The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is looking into nearly 100 complaints related to the performance of Ford Motor Co.'s popular EcoBoost engine. Consumers driving the turbocharged V-6 in F-150 pickups allege "unexpected, sharp reductions in engine power during hard accelerations at highway speeds," according to NHTSA.
Since the 3.5-liter V-6 was introduced in 2011, Ford has issued three technical service bulletins to dealers explaining how to fix acceleration problems, but it has not yet initiated a recall. Roughly one-third of the complaints report weak acceleration problems at highway speeds in rainy, wet conditions.