Faulty Body Control Module

[Rob D]

Almost 4 weeks ago I purchased a new 201 7 Ford Explorer Limited. Had a lot of the bells and whistles on it. about 3 weeks later, i am coming home from running some errands. I am not far from my development and the car just shuts off. The dash lights up like a christmas tree, getting errors on the info display like there is no tomorrow such as low oil pressure, BLIS failure, park assist failure, etc. I am able to coast to a safe place on the side of the road. I thought maybe that it just stalled or something like that. i put it in park, and tried pushing the button to shut it off then start it again. It did nothing. I had to open the door to get everything to shut down. I waited a minute or 2, and it started again. i waited a minute, and put it into drive and started driving again. A few moments later....same thing; motor shuts off, christmas tree, errors, etc. tried the process again...same thing. i called ford road side and they dispatched a tow truck....luckily i was right at my development so i could walk home and not freeze. This was on a Saturday.

It was towed that day. i went with the tow truck to the dealership, and they scheduled a rental. I was talking to a guy who i believe is the service director....he arranged a loaner for me. And talking to him, he said he would make it a priority, but with the holiday probably won't be looked at until Tuesday.

Fast Forward Tuesday. Talked to the SD at dealership, and they were able to replicate the same exact symptoms. They believed it to be a body control module and were having one overnighted. They didn't get the part until Wednesday evening. They installed the part this morning, but it seems they are unable to communicate with it and are talking to whoever it is at the top of the tech chain somewhere at ford to find out what is going on. I am just frustrated now. i just bought this vehicle. I love it, but it already has issues. I have always had good luck with fords, i bought my 02 harley truck from the same dealership, that is why i went back to the same place. Now for some questions: ;-)

1. Has anyone seen a BCM fail like this?
2. Should I wait it out and let them fix it?
3. Am I able to exchange the car for a new one?


Sorry for being so long winded.

Thanks,

Rob

 

[aero10]

2. Should I wait it out and let them fix it?
3. Am I able to exchange the car for a new one?

My opinion, let them fix it. Question 3 comes into play if they can't fix. It's a manufactured good, no manufacturer is perfect. They gave you a loaner, so you have a vehicle. I had something similar happen to me a week after we got our Ex. It was a used CPO. About a mile from our house (luckily, we were on our way back from an out-of-state trip) the car died and wouldn't start back up. We had it towed and I had people telling me to demand a refund, exchange, etc. Drove me up the wall, wouldn't even wait to find out what was wrong. Turned out, a clip was missing from a fuel line and the fuel line blew off. Took a couple days to get it worked out, but an easy fix in the end. It's frustrating having something new brake, but they are trying to fix it. Unfortunately with newer vehicle and they're electronics, it's not always straight forward.

So a long story to basically say, give them a chance to make it right.

 

[Rob D]

My opinion, let them fix it. Question 3 comes into play if they can't fix. It's a manufactured good, no manufacturer is perfect. They gave you a loaner, so you have a vehicle. I had something similar happen to me a week after we got our Ex. It was a used CPO. About a mile from our house (luckily, we were on our way back from an out-of-state trip) the car died and wouldn't start back up. We had it towed and I had people telling me to demand a refund, exchange, etc. Drove me up the wall, wouldn't even wait to find out what was wrong. Turned out, a clip was missing from a fuel line and the fuel line blew off. Took a couple days to get it worked out, but an easy fix in the end. It's frustrating having something new brake, but they are trying to fix it. Unfortunately with newer vehicle and they're electronics, it's not always straight forward.

So a long story to basically say, give them a chance to make it right.

Thanks for your reply. Question about your response.. I have talked to the salesman about the #3 option. He said he would look into it. The vehicle has a about 1100 miles on it. Am i going to have to be out of pocket to get it exchanged?

 

[Palmz43]

Thanks for your reply. Question about your response.. I have talked to the salesman about the #3 option. He said he would look into it. The vehicle has a about 1100 miles on it. Am i going to have to be out of pocket to get it exchanged?

Either you or the dealership will be out of money on the exchange. They would have to do it as a trade in. Your other option would be going through the lemon law process, but you are likely not to that point yet as most states require that the same problem occur three times and can't be fixed. I would just wait it out, let them fix the BCM and see if that fixes your problem. If it doesn't then look into Ford buying the car back as a lemon.

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum Rob.
Others that have had the Christmas tree lighting up issue found that it was a bad battery. Not saying it isn't the BCM but just providing some info on what others found.

Peter

 

[aero10]

Thanks for your reply. Question about your response.. I have talked to the salesman about the #3 option. He said he would look into it. The vehicle has a about 1100 miles on it. Am i going to have to be out of pocket to get it exchanged?

No clue. I remember a thread on here where someone went through a buyback and if I recall they were refunded their purchase price minus mileage they'd put on the vehicle. But this was also a severe engine problem.

 

[Rob D]

Welcome to the Forum Rob.
Others that have had the Christmas tree lighting up issue found that it was a bad battery. Not saying it isn't the BCM but just providing some info on what others found.

Peter

Cool...My dealer has been has been calling me at least once a day to keep me in the loop. i will definitely bring this up on today's call

-rob

 

[thefranchise713]

A BCM failing is incredibly rare. More common are ground issues (one is right near the BCM too, and in my own meddling I caused same symptoms by failing to torque it properly) and bad OEM batteries.

 

[Rob D]

got my Explorer back today: here is what they put on the service invoice:


CHECK ENGINE DIAGNOSTICS AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION WITH

APPROVED FORD DIAGNOSTIC EQUIPMENT ALL WARNING INDICATORS

CAME ON AND THE ENGINE STALLED OUT HAD TO SHUT IT OFF AND

RESTART BUT IT STALLED BACK OUT AFTER ABOUT 30 FEET OF

MOVEMENT STATES TRACTION CONTROL NOT AVAILABLE ETC

THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT PROGRAM WITH THE ORIGINAL BCM WE

WORKED WITH THE FORD TECHNICAL SERVICE HOTLINE THEY PUT US

THROUGH SEVERAL PROCEDURES TO ATTEMPT TO PROGRAM THE BCM WE

THEN WERE SENT A BCM BY FORD THAT ALSO WOULD NOT PROGRAM WE

CONSULTED THE HOTLINE AGAIN AND THE ENGINEERING NUMBER

STATED THE PART WAS INCORRECT WE HAD THEM SEND US A SECOND

BCM AND THEN WE WENT THROUGH THE PROCEDURES TO PROGRAM AND

IT WENT THROUGH ALL SYSTEM NOW FUNCTION

ROAD TEST VEHICLE, EVALUATE FOR CUSTOMER CONCERN. INSTALL

FORD INTEGRATED DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEMS OR EQUIVALENT TO CHECK

PCM FOR STORED FAULT CODES. PERFORM VISUAL INSPECTION AND

DETERMINE NECESSARY PINPOINT TESTS AS PER SHOP MANUAL WITH

FORD HOTLINE ASSISTANCE WE WERE ABLE TO FULLY CORRECT THE

TROUBLE

 

[thefranchise713]

Wow. But very happy your car is back, congrats and enjoy!

 

[Rob D]

Wow. But very happy your car is back, congrats and enjoy!

I'll let you know after 3 weeks...... that's when the BCM went out. ;-)