Failure mode - Ford 3.5L EcoBoost Gasoline (F-150, Expedition, Transit, Raptor - 2011-present)

Charge-air-cooler condensation: boost shudder / hesitation in humid weather

Reliability tier: aggregated - verify before ordering, see /disclosure/

Symptoms

brief shudder / bucking under moderate acceleration in humid or rainy weather
hesitation or stumble on tip-in after extended light-throttle cruising
smoke puff or moisture from the exhaust on hard acceleration
intermittent misfire / limp behavior that clears after the intake dries out

Compare with the other causes of the same sign on this engine: loss of power, limp mode or derate (5 causes) · misfire, rough idle, hesitation or surging (5 causes)

Root cause

Water vapor from charge-air cooling condenses and pools in the CAC on humid days or extended part-throttle operation; a boost surge then ingests the pooled water into the cylinders, causing a multi-cylinder misfire event. Ford's service fix was relocating the CAC air deflector to improve evaporation of pooled condensate (later builds integrated the change).

Diagnosis

reproduce on a humid day after light-throttle cruising: sustained moderate load, watch for the characteristic single shudder event
check for stored multi-cylinder misfire DTCs (P0300-P0306) without an ignition or fuel cause
inspect CAC for pooling; verify the deflector position / updated CAC hardware

Fixes

Ford service direction: relocate the CAC air deflector (or updated CAC assembly) so airflow evaporates pooled condensate; owner practice: periodically run sustained boost to purge the cooler ()

Prevalence

very-common