F150 ecoboost

Looking to move back to a half ton truck. I have a company truck so I am looking to buy a used truck, as it will only be used to pull the boat and do some hunting on the weekends. Anyways, I have ran across several used f150s with the ecoboost with right around 90-115k miles on them for attractive prices. Everybody I know with an ecoboost says they are great, but they all trade them right around 100K miles. Do any of you guys have any testimonials for the 2nd hundred thousand miles of this motor? I dont want to buy one if I am going to have to do expensive maintenance on it to keep it going. I just as well keep my 3/4 ton of that’s the case. I would not be worried about the 5.0, but there is a eco that is set up just like I would order it if I was buying new. Thanks in advance.

What years are you looking at? 3.5 or 2.7? What do you tow? I had a 2013 that I loved but if your thinking of going that route to save on MPG just be aware you get eco or boost, not both. No matter what I was towing I would get 7-11 mpg, my mpg dropped down pretty fast over 70mph as well. Maintenance is key with any vehicle, so if its up kept I wouldn’t be afraid of the mileage.

Just rolled over 175,000 on my 2012. Like you, I drive a company vehicle and mine only gets used for towing/hunting/fishing. Timing chain replaced at 150,000. I think they fixed the timing chain issue around 2014?? I get around 10-12 MPG towing and 17 empty. I honestly think these motors run longer when they are worked hard. I’d buy another in a heartbeat.

10 to 12 towing? That’s terrible. How much not towing. Might as well go with a big v 8. I thought the eco was much more sufficient then that. The ram gets 24 ish cruising and 18 towing my boat. That was before I put a tuner in it

Good friend has a 13 eco with around 150,000 on it. His chains were replaced around 115,000 for the tune of quite a few thousand and a first born child. Worked great before and even better after. They pull really well and his gets 1-2mpg better than my 5.0. Granted, my 5.0 has 3.73 gears and 33″ E-range tires…

What’s the point of going with a small motor solely relied on a turbo, over going with the coyote and getting the 5.0? I’m asking on a serious note. The wife will soon be looking for a new truck and she loves the look of the Ford. And I’d prefer to buy a few years old one. But I dont get the eco boost over a v8. That’s why I bought the ram.

I have a 2015 3.5 eco and I get around 21 give or take combined hwy/city. I get around 23 hwy if I get up to around 73 mph. It gets 21 doing 63…don’t understand that one I guess.
I only have about 35k miles on it and have averaged 20 overall. Winter and city driving pulls the average down which is to be expected.
I have no problem towing boat or trailer and the thing doesn’t even downshift going up steep hills. I can pass someone doing 55 like I’m shot out of a rocket. Towing really hasn’t affected the mpg. It’s like it’s not even back there.
Can’t speak for the over 100k miles performance.

Buddy lost his chains well under 100K. Fixed for just over $5k (ouch) then traded it back to Ford. FOR ANOTHER ECO?!?!?!?! I just drove his new 3.5 with 10-speed tranny and it hauls ass like his previous one did.
I read about this question a lot. People love that engine but I would say the majority (maybe not by much) recommend the 5.0 coyote.

Bearcat89 wrote:

What’s the point of going with a small motor solely relied on a turbo, over going with the coyote and getting the 5.0? I’m asking on a serious note. The wife will soon be looking for a new truck and she loves the look of the Ford. And I’d prefer to buy a few years old one. But I dont get the eco boost over a v8. That’s why I bought the ram.

Torque. That’s about it. It’s considerably more and is obvious when towing.

There’s nothing wrong with the 5.0. It is quite the motor itself.

The ecoboost are more fun to drive too.

I’ve got 76k on my 2015 3.5. No issues. Tows like a beast.

You might want to consider purchasing it conditional on an oil sample. Blackstone Labs can analyze the oil and can tell if there is anything significantly wrong with the engine based on the sample.

Although this isn’t conclusive, it could potentially point out a major problem before it happens. Oil samples are much more valuable when they are performed st every OCI. The most important factor is comparing one sample to the previous to see if any contaminants are increasing.

This is something I am going to do next time I purchase a used vehicle.

