2018 Ecoboost Engine Failure @ 58k Miles

[TicTocTach]

Since the oil pressure dropped to near nothing it would suggest a massive bearing failure. Most likely a connecting rod, which would explain the hole in the block. If it's a Ford tune you have they shouldn't be able to deny your warranty claim. Good luck and keep us posted.

Oil was sprayed all over the passenger side of the engine bay as well - I’m not sure how the oil supply passages are set up in the 2.3 block, but it could be something like that happened too. When I was watching it idle after the failure, there were lots of oil droplets flying around - escaping from the hole in the block.

From what I’ve read over the last few days, LSPI really matches the experience. I hope the technicians and warranty company draw the same conclusions.

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[Aks550]

2018, EBPP, 58k miles, bought new by me. Oil changed every 5-6k miles, always synthetic, always 93 octane. FP tune installed by a dealership.

Was about 2 hours into a road trip last Friday when the engine failed running down I-45. Car was in adaptive cruise control at 75mph, 10th gear, and rather than slow down behind some traffic, I gave her a little gas while changing lanes to pass - maybe 1/4 throttle. Heard kind of a pop and clunk, followed by a shudder and some rattly sounds under the car - I thought I ran over some junk in the road until I looked in my rear view mirror to see a cloud of smoke pouring out the back of the car. Oil pressure dropped to near zero so I pulled over as fast as I could. Oil sprayed all over the inside of the engine bay, and oil was flying around while the engine barely loped along. There was a small fire on the engine mount that I was able to blow out, thankfully. While running there was kind of a chuffing sound.

Got a call from the dealership technician this afternoon and he said that there was a chunk of the front of the engine block missing to the point that combustion flames were coming out of the block when the engine was running…. I asked for pictures… That extended warranty just paid for itself about 4x over…

Running a tune and oil change at 5-6k miles on turbo engine? You must be cheaper than my father's son. Buy a corolla if u want to cheap!

 

[TicTocTach]

Running a tune and oil change at 5-6k miles on turbo engine? You must be cheaper than my father's son. Buy a corolla if u want to cheap!

We’re not on the carbureted 1970’s any longer… Multiple oil analyses show healthy oil well beyond 7500 miles, but you spend your money however you want.

 

[Buldawg76]

FP tune warranty is only for 3/36 and then the 5/60 factory powertrain warranty takes over but if the dealer wants to be a hardass they can deny claim based on having the FP tune installed.

Hopefully they are willing to work with you, but ford corporate can also tell dealer that it is not covered due to the FP tune and dealer has no say in the matter. Ford corporate has to show proof that the FP tune was the cause of the failure.

BD

 

[Cobra Jet]

I was driving in Track Mode and 75-ish is right on the cusp of the 9/10 shift. I kind of remember the downshift, but it may also have been the shudder from the pop. Everything happened in like half a second.

I've been religious about the 93 - the only time I couldn't vouch for what was in the tank is the day I bought the car. They did a sloppy job of filling the car up so before I got on the highway I put as much 93 in as I could and drove easy on the 2.5 hour trip home. There's a chance some fuel pump got mixed up gas I guess, but I've never pushed the wrong fuel type.

Why were you driving in Track Mode on the highway??? It’s not a Drive Mode to be used with highway driving, it’s for the Track, not continuous Speed/RPM like highway driving.

I’m not belittling you, just wonder why were were driving in that mode?

Since it’s a ventilated engine, it’s not a simple “pass go” from a warranty perspective and Ford has been cracking the whip on major Warranty repairs (because they are losing literally billions in such repairs)…. The Service Center will be required to send images and anything else Ford wants for Warranty Authorization. I’m just giving fair warning not to be surprised if they want to investigate further and that could entail them reviewing extracted PCM data logs (not for the FP tune per se), but for what was happening right before the engine ventilated. From the event, they can tell what modes the vehicle was in (trans mode and drive mode), rpm, speed and what gear, as well as go pedal events.

Just be prepared if the warranty claim gets more eyes and you get asked more questions…. There was just a thread in the GT350 section on here where the owner also had an ESP and had trans issues. ESP denied his claim due to the car being used at an HPDE event and the car having some minor mods…. And last I saw a week or so ago, he was still fighting with the ESP and sending them a litany of facts/documents as to why his claim should be a legit repair.

Good luck!

 

[TicTocTach]

Why were you driving in Track Mode on the highway??? It’s not a Drive Mode to be used with highway driving, it’s for the Track, not continuous Speed/RPM like highway driving.

I’m not belittling you, just wonder why were were driving in that mode?

Since it’s a ventilated engine, it’s not a simple “pass go” from a warranty perspective and Ford has been cracking the whip on major Warranty repairs (because they are losing literally billions in such repairs)…. The Service Center will be required to send images and anything else Ford wants for Warranty Authorization. I’m just giving fair warning not to be surprised if they want to investigate further and that could entail them reviewing extracted PCM data logs (not for the FP tune per se), but for what was happening right before the engine ventilated. From the event, they can tell what modes the vehicle was in (trans mode and drive mode), rpm, speed and what gear, as well as go pedal events.

