Disheartened With Santa Cruz Issues

[Yardtruck]

I have been visiting both this and the SC forum.
I had developed a real liking for much about the SC. I like the push bottom dampened tailgate, the bumper steps, the “brink” under the bed...I could go on.
BUT there are multiple threads about the SC simply freezing up and either stopping entirely or going into limp mode.
I mean multiple threads each with with multiple owners.
Only one poster received a definite diagnosis from a dealership (bad fuel pump) but most have gotten the “we don’t know what it is”
Then there’s the DCT. One guys trans blew up on the way home from the dealer. Another found out he can’t get his truck because the DCT gave out while being driven onto the truck carrier.
UGH.
I know Ford is problematic but I have owned many vehicles over the past 50 years and never had one just give out for no known reason.
I think I will order a Lariat hybrid in August and pray...if I don’t just decide to keep my 2006 Ranger till it rots away!

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[Old Ranchero]

Like we all didn't already know SC was inferior to Maverick in every way here?

 

[snowcatxx87]

If you want to do truck stuff, the three things you mentioned (to me) don't add anything of value, and the bed is smaller.

 

[Hypsypops]

I have been visiting both this and the SC forum.
I had developed a real liking for much about the SC. I like the push bottom dampened tailgate, the bumper steps, the “brink” under the bed...I could go on.
BUT there are multiple threads about the SC simply freezing up and either stopping entirely or going into limp mode.
I mean multiple threads each with with multiple owners.
Only one poster received a definite diagnosis from a dealership (bad fuel pump) but most have gotten the “we don’t know what it is”
Then there’s the DCT. One guys trans blew up on the way home from the dealer. Another found out he can’t get his truck because the DCT gave out while being driven onto the truck carrier.
UGH.
I know Ford is problematic but I have owned many vehicles over the past 50 years and never had one just give out for no known reason.
I think I will order a Lariat hybrid in August and pray...if I don’t just decide to keep my 2006 Ranger till it rots away!

I would say that any vehicle in the first model year will have issues and you are more likely to hear people's negative experiences aired out. So I would consider the ratio of delivered vehicles to problem vehicles. It matters more whether the dealers resolve those issues for the customers impacted.

 

[JASmith]

First model years are always the most problematic, and the powertrain on the Santa Cruz is all new, both the engine and transmission.

Maverick powertrains are pretty ancient, with exception of the 8-speed transmission in the turbo, which I believe is a couple years old now. But even with the hybrid powertrain which has been used for a long time now by Ford, there are weird software glitches too like people burning up their cats when letting them idle in very cold environments.

I'd wager 2023 will be more reliable for both.

One good thing with the Hyundai is if you do have powertrain issues, at least you have a decade full warranty to cover those. Bad thing is I hear the Hyundai doesn't even universally provide loaners, you have to get a loaner yourself and then contact Hyundai to reimburse you.

 

[Deacon Blues]

Previously, I've owned two Ford trucks-a 1997 F150 and a 2000 Ranger.

The F150 was a new model and it did have some issues (exhaust system had to be rerouted and it had a new transmission installed under warranty.
Other than that it was very reliable. Eventually, I sold a family member, who eventually sold it to another family member. That family member eventually gave it back to me when she bought a new Escape.
I sold it, to buy the Maverick, with 345,000km on the odometer. Original paint, engine, and tranny (that have been replaced 3 years after I bought the truck).

My Ranger, which I owned for 13 years, was also very reliable. I'm hoping I'll have the same luck with my new Maverick (eco boost).
Fingers crossed.

 

[WasChops]

I have been visiting both this and the SC forum.
I had developed a real liking for much about the SC. I like the push bottom dampened tailgate, the bumper steps, the “brink” under the bed...I could go on.
BUT there are multiple threads about the SC simply freezing up and either stopping entirely or going into limp mode.
I mean multiple threads each with with multiple owners.
Only one poster received a definite diagnosis from a dealership (bad fuel pump) but most have gotten the “we don’t know what it is”
Then there’s the DCT. One guys trans blew up on the way home from the dealer. Another found out he can’t get his truck because the DCT gave out while being driven onto the truck carrier.
UGH.
I know Ford is problematic but I have owned many vehicles over the past 50 years and never had one just give out for no known reason.
I think I will order a Lariat hybrid in August and pray...if I don’t just decide to keep my 2006 Ranger till it rots away!

