Never thought I’d be writing anything bad about a Raptor, but current owners and those considering one need to be aware of a serious short coming in the structural integrity of your truck and it is NOT COVERED by your warranty (neither the factory paint warranty nor the Premium Care Extended warranty). For the record I’ve owned 2 Raptors (2010 and 2014) and a total of 6 F150s as an adult. I’m about as Ford Blue as they come.
So, the F150 platform has a known issue of water getting into the wall of the cab. Usually through the third brake light, but it can also be caused by faulty seals around the sun roof or back window. This is the first area where a potential claim will be denied. Your warranty does not cover water intrusion caused by a faulty seal. Those are considered wear items and not covered.
I had this issue in a 2010 and it was thankfully obvious as water intruded into the cab and would run down the rear window. Both my third brake light and rear window were removed and new gaskets were installed.
I mistakenly believed Ford would have resolved this issue by 2014.
This water eventually pools in the bottom of the cab between the cab walls where it rusts the metal. These walls are structural and their integrity is important to you!
Here is the second place your claim will be denied. If you see rust and bubbling paint, it is not covered by the 5 year, unlimited mile paint warranty because Ford changed the wording of that coverage to say it must perforate the metal. In this case that means you must have holes through the cab sheet metal. For me, there are no holes through the metal and won’t be before I hit my 5 year time limit in July.
To fix this, Ford will want to remove the bed and replace the rear of the cab to forward of the door. This is their definition of a panel. My local dealership wouldn’t even give me a quote on doing that for both sides. Instead they recommended I visit a locally body shop and have them fix it.
I’m pulling a second quote tomorrow, but my first one today is $3230.00. Yep, over $3000 of structural repairs needed to a vehicle less than 5 years old with 60K miles. The repair requires removal of the bed. The corners to be cut out and new pieces rewelded in. Then paint.
I’ve attached pictures of what you should be looking for and would strongly caution you to replace the seals around your windows and third brake light before you encounter this.
On a side note, my truck is up for sale for a good price and comes with an extended warranty that probably isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on…
So, the F150 platform has a known issue of water getting into the wall of the cab. Usually through the third brake light, but it can also be caused by faulty seals around the sun roof or back window. This is the first area where a potential claim will be denied. Your warranty does not cover water intrusion caused by a faulty seal. Those are considered wear items and not covered.
I had this issue in a 2010 and it was thankfully obvious as water intruded into the cab and would run down the rear window. Both my third brake light and rear window were removed and new gaskets were installed.
I mistakenly believed Ford would have resolved this issue by 2014.
This water eventually pools in the bottom of the cab between the cab walls where it rusts the metal. These walls are structural and their integrity is important to you!
Here is the second place your claim will be denied. If you see rust and bubbling paint, it is not covered by the 5 year, unlimited mile paint warranty because Ford changed the wording of that coverage to say it must perforate the metal. In this case that means you must have holes through the cab sheet metal. For me, there are no holes through the metal and won’t be before I hit my 5 year time limit in July.
To fix this, Ford will want to remove the bed and replace the rear of the cab to forward of the door. This is their definition of a panel. My local dealership wouldn’t even give me a quote on doing that for both sides. Instead they recommended I visit a locally body shop and have them fix it.
I’m pulling a second quote tomorrow, but my first one today is $3230.00. Yep, over $3000 of structural repairs needed to a vehicle less than 5 years old with 60K miles. The repair requires removal of the bed. The corners to be cut out and new pieces rewelded in. Then paint.
I’ve attached pictures of what you should be looking for and would strongly caution you to replace the seals around your windows and third brake light before you encounter this.
On a side note, my truck is up for sale for a good price and comes with an extended warranty that probably isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on…
