Terrain Management System (TMS) Icon Color

[Tedward1555]

Hi Everyone;
I'm new to the forum and new to Explorer. Just picked up my XLT 4WD yesterday. Silly question, probably, but in all the photos and videos I see on the terrain management system the icons on the dial are illuminated in yellow and when I was driving home yesterday I noticed the normal mode I was driving in was illuminated in red. Is that the color it's supposed to be or is it some kind of warning?
Thanks
Ed

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum Tedward1555.:wavey:
You are right in that the highlighted mode appears in yellow. Do all your modes show red or just the 'Normal' mode? I don't believe this issue has been brought up before.

Peter

 

[Tedward1555]

Hey Peter and thanks for the reply. While stopped at a light I clicked through them all and yes they all appeared in red. I haven't driven the car today but will tomorrow and post again if it still shows red. I only asked here because I could find nothing about it in the OM or in my searches.

 

[peterk9]

I don't have the Explorer anymore but I did do an Internet search on the Terrain Management System and every picture I saw seemed to show the modes in yellow, not red. If it still does show red, you could try disconnecting the negative battery cable for a few minutes to see if it clears up when you reconnect. Keep in mind that you will lose some presets and saved memory if you do this. It also means that your transmission has to relearn its shift points. Since you probably haven't had the vehicle for long, the best thing is to have the dealer take a look at it. If it is a problem, perhaps it may have stored a fault code.
Good luck.

Peter

 

[Tedward1555]

Yeah if it still displays red tomorrow I'll call the dealer and set a time to bring it by. The car is new with only 37 miles on it, so I think they will want to fix it right away. But, I'm pretty sure as you say you only have seen the icons in yellow as have I, that there is something not right about it.
Thanks again.
Ed

 

[Largefarva]

I'm pretty sure mine is the same as the OP's. Normal mode is red and the others are all yellow. I'll check in a bit when I head to work and post back later this afternoon when I get home to confirm.


Edit: I stand corrected....mine is red for all modes. Where I was seeing yellow is the status box in the info screen next to the speedometer.

 

[JE]

The DIC is good about giving you status info, I'd suggest, with it running but parked in a safe place, switch the terrain into the other modes one at a time and see if you get a message on the dash with additional info. It should just say the modes as you cycle through them.

Hope that helps. If I get a moment I'll go out and look at the colors on my sport.

Jon

 

[peterk9]

Perhaps the colour change is new for the 2015 models.

Peter

 

[jarettp]

Yeah if it still displays red tomorrow I'll call the dealer and set a time to bring it by. The car is new with only 37 miles on it, so I think they will want to fix it right away. But, I'm pretty sure as you say you only have seen the icons in yellow as have I, that there is something not right about it.
Thanks again.
Ed

It's red on my explorer

 

[JPPMP]

It's also red on my 2014 Sport.

 

[LukerDooker]

Red

 

[scotted73]

Red for all modes including Hill Descent on my 2012 Limited. Yellow/Amber for the IP display.

 

[Tedward1555]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I checked today and in every mode it shows red. And the corresponding icon on the dash readout is yellow. Not sure why Ford would show photos of it in yellow when in fact it's red... but glad to know there's nothing wrong.
Thanks
Ed

 

[slh7d]

When I first got my explorer it kind of freaked me out to see red, but now I know it's normal.

 

[peterk9]

I can't recall what colour the icons on the dial were in my 2011 Limited but here is a picture taken from the brochure I have. It clearly shows amber/yellow.

Peter

 

[pup5581]

my 14 sport shows all red

 

[Rubberhead]

Mine is red in all modes too.

It could be that it shows up as yellow because of the way the red LEDs affect camera sensors.

 

[182RG]

Not sure why Ford would show photos of it in yellow when in fact it's red...

Old stock photography. 2011 was amber.

 

[Tony.S]

When I first got my 2018 explorer they show amber, three weeks later now show red. I ask my service advisor last time I took it in and his response was "check your manual" as of today, they still show red. Will call ford customer service and see what they have to say about it.

 

[peterk9]

When I first got my 2018 explorer they show amber, three weeks later now show red. I ask my service advisor last time I took it in and his response was "check your manual" as of today, they still show red. Will call ford customer service and see what they have to say about it.

Welcome to the Forum Tony.
I don't think this is anything to be concerned about as several members have reported that they also have red coloured icons. If there was a problem with the Terrain Management System, you would get the message Terrain Management System Fault displayed. For the record, all the brochures for the 5th gen Explorer show the icon in the amber colour.

Peter