Tell me about the Transit, years/engines to avoid, etc.

[ServicePlus]

I do Appliance Repair for a living, I currently have a 2015 Transit Connect that is about to roll over 200k miles. It is still running great, have not had any major issues but I'm getting to the point I need something bigger, so I'm thinking about keeping my eye out for a full size Transit.

 

It will be used as I try to avoid debt as much as possible, and I don't have the cash on hand for a brand new one.

 

I want to try and keep the gas mileage as good as possible, I've been spoiled by the Transit Connect, but at the same time I don't want to sacrifice reliability or longevity to gain a little better gas mileage, often the more economical engine option for the same vehicle isn't the most reliable.

 

I most likely want the shortest version, sometimes country roads and customer's drive ways can have low branches and other obstacles, and I would only assume the taller models get worse gas mileage. 

I don't carry a lot of weight, especially compared to someone who does plumbing or HVAC, most of my parts that I stock on my van don't weigh a lot, and I don't have a large amount of tools that I have to keep with me so I'm thinking the 150 will be plenty for me? Unless a 250 or 350 will have better reliability because they are built better? Is there much mileage difference between the 150/250/350? 

 

What engine/power train options were available say from 2015-2020 model years? Any particular ones to avoid or good ones to look for? 

 

Any idea how a RWD Transit with snow tires on the back would do on snow, ice, mud, loose gravel etc. compared to a FWD Transit Connect with snow tires on the front? The Transit Connect was awful in anything even remotely slippery until I put some aggressive snow/ice tires on the front, that made a huge improvement. I run them all year long, I only get about a year out of them but I have a lot of rural area that I service with not so great roads, I've gotten stuck in leaves and gravel several times with regular all season tires on the front, it was completely helpless in snow. 

 

Anything else I should know or watch out for? 

 

Any info you have would be very much appreciated! 

 

Edited October 15, 2025 by ServicePlus

[windguy]

Nice job in maintaining a TC with 200K miles. Impressive.

 

As you know, this forum is mainly for Transit Connects, not full size Transits.

You're not going to get the type of response you're looking for here. 

If you haven't done so yet, I suggest repeating your post on a Transit specific forum. 
Good luck!

 

Edited October 17, 2025 by windguy

[ServicePlus]

I realize that but I thought I would try. 

 

So are you saying 200k on a TC is unusual? 

[windguy]

On 10/16/2025 at 5:14 PM, ServicePlus said:

I realize that but I thought I would try. 

 

Okay. I agree, worth trying wherever you can. 

I hope you get your questions answered. 

 

 

On 10/16/2025 at 5:14 PM, ServicePlus said:

So are you saying 200k on a TC is unusual? 

 

I think it is. We've had a few high mileage users reporting on this forum but I'd guess that's well above the average. 

Years ago 200+K would seem extremely high for a 2015, but it's 10 years old now. 20,000 miles a year is not as crazy high as it seems. 

I only have 36,000 on my 2015 so for me it's a lot. I realize I'm on the low end. 

 

Curious on your maintenance:

  How often do you change oil?

  Trans flush?

  Original Engine and Trans?

  Other repairs?

Thanks!

 

  

[G B L]

Mine is closing in on 170000 .  Make sure to keep  the transmission fluid changed. The biggest issue I will have is the vehicle rusting due to life on a Vermont roads.

The transit will do fine when properly equipped with suitable tires .  If you find one with posi-traction  so much the better.

The 3.7 no turbo is adequate  power. the biggest drawback with this engine is the timing chain driven water pump.  It is very expensive to replace {1200-2500$}, sometime in 120000-160000  range. If neglected it will ruin the engine,   The 3.5 Eco boost has a belt driven pump which is better but the High stress turbo charger setup has its own set of expensive issues.

If you are looking keep that in mind.  The bigger the box the more fuel it takes to move it around.

[ServicePlus]

On 10/18/2025 at 11:26 AM, windguy said:

 

 

 

Curious on your maintenance:

  How often do you change oil?

  Trans flush?

  Original Engine and Trans?

  Other repairs?

Thanks!

I bought my TC back in March of 2019, at the time it has 111,722 miles on it, I have no idea if it has had any engine or transmission work done prior to my purchase of it. 

 

My goal is to change the engine oil every 5-6k miles, but sometimes life gets in the way and the interval is longer, I do run full synthetic Mobil1, I do oil changes myself. I had the transmission fluid flushed shortly after I bought it in April at 112,178 miles, this was done at the local Ford dealer, then I had just a transmission fluid drain and refill done March of this year at 186,511, my local mechanic did this. I checked my mileage today, it is just over 196k. The engine uses no oil at all and runs great, I have had some repairs done but nothing major. I'm wishing now I hadn't gone quite so long on the second transmission fluid change, I will probably do it at a much shorter interval next time. 

 

 

Edited October 22, 2025 by ServicePlus

[ServicePlus]

On 10/18/2025 at 12:31 PM, G B L said:

Mine is closing in on 170000 .  Make sure to keep  the transmission fluid changed. The biggest issue I will have is the vehicle rusting due to life on a Vermont roads.

The transit will do fine when properly equipped with suitable tires .  If you find one with posi-traction  so much the better.

The 3.7 no turbo is adequate  power. the biggest drawback with this engine is the timing chain driven water pump.  It is very expensive to replace {1200-2500$}, sometime in 120000-160000  range. If neglected it will ruin the engine,   The 3.5 Eco boost has a belt driven pump which is better but the High stress turbo charger setup has its own set of expensive issues.

If you are looking keep that in mind.  The bigger the box the more fuel it takes to move it around.

Do you have the full size Transit or a TC?

 

I did post my question on the Ford Transit forum, what I was told over there is that the 3.7 V6 if mounted in a RWD configuration has an external water pump and doesn't cause coolant to contaminate the engine oil if it fails. It is when this engine is mounted in a FWD configuration that the water pump is internal and will contaminate the oil with coolant. 

Is that information not correct? 

[G B L]

That would be very good news if true .  I will have to research that.  The 3.7 is a good choice for a Transit 150 that is not overloaded .  I hope you are correct .

I will check into it and update.  

[Jarlaxle]

On 10/18/2025 at 12:26 PM, windguy said:

 

 

I think it is. We've had a few high mileage users reporting on this forum but I'd guess that's well above the average. 

Years ago 200+K would seem extremely high for a 2015, but it's 10 years old now. 20,000 miles a year is not as crazy high as it seems. 

I only have 36,000 on my 2015 so for me it's a lot. I realize I'm on the low end. 

 

Curious on your maintenance:

  How often do you change oil?

  Trans flush?

  Original Engine and Trans?

  Other repairs?

Thanks!

 

  

200K is nothing remarkable for a Connect-the contrary, I see them for sale all the time over 200K. 300K isn't that unusual and I have seen them with more. (Highest I saw was 550,000 on a 2011-it was worn out, rusty, and beat up, but still ran and was in use until a month before it was scrapped.)