Just bought 2015 sport, loss of power

[ttime500]

Agree, I really did like the vehicle. It looks sharp, handles really nice, a heck tonne of power in my 3.5 ecoboost, lots of room, interior is laid out well. But, the reliability has been ridiculous and who knows the long term reliability. I have a coworker with the Taurus with same 3.5 ecoboost engine and at 120,000km had to replace his turbos $2k CDN per turbo, parts & labor. Then at 165,000Km had to do it again. The famous airblend door motor which is almost $2k since you need to remove the dash...he had to do that twice as well.
I joke that my wifes 13yr old Honda pilot has been in the shop way, way less than my explorer...oh, and it also has less rust & corrosion on it too!

I have a new explorer sport and am now going to keep much more of an eye on it after reading so many issues. I really like the new traverse you mentioned you were getting. I just wish GM would offer a higher performance level like an SS model. Put a turbo or 2 on that V6 and offer a 400-450 hp model. If they do that I'd definitely consider it. There's no aftermarket for those cars either.

 

[Brian41]

Raining and humid and severe loss of power

Many have been following several of my threads with my issues with loss of power in my 15 sport to the point I am about to sell it. Following everyone's advice I tightened all my hoses and put in a new air filter, etc, all the obvious stuff. The car had been running pretty well, I'm was getting pretty happy since I love this car.

Just a couple days ago, I pulled out of my driveway at which time it was raining pretty hard and humid. I got to the end of my neighborhood where I have to pull out onto a busy two lane main street. I started to accelerate and and noticed the vehicle surging and significant loss of power. I then dropped the pedal to the floor and got very little increase in acceleration. Luckily I picked a time when no oncoming cars were close by in either direction.

I continued down the road with extremely reduced engine power, but again no check engine light. I tried several more WOT attempts and and the vehicle would accelerate VERY slow... so slow you would not want to try to merge with traffic on the highway. So I returned home and parked it.

Later that night when the rain was gone and little traffic, I took it for a drive. Initially I had the same symptoms, but as I continued driving the sluggishness actually started to fade. After 3 or 4 full throttle runs, it started to run pretty much fine with power restored.

So here I am, only owning this car for about a month, I'm no mechanic by any means and am just starting to learn about this workings of this turbocharged ecoboost. I have read many threads and articles about getting water in the charge air cooler and didn't really understand them. I then read about lawsuits, but didn't research further because I my understanding was that it was not an issue with my 2015 sport as they had added some shield on the front of the CAC, (which I can see mine has)

Every symptom of my car now seems to point to water in the charge air cooler from what I read, even the part that WOT attempts make it worse initially and then eventually restore the power. Am I onto something finally? Or did Ford fix this problem completely and I'm on the wrong path again?

I am scheduled to go to a different dealership for the 4th time for this loss of power issue. Of course it will not be able to be duplicated and there will be no codes when the dealer gets it. I will not settle for this anymore as this time this loss of power was very dangerous. I am going to also file with the NHTSA.

Anybody please chime in who has knowledge about this issue. Sorry for all the threads about my car, just trying my hardest to solve this elusive power issue.

 

[peterk9]

Is it possible the engine belt is slipping when it's raining? Other members have had that issue. Doing some WOT afterwards may have helped to give it traction again. Just a guess.

Peter

 

[blwnsmoke]

If you are going to keep discussing the issues with yoour vehicle, please keep them in the same thread instead of starting multiple ones for organizational purposes.

I had mentioned in one of your other threads aboiut getting a data logger from your dealer. You did not mention anything about that.

There have not been condensation issues with the Explorers. Could it be your ETC? There were issues with those at times. Even my brother in laws Escape just had it replaced for the vehicle falling on its face when trying to accelerate.

Again, I would request a data logger for a few days.

 

[Brian41]

If you are going to keep discussing the issues with yoour vehicle, please keep them in the same thread instead of starting multiple ones for organizational purposes.

I had mentioned in one of your other threads aboiut getting a data logger from your dealer. You did not mention anything about that.

There have not been condensation issues with the Explorers. Could it be your ETC? There were issues with those at times. Even my brother in laws Escape just had it replaced for the vehicle falling on its face when trying to accelerate.

Again, I would request a data logger for a few days.

Sorry about the all the new threads, I will make sure to do that on my next posts, if I post in an old thread will it anyone be able to see it? I had never heard of the ETC, that is something I will consider. I am confused about why the shield was added to the explorer, I was under the impression that was to correct intercooler issues.

