Government probes reports of Ford F-150 pickups losing power

The federal government is investigating reports that Ford F-150 pickup trucks equipped with Ecoboost engines lost power during hard acceleration, particularly under humid or damp conditions.

The 95 reports involve model year 2011 through 2013 F-150 trucks equipped with 3.5-liter gasoline turbocharged direct injection engines, which are designed to boost fuel economy.

Consumer Reports previously has challenged whether the engines live up to the claims of Ford and other automakers.

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About 400,000 Ecoboost-equipped F-150 pickups are involved. Many complaints allege safety concerns associated with overtaking other vehicles, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said last week in announcing the investigation.

No related crashes have been reported so far, according to the NHTSA, which said its investigation is preliminary and designed to determine whether the pickups have a safety defect.

The Dearborn, Mich., automaker said it’s cooperating with the investigation.

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