2006 F150 5.4 Lariat Catalytic Converter/Dealer Issues
 

Hello,
I am new to this site but I have received a lot of information and I thank all of you for your posts.
My issue:
I have a Ford F150 Lariat Supercab 4x4 chrome package. I bought it new and never had any mechanical issues until now. I took it in for the 60k mile maintenance, paid close to 400.00 for it and on my way home I kicked it into overdrive to merge. My truck started to surge, spudder, then it sounded like my catalytic converter had bb's in it and the check engine light started flashing. The truck seemed like it was being "choked" out or the tranny was slipping. I let up and after a few miles the check engine light stopped flashing. This was the first time anything like this had happened. I called the service department when I got home and they told me to bring it in. They said I had a misfire on plug 7, but being a 3v that coils usually do not go bad. They cleared the computer and sent me home. I asked them to drive it because it was doing it almost every time I got over 3500 rpms but they refused. The same thing happened again, I took it back and they said I should have the plugs changed at 75k for a price of 440.00 for a tuneup that turned into 530.00 they said b/c the plugs changed.

Then that turned into 663.00 b/c the guy broke 5 plugs off and they charged me to extract each one of them. A couple I can understand but 5??? I left and the issue got worse. My truck runs ok as long as I stay off the gas. I have to drive in the city to get to work and merging is a nightmare. I called them back and then they tell me my catalytic converter has a 8yr 80k warranty and it had been throwing cat codes the whole time, but they didn't tell me in the begining only about the plug misfire and the injectors are not sticking. It seems like the cat is almost totally clogged now and I stopped driving it over Thanksgiving until I can get it back into the shop. I guess my question is do you think I should file a grievance or go to the BB Bur. against Ford? I am waiting to see what they have to say about my catalytic converter tomorrow and if they are going to replace it, but breaking off the plugs and charging me 35 a plug (gave me a "break" and only charged 25) but still, I have over 1,000.00 just in maintenance on my truck that had no issues when I took it in for a routine service. I have all maintenance records and they show that I have never had any issues with my truck until they worked on it. In fact I still don't need brakes because of the way I drive. When I got tires last month the mechanic said I probably wouldn't need them until over 100k. Has anyone else had this type of issue?
Also it seems like there is exhaust residue on the drivers side of my truck. Only on that side and it's not behind the wheel so I don't think I ran through something and that is the side that sounds like a shakeweight in a trashcan when I kick it into overdrive. I have also lost power even when not getting on the gas. I really love my truck and I have really taken care of it, but it is turning into a money pit. I'm just wondering if it is Ford's doing or was it just a coincidence? It sure doesn't seem like one.
I would appreciate any advice out there. I'm sorry this is so long, but a lot has happened and I just bought a diamond ring to ask my g/f to marry me so money is something I cannot throw away.
Thanks for taking the time to read and best wishes,
Jimmy

One more thing, when I stop at a light or a stop sign, I have a strong odor of gas coming through the vents. My gas milage has also suffered about 2mpg as well. I know colder weather can impact that but it has never been this bad.

Sounds very similar to what mine is doing to. I have had several threads. Mine won't do this unless I put it under a load.... I can sit in my drive way in park and rev it to 5 grand all day and it won't miss once. Soon as I put it in drive and as you said stomp the pedal I get the popping and spuddering. My engine light does always flash however, and it goes away sometimes and goes ahead and does what its suppose to. I to have had my plugs replaced or at least I am pretty sure they are. I've gotten lean codes and mis fires on bank 2.

I am leaning towards either the cats stopped up on mine, or the intake gasket leaks around the two cylinders that have miss fired. I am gonna take mine in and I guess fork out the 90 bucks to get it diagnosed completely and find out EXACTLY what the issue is.

Plugs are an issue with the 5.4 3v engines as well as catalytic converters. If it had a miss it could have ruined the cat(s). Is another dealer in your area? You may have better service at another dealer. Some are called "Stealerships" for a reason. Try to work it out with them if you can. have the raw gas smell resolved, you may have a leak. does it have a rotten egg odor? Bad cats cause this type of an odor.

