Just over 500 miles on her now. Mostly by my wife.

1. The roads were icy, so I had to use the 4X shift-on-fly off and on.

I would turn the switch to 4hi, the indicator light would come on, and a split-second later I would hear this awful, raspy, grinding noise on the driver's side front wheel. The noise only lasts a second or two. The more times I engaged it, the worse it got. Engaging the 4X at higher speeds made it worse too. Once engaged, it was fine. Disengaging was fine as well. Sitting still or driving slow, it didn't do it.

I assume the vacuum operated hubs are malfunctioning. It sounds like they aren't engaging quick and positive, and instead they grind/bind until they go in. Or I suppose it could be some other vacuum or electronic problem.

2. The other problem was a loud, high-pitched whistle that seemed to come on during accelleration or down-shifts up hills. It was definitely from under the hood and rpm related.

I thought maybe it was an air intake noise, or possibly an alternator, power steering pump, etc.

3. In cold weather, defrosting the rear windows is impossible. Today my passengers went the entire trip unable to see out their windows. When merging into traffic, I found it unsafe to see out of them (and the rear slider). Even the front window was hard to keep clear. Plenty of heat...just not clear windows.

$35,000 and only 500 miles later, and it's already time for warranty work. Very unhappy at this point.

 

Like you said it cpould be your hubs making the grinding noise the wistle im pretty shure is normal my moms 4.6 wistles like you explaind it should just be your air intake.

 

All I can vouch for are the foggy rear windows, and I have not found a good solution. Tonight I finally got the fog off by putting the Defrost on max fan, max cool, and with A/C, no recirc. It got pretty cold though. :-( The rear windows in my Ranger never did this, but I have experienced the problem in a GMC Sierra.

My 4.6 started a minor whistle after installing a K&N Filtercharger, but I think it is due to the increased airflow and is unrelated to your problem.

 

cruelcrew,
Did you take your foot off the gas when you engaged 4wd? The manual says not to engage 4wd while the wheels are slipping. If you are driving on ice or snow with your foot on the gas this might cause a slipping condition. Try taking your foot off the gas momentarily while engaging 4wd. Just an idea that might be worth a try. Also there is a maximum recomended speed for engaging 4wd, I think its 50 or 55 mph, check your manual.--Jack

 

you need to sell your truck all you do is complain about it nothing positive it's getting old

 

I haven't driven any new F-150s (or any 4x4 F-150 for that matter) but it is normal to have some noise when engaging 4x4 on most vehicles. My Super Duty has ESOF and some noise is present during engagement. My '92 Explorer did the same.

It's probably more related to speed than malfunctioning hubs. If it's under 32 degrees, the manual says to be doing under 45 mph when engaging 4x4. Frankly, I dont see the need to use 4x4 over 45 mph. Also, be sure to let your foot off of the gas, let the engine coast down for a few seconds, switch over into 4HI, wait a couple seconds, gentle resume throttle. I bet you'll find that this will greatly decrease engaging noise.

As for your slider winder, I believe they offer a defroster for it. You could probably get one and have it installed if its that big of a deal.

 

Thanks all. I couldn't drive any faster than 45 on the icy roads, so I don't think speed is the issue. Also I never engage 4X while accelerating or slipping. It is colder than 32F here...and it usually is most of the winter (when I need the 4X). My last F-150 with shift-on-fly didn't make this horrible sound, and neither does my Super Duty with shift-on-fly.

I did take the truck in this morning. I took a service technician for a ride. He said something was definitely wrong. I'm scheduled to go in next week. He was stumped with the loud, high-pitched whistle. But I made it clear that I would not accept it, nor put up with it. He had no solution to the icing/fogging windows either.

Berol, I think the rear window defroster is only available with the fixed rear window. I needed the slider. If I had only known how bad it would ice/fog over. Plus we can't see out of the rear side windows either. It's almost a safey concern.

Stretch1, some of us have higher standards and expectations. If you think the new F-150 is perfect and has no room for improvement, then I can not relate to you. If you think having 4X problems and putting up with an extremely loud and embarrassing whistle within the first 500 miles is ok, then things in this world will never improve.

But others here interested in purchasing this truck may appreciate any information they can get. At least I wish I had known about the icing windows and lack of illumination on the buttons and *****. And others with similar problems (if any) might not feel so intimidated posting as a result of comments like yours.

BTW, I did post this:

"The solid, quiet ride is fabulous. Handling is superb. Fit and finish is the best I've seen from Ford. I'm giving this truck a 9 out of 10...so far."

