I’ve had plenty of these in the bay, and the 2017 Super Duty is mostly a solid truck — but it’s got a handful of weak spots that show up like clockwork. Here’s the straight talk.
If yours has the 6.2L gas V8 mated to the 6R140 transmission, that’s what’ll bite you first. We see the pump start to slip somewhere between 70 and 90 thousand miles, especially on trucks that pulled hard or didn’t get fluid changes on schedule. Symptoms creep up slow — harder shift between 2nd and 3rd, maybe a delayed engagement when you drop it in drive. By the time the dealer’s quoting you four to six grand for a rebuild, you’ve already been driving on a sick transmission for a while. Catch it early and a fluid-and-filter service might buy you another 30,000 miles.
Second weak spot’s the transfer case. The BorgWarner BW4464 in these is known to break a shift fork — you’ll go to switch into 4-high and the dash light just blinks at you. Cheaper fix than the trans, usually $1,500 to $2,000 at an independent shop, but it’ll strand you off-road if you’re not paying attention.
If you’re shopping a used one, get under it. Verify the recall fixes are done — especially the Takata airbag and the shift cable roll pin from campaign 18V-274. Pull a clean ATF sample if you can. And don’t let anyone tell you the body control module gremlins are normal. They’re not. They’re a sign the truck’s been through some weather it shouldn’t have, and you’re going to be chasing electrical ghosts for as long as you own it.
For most folks this is still a truck worth owning. Just go in with eyes open, and budget for the items above before something else does it for you.
