My wife has been patiently driving her Ford Fusion for the last seven years. I bought an '05 F350 6.0 about a year and a half ago, it got stolen and I just replaced it a couple of weeks ago. While we were waiting for the insurance company to declare my stolen truck a total loss, they were generously paying for a 2017 Expedition for me to drive. My wife and I both fell in love with it and said that it would be the replacement for her Fusion. Well I wasn't expecting it to happen so quickly, but she found a 2012 XLT model with 70,000 miles for $18K. I've read a little bit on here tonight but just enough to learn that I don't need to worry about spark plugs.

I know next to nothing about these trucks. I'm kind of confused at the fact that the XLT model seems to have so many upgraded features -- Pretty much loaded in fact. Here's the dealer's description fo the features on their website:

"It is nicely equipped with features such as Driver Vision Package (Rain Sensing Wipers and Rear-View Camera), Equipment Group 201A, Memory Package, XLT Premium Package (10-Way Power Driver's Seat, 110V AC Outlet, 3rd Row 60/40 PowerFold Seat, 6-Way Power Passenger Seat, Dual-Zone Electronic Air Temperature Control, Heated Black Power Mirrors w/Spotter, Leather-Wrapped Shift ****, Pale Adobe Metallic Trim, Power Liftgate, Subwoofer, and Woodgrain Interior Trim Accents), ABS brakes, Alloy wheels, AM/FM radio: SIRIUS, Compass, Electronic Stability Control, Heated door mirrors, Illuminated entry, Low tire pressure warning, Remote keyless entry, SIRIUS Satellite Radio, and Traction control... AM/FM Stereo,CD Player,MP3 Player,Rear Seat Audio Controls,Auxiliary Audio Input,Steering Wheel Audio Controls,Bluetooth Connection,Telematics,Navigation from Telematics,Smart Device Integration..."

We drove over to Austin today just to look at it even though the dealership was closed. We're probably going to buy it tomorrow. I don't understand how it has a rear-view camera with no screen to view it. The 2017 rental we had paired with our phones via bluetooth, is the SYNC in this one the same, just without graphics? What is "Telematics" and "Navigation from Telematics"? I loved the navigation on the 2017, how does this compare with the 2012?

I have an OBDII bluetooth adapter and TorquePro on a tablet. What PIDs should I be looking at? Are there any custom PIDs, and where can I find how to input them?

Anyway, depending on my inspection tomorrow, I'll most likely have a "new" 2012 Expedition parked in my driveway tomorrow night.

 

You can add almost any options to an XLT beyond the base package, so the description isn't out of the norm. Without a screen in the center stack means it doesn't have navigation, and the back up camera shows up in a small square in the rear view mirror. "Navigation through telematics" might be a fancy way of saying you use Bluetooth to get the directions from your phone to play through the speakers. Don't let this break the deal, you can have it installed. I did that on my 2012. You can either do an OEM unit or aftermarket. I'm a stock guy, so I went OEM and likely paid more than I should have and got less than I would have with aftermarket. There are OEM units on ebay that come preprogrammed to your VIN along with the correct cables. The only thing they couldn't do back when I researched it was get the rear view camera to show up in the display. I had the dealer do mine and again paid too much but their installer was familiar enough with it that he made it work properly.

 

Good to know! I'm an OEM kind of guy too, and we are a Ford family.

Speaking of OEM, I know with our 6.0's that Ford OEM filters are a must. Is that best for the Expeditions as well?

 

Everyone has their favorites. I've used a combination of Fram and Motorcraft over the course of 500k miles in Expeditions with the 5.4. It has been mostly Fram, just recently switched to the Motorcraft oil filter. They happened to be on the shelf.

 

Do you think it's wise to run synthetic oil in a gas motor with 70,000 miles without knowing the quality of oil that was previously used in it? Should I change the plugs immediately after getting it home?

 

The oil debate has been kicking around since there was synthetic oil to choose from. I've never seen anything conclusive one way or the other, but haven't investigated it all that much either. I've always used the Motorcraft 5W-20 synthetic blend with the 5.4 whether I started from new or picked up where someone else left off.
The plugs are 100k plugs, so if they aren't giving you any grief I'd say let them go. Others would say take them out now to lessen the chance they will be hard to remove, and then use anti seize on the new ones. The next thing that comes along with that discussion is if you are doing the plugs, you might as well do the coils while you are there.