I will call the service manager at my dealership tomorrow and ask for a data logger, my concern is that the severe power loss has occurred only every several weeks and the dealership already said they put 70 miles on it with their diagnostics hooked up and all is fine. The incident that just happened recently was just to dangerous and there is almost no chance the dealer will be able to replicate. I had read about other people having loss of power in their explorers and problems with the CAC so I am more confused than ever.

 

[peterk9]

Sorry about the all the new threads, I will make sure to do that on my next posts, if I post in an old thread will it anyone be able to see it? I had never heard of the ETC, that is something I will consider. I am confused about why the shield was added to the explorer, I was under the impression that was to correct intercooler issues.

I will call the service manager at my dealership tomorrow and ask for a data logger, my concern is that the severe power loss has occurred only every several weeks and the dealership already said they put 70 miles on it with their diagnostics hooked up and all is fine. The incident that just happened recently was just to dangerous and there is almost no chance the dealer will be able to replicate. I had read about other people having loss of power in their explorers and problems with the CAC so I am more confused than ever.

As soon as you post to an existing thread it moves back to the top of the first page. Whether or not anyone sees it depends on how or if they have their notifications set up. You can have new post notifications sent to your email or I guess your device. Or you can just log onto the Forum and browse the threads for new threads or posts.

Peter

 

[blwnsmoke]

Sorry about the all the new threads, I will make sure to do that on my next posts, if I post in an old thread will it anyone be able to see it? I had never heard of the ETC, that is something I will consider. I am confused about why the shield was added to the explorer, I was under the impression that was to correct intercooler issues.

I will call the service manager at my dealership tomorrow and ask for a data logger, my concern is that the severe power loss has occurred only every several weeks and the dealership already said they put 70 miles on it with their diagnostics hooked up and all is fine. The incident that just happened recently was just to dangerous and there is almost no chance the dealer will be able to replicate. I had read about other people having loss of power in their explorers and problems with the CAC so I am more confused than ever.

If you a re not familiar with the data logger, it plugs into the OBDII port and you have a button near you. Once it acts up, you press the button and it records X amount of time previous to you pushing the button to X amount of time after. Then the dealer can download and review what your vehicle is sensing and doing.

At least if you get one, you can try to duplicate it with a greater chance of success then them since you know what to do or at least how to try to ge t it to happen.

As far as the CAC issue, everything I remember was loose clamps which caused them to pop off and lose boost. Nothing about condensation.

The F150s had this issue at first but Ford solved that as well with a redesign of some parts. Don't recall ever reading that with the Ex.

 

[mjlkwolfe@gmail.]

Hi All
I am a 72 year retired automotive engineer
Since this thread seems to express many problems I thought I would share my experiences with the eco boost engines
All of my experiences have been positive
All of the following vehicles have been reprogrammed with Livernois calibrations, had the oil changed with "FULL" synthetic oil every 5k miles & always used 91-93 octane fuel
2011 F150 with 3.5L ecoboost driven 100k miles, only replaced tires, then traded for2013 Flex with 3.5L eco boost
Drove Flex 100k miles & only replaced tires twice with no other issues
Have a 2013 Taurus SHO with the performance package, Livernois tune & 25K miles. Car is wicked fast & no issues with it to date & averages 23.9 mpg.
Also have a 2016 Explorer Sport with 38K miles on it, replaced the tires but no other issues
It has 93 octane Livernois towing tune & is very fast as well as averaging 22.8mpg in mixed driving
I always use 91-93 octane fuel, change the oil every 5k miles, use full synthetic oil & livernois reprogramming.
Very happy with eco boost ford vehicles
Have all you complaining of power losses tried premium fuel & possible a livernois recalibration
If I were you I would

 

[613GT500]

Hi All
I am a 72 year retired automotive engineer
Since this thread seems to express many problems I thought I would share my experiences with the eco boost engines
All of my experiences have been positive
All of the following vehicles have been reprogrammed with Livernois calibrations, had the oil changed with "FULL" synthetic oil every 5k miles & always used 91-93 octane fuel
2011 F150 with 3.5L ecoboost driven 100k miles, only replaced tires, then traded for2013 Flex with 3.5L eco boost
Drove Flex 100k miles & only replaced tires twice with no other issues
Have a 2013 Taurus SHO with the performance package, Livernois tune & 25K miles. Car is wicked fast & no issues with it to date & averages 23.9 mpg.
Also have a 2016 Explorer Sport with 38K miles on it, replaced the tires but no other issues
It has 93 octane Livernois towing tune & is very fast as well as averaging 22.8mpg in mixed driving
I always use 91-93 octane fuel, change the oil every 5k miles, use full synthetic oil & livernois reprogramming.
Very happy with eco boost ford vehicles
Have all you complaining of power losses tried premium fuel & possible a livernois recalibration
If I were you I would

You mentioned livernois 4 times...hmm?

