Braking by itself..

[blwnsmoke]

So a few thought I was nuts last year when I had posted about when the Ex braked all by itself.

As a reminder, the scenario was I was merging onto the highway, a very busy on/off ramp next to each other.. I gunned it to merge in and the vehicle in front of me slammed on their brakes. I didn't even see it till the collision warning system went on and slammed the brakes on (abs engaged) and brought me down to almost a complete stop (with my foot still on the gas). If I recall, Cory replied (without searching for the post) that the Ex does not brake on it's own but will "charge" the brakes. I know for a fact that my foot was not on the brake and that we all got thrown forward into our seatbelts.

So this brings me to last night. I was traveling about 50mph and taking an exit off of the highway. This particular exit is a left side exit, 45mph speed limit as it just slowly curves off the highway I'd say 15-20 degrees into a straightway. I had my foot on the gas maintaining the 50mph I was traveling, my left foot was 90 degrees to my thigh, planted flat on the Husky mat, heal almost touching the seat. I just want to make it clear that without a doubt, my foot was not on or near the brake.

Unexpectedly the collosion warning system went off (no car in front of me) for I'd say about 1 second.. maybe 1 1/2 seconds. Once it went off, the Ex slammed on the brakes, we both got thrown into our seatbelts and the seatbelt tensioners locked preventing us from going forward any more then the big jolt. I also felt the Ex get a little jittery.. as if the ABS kicked again like the last time I posted about this.

My wife looked at me and said "did it just brake again on its own". I said yup.. and then she went off about electronic issues (I posted yesterday about the Terrain Management Fault error that went off twice - it was working when this happened).

So although there is no way of attempting to duplicate this without taking the risk of slamming into something.. This does confirm in my eyes that the Ex does apply the brakes in an emergency situation.

Call me crazy if you want.. But this is now twice that this has happened. If one wants to go the defective route, how the heck do you even attempt to bring this up to the dealer??

 

[Express]

My friend has had the same issue a few times when exiting turnpike on A sweeping exit
Took it to dealer on second time he was lucky a Ford engineer was at dealer he came out and explained that their is a type of gyro in the explorer and when it seances any out of ordinary tilt or roll in vehicle it will apply the brakes and lower engine rpm's . I know something like this was around several years ago for anti roll in cars and trucks

Sent iPhone

 

[peterk9]

My friend has had the same issue a few times when exiting turnpike on A sweeping exit
Took it to dealer on second time he was lucky a Ford engineer was at dealer he came out and explained that their is a type of gyro in the explorer and when it seances any out of ordinary tilt or roll in vehicle it will apply the brakes and lower engine rpm's . I know something like this was around several years ago for anti roll in cars and trucks

Sent iPhone

What he and you are likely referring to is the Explorer's Curve Control. It senses when you are entering a curve too quickly and will apply 4 wheel braking and reduce engine torque.
I've had the collision warning come on several times and never did the vehicle apply the brakes. It does pre-charge them for a quicker stop if needed.

Peter

 

[grrtrainman]

2012 Limited w/ 302A pkg.
Have had the brakes come on many times when the adaptive cruise is on, (I have the interval spacing set at max), when vehicles slow down or stop in front of me. I too didn't have my foot on the brake. It's an excellent feature. Yes, the heads up red display has come on around sweeping curves & guardrails but no breaking action in those instances as yet. I've even had the HUD come on when backing out of the garage - go figure, ( I've learned to ignore it at those times).
I'll bet this new technology has already saved a few lives and fender benders.

 

[blwnsmoke]

What he and you are likely referring to is the Explorer's Curve Control. It senses when you are entering a curve too quickly and will apply 4 wheel braking and reduce engine torque.
I've had the collision warning come on several times and never did the vehicle apply the brakes. It does pre-charge them for a quicker stop if needed.

Peter

I've had the collision warning come on many times.. I'd say over 25 times in the 34,000 miles and it has only braked twice in that time. I'm aware of the curve control but the first time I was on a straight away and the time last night, again, it was a 15-20% turn, not much of a curve and I've taken that curve at least 15-20 times as my family lives off that exit. It has never done that before. I had my 2 year old in the back seat, I don't speed or drive recklessly with her in the car.. only when I'm alone lol.

