May eventually---in the next 2-3 years--start looking for a gently used Transit, cargo only version for work purposes. The cubic footage space along with taller roof options make one quite attractive, I'm just a bit too cheap to spring for a brand new just now.

I don't and would never tow anything so that isn't a concern however I do add about 2,300# of tool boxes, shelves, plywood floor, insulation and materials. That cargo weight fluctuates upward 200-300# maximum but only for a day or more at most.

Any standard features you wish you would have added if bought new, any that have proven a bit useless?

So those who've moved from an E-Series to the Transit----any real downsides to that change? Apart from minor glitches and such does the Transit fit the need, is it a real improvement in the areas we own vans for?

Love to hear any impressions or experiences---TIA.

 

16 and newer has standard back up cameras, which is nice. The mirrors are great. Other than towing, I don't think there is a single reason to want an econoline. Ford looked at both and said, lets make the better one everywhere. Haven't had a customer wish they stuck with their old van yet.

 

We've had a few glitches with ours that I chalk up to first model-ear issues. The no-start concern seems to have been cured with a reflash of the computer. Couple weeks ago it went in for weak A/C and the intermittent wipers not working. They evacuated and recharged the system and the air works well, but the rain sensor for the wipers is backordered.

Overall we are quite happy with it. The Transit seems to handle weight quite well. In this photo the wheelchair and carrier on the back are about 480 lbs, and there are three kids and one adult sitting just in front of the rear axle.



Don't have a weight ticket, but I think I have another ~1,400 lbs of available capacity on my rear axle when loaded up.

 

Thanks Frantz and Tom----good insight. I love Frantz's input---he's very dedicated to spreading the Transit gospel.

I've read a few first year glitches, one slightly troubling about a front unit body part incorrectly welded in place affecting or preventing a proper steering wheel alignment. There is or will be an acceptable fix so its not a deal breaker. I'm sure if this is true it was caught early on so shouldn't be too wide spread.

Body configuration and increases space especially head room and/or door opening dimensions are of huge interest to me for hauling my glass parts---those too are larger these days, trends toward even larger yet to come. I can make do with the E-Series but even a somewhat taller roof would be great.

Drive train reliability is a huge concern too---I'm thinking the current offerings have been in use in other Ford vehicles which is comforting. Feel free to correct me there if I'm in error.

 

I haven't seen the steering wheel alignment issue, so I can't speak to that. The only early issues I had was with water getting into the air cleaner. I posted about it here and eventually Ford did push a TSB and then a recall. Haven't seen it reoccur. I'm just a small sample, but I get to hear about concerns from any of my customers rather than just owning a single unit myself.

Motors all seem to be good. The ecoboost is an awesome choice, but I'd probably restrain myself and get the base motor. But I'm very utilitarian, the ecoboost is worth the money if you need to get on short on ramps or have steep hills when you're loaded down. Ecoboost is slightly detuned from the F150 version, so it should be even more reliable (by conventional thought of less stresses).

The only van I've had trouble with was in the transmission of a single unit. Around 10k it had an error and would slip a little (maybe 200 RPM swings). Techs followed Fords steps and seemed to get it right and van was good. I honestly can't remember what they ended up replacing. Customer still traded it in for an F250 at that point for 4x4. I sold it again as a CPO and the same condition came up after about 1200 miles. I traded him back for what he paid and sold him a brand new one for a net deal. That one has been great for him! The one with the issue is still sitting on my lot waiting for Ford to figure it out. It would have been my first sold unit eligible for lemon law had we not just traded the first owner out of it to bypass the process. Now we've sold around 100 of these so far and that was our only major issue I've heard about, so I wouldn't be concerned myself, but in the interest of full disclosure I shared the experience.

I do have one fleet that bought three from me in March, and they have about 20k on each one now. They only keep their vans 2 years max, but I'm looking forward to watching their service records to get a little picture of any trends. Frankly I spend time in this forum just trying to get a feel for any trends of issues folks have. You guys are where I get my data (-=

 

As always Frantz great info---thanks for sharing all of it.

I'm very impressed your avoiding the lemon law issue---that's just great customer service all the way around.

I'll keep watching this forum for further developments but the Transit seems quite solid and glitch-free relatively speaking. If not there would be more than a few replies here.

 

There's not much activity over here though, but hopefully that will change.

Check out Ford Transit USA Forum. It's relatively active, and you'll find a few dissatisfied owners over there. I think most of them are just being picky though.

 

I have been reading there Tom---yeah they're a bit "particular" for sure. It was a bit comical but interesting reading through the gripes thread.

