Greetings guys,
I have been lurking the forum for the last several months ever since I bought my 2008 F150. I bought it used from a dealership and have had it at their shop no less than seven times since I bought it in March, all for the same things.

The first thing I noticed shortly after buying the truck was that after the truck warmed up it would idle rough. My chief complaint by far, I took the truck in to be looked at and this is when all the real fun began. Similarly I had intermittent power steering that I asked to have looked at.

I was told the fuel filter was completely clogged. They cleaned it and assured me all was well. They also bled the power steering system because apparently someone had changed the PS pump and not bled the system afterwards. I got into the truck to leave and it was idling no better than when I dropped it off. I complained again and was told that "this is just how this truck idles" and called BS. They offered to have the throttle body cleaned for me the next day to alleviate any remnants of rough idle.

Had the throttle body cleaned the next day and took the truck home. After about an hour or two I was still thoroughly dissatisfied with the idle and called back to complain. I forgot to mention that I bought my truck from a Chevrolet dealer who had just taken it in on trade about three days before I bought it. Because I complained they offered to send the truck to a Ford dealership for further diagnosis.

The Ford dealership found fouled plugs, a cracked intake manifold and the water pump and fan clutch both had excessive play. They said those would create a rocking sensation which could be misinterpreted as a rough idle. Over $2500 the Chevy dealership paid them and I was called to come pick up the truck.

I didn't even make it out of the parking lot because the truck was whining something fierce. I couldn't believe no one QC'd the vehicle and complained again. Next morning I am called and they said that the Ford dealership had put the intake manifold gasket in wrong and it had been corrected and I could come pick up the truck.

I go pick up the truck and note that not only is the idle still not right, but now the truck is making a hissing/squealing noise when the truck hits 1800/1900 RPM's. Its strange because its not really RPM specific as it is specific to the pedal position. Accelerating or decelerating causes it to go away but its there nonetheless. Whats worse is that in highway driving at 65 MPH, the pedal is in just the wrong position and it hisses constantly. This sound never goes away...and once its been heard its impossible to unhear.

I complain again and they send the truck back to the Ford dealership. At this point I'm dealing directly with the Director of Service because mine has become a high priority case. The Service Director drives with me, confirms my problem and takes the truck himself to Ford. He drives with their shop foreman and they too confirm the problem.

A week goes by and Ford tells him its wind noise. This is complete bullarky because it happens whether I'm going 20 or 65. He calls them on it and they keep the truck another couple days. They call back and say the truck has nothing mechanically wrong with it and that they are done. Service Director goes and picks up the truck and takes it to a second Ford dealership.

Three days go by and they call and claim Eureka! We've found the problem! Clogged catalytic converter causing air flow restrictions. They replace two converters and I go to pick up the truck. It runs like garbage. Further the sound is still there. Call Chevy, leave the truck and take their loaner back home. Next morning Ford's Foreman calls and basically tells me that there's nothing else wrong with my truck and that he even reprogrammed the PCM (which is why it runs to bad all the time now I guess) to get rid of the idle problems.

Long story short here's everything thats been done:

- Cleaned a clogged fuel filter
- Replaced fouled plugs
- Replaced the intake manifold and gaskets
- Replaced the fan belt
- Replaced the fan clutch
- Replaced the water pump
- Replaced two catalytic converters
- Cleaned the throttle body
- Bled the PS system
- Reprogrammed the PCM and transmission control module

After all of this I still have a hissing sound when I accelerate (video 1: video 2: )

It seems the truck runs worse once its warmed up and even worse once the AC is turned on. I'm sure he programmed the PCM wrong and thats what is causing the truck to run rough.

I'm at a loss here. I can only hope you guys can help me.

 

One more quick thing - that hissing noise is heard clearly inside the cabin but far more clearly outside the truck. Its coming from under the hood. I was told that they checked and re-checked for vacuum leaks and even tried replacing the Throttle Body to no avail.

 

?? I must be deaf, because I don't hear any hissing sound.

 

No you aren't deaf - the phone caught a lot of ambient noise while I was driving and drowned out the clarity of the hiss.

You have to tune into it kind of...its high pitched. If you listen to the videos you'll note that at times there is no high pitched hiss and others there is. I wish I had a GoPro or something to strap under the hood while I drove to really get a better audio grab but unfortunately I don't.

 

Looks like i'm not the only one who's experienced this hissing problem:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/6...le-change.html

 

And another:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...from-f150.html

 

So I wanted to drop in and give an update for anyone else who might be having this same problem (as there seem to be a lot of people).

The dealership doing the work (Ford) decided that this sound my truck was making was just a characteristic of the vehicle. They couldn't find anything mechanically wrong with the truck and decided to stop troubleshooting.

The dealer I bought the vehicle from refunded me the entirety of the sales price and I bought a Chevy.

If you have this problem with your Ford good luck because apparently its a known problem and Ford does not have any answers for it. Even their tech support line told the technicians that its considered normal (despite the fact that they can't produce any other vehicles that do this).

Good luck if you get stuck with this issue...may the force be with you.

 

I'm still scratching my head at the idea of someone cleaning a fuel filter.....

Sent from my XT1080 using IB AutoGroup

 

Wow that sucks you had bad luck with the truck. I couldn't really hear a hiss in the videos but I have fixed a lot of rough idles with Motorcraft injector cleaner. Old dealer techs call it a urine sample because it used to come in a clear bottle and is yellow. It's a lot stronger than the stuff you put in the tank. You mix it with a quart of gas and the engine runs only on the cleaner through a canister attached to the fuel rail. Hopefully you will have better luck with the Chebby.

 

'Rough Idle and Hissing Noise'

Snake in the throttle body?

 

comment of the day

 

Especially since some members here recommend changing out all the spark plugs and coils even if its a problem like tires out of balance ,...

 

At least the dealer did the right thing and took it back. Hopefully you don't get swept up in the flood of GM recalls now. Somebody is going to get a lot of new parts when they know about "the F150 hiss" and scoop that truck up!