 

[VinceL]

I wonder if the system is capable of stopping the car, but Ford just won't say so because of the associated liability issues if it doesn't live up to expectations, lol.

 

[peterk9]

2012 Limited w/ 302A pkg.
Have had the brakes come on many times when the adaptive cruise is on, (I have the interval spacing set at max), when vehicles slow down or stop in front of me. I too didn't have my foot on the brake. It's an excellent feature. Yes, the heads up red display has come on around sweeping curves & guardrails but no breaking action in those instances as yet. I've even had the HUD come on when backing out of the garage - go figure, ( I've learned to ignore it at those times).
I'll bet this new technology has already saved a few lives and fender benders.

The brakes will come on with the Adaptive Cruise Control but only until the speed drops to 16mph, then you're on your own.

Peter

 

[peterk9]

So a few thought I was nuts last year when I had posted about when the Ex braked all by itself.

As a reminder, the scenario was I was merging onto the highway, a very busy on/off ramp next to each other.. I gunned it to merge in and the vehicle in front of me slammed on their brakes. I didn't even see it till the collision warning system went on and slammed the brakes on (abs engaged) and brought me down to almost a complete stop (with my foot still on the gas). If I recall, Cory replied (without searching for the post) that the Ex does not brake on it's own but will "charge" the brakes. I know for a fact that my foot was not on the brake and that we all got thrown forward into our seatbelts.

So this brings me to last night. I was traveling about 50mph and taking an exit off of the highway. This particular exit is a left side exit, 45mph speed limit as it just slowly curves off the highway I'd say 15-20 degrees into a straightway. I had my foot on the gas maintaining the 50mph I was traveling, my left foot was 90 degrees to my thigh, planted flat on the Husky mat, heal almost touching the seat. I just want to make it clear that without a doubt, my foot was not on or near the brake.

Unexpectedly the collosion warning system went off (no car in front of me) for I'd say about 1 second.. maybe 1 1/2 seconds. Once it went off, the Ex slammed on the brakes, we both got thrown into our seatbelts and the seatbelt tensioners locked preventing us from going forward any more then the big jolt. I also felt the Ex get a little jittery.. as if the ABS kicked again like the last time I posted about this.

My wife looked at me and said "did it just brake again on its own". I said yup.. and then she went off about electronic issues (I posted yesterday about the Terrain Management Fault error that went off twice - it was working when this happened).

So although there is no way of attempting to duplicate this without taking the risk of slamming into something.. This does confirm in my eyes that the Ex does apply the brakes in an emergency situation.

Call me crazy if you want.. But this is now twice that this has happened. If one wants to go the defective route, how the heck do you even attempt to bring this up to the dealer??

That is a good question. If the vehicle is braking like you say, then it isn't working as it was designed.
The manual clearly says in a Warning note that the Collision Warning system will NOT apply the brakes.
If you mention this 'self braking' to the dealer, they may want to charge you for an extra option.

Peter

 

[blwnsmoke]

I wonder if the system is capable of stopping the car, but Ford just won't say so because of the associated liability issues if it doesn't live up to expectations, lol.

I thought the same thing.. just like all the volvos on youtube rear ending cars demonstarting theor stop feature lol.

Very confused.. the warning light nevwr came on before with zero cars in my site.

Kind of leads me to believe what Peter said in this instance, curve control but if the speed limit is 45, the kind of tells you how mild the turn on the off ramp is.

Going to have other things fixed, will mention it to my dealer and see what they think.

 

[FordService]

I thought the same thing.. just like all the volvos on youtube rear ending cars demonstarting theor stop feature lol.

Very confused.. the warning light nevwr came on before with zero cars in my site.

Kind of leads me to believe what Peter said in this instance, curve control but if the speed limit is 45, the kind of tells you how mild the turn on the off ramp is.

Going to have other things fixed, will mention it to my dealer and see what they think.

