2019 changes
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5th Wheeling
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 39
Likes: 4
2019 changes
Considering upgrading to a 450, but debating whether to get a 19 or wait for 20's. I keep seeing where Ford has decontented the Platinums by removing features like ambient light changes, lighted door sills, missing hitch sleeves and pin etc... what other things did Ford remove that were available in 17-18? Sad to see them get cheap in spite of prices going up
More Turbo
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 689
Likes: 216
While I can't say I've "always" adhered to this rule (maybe that makes it a guideline?), I do take into serious consideration for major purchases, decisions, moves, etc., this... if you like what you see - get it / do it / don't pass it up. Sure you might find something better in the future but as someone once said "...a bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush...". which I interpret to mean don't make a decision on what or what might not come, if you like what you see go for it; you can always change things going forward but not going backwards.
And to help with future decision remember the Boy Scout moto..... Be Prepared. or using my definition of that... do your homework so you know what you'll want to do when the time comes.
I'll guess by asking you are doing you homework so you'll be prepared. Good luck on your decision.
And to help with future decision remember the Boy Scout moto..... Be Prepared. or using my definition of that... do your homework so you know what you'll want to do when the time comes.
I'll guess by asking you are doing you homework so you'll be prepared. Good luck on your decision.
Freshman User
Joined: Jul 2018
Posts: 29
Likes: 1
Not a complete list, but
Changes:
- Sony --> B&O (I thought this was going to be a big improvement. The B&O just isn't a very good system. Haven't compared the two, but a lot of folks say: meh)
Adds:
- Onboard WiFi hotspot via AT&T, which gives seamless integration with FordPass (remote start, lock, alarm notification, vehicle info, location) this was a huge deal for me, YMMV. I need to find out how long the hotspot stays on since I'd like to do a dashcam to cloud setup.
Deletes:
- Hitch sleeve/pin
- ambient lighting colors
- lighted door sills (actually went away on the 18s if memory serves. Connector still there--I installed a set a few weeks ago, took a couple of minutes, worth every penny)
Changes that should have been made:
- same crappy plastic driver's side lock. My F250 lasted exactly 3 hours and 58 minutes in San Antonio before it got broken into. Jimmi Jammers were on my list, but should have been at the top. Good news: FordPass notified me as they were breaking into it--but I was 15 miles away.
- same zero-security gate attachment--McGard was high on the list and it's installed. The gate survived San Antonio.
Overall, I'm blown away by the design excellence and the level of systems integration in this thing. Having Forscan and the ability to customize a large number of truck behaviors is awesome. The level of support for towing, including separate configuration and mileage tracking of multiple trailers is really something, as is the 360 camera thing. Things like it being able to handle a thumb drive with 22,000 songs and 2000+ old radio shows, including indexing the whole deal in a few minutes, and including a decent user interface for browsing said songs and radio shows, are worth the whole price of admission--my Toyota croaked on this, as did my $1000 Excelon head unit). Being able to add downhill descent control for $10 and a forscan mod is crazy. The only systemic bad issue, IMHO, is the Ford legal "prohibit everything" attitude. It shows up everywhere, from trying to use the GPS while moving, to trying to configure someone's tablet to use the onboard wifi while moving, to trying to check my freaking trailer hitch or behind my trailer while moving. This lazy approach to liability, many times at the expense of actual safety, significantly reduces the utility of an excellent product. /rant
Best of luck.
Changes:
- Sony --> B&O (I thought this was going to be a big improvement. The B&O just isn't a very good system. Haven't compared the two, but a lot of folks say: meh)
Adds:
- Onboard WiFi hotspot via AT&T, which gives seamless integration with FordPass (remote start, lock, alarm notification, vehicle info, location) this was a huge deal for me, YMMV. I need to find out how long the hotspot stays on since I'd like to do a dashcam to cloud setup.
Deletes:
- Hitch sleeve/pin
- ambient lighting colors
- lighted door sills (actually went away on the 18s if memory serves. Connector still there--I installed a set a few weeks ago, took a couple of minutes, worth every penny)
Changes that should have been made:
- same crappy plastic driver's side lock. My F250 lasted exactly 3 hours and 58 minutes in San Antonio before it got broken into. Jimmi Jammers were on my list, but should have been at the top. Good news: FordPass notified me as they were breaking into it--but I was 15 miles away.
- same zero-security gate attachment--McGard was high on the list and it's installed. The gate survived San Antonio.
