After being a loyal Chrysler owner for some years having many Jeeps and Neons as well as my Dakota I have parted ways with my Dakota and most likely Chrysler products entirely.

I was very happy with Liberty and a couple Grand Cherokees I've had, but our last Grand Cherokee('07 Hemi) left a bad taste in my mouth and shortened my fuse for the issues I've had with the Dakota.

I enjoyed the Dakota, although it was a compromise from the very beginning because I would've rather had a full size but couldn't afford it at the time. Needing a full size became more apparent after my daughter was born last year. After meticulously maintaining it but still getting slapped in the face with reliability issues I decided to trade it in.

I went to a dealership yesterday to look at a used 2011 F150 Super Crew 5.0. I wasn't happy with the condition of it, but the auto group also had a Ford dealer. I get the X Plan pricing so I asked my salesman to show me a comprable truck new to see if the numbers would work for me. I ended up test driving a 2013 F150 Super Crew XLT standard bed with the Ecoboost and was impressed, and after $5500 in rebates and about $4k in x plan discounts I ended up buying the identical truck in a short bed.

I would've considered another Dodge if I haven't been burned with mine, as well as watching my bro have problems with his last two Rams ('02 and '08). I briefly consider a GM, but have never been a big fan of them, and the F150 seems to be the highest overall rated truck.

 

Congrats on the new truck. Hope you have better luck with this one.

 

Ford definitely has their act together and are making some fine vehicles. Good luck with your new truck. Come back and visit anytime....no need to own a Dodge truck to be a member......I got rid of both of mine and drive Chevy's...lol...

 

I too am looking at the new ford with the eco boost, really like the truck and the power, but also gonna keep my dakota, 136000 miles and still beating the snot out of it

 

I hate to see us another member down, but I sure can't fault you or anyone for getting into a new vehicle.

Best of luck with it.

 

Yeah my plan was to keep the Dakota for at least another year and enjoy not having a payment for a while, but with the warranty running out soon and a need for some extra room, it was hard to pass up the deal.

Only 250 miles on it right now, but so far I really like it. There's something special about hearing a turbo spool that brings a smile to your face, and it's been a while since I owned a turbo vehicle. It is a little odd to hear it in a truck though, especially a non diesel.

 

Have fun with your new DI engine. Here's a small piece of advice: Use BG products twice as often as you're supposed to in your Ecoboost. You will extend the service interval to have your intake valves cleaned by 3 fold. You might get to 60,000 by doing this. Ford gave the Ecoboost some serious reversion because of the cam lobe profile, resulting in severe carbon deposits on the heads of the intake valves. The reason they don't stay clean is because of the location of the fuel injectors (in the center of the combustion chamber).

BG MOA (every oil change along with your quality full synthetic)
BG 109 (every other oil change)
BG44K (2-3 times per year, assuming you are only driving 12K in that year)

 

The injector isn't in the center of the combustion chamber, the spark plug is. The injector is below center of the intake valves.

 

Ok, still the same priciple. BG is furiously trying to figure out how to fix the problem. Apparently, the only way to clean the valves is to yank off the intake manifold, pour a cleaner into the intake ports, let it sit for awhile, and use a wire brush.

Or, do what Ford did: Race the truck in the Baja 1000, win the race, yank the engine and put on a dyno torture test for 100,000 miles, and verify that all tolerances are still in spec...absolutely amazing.

 

4oz of Acetone per tank will keep them clean..