2014 Sport Engine Hesitation/Stumble

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum 2015 Sport.
Yours is not the only one with the issue as you can see. You can have them check the throttle body but not sure if they can tell anything from that if the hesitation isn't constant.

 

[Sequim]

I read many posts about this, but not quite what happened to me. Bought this '14 Explorer Sport with the 3.5 ecoboost about 4 months ago, with 38K miles on it. Couple of months ago it hesitated when I floored it, happened a couple of times. One time I kept it floored, coasted to stop, still floored but as soon as I barely backed off the pedal....off like a rocket. Took to dealer, they said we know the problem, it's the throttle body. Gave me an Enterprise rental car and said there are 20,000 of them on back order!! So three weeks later they called and said the Explorer is ready. Two days later it did exactly the same thing, coasted to stop with it floored. Back to dealer and they ran every test they could think of, but can't find a problem. Gave me the car back and said don't floor it, we are going to bump this up to someplace higher at Ford and see if anyone else has had this problem. It has never run rough, no warning lights, everything else is great. If I never floor it maybe I'll never have a problem, but I didn't buy this road rocket to drive it slow. The good news is I never paid a dime for repair or rental. It's been less than a week, so I'll give them a few more days to find out what Ford said. When I took it back after they replaced the throttle body, I asked them if they were sure the new TB didn't have the same problem as the old one, both guys in service dept. got that deer in the headlight look and said I'm sure Ford wouldn't do that..........right.

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum Sequim.

Peter

 

[Skidoo nut]

I have a 2016 Doing the same thing sense it was new, has been to the dealer 5 time for the problem and same old BS no code Ford wont let us fix the problem. Dealer had it last week put 250 miles on it said nothing wrong with it. Sales man droped off at my house started it up about 20 min later to put it in my garage and it missed and stumbled the who way in. You would think after four model years of this problem Ford could fix it

The dealer has had it for two weeks now, They put 500 miles on it and said it ran fine, and could not find a problem, Said they called Ford tec line and they have never herd of the problem. I drove it last weekend it did it twice in 5 miles. Really sick of this car running like crap.

 

[mrward83]

I too am experiencing similar issues with my vehicle. My originating dealer was unable to replicate the problem. Hopefully the new one, recently moved, will be more open to research performed in an attempt to be an informed customer. In either case I will post my results for all to see. Anyone have a master list of fixes performed for this issue?

 

[peterk9]

I too am experiencing similar issues with my vehicle. My originating dealer was unable to replicate the problem. Hopefully the new one, recently moved, will be more open to research performed in an attempt to be an informed customer. In either case I will post my results for all to see. Anyone have a master list of fixes performed for this issue?

Not saying this is the issue but the throttle body was redesigned for the 2016 models and Ford has all kinds of problems with them to the extent that the redesigned one has been redesigned.

Peter

 

[2015Sport]

The POS has been back at the dealer since Sept 1. They put a black box on it and were able to make it hesitate in any gear, always around 2kRPM. They said the PTM is sending the wrong instructions and they are not sure if this is because of a bad PTM or a bad sensor that just doesn't code. Last they told me is Ford is sending an engineer to have a go at it. I bet he brings a whole box of parts including PTM, sensors and throttle body. I gave them a deadline of Sept 29, or I expect a check.

 

[2015Sport]

So an update. Someone - not sure who, decided that the issue was the torque convertor. New one has been installed and the service manager, sales manager, mechanic, and receptionist have all drive it and say it no longer hesitates or stumbles. We will see.

 

[mrward83]

As the story goes.... I took my vehicle to a new dealership. The previously reported symptoms persisted; hesitation upon acceleration. The service tech was impressed by my combined research efforts, thanks to this forum and others, and discussed potential fixes with me. Their initial inspection revealed similar cannot duplicate results except for a slight surge while transitioning form 2nd to 3rd gear. No codes thrown and the computer was up-to-date. The tech referenced a symptom sheet and found that the problem may be related to a solenoid within the transmission (Solenoid SSA). They dropped the pan, replaced the solenoid, filled with new fluid and road tested it with no issues. WHen I picked it up two things were apparent. First the hard shifting which was expected due to the computer needing to re-learn. Secondly, the same issue persisted. A climb in RPMs without the corresponding increase in speed. While the new dealership has been great in terms of listening and attempting a fix, I am growing considerably weary of keeping a vehicle with consistent mechanical issue(s). Anyone have new potential solutions I can take to the dealership next time?

 

[mrward83]

The woes continue. My vehicle has been at the dealer again since Friday 3 March. It was brought in for an oil change and the issue again presented itself. Luckily a foremen was available and went for a ride with me. He was able to "feel" the problem and reported exactly what I had been providing to the service advisor. Upon pick up the vehicle exhibited the same symptoms. Since, as previously stated, it has been in the shop. To date my servicing dealership has been unable to solve the issue. They have reached out to Ford on a number of occasions without successful remediation. I will update with exact details when and if a fix is provided.

 

[BorgX]

Mine has done the hesitation thing since day one (2014 Sport - bought it new). I am just waiting for the warranty to be close and to the trade-in line this POS goes! I have only owned GM cars and thus have always resisted a Ford (52 yrs old now). My wife loved the Explorer and "had to have it" and so I gave in. BIG mistake that I will never make again... worst service I have ever experienced in my life... not the local dealer, FORD. This cannot be an issue that has escaped their radar and thus they are ignoring the issue. I wish it was a safety issue and I would join a suit against them...

 

[TexasSport]

I wanted to mention of a recent change to the drivability to my 2014 Sport.
We purchased the Sport out in California about 5 years years ago with about 18k miles. Within the 1st year we had several things done under warranty, fairly extensive work. After all work was completed the car drove great, then took a job in Texas and drove it from Cali to Texas.
Shortly afterwards, I noticed a hesitation under part and full throttle, took it to the dealer several times but they could never figure out the issue. I had thoughts of it being a boost leak, but between their investigation as well as me looking over everything in the engine compartment, nothing could ever be found that would indicate a leak or a problem. Its my wife's car so don't drive it everyday, but drive it enough to also notice the hesitation everytime I drive it.
So for the last 3 years we have more or less had this same hesitation when driving the car but have pretty much accepted it to be an ongoing issue that would never be fixed. The Sport has about 66K miles on it now.
Anyway one day last week i got in the car to drive it somewhere and immediately noticed how much smoother the drivability was. The hesitation was gone, much smoother, and more power throughout the powerband. I couldn't believe the difference. Whatever the issue was is now gone, and drivability has returned back to normal.
I assume there was a boost leak somewhere that may have sealed itself ?? I cant imagine anything else mechanically could have corrected itself, especially in a 3 year period of time ?

Regardless the car is amazing to drive again, and I cant be more happy about the drivability of the car now......just took 3 years to fix itself

 

[peterk9]

^^Welcome to the Forum.
I wonder if it could have been an issue with the throttle body that eventually cleared itself? In any case, it's good to go, for now.

Peter