2015-18 Voodoo gen 1 vs 2019-2020 gen 2

[tjcloutier]

Hey all

So I’ve got a 2017 GT350 and honestly I love this car.. it’s incredible. But there’s something that’s been gnawing at me and that’s all the recent engine failures the first gen voodoo engine has had. I heard they made improvements for the 2019-2020 voodoo gen 2 engines but I can’t find out what those improvements are. Are those significantly more reliable? I plan on owning this vehicle for the rest of my life so I want to make sure that I’ve got a reliable engine and won’t have to replace it in the future.

Thanks all!

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[Twin Turbo]

Moved to the GT350 section as you'll hopefully get more informed answers.

As far as I'm aware, the '20 GT350 uses the same (strengthened) block as the '20 GT500.......but I'm sure others will be along to answer your question more specifically.

 

[JAJ]

Hey all

So I’ve got a 2017 GT350 and honestly I love this car.. it’s incredible. But there’s something that’s been gnawing at me and that’s all the recent engine failures the first gen voodoo engine has had. I heard they made improvements for the 2019-2020 voodoo gen 2 engines but I can’t find out what those improvements are. Are those significantly more reliable? I plan on owning this vehicle for the rest of my life so I want to make sure that I’ve got a reliable engine and won’t have to replace it in the future.

Thanks all!

Have a look at this. My opinion, and it may be just me, is that there's a lot of hysteria but not a lot of evidence.

GT350 vs. GT350R (more reliable engine?)

 

[thill444]

It’s simple. Instead of taking a financial bath trading in your 17 for a newer car that will look and feel like your current car, buy an extended Ford warranty. You can buy them online at competitive prices.

 

[Hack]

AFAIK, Ford changed the piston and piston rings. We know of at least one case that was posted here where excessive oil consumption was due to deformed rings. The other information I saw posted here is that the early design pistons/rings are no longer available.

So to me that was a deliberate design change by Ford to improve the Voodoo engine. I don't know whether it would have any impact on long term reliability. My assumption is that there is no impact and if your Voodoo is good, it's good. In other words, my assumption would be that the deformed rings were damaged during assembly and not while the engine was running. The rings have to be stretched over the piston during installation and to me that's the most likely time for damage of this sort to occur. Please note that these are my guesses - I obviously don't know for sure. I just can't think of an operating mode that would cause piston ring damage. Possibly extended operation at very high RPM combined with no load (like cruising on the highway at 7,800 RPM or something) but I'm not sure. I doubt that very many people would have so little mechanical sympathy that they would do that anyway.

The newer Voodoos also use a stronger engine block that is shared with the GT500. This could improve longevity, but longevity is something most of owners don't have to be concerned with. Most people aren't putting tons of miles on their GT350s.

I think I also read that the newer Voodoos all use the GT350R phasors. That seems unlikely to me to be a reliability or longevity change unless you are doing a lot of tracking.

I completely understand your concerns about long term reliability of the Voodoo. I sold my 2016 over the same concerns. And I still think the GT350 was the best car I ever owned.

 

[GrabberBlue]

2019-2020 Gen 2 Voodoo Changes
https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/2019-voodoo-changes.124665/

Voodoo Engine Failure Statistics:
https://overrunautomotive.com/articles/gt350-engine-failure-by-the-numbers/

 

[thill444]

Depending on taxes and other fees you are looking at anywhere from $13-18K+ to upgrade from a 17 to 19/20. Figure low $40K range on a trade in and paying around $56-57K on a leftover 19 or more for a new 20.

I don't know your financial situation but you would likely be better off buying the best Ford extended warranty you can (say $2500 or so) and then investing the other $10K+ to pay for repairs after the extended warranty expires.

 

[Rubyred17]

Hey all

So I’ve got a 2017 GT350 and honestly I love this car.. it’s incredible. But there’s something that’s been gnawing at me and that’s all the recent engine failures the first gen voodoo engine has had. I heard they made improvements for the 2019-2020 voodoo gen 2 engines but I can’t find out what those improvements are. Are those significantly more reliable? I plan on owning this vehicle for the rest of my life so I want to make sure that I’ve got a reliable engine and won’t have to replace it in the future.

Thanks all!