Overall, I'm blown away by the design excellence and the level of systems integration in this thing. Having Forscan and the ability to customize a large number of truck behaviors is awesome. The level of support for towing, including separate configuration and mileage tracking of multiple trailers is really something, as is the 360 camera thing. Things like it being able to handle a thumb drive with 22,000 songs and 2000+ old radio shows, including indexing the whole deal in a few minutes, and including a decent user interface for browsing said songs and radio shows, are worth the whole price of admission--my Toyota croaked on this, as did my $1000 Excelon head unit). Being able to add downhill descent control for $10 and a forscan mod is crazy. The only systemic bad issue, IMHO, is the Ford legal "prohibit everything" attitude. It shows up everywhere, from trying to use the GPS while moving, to trying to configure someone's tablet to use the onboard wifi while moving, to trying to check my freaking trailer hitch or behind my trailer while moving. This lazy approach to liability, many times at the expense of actual safety, significantly reduces the utility of an excellent product. /rant
Best of luck.
Senior User
Joined: Sep 2018
Posts: 220
Likes: 1
From: Where The Road Takes Me.
My 2019 F-350 Lariat Ultimate 4x4 6.7L built in early November and Delivered on 11 December 2018 came with both a 3" to 2.5" reducer and a hitch pin. Unfortunately, I had already ordered a CURT reducer set (3" to 2.5" and 2.5" to 2.0") and a hitch pin at a cost of about $42 including shipping from etrailer. I would have saved about $20 had I just ordered a CURT 2.5" to 2.0" reducer from Amazon Prime. I asked my dealer if my truck came with a reducer and pin AFTER the truck was delivered. He obviously didn't take the time to walk out and look at my truck because he told me, "Ford decided to terminate inclusion of any reducers and pins in the summer of 2018." WRONG! I told him about his error, but I didn't ask him for any money because he saved me a lot of money in other ways.
To reduce the potential for succumbing to theft of my reducers by some selfish urchin, I drilled a 17/64" hole into the bottom of the hitch through all three receivers (3", 2.5" and 2"), tapped it with a 5/16" thread and screwed in a 1" long 5/16" bolt with two lock washers and one flat washer. This was the perfect spacing for the 1" bolt to not enter the hitch sleeve slot. It certainly won't guarantee the security of my reducers, but it greatly reduces the crime-of-opportunity situation.
To reduce the potential for succumbing to theft of my reducers by some selfish urchin, I drilled a 17/64" hole into the bottom of the hitch through all three receivers (3", 2.5" and 2"), tapped it with a 5/16" thread and screwed in a 1" long 5/16" bolt with two lock washers and one flat washer. This was the perfect spacing for the 1" bolt to not enter the hitch sleeve slot. It certainly won't guarantee the security of my reducers, but it greatly reduces the crime-of-opportunity situation.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 1,274
Likes: 26
From: St Louis Suburbs
Not a complete list, but
Changes:
- Sony --> B&O (I thought this was going to be a big improvement. The B&O just isn't a very good system. Haven't compared the two, but a lot of folks say: meh)
Adds:
- Onboard WiFi hotspot via AT&T, which gives seamless integration with FordPass (remote start, lock, alarm notification, vehicle info, location) this was a huge deal for me, YMMV. I need to find out how long the hotspot stays on since I'd like to do a dashcam to cloud setup.
Deletes:
- Hitch sleeve/pin
- ambient lighting colors
- lighted door sills (actually went away on the 18s if memory serves. Connector still there--I installed a set a few weeks ago, took a couple of minutes, worth every penny)
Changes that should have been made:
- same crappy plastic driver's side lock. My F250 lasted exactly 3 hours and 58 minutes in San Antonio before it got broken into. Jimmi Jammers were on my list, but should have been at the top. Good news: FordPass notified me as they were breaking into it--but I was 15 miles away.
- same zero-security gate attachment--McGard was high on the list and it's installed. The gate survived San Antonio.
Overall, I'm blown away by the design excellence and the level of systems integration in this thing. Having Forscan and the ability to customize a large number of truck behaviors is awesome. The level of support for towing, including separate configuration and mileage tracking of multiple trailers is really something, as is the 360 camera thing. Things like it being able to handle a thumb drive with 22,000 songs and 2000+ old radio shows, including indexing the whole deal in a few minutes, and including a decent user interface for browsing said songs and radio shows, are worth the whole price of admission--my Toyota croaked on this, as did my $1000 Excelon head unit). Being able to add downhill descent control for $10 and a forscan mod is crazy. The only systemic bad issue, IMHO, is the Ford legal "prohibit everything" attitude. It shows up everywhere, from trying to use the GPS while moving, to trying to configure someone's tablet to use the onboard wifi while moving, to trying to check my freaking trailer hitch or behind my trailer while moving. This lazy approach to liability, many times at the expense of actual safety, significantly reduces the utility of an excellent product. /rant
Best of luck.
Changes:
- Sony --> B&O (I thought this was going to be a big improvement. The B&O just isn't a very good system. Haven't compared the two, but a lot of folks say: meh)
Adds:
- Onboard WiFi hotspot via AT&T, which gives seamless integration with FordPass (remote start, lock, alarm notification, vehicle info, location) this was a huge deal for me, YMMV. I need to find out how long the hotspot stays on since I'd like to do a dashcam to cloud setup.
