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2006 Explorer Throttle Body/ TPS Problems/Wrench light?

nathan12889

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Joined
December 31, 2006
Messages
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City, State
Jackson, GA
Year, Model & Trim Level
06 XLT
My 06 v6 explorer had the powertrain malfunction wrench light come on a few months ago. Error code p2106/p_____ forget the other one...

Anyway I took it to ford and they diagnosed it as the Throttle Position Sensor. But told me that I had to replace the whole throttle body. So I did.

Now again, just last week, after probably 7 months of smooth sailing, the light and problem comes back.
It's a very intermittent problem.


But when it's messing up, and the wrench light is on, acceleration is very jumpy and poor, cruise control doesn't work, and there's a jolt like i'm being rear ended when i come to a stop.

Anyone having a similar issue??
Any help?
Thanks in advance
 



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Yup. My 2006 Explorer with the 4.0 V6 has had this happen to me 4 times. Once about ever 6-8 months. It has died on me on a 3 lane highway in the high speed lane. It actually did it again last night and I had to get it towed to the dealer again. Shocker they say it's the throttle body that needs to be replaced again. I think it's time to start calling Ford and ask WTF is wrong with this thing. Because I no longer feel like I own a reliable vehicle.
 






Ok. I just fixed the same problem on my 1998 5.0 Explorer. All the mechanics told me it was the TPS sensor and the Throttle Body so I checked the sensor and the voltage was great. (If you have a Haynes Manual you can test the TPS sensor yourself) Anyway I got into the Engine bay and found two rubber vacuum hoses leading to and from the vacuum solenoid. They practically disintegrated when I touched them. I replaced them and the problem was fixed. What a friend told me after the fact is that when the vacuum system is screwed up, its very hard for the rest if the throttle functions to adjust and function correctly. Anyway this might not be the best approach for a newer Explorer but it sure saved my butt.
 






SplashRI, wow, died on you while you were driving? Whew.. mine has not done that yet. There is a 1 year warranty on the throttle body, don't know if the dealer told you that or not; however, it just seems to me that there HAS to be a bigger problem here..
Ford made a replacement throttle body for the one that was original in these explorers.
I got the replacement (but am having the same problem again). So who knows..I'll keep you posted about any progress and I'd appreciate if you could do the same...

Thanks,
Nathan
 






So apparently they have replaced another sensor in the throttle body assembly and they "think" that will fix it. Of course after going thru and having 2 sensors and a wiring harness changed already I'm really not confident that this will be fixed. I'm going to attempt to get a hold of someone at Ford that may know more about this because as of right now I really don't want to drive the Explorer on the highway for fear that it will die while driving again. Thank God for AAA Plus Membership though :)
 






Wrench light came back on today. Looks like I'll be taking it back to the dealership. That was the quickest that the light has ever come back on. UGH.
 






WOW.
That is highly ridiculous. I sincerely feel sorry for you.

Do you use the cruise control? I'm trying to figure out if there's anything that triggers this problem...
 






No. I went on 100 mile trip on saturday. Didn't use the cruise at all. Did not drive it at all sunday then drove to work on monday. Monday at lunch I went to go run and errand and BAM light came on. Light has been on and off since then and the truck is running rough, but until the light stays on the dealership says there is nothing they can do. I've got AAA on speed dial so I should be all set ;)
 






Well how about that. It's running rough even when the light is off?
 






yup. not nearly as bad as when the light is on and stays on, but yea.
 






SONofA.....this is what I have to look forward to w/my '06 explorer? the wrench light came on a week ago. shut off the truck and light was gone. well, then bam...on way home from work friday morning and wrench is back w/the SES light too. took it to auto zone to have the code read, throttle sensor 1 and 2 are not agreeing with 3. wtf, cant we all get along? taking to the shop on monday. hope i dont break down before then.........................
 






Good Luck. What code came up? P2135 is the one that has shown up the 5 times I have had this serviced.

I just got the call....after 3 f'n weeks they are going to try replacing the wiring harness (which they have tested multiple times and said it was fine), but I have no faith. There is a bigger problem here and it's quite obvious that they don't know what's going on. They will just keep sending me out to breakdown again.

