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Old Nov 23, 2022 | 08:07 PM
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1.5 reliability

I've heard from a couple of different sources that there are head gasket failures and other engine problems. We have the 3 cyl 1.5 and are very happy with it so far. Can anyone elaborate on the supposed problems?

Tom
 
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Old Nov 25, 2022 | 08:32 PM
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Over half a million are now being recalled, leaking fuel injectors, vehicle have been catching on fire and have burned, and some buildings have burned because of the vehicle fires, some people have been injured (thankfully not burned), the bad head gasket is the least of their problems. I don't think this is a "supposed problem", as ford is recalling over 500,000, that is a lot of $$$$$$$$ for a "supposed problem", those that have been injured may also disagree with the characterization. If you're driving one of the vehicles on the recall, please don't haul children, it isn't worth the risk. Some of the fires have started several minutes After the vehicle is shut off. Imagine leaving some kids in a vehicle, while you run into a 7-11 for whatever reason, as you are checking out you see flames surrounding your vehicle, with kids inside......enough said.
 
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Old Nov 26, 2022 | 04:41 PM
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Cooling system design in the block is really bad on the EB's (non-V6) and the fix they did is, well a bit of a bandaide... the bock cooling jackets are just not adequate between cylinder to cylinder area which causes head gaskets to fail etc.... so the fix on the newer engines was to drill a hole that is about 1/8" or less in diameter to ensure the coolant is flowing horizontal ...... yeah, give that a couple of years to eventually clog up.................
 
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Old Nov 29, 2022 | 08:51 PM
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Originally Posted by solidstate
Over half a million are now being recalled, leaking fuel injectors, vehicle have been catching on fire and have burned, and some buildings have burned because of the vehicle fires, some people have been injured (thankfully not burned), the bad head gasket is the least of their problems. I don't think this is a "supposed problem", as ford is recalling over 500,000, that is a lot of $$$$$$$$ for a "supposed problem", those that have been injured may also disagree with the characterization. If you're driving one of the vehicles on the recall, please don't haul children, it isn't worth the risk. Some of the fires have started several minutes After the vehicle is shut off. Imagine leaving some kids in a vehicle, while you run into a 7-11 for whatever reason, as you are checking out you see flames surrounding your vehicle, with kids inside......enough said.
I used the term "supposed" because my source was not one I consider to be reliable. Thanks for your response quantifying the situation.
 
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Old Dec 2, 2022 | 05:37 AM
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The service writer at the dealer that I use told me that they have replaced a ton of 1.5 L engines in the Escape and Bronco Sport. He mentioned overheating issues, head gasket issues, leaking injector issues, antilock brake issues etc.

He was on a roll too and mentioned that Ford overall quality has taken a big steamy dump across the board. He stated that they're fixing stuff that has never historically broken in the past.

He stated that the 2.3L ecoboost isn't giving them any issues. This is used in the Explorer, Ranger and the Lincolns.

I found his report to be quite disturbing as he's about to retire and he's been with the same Ford dealer for over 25 years and before that, a career in the Air Force. Even though he's a Yankees fan, I consider him to be a reliable and honest source based on how he and the dealer have treated me over the last 20 years.

My daughter bought a gently used Sport this past summer that had 5K on the clock. Now it has about 11K and she's exhibiting issues with her brakes. The dealer says it's normal. I told her then to avoid any of these that have the 1.5L and she wouldn't listen but she was at least smart enough to get the 7yr / 100K mile ESP.
 
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Old Dec 3, 2022 | 12:53 PM
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Originally Posted by tseekins
The service writer at the dealer that I use told me that they have replaced a ton of 1.5 L engines in the Escape and Bronco Sport. He mentioned overheating issues, head gasket issues, leaking injector issues, antilock brake issues etc.

He was on a roll too and mentioned that Ford overall quality has taken a big steamy dump across the board. He stated that they're fixing stuff that has never historically broken in the past.

He stated that the 2.3L ecoboost isn't giving them any issues. This is used in the Explorer, Ranger and the Lincolns.

I found his report to be quite disturbing as he's about to retire and he's been with the same Ford dealer for over 25 years and before that, a career in the Air Force. Even though he's a Yankees fan, I consider him to be a reliable and honest source based on how he and the dealer have treated me over the last 20 years.

My daughter bought a gently used Sport this past summer that had 5K on the clock. Now it has about 11K and she's exhibiting issues with her brakes. The dealer says it's normal. I told her then to avoid any of these that have the 1.5L and she wouldn't listen but she was at least smart enough to get the 7yr / 100K mile ESP.
The EB V6's are an incredible piece of engineers.... very complicated and if anything goes out/off just a bit, it's say goodbye to the engine. The 4 cyl EB's design had just too many faults especially and still IMHO with heat control = block failure....they are just very expensive disposable engines.
 
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Old Dec 4, 2022 | 06:32 AM
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Originally Posted by Beechkid
The EB V6's are an incredible piece of engineers.... very complicated and if anything goes out/off just a bit, it's say goodbye to the engine. The 4 cyl EB's design had just too many faults especially and still IMHO with heat control = block failure....they are just very expensive disposable engines.
Ford had some teething issues with the early 3.5L but nothing to the extent of the 1.0, 1.6, 1.5 and the 2.0.

