Ford Flex, the wagon no one talked about.

[dberz94]

I've been looking into replacing my Civic with a wagon, or vagen, but I'm unsure about reliability, especially stepping away from Honda. IIRC the powertrain is the same as the Taurus SHO which is intriguing. The Flex's interior looks pretty outdated and they axed it in the car purge announcement a year ago (RIP). But they have similar mod markets to the SHO since it used a similar V6 ecoboost platform. I heard earlier models had the trans slipping problem (random loss of rpm's) like on the Edge's trans.

From Car and Driver on the 2019 model:

Two V-6 engines are offered in the Ford Flex, both displacing 3.5 liters and mated to a six-speed automatic. The base engine makes 287 horsepower and can be had with either front- or all-wheel drive. The upscale Limited trim offers an optional twin-turbo V-6 that cranks out a stout 365 horsepower and comes standard with all-wheel drive. At our test track, the turbocharged Limited hustled to 60 mph in 6.2 seconds. Because it's more hunkered down than a traditional SUV, the Flex offers a more carlike driving experience.

Does any one own one? If so, how has it been? What to look out for? Regular maintenance, etc.

Here's a hot photo of one from a wheelwell article (https://wheelwell.com/brent-long/1o6d/2014-ford-flex)

Click to read more...

 

[Mook]

I thought someone on here used to have one.... Can't remember who.

 

[bimmer4life]

I thought someone on here used to have one.... Can't remember who.

Kensington

 

[Kensington]

Yes it’s reliable, but also no it’s not.

The AWD system is a disaster. Expect the PTU to grenade around 100-150k miles, or change the PTU fluid about as often as engine oil, and MAYBE prolong the life. Also the turbos tend to blow up in also the 100-150K mile range.

But honestly, they are also awesome, especially if you like the styling which I very much did. If you are looking for Flex’s stay 2013+, a bit stronger PTU, bigger brakes (but honestly still undersized and underpowered), and better infotainment. It was an amazing trip vehicle, but also got very mediocre gas mileage. It was super comfy, and it boogied for its size. I took it to GLD and ran pretty consistent 14.2’s with a 14.1@98 sprinkled in completely box stock. It was about as quick as the early Hemi LX cars, which is almost exclusively what was at the track that day, also a dude in a BMW 335 that couldn’t drive for shit.

I loved it, it was easy to maintain, super comfy, different, had soooooo much room (interior was about as big as the Expedition I had before it), was way quicker than you’d expect, and was an absolute monster in the snow.

but then one day it started barfing PTU fluid out of the vent tube, so I got rid of it.

let me know if you have questions.

 

[boostedguy05]

Its

 

[dberz94]

Yes it’s reliable, but also no it’s not.

The AWD system is a disaster. Expect the PTU to grenade around 100-150k miles, or change the PTU fluid about as often as engine oil, and MAYBE prolong the life. Also the turbos tend to blow up in also the 100-150K mile range.

But honestly, they are also awesome, especially if you like the styling which I very much did. If you are looking for Flex’s stay 2013+, a bit stronger PTU, bigger brakes (but honestly still undersized and underpowered), and better infotainment. It was an amazing trip vehicle, but also got very mediocre gas mileage. It was super comfy, and it boogied for its size

I loved it, it was easy to maintain, super comfy, different, had soooooo much room (interior was about as big as the Expedition I had before it), was way quicker than you’d expect, and was an absolute monster in the snow.

but then one day it started barfing PTU fluid out of the vent tube, so I got rid of it.

let me know if you have questions.

That's what I was worried about, most used one's are in the 50k -75k mileage range are decently priced but I thought there would be a reason. Ford needs to work on their trans issues but in about a decade or so a coyote swap may be cool.

 

[DEEZUZ]

Find a place that will let you toss it on a lift and snoop around. I'd say anything less than 80k miles and the PTU should be fine as long as you service it asap and I reallllly done get the big deal, it's like a $650 part and a few hours labor

 

[Dave M]

I had the Lincoln version (MKT) for a couple of years. It had 29k on it when I bought it and the PTU was already dead unbeknownst to me until the first time I railed on it from a light and just smoked the front tires. Luckily I bought a Ford extended warranty from Lombard Ford in New Jersey over the net, otherwise I would've been out about $2k 3 mos into ownership.

Once the PTU was replaced it was a blast to drive, awesome in the snow as Kensington mentioned, but the fuel mileage sucked, and the brakes were downright scary even after I put fresh pads and rotors all around. Eventually it developed a water leak inside the cabin that no one could find the source of, so I traded it in for my truck and lost my ass on it because Lincoln's have BMW resale value...

YMMV, but I wouldn't ever buy one again.

 

[Kensington]

Find a place that will let you toss it on a lift and snoop around. I'd say anything less than 80k miles and the PTU should be fine as long as you service it asap and I reallllly done get the big deal, it's like a $650 part and a few hours labor

In the driveway on your back, or on a lift? I mean, I feel bad making a big deal of it since I had heard all of the horror stories on price and labor, if it's legit a you could do it fairly easily in a driveway...but if you are a driveway hack, and it's going to take you 2 days to do...

 

[dberz94]

So I think I'm going to stay away since most used ones are for sale in the 100k mile range. Onto the next wagon choice.

 

[DEEZUZ]

No shooting brake here.... :sad:

 

[DEEZUZ]

Won't you be my ecoboost brother