Deletes:
- Hitch sleeve/pin
- ambient lighting colors
- lighted door sills (actually went away on the 18s if memory serves. Connector still there--I installed a set a few weeks ago, took a couple of minutes, worth every penny)
Changes that should have been made:
- same crappy plastic driver's side lock. My F250 lasted exactly 3 hours and 58 minutes in San Antonio before it got broken into. Jimmi Jammers were on my list, but should have been at the top. Good news: FordPass notified me as they were breaking into it--but I was 15 miles away.
- same zero-security gate attachment--McGard was high on the list and it's installed. The gate survived San Antonio.
Overall, I'm blown away by the design excellence and the level of systems integration in this thing. Having Forscan and the ability to customize a large number of truck behaviors is awesome. The level of support for towing, including separate configuration and mileage tracking of multiple trailers is really something, as is the 360 camera thing. Things like it being able to handle a thumb drive with 22,000 songs and 2000+ old radio shows, including indexing the whole deal in a few minutes, and including a decent user interface for browsing said songs and radio shows, are worth the whole price of admission--my Toyota croaked on this, as did my $1000 Excelon head unit). Being able to add downhill descent control for $10 and a forscan mod is crazy. The only systemic bad issue, IMHO, is the Ford legal "prohibit everything" attitude. It shows up everywhere, from trying to use the GPS while moving, to trying to configure someone's tablet to use the onboard wifi while moving, to trying to check my freaking trailer hitch or behind my trailer while moving. This lazy approach to liability, many times at the expense of actual safety, significantly reduces the utility of an excellent product. /rant
Best of luck.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 1,274
Likes: 26
From: St Louis Suburbs
Considering upgrading to a 450, but debating whether to get a 19 or wait for 20's. I keep seeing where Ford has decontented the Platinums by removing features like ambient light changes, lighted door sills, missing hitch sleeves and pin etc... what other things did Ford remove that were available in 17-18? Sad to see them get cheap in spite of prices going up
Mountain Pass
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 134
Likes: 7
FWIW:
My '19 F-450 came with the 3" to 2.5" reducer and a pin. I bought a 3" weigh safe drop hitch, so the sleeve didn't matter.
Initially I was really underwhelmed with the B&O systems sound. I don't know if it needs break in time, or if I was just listening to music that had too much compression, but I ran some known good lossless files hard wired and it sounded pretty good. Went from wanting to upgrade the speakers to being pretty content with it. I'd say it actually sounds better than the stereo in our A5. Not as good as the stereo in the M6.
I originally thought the ice blue ambient lighting was a KR, Platinum specific thing. So I was pretty happy that the Lariat Ultimate had it. Would have never known that the previous models could change color if I hadn't seen it mentioned in other threads.
Same with the lighted door sills, I feel like the truck has enough light, so thats not really something I even noticed wasn't there.
I really couldn't be happier with the truck. Everything works really well, the carplay is really nice. I'm coming up on 3 months with it and the only things I wish were different are super minor. (I wish there was an actual button somewhere for the heated steering wheel).
I like to buy things toward the end of their run, I don't like to get in on the brand new stuff. So hearing that they were going to change the transmission in 2020 encouraged me to go with a '19.
As far as waiting - I look at computers the same way. If you are always waiting for the next best thing, you'll be waiting forever.
My '19 F-450 came with the 3" to 2.5" reducer and a pin. I bought a 3" weigh safe drop hitch, so the sleeve didn't matter.
Initially I was really underwhelmed with the B&O systems sound. I don't know if it needs break in time, or if I was just listening to music that had too much compression, but I ran some known good lossless files hard wired and it sounded pretty good. Went from wanting to upgrade the speakers to being pretty content with it. I'd say it actually sounds better than the stereo in our A5. Not as good as the stereo in the M6.
I originally thought the ice blue ambient lighting was a KR, Platinum specific thing. So I was pretty happy that the Lariat Ultimate had it. Would have never known that the previous models could change color if I hadn't seen it mentioned in other threads.
Same with the lighted door sills, I feel like the truck has enough light, so thats not really something I even noticed wasn't there.
I really couldn't be happier with the truck. Everything works really well, the carplay is really nice. I'm coming up on 3 months with it and the only things I wish were different are super minor. (I wish there was an actual button somewhere for the heated steering wheel).
I like to buy things toward the end of their run, I don't like to get in on the brand new stuff. So hearing that they were going to change the transmission in 2020 encouraged me to go with a '19.
As far as waiting - I look at computers the same way. If you are always waiting for the next best thing, you'll be waiting forever.
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Logistics Pro
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 3,674
Likes: 51
From: SoCal
Adds:
- Onboard WiFi hotspot via AT&T, which gives seamless integration with FordPass (remote start, lock, alarm notification, vehicle info, location) this was a huge deal for me, YMMV. I need to find out how long the hotspot stays on since I'd like to do a dashcam to cloud setup.
