I took the grill guard off before the last reflash took place. The MPG I mentioned in the fist post was without the grill guard...but I did weight it, and it's 82lbs. The topper weighs 212lbs. I couldn't even begin to guess what the lining weight is. I did the calculations on the tires, they weigh a total of 14lbs more than the factory tires.

So, if we're talking about weight causing the low MPG, it's about the same as hauling a wife and two kids....if a truck looses 4-5mpg because of that, especially one with the HP and torque the EB has, something is not right. This truck doesn't even get the rated city mpg on the highway!
While the mpg is a major concern, more so are all the electronics, stuttering, and tranny shifting issues. I took a short drive just a while ago, and at one point the 4-5 shift was soft a sloppy, and later it was just plain violent..with a loud clunk, that shook the whole truck.
We'll see what the dealer can do with it, and if the can't find/fix the issues, I'll have to figure out what route to take......like I said earlier, I would really like to be the the flag waving poster boy for the F150 Ecoboost, but as it is now, with the experience I've had, I certainly could not recommend this truck/engine to anyone.

 

Are you sure it's the EcoBoost? Sounds like either electrical or transmission issues to me...

 

In my mind it's no doubt electronics related which will be a tough fix anyway. It's a shame that the dealer do the paper trail correctly, now your stuck going through all this again.

That is one sweet lookin' rig Ed, I have to say that you made her picture perfect from the beginning. Lets all hope the dealer can make some sense of this and get you rolling with confidence.

 

How about the front air dam? Did you remove it?

 

Nope! I didn't mess with that. (the air dam) The only thing I "removed and replaced" were the factory tires. They were 275/65R18P, I changed to 275/70R18AT tires....simply because of living in Montana, and the condition here. Whoever had the nerve to call the factory tires "AT" should be shot! They were normal street tread pattern, with about 1/3 the tread depth of what is commonly seen.

 

IMO, there are trade-offs. Chances are you got a very large discount when buying the 2010 model. The 4.6 and the 5.4 in the 2010 are very reliable engines and as it turns out the folks that a honestly reporting their MPG's, there is very little difference. No doubt the Ecoboost has more torque and power but we really don't know about any reliability issues yet. IMO, its too early to tell but I happy that Ford is continuing to do the R & D in an effort to improve their product. I have the 2010 KR and am quite pleased. That said, I do not need the extra torque and power and was happy to take the 10K discount when I purchased the truck. The 5.4 in my truck is smooth and quiet; works for me.

 

You are correct. I any very satisfied with my '10 XLT Screw. Fuel mileage is right up there with the best of them and I should leave well enough along since I have had no issue with my truck. You know how we are though. We generally always want the latest and greatest. Especially with the new Ecoboost with an all aluminum engine and lots of power. I've got a feeling the EB will be setting a new trend in the truck market for years to come.

 

I've been keeping detailed notes of all the issues with this truck.....something that has me puzzled is the way the truck acted for a couple of days immediately after the "reflash". Prior to the reflash, the "Miles to E" on the dash had never read more than 357 miles after a fill up. The day I got it out of the shop AFTER the reflash, I went to top off the tank, and the "Miles to E" was at 411 when I filled it up. That was the same day that I got 19.2mpg on an 80 mile round trip (test run) on the interstate. Then things started dropping off, and the electronic "troubles" came up again. I filled the truck up yesterday, and the "Miles to E" only read 350 after the fill up, and I'm back to the same crappy mph (14-15 on the highway) that I got prior to the reflash.
Maybe I'm just starting to get a glimmer of understanding at how much the computers/electronics impacts these trucks.
I'm just waiting for the dealership to call and tell when to bring the truck in. If my guess is correct, they will have it for at least 2-3 weeks (their estimate). After thinking long and hard about it, my biggest concern is that they are going to tell me that they can't find anything wrong......if that happens, I might just say.. "OK, since you say there is nothing wrong with the truck, how much will you give me on it as a trade in?"

With all the problems and issues this truck has exhibited, I absolutely do not have the trust or confidence to take it on the longer trips I often take. Besides, at 14mpg on the highway, I can't afford to drive it on long trips anyway. I just hope they can find/fix the problems(s).

 

What model truck and engine do you have?

 

2011/F150/XLT/4x4/Ecoboost/3:73/18" wheels/tires

 

I suspect a serious sensor/computer issue. When they reflashed the computer, it would've reset all of the learned parameters - fuel trims, etc. Have you tried pulling the battery ground for about 15 minutes, let the computer go back into adaptive relearn, then see what happens with your gas mileage? If you can reproduce it with that procedure, I'd expect some sensor is causing significant overfueling thus the drop in MPG.

 

One thing I've heard from one of the service techs is that after a reflashed they are required to drive the truck to initalize the sytem which will start the learning process over.

 

Ed... I get 23 mpg every time I hit the highway. I reset it when I fill up and head out on a long highway trip. It gets 22 to 24 every single time! Something isn't right with your truck.

 

I can appreciate some truck owners situation sometimes. If something is engineered to work a certain way to my understanding I would expect it to work as designed. I think the key work in some instances is “to my understanding.” On the other-hand if it does not have anything to do with the drivability and is classified as more of a nuisance or inconvenience, my priority to get it corrected or my understanding why it’s not fixable can and in most cases will change.

There are tolerances in all manufacturing processes. To expect all of the systems to work to or even close to exacting precision is asking to much in some cases.

This is some information that may explain how and why some electronic/electrical system work and sometimes fail. http://www.ece.cmu.edu/~koopman/des_...ic_electrical/

 

If my truck would do that (and the electronics and tranny issues could get solved) I would be a Happy Camper! I have a friend staying with me for a couple of days....he lives 4 hours west.... he drives a 2001 Dodge with a 5.9L engine....when I asked him what kind of MPG he gets, he told me that he made the 4 hour drive averaging 80mph, and got 23mpg! And his truck has 179,000 miles, and has tranny problems!

There is no doubt in my mind that something is wrong....I just hope they can find/fix it! Otherwise I won't be owning this truck for long. They still haven't called for me to bring it into the dealership. I'll wait until Friday, and if they haven't called by then, I'll make another trip to the dealership, and ask if they were just blowing sunshine up my skirt!

Never thought about disconnecting the battery.....so far I've stripped off the grill guard, and the mud flaps.....no difference in MPG....the only thing left is the topper.