Ford hits 1 million miles on EcoBoost test engines

Word has recently come out of Dearborn that Ford has racked up over a million test miles on it's soon to be released EcoBoost engines, in combined real world driving and in lab testing.

So far, a group of EcoBoost engines have logged over 12,000 hours on the dyno which represents 500,000 miles of consumer driving, according to Ford. The engines have gone through 20 different tests at maximum loads and speeds to test the reliability during simulated real-world conditions. The engines endured a thousand cold starts and many wide open throttle runs to test their durability, and Ford believes they performed exceptionally well

"EcoBoost is undergoing the durability and reliability tests that we put all Ford engines through, and the performance we are seeing shows that the 3.5L EcoBoost engine is a high-quality, top-performing engine that meets or exceeds all our reliability targets and is deserving of Ford's five-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty," said Ford's Advanced Engine Design and Development manager Brett Hinds.

Ford engineers have spent a great deal of time using computer models to simulate wear and tear on the engines and components, as well as model the exact operations of the twin turbos and direct injection to maximize efficiency.

"Because the 3.5L EcoBoost employs the latest in injection and turbocharger thermal management technologies, our tests have shown that we have effectively eliminated the legacy concerns sometimes associated with these systems, including high-mileage combustion deposits on the injectors and turbo bearing coking," said Hinds.

Out on the roads of the real world, Ford has been running a fleet of EcoBoosted Flexs and Lincoln MKS' at their Michigan Proving Grounds in Romeo, Michigan, performing on-road tests including towing tests to determine the new power plant's actual in-car performance.

Ford has also run them around at high altitude in Denver, through the Arizona deserts and in the deep south to test the engine's performance in extreme conditions. The test fleet racked up another 500,000 miles of driving, bringing the tests to over one million combined miles.

"With the extensive dynamometer and vehicle-level durability testing we are subjecting this engine to, we are confident that the 3.5L EcoBoost engine is going to further strengthen Ford Motor Company's reputation for delivering reliable, high-quality engines," said Hinds.

It's comforting to hear that Ford is doing it's homework and ensuring that the EcoBoosted engines will not only be powerful and efficient, but reliable as well.

Now let's take one for a test drive already!