLY PAY for a LARGER, say 3.5-5.0kW battery UPGRADE.

If someone in the aftermarket arena offers this at some point down the road I will absolutely buy it.

absolutely

 

[Wilsons66605]

I had the rough shifts between 1 and 3. Skipping 2nd. I told the service dept at ford while getting oil changed. They flashed it and set the transmission to learn. It has been way smoother since. So it’s a programing thing and not mechanical.

Same experience here with tranny. I thought….

I am still concerned about the truck getting confused and decides to go nowhere. It’s like the clutch is engaged.
I got it going (in heavy traffic)after I tried switching drive modes.
I may trade for a new raptor

 

[OleCuss]

My PowerBoost was purchased in early August. No problems with rough shifting at all.

It may be that since mine is a quite recent build that it has better software or maybe there's been a mechanical change. But I'm having no trouble at all with rough shifting.

And sure, I'd like a bigger battery. The thing is, I doubt there is room for the bigger battery with the current design. But maybe some day they'll have a battery with better energy density and we may be able to upgrade at that time?

 

[Cleanerguy]

I own a 2021 f150 with the 5.0 and the engine is great but the transmission is garbage. Sometimes when it downshifts it makes a loud clunk. Other times when upshifting it’s all over the place. Mine has very glitchy electronics. I get intermittent front camera failure and some strange fault light. But the computer never records the error and it goes away when you restart the truck. All in all it’s a nice truck but definitely seems rushed. When I bought it the tailgate was on crooked, the rear view mirror was loose, the sunroof expanding according thing was not attached on one side. The rear seat was not connected. Just a bunch of little things.

 

[Snakebitten]

I'm old, but I have really enjoyed learning ALL the different options that I have at my discretion as the pilot of the truck.

I quickly realized that Ford provided me with multiple modes/strategies and that each mode has its own personality.

If the general clumsiness of the 1-3 shift in "Normal" mode either starts to irritate me, or just isn't my preference for the traffic situation that I am currently in, I punch up a mode that "fits" my preference.

Basically I like the so called "Sport" mode, although I find it a ridiculous label since it just happens to be the mode that the truck is most "Normal", for when I am in the mood or situation where the 1-3 clumsiness might be irritating. If my trip calls for sustained speeds and with considerable "cruising", I switch to "Normal" or "Eco" because the truck will seldom or ever be confronted with the 1-3/EV clumsy decision.

I realize some folks just want to get in and hit start and drive the truck in default. And obviously you can. But to do so is to accept someone else's decision of how the truck is going to behave. With all the various modes available, how can what Ford decided to set as default be the correct choice for everyone? Vanilla is a good flavor for ice-cream, but not everyone's favorite.

 

[succeed23]

I noticed the transmission shifting issues recently. It felt as if I was driving a stick instead of an automatic. I'm at 2k miles, and have experienced where the truck jumps forward, then stops, the shoots forward again; this has happened twice so far.

 

[precab]

I don’t normally say this, but Ford really needs to call up GM and talk to them about how to program the 10 speed. The 6.2 Sierra I drove had buttery shifts, it was very out of the way. Did what I expected and didn’t really have to pay any attention. Auto reviewers have pointed this out too

Might think again about anything GM, no way would I buy a GM these days.
https://www.motorbiscuit.com/the-chevy-silverado-struggles-with-transmission-problems/
These are 2021 model pick up tranny issues and I know 2 people with brand new ones having these issues. It is not a small problem.

 

[bpost]

After thinking long and hard about my Limited 2021 Star White, having only had it for 3 months, I decided to sell it for the following reasons. I had a `lariat sport package 2015 5.0 V8 prior to this and it lasted me almost 6 years without having me despise one thing about it.

First of, let me start with the positive side of this thread and mention the great things about the car:

1- Technology is absolutely insane on these trucks. I mean the screen all the way to the active lane keeping assist to a lot of things were just amazing and really served their purpose beautifully.

2- Engine power is so great for a half ton truck. This thing is a bullet to the point where I feel very confident overtaking people and actually challenging some on traffic lights.

3- Beauty and elegance of the Start white limited was just amazing. I really loved the looks of this truck, especially the wheels on the Limited trim.

4- Interior in general was very well refined, especially for the limited trim. The contrasting blue and whiteish interior was no issue to me whatsover and i loved it, but of course having lived with it, I prefer black. That is just my preference


Now for the negative things that lead me to sell the car and drove me insane:

1- The powerboost engine/transmission. Oh my gad has it become extremely clunky. Actually unbearable and drove me insane! Especially accelerating from 0 mph. The very hard shift from 1st to 3rd gear was brutal. 6th to 7th as well. And do not get me started in the downshifting. Driving it just felt really annoying, irrespective of how it looks or how amazing and handy the interior is designed to be.
To add, the lag of power running through the vehicle upon acceleration due to the boost was very slow. It really takes a little while before it gets up. The battery is very small to keep the car going for a little longer so when you are just cruising on low speeds, the engine comes back on the wrong gear! That causes it to downshift for more power.

