A slight case of buyers remorse?

After two Tundras, both extremely reliable, I purchased a F150. Had it for one year and in that time it was at the dealer for warranty repairs six times, the last for a new head gasket. Had the same technician at the dealer for several repairs. I asked him if he was tired of working on my truck and he said no, he much preferred working on my 5.0 engine over the ecoboost engines he had to wrench on day in and day out.
Anyway, sold the F150 and bought a 2019 Tundra. I can't describe how much more I enjoy my Tundra over the F150, I guess confidence in a vehicle is a big deal for me.

 

You could have done worse... I would take an F150 over a GM or Fiat in the 1/2 ton truck market, Ford owns that segment of the market. If you need a 3/4 ton or larger truck, then Ford & GM are best. Toyota's legendary long term reliability is dropping commensurate with the rise in electronic gadgetry being added to the Tundra, it's still better than the rest, but I really wish that Toyota would return to a simpler truck that has LESS electronics.

 

Simply put - YMMV

If we were to line up 1000 F150s with same powertrain - and 1000 Tundras of the same (same year, same driving conditions) - operate them for 100k miles - do I suspect the Tundra would prove more reliable based on empirical evidence - in a word, yes.

Does that mean the Tundra test group will have 0 trucks with say less than 2 "major" issues or 4 or more minor failures - while Ford has hundreds - no.

And therein is the issue...you might be the unlucky Tundra owner who gets the "worst" example - or there may be 500 Ford owners who luck out and get a problem free model. Its a gamble - every maker has vehicles that fall below standard and even Ram makes a problem free vehicle now and then.

What your doing when shopping is looking at the odds. Odds tell me betting on the Yankees to win the World Series is more probable than say the Pirates. They don't "guarantee" anything - nor do the odds makers get it right every time (if they did - there would be no gambling as the odds makers would have no business - no one would take the opposite side of their bets).

You've done your research - picked your horse, now ride it. Also, keep in mind reliability (or resale, towing capacity, comfort, number of cupholders or whatever stat you pick) is just a singular measure to compare against the competition. Its up to YOU to pick what your needs are and what is more important to you.

Toyota excels in building to their market...and if you fall within the target - you love it. But if you fall outside of it - there are plenty of options including Ford.

 

Yeah, I will say that the two best Fords I've ever owned (or knew about) was my 2004 F150 and my parents 2000 Ford Ranger. They had almost *NO* issues with the Ranger; and I had very few with my 2004 F150. (Although I can tell you that at 280K it's one HELL of a lot 'looser-sounding' than any Toyota I've ever known about.)

 

I'm sure your truck is fine. If you love your truck then occasional repairs won't feel terrible because you love the truck. But.... If you don't love it, and your making payments on it every month, and it needs repairs that's a different story. Maybe bite the bullet and trade in for used Tundra if you can find one, if you lose money on your Ford, you'd probably make it back with less repairs and higher resale on your Tundra. As long as you love your truck it's all worth it.

 

Same; I bought a 2013 F150, and while it never had any 'serious' issues (e.g., it never left me stranded) it had plenty of small (media system, noisy valve body due to cavitation, seat squeaking TSB, etc.) and moderate (driver's side rear clamshell door would not stay closed when near or below freezing). Most of those showed up within 15K of owning the truck....and the dealership's essential response was "Gee, we've never seen that before."

 

Just to add to what you said...every manufacturer has a lemon. Toyota just sells them far less. I had a 2017 Japanese built 4Runner that had severe rust and paint issues. Toyota and the dealership stepped to correctly fix it. However after getting more rust and the body needing to be removed from the frame...I ran, like hell. It was time to fold but I still got a stupid good trade in price for a 2 1/2 year old truck that went directly to auction (not CPO). The dealership did not lie because I was able to track it down. And as a side note the truck sold for more than what I paid new in Georgia.

Toyota has the least amount of lemons statistically speaking. I happened to get a one percenter...oh well (mechanically the truck was unbelievably solid). I went and bought another Toyota because I like to play the odds.

 

My wife has paint issues on her Corolla that her dealership refuses to fix but I think that's a problem with the dealership itself. I've already resolved not to take our vehicles back there.

 

I will give you that, my dad always said regardless of how good the trucks are, they sound and feel like they will fall apart, but they didnt! They are certainly rougher than toyotas.

 

See now that’s a damn shame... Some dealerships really do suck. My dealership was so good that I had a face to face meeting with the service manager and a Toyota corporate paint specialist. We did a walk around together and he was surprised. Very professional and I would gladly do business there and with Toyota again because of the high level of customer service.

 

And that right there is a reason to stick with that manufacturer and dealer . If they look after you when you do have a problem that makes all the difference to me .

 

This has been my experience with the Ford's I've owned as well, but I also take care of my stuff. Everything needs care, and all of the manufacturers are making "quality" stuff nowadays. No question though, Honda and Toyota have been the most reliable, for more years, than any of the other makers.

 

Well you know thats not going to happen the "I want more doodads" crowd and the nanny state will keep adding more gizmos to keep you entertained and safe.