I tow a 177BT warrior boat, a 2 place snowmobile trailer, and a 6×12 enclosed trailer full of goose decoys. The decoy trailer I plan on upgrading to a 7×16 this summer as well. So nothing too serious. I am lucky to put 8k miles on a year, but the majority of it will have something in tow. Also, I am not opposed to the 5.0, but my local dealer (small town) has mainly all ecoboosts… says he sells them 10-1 over the 5.0 and has for the last 6 or 7 years. I like the idea buying a truck that I know who the previous owner is and can call them. The 2 5.0 trucks he has had in the last few months have been pretty beat up, and one was not cared for at all… one owner, had 87k on it. Dealer said they saw the truck the day it left new and the day he traded. Never in between. No saying the guy didn’t get the oil changed and other maintenance done elsewhere or do it himself, but is still concerned me.

. Dealer said they saw the truck the day it left new and the day he traded. Never in between. No saying the guy didn’t get the oil changed and other maintenance done elsewhere or do it himself, but is still concerned me. [/quote]

I wouldn’t find that as a concern. Personally I would never bring my truck to the dealer. Unless its warranty or a recall. Otherwise they are mainly a joke. Pay super high prices and the techs have the same degree as a regular shop. Besides the one master tech who wont be doing and regular work.

Bearcat89 wrote:

10 to 12 towing? That’s terrible. How much not towing. Might as well go with a big v 8. I thought the eco was much more sufficient then that. The ram gets 24 ish cruising and 18 towing my boat. That was before I put a tuner in it

I have a topper as well and I can get much better gas mileage if I take it easy on the truck but usually want to get to my destination quickly and drive it hard.

I don’t buy trucks for mileage. Just power.

Angler II wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Bearcat89 wrote:</div>
10 to 12 towing? That’s terrible. How much not towing. Might as well go with a big v 8. I thought the eco was much more sufficient then that. The ram gets 24 ish cruising and 18 towing my boat. That was before I put a tuner in it

I have a topper as well and I can get much better gas mileage if I take it easy on the truck but usually want to get to my destination quickly and drive it hard.

I don’t buy trucks for mileage. Just power.

I’m in the same boat. No topper but I have a lead foot. And use my truck as it should be used. I could care less about mpgs. I drive a company vehicle every day. So my truck is used on weekends and few evenings.

Before my current job, I worked for a pipeline-consulting outfit and for a period of time our vehicles were F-150’s with the 3.5, and personally I wasn’t a big fan in comparison to the 5.0. Even pulling relatively light loads (fourwheeler on a trailer and equipment in box) it seemed like a dog. I know in the next year or so I’ll be upgrading my 2005 F-150 with the 5.4 to something newer, and if I go Ford it will be a 5.0. Just my 2 cents.

jbg1219 wrote:

Dealer said they saw the truck the day it left new and the day he traded. Never in between. No saying the guy didn’t get the oil changed and other maintenance done elsewhere or do it himself, but is still concerned me.

My truck has been to the dealer twice…for the same issue both times (leaking coolant lines). After the second time, it happened again and I properly fixed it myself with new parts, not sealant. Been good ever since.

To be honest, I would rather have a truck that was NEVER maintained by the dealer…like bearcat says, 90% of dealer service departments are a joke…

I’m following this because I will likely buy my father in laws 2015 f150. I have noticed a few other threads talking about engine issues but didn’t pay close attention. I only tow about 200lbs though, and not very often. Love my ole ram, but I want that bigger backseat so bad.

I wouldn’t play roulette with 100k on the timing chain unless I stole it. Nice motor but not worth the risk.

The reason a lot of truck (and other vehicles) get rid of them around 100,000 miles is because the selling value drops significantly when that point is reached. Personally I get rid of my vehicles at that point because that’s when the extended warranty runs out.

The numbers don’t lie, more torgue equals better towing. And I like that when I pass someone it happens fast. Allot faster than my older 5.4, I’ve got a 2016 3.5 and would buy another in a heartbeat. No problems what so ever.

Talk to Kelly J. He says his GMC is twice the truck his Eco Boost was. Of course he didn’t trailer anything. Lots of good advice here to steer clear at what you are looking at.

tindall wrote:

I’m following this because I will likely buy my father in laws 2015 f150. I have noticed a few other threads talking about engine issues but didn’t pay close attention. I only tow about 200lbs though, and not very often. Love my ole ram, but I want that bigger backseat so bad.

