Ford 2.0 EcoBoost / 6F35 Reliability Anyone?

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After owning Jeeps for 30 years, my parents decided to end their Jeep ownership. Their 2008 Wrangler was a complete PoS and my father didn't like that they were still having problems with the '12s and '13s and decided to get an Escape to replace it.


They ended up getting an Escape with the 2.0 Eco-boast. Of course it comes with the 6F35 transmission.

Anyone know how the 2.0 Eco-Boast are doing? The 1.6 catch on fire.

I know the 6f35 transmission isn't that great ... is there anything to do to get them to last longer?
 
The engine will probably be fine, but the trans seems to be the weak point. I would not buy one because of the trans problems and I am a Ford guy through and through.
 
I've heard that the 2013's had had quite a few recall\service bulletins to remedy certain issues and the transmission had a really bad record in other cars. Personally i would have waited at least til the 2014 model came out to avoid the glitches. Picking up one of the remaining 2012 models would have been another option since the design has been out for a while, plus dealers are really motivated to move those anyway. Hopefully they wont have too many issues like the people affected by the fire problem.

http://www.10news.com/money/ford-says-so...on-cars12102012
 
As far as reliability on the 6F35 goes, it seems that you either have problems or you don't; total toss-up. The 6F35 in our Fusion was partially rebuilt at just over 20,000 miles this summer. That 20,000 miles included a lot of easy interstate driving, and was never abused. In my efforts to try and prolong this transmission, last week I did a drain/fill with some Redline D6 and a little Maxlife ATF. After doing this, I haven't driven the car much, so I can't make a full report just yet. But so far, it does seem to shift smoother mostly, especially the 1-2 shift.

But overall, I think it just comes down to bad shift programming. Whenever the PCM gets reset, whether it be for a reflash or some other service, the transmission works like a peach. Nice, quick shifts. Firm, but not rough. No shift flares. Then, it learns your driving style... and as soon as it deviates from its standard program, it starts to perform less than stellar. If Ford could nail the programming, I think the 6F35 would be a very nice transmission. As of now, it is the only thing I don't like about our Fusion. If the Redline D6 does end up making a nice difference in the long run, I may do a yearly drain/fill on it (very easy to do) to help prolong the life of this unit. We'll see how it goes.

The verdict? Even if you gave me an awesome deal on another Ford vehicle, as long as it had the 6F35, I'd run far away... just my .02
 
I wouldn't worry at all.

The issues with the 1.6 were very specific in nature and will be corrected. IIRC the 2.0 has been out for a while in Europe so it's somewhat of a proven design.

I hear about the 6f35 and with the amount of cars that it is in which are some of their highest volumes (Fusion, Escape) I think the issues are way overblown. Yes, early units had issues, yes some are bad but you can say that about every transmission. I've driven a 45k Fusion rental and it shifted fine. If the trans were as bad as the Internet makes it out to be, we'd all know about it by now and the Fusion wouldn't be a recommended car.

I also think that, despite the auto mfg's claims 30k fluid changes are the best thing for longevity. At 125k the CD4E in the wife's Escape is fine and we've done 30k changes.
 
i really wanted to like the Ford comeback story, but their reliability has been pretty [censored] poor the last few years.
 
From what I can tell, the recalls so far are for the 1.6 Eco-Boast.

They really liked the styling of the old escape but weren't able to find any left.

Originally Posted By: itguy08
I wouldn't worry at all.

The issues with the 1.6 were very specific in nature and will be corrected. IIRC the 2.0 has been out for a while in Europe so it's somewhat of a proven design.

I hear about the 6f35 and with the amount of cars that it is in which are some of their highest volumes (Fusion, Escape) I think the issues are way overblown. Yes, early units had issues, yes some are bad but you can say that about every transmission. I've driven a 45k Fusion rental and it shifted fine. If the trans were as bad as the Internet makes it out to be, we'd all know about it by now and the Fusion wouldn't be a recommended car.

I also think that, despite the auto mfg's claims 30k fluid changes are the best thing for longevity. At 125k the CD4E in the wife's Escape is fine and we've done 30k changes.


Owners manual recommends 30k transmission fluid changes for severe service. There's a drain plug on this (surprised!) but no dipstick to fill/check with.

Would you folks recommend running premium fuel in the summer? Do they ping in the summer with lower octane fuel?
 
Originally Posted By: cptbarkey
i really wanted to like the Ford comeback story, but their reliability has been pretty [censored] poor the last few years.


Really? Outside of MyFordTouch they have been doing fine...
 
Originally Posted By: Miller88
Would you folks recommend running premium fuel in the summer? Do they ping in the summer with lower octane fuel?


I've got the 3.5 Ecoboost in the SHO and since 2009 I've used the cheapest gas I can find. It does fine. In the summer I can sometimes tell there is something going on, especially in over, say 80 degrees but it runs like a scalded cat! I've dabbled with premium for a few tanks and it does make it run a tad better but lightens my wallet too much to make a difference.
 
In regards to the 1.6 fire issue, it stemmed from an issue with the coolant springing a leak and leaking onto the hot manifold.

Ford has found a resolution to the problem and will issue a software upgrade to kick in the cooling system earlier to prevent the vehicle from catching fire.
 
Originally Posted By: Stanley Rockafeller
In regards to the 1.6 fire issue, it stemmed from an issue with the coolant springing a leak and leaking onto the hot manifold.

Ford has found a resolution to the problem and will issue a software upgrade to kick in the cooling system earlier to prevent the vehicle from catching fire.


