AWD turning off on 2014 XLT

Over the last week or so the we have been getting a pop up on the dash that says "AWD OFF". We normally just leave the selector in normal mode and haven't had trouble until recently. Yesterday I actually got stuck in our driveway and had to restart the vehicle and was able to get going before it shut off again. We dropped it off at the dealer this morning and they just informed me that unless you change the selector to snow mode that the AWD turns itself off. Does that sound right. Seems a little off to me.

It does not turn itself off. It is primarily fwd but if you step on the gas hard enough, you will see power transfer to the rear wheels. You can see this by toggling your left mft screen through the display options till you see the drive train pictured with all 4 wheels.

You will see more of a 50/50 split in snow mode but stepping on it in normal mode I'd estimate is a 70/30 split.

icu812 said:

Over the last week or so the we have been getting a pop up on the dash that says "AWD OFF". We normally just leave the selector in normal mode and haven't had trouble until recently. Yesterday I actually got stuck in our driveway and had to restart the vehicle and was able to get going before it shut off again. We dropped it off at the dealer this morning and they just informed me that unless you change the selector to snow mode that the AWD turns itself off. Does that sound right. Seems a little off to me.

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Welcome to the Forum icu812.:wavey:
Re your statement in 'bold' above, are you talking about the AWD or the Explorer shutting off? As blwnsmoke mentioned, the AWD should not shut itself OFF unless it is overheating. Page 134 of your Owner's Guide

AWD Off
Displayed when the system has been
automatically disabled to protect itself. This is
caused by operating the vehicle with the
compact spare tire installed or if the system is
overheating. The system will resume normal
function and clear this message after driving a
short distance with the road tire re-installed or
after the system is allowed to cool



What I just noticed is that Ford seems to be realizing that the Explorer is AWD. In my 2011 Owner's Guide the same paragraph above says 4WD Off.

Peter

I prefer to use the drive train display as you mentioned, but soon after I begin to drive (within 100 feet or so) a yellow box pops up that says awd off. It takes the spot of the drive train display and stays there. Yesterday when I was stuck it wouldn't even shift into another mode. They awd off message just stayed in the display. After I restart the vehicle it resets itself for a short time. The vehicle never shuts itself off, just the awd.

The dealer claims that I need to shift into snow mode before I even move from my parking spot. That doesn't seem practical to me but who knows.

Your dealer is wrong. You can shift at any time to any mode as often as you want while driving. Take one on the lot for a ride. Show them your manual that says what Peter posted.

They are flat out wrong and there is an issue with yours.

blwnsmoke said:

Your dealer is wrong. You can shift at any time to any mode as often as you want while driving. Take one on the lot for a ride. Show them your manual that says what Peter posted.

They are flat out wrong and there is an issue with yours.

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What he said..Your dealer is definitely WRONG!! That yellow box popping up is telling you that there is a problem with the drivetrain and that it needs to be serviced.

icu812 said:

Over the last week or so the we have been getting a pop up on the dash that says "AWD OFF". We normally just leave the selector in normal mode and haven't had trouble until recently. Yesterday I actually got stuck in our driveway and had to restart the vehicle and was able to get going before it shut off again. We dropped it off at the dealer this morning and they just informed me that unless you change the selector to snow mode that the AWD turns itself off. Does that sound right. Seems a little off to me.

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I'll be happy to get this into the hands of your regional customer service manager (CSM), icu812. Send me a PM with your specifics and I'll make it happen; I'll need your full name, best daytime phone number, VIN, mileage, and servicing dealership info.

Crystal

Thanks Crystal. I picked up the explorer yesterday afternoon and haven't had the warning pop back up yet. The mechanic said they didn't do anything to it so I don't know what to think. He did agree however that the awd should not turn off. He said to bring it in again next time it happens. So I guess I'll just wait and see for now.

icu812 said:

Thanks Crystal. I picked up the explorer yesterday afternoon and haven't had the warning pop back up yet. The mechanic said they didn't do anything to it so I don't know what to think. He did agree however that the awd should not turn off. He said to bring it in again next time it happens. So I guess I'll just wait and see for now.

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You're welcome, icu812. Let me know if it happens again and we'll go from there.

Crystal

I just had the same problem. In the snow middle of the night -10deg 3 kids in the car and the AWD turns off while in a snowy parking area for snowmobile racing.

