Actually the smartest thing I did when purchasing the Explorer new was purchasing the extended warranty, after negotiating a fair price on a 7 year 100k, no deductible. So I won't mind it to much to have a new tranny, rearend, etc. or what ever mau come up. Still good for three years.

It still by far one of the better winter vehicles I've ever driven, handles great in some of the worst conditions northern Wisconsin winters can throw at you. It's just unfortunate there only solution to the tranny issue was to reflash and basically retard the shift points. I can see Ford probably attempting this to as a short term fix on Eco-Boosts, which will really be a downer for the EB owners who thrive on there quick-off-the-line aspirated motors. Oh well...

 

I own both a 2004 ram 1500 and a 2010 F150. Both have been good trucks. The Ram has 105k miles, the Ford 26K. So far all I had to do to the ram was a fuel pump under warrenty right after I bought it, and a radiator at about 80k. The f150 has had the steering wheel replaced because the cover started to delaminate.
I know this won't be popular here but, as far as sales, resale value, and in my personal experience so far, just overall build quality the Ford wins hands down. I know two co-workers that have bought new f150 ecoboosts with the six speed auto a 2011 and a 2012, and not a single problem so far. And when it comes to towing capability vs fuel milage I believe the Ford wins out there too.
But I will admit the Dodge is a beautifull truck. If I thought for a second that I could have gotten the the same fuel milage and resale out of a new Dodge I would have bought the Dodge because it is just a better looking truck. The paint quality on the Ford's are hit and miss too from what I've seen.

 

Wouldn't consider an Ecoboost. I don't even want to imagine what it would cost to replace the turbos when they go out. I'd rather have a plain old V8 especially one that has been proven reliable and has steadily improved since 2003.

 

It serves them right for all the false advertisment bashing the hemi. Screw Ford and everyone on here who joined in on the bashing.

 

No body's bashing anyone or anything. it's just a fact. Dodge is third in light truck US built market share for a reason, hat reason is fuel economy vs capability. Now has Dodge gotten better? Sure. But they still have a reputation for sucking fuel, more so than Ford or
GM. I believe that of the three US makes Chevy's are the built the cheapest. Ford and Dodge are pretty close IMO.
When I was looking for a new truck I drove Ford and Dodge for that reason, I didn't even
look at Chevy/GMC even though they have the best reputation for fuel economy. But Chevy still beats Dodge in resale value, with Ford being at least as good if not better than Chevy.
I drove a new 5.0 F150 a couple months ago, and it felt stronger/more responsive than the hemi powered Dodge I last drove, and the new 5.0 powered 2wd F150's get the same milage as my little 4.6 2 valve.
And as for transmission issues my 04 Ram with 105K miles on it to this day will sometimes
when cold shift so hard from 1st to 2nd the drive train (rear end?) will clang. But never a real transmission or any other drive train problems. I think some, and I mean at least part of the transmission issues reported by F150 drivers are probably not realy issues at all.

 

Hey RamBob, go to the F-150 forums and tell the tens of thousands who have had their F-150's stuck at the dealer about Ford reliability. They will LOVE you.

 

You know of all the people I know with f150's I don't know anyone with their truck
" stuck at the dealership ". As a Dodge owner (two pickups & one Intrepid) and a Ford owner
I've been fustrated at times with issues of both makes as well as dealerships who
either can't or won't take care of the problem.
I've owned 16 different vehicles in my 33 years of driving and Fords in my experience
have had the least problems with GM having the most. No matter how much it may ****
off people on this and other sites, Ford F150 has been the best selling truck in this
country and at times the best selling vehicle in the world for years for a reason.
Not knocking Dodge, I believe Dodge Ram is better than the sales data shows, but the
numbers are what they are. There's no getting around it.
The latest recall I can find on the F150 is a little over 16000 for a brake/shift interlock
switch. Thats 16000 trucks for well over I don't know how many hundres of thousands
sold anually, wow what a shi**y reliability record. Oh yea, and once again F150 out sells
Dodge Ram better than 3 to 1 and is the Motor Trend 2012 TOTY.

 

Another Ford guy claiming the 5.0 is stronger and more responsive than the hemi, lol!

 

Well I've got an ex brother-in-law I still talk to on occasion (which is amazing since I haven't spoken to my ex-wife since 2007). He is a mechanic at a Ford dealership and owns a Ram Megacab. Last I talked to him I think he said they had seven new designed F-150s on the lot awaiting back-ordered transmissions and it's a relatively small dealership.

Fords will ALWAYS outsell GM & Dodge, they have a crazy, stupid following. I have probably 25 or more Ford truck owners in my hunting club, a good bit of them who have gone through more issues than ANY Ram owner I know and almost every one of them will replace their truck with another Ford. Will sit there and argue with you just how much better they are than my Ram even while their truck is sitting at the dealer awaiting a part for a month while mine is parked outside our clubhouse.

I've owned two Ford 4x4 pickups. A 7.3 diesel which aside from eating ball-joints was a great truck. I had a '97 F150 bought new in '97 that dropped a piston with 14k miles on it. It was that truck and the shady way Ford & my dealer chose to go about the repair that had me swear off Furd for life.

My two Rams, the '98 I replaced the turd Furd with and my current '04, both new off the lot have been almost 100% problem free - for me anyway. I do know the guy who bought my '98 (which I traded in with 68k on the clock) had the plenum go on him soon after he bought it. My '04 was in for a bad shock in the seven plus years I've had it. ONLY WARRANTY REPAIR. But I'll also have to admit that I know the potential problems of this truck and have modded/upgraded these components before they could become an issue. For example my stock LSD was yanked in favor of an Auburn unit when my truck only had 19k miles on it...

 

With both Dodge trucks that I have owned and the Hemi Ram and Challenger I drove earlier
this year, it feels like Dodge just calibrates their PCM's too soft. I believe the Hemi makes the claimed power, it's just the shift points or fuel/spark curves are soft or something.
Maybe it was the fact that it was hot out and the Ram had the 20" wheels. The Challenger
was a base model RT with 17's and auto. Nice car, just not as quick or torquey as I thought
it would be. Maby because it weighs 2 tons.
The 5.0 feels like a much bigger engine. Sounds great too.