Let me know how you make out with yours.
 






I didnt write down the code #. Didnt think it was going to be such a huge issue, ooops. Guess if I can get the SES light to go away, I may make the next trip to dealership to trade this thing in......
 






So, I am not the most patient person when it comes to car repairs, I decided to go to the dealer and fork out the $117 for the new Throttle Position Sensor. But before I went, I attempted to remove the old one....bad idea! The head of one of the screws broke off....Went to dealer and bought sensor, because there was no turning back now. Instruction sheet that comes with the part reminds you that the screws are pre-treated with thread locker..durrrr...have to use a heat gun to melt/loosen the thread lock. Then the screws will come out. NOT SO TRUE. Well, I heated the 2nd of the 2 screws as instructed, and whammo, the other head broke off.....after a few hours of heating and using vice grips, finally got both screws out and the new sensor installed. The hoses and wires returned to their original spots and crossed my fingers. Test Drive = NO check engine light and no wrench light. Wont be cancelling my appointment yet, will wait and see how this hack repair job goes over the next 4 days. Its and easy fix if the screws come out as they should.
 






Cool. Glad that worked for ya. For now. I'm on my way to pick up mine...after 3+ weeks in the shop they changed out the wiring harness? Not sure what that's supposed to fix if the error codes are saying to change the throttle body stuff, but oh well. I'll let ya all know how I make out.....
 






Quick update....so I got my truck back a little over a week ago and have had some crazy electrical issues since they replaced the wiring harness. My Fan (A/C, heat, doesn't matter) cuts out when I am accelerating and does not come back on until I take my foot off the gas. My "Fuel Level Low" light has a mind of it's own. It came on when I had a 1/4 tank and would come on every mile I drove. Then my average MPG indicator has gone from 17.9 to 18.5 to 18.2 within 4 miles....with 80k miles on the truck I know that's not possible. I'm also getting some weird surges in the throttle when I am holding my foot steady on the gas. Either way the call to the Ford dealer today and he seemed puzzled. I"m really not sure that anyone has ANY idea what's going on with these things......I will update when I have some news on this.
 






And......truck is back in the shop trying to figure out what's going on with all the electrical issues I'm having are caused by....
 






ford explorer

And......truck is back in the shop trying to figure out what's going on with all the electrical issues I'm having are caused by....

hello, i was looking at your posts and my 04 ford explorer just started the same problems as you are having. i was told the pcm may need to be reprogrammed but i havent brought it in. my appointment for the ford dealership is monday. i was just wondering if you the problem had been fixed yet because i kinda wanna know what the problem is
 






Splash - Keep us updated. Have you tried a different Ford dealer, maybe one with more seasoned machanics? I find it odd that they replace the whole throttle body when they can just replace the sensor, maybe it's just easier to do it that way. I have a sensor in my garage because people on here have said switching it out cures the crappy transmission problems, but now Im not sure if I want to mess with it, I think I'll leave it to a mechanic in case something goes wrong. I also wonder if they installed your new wiring harness incorrectly. You should start demanding answers and tell them your safety is in jeopardy driving that thing...maybe even request or demand that only the head mechanic work on it. A lot of these dealers hire anyone off the street to work on cars. Good luck!
 



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Panel Lights

I have a 2006 Explorer Eddie Bauer edition with 58k miles. I've already had to replace the radiator and motor in the back rear seat. They had a recall on the drive shaft which they replaced after I complained that he button for the gear shaft would stick and left me panicking with the "Stuck in park" more than once. I've had the panel lights come on and the radio go on and off. The wrench light is one that seems to come on the most often. I took it to the Ford dealer and they said they couldn't find anything wrong. After having these lights continue to come on and off intermittently, I found myself in my drive way and a car that wouldn't start. The panel lights came on but the car wouldn't turn over at all. Not even make a click or buzz like when the battery or starter is out. After I had the car towed to the dealer they called to say that they were able to start the car right up. THIS IS VERY Frusterating. I feel like I got a lemon. The worst part is that I bought the extended warranty but conveniently enough all these things that have gone wrong weren't covered... I'm waiting to hear what they come back with this time...
 






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