 

[mjlkwolfe@gmail.]

Good Morning all
not sure what hmm means??
Just to be clear I am not employed by Livernois, have never been paid by them for anything
I have paid full price for the recalibrations I purchased from Livernois
I do however recommend that anyone with an eco boost engine consider their recalibrations
These engines have a lot more potential
With a recalibration the throttle response is much improved, engine HP &Torque increases are dramatic
Along with that I have experienced improved gas mileage as well
I would never use anything but premium fuel in these engines
I would never use anything but full synthetic oil in everything I own, even lawn mowers etc
As a result I have had good experiences with everything I have with an engine on it or in it
I am a diehard turbo/GDI engine fan
FYI
Turbo engines produce the same HP & Torque at higher elevations
N/A engines lose 2-3% hp & torque for each 1000 ft in altitude above sea level

 

[Odrapnew]

Hi All
I am a 72 year retired automotive engineer
Since this thread seems to express many problems I thought I would share my experiences with the eco boost engines
All of my experiences have been positive
All of the following vehicles have been reprogrammed with Livernois calibrations, had the oil changed with "FULL" synthetic oil every 5k miles & always used 91-93 octane fuel
2011 F150 with 3.5L ecoboost driven 100k miles, only replaced tires, then traded for2013 Flex with 3.5L eco boost
Drove Flex 100k miles & only replaced tires twice with no other issues
Have a 2013 Taurus SHO with the performance package, Livernois tune & 25K miles. Car is wicked fast & no issues with it to date & averages 23.9 mpg.
Also have a 2016 Explorer Sport with 38K miles on it, replaced the tires but no other issues
It has 93 octane Livernois towing tune & is very fast as well as averaging 22.8mpg in mixed driving
I always use 91-93 octane fuel, change the oil every 5k miles, use full synthetic oil & livernois reprogramming.
Very happy with eco boost ford vehicles
Have all you complaining of power losses tried premium fuel & possible a livernois recalibration
If I were you I would

So, your recommendation, for people who have a loss of power, is to run premium and possibly throw a tune at it?

These are designed to run on 87 octane, with improved performance with higher octane, so there should be no significant loss of power when running regular gasoline. Sure, it'll perform better with the higher octane, but it's not required.

As for a tune, without knowing what is causing a loss of power, a tune would not be wise. A tune could push it over the edge and have a more catastrophic failure.

 

[mjlkwolfe@gmail.]

You are welcome to share your views but I personally think a recalibration is likely to correct the problem as long as it is a software problem & not an intermittent sensor failure.
I suspect it is not a sensor problem because no failure codes have been recorded
I do agree that putting a data logger on the vehicle is a good idea to determine what is happening
However if it was my vehicle I would recalibrate it with updated software from Ford or an aftermarket software supplier
I personally prefer an aftermarket upgrade in software
BTW
These engines perform much better on premium fuel even with the stock calibrations
In the owners manual Ford recommends premium fuel when doing any towing
Why not use premium fuel to gain optimum performance???
To give up the best performance & fuel mileage to save a few cents per gallon does not make any sense to me.

 

[DMG632]

As for a tune, without knowing what is causing a loss of power, a tune would not be wise. A tune could push it over the edge and have a more catastrophic failure.

I could not agree more. I would never put a "tune" in a car with out it running correctly. Find and fix the problem before ever modifying.
A tune is not to correct a car that is not running right, it is to squeeze a little more power out of it, improve towing abilities and some times improve gas mileage. The factory tunes are not trying to gain as much H.P. as possible, they are going for a happy medium, power, mileage and dependability by doing this they leave some "chips on the table" that the aftermarket takes advantage of...... even Livernois leaves some of these chips on the table. They don't want their customers to blow up a engine or trans trying to get the last little bit of H.P.

Just my opinion

 

[mjlkwolfe@gmail.]

I guess some of us can agree to disagree
Based on the description it sounds like the issue is software related & not caused by a sensor etc.
Assuming that is the case & if you do not want to try an aftermarket recalibration, why not ask the dealer to load the latest calibration from Ford in your vehicles ECU
I would also try several tanks of premium fuel of at least 91 octane
It could be that the engine retards timing & closes the throttle to offset detonation issues

 

[Odrapnew]

I guess some of us can agree to disagree
Based on the description it sounds like the issue is software related & not caused by a sensor etc.
Assuming that is the case & if you do not want to try an aftermarket recalibration, why not ask the dealer to load the latest calibration from Ford in your vehicles ECU
I would also try several tanks of premium fuel of at least 91 octane
It could be that the engine retards timing & closes the throttle to offset detonation issues

That's the thing, we can only guess it's software related and not something mechanical. Maybe it is mechanical, but the computer isn't logging the issue.
I agree that the first step would be to try to log the event and also check if there are any factory software updates.