 

No kidding! You see that on just about any new vehicle forum though. I've lightened up a bit over the last few years and don't sweat the small stuff.

One of my favorite things about internet forums is being able to get a sense of common issues. I'd be more frustrated with my van if the issues I had were widespread, as that would indicate a design problem. Since they're not, I chalk them up to flukes and that stuff happens.

I haven't seen anything that appears to be a common problem yet, but of course I keep my eyes open. I'm extremely reassured by the fact that the powertrain is shared with the high-volume F150, and those have been outstanding IMHO. I'm also reassured that they use a full-floating version of the well proven 9.75" axle. If you couldn't tell I really like this thing!

 

Very much in agreement again Tom----I've not noticed anything epidemic which is indeed good news.

That the Transit shares drivetrain components with the F150's is another plus---that's one well proven platform by now.

I think I'll just rent a cargo Transit for a day, make a round trip to the Fin, Fur & Feathers Outfitter about 85 miles north of me. The combined miles should give me an idea what to expect over the longer term.

The Transit does seems well suited to your current needs----the affection is very noticeable!

 

We test drove all 3 engine choices and rented a uhaul transit with the 3.7. Final decision was (3) 2015 transit 250's with medium roofs and the 3.5 ecoboost and (2) 2016's on order. We also opted for the 8 year 150k mile bumper to bumper warranty on all the vans. When we rented the 3.7 transit and loaded it up for a 1 week trial run working out of it we were disappointed with the power and mpg. Opted for the ecoboost and not very happy with mpg. All 3 vans run with about 500# of tools and 200-400# of equipment. No ladder racks on our vans and each van has a tracker that tracks location, speed, and hard accelerations and a few other things. For the most part the employees are driving pretty normal now... MPG is very disappointing best highway mpg ever was 14.7 average is 13.2-14.1 and best city mpg was 13.3 average 9.9-12.7 I wouldn't consider that an improvement over some our old trucks that had v-10's. Traction and the skinny tires are our biggest complaint. 4 tow bills just this week. Reliability is our biggest concern. That's why we decided to get new trucks. Most of our v10's were starting to get tired with most of them 220k miles and up. All 9 of our 6.0 powerstrokes have been sitting in the back lot collecting dust. Gave up on those. Happy that someone broke into our lot and stole one of the 6.0's. Don't know how they got it out of there but glad one is gone and claimed it on insurance.

 

I think the medium roof has much to do with your fuel economy concerns. Ours seems to do 18-19 on the highway, but those I've talked with who have medium roofs never do that well. Pushing that much wind takes its toll on efficiency.

Here's our van on Fuelly, I've logged every tank we've put into it:



Note a half-dozen of those were with E85, which drags the average lower. You can see which ones they are in the notes.

 

Well I dont own one, but drive a 2016+ for work, and while I like it the niggles I have are No sync, but the (IIRC) 2014 Fiesta has it standard (go figure, come on Ford get with it....), CVT transmission (would rather have a hand shaker as I have used in the past...), where our E150 didn't we had well over 220K+ on our E series, I hope this transit will prove to be as reliable...

back up camra while nice I hate having the screen in the mirror and wish the screen was seperate some place else in the drivers view

the back windows are just about useless if you have a steel partition in place (again thats a design flaw of the partition, not Ford's side...

the thing at times likes to take a few seconds to decide "its time to go" when my foot has told it to get moving at least 5 seconds prior! the E series...well I said go she was already trying to get out of her way...

 

CVT...are you sure? They've never offered a Transit with a CVT, but of course there may be some aftermarket conversion I've not heard about. From the factory they all have a 6-speed automatic.

Nope, the back windows are also useless without the partition. Virtually nothing for visibility with the wide door pillars. We just use the side mirrors.

That surprises me, virtually no hesitation with ours at all. Which engine do you have?

 

Transits do NOT use a CVT...maybe the smooth shifting and many ratios of the 6-speed makes it seem like a CVT? The big Transit uses a 6R80 (same as the F150, 6=speeds, R=RWD, 80=800 lb feet of torque rating) and the Transit Connect uses the 6F35 which is a joint Ford/GM developed transmission (6=Speeds, F=FWD, 35=350 lb ft). Heavier Transits may use the 6R140 which is used in Super Duty trucks.

I think we are a long way from CVT's being used in large, high-torque vehicles. Ford's next step in large vehicle transmissions is a 10R80 due in 2017 or 2018(?) for the F150 and Expedition... (You can figure out what it is from the numbers and letters.)

George