I doubt it's a coincidence. They've screwed you on the plugs and if you smell gas there's more to the problem. I'd make sure the injectors are all seated properly in the head and in the fuel rail. Next I'd find a new dealer. It makes absolutely no sense that they would ignore cat codes. Something went wrong when they had your truck and they're not going to be any help making things right. If you contact ford they will say it's a dealership issues. However, they may be willing to absorb some of the costs. Also, your cats are covered to 80k miles assuming that their failure wasn't due to a stuck or improperly functioning plug, cop or injector. If they find it's a bad injector ford does not have to cover cat damage. You'll be responsible for the $1000 to $1500 replacement cost. Find a new dealer, go in and explain everything to the advisor and see what they say. Don't get pedantic (although it seems you certainly have the right). You'll get better service if you keep your cool.

Thank you so much for the replies. I have kept my cool so far. I actually talked them into giving me a loaner because the head mechanic was not in today and I must say the 2010 f150's are really nice because that is what I'm driving right now. Not gonna let them bait me into buying a new one just yet though. The check engine light was not on and the little computer they had couldn't produce the history, the big computer was locked up. He asked if i could get it to come on, but he could hear the cats rattling around when i hit the gas. I asked how long the road was behind the shop, he said a quarter of a mile i told him to give me 2 minutes, and I brought it back with the check engine light flashing. He saw the cat code but also a code for injector 3. He said they do have the parts in the warehouse across town, but want to make sure they get it right and would not do any work requiring me pay anything more without my approval and I got that in writing. The head guy will be back tomorrow to dig into it, I do get that "rotten egg" smell sometimes when I have to get on it. I plan on dealing with the other issues once I get this right. If they call tomorrow and say they want more $$$$$ or the cats need replaced at my expense, I'll take it to a muffler shop, chop em and put aftermarkets on for 250.00. I spoke to a guy I know that works at a muffler shop and he said he could do it for that if it came to that.
Chris, it sounds like we have the exact same issue. It can idle great and I can rev it until i start going down the road and that's when the problems start. Seems like that 3500-4000 rpm range gets me and it starts choking out. I will defiantly keep everyone posted on what happens and how it all plays out. I also had the issue of my power driver seat, mirrors and pedals not working as well. I found the post on here about the water getting in under the fuse box and found that green and orange spliced wire and was able to fix that issue myself, but this issue is scaring me a little bit. Thanks again, I'll post what the "Stealership", haha, I like it, comes up with tomorrow.

Yup. I even observed mist or steam coming from between my bed and cab whilst it was doing it. I believe I have a CAT that is stopped up, or else something causing it. The autozone odb readers and advanced auto parts reader couldn't pick up the code I bet. So far the only code I've gotten and again now I can't get it to show up, is a damn bank 2, system to lean, and a cylinder 7 and 8 misfire. Which obviously if their is not enough fuel on bank 2 then the plugs are gonna misfire because they aren't burning the correct amount of fuel am I right? Someone chime in if I am wrong. I got a whole list of things that could cause my lean codes, and this sputtering issue I've been having. No one has told me a few "good" actual reasons. I can't find a vacuum leak any where on the thing. The fuel filter isn't stopped. The plugs are bad, because the plugs wouldn't of ever thrown a lean code. Which again this code has yet to pop back up. However my truck anytime I spin the tires goes into a limbo mode, and gives me some bs about how the throttle actuator has been forced into limited power, and now I got an engine light on, that none of the ODBII code readers can pick up on. the only code they get is P2106. Which is the actuator bs.

I got a call from the dealership today, they tried everything else first. Multiple misfires on both sides, tried replacing the mass air sensor first, didn't work, 02 sensor and fuel filter again, then they tried a few other things. They said other than never changing my oil, which I always have and they have the records it had to be the catalytic converters. They have the drivers side cat on site now, the one that is broken up and clogged and will replace tomorrow. The other is on back order and from what he told me, this has been an ordeal across the Country with F150's. The other side isn't backed up yet, but he said he wanted to go ahead and replace it now while I'm still under warranty even though it's not showing really any signs so kudos to them for doing that. It is covered under the 8yr, 80k warranty. With some dealers the vehicle has to fail emissions before they will replace the cats, but with everything that has happened they are just going to replace them both. So tomorrow the clogged side will be replaced and the head mechanic will drive it before I get it back and I give the loaner back. He drove it around today for a while for the first time since all this started and apologized. He did not realize how bad it was. I'll drop another post tomorrow letting you know how well things clear up.

