1996 Ford F250 Super Duty 7.3L turbo diesel
Summary:
Nice truck, but a lemon
Faults:
Less than 30 minutes after driving the new truck out of the dealership the transmission failed (#1). Returned truck to dealership - dealer got another new truck for me.
30,000 miles - transmission failure #2. Cannot move truck - stranded on highway at night. Ford dealer repairs transmission.
35,000 miles - Original Firestone tires wear out. These tires had no traction on wet payment - so I was happy to have an excuse to replace them with Goodyear tires that have much better traction.
40,000 miles - electronic control for glow plug system fails.
65,000 miles - transmission failure #3. Will not shift. Ford dealer repairs transmission.
70,000 miles - standard automatic locking hubs on front axles fail after only using four wheel drive about five times. These hubs have plastic parts that can wear out very easily and the plastic parts cannot be replaced - you have to replace the entire hub unit at a significant cost.
89,000 miles - camshaft position sensor fails. - Truck dies on interstate - will not start.
89,000 miles - transmission failure #4. Dealership installs re-manufactured transmission.
101, 000 miles - transmission failure #5. Transmission will not shift. Repaired at Ford dealership.
120,000 miles - transmission failure #6. Transmission blows main seal.
General Comments:
This is a beautiful and powerful truck that I love to drive, but it is not reliable.
I spent a lot of money for a truck that I thought would be powerful and reliable. It is powerful, but there has not been any reliability with it for me.
I cannot believe that Ford, who says “Built Ford Tuff” cannot put a transmission into their trucks that will last longer than an average of 20,000 miles between failures.
I would love to buy another Ford truck, but I would not buy one or recommend anyone else buys one until Ford puts a 150,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty on it.
If Toyota had made a pickup truck in 1997 that had the towing capacity of this truck I would have bought one of them instead and probably saved a lot of grief and money.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 14th November, 2006
2nd Sep 2015, 03:59
The reason you had tranny problem is because it's a late 90s Ford auto... I'm sorry, but then those things sucked like no other. If you had gotten a standard, that would made the difference.
I have the same pickup and it is the best pickup I have ever owned. And I mean the best. Standard is always better I think; there's just less crap to go wrong. I own 5 cars. 4 are stick shifts. And the one automatic is a 2003 Ford Focus (198k) and it is just about run into the ground. We have another 2003 Ford Focus with a stick, and it dropped a rod at 323k! Get a stick and it will outlast the motor.
13th Jan 2009, 13:34
I own this truck and have since 1997. I use it everyday as my main vehicle and work truck. I have just turned over 300,000 miles on it and have only ever changed the oil, filters, and brakes. I changed the starter at 150,000 miles. I often use my 4X4 and have never had the auto hub problems that many do. I am a firm believer that many do not properly use the automatic system, they do not back up and use it through N. I am now just replacing the valve and o rings on the water separator. I love this powerful truck. Sorry that you got a lemon.