I was reading that ... I am surprised that was causing it. I was under the assumption that the 1.6 and 2.0 used the same cooling systems. Going on that assumption, I was thinking it was caused by a problem with the grille shudders not working properly or staying open too long? The 2.0 doesn't have the grille shudders.

Still, popping a coolant leak is no good. I also didn't realize that coolant was flamable.
 
Out of the frying pan into the fire.... ;-)

A co-worker made a point of researching Escapes, and deliberately bought one of the last previous-generation ones he could find because of teething issues with pretty much the whole vehicle after the big redesign. I'd really wait a while on that one, even though I'm a big fan of the Ecoboost myself. It'll get there, but I'd give the Escape application a while to mature.

IMO, comparing a Cerberus-era Mopar like your parents' Jeep to anything else is not really fair. This is the management group that tried to kill the Pentastar engine and strike a deal with Nissan for engines in trade for re-badging Ram pickups as Nissans... which might have been a step up from the Titan fiasco, but totally undermined the idea of Chrysler continuing to be a true car company and had to really kill morale at Chrysler. A real car company designs engines. Period. Four words I would never have expected myself to say 5 years ago: Thank God for Fiat, which has turned out far better for Chrysler than I would ever have guessed.
 
Originally Posted By: itguy08
Originally Posted By: cptbarkey
i really wanted to like the Ford comeback story, but their reliability has been pretty [censored] poor the last few years.


Really? Outside of MyFordTouch they have been doing fine...


Exactly! Just goes to show you how internet can blow anything out of proportion.
Having said that, I would still avoid a first year redesign model, that goes for all car makers out there, not just Ford.
 
Originally Posted By: Miller88
From what I can tell, the recalls so far are for the 1.6 Eco-Boast.

They really liked the styling of the old escape but weren't able to find any left.

Originally Posted By: itguy08
I wouldn't worry at all.

The issues with the 1.6 were very specific in nature and will be corrected. IIRC the 2.0 has been out for a while in Europe so it's somewhat of a proven design.

I hear about the 6f35 and with the amount of cars that it is in which are some of their highest volumes (Fusion, Escape) I think the issues are way overblown. Yes, early units had issues, yes some are bad but you can say that about every transmission. I've driven a 45k Fusion rental and it shifted fine. If the trans were as bad as the Internet makes it out to be, we'd all know about it by now and the Fusion wouldn't be a recommended car.

I also think that, despite the auto mfg's claims 30k fluid changes are the best thing for longevity. At 125k the CD4E in the wife's Escape is fine and we've done 30k changes.


Owners manual recommends 30k transmission fluid changes for severe service. There's a drain plug on this (surprised!) but no dipstick to fill/check with.

Would you folks recommend running premium fuel in the summer? Do they ping in the summer with lower octane fuel?


There has to be a fill/check on it somewhere. As I am not familiar with their ATFs but have heard about their reputation I would go with 30k drain and fills. Cheap insurance.

Wouldnt bother with the premium, as mentioned above, will only drain wallet. Run a good fuel cleaner in it every few months and that should keep everything in check.
 
Originally Posted By: KrisZ

Having said that, I would still avoid a first year redesign model, that goes for all car makers out there, not just Ford.


True - I had a G35 before the SHO and it, in its first year had teething problems too. That being said I've had good luck with my the first year SHO. Yes there have been small issues (knock sensor, transmission sensor, brake light chrome peeling) but nothing major and stuff is to be expected with a brand new car and drivetrain.
 
I was looking under the hood and I wasn't finding one for the trans. I think the level has to be checked from a fill tube. Kind of like a manual transmission.

From what I can tell, Ford has updated programming to make the transmission problems go away until it's out of warranty. I think the 1.0 Eco-Boast that's coming in from Europe has been in use for a few years too.

Another thing that concerns me is the exhaust manifold is part of the head?! That's going to be a problem considering exhaust manifolds last a few years maximum. If the turbo is in the manifold ... eek!

If I was getting one, I would have got the 2.5 port injected FWD one. Less complicated, proven engine technology.

They didn't have an option for the Jeep ... it's engine life was measurable in miles. Chrysler quality had gone down the pooper long before Daimler and Cerberus. Lets see if Fiat can make it better or worse!



Fiat didn't have the greatest reputation for quality.
 
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Can the transmission be reprogrammed / tuned by the aftermarket? A big gamble, I'm sure; but since the OEM has to hit emissions targets first, mpg second and reliability somewhere after that, I have to wonder if a bit of aftermarket tuning might fix a lot of the complaints, for only little loss in mpgs.
 
Originally Posted By: Miller88
From what I can tell, Ford has updated programming to make the transmission problems go away until it's out of warranty.


I seriously doubt that they program it to destruct at 60,001 miles.
smile.gif
I think the best thing to do for all transmissions is 30k drain and fills.

Originally Posted By: Miller88
Another thing that concerns me is the exhaust manifold is part of the head?! That's going to be a problem considering exhaust manifolds last a few years maximum. If the turbo is in the manifold ... eek!


I've not owned a car that I've had to replace an exhaust manifold on. And, yes I've kept them to 5-6 years and 100k. Maybe it depends where you live?
 
Wife's '01 Civic cracked an exhaust manifold, want to say around 160k and 8 years old. $1k? cat was built into it. The Nissan something-or-another had issues with the engine ingesting bits of the cat (which was in the exhaust manifold--valve timing was being used instead of an EGR valve).

Point is, on these more tightly integrated setups, failure in one area may mean failure in other, not so obvious areas. The Civic required a new cat only because of a cracked manifold; the Nissan scored cylinder walls due to a failed cat. Could a manifold-as-part-of-the-head have some minor failure mode that winds up being costly?
 
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