Mark Mitchell of Ontario, Canada has been a Ford customer for 25 years. But he said he’s finally done with the Blue Oval. Why? “My 2024 Ford F-150 suffered a violent mechanical failure. The third major failure in less than a year.” This doesn’t bode well for the new PowerBoost F-150.

Mitchell has a two-year lease for the hybrid “PowerBoost.” The F-150 model combines Ford’s “EcoBoost” V6 with an electric drive unit for extra power. But Mitchell’s found the new powertrain less than reliable. “I was driving and the vehicle started shaking aggressively. Warning lights came up on the dash, the engine was shot.”

The good news is that Ford is on the hook to get Mitchell’s leased truck running again. The bad news is that the process soon became a nightmare. “They could not provide me with a tracking number for the replacement or give me any firm timeline as to when the engine will be coming.”

Mitchell grew so disillusioned with the drawn-out engine repair process that he stopped making payments on the truck and contacted the local news station. Finally, Ford Canada’s executive team called him back. Shortly after, his PowerBoost was ready.

Third PowerBoost failure is less than a charm

“I leave the dealership travel 5 km down the road and my engine fails again.” Mitchell found out the hard way that Ford may have hurried the job.

“The vehicle began to shake uncontrollably lost power and released a massive cloud of white smoke that completely obscured the visibility of both directions on the highway I managed to narrowly avoid a head-on collision with an oncoming vehicle.”

Ford’s fix? Replace everything again. “Now I’m being told ‘I need a third turbocharger a new engine and an entire exhaust system.’”

Mitchell’s done with Ford. “The first time was one thing. The second time okay. This is now the third time that nearly took the life of my child and I.” He’s willing to just take a truck with a more conventional powertrain for the remainder of his lease. The only problem? The automaker isn’t about to let him go that easily.

“Ford’s idea of making this right is same payments no discounts and instead of continuing with my existing 2-year lease–11 months left–they are indicating I have to commit to a minimum 2-year lease.” So to swap out of a PowerBoost, Mitchell will need to sign a brand new lease.

Mitchell isn’t thrilled. And he isn’t mincing words. “This isn’t an inconvenience This is a safety matter This is a quality assurance issue and uh Ford is not doing enough to address it.”