 

I'll have to learn more about the coil thing. In my brief readings I have gathered that each plug has it's own coil (COP?) and brown boots I guess. New gassers are a mystery to me. My experience with them extends as far as a '71 F250 with a 460 dropped in, and my Harley. Used to be plugs, points, condenser and plug wires. One coil. I have a lot to learn. I understand the oil debate. I have a motorcycle forum where the use of the word oil is banned. With diesels it's almost universal to use syn, but we all know that any oil (rated for the given vehicle of course,) is fine as long as it is changed regularly. I prefer syn, but in older motors I have experiences where it will leak. Probably not an issue with these newer motors.

 

Wow! Saw one on Ebay for $1900. Tell me that ain't the one I want!

 

Yes, 8 coils. That's another can of worms, ask 5 people that question and you'll get 6 answers. When I was looking they were in the 900-1000 range, programmed.

 

Lord! I hope I never have to replace those. Is that the price for each? Surely not.

 

Just did plugs on mine at 131K miles. Hard to tell, but my guess is they were original plugs. If it was me I'd run the plugs to 100K.

I also replaced the coil boots, not the coils themselves. Lots of folks will say, if the coils ain't bad, leave 'em alone.

I'm a fan of Motorcraft oil & filter. Don't really have a strong argument either way tho.

 

I was talking about the head unit, which is what I assumed you were talking about when you said $1900. Motorcraft coils are between $70-$80 each depending on where you look, no-name coils on ebay run around $10 each, and there are a host of others in between.

 

I would do the plugsbefore 100K but at 70K I wouldn't consider it urgent. Just keep in mind that bad plugs are the primary cause of failure for coils. If you replace the plugs before problems arise, you'll probably never have to replace a coil.

Oil filter ... Motorcraft gets my vote. It's a good filter and costs less than $4. Some of the guys on BITOG forums have cut them open at 10-15K and they were still in good shape. I run them 5-6K w/ conventional oil.

Whether or not you'll get a leak switching to synthetic is anyone's guess. Synthetics don't cause leaks, but they may reveal leaks that the conventional oil is concealing. It's up to you if you want to go on blissfully unaware (which is the approach I take on this issue) or if you want to to switch over and then address any leaks if they arise. If you have a powertrain warranty that covers leaks then do it now and let them pay to repair any leaks. All of that said, I don't personally feel there's any real benefit to synthetics provided you do timely oil changes unless we're talking about shooting for 400K miles or something.

I'm one of those people. Honestly, I've never had to replace a coil or boot, but I can see the logic behind replacing the boots if they're showing signs of wear.

 

Yeah I probably wouldn't have had to do mine. The boots looked just fine. Still, while I had it apart, I figured might as well. Less than $50 for a set of boots & springs from the local Carquest.

 

All good responses, I appreciate it. The dealer said that they have a syn blend in there right now, so I'll probably stick with that.

I did get the truck (I call it a truck) last night. All is well except that the brakes fell like they're pulsing, like a rotor out of whack. Not bad, but it bugs me. Also, the thing that's really got my goat, is I only got one key. Unfortunately I was ignorant of the MyKey thing and well, you probably guessed, I have a MyKey and no Admin key. I called the dealer first thing this morning after staying up late figuring out what was going on. He said he would call me right back and I haven't heard from him. When I asked the salesperson last night about getting a second key, she said that their "key guy" was only there on Fridays. Now this is one of the biggest Ford dealers in Texas, Leif Johnson Ford is Austin. They have several dealerships and the guy bragged that they sell more Fords in the state of Texas than anyone. But, they have to wait on the "key guy". I called my little local Ford dealer here in Brenham this morning and they said they could do it any time, make the Admin key and clear the MyKey -- $233. I'm still working on this.

I've heard that I can do this myself with Forescan. I have a spare laptop with Windows and I have a OBDII bluetooth adapter. My adapter is a BAFX and I'm not sure that it will work with Forescan. But the software is free so I might give it a try. I still want a second key though.