Hey blwnsmoke,

Letting your dealer take a look is a good first step; additionally, I'm happy to step in and get your regional customer service manager involved. To get your case escalated, all I need from you is a PM with your VIN, dealer, mileage, daytime phone number, and full name; I'll do the rest.

Let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Thanks!
Crystal

 

[Spengracin]

Blown, I have had te same issues over the past year, dealer has looked and service many times. I know what the manual states, talked with Cory and tech team. Collision warning, my foot no where near the brake, she's braking! No turns, straight freeway, no adaptive cruise, weirdo say. Accidental feature? Who knows.

 

[FordService]

Blown, I have had te same issues over the past year, dealer has looked and service many times. I know what the manual states, talked with Cory and tech team. Collision warning, my foot no where near the brake, she's braking! No turns, straight freeway, no adaptive cruise, weirdo say. Accidental feature? Who knows.

Hi Spengracin,

I see that you've been in contact with Cory and CSM Tammy before for a different reason; I'm happy to escalate this concern for you as well. Send me a PM with your current mileage and I'll have your CSM contact you regarding this issue.

Thanks!

Crystal

 

[jrmexplorer]

Blown, I have had te same issues over the past year, dealer has looked and service many times. I know what the manual states, talked with Cory and tech team. Collision warning, my foot no where near the brake, she's braking! No turns, straight freeway, no adaptive cruise, weirdo say. Accidental feature? Who knows.

Perhaps it's a defect. No, seriously. Perhaps the brake pre-charge is actually applying the brakes rather than simply pre-charging them.

Interesting - not sure I'd want that defect fixed though.

 

[blwnsmoke]

Perhaps it's a defect. No, seriously. Perhaps the brake pre-charge is actually applying the brakes rather than simply pre-charging them.

Interesting - not sure I'd want that defect fixed though.

I agree in that it is a great defect (if that is what it is) but the fact it did it randomly with no cars in site for that full 1 - 1 1/2 seconds was scary.

My wife even made a comment along the lines of "oh great, so
it can do it out of the blue?? What if there were cars behind us".

Definitely a concern... Bringing it in tomorrow and will be talking with the service manager. Cant wait for the "you're crazy, that is impossible" reaction.

 

[grrtrainman]

Ummmmmmm, better spell check that last entry...

8^O

 

[blwnsmoke]

Lol, fixed it for you.

 

[blwnsmoke]

Just wanted to update.. Dealership had my Ex in since Thursday and just got it back. Obviously I got the "can't duplicate" from them but they gave me a little insite on what "could" have caused it.

First both the tech and service manager did say the Ex is capable of breaking on it's own but as stated earlier, under the curve control. Since the vehicle can technically do it, he thinks that it could be a couple options..

First, low battery which they replaced causing sensors to not communicate properly (doubtful).

Second, an issue with the terrain management system. I had a terrain management fault a couple times about 3 weeks ago and restarting would not clear it. They were able to get the codes and 2 items needed to be replaced. Both a switch and a control module. They said that they couldn't even put it in test mode because it kept failing. Again, it is a guess but they think that because of this not working properly, it might have caused the vehicle to freak out and brake on its own.

So that's it for now.. we shall see if it happens again.

 

[FordService]

Just wanted to update.. Dealership had my Ex in since Thursday and just got it back. Obviously I got the "can't duplicate" from them but they gave me a little insite on what "could" have caused it.

First both the tech and service manager did say the Ex is capable of breaking on it's own but as stated earlier, under the curve control. Since the vehicle can technically do it, he thinks that it could be a couple options..

First, low battery which they replaced causing sensors to not communicate properly (doubtful).

Second, an issue with the terrain management system. I had a terrain management fault a couple times about 3 weeks ago and restarting would not clear it. They were able to get the codes and 2 items needed to be replaced. Both a switch and a control module. They said that they couldn't even put it in test mode because it kept failing. Again, it is a guess but they think that because of this not working properly, it might have caused the vehicle to freak out and brake on its own.

So that's it for now.. we shall see if it happens again.

Thanks for the updating us, blwnsmoke! Please feel free to contact me if you have any future concerns.

Crystal