This is $25 a month from AT&T, the older system with remote start/lock/unlock from a mobile app is $50 a year instead of $300. You don't get a wifi hotspot, but I already have that on my phone, not sure why I would need it in my truck where I can't take it with me.
- Onboard WiFi hotspot via AT&T, which gives seamless integration with FordPass (remote start, lock, alarm notification, vehicle info, location) this was a huge deal for me, YMMV. I need to find out how long the hotspot stays on since I'd like to do a dashcam to cloud setup.
This is $25 a month from AT&T, the older system with remote start/lock/unlock from a mobile app is $50 a year instead of $300. You don't get a wifi hotspot, but I already have that on my phone, not sure why I would need it in my truck where I can't take it with me.
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Elder User
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 668
Likes: 6
From: FL
Having just traded my 2017 CCLB F250 Platinum Ultimate for a 2019 CCLB Platinum Ultimate I can tell you that getting in the 2019 was a shock.
EVERYTHING is made of cheaper material. The seats feel cheaper. The woodgrain is gone... replaced with black plastic faux woodgrain... the steering wheel, the gear shift handle, it just feels about 10% cheaper. The pull out step in the tailgate seems cheaper. Maybe I'm imagining it but I don't think so. I've written in other threads that if you take the 2017 and compare it to the 2019... the 2019 just feels cheaper all the way around.
Another thing. If I remember correctly, the 2017 had nice plastic latch handles to unlock the rear seats after they had been folded up. The 2019 has a strap you have to dig out of a pocket and yank.
It's that kind of stuff everywhere.
It was a minor let-down, but I got used to it / over it within a week and now the luxury of the 2017 is a fading memory.
It's too bad really. The 2017 was nicer.
That said, I guess I'm one of the few people who like the new stereo. I don't listen to music as loud as I used to... and the 2019 seems to have a deeper base and a clearer treble.
EVERYTHING is made of cheaper material. The seats feel cheaper. The woodgrain is gone... replaced with black plastic faux woodgrain... the steering wheel, the gear shift handle, it just feels about 10% cheaper. The pull out step in the tailgate seems cheaper. Maybe I'm imagining it but I don't think so. I've written in other threads that if you take the 2017 and compare it to the 2019... the 2019 just feels cheaper all the way around.
Another thing. If I remember correctly, the 2017 had nice plastic latch handles to unlock the rear seats after they had been folded up. The 2019 has a strap you have to dig out of a pocket and yank.
It's that kind of stuff everywhere.
It was a minor let-down, but I got used to it / over it within a week and now the luxury of the 2017 is a fading memory.
It's too bad really. The 2017 was nicer.
That said, I guess I'm one of the few people who like the new stereo. I don't listen to music as loud as I used to... and the 2019 seems to have a deeper base and a clearer treble.
Mountain Pass
Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 125
Likes: 3
If money is no object, wait for the 2020 and the 10 speed transmission. If you like the look of the 17/18/19 order it now because '19 will be the last year of the 6 speed and body.
I went for the later and ordered a 2019 last week.
I went for the later and ordered a 2019 last week.
Senior User
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 399
Likes: 1
Adds:
- Onboard WiFi hotspot via AT&T, which gives seamless integration with FordPass (remote start, lock, alarm notification, vehicle info, location) this was a huge deal for me, YMMV. I need to find out how long the hotspot stays on since I'd like to do a dashcam to cloud setup.
This is $25 a month from AT&T, the older system with remote start/lock/unlock from a mobile app is $50 a year instead of $300. You don't get a wifi hotspot, but I already have that on my phone, not sure why I would need it in my truck where I can't take it with me.
- Onboard WiFi hotspot via AT&T, which gives seamless integration with FordPass (remote start, lock, alarm notification, vehicle info, location) this was a huge deal for me, YMMV. I need to find out how long the hotspot stays on since I'd like to do a dashcam to cloud setup.
This is $25 a month from AT&T, the older system with remote start/lock/unlock from a mobile app is $50 a year instead of $300. You don't get a wifi hotspot, but I already have that on my phone, not sure why I would need it in my truck where I can't take it with me.
Mountain Pass
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 178
Likes: 3
From: Palm Springs California
Considering upgrading to a 450, but debating whether to get a 19 or wait for 20's. I keep seeing where Ford has decontented the Platinums by removing features like ambient light changes, lighted door sills, missing hitch sleeves and pin etc... what other things did Ford remove that were available in 17-18? Sad to see them get cheap in spite of prices going up
If I knew today what I didn't know a year ago I would have never waited a week for this truck.
Unless the 2020 mods blow your skirt up I wouldn't wait and miss out on some AMAZING drive time with teh 2019.
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