Just be prepared if the warranty claim gets more eyes and you get asked more questions…. There was just a thread in the GT350 section on here where the owner also had an ESP and had trans issues. ESP denied his claim due to the car being used at an HPDE event and the car having some minor mods…. And last I saw a week or so ago, he was still fighting with the ESP and sending them a litany of facts/documents as to why his claim should be a legit repair.

Good luck!

I like track mode because the Magneride is most firm in that mode and that’s really it. I figure the suspension is ready to work anytime, and there isn’t really a penalty in any perspective I can see. If the roads are bad for an extended period or if I have passengers I’ll run sport or normal, but none of that has anything to do with why the engine let go. I’m not worried about anything that may be found in the logs, it was all normal highway driving behavior until she let go.

ESP asked for a partial tear down, so that has been in the works for a while now. Service manager has been out the last two times I have called for an update (Friday and today), so I’m hoping for an answer soon.

 

[ice445]

I like track mode because the Magneride is most firm in that mode and that’s really it. I figure the suspension is ready to work anytime, and there isn’t really a penalty in any perspective I can see. If the roads are bad for an extended period or if I have passengers I’ll run sport or normal, but none of that has anything to do with why the engine let go. I’m not worried about anything that may be found in the logs, it was all normal highway driving behavior until she let go.

ESP asked for a partial tear down, so that has been in the works for a while now. Service manager has been out the last two times I have called for an update (Friday and today), so I’m hoping for an answer soon.

Let us know what happens. If you bought it new Ford is a lot more likely to look the other way and pass it through as a full engine replacement.

 

[TicTocTach]

Let us know what happens. If you bought it new Ford is a lot more likely to look the other way and pass it through as a full engine replacement.

Fingers crossed - last update was Friday and the dealer still hadn’t torn it down yet- too much other work in the shop. I asked about the short block situation they mentioned and asked how they planned to deal with damage to the head… wait and see, but will replace what they need to replace.

I back in May I made an appointment with my local dealership to have the driveshaft looked at - the re is way too much slop at the differential joint but they couldn’t get me in until November 28th. Since I’m going to miss that appointment, I asked this shop to check that as well…

 

[TicTocTach]

Got a call yesterday that the warranty request was finally approved. Service says 2-3 days to get the replacement engine, probably another 2-3 for the install. If they can sort out the driveshaft issues at the same time, maybe I’ll get my car back next weekend? Not holding my breath on that one - but we’re closer…

 

[TicTocTach]

And two days short of three months later, she’s home. New engine seems to behave like a new engine, so I’m going through typical break in procedures. Fingers crossed that everything goes normally and I can get back to trusting my car again. I sure missed driving her…

Got a couple pics jd the dead engine before I left the dealership. Holes in both sides of the block, and the #1 rod was in more than one piece. Tech said that a hole in the block was not enough to convince the warranty folks, so they had to pull the head. If they needed more evidence, #1 piston provided a bucket load…

 

[5550snotamerc]

Got a couple pics jd the dead engine before I left the dealership. Holes in both sides of the block, and the #1 rod was in more than one piece. Tech said that a hole in the block was not enough to convince the warranty folks, so they had to pull the head. If they needed more evidence, #1 piston provided a bucket load…

Congrats on getting the vehicle back and that it was covered. Was the FP tune ever blamed or were they just dragging their feet?

 

[TicTocTach]

Congrats on getting the vehicle back and that it was covered. Was the FP tune ever blamed or were they just dragging their feet?

Thanks, I missed my girl... They didn't seem to care about the tune, which is 99% of the reason I went with the FP tune vs. any other tune in the world. The warranty folks really did seem to care about documenting as much damage as possible before budging on approval, and that doesn't seem productive. I get why they do it, but it sure seems like some failures are pretty obvious. The dealership had some labor issues that really dragged out the timeline, though.

 

[ice445]

Thanks, I missed my girl... They didn't seem to care about the tune, which is 99% of the reason I went with the FP tune vs. any other tune in the world. The warranty folks really did seem to care about documenting as much damage as possible before budging on approval, and that doesn't seem productive. I get why they do it, but it sure seems like some failures are pretty obvious. The dealership had some labor issues that really dragged out the timeline, though.

It's just because of losers who hydrolock their engine driving through a river, then scream "my engine blew up going to church". That's why there's so much documentation now for these kind of failures.

Glad you got her back though, here's to happy motoring.

 

[5550snotamerc]

It's just because of losers who hydrolock their engine driving through a river, then scream "my engine blew up going to church". That's why there's so much documentation now for these kind of failures.

Glad you got her back though, here's to happy motoring.

Well I always go mud-boggin' in my EB convertible so I can see why Ford would be concerned about that . All's well that ends well, even if they took their time about it.

 

[Skye]

Glad to read the OP received a new engine and the car is now home.

https://www.f150ecoboost.net/threads/low-speed-pre-ignition.14736/

I wasn't familiar with the concept of Low-Speed Pre-Ignition.

Link above is a detailed post, dated, but helpful at getting one's head around the concept.

Edit: saved as PDF and attached.

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