When we started car shopping two years ago, I tried like the dickens to put my bride into an\y Honda or Toyota but she refused all. We ended up at our Ford dealer and drove a 2.0L Escape. It was nice for what it was but the little Fords are way overprice and waaay under valued. I was ab le to land a smoking hot deal on the Explorer 2.3L and I couldn't be happier as I was able to avoid the smaller eco engines and get a vehicle that is bigger and still gets 30 mpg's.
 
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Old Jan 2, 2023 | 11:24 AM
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The last time I checked the 1.5 was made in Romania, and was once made in India, are these the mills Ford USA is using?
 
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Old Jan 3, 2023 | 05:15 AM
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Originally Posted by solidstate
The last time I checked the 1.5 was made in Romania, and was once made in India, are these the mills Ford USA is using?
It doesn't matter where it's made, it's made to Ford spec.
 
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Old Jan 3, 2023 | 11:10 AM
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Originally Posted by tseekins
It doesn't matter where it's made, it's made to Ford spec.
I would disagree. It has been recognized for a long time, that certain plants make better cars/shoes/cheese etc. etc. than others, even within the same corporate structure. Some countries (the people) take a lot of pride in the products they produce, Switzerland is a good example, some not so much. The fact that some plants make better products than others, may be contrary to the idea that they are all building to the same spec, but in actual practice, it doesn't turn out that way. Maybe some groups, just as a matter of pride, "exceed" expectations, while others do not. I don't know the reason, but I do know that different plants located in different parts of the world, building to the same spec, often do not build to the same quality standards, when comparing longevity, reliability, etc. Believe it or not, I've even heard, that Toyotas mfg in Japan are more reliable than the same model mfg elsewhere, including the US!
 
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Old Jan 3, 2023 | 11:56 AM
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Regarding various locations for mfg and quality, I know ford just left Russia (Oct 2022) by selling off its [Ford's] stock- but kept an option to purchase back that stock for five years. As ford is no longer making the 1.5 in Russia, it would be difficult to compare those made in India, to those made in Russia, or Mexico for that matter, but I'm betting one of the plants would "win" in a contest to find out which one made the most reliable long-lasting mills, just a guess, but I'd take the bet. Even if you take the 5 fastest runners in the world, run a race, one wins. I believe Ford's plant in India, was sold to TATA motors-but Tata is retooling to produce something else. One thing about Tata, they make a lot of vehicles.
 
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Old Jan 4, 2023 | 05:06 AM
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Originally Posted by solidstate
I would disagree. It has been recognized for a long time, that certain plants make better cars/shoes/cheese etc. etc. than others, even within the same corporate structure. Some countries (the people) take a lot of pride in the products they produce, Switzerland is a good example, some not so much. The fact that some plants make better products than others, may be contrary to the idea that they are all building to the same spec, but in actual practice, it doesn't turn out that way. Maybe some groups, just as a matter of pride, "exceed" expectations, while others do not. I don't know the reason, but I do know that different plants located in different parts of the world, building to the same spec, often do not build to the same quality standards, when comparing longevity, reliability, etc. Believe it or not, I've even heard, that Toyotas mfg in Japan are more reliable than the same model mfg elsewhere, including the US!
Originally Posted by solidstate
Regarding various locations for mfg and quality, I know ford just left Russia (Oct 2022) by selling off its [Ford's] stock- but kept an option to purchase back that stock for five years. As ford is no longer making the 1.5 in Russia, it would be difficult to compare those made in India, to those made in Russia, or Mexico for that matter, but I'm betting one of the plants would "win" in a contest to find out which one made the most reliable long-lasting mills, just a guess, but I'd take the bet. Even if you take the 5 fastest runners in the world, run a race, one wins. I believe Ford's plant in India, was sold to TATA motors-but Tata is retooling to produce something else. One thing about Tata, they make a lot of vehicles.
The 1.5 is going to be garbage whether it's made in India, Romania, Mexico or worse yet, Detroit.
 
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Old Jan 6, 2023 | 08:56 PM
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I am reminded of when back in the 1980's Ford and Mazda were producing identical 5 speed transmissions. I had one in a Ranger. Warranty costs for the Mazda units were substantially less than Ford's. The reason was that Mazda employees strived to keep tolerances closer to the ideal than Ford did. The lesson for Ford was that it was cheaper to produce a unit with better precision than to pay warranty costs after those transmissions were put in service. That certainly makes a lot of sense, today a lot more than ever. Think about the labor to remove and replace an engine or transmission let alone repair or replace with another.

Tom
 
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Old Mar 21, 2023 | 05:26 PM
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The EB V6's are an incredible piece of engineers


What does "EB" stand for in this context? EB usually means Early Bronco, or Eddie Bauer.

 
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Old Mar 21, 2023 | 07:27 PM
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Originally Posted by jas88
What does "EB" stand for in this context? EB usually means Early Bronco, or Eddie Bauer.
In this context it's "EcoBoost".
 
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