Its a shame but the moment auto makers added these big a$$ screens in vehicles, we needed lane control, automatic braking and adaptive cruise control.
I wonder whats next???

 

My good friend Jay is a mechanic and owns his own shop. He drives a 2017 F150; leased it and bought it when the lease was done. I, OTOH, have a 2000 Tundra with 222K that he gets to see in his shop. Because he IS my friend, he was recommending that I look at something newer in a Tundra so I'm not going to be seeing a lot more repairs down the road (rear axle seals, rear wheel cylinders and an alternator were all done in the last year). He was thrilled for me when I got a 2018 off-lease SR5. (He knows he won't be making much money off this, but he's happy for me because he knows I hate car shopping and tend to keep vehicles until they drop.)

He mentioned to me he's going to be getting a new truck within another 3 years. Why? (pay attention here; this is a quote) "Because if I gotta be fixing a truck, I want to be getting paid for it!"

Mechanic. Takes care of his own truck. Knows his shit; he managed to fix an issue with my wife's Element's rear diff that even the DEALER couldn't fix. Knows his F150 will be needing repairs while it's still well under 7 years old.

That's good enough for me.

 

I only have 27k miles on my 2018. I have only HAD to replace the rotors at 17k due to warping. Good excuse to upgrade and was less than $400 to do myself.
Everything else has been optional upgrades.

As has likely been stated, issues being reported is a numbers game...

2020 sales:
F-150 @ 787,372
Tundra @ 109,203

even with the same reliability between the two (not saying that is the case) you're going to hear about it 721% more with the f150 over the Tundra.

It's possibly a matter of luck and/or what day of the week your truck was manufactured more than brand. You're a sample size of 1 so it could go either way. Life's too short / precious to stress about something that is over and done with. Enjoy your truck and enjoy the features that made it the better buy for you. i don't have heated seats or a payload capacity over 1300lbs if it makes you feel better

 

Why can't people learn to spell, its not that difficult ?

 

Oh, the irony.

 

lo'l

 

https://youtu.be/nO62scTZ7Qk

 

To be fair, he didn’t say anything about punctuation.

 

The ironic part here is that my 1988 Taurus, my FIRST Ford, was trouble free until 132K when it needed a water pump. As I mentioned elsewhere, while it was there in the shop, the building collapsed on it. Replaced it with a one year old Mercury Sable with 30K, also pretty good car for another 140K... but worn out by then with the transmission leaking, every component in the rear brakes needing replacement (to the tune of a thousand bucks) and the wiper motor wearing out. But after getting stuck behind some IDIOT in a Jeep who STOPPED at the bottom of a snow-covered hill before proceeding up the hill, I swore that I'd never buy another FWD POS ever again as long as I lived in the snow-belt. And I've stuck to that. Currently selling off my 2000 Tundra and my 2014 Subaru after getting a 2018 SR5.

More irony here - my 2018 SR5 has SO MUCH tech built into it that the only thing I could compare it to was the science-fiction Bolos - self-aware tanks (artificial intelligence) dreamed up by author Keith Laumer. I mean, I know about traction control, vehicle dynamics control... but THIS thing will HIT THE BRAKES for you if you don't!! And let's not even discuss "beast mode" - used that for the first time yesterday, and yes, it shocked the hell out of me with how much power it was throwing out. But stepping back in time? I've never had a car or truck with radar and vision sensors before!

 

@Coastboater you sold it just in time in my experience with our ecoboost. We sold my wifes I think at 115k on its third water pump with 2 leaking turbos (2300 I think to fix PER SIDE) and seized calipers.

 

Lmao the pirtaes are the RAM of baseball lol

 

Another confirmation that these things are programmed to self-destruct starting at 140,000 miles. Several of our work trucks; it is almost comical to see the service records and the major repairs that are done between 140k and 150k. At a previous company we had a fleet of Ford Explorers for our office and inspectors, and it was like clockwork; probably 7 out of the 9 explorers blew up; either engine or transmission, or both, between 140k and 150k.

 

Well, How long do you expect a ford to last? Purchased a 2001 Mazda tribute unbeknownst to me made by ford. I didn't do my homework. 33000 miles transmission and master cylinder start to leak. transmission leaked again few hundred miles later replaced again. 4 of 6 coils bad at 52000 fuel pump out at 73000 alternator out at 82000. Not even made 90,000 ready for the trash heap. Biggest piece of SHIT I ever owned. Dealership was pissed as hell when i traded it for my shiny 2018 Tunny.

 

I'm hoping they work out the automatic drive to your destination feature. Then I'll buy a full size van and put in a toilet, fridge, microwave, big screen TV, and a couple recliners. Set the auto pilot, and go. We'll arrive at our destination rested, relaxed, and fed.

 

I really liked my '18 F150 but had two breakdowns in two years, and so it had to go. My family has never had anything but good luck with several other Ford models dating back to the early '90s, so I'm in no way knocking Ford as being a categorically inferior quality brand or anything. My '98 Ranger was darn near bulletproof; I sure wish I had kept it.

 

I don't care who builds it, eventually it will break. It is just the frequency of said breakage.