If the computer is pulling timing and/or closing the throttle(or doing something to reduce the power) with 87 octane, I would say there's something else going on because, as the manual states, 87 is the recommended octane and increasing it will increase performance. You should be able to run 87 all the time without any severe performance reductions(like what is happening to the OP).

 

[peterk9]

......Why not use premium fuel to gain optimum performance???
To give up the best performance & fuel mileage to save a few cents per gallon does not make any sense to me.

I guess I'm at the other end of the spectrum so to speak. I used 87 octane in my 2014 MKT Ecoboost and am currently trying 89 in my Platinum. Have not noticed any difference in performance. Used the recommended regular dino oil in both as well and in my lawnmower and snowblower along with regular 87 gas. No issues ever. As for the "few cents per gallon", jumping to 91 octane is an extra 0.91/gal here and 94 octane is an extra 1.04/gal. I doubt the extra 2 or 3 mile per gallon possibly gained would offset the cost of approx. an extra $18 on a complete fill up. I realize it's not performing at 'peak' performance but for me, the vehicle has more than enough power as it is.
I'd rather have the extra $$$ in my pocket than that of the govt. and gas companies.

Peter

 

[DMG632]

As for the "few cents per gallon", jumping to 91 octane is an extra 0.91/gal here and 94 octane is an extra 1.04/gal.
Peter

Peter.....that's Canadian money. Your money is colorful but we know it's not worth as much as the green-backs here in the USA . It was more fun going to Vancouver and Victoria when the exchange rate was 50 to 65% live like a king and spend half as much.

 

[peterk9]

Peter.....that's Canadian money. Your money is colorful but we know it's not worth as much as the green-backs here in the USA . It was more fun going to Vancouver and Victoria when the exchange rate was 50 to 65% live like a king and spend half as much.

In the end it's all the same Don. Our gallon is 20% more in volume and the wages overall are higher and thus the higher costs of some items. One of the hardest hit businesses are the sports team like our Blue Jays and NHL teams. Their salary expenses are in U.S. dollars but their revenue is in Canadian dollars. That's one reason some of them buy up large amounts of U.S. currency when the dollar gets close to parity.

Peter

 

[DMG632]

Darn you Peter... I can't argue with a logical statement, I can't even call it "fake news"! I guess that's why your the moderator.

 

[Brian41]

I guess some of us can agree to disagree
Based on the description it sounds like the issue is software related & not caused by a sensor etc.
Assuming that is the case & if you do not want to try an aftermarket recalibration, why not ask the dealer to load the latest calibration from Ford in your vehicles ECU
I would also try several tanks of premium fuel of at least 91 octane
It could be that the engine retards timing & closes the throttle to offset detonation issues

Mjlkwofe, thanks for your insight.

Since having these issues, I have been running only 93 octane from Shell, I'm on my 4th tank. My sport just fell on its face again and I was playing close attention. The best way to describe it, as I'm accelerating it will all of a sudden just stop, the rpms hold where they are, the engine acts as if somebody hit the "pause" button. This will only last for about 2-3 seconds at most. To put it another way its almost as if somebody turned your ignition off while you were driving. After an event such as that, the car will continue to accelerate, but extremely sluggish and will often do some surging as you feather the peddle.

Oddly enough I'm am discovering that all the events are happening when there is high humidity. The most severe and dangerous loss of power was when it was raining with 100% humidity. Thats why I was wondering if condensation is forming in the intercooler and getting into the engine. A friend of mine who is a mechanic wants to drill a whole in my intercooler, but I'm hesitant because I'm still under warranty. He thinks that water would not necessarily throw a code or engine light.

I am scheduled to go to a now 3rd dealership next week. This car has been to one ford dealership 2 times and then 1 time at the dealership I bought it at all for this power issue which is now happening more often. They wont even pop the hood. They check for codes, which is never has, and then take it for a short test drive and tell me it is running perfect.

Oddly enough though, earlier today the humidity was very very low and I drove it hard, doing a lot of full throttle runs and the power slowly came back. As of the time of writting this back to running very strong, but that how this has been going for 5 weeks now. It a viscous cycle of running strong and then sluggish, all interlaced with moments of extreme power loss.

I am going to be very aggressive with this 3rd dealership. I have been trying to get a hold of the service manager to give him a heads up with my situation and to ask about a datalogger. I just don't know enough about cars to figure this out. I truly don't want to have to sell this car.