I've long joked that cars have gone from me being able to fix them at the side of the road with a screwdriver and vicegrips to vehicles that when I look in the engine compartment all I see is a bunch of stuff that I don't recognize. None the less I've considered that my 2.7, 10 speed to be the best tow vehicle that I've ever had and there's been quite a few.
Yesterday my opinion changed. Backed the truck and trailer into the driveway night before last using my mirrors. Hopped in yesterday ready to pull out and the first thing that caught my attention was that the seat back was angled forward! What the heck, how could that be! Anyway, adjusted it and headed off, got into heavy traffic and scanned my mirror for traffic. Crap, how did the bottom of the mirror get pushed in? Non-responsive to pushing the button. Drove on the highway like that, shoulder checking, until a rest stop. Pushed hard on the mirror and got it back into position.
While on the highway I got Cross traffic system faults, blind spot faults, TPMS faults, no heater or climate contols, no idle stop button, the list goes on.
At that point returning home seemed like the prudent thing to do and we did. I fully expected that when I connected my OBD2 reader I'd get some codes that would help pinpoint something. No codes and none pending?
Totally stunned that there could be a problem that would affect so many functions. Then totally shocked when I went to the F150 owners website and started researching the problem. There were folks in 2015 reporting the same list of malfunctions. And the complaints continue up through the years. Stories of folks leaving their vehicles at the dealers for weeks at a time, getting new ones under lemon laws etc. This situation has gone on for a long time and it doesn't appear to have a definitive cause.
So I have an appointment at the dealer for next week but I don't have high hopes. I hope this doesn't result in me throwing large amounts of money at a continuing problem. In the interim I'll continue researching the problem, checking connectors and the BLISS system etc.
But, again, what is hugely disappointing is that a problem can affect so many systems and also that it's existed for a long time and Ford hasn't eliminated the source of the problem.
Still best tow vehicle ever? We'll see.
Ron
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