Hi all.

I'm Megan from Kaplan, LA. I haven't been on here in a long time, and now wish I would have caught up with the forums sooner.

Hubby & I lost our '86 F-350 & '97 F-150 trucks last year in Hurricane Rita. We bought a 2001 EB Expedition in Sept. '05, and I wanted some feedback on our purchase (yeah, I know, kinda late ).

I love my truck, and until last week, haven't had any problems with it (except for the front seatbelts not staying buckled). It's currently at the local dealership because of hesitation at startup & between 40-55 mph. The dealership is changing the spark plugs & EGR, and they found an axle seal leak. The axle seal & seatbelt issue is covered under my warranty. I have to pay for the other. They're also taking care of the cruise control recall issue. It's supposed to be ready tomorrow morning.

Anyway, this is what I have, and I'd appreciate any feedback:

2001 Eddie Bauer Expedition
4WD, lighted running boards, 17" aluminum wheels, tow package, Triton V8, 6-CD changer, video cassette player, fold-down LCD TV, rear air & radio controls, wireless headsets for TV, Mach (?) labels on the speaker grilles, rear-window defrost, power driver's seat, adjustable pedal height, auto-dimming rear view mirror.

Questions are:
Is the video system something that would be factory?
Have there been issues with the woofer in the rear (only have high & mid-range through speakers), and is it a relatively easy repair?
Are there any major issues with this year Expy that I should be on the lookout for? (Truck has 94K miles)
How trustworthy is the mpg readout? (Started at 13.9 mpg when I bought, got it up to 15.1 mpg, dropped down to 14.7 mpg recently, probably because it needed a tuneup)

TIA!

Megan B.

 

Yes, it sounds like you have the stock VHS system.

The sub issue is probably the stock amp which is behind the rear passenger panel just forward of the sub. The one on my '01 died too. I check mine with a multimeter and confirmed it was getting power and signal, but was not sending any power to the speaker. You can always replace it with an aftermarket amp.

As far as major issues, I'm sure others will chime in here...COPs going bad, spark plug blow out issue, suspension problems with high mileage...take it from here guys.

You can reset the MPG by holding down both buttons. Mine was pretty reliable when I compared it to my own calculations, but only if reset after fill up. The miles 'til empty reading lies. It will only be reliable when driving long distances. Most peoples city driving varies too much for either to be real accurate.

 

Did the 01's still have the plug blowout problem? I figured they would have it fixed by then

 

I think it was a problem up through the first few months of the '03 model. I've seen others refernce a March '03 (i think) build date as the last of the bad heads.

 

I have a very similar truck, but 4X2...
The MPG readout is always wrong...but not by much. You'll learn it once you take some manual calculations. The best thing about it is you can see how your driving habits affect MPG. The "Miles to Empty" is a good benchmark for when you should fill back up, so you don't let your fuel level get too low and leave your fuel pump partially sucking air. You probably have 30-40 miles of gas left after the reading hits "zero" though.

By the way, as with most fuel sending units, if you park on an incline, your "Miles to Empty" will be very high after you start the engine. The reverse if you park on a decline.

The COP issue is the main problem that I've had with my truck. I've had two go out on me, but it's not that big of a deal for me to change one out.

The only thing I don't like about the 2001's is that the newer ones have independant suspension on the rear end. Those trucks ride a lot smoother, but it's not like we have a bad ride to begin with...

All in all, I think you'll like your truck for a long time. 100k miles is nothing on these. My goal is 225k before I get another truck, and I'll probably end up keeping this one after that anyway.

 

Oh, and I have the stock VHS player too. Kids love it, even if the LCD screen is thumbnail size...

 

Thanks for the replies!

I don't know if I'm ambitious enough to "DIY" on the subwoofer, but I can tell whoever looks at it what to check first. Thanks, bridge!

Am I correct in interpreting "COP" as "coil pack"?

My kids love the video, too. Makes long trips a lot quieter (12 y.o. & 4 y.o. girls...they pick at each other a lot ).

I guess I figured that the mpg/mte readout wouldn't be exactly accurate. It gives me an idea of how my driving affects fuel economy. I really need to manually calculate my mpg, though. Most of my driving is rural highway, with minimal in-town driving, and I've averaged a little less than 2K miles/month. I knew going in that it wasn't going to get 30 mpg+, and I was thrilled to get 14 mpg.

Sorry for rambling, there. Thanks again for the info!

Megan B.

 

Answered my own question re: COP. Coil on plug.

I got my truck back from the shop tonight. The diagnosis was a code P0301.

They changed the plugs, 2 gaskets, 2 hoses, cleaned the EGR ports, changed the seatbelt buckles (seatbelts would randomly come unbuckled), performed the cruise control recall work, and replaced the right front axle seal. They also fixed the sticky accelerator. My truck is running fine now.

Re: seatbelt buckles - I know that Ford issued a recall on the front seatbelt buckles, and the '01 Expy falls under it, but according to the mechanic at the dealership, seatbelts didn't come up as a recall item for my truck. I'm puzzled. Has anyone else had this issue?

They *were* covered by the warranty, though, so I didn't have to pay for them out of pocket.

Have a good evening, y'all!

Megan B.