Picked up my truck today and it's running like new. It was the catalytic converter the entire time. Causing misfires on both sides, throwing codes for plugs and injectors. At times it seemed like the transmission was slipping, surging but there was nothing wrong with the transmission.. The check engine light would flash, couldn't go over 3500 rpm's or it sounded like bb's were sliding around in my cats because the ceramic was all broken up inside then clogged up. Overdrive or merging was a nightmare in traffic. The drivers side was the really bad one and my truck is running great again. They said the passenger side was suspect and would probably have similar issues soon so they are going to replace it as soon as the part comes in. The dealership really came through for me on this and did the right thing. The cats were covered under the 8yr/80k warranty so my invoice says 0.00. The tuneup was really unwarranted, but it has been done, so I should not need another one ever. As soon as they replace the other catalytic converter I am going to have the rest of the exhaust/muffler swapped out as well and probably go ahead and put duals on it. Being that it is paid for and running great again, I plan on keeping it for a while. Thanks, and any questions about more symptoms that I had with my truck and how it was handled, just ask and I'll let you know.
I have a 2006 F150 5.4 4X4 supercab, all black with black leather/chrome package, 18" chrome rims.

That is outstanding that the dealer is replacing both cats. Seems like they stepped up by the willingness to replace both sides. Not to sound like a pessimist but, are they certain the injectors are all good? Is it possible an injector stuck open and that caused the cat to fail in the first place? I see you state the injectors were not sticking in the first post but you would hate to have it happen again. Just something to keep in mind...

I don't want to hijack the thread but since the OP's problem has been resolve and since I own an '07 F150 with the 5.4 and read the statement .......
"Also, your cats are covered to 80k miles assuming that their failure wasn't due to a stuck or improperly functioning plug, cop or injector. If they find it's a bad injector ford does not have to cover cat damage. You'll be responsible for the $1000 to $1500 replacement cost."
Can anyone explain the logic to this? Certainly, IMO, not operator error or neglect.
thanks.

Who says it has to be logical? This is business and Ford doesn't like shelling out thousands of dollars because of a bad injector. So, usually you'll get a statement from the service advisor like this, "Well it could be the cats. If we take them out an a bunch of fuel pours out its a bad cylinder and the cat won't be covered. We will fix the bad injector/plug/cop, but we're not responsible for downstream damage!". However, lately it seems the dealers are choosing to ignore all the fuel in the cats and claim a cat failure without upstream problems. It seems they do have a conscience.

If you run into this problem (which if anyone has noticed is starting to show up on here more and more) go to the dealer and BE NICE. The service advisor has to claim the cat failure and attest to the fact its an isolated failure. If you smart off he probably won't even try and will be happy to collect $1500 from you.

06 F150 cat issues
 

I also have had cat issues. First time cat code came up for left bank so Ford replaced the cat after a five week wait for the parts. Then broke down and had to tow, code came up for 5 hole miss. Changed the plug and then coil pack , no good had to tow to Ford. Found out it was the 5 hole injector, and left bank cat was bad again so Ford replaced the injector and the cat only charged me for the injector but reminded me they could have charged for the cat. Now I had an O2 sensor light left bank and changed that...no good........next code P0171 mass air sensor cleaned still no good being towed AGAIN to Ford on Monday must be the other cat???? Hope they agree.

OP, Before you get too "warm and fuzzy" about the dealer "stepping up" on the cat replacement... Warrantee work doesn't cost the dealer a cent. They can well afford to look like they are doing you a big favor with the cat replacement. ...after they bled you royally by ignoring the cat codes, and then "throwing parts" at your expense. I personally would be having a talk with the manager AND reporting them to the BBB. Find a place that is reputable to do your work in the future. Unfortunately, we all learn expensive lessons sooner or later.