Things I wish I knew before I bought my Maverick

[BillHanna]

We did zero research before we bought our 24 Maverick. We just wanted a truck that we could get into easier than our Tundra. The only thing I miss is the ACC that the XLT does not have.
This is a great truck and fits our need just perfect.

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[lewiskauffman]

This popped up 2 days ago on my Ford Pass app in the Customer Satisfaction area

 

[Mark S. (RFD)]

It was between the Subaru Forester hybrid and the Maverick. Came down to wanting a little truck over an SUV.

I was in the same boat, but with a deadline. My 2012 F150 was quickly on its way out. It got caught in the last hurricane here in SW Florida last fall (2024, Melvin or whatever it was).
This past March, I took it to my mechanic for some work, he called told me he would NOT work on it. I went down to look at it. Long story short, the sea water from the storm took out damn near anything steel.
VERY limited time left before it was not longer safe to drive.
So, it was time to look for a new truck. I looked at the Forester as well, a Friend owns one, pretty good little SUV, looked at the Maverick, looked good as well. Looked on here, did not see too many issues.
Found a New 2024 4x4 at the local dealer, its mine now.
No regrets with it, but still under 10k miles (Barely).
The battery thing concerns me as do the CV joint issue.

If it were me, and I know I'll not drive it for a long time, I would put a pigtail on the 12v starter battery and get yourself a "Battery Tender brand" trickle charger or a Solar trickle charger.

The CV joints, that's going to be a fight with Ford for everyone. They wont do a recall most likely. Just fix them as people complain (Seriously, Complain, Loudly!).
Ford is funny about repairs like this, and a lot depends on the dealer doing the work, how far the car is out of warranty and some other, more obscure factors the public has little knowledge of or access to. Keep up with the maintenance, (but change your oil sooner than the 10k mile suggested time frame).

Someone mentioned not knowing how many times a Lead Acid battery will deep cycle before it dies: That depends on how long it stays "Dead".
The lack of voltage leads to a build up of Lead Sulfate on the battery plates, with the build up eventually touching the neighboring plates and shorting them out. Thus, killing cells as it gets worse. Most batteries wont handle more than 3-5 of these unless engineered for it like a Deep Cycle battery.
You need to be careful on battery selection though. Some Deep Cycle Marine batteries, specifically LiFePo (Lithium iron phosphate) Deep cycle marine batteries. Manufactures claim they wont work for a Engine Starter battery and are only engineered for Trolling motors and Marine electronics. Hmmm . . .
I am still researching why these are NOT recommended for starting engines.

 

[Mark S. (RFD)]

This popped up 2 days ago on my Ford Pass app in the Customer Satisfaction area

Well, this is interesting!! Do you have more info to share?

 

[lewiskauffman]

Well, this is interesting!! Do you have more info to share?

https://fordauthority.com/2025/09/some-2022-ford-maverick-pickups-need-their-halfshafts-replaced/

 

[Mark S. (RFD)]

https://fordauthority.com/2025/09/some-2022-ford-maverick-pickups-need-their-halfshafts-replaced/

Thanks! I'll read this. just trying to prepare for the time I need to fight Ford over this . . .

Rats! Only for the 2022 model, so far.
But really surprised and Happy that Ford is doing this!

 

[Monark]

4500 Miles in on my Lariat EB I love this truck! No issues but I do wish A/C was knob instead of touch screen.

 

[Scott Asheville]

I probably wish I'd known that it would be sitting in a dealership service center 3 years after I bought it, with no ETA for repair, because it will only run for 5 seconds before shutting down. And that the tires would have to be replaced at 30,000 miles. And I wish I'd known how awful the ecoboost depreciation was gonna be.

That said, I don't regret the purchase. They'll fix it under the 5 year powertrain warranty. The Maverick is nowhere near being my dream small truck, but it's good enough until something better comes along.

Oh, bonus observation. I wish I'd known how much I was going to love my heated and very comfy XLT Lux seats and steering wheel.

Honestly, if only the Maverick were a foot and two doors shorter, I'd consider it near perfect. Not all that upset about the mechanical issues. Stuff breaks.

 

[pigsareus]

Back in April we bought a 2024 XLT hybrid. We love it. 45 plus MPG, under 30K, what's not to love. I was looking for something to make quick trips to the hardware store, run for gardening supplies and haul my 2 labs. You know all the stuff where my full sized Ram was too much and my wife minivan would get trashed. I also needed space for the grandkids while doing all that. It was between the Subaru Forester hybrid and the Maverick. Came down to wanting a little truck over an SUV.

