Hello all, I usually spend most of my time on here down in the Super Duty forum, but I am considering purchasing an 06 Expedition Eddie Bauer 5.4L 4x4 with all the options for my mom and I would love to hear what you guys think of them.

My last experience with an Expedition was with a '99 Expedition Eddie Bauer 5.4L 4x4 that I put 20K miles on (114K-134K) that I sold after picking up my Super Duty 2 years ago. I took this 06 I am looking at for a test drive today and was impressed at the improved handling, much less body roll and the snappiness of the 3V 5.4 over the 2V 99 5.4. The thing drove great, had no abnormal noises and seems to have been well cared for. all in all... much more plush inside than my 99 was as well.

Anyway, Like I said, I would love to hear your guys' thought on the 06 Expys any good or bad points you care to share would be greatly appreciated as most of my vehicle research the last few years has been on Super Duties.

Thanks, Seth

 

Expy's are known for various electrical issues, if you read consumer reports....

Seems like the issues with an EB 06 as far as I know would be the air bag suspension and the problem with the 3v engine and spark plugs breaking off. If the plug have over 100k and have not been changed, anticipate problems. If its low mileage, perhaps worth a try -- have them changed ASAP. The longer they stay in there, the more they carbon up and tend to break off.

Honestly though -- a well maintained 06 Expy probably is a great vehicle for the money, so long as you do not intended to put lots of miles on it. It will drink gas like all expys...

 

Thanks for the info...

The rig has 123,500 miles on it right now and if I was to purchase it for my mom she would probably put about 5k-8k miles per year on it. I'm not too worried about spark plug problems as I figure that's only something you need to tend to once in a great long while. The dealer is asking $13K for it and as I said the thing appears to have been very well cared for as there are NO dings or dents, and only a couple very minor scratches on the vehicle.

I'd be curious to hear more about the possible electrical issues... on the Fords I have/had I have NEVER had any electrical problems to complain about... but the couple GMs my folks have had are another story all-together

 

For that money, I'd ask the dealer to either verify that the plugs were changed, or change them before you take ownership.

As for "electrical" -- the reports I read lump a lot of problems together. And expys were not the only vehciles -- in fact it seems really to be a bane of all vehicles anymore. Old fashioned things to crap out, like engine and tranny are not as much a problem as niggling things like lights nor working, errors on dash, etc etc. I would not let my comment dissuade you.

Is the dealer a Ford dealer? That makes it a better deal for that money too. Usually an actual Ford dealer will not knowingly sell something with issues, whereas smaller and nonaffiliated dealers have less to lose.

 

The electrical issue has something to do with the throttle body, TPS, etc area. This is just one resource, there are MANY others.

2006 Ford Expedition Engine Shuts Off, Fail Safe Engine Light Comes On | CarComplaints.com

A freind is going though this on his '06 EB Expy. It shuts off from time to time and says "Fail Safe Mode" on the dash. The truck has about 60K on it and is very well taken care of. Dealer wants to throw parts at it as they don't really know...

 

I have an 06 Eddie Bauer as well. 138,500 miles on it. It's been a great vehicle all in all. Here are a few issues I experienced in the 6 years of ownership.

- Driver's side window switch went out at 95K. Easy to replace though. Also, note that driver's side and passenger's side windows roll up slowly, but evidently this is common and not an "issue" per se. However, initially it makes you think that the motor is on its final legs.

- Throttle body and sensor were replaced at ~120K. Got the Engine Fail Safe Mode to come on multiple times and when it happened, the engine seemed to have 1/2 - 3/4 of its normal power (mine did not ever stall). Use the search function to find out more as this is a fairly common problem among this generation of Expy's. This is the only electrical issue I've ever had.

- Body paint corrosion on the (aluminum) tail gate. You'll notice the paint begins to bubble up, and within about a year, flake off. It's unsightly and looks terrible, but it is only cosmetic. Has to do with the prep job done at the factory, which I guess is why I think this is the most frustrating issue as this is a fairly common problem for all kinds of Fords over the span of about 7 or 8 model years. Luckily I know a body-work guy and got my tailgate repainted for about 200 bucks, but otherwise expect this to be ~$1,000 job and be sure to look up the TSB and have your body guy follow the proper directions of prepping and painting aluminum (had mine repainting at 130K).

- The Spark Plug Issue. However, this does not burn me as much as others as it's a once in 100,000 mile maintenance item and if you know what you are getting into (time and $$) then it's just one of those things. Expect a good 4 to 8 plugs though to break off in the block even if you give them a good overnight soaking (changed mine at 105K).

Seems like a lot of things, but it really is not. All cars have their gremlins and these are the ones I experienced. I do not know of any others that might be "looming". All in all, I highly recommend it as it's been a fantastic vehicle (save gas mileage, but we don't buy these things for that now do we? :-)

 

Thank you guys for your responses.

The rig is on a used car lot, not a Ford Dealership, but one of the more reputable used lots around this area. It did have a check engine light on during the test drive, but I could not tell of anything that was out of order... everything appeared to be working perfectly and that was really the only thing I could nitpick on a rig with 123K miles.

Here's a link to the specific rig I am looking at.

2006 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer - View Inventory

Keep the comments coming, I appreciate the insight from all of you, good or bad

Thanks

 

I'm guessing someone got rid of their problem and it wound up on the lot. A CEL left unattended for a long time can ruin the cats.

 

You might get lucky with the CEL. Have the dealer scan it to see why it's on. I would suggest not buying the vehicle if that light is on since you have absolutely no idea why it's on. If the dealer doesn't want to help, your call, but I'd walk away.

 

Ditto -- I think that's top dollar for a vehicle that is not top dollar if its thowing codes.

Always got to be ready to walk away. And moreover -- well maintained? Any good detailing job can make just about any POS look fine. People that trade in a vehicle with a CEL on often have been warned by a dealer or someone else that they have major $$$ expenses coming.

 

Thanks for your opinions folks... I'm not going to jump into anything I don't feel comfortable with.

From a reliability standpoint, might I actually be better to look for a low mile, older body style... like 99-02? Seems like there's not much love for the '06 era rigs here

On a side note, for a fully loaded Expy around this age, this one is actually on the cheaper side of the price range compared to similarly loaded rigs in this area with that many miles.

Thanks

 

We were thinking the same thing until we drove an 07. Ford did such a nice job with that vehicle....it just didn't have the towing capabilities I was looking for.

 

Amazing Truck. Do it!!!