I am very sorry to say that after 20 years of being an owner and advocate of Ford trucks and SUVs, I may not buy another one. I am so disappointed with the quality of my 2014 Explorer and Ford’s unwillingness to stand behind their product. My first grievance relates to the paint along the front edge of the hood which is blistering/bubbling as if there is rust forming beneath it. I am not talking one or two spots either. This is along just about the entire edge of my hood. Unfortunately, I did not notice the issue until I was at 38,000 miles and the warranty had expired. I am finding tons of posts regarding this same issue. This is clearly a manufacturing issue, but Ford will not do anything about it. The customer service rep I spoke with said that all they could do was, “Identify several dealers that could provide an estimate to fix the damage.” WOW! Thanks for absolutely nothing!!!

The second major issue I have is part corrupt dealer and part inept Ford. With only 46,000 miles on my car, the front PTU went bad. The symptoms started with the car making a rattling noise under light acceleration when traveling between 30 - 40 mph. It degenerated to the point where it was making a clunking sound when turning at slow speeds. I took the car in to Purvis Ford (Fredericksburg, VA) to get it checked out. Their diagnosis was a broken PTU, but they said the cause was uneven tire wear, and as result the repair was not covered under the drivetrain warranty. The tires were the original ones that came with the vehicle and still had tread life. The tires were well maintained and showed absolutely no signs of uneven wear. The quoted cost was approximately $1200 for four new tires and $1600 for a new PTU. Convinced that they were full of s*** and simply looking to make a tire sale and avoid a warranty repair, I took it to Battlefield Ford (Manassas, VA) for a second opinion. Battlefield replaced the PTU under warranty with no questions asked. Needless to say, I will stay clear of Purvis Ford in the future. I spoke to the service manager at Battlefield who acknowledged that the PTUs are known to have issues. He said he did not believe the uneven tires caused the failure, but did acknowledge that uneven tires in an AWD vehicle could cause the PTUs to work harder and possibly fail prematurely. Confused that I had never be advised of such a seemingly critical issue, I checked the owners’ manual. Nowhere does it mention such a low tolerance for variations in tire circumference. In fact, on page 376 it says, “The two front tires or two rear tires should generally be replaced as a pair.” This seems to indicate FAR less sensitivity than was being communicated by the dealers, so I contacted Ford to get the official performance specification. The customer rep I spoke with was unable to reference any specification in terms of tread wear or circumference variation between tires, so I am not sure what to make of this. If there really is an issue with uneven tires causing PTU failures in AWD vehicles, I see that as a major issue. 1) Why would the PTU not be designed for a 100% duty cycle? Seems like a design flaw if an AWD vehicle is not AWD capable all of the time. 2) If the PTU can’t handle a 100% duty cycle, why isn’t there a warning light on the dash to indicate the rated duty cycle is being exceeded rather than letting it run till it fails with no warning? 3) Why wouldn’t the AWD sensor work off of speed variations rather than simply speed differences? If your tires are rotating at different but consistent speeds, shouldn’t the sensor be smart enough to realize that wouldn’t constitute slipping? Ford quality seems to be going downhill and Ford is not be standing behind their inferior products. I’m very disappointed.

 

It's unfortunate that you have had that experience with your Explorer and an independent Ford dealer.

All manufactures could do a better job of relaying information regarding tire size on AWD vehicles.

Tire size is a known critical issue on all AWD vehicles not just limited to Ford (Audi, Subaru, Acura, etc all have the same concerns). Differences in some cases as small as 2% front to rear can cause driveline damage due to rotational differences. Tire pressures and rotation are a critical maintenance item on an AWD vehicle.

Here's some articles specifically on this issue (Google tire size and AWD);
https://www.lesschwab.com/blog/post/...ur-awd-vehicle
Do I really need to replace all four tires at the same time? | HowStuffWorks
Winter Tech Information - Matching Tires on Four-Wheel Drive & All-Wheel Drive Vehicles

While it could be somewhat clearer, the owners manuals does address tire size differences...

 

I still don't see it. What is a "major dissimilar tire size"? All 4 tires are the factory originals; no "mixing" involved and also not using "non-recommended tires and wheels." I stand by my statement. If this is such a major issue, then Ford needs to communicate very specific specifications at worst, and at best, should eliminate the problem. As mentioned above, a 100% duty AWD system should be feasible. If not, a warning light could certainly be added to indicate an overtaxed AWD system. Finally, with today's technology, they should certainly be able to provide a smart controller that would ignore a constant, unchanging difference in speed between tires. Especially when all tires are the exact same brand, size, age, etc.

 

So, the only real issue is the edge of the hood? while it is unsightly and annoying and should last longer than 3 years it happens to a lot of the manuf. you got the PTU fixed so you are all set there. It sounds like the first dealer was bad.


I don`t see any real reason why you would drop Ford! they took care of their product like they should have!


And yes, AWD cars should have matching tires. never put just one new tire on, always 2. If you keep the tires rotated and the car in alignment you should only ever need 4 tires every 40-60k miles depending on driving style.

 

AWD systems are sensitive to tire pressure and wear. A few 32nds of an inch in wear can add up to several feet per mile difference for the same number of revolutions. This is an issue on every manufactures AWD system. Keep in mind when you are talking about a 32nd of an inch, a major difference is a very small number.

 

I believe that most AWD systems have a slightly higher gear ratio in the front than the rear to avoid oversteer conditions? Not sure where I read this, but it would certainly be a small difference.

 

Subaru's spec for max tire size difference is 1/4" in tire CIRCUMFERENCE. This translates to under 3/32" in tire DIAMETER, which is not much more than a bit of tire wear. Honestly, it would take far more than this to damage the AWD system in a Subaru, but they put their numbers into pretty strict terms. If you consider yourself any kind of enthusiast, the issue of tire sizes with AWD vehicles should be something you have run across in the past. It is general wisdom that with AWD you need to match tires closely, and rotate often so they all remain about the same size...because what AWD does is to try and keep all 4 tires going the same speed on the basis of revolutions.

So your problems boil down to your not noticing the paint on your hood....don't you open it occasionally to check the oil or add washer fluid? I admit that Ford has had problems with paint adhesion on aluminum hoods and tailgates, and many people with prior gen Explorers and all Expeditions have had this problem.

Finally, the dealer issue is not Ford's fault. I make sure that I am on good terms with my dealer's svc manager, and have had nothing but the best treatment from all dealers that I work with. That includes 2 Ford dealers, my Dodge dealer, my Subaru dealer, my Honda and Acura dealer (wife's Civic), and my BMW dealer ('91 garage queen 318is). My approach is to use the dealer for oil changes from the beginning, and to spend time talking to the svc manager. He or she knows that I care about my car, and in turn I get their respect and good service.

I would guess that your experience will not be much different with any other brand of car. You basically have one problem with paint and that is an issue, but any car made by any manufacturer is likely to have problems too. Maybe hit the front edge of the hood with rust neutralizer and get a hood edge protector of some sort as a band aid.

Take care, and happy holidays to you,
George