2- The brakes! I really pride myself in being the best driver in the family. I can adopt a very relaxing drive and a crazy one if need be. I just found it really hard to drive this car with confidence due to its really annoying braking system (regenerating power). It is extremely grabby and I would best describe it as normal brakes tend to be gradual as 1-2-3-4-5-6 if the pedal is well hit. The powerboost brakes are 1-5-10. they are not gradual and very risky in my opinion.

That is my rant. The previous two reasons are what drove me to sell it. A car is measured by how well it drives in my opinion, with technology, interior quality and comfort and other things being slightly secondary to the drive.

Hope this article helps set buyer's expectations!

I have a 2021 3.7 Limited as well and the transmission is driving me nuts! When in two wheel drive modes turning right from a stop the transmission will sometimes not engage from 2nd to 3rd gear. The RPM's can get up to 4,000 with no forward propulsion whatsoever. It is very dangerous to be honest.

Someone please tell me this isn't normal.

 

[PWRGEN]

After thinking long and hard about my Limited 2021 Star White, having only had it for 3 months, I decided to sell it for the following reasons. I had a `lariat sport package 2015 5.0 V8 prior to this and it lasted me almost 6 years without having me despise one thing about it.

First of, let me start with the positive side of this thread and mention the great things about the car:

1- Technology is absolutely insane on these trucks. I mean the screen all the way to the active lane keeping assist to a lot of things were just amazing and really served their purpose beautifully.

2- Engine power is so great for a half ton truck. This thing is a bullet to the point where I feel very confident overtaking people and actually challenging some on traffic lights.

3- Beauty and elegance of the Start white limited was just amazing. I really loved the looks of this truck, especially the wheels on the Limited trim.

4- Interior in general was very well refined, especially for the limited trim. The contrasting blue and whiteish interior was no issue to me whatsover and i loved it, but of course having lived with it, I prefer black. That is just my preference


Now for the negative things that lead me to sell the car and drove me insane:

1- The powerboost engine/transmission. Oh my gad has it become extremely clunky. Actually unbearable and drove me insane! Especially accelerating from 0 mph. The very hard shift from 1st to 3rd gear was brutal. 6th to 7th as well. And do not get me started in the downshifting. Driving it just felt really annoying, irrespective of how it looks or how amazing and handy the interior is designed to be.
To add, the lag of power running through the vehicle upon acceleration due to the boost was very slow. It really takes a little while before it gets up. The battery is very small to keep the car going for a little longer so when you are just cruising on low speeds, the engine comes back on the wrong gear! That causes it to downshift for more power.

2- The brakes! I really pride myself in being the best driver in the family. I can adopt a very relaxing drive and a crazy one if need be. I just found it really hard to drive this car with confidence due to its really annoying braking system (regenerating power). It is extremely grabby and I would best describe it as normal brakes tend to be gradual as 1-2-3-4-5-6 if the pedal is well hit. The powerboost brakes are 1-5-10. they are not gradual and very risky in my opinion.

That is my rant. The previous two reasons are what drove me to sell it. A car is measured by how well it drives in my opinion, with technology, interior quality and comfort and other things being slightly secondary to the drive.

Hope this article helps set buyer's expectations!

Sorry to hear your negative experience with the Hybrid power boost shifting. I guess I don't drive my truck as hard as I would when in my Mustang. Anyways, I haven't had the hard clunks experience in the shifting. I have heard this from Consumer Reports too and expected it to occur in a complicated drivetrain with 10 speed but its been relatively smooth sailing for me. In fact the shifts have been smooth between electric mode and gas engagement. Of course I'm trying to drive as much as possible in Electric mode in the neighborhood and coasting down hills so I'm not pushing the gas pedal hard, so I guess some of it comes down to driver behavior maybe.

Anyways, I'm curious to see how many electric miles other people are getting as a percentage of total their odometer miles. In mixed driving my XLT with 7.2kw Gen, Off Road and Max Towing Pkg's has total miles of 6,500 which includes mostly highway miles of over 5,400 miles at 70-85mph and includes 1,500 miles towing a 2,600 lb camper trailer. I'm averaging 19.8 miles per gallon and what's really cool is electric mode miles total 830 miles or 12.9% of my overall miles. That roughly translates into about 37 gallons of gas saved.

I just checked to see if their were any outstanding recalls on my vehicle and thankfully I have dodged that bullet too, not having one recall yet since purchase in March 15th, 2021 - Must have been made on a Wednesday, LOL. Hope others are having as good an experience with their hybrid power boost as I have been and hope to hear more positive stories on this site going forward. Good Luck!

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