2013 Explorer Sport Rough Idle / Bucking on Cold Starts

[copter7]

Final update on this case.
The regional service manager got in touch with the dealership finally, it took a week but they got together.
I brought my sport down yesterday and they kept it overnight, They had a list of testing that needs to be done provided to them by the techline. They did all kind of testing on the throttle body and they stated that it passed all of them. They did other tests as well and they came out to the conclusion that this is normal with the ecoboost turbo engine.

I asked them to bring another sport from the lot so I can test as well, they were really helpful and brought a sport, a platinum and an 3.5L XLT non ecoboost.
I tried all 3 of them and both the sport and the platinum has the same bucking on startup but the XLT did not. The techline mentioned that rough idling on ecoboost engine is normal

With the sport you can feel it and hear it a little bit more than the platinum but both definitely had it. I figured since the platinum has more soundproofing and the seats are cushioned better that is why I could feel it a little bit less.

For now, I have no choice but to take it as normal operation

 

[peterk9]

No rough idle here. 3.5L V6 Ecoboost engine. Runs smoothly at first start up and every other one. Based on their testing I can see how they came to that conclusion although I don't necessarily agree with it. I'm sure there are many others that start up just fine.

Peter

 

[copter7]

No rough idle here. 3.5L V6 Ecoboost engine. Runs smoothly at first start up and every other one. Based on their testing I can see how they came to that conclusion although I don't necessarily agree with it. I'm sure there are many others that start up just fine.

Peter

It took a call to ford and a district manager involved and after all of that it took them a week to get my car in and do the testing.
To be honest, I just have no time to keep going back and forth. Plus it is hard to argue with them when all the ecoboost explorer I tried seem to have the same issue to a certain degree.
I really do not know what to make of it. For now, I will ride it thru and see if it gets worse or not.

 

[613GT500]

I can't agree that this is normal, considering I'm not experiencing any type of rough idling whatsoever.
I test drove 5 different Sports and 2 Platinums across different dealerships and no issues either during my initial shopping adventure.
The only one time I felt a studder was filling up with bad fuel at an out of town station and it went away after the next fill up.

Can you take a video both inside and outside near the engine to show us this issue?

 

[copter7]

I can't agree that this is normal, considering I'm not experiencing any type of rough idling whatsoever.
I test drove 5 different Sports and 2 Platinums across different dealerships and no issues either during my initial shopping adventure.
The only one time I felt a studder was filling up with bad fuel at an out of town station and it went away after the next fill up.

Can you take a video both inside and outside near the engine to show us this issue?

Unless you are sitting inside the car you will not be able to notice this. It is just small bucking one after the other for like less than a min on cold start up and it goes away. I usually drive with my seat lowered all the way down and I can feel these small bucking under the seat. It is very hard to capture on video.
Again the platinum that I tested today had only 6 miles on it and I was able to feel that bucking. Not as much as my sport but it was there.

 

[613GT500]

Unless you are sitting inside the car you will not be able to notice this. It is just small bucking one after the other for like less than a min on cold start up and it goes away. I usually drive with my seat lowered all the way down and I can feel these small bucking under the seat. It is very hard to capture on video.
Again the platinum that I tested today had only 6 miles on it and I was able to feel that bucking. Not as much as my sport but it was there.

I weight about 160lbs, so not too heavy to not feel the slighest "quirks".
Nothing yet today in the AM or lunch...
What type of fuel are you running by the way?

 

[Ecobeast88]

I weight about 160lbs, so not too heavy to not feel the slighest "quirks".
Nothing yet today in the AM or lunch...
What type of fuel are you running by the way?

Does your sport also shake the seat and random intervals idling cold only? Mine does I can't even drive it until it's warmed up for a few mins it jerks and bucks. Like if I were holding it to the floor on and off its bad! Does it with any fuel I used to use 93 top tier fuel now I use the cheapest and it still does it. It's a 2015 with 8500 miles. According to Ford no lights are on we can not recreate the problem. And also told me it's an explorer not a Rolls Royce!

 

[613GT500]

Does your sport also shake the seat and random intervals idling cold only? Mine does I can't even drive it until it's warmed up for a few mins it jerks and bucks. Like if I were holding it to the floor on and off its bad! Does it with any fuel I used to use 93 top tier fuel now I use the cheapest and it still does it. It's a 2015 with 8500 miles. According to Ford no lights are on we can not recreate the problem. And also told me it's an explorer not a Rolls Royce!

I haven't felt any "abnormal" vibrations or shakes yet and I'm now around 4500miles.
The only change I notice is the drop in RPM from a cold start.

I'm suspecting bad engine mounts in OP's case.

 

[jays05]

My '13 Sport bucks a little when the engine is cold. It was worse with the stock tune than the LMS tune. I can drive around it, but I really feel it when my wife is driving.

 

[Dustin Wiser]

My 12 Explorer limited 3.5 non-ecoboost does this also.

 

[peterk9]

My 12 Explorer limited 3.5 non-ecoboost does this also.

Welcome to the Forum Dustin.
Please add the trim (Limited) to your profile so it appears in the margin. Thanks and Happy New Year!

Peter

 

[FordService]

My 12 Explorer limited 3.5 non-ecoboost does this also.

Hello Dustin Wiser,

Have you brought this up to your Ford Dealer? If not, I recommend you bring it in and get it diagnosed first. With the diagnosis, your dealer can look up any TSBs, recalls, or customer satisfaction programs that may apply to your vehicle.

Be sure to speak with the service manager, as he is in the best position to ensure a proper diagnosis, and will be able to provide available options and/or coverage for any work needed. Also, remember repairs done at a Ford Dealer come with a 24 month/unlimited miles warranty. You can schedule an appointment online here.

