New 2014 Explorer Sport Issues

[explorer14mount]

Hello,

This is my first time doing one of these forums. Hopefully, someone can help me with a few issues.
First, I've tried to adjust the ambient lighting following the instructions on page 524 of the owners manual but the color won't change after selecting the new color on the screen. The colors will rotate but the color won't change. What am I missing?
Second, I'm in the process of purchasing a weight distribution and sway control system to tow a 7x12 enclosed cargo trailer. I know what my weight limits are but I would like to hear from someone who has actually towed a cargo trailer with a 2013/14 Explorer Sport to know how it effected the stability control feature, if at all. Also, what issues did they encounter. What WD and sway control and brake controller did they go with.

 

[StarGirl808]

I can adjust my ambient lighting with no problem, and I do it just like how u described.
Do you do it at night when u can see the light? There is a "intensity" slide bar above the colors, make sure it's all the way to the right for maximum brightness. Also, the door sill colors don't change, if that is what you are looking to change. Good luck.

 

[elitek9]

Ours works the same as StarGirl stated above.

The only issue we have, is that ours changes back to blue at random points in time (when my wife has it saved as pink to her saved driver settings, and I have it saved as orange for mine).

 

[blwnsmoke]

Prodigy brake controller is the best out there in my opinion.

 

[peterk9]

Hello,

This is my first time doing one of these forums. Hopefully, someone can help me with a few issues.
First, I've tried to adjust the ambient lighting following the instructions on page 524 of the owners manual but the color won't change after selecting the new color on the screen. The colors will rotate but the color won't change. What am I missing?
Second, I'm in the process of purchasing a weight distribution and sway control system to tow a 7x12 enclosed cargo trailer. I know what my weight limits are but I would like to hear from someone who has actually towed a cargo trailer with a 2013/14 Explorer Sport to know how it effected the stability control feature, if at all. Also, what issues did they encounter. What WD and sway control and brake controller did they go with.

Did you order the factory installed tow package? I believe all Explorers have the 'sway control' button (mine does and I don't have the tow package) but only those with the tow package have the 'tow' button.

Peter

 

[midnightsun]

I pull a 18' x 9.5' tall enclosed car trailer with this little truck. If its REALLY windy the trailer will sway a bit...i don't use a weight distribution / sway control system. The trucks sway control uses the brakes sometimes to stop the sway...I can feel it in the engine as it must work harder to maintain the speed while the sway control is applied.

I moved to Light Truck tires LT245/70R17 for this winter and towing is much better. My next event is a air helper spring kit. The front is ridding a bit high after 30K miles.

While the Truck has internal wiring for a brake controller (possibly the f150 controller?) it has no space to mount it in the dash. I have an aftermarket controller to the left of the steering wheel....under the light switch.

 

[Lewisra]

Hello,

This is my first time doing one of these forums. Hopefully, someone can help me with a few issues.
First, I've tried to adjust the ambient lighting following the instructions on page 524 of the owners manual but the color won't change after selecting the new color on the screen. The colors will rotate but the color won't change. What am I missing?
Second, I'm in the process of purchasing a weight distribution and sway control system to tow a 7x12 enclosed cargo trailer. I know what my weight limits are but I would like to hear from someone who has actually towed a cargo trailer with a 2013/14 Explorer Sport to know how it effected the stability control feature, if at all. Also, what issues did they encounter. What WD and sway control and brake controller did they go with.

As was said, Prodigy brake controller is top of the line. For sway control If your trailer weighs less than 4000lbs I would use just the "locking bar"(can't remember what it's really called), if much more than that I'd use the dual cam system. JMHO. Never towed with my Explorer, but have towed my 7k lb travel trailer all over the US.

 

[Lewisra]

Ours works the same as StarGirl stated above.

The only issue we have, is that ours changes back to blue at random points in time (when my wife has it saved as pink to her saved driver settings, and I have it saved as orange for mine).

The "random" back to blue happens after the system reboots(performing system maintenance). This reboot sometimes happens when the vehicle is off.

 

[peterk9]

The "random" back to blue happens after the system reboots(performing system maintenance). This reboot sometimes happens when the vehicle is off.

Huh???? :scratch: I may be wrong here but I doubt the reboot occurs when the system is shut down. It would be like your computer rebooting after you have shut it off. Doesn't happen. The so called "Maintenance" reboot is actually an indication that your MFT has crashed and the system is rebooting. I can't recall the last time I saw that message on mine.
If anyone gets that reboot on a regular basis then it may be a sign of a bigger issue, possible the APIM going bad.

Peter

 

[Lewisra]

Huh???? :scratch: I may be wrong here but I doubt the reboot occurs when the system is shut down. It would be like your computer rebooting after you have shut it off. Doesn't happen. The so called "Maintenance" reboot is actually an indication that your MFT has crashed and the system is rebooting. I can't recall the last time I saw that message on mine.
If anyone gets that reboot on a regular basis then it may be a sign of a bigger issue, possible the APIM going bad.

Peter

It actually does when your car is off. I've had the MFT for 2 years with my Focus, it's a good idea to get the delayed reboot app and use it when MFT starts doing strange things. Since 3.6.2 it's been much less needed but is still needed once in a while.

 

[VinceL]

Huh???? :scratch: I may be wrong here but I doubt the reboot occurs when the system is shut down. It would be like your computer rebooting after you have shut it off. Doesn't happen. The so called "Maintenance" reboot is actually an indication that your MFT has crashed and the system is rebooting. I can't recall the last time I saw that message on mine.
If anyone gets that reboot on a regular basis then it may be a sign of a bigger issue, possible the APIM going bad.