I thank you for this post, you apparently have read a number of SC Forum postings I have yet to discover! I purchased the Phantom Black Limited, 02.02.22 and I am really enjoying this vehicle; alas I have not had any issues whatsoever. And I am only at 642 miles - wait 1 issue - the local Goodyear dealer I like to use (for over 15 years now) cannot locate an OEM Oil filter, as I wanted to change at 500 miles and before 1,000 miles. I am still waiting to hear from them - or I have to get it done at the local Hyungdry (LOL?) Dealership. Overall, I am still anxiously awaiting the NOTIFICATION of the Build to begin and then delivery of at least 1 Maverick I have on order!

 

[Scott Asheville]

You can't tell anything from an online forum. Tens of thousands of happy SC owners are living their lives, loving their little trucklets, and are not in that forum. Any person who has any problem will Google "Santa Cruz Club" or something, and go there for help and solace - or just to vent. Same here on the Maverick forum.

And you can't make a purchase decision on a new car based on a forum either. I remember hanging out in the Chevy Bolt forum way back in the day (I passed on that disaster, thank heaven). You'd think the Bolt was manna from the heavens. Then they started to just quit in the middle of the road. Then they started burning up. And finally every Bolt ever built was recalled so it didn't burn down your house with your family in it. It took several years for that to play out.

It takes years to know what's good and what's bad. We don't know right now if the Santa Cruz is good or bad. And here's a shocker to all the Maverick fanboys (I'm one). We won't know if the Maverick is good or bad for several years either.

You want to make a safe, reliable choice that will never let you down? Go buy a Tacoma - except it'll be obsolete this fall when the new design hits the street. Those of us (including me) running to dealerships to buy an all-new SC or Mav? We're rolling the dice.

 

[Yardtruck]

I thank you for this post, you apparently have read a number of SC Forum postings I have yet to discover! I purchased the Phantom Black Limited, 02.02.22 and I am really enjoying this vehicle; alas I have not had any issues whatsoever. And I am only at 642 miles - wait 1 issue - the local Goodyear dealer I like to use (for over 15 years now) cannot locate an OEM Oil filter, as I wanted to change at 500 miles and before 1,000 miles. I am still waiting to hear from them - or I have to get it done at the local Hyungdry (LOL?) Dealership. Overall, I am still anxiously awaiting the NOTIFICATION of the Build to begin and then delivery of at least 1 Maverick I have on order!

https://www.santacruzforums.com/threads/loss-of-power-as-others-had.9477/

 

[Yardtruck]

https://www.santacruzforums.com/thr...he-acceleration-from-a-stop.8709/#post-194338

 

[Yardtruck]

If you want to do truck stuff, the three things you mentioned (to me) don't add anything of value, and the bed is smaller.

How about stake holes in the bed rails?
I use them in my 2006 Ranger, and did in my Tundra also.
Really Ford? You could’ve done that!

 

[Yardtruck]

You can't tell anything from an online forum. Tens of thousands of happy SC owners are living their lives, loving their little trucklets, and are not in that forum. Any person who has any problem will Google "Santa Cruz Club" or something, and go there for help and solace - or just to vent. Same here on the Maverick forum.

And you can't make a purchase decision on a new car based on a forum either. I remember hanging out in the Chevy Bolt forum way back in the day (I passed on that disaster, thank heaven). You'd think the Bolt was manna from the heavens. Then they started to just quit in the middle of the road. Then they started burning up. And finally every Bolt ever built was recalled so it didn't burn down your house with your family in it. It took several years for that to play out.

It takes years to know what's good and what's bad. We don't know right now if the Santa Cruz is good or bad. And here's a shocker to all the Maverick fanboys (I'm one). We won't know if the Maverick is good or bad for several years either.

You want to make a safe, reliable choice that will never let you down? Go buy a Tacoma - except it'll be obsolete this fall when the new design hits the street. Those of us (including me) running to dealerships to buy an all-new SC or Mav? We're rolling the dice.

I owned a new Tacoma for 4 horrible weeks.
The truck dropped trim parts just driving down the highway.
A really bad build.

 

[bdaniel230]

Like we all didn't already know SC was inferior to Maverick in every way here?

Sorry but it still looks like a Falcon to me. The original Ranchero was a Fairlane body as I remember. The Falcon/Ranchero was faster, especially the ones with the 351 .

 

[Old Ranchero]

Sorry but it still looks like a Falcon to me. The original Ranchero was a Fairlane body as I remember. The Falcon/Ranchero was faster, especially the ones with the 351 .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Ranchero

 

[bdaniel230]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Ranchero

Yep I had a '56 Fairlane

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