The TSB’s I have read on the issue are for trucks built on or before 10-10-14. I own a 14’ and change oil every 5k at the recommendation of a friend of mine who is a Ford mechanic.

Well that settles that… after reading this and talking to a few others, I’m just going to keep what I have for now. There is no reason to spend 30 grand on a truck to sit outside and get drove less than 10k miles a year.

I found out it now takes 30 grand to buy something that’s not somebody else’s headache.

I was looking at new trucks this past summer and considered all major brands. Ended up going with a Ram 1500 with the hemi. When looking at the Ford’s we were discussing buying vs leasing. Every sales person at Ford said if you plan to keep the truck for over 100k, don’t get the ecoboost and go with the v8 because the maintenance costs of the ecoboost are ridiculous down the road. I really liked both engines in the Ford when we test drove, but after hearing that I would never buy an ecoboost. I probably would’ve ended up getting the Ford v8 too if the salesman wasn’t such a d-bag.

I have a 2.7 in a 2015, this motor was designed for the turbos, I get 26 on the hwy at 60 mph, I get 17-19 pulling a 20′ triton fully loaded with gear on the hwy. beating around town I get 18-19 during winter mos.
That being said, the first 3.5 weren’t designed for the turbos, the 2nd gen. 3.5 were, I think they made that change in 2017, myself if I was dead set on the 3.5 I would go with the 2nd gen, if possible.

I have a 2012 w/ a 5.0 and my fishing buddy has a 2013 with the eco. he gets about 1.5mpg more than i do until we are towing, then its about even. his eco pulls his boat fine. he has 70k miles on his i have 100k. personally, i prefer the 5.0.

I have the 5.0L V8 too. 2014 model. I get the same mileage no matter what I’m towing or how fast I’m driving. I don’t tow anything super heavy and my normal driving habits are a mixture of city and highway driving. Its pretty much 17 mpg all the time, towing or not. I think 2014 was the last year that Ford put the 5.0L V8’s into their trucks as the “standard” engine. Starting in 2015 the standard engine was a V6 because my neighbor has a 2016 and his came with the V6.

Beast wrote:

I have a 2.7 in a 2015, this motor was designed for the turbos, I get 26 on the hwy at 60 mph, I get 17-19 pulling a 20′ triton fully loaded with gear on the hwy. beating around town I get 18-19 during winter mos.
That being said, the first 3.5 weren’t designed for the turbos, the 2nd gen. 3.5 were, I think they made that change in 2017, myself if I was dead set on the 3.5 I would go with the 2nd gen, if possible.

Can you explain what changed in the design? Whats different about the 2nd gen motors that allow them to work better with the turbos?

The timing chains are a some what common issue with the 11-14’s. More so on the 11 and 12’s but the TSB goes until I believe May of 2015. That tells me they didn’t completely fix the issue until then. If the vehicle had the timing chain replaced I would ask when. If it was fixed prior to then, it may (or may not) need to be fixed again in the future.

Exhaust manifolds are prone to warping and leaking on them. The parts are cheap, but it is about 8 hours of labor.

Make sure you replace the plugs and boots every 30K miles or so and gap to .030.

They are a monster of a little motor. They tow awesome and get great gas mileage. I’ve had a few and am still running a 15.

These would just be some things to look at if you are looking at buying a higher mileage 3.5 ecoboost.

crappie55369 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>James Bystrom wrote:</div>
I have a 2.7 in a 2015, this motor was designed for the turbos, I get 26 on the hwy at 60 mph, I get 17-19 pulling a 20′ triton fully loaded with gear on the hwy. beating around town I get 18-19 during winter mos.
That being said, the first 3.5 weren’t designed for the turbos, the 2nd gen. 3.5 were, I think they made that change in 2017, myself if I was dead set on the 3.5 I would go with the 2nd gen, if possible.

Can you explain what changed in the design? Whats different about the 2nd gen motors that allow them to work better with the turbos?

They went from direct injection to port and direct injection. Doesn’t have much to do with being boosted, it has more to do with keeping the valves clean. A problem every direct injection motor will have.

jbg1219 wrote:

Well that settles that… after reading this and talking to a few others, I’m just going to keep what I have for now. There is no reason to spend 30 grand on a truck to sit outside and get drove less than 10k miles a year.
I found out it now takes 30 grand to buy something that’s not somebody else’s headache.

Isn’t that the truth!