 

You mean the new F-150 uses vacuum actuated hubs?? Oh man...I feel sorry for you guys. Ford tried that on the Ranger in 1998. By the end of 1999 they had already figured out the hard way that it wasn't going to work and they ditched them. I thought they'd be wiser than to use that junk in the F-150. If I were you, I'd be looking for something else if you really need the 4-wheel drive feature. Vacuum hubs are very unreliable.

 

Oh, never mind that one. I think my 1999 and also 2001 F-150 4x4 trucks have the very same vacuum actuated 4wd front hubs and so far they have worked flawlessly. Now, the GM heat actuated hubs are truly not good in most any circumstance. Maybe there is some confusion here. As far as noise? Never heard a thing except for bit of clunk going into 4WD Low. By the way the switch on the dash is a lot easier than the floor shift for getting into that low range.

Anyway - not sure why or how you would hear a lot of noise as I never hear any. I think you are possibly over-compensating for icy conditions and drier conditions by moving the selector back and forth. This could easily bind up the driveshafts somewhat.

I am one of those that thinks that Ford either must offer an AWD transfer case or some sort of electornic stability control very soon to be competitive. Ford doesn't even put limited slip on the rear as standard feature. You have almost nothing holding your truck on the road in bad conditions without some kind of other controls.

The post regarding icy conditions means to me that some kind of traction control should be available. There's no reason to literally shift these trucks in and out of 4WD! GM does it, Nissan does it, don't know about the rest - just know Ford doesn't. And before the flame wars attack - most of these systems do and should have switches that turn them off.

Just keep looking for my best truck ever and they really haven't built it yet, but they are gettting closer.

 

In regards to the windows fogging up I think bigwtx was on to something. I had an FX4 for a weekend test drive a couple weeks back and it just happened to be a damp cool weekend. Constantly had fogging issues on the rear windows while I had the "floor and defrost" mode selected. I didn't think much of it until the front windshield started fogging up. In an attempt to get the windows cleared I pressed the A/C button while I still had the "floor and defrost" mode selected with the thermostat in the red zone (didn't freeze myself). Problem solved almost instantly, didn't have foggy windows the rest of the weekend. I think on prior model fords this step was done for us automatically ( and I'm wondering why it still isn't) but to the best of my knowledge the A/C compressor has to cycle during the defrost mode so the system is able to de-humidify the air. Hence by pressing the A/C button ( I assume all models of the 04 have this) the problem was solved. Then again I could be barking up the wrong tree I'm a poultry major, not heating and air!

Ultramax

 

ck1404, I'm not sure what you mean by, "over-compensating for icy conditions and drier conditions by moving the selector back and forth."?

It is shift-on-fly. When the roads get icy, I engage the switch. When the roads get dry, I disengage the switch. I believe this is what the owner's manual suggests. Moving the selector back and forth isn't something I do.

Unltramax21, I was under the impression that the A/C was automatically cycled in any of the "defrost" modes? Regardless, I did run with the A/C button engaged, hoping it would help. But even then, the windows remained fogged. I'm beginning to find that any temperature below 15F, and they will never clear.

 

I specifically picked the rear window with no sliding window because you can't get a defroster on the sliding window. Probably not too much you can do with it on cold and damp days other than play with the heat/defrost settings up front until something seems to clear some of it. I can't stand not being able to see the cars around me and the rear defroster was very important to me. I can't see myself using or needing the rear sliding window.

 

I'm not 100% certian CruelCrew, my case might have just been a fluke, and it hardly ever (if ever) gets 15F in Ga which would greatly change the realative humidity and degree of fogging. However, if the A/C compressor is automatically engaging during defrost mode on the 04 it seems like the A/C button light would also come on automatically. I'm not trying to be sarcastic, just trying to figure it out.

 

Not sure of your driving conditions. In the mountains, it is very tempting to switch back and forth between 4WD when you are in the shadows and the ice is bad. That is the very circumstance to which I refer - an AWD option on the transfer case would be bliss or at least some form of electronic traction control. If you don't at least have limited slip on the rear - a moment of ice and a little braking action can turn you sideways in a literal moment. Frankly, I still prefer the old manual hubs as you really are moving the front driveshaft mechanically back and forth when you need it to be in and out of 4WD. I still hesitate with the newer trucks thinking maybe I really don't need this traction just yet - most of the time I don't. An AWD option would be better and certainly take the guesswork out of the equation.

 

Good points guys. The most practicle 4X system I've ever had was the full-time one in a Jeep Grand Cherokee. No shifting...ever. And some serious off-road capabilities without any problems on dry pavement. I don't know how Jeep does it, but something like that would be nice on the F-150. But then I guess it quits being a truck.

It looks like those of us in the colder climates are stuck with fogged windows, especially if there's passengers in the back.