MFT Black / Blank Screen | Page 6 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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MFT Black / Blank Screen

That's a tough one. I'm guessing this is a vehicle not sold by Ford in Venezuela? In the U.S., they've warrantied the MFT for 5 years.

In the U.S., electrical parts are typically not returnable once opened. It could get expensive trying to swap parts to find the cause, and it may require a dealership's computer to set up the new unit after installation.


It was bought on Ford but here the laws are not like in other countries, basically you are lucky to buy a new car and as soon as you leave with the car you have 0 warranty on it.

Will try to install it myself and if something occurs will go to my ford tech guy. If you take your car to the ford dealership it will take around a week for they just to start working on it and they dont have any spares.. just one of the small issues here
 



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MFT Failure but then miraculoulsy fixes itself a week later

2011 Explorer with 60,000 km.

Has anyone had this issue?

1) MFT suddenly wont turn on. Just black screen. Radio on off button gets no response.

2) Tried pulling fuse and disconnecting battery. This caused some weird results where MFT still would not turn on but radio would function for like 30 seconds and then it would shut down again.

3) Finally decided it should go to the dealership but hard to find time so just drove for week without any radio or MFT.

4) Suddenly a week later after starting car, I get the SYNC logo and the message saying "Performing system maintenance" with a progress bar. And now everything is functioning normal again.


Its not exactly the first time I have seen that message. Probably saw it 2 or 3 times since 2011 but never had the MFT issue before.


Has anyone else had similiar issue?
 






I had it happen to me a year or so ago (probably 2 yrs). Same symptoms.

Mine came back to life in a day or 2.

The only thing different about mine, was that it was under an old MFT version. Haven't had it happen with 3.6.2

If you haven't updated your software, you probably should (but I suspect you already have)

My service mgr tells me the first thing they always do is disconnect the negative battery cable, turn on the lights to discharge the system, and then reboot.

Sorry, I couldn't be of more help.
 






I would suggest since MFT is under its own extended warranty you request the APIM be changed.
 






I concur with Sgt1411. The question is, will they replace it just on your say so if it is now working? The APIM has a 5 year unlimited mileage warranty.

Peter
 






Hi MJN,

While I can't advise you to get your APIM replaced (I'm not a certified, trained technician), I do suggest logging into your Owner account at www.Owner.Ford.com to make sure your software is at the latest version 3.6.2. If it is not, perform the needed updates; if it is, please make an appointment with your dealer so they can diagnose and correct it. Let me know if you have any questions.

Rebecca
 






black screen of death then all is well

last Thursday my mft went blank. This happened once before and removing the battery cable,fixed it. This time nothing 30 sec and 6.5 hours. I only got power for 20 sec and channel 184 on xm just as others have posted.

Friday made an appt for today Monday for the diagnosis of the APIM issue. Nothing worked all weekend. But on the way to the dealer, it went into maintenance mode and all came back.

My question is this a common issue for some with the problem to come back to life and how long will this maybe last? The timing was perfect as my wife has this week for vacation so I could get to the dealer if they were to fix it.

I went to the dealer to at least document that it came back but I did not want them to look at it, find nothing and charge me 115$ an hour.
 






Can anybody tell me if the return of my mft after 4 days dead is good or bad? will it go again and stay out?
 






Can anybody tell me if the return of my mft after 4 days dead is good or bad? will it go again and stay out?
Having the screen go blank and then returning is never a 'good' thing. It could be that an electrical component is starting to break down. The APIM that is the brains of MFT has a 5 year unlimited mileage warranty. In most case it the APIM that is the culprit.

Peter
 






Having the screen go blank and then returning is never a 'good' thing. It could be that an electrical component is starting to break down. The APIM that is the brains of MFT has a 5 year unlimited mileage warranty. In most case it the APIM that is the culprit.

Peter

agreed, but when the dealer wants $115 an hour to test a functioning apim and can not say it will be replaced even when they saw the dead unit, what do I do?
 






agreed, but when the dealer wants $115 an hour to test a functioning apim and can not say it will be replaced even when they saw the dead unit, what do I do?

As Peter said The MFT System and APIM is under warranty separate from the vehicles warranty.

They can't charge you $115.00

Get the Customer Service Reps on here to assist in explaining it to your dealership.
 






Mytouch

Mine is at the dealer now. I did try to pull the battery cable and I did pull the fuse but that did not work. The radio would work for about two minutes then it would go to audio off. The screen would never go on.

I tried pulling the battery cable to reboot and black screen for and broken myTouch. The radio came on for about 30 seconds and stopped still the black screen. The reboot try did not fix the problem

I took it to my local Ford dealer. They tried pulling the fuse and could not resolve the issue. They set me up with a rental car and said they would need my car for 3 to 4 days. They also believe it is a bad main module and it is covered under warranty for 10 years 100k miles. Will keep you posted on the progress
 






I tried pulling the battery cable to reboot and black screen for and broken myTouch. The radio came on for about 30 seconds and stopped still the black screen. The reboot try did not fix the problem

I took it to my local Ford dealer. They tried pulling the fuse and could not resolve the issue. They set me up with a rental car and said they would need my car for 3 to 4 days. They also believe it is a bad main module and it is covered under warranty for 10 years 100k miles. Will keep you posted on the progress
Welcome to the Forum.:wavey:
Not sure what module they are talking about. I'd say that with a black/blank screen, 95% of the time it is the APIM. It only has a 5 year unlimited mileage warranty. Please keep us updated.
Also, please add the model of your Explorer to your profile so it appears in the margin when you post. Thanks

Peter
 






As Peter said The MFT System and APIM is under warranty separate from the vehicles warranty.

They can't charge you $115.00

Get the Customer Service Reps on here to assist in explaining it to your dealership.

One of the dealers in my state (the one I bought my Ex from) charges diagnostic fees even if your vehicle is under warranty IF they can't duplicate an issue.

Reason being, Ford only pays out when a repair is made, not the time one can spend trying to duplicate an issue.

I don't agree with it but it is something a dealer can do if they so choose. I have never been back there for service once they told me that.
 






One of the dealers in my state (the one I bought my Ex from) charges diagnostic fees even if your vehicle is under warranty IF they can't duplicate an issue.

Reason being, Ford only pays out when a repair is made, not the time one can spend trying to duplicate an issue.

I don't agree with it but it is something a dealer can do if they so choose. I have never been back there for service once they told me that.

Wouldn't that diagnostic fee be refundable after the source of the issue is found to be something under the MFT warranty?
 






Wouldn't that diagnostic fee be refundable after the source of the issue is found to be something under the MFT warranty?

I really have no idea. Theor response was "well we still have to pay our techs to spend time trying to duplicate the issues".

I totally disagree with their stance (again, why I do not go to them) but I do know they are not the only ones out there that do that.
 






As Peter said The MFT System and APIM is under warranty separate from the vehicles warranty.

They can't charge you $115.00

Get the Customer Service Reps on here to assist in explaining it to your dealership.

I pm'd the rep but after 5-6 days, no reply.
 






I pm'd the rep but after 5-6 days, no reply.
Which rep? Tricia or Rebecca? I haven't seen any activity from either in a while.

Peter
 



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