Deysha

 

[Dustin Wiser]

Hello Dustin Wiser,

Have you brought this up to your Ford Dealer? If not, I recommend you bring it in and get it diagnosed first. With the diagnosis, your dealer can look up any TSBs, recalls, or customer satisfaction programs that may apply to your vehicle.

Be sure to speak with the service manager, as he is in the best position to ensure a proper diagnosis, and will be able to provide available options and/or coverage for any work needed. Also, remember repairs done at a Ford Dealer come with a 24 month/unlimited miles warranty. You can schedule an appointment online here.

Deysha

Hi, I did bring it to the dealership. They told me that since it's not giving a check engine light they could not diagnose the problem effectively. Like they aren't auto mechanics or something.

 

[FordService]

Hi, I did bring it to the dealership. They told me that since it's not giving a check engine light they could not diagnose the problem effectively. Like they aren't auto mechanics or something.

Let me look into this for you, Dustin Wiser. Please, PM me with your VIN, dealer, mileage, full name, and best daytime number.

Deysha

 

[Grecot]

Hello Dustin Wiser,

Have you brought this up to your Ford Dealer? If not, I recommend you bring it in and get it diagnosed first. With the diagnosis, your dealer can look up any TSBs, recalls, or customer satisfaction programs that may apply to your vehicle.

Be sure to speak with the service manager, as he is in the best position to ensure a proper diagnosis, and will be able to provide available options and/or coverage for any work needed. Also, remember repairs done at a Ford Dealer come with a 24 month/unlimited miles warranty. You can schedule an appointment online here.

Deysha

Hello Deysha - I am having a similar issue to the ones being discussed here. Rough idle and strange starting behavior. I purchased a premium care warranty with the vehicle and have been to my dealership 4 (tomorrow will be 5) times about the issue with no resolution. They have run all their attempts through the warranty but it's about to expire. My honest opinion is they're trying, but not sure what to do. You also mentioned any repair done has a 24 month unlimited warranty...is that for any repair by a Ford dealership? Could you open a case for me so that I'm not beyond my warranty with no resolution to this? I will direct message you with VIN and other info you requested from others. Thank you!

 

[peterk9]

Hello Deysha - I am having a similar issue to the ones being discussed here. Rough idle and strange starting behavior. I purchased a premium care warranty with the vehicle and have been to my dealership 4 (tomorrow will be 5) times about the issue with no resolution. They have run all their attempts through the warranty but it's about to expire. My honest opinion is they're trying, but not sure what to do. You also mentioned any repair done has a 24 month unlimited warranty...is that for any repair by a Ford dealership? Could you open a case for me so that I'm not beyond my warranty with no resolution to this? I will direct message you with VIN and other info you requested from others. Thank you!

Welcome to the Forum.
Unfortunately Deysha and all the other Ford reps that used to monitor this Forum are no longer there. We are on our own. You can try calling the number shown in her post to see if you can get any assistance. Good luck.

Peter

 

[Sixonemale]

Welcome to the Forum.
Unfortunately Deysha and all the other Ford reps that used to monitor this Forum are no longer there. We are on our own. You can try calling the number shown in her post to see if you can get any assistance. Good luck.

Peter

Peter, I read some older threads and verified that Ford Reps used to monitor this site which I think made a lot of sense as conduit to relay important issue information to Ford Corporate so that they could continuously improve flaws associated with this generation of Explorer. It's somewhat troubling that Ford Reps no longer monitor this site. Do you know the reason why, cost, liability, etc.?

 

[peterk9]

Peter, I read some older threads and verified that Ford Reps used to monitor this site which I think made a lot of sense as conduit to relay important issue information to Ford Corporate so that they could continuously improve flaws associated with this generation of Explorer. It's somewhat troubling that Ford Reps no longer monitor this site. Do you know the reason why, cost, liability, etc.?

No reason was ever given. No PM's or text messages were ever answered either from myself or Rick, the site admin. It appears that they were pulled from the F-150 site as well.

 

[robbrunner]

Final update on this case.
The regional service manager got in touch with the dealership finally, it took a week but they got together.
I brought my sport down yesterday and they kept it overnight, They had a list of testing that needs to be done provided to them by the techline. They did all kind of testing on the throttle body and they stated that it passed all of them. They did other tests as well and they came out to the conclusion that this is normal with the ecoboost turbo engine.

I asked them to bring another sport from the lot so I can test as well, they were really helpful and brought a sport, a platinum and an 3.5L XLT non ecoboost.
I tried all 3 of them and both the sport and the platinum has the same bucking on startup but the XLT did not. The techline mentioned that rough idling on ecoboost engine is normal

With the sport you can feel it and hear it a little bit more than the platinum but both definitely had it. I figured since the platinum has more soundproofing and the seats are cushioned better that is why I could feel it a little bit less.

For now, I have no choice but to take it as normal operation

Thank you for posting on this issue. I have a 2013 Explorer Sport and it behaves exactly how you have described it. I recently had to replace all of my injectors because they started to go out. I have 145k miles on it. I asked the dealer to look into this issue and they said everything was fine. Its good to know this seems to be a common thing for the ecoboost vehicles.

 

[peterk9]

Thank you for posting on this issue. I have a 2013 Explorer Sport and it behaves exactly how you have described it. I recently had to replace all of my injectors because they started to go out. I have 145k miles on it. I asked the dealer to look into this issue and they said everything was fine. Its good to know this seems to be a common thing for the ecoboost vehicles.

I don't know about the conclusion that was reached and have a hard time believing it is normal. My 2017 Platinum does not exhibit this behaviour and neither did my previous 2014 MKT which also had the 3.5L Ecoboost. Both started up fine and ran smoothly.

Peter