Hi Scotty I watch your videos all the time. Research showed that the truck I bought in March 2023 (3 months ago) a 2014 Ford F-150 with a 5.0L V8, was one of the most reliable engines overall.
This truck had only 50K miles. I thought I was getting a good deal but now I wonder if I got a lemon.
I am wondering:
1) How can so much go wrong on an engine with such low miles?
2) Should I continue to bleed money repairing this or get rid of it?
VCT solenoids
Timing chains replaced
Now its in shop 3rd time:
VCT solenoids they just replaced were in stuck open position:
Need new oil pump (says it runs at low pressure even though it never indicated that on my gauges while driving)
AND
both catalytic converter are bad and the purge valves????
Cats are not covered by warranty and I don't think the valves are either.
SO will I continue to have more problems if I get this issues fixed? What the h*ll did the previous owners do to this thing?
I wanted a truck so I can get a travel trailer next year but now I'm wondering if that's even possible with this truck.
History:
The CEL came on in the first 200 miles. I took it back to the dealer (a GMC dealer) they replaced the VCT solenoid (for free but it still cost me a hotel night and gas. The dealership is 107 miles away.)
I don't drive much but a but later right before we were getting ready to go on a road the CEL came on AGAIN. Took it to local shop they told me I should take it back to the dealer I bought it from. Talked to them and of course they didn't get back to me.
We took a chance and went to CA. There were no issues at all; the CEL came back on in about 300 miles.
After that I took it back to dealer for service it was in shop for 10 days and they replaced the timing chains. Luckily I purchased the warranty when I bought it and it was mostly covered (I paid for incidentals like oil, etc,)
That warranty covers almost every thing except emissions and maintenance items.
Got home and guess what? FIRST TIME I drive it the CEL is on again.
SO I took it back last week now they tell me the VCT solenoids they just put in were stuck open and the oil pressure is low when running so they need to replace the oil pump (which should be covered by warranty.
And now they are convinced my catalytic coverters are bad and need to be replaced. That is not covered by warranty they quoted $2600 for those and I said NO WAY I can get it done cheaper than that. Now there is some purge valves that need to be replaced as well.
I have had Fords all my life and I have NEVER had so met major engine troubles! 😡
There's always going to be a lemon here and there. See what your lemon laws are and see what you can do.
Lemon laws in my state only cover new vehicles.
Thanks for your input.
I hear ya. I wouldn't buy a new one even if I had the money. I bought a 2014 which was one of the good years according many YT videos.
Goes to show you that even if a vehicle has low miles doesn't mean it will not have issues.
No, it doesn't. It could have been leased by the previous owner for a business ( treated pretty much like a rental).
You should invest in a scan tool yourself instead of going to dealerships. They don't know what they're doing. Any of them.
Litterally, the day my 2017 Mustang's bumper to bumper warranty was on its way out, my CEL came on. I got with Ford customer service online because I worked 2nd shift and didn't have time to go to the dealership. They told me it would be taken care of. The actual dealership "couldn't find anything" and charged me $150 for nothing. The light went out and they didn't bother messing with it. I hooked it up myself and the code was still stored. It was the purge valve acting up.
I have a scan tool with ABS testing and it was only $100. I got it with a $25 gift card at AutoZone. It may let you be a little more confident about your vehicle. Dealerships are crooks for a reason.
"Reposted per request"
Well as far as lemon laws if you bought the vehicle from a dealer with a warranty you might be able to go after them ,,,,,, find an attorney for that because some state lemon laws only cover new and certified used vehicles.
As far as what is going on more details would be needed. What caused your CATs to fail? Contamination from oil, overheating from unburned fuel, excessive moisture in the exhaust? If you can find out why it should give you an idea what is going on since CATs don't fail unless something really bad is getting into the exhaust.
unless you park in a lake, how do you get "excessive moisture" in a catalytic converter? A normal engine produces half a pound of steam every minute.
"Posted to clarify question on response"
"Excessive Moisture" means just that ..... more than is normally supposed to be inside the exhaust. The most common way that happens is that there is a hole somewhere between engine exhaust and CAT that allows outside water to enter the exhaust, or a coolant leak due to a crack inside the engine/cylinder allowing coolant into the combustion chamber.
hope that clears up the confusion.
yeah antifreeze, not moisture is probably bad for the cat.
but cat temps get up around 1,000 degrees, so like I said unless water magically gets into it after its cooled off and parked, and that goes on for so long the cat shell rusts through, then moisture is not a problem. At that point the whole bottom of the vehicle is going to look pretty bad.
To the OP:
I just had a light bulb go off after posting my clarification and rereading your post. Did the dealer check your coolant for low levels or test the oil? If you have coolant leaking into the combustion chamber it will contaminate the oil and exhaust system. It will cause low oil pressure readings, premature failure of lubricated parts, valves to not work correctly and CATs to get damaged.
The dealer also needs to inspect the oil if it is foamy ... a sign it is contaminated.
My guess is the truck has WAY more miles on it than the odometer says, or it was flooded. Have it scanned to see if they can tell you the true mileage.. Very sorry to hear this, so many crooks out there looking to pass on their car issues to the next guy