My procedure to get it back on was to turn off the car, open the door so dash goes black, turn back on car. (If you don't open the door it wouldn't reset for some reason) moving 10 feet gaining some momentum in the snow, the AWD off msg came back on ...stuck again. ...so i tried mud mode, sand mode, Snow mode all the same some 10 times....100 feet from where i started....then select trac msg comes on telling me it has also disabled that. No traction, no AWD, no lights on select dial...8 guys and I had to push while my 12 year old drove because i couldn't find a safe place to tow the truck from in the front with out destroying the bumper.

After driving the weekend, 38 deg today i bring it to the dealer. Start the car and the msgs are now gone. Why? Select trac works again, AWD works again. WTF?....luckily i had run a diag report that used my phone to upload when i was stuck or service would have looked at me funny and prob treated me the same way icu812 was treated.

SOOOOOO... how do we reset the AWD when this happens?

How do we bypass the "Protections" in place peterk9 mentioned when its an emergency?

Ford...I dont want the car to think for me at that point. I want a 50/50 mode that is locked so i can get out of the jam i'm in when all else fails.

Well I dropped the explorer back off at the dealer this morning. I'll update you all when I have some news. To midnight son, it seems we have a very similar problem. When my awd off warning appears I can hit ok and the message goes away. I am able to shift into different modes but they won't work. I turn off the vehicle for just a second then restart and I'm good to go until the warning pops back up. I don't have to open my door but mine is a 14. I'll keep you guys posted.

midnightsun said:

I just had the same problem. In the snow middle of the night -10deg 3 kids in the car and the AWD turns off while in a snowy parking area for snowmobile racing.

l...8 guys and I had to push while my 12 year old drove because i couldn't find a safe place to tow the truck from in the front with out destroying the bumper.

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There is an area on the right side of the front bumper where a tow hook can be screwed in. Unfortunately Ford has not seen fit to provide the owners with the hook. I don't know why as my previous '09 Highlander had the same setup and Toyota provided you with the tow hook that goes in opening.

Peter

Sorry for the delayed update everyone. My wife and I have been in the hospital for a few days with the birth of our first son. Funny how that can make a guy forget about a lot of things. Anyway the problem was found. We recently had winter tires installed, (not by dealer), and somehow they managed to put two of the wrong size tires on. The middle number on the tire size was 10 smaller than the rear. Kind of troubling but a relief at the same time. The tire store sent two new correct tires to the dealer and the dealership installed everything correctly. So all is well. The main thing for me now is mama and our new boy are both happy and we're headed home today. Hope he likes cold weather, the wind chill is well below zero here today. Thanks again everyone.

icu812 said:

Sorry for the delayed update everyone. My wife and I have been in the hospital for a few days with the birth of our first son. Funny how that can make a guy forget about a lot of things. Anyway the problem was found. We recently had winter tires installed, (not by dealer), and somehow they managed to put two of the wrong size tires on. The middle number on the tire size was 10 smaller than the rear. Kind of troubling but a relief at the same time. The tire store sent two new correct tires to the dealer and the dealership installed everything correctly. So all is well. The main thing for me now is mama and our new boy are both happy and we're headed home today. Hope he likes cold weather, the wind chill is well below zero here today. Thanks again everyone.

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Congratulations on your first born.
If it makes you feel any warmer, it is -13 F here with a windchill of around -25 but it is a nice sunny day.

Peter

peterk9 said:

There is an area on the right side of the front bumper where a tow hook can be screwed in. Unfortunately Ford has not seen fit to provide the owners with the hook. I don't know why as my previous '09 Highlander had the same setup and Toyota provided you with the tow hook that goes in opening.

Peter

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My 2012 Limited came with the hook that screws into the area behind the pictured tab. It was with the spare tire/jack.

The tire size makes sense, as these are the same messages that appeared when I put the spare tire on once. Glad you got it taken care of.

scotted73 said:

My 2012 Limited came with the hook that screws into the area behind the pictured tab. It was with the spare tire/jack.

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Was it just a loose piece or part of something else? I took the spare out and the jack and didn't find it.

Peter

peterk9 said:

Was it just a loose piece or part of something else? I took the spare out and the jack and didn't find it.

Peter

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Peter,

Under the spare tire there is a black piece of Styrofoam that holds the jack via velcro straps and it also has a recessed area where the retrieval hook is stored.

Scott

scotted73 said:

Peter,

Under the spare tire there is a black piece of Styrofoam that holds the jack via velcro straps and it also has a recessed area where the retrieval hook is stored.

Scott

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Eureka! I found it. Thanks for your help Scott. Don't know how I missed that the first time. Perhaps subconsciously I was looking for a silver colored one. That is what the Highlander had. Thanks again.

Peter