Smashed radiator fins

[MAVERlCK]

looks like a deliberate assault to me. Have you done anything that would anger nature, like drive a truck into the middle of nature?

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[LSchicago]

I'm not sure exactly how this progressed over my nearly 15,000 miles of ownership, because I didn't notice it until the midst of a cross-country trip a couple weeks ago, which is when I took this photo. So, sorry about the bugs and such. It was hard to get my phone camera to focus properly. But you get the idea. The radiator fins are mostly smashed in the area where the bottom two active shutters would be, had they not been phased out for safety reasons (I believe my Mav was manufactured after that recall, so I assume the shutters were never installed in the first place).

Does this mean the active shutters actually have the benefit of preventing light airborne debris from smashing the radiator fins? Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions. This kind of damage seems ridiculous, but is it normal? Am I missing something? Should I be concerned?

Not really damage if it's not leaking. Probably an opossum or some animal crawled in there to sleep. Those fins bend if touched.

 

[bluesteel]

Damn that's a lot! Even washing multiple times a week on average I have never seen it this bad.

I would definitely try my luck with the dealer. I've had ones in the past that wouldn't think twice about it and cover it under warranty and others that you basically had to threaten with serious injury to even make an appointment lol. I don't think it's anything to worry about at the moment, but if it gets worse the yea, I'd get it fixed.

How are temps currently?

No temp problems observed, even with considerable towing in the CO mountains recently

There's a tool used in Air Conditioning called a "Fin Comb" made exactly for this purpose.

Considering that, but will need to research the best - an Amazon listing posted higher up didn't have great reviews

And the lower finned unit is the intercooler for the turbo. Radiator above it.

I'm not familiar with an active shutter recall for ecoboost. Hybrid yes. But the active shutters are for aerodynamics at 60+.

OP are you the first owner of the truck?

I am the first owner. I've only read about the recall in passing - guess I should actually look it up - but in both of those areas it definitely appears that there were provisions (vertical rails, I guess?) for shutters but the shutters are not there.

looks like a deliberate assault to me. Have you done anything that would anger nature, like drive a truck into the middle of nature?

YES I definitely have!

 

[Azmig88]

Bugs? ALL of them flew into the same area????
Anyway, as people have already said, a fin comb is the perfect solution. Just take your time and all will be well.

 

[colinl]

Not really damage if it's not leaking. Probably an opossum or some animal crawled in there to sleep. Those fins bend if touched.

That's a pretty interesting theory and I think it's plausible.

Google isn't finding anything but I think there was a period of time where Ford deleted the active shutters on all trucks because they were constrained. Since it's an ecoboost I don't think the shutters would have been intentionally removed by a dealership, but the reason I asked if the OP was the original owner is that some in the enthusiast community do remove them, it's not uncommon on the Focus ST and F150.

None of that makes sense as much as an animal, lol. IDK.

If it were me I'd buy the fin tool, straighten best you can in a reasonable amount of time maybe 1-3 hours, and keep truckin'.

 

[Old Hickory Trojan]

Okay, lots of work, though, and it would probably just happen again if bugs are causing it. I think the build was November 2022, and I bought it the following month.

So sounds like my main question should be, is this common, and should I be concerned about it?

I have been doing a lot of towing but never saw the temp gauge climb past halfway.

Yup, I just put a screen on my Subaru Crosstrek and another on my SC. Both to protect the most exposed part of the radiator. On the SC there is another screen for the top half that I didn't mount because you need to remove the whole front end to mount it. Both vehicles were pretty much open and exposed the radiator for damage IMHO

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