I knew about the recalls and was careful in making sure that all recalls were done on the truck we bought. However there are a few things I did not know and wish I had before pulling the trigger.

First I am retired and only drive around 5K to 6K miles a year. Which brings up my first wish:

Parasitic drain and the killing of the 12v battery especially if you don't drive it often. Since I do not drive much, this could be a big problem. It can be a real hassle to get it fixed.

Next wish was knowing that the CV joints could go out at 30K miles. Now this is pretty troubling. As little as I drive, my truck will be well out of warranty by the time I hit 30K. So I hope there is a recall on this.

I Chose the 2024 XLT since I did not like the 2025 grill and want/need real buttons for the radio and climate control. I liked the features of the lariat, but could not afford the price, so the XLT was it.

Which brings me to my third wish: Knowing that the 2025s may have AGM batteries and updated CV axels so those problems could be avoided.

Now would I have done anything different? Probably not. For me I really hate have all the controls on the touch screen so the 24 was the way to go.

Don't get me wrong. I have zero regrets and love the truck more every day. I do find excuses to drive it so I may exceed my milage estimate.

What things, if any, do you wish you knew about the maverick before purchase?

I put in my order for a '22 in October '22, pure base XL 0 options, got it the next September. I really only found out about this truck in late September, I couldn't ever find one to look at for a week when i finally located one at a dealership - took one look at it, looked inside the window to see the interior, didn't have any chance to actually sit in it or drive it and then ordered it. Arrived 11 months later, I drive like you - about 6-7K or retiree miles mostly on secondary roads. No problem with the battery at all, I did have a CV joint replaced at 25K miles, it took 3 hours and cost me nothing. Just bought the extended warranty. I never think about any battery draining, it rides like a charm I get 45 mpg on it and it's great. No need to be concerned about factory cover CVs - you'll know when/if they need replacement well ahead of any actual breakdown, if you are getting a drained battery then there is some flaw and you should take it in and get it fixed and if the end solution is to buy an AGM battery on your own even though it is a bit painful it'll save you a lot of worrying in the future and would be well worth it. I also disabled the app as soon as I got it, I have no desire or needs to monitor what my 2022 vehicle is or isn't doing and from some other posts the app seems to have some relationship to putting some drain on the battery. So, in the end, I'd say disable the app, buy yourself an AGM if you are fearful, and enjoy the rest of your retirement and happy driving.

 

[MaverRick]

We only drive about 6000 miles a year and dropping a new AGM battery killed all of the battery issues immediately just drop 150 bucks on it and end your worries

Same here my 22 has less than 16k miles on it. No battery issues with mine but Ford still replaced it after 3 years due to recall!

 

[Deleted member 37952]

I don't have anything big but I would have appreciated a heads up on how addicted to having a tailgate it would make me. Being able to use the tailgate as quick seating or as a work bench has been a great quality of life feature for me. I've eaten lunch, rigged up many fishing rods, enjoyed some post bike ride NA beers with friends, and just casually hung out on the tailgate. It's such a small thing in the scheme of things but I think it's going to be something I look for whenever its time to replace the Mav in the future because I have liked it so much.

 

[Jarathen]

Even as someone that came from a truck before - an 04 Ranger - I was reminded of how nice a tailgate/bed is when just running normal errands. Nothing to scuff up or dirty the interior, sliding stuff in and out of the bed easy as can be.

Though now I get why people install the tailgate assist, because yeah, when juggling things, that quick slam can be a lot.

 

[JP&R]

Hey there well first off I think you’re assuming both of those things are going to fail. You have to understand that when you’re reading a website like this complaints and issues become magnified to the point where they distorted..

I’ve had my 22 XL hybrid for almost 3 years, the only issue I’ve had is replacing the 12 V battery. I’m almost at 50 K.

Relax and consider this you could’ve done much much much worse so enjoy your Maverick !

 

[Quest]

First thing I did on my 25 XLT is turn off stop/start & the seatbelt message thing on the instrument cluster.
Second was to install dash cams front & back
Third was figure out remote start with a key fob instead of FordPass
Other than the crappy heater controls on the screen Im now happy with it

 

[Prickly Pear]

One complaint - not a deal breaker. The headlights offer little to NO illumination to the sides when driving at night. I guess I need to install some fog lights. My Sienna throws a nice bit of light so you can see if someone is stepping off a curb or if an animal is approaching fast from the side. My buru's fog lights do similar for me. In my Mav what's ahead of me is well lit but the sides are black as night!

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