After the initial delivery hiccups, the fourteenth-generation 2021 Ford F-150 has been selling like hotcakes. But that doesn’t mean it’s all roses, as the new iteration’s early adopters already reports some issues. For example, Andre Smirnov from The Fast Lane Truck found some troubling rust coverage after less than 700 miles (around 1,126 km) of travel.
Andre, the managing editor of TFL Truck, recently acquired the Velocity Blue 2021 Ford F-150 XL FX4 Crew Cab with a short bed, a less than a month old vehicle. Naturally, he’s been extremely proud of his “puppy” and cares very much for the truck’s appearance. That concern covers both the visible and traditionally hidden parts as he surprisingly uncovered a potential (at least cosmetical, if not mechanical) problem.
Apparently, his brand-new truck already has the lateral parts (the area right next to the wheels) of the rear axle covered in a light coat of rust. Curious about what’s going on, he sent a query to Ford and got a quick reply (we have it in the gallery, and it’s in the video embedded below at the 2:45 mark) that basically said that he shouldn’t be too worried.
Of course, with an inventory full of all kinds of vehicles, Andre wanted to see if other Blue Oval trucks fit the same description that “while some F-150 underbody steel components may show signs of surface rust, this will have no impact on part performance life.”
As such, he decided to make a quick comparison not only between the rear axle and the exhaust components (they’re a good indicator of the overall condition because they face “severe usage”) on his F-150, but also with the 2020 F-150 Raptor (a late 2019 build, so it’s more than a year old already) as well as the 2004 F-150 they’ll use for the new “Hell and Back” series.
Both the Raptor and the 17-year-old F-150 get their overviews from the 4:20 and 7:53 marks, and we’ll let you check out their undersides to grasp better and compare the three of them. On the other hand, the conclusion is simple and obvious. Andre explains that he’s “not an engineer that knows a lot about materials, but what I can see with my eyes is that there is a lot more axle rust on this brand new one-month old truck than the rest of them, even this 2004 F-150.” Concerning, right?
Apparently, his brand-new truck already has the lateral parts (the area right next to the wheels) of the rear axle covered in a light coat of rust. Curious about what’s going on, he sent a query to Ford and got a quick reply (we have it in the gallery, and it’s in the video embedded below at the 2:45 mark) that basically said that he shouldn’t be too worried.
Of course, with an inventory full of all kinds of vehicles, Andre wanted to see if other Blue Oval trucks fit the same description that “while some F-150 underbody steel components may show signs of surface rust, this will have no impact on part performance life.”
As such, he decided to make a quick comparison not only between the rear axle and the exhaust components (they’re a good indicator of the overall condition because they face “severe usage”) on his F-150, but also with the 2020 F-150 Raptor (a late 2019 build, so it’s more than a year old already) as well as the 2004 F-150 they’ll use for the new “Hell and Back” series.
Both the Raptor and the 17-year-old F-150 get their overviews from the 4:20 and 7:53 marks, and we’ll let you check out their undersides to grasp better and compare the three of them. On the other hand, the conclusion is simple and obvious. Andre explains that he’s “not an engineer that knows a lot about materials, but what I can see with my eyes is that there is a lot more axle rust on this brand new one-month old truck than the rest of them, even this 2004 F-150.” Concerning, right?