I also have a 2017 that I purchased from the original owner- it has roughly 8,600 miles and according to the original owner (after I had purchased the car from their local dealership where they traded for a newer GT) they told me that it never consumed oil or had any warranty problems and aside from an annoying tick it continues to be trouble free over the past 1500 miles I have driven
It.

I also worried about all these problems but found that for every one person who has a problem there are two or three who do not. I purchased an 8 year extended warranty for $2,100 and am enjoying the car. I know what I have and am happy with it. If it blows up during the warranty period the cost is covered and if it goes after the warranty period I will just have a replacement killer Voodoo built (the parts are available and short blocks can be found at at least two reputable builders (that I have found).

I would hold on to what you have and enjoy it- you never know about a new one.
Enjoy !

 

[key01]

^ same here; Ford PremiumCare warranty to 2025 and bought at purchase. If she lets loose after that I will have had too much fun to worry about it

 

[Hack]

Depending on taxes and other fees you are looking at anywhere from $13-18K+ to upgrade from a 17 to 19/20. Figure low $40K range on a trade in and paying around $56-57K on a leftover 19 or more for a new 20.

I don't know your financial situation but you would likely be better off buying the best Ford extended warranty you can (say $2500 or so) and then investing the other $10K+ to pay for repairs after the extended warranty expires.

I agree with this in principle, but I think the cost of the warranty depends on how many miles you are putting on the car. $2500 is either not very many years or not very many miles. If you want to extend the warranty is much as you can and you also plan on driving more than 10,000 miles per year you will pay a lot more.

 

[thill444]

I agree with this in principle, but I think the cost of the warranty depends on how many miles you are putting on the car. $2500 is either not very many years or not very many miles. If you want to extend the warranty is much as you can and you also plan on driving more than 10,000 miles per year you will pay a lot more.

True, if you drive around 5K miles a year or less extended warranties are not expensive. If you drive 10-12K miles a year you could spend $4K+ easily. Still cheaper than buying a new car and you will have a longer warranty too.

There are also different levels of warranty care (example PowertrainCare vs PremiumCare). PowertrainCare is much cheaper and will still cover major issues with your engine and transmission. If you have a 2017 and don't drive tons of miles an 8year 100K mile PowertrainCare warranty is around $2300.

 

[Hack]

True, if you drive around 5K miles a year or less extended warranties are not expensive. If you drive 10-12K miles a year you could spend $4K+ easily. Still cheaper than buying a new car and you will have a longer warranty too.

I tend to drive my summer fun car ~10,000 miles per year. And that's with a relatively short commute and not a ton of weekend driving. I don't want to leave my car in the garage most of the time. I looked hard at extended warranties and they were just too expensive for my use case.

I would consider a used CPO GT350, but they have been few and far between from my experience. Maybe we will see more of them in the future.

 

[NoXiDe]

remove post.

 

[yosv0610]

Hey all

So I’ve got a 2017 GT350 and honestly I love this car.. it’s incredible. But there’s something that’s been gnawing at me and that’s all the recent engine failures the first gen voodoo engine has had. I heard they made improvements for the 2019-2020 voodoo gen 2 engines but I can’t find out what those improvements are. Are those significantly more reliable? I plan on owning this vehicle for the rest of my life so I want to make sure that I’ve got a reliable engine and won’t have to replace it in the future.

Thanks all!

If I were you, and I could change it (doing all the maths and been ok with it) I would change it. I would go for a 2020, if I’ll do it, I’d do it with the newest. They have good changes in ‘19/‘20 models, it should count something. It’s true the GEN2 is stronger, but they are not exempt to failures. Less odds? Could be and I would be less worried with it. That’s why I got a ‘20 model. Try one with the lowest mileage available you can afford. Also, and always, get an extended warranty. In my case, more years, less miles. Not planning to put that crazy amount of miles on it.

 

[svttim]

I went from a 16 to a 19. I went from a base car to an R. While there is ample proof that the Gen 2 is a bit stronger (as it should be) partially to address some of the failure and partially to make parts common with the GT500, I would not have upgraded for the engine. As an avid tracker, I would have more likely upgraded for the 19/20 for the added tracking ability but, with that, I would have worked on my 16 rather then spend the money to upgrade. There are those who will say there are no improvements in the 19/20 and they are just flat wrong. But to think your 17 is a ticking time bomb because of the internet is just as wrong. Get the warranty for piece of mind and enjoy your car

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