Peter

Hey Peter,

I will almost guarantee that the system reboots on its own when the car is off. The reason I say this is that I noticed that after reboots (while we are driving with the whole 'System Maintenance' screen), the "i" page always goes back to the top "Services" button (regardless of the screen it was last on), showing the Sync Services 'ad" on the right. Also, we have been noticing that the ambient lighting keeps going back to the default pale (and ugly to my eyes) blue. It only does it when the car is off, it has never spontaneously reverted to blue while we were in the car. Guess what? After it reverts to blue, hitting the 'i' button, the Sync Services page is always there. Not a bullet-proof argument maybe, but if I'm not correct in my assertions, MFT is more screwed up than I had previously feared, lol.

 

[peterk9]

Hey Peter,

I will almost guarantee that the system reboots on its own when the car is off. The reason I say this is that I noticed that after reboots (while we are driving with the whole 'System Maintenance' screen), the "i" page always goes back to the top "Services" button (regardless of the screen it was last on), showing the Sync Services 'ad" on the right. Also, we have been noticing that the ambient lighting keeps going back to the default pale (and ugly to my eyes) blue. It only does it when the car is off, it has never spontaneously reverted to blue while we were in the car. Guess what? After it reverts to blue, hitting the 'i' button, the Sync Services page is always there. Not a bullet-proof argument maybe, but if I'm not correct in my assertions, MFT is more screwed up than I had previously feared, lol.

Hey Vince. Belated Happy New Year to you and the family. Bet the little guy is growing like a weed.
The performing maintenance message is an indication that the MFT crashed and is recovering. Not something you want to get, especially on a regular basis. The OEM light blue colour is what I have mine on. Also, regardless of what colour you have the ambient lighting set to, it will revert to the OEM lighting when you switch off the engine (I think) and also when you open the doors. Once you start up and get going it should go back to your chosen colour.

Peter

 

[VinceL]

Hey Vince. Belated Happy New Year to you and the family. Bet the little guy is growing like a weed.
The performing maintenance message is an indication that the MFT crashed and is recovering. Not something you want to get, especially on a regular basis. The OEM light blue colour is what I have mine on. Also, regardless of what colour you have the ambient lighting set to, it will revert to the OEM lighting when you switch off the engine (I think) and also when you open the doors. Once you start up and get going it should go back to your chosen colour.

Peter

Thanks Peter, and best wishes to you in the new year. Yeah, Christopher is just about ready to move from the car seat to a booster (he's tall enough, but he is lithe, so we don't have the weight requirement quite yet!)

About the ambient lighting, I know that it does default to the light blue when doors are opened and such. The problem is that it seems to forget what color (I noticed you spelled that incourrectly in your post ) we have chosen and it keeps going back to the OEM blue. I think it is in response to a MFT reset/reboot. I am not sure as how to verify that, but that's my story and I am sticking to it.

BTW, the Gray Ghost is only a few hundred miles short of the big 40K!

Take care and merry motoring.

 

[peterk9]

Thanks Peter, and best wishes to you in the new year. Yeah, Christopher is just about ready to move from the car seat to a booster (he's tall enough, but he is lithe, so we don't have the weight requirement quite yet!)

About the ambient lighting, I know that it does default to the light blue when doors are opened and such. The problem is that it seems to forget what color (I noticed you spelled that incourrectly in your post ) we have chosen and it keeps going back to the OEM blue. I think it is in response to a MFT reset/reboot. I am not sure as how to verify that, but that's my story and I am sticking to it.

BTW, the Gray Ghost is only a few hundred miles short of the big 40K!

Take care and merry motoring.

I didn't really mispell it. That is the way we spell it up here, the English way. The same goes for labour, etc.
There seems to be an out break of this issue (lighting not spelling) with the ambient system. Not sure if you have gone through the thread in the IVT forum;
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=387027

As for my Explorer, I'll have it 3 years this March and I've currently amassed a grand total of 10,439 miles. I should have around 14k on it when I turn it back at lease end March 2015. I have the trickle charger on it again today to bring the battery back up. I have to do this at least once a month. I attribute it to driving many short trips. Had the battery replaced a year ago and this just started up again a couple of months ago.
Take care Vince.

Peter

 

[VinceL]

I didn't really mispell it. That is the way we spell it up here, the English way. The same goes for labour, etc.
There seems to be an out break of this issue (lighting not spelling) with the ambient system. Not sure if you have gone through the thread in the IVT forum;
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=387027

As for my Explorer, I'll have it 3 years this March and I've currently amassed a grand total of 10,439 miles. I should have around 14k on it when I turn it back at lease end March 2015. I have the trickle charger on it again today to bring the battery back up. I have to do this at least once a month. I attribute it to driving many short trips. Had the battery replaced a year ago and this just started up again a couple of months ago.
Take care Vince.

Peter

Never gonna get those miles on that car, are ya, eh?

As for the spelling, I was only poking a little fun at a neighbor to the north. I did check out that thread in the past if only to see whether or not others were having the same issue. I'm not sweating it though, I'm done bothering with the problems on this car. Life is too short!

 

[FordIVTteam]

Hey, elitek9, Lewisra, Vince, and Peter!

Just wanted to hop on and confirm that MFT can reboot while the system is off. Also, if you are experiencing the ambient lighting issue, visit your dealer so they can diagnose and correct it.

Rebecca

 

[peterk9]

Hey, elitek9, Lewisra, Vince, and Peter!

Just wanted to hop on and confirm that MFT can reboot while the system is off. Also, if you are experiencing the ambient lighting issue, visit your dealer so they can diagnose and correct it.

Rebecca

Thanks Rebecca. That's very interesting.

Peter

 

[FordIVTteam]

You're welcome, Peter!

Rebecca