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2020 Explorer Starting Problems

Right but the other poster said he placed the key fob in the secret bypass location in the center console. This could indicate a low or dead battery in the fob itself.
A fob with a low or weak battery in that slot would still allow the vehicle to start if everything else was working. That is the purpose of that backup slot. Only a fob with a dead battery would not.
The member that posted the video hasn't been seen here since December, member jumpnjoe only had the one post in February and Jamackabi never did follow up as he indicated he would so it seems we are actually no further ahead on the resolution.

Peter
 



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hi all, not sure if I'm posting this in the right place - if someone could let me know or move this, that would be appreciated.

Just this last Friday, Oct. 29th, I picked up a 2021 Explorer XLT AWD (base model). Happily drove it home and did a couple of errands, took my wife out for dinner. The following morning, so this would be day 2, it would not start. All the lights came on as expected but it would not crank. The start button was rapidly flashing green. I tried 20 times over and over with the steering wheel in a different position, brake on/off, etc,. etc.

A tow service came to boost/check battery and there was no issue there. A couple of days later, after talking to a Ford service advisor, I decided to have it towed back to the dealer. So this is with about 45 km on the odometer. Not 45,000.... 45! The dealer looked at it right away which was appreciated (and expected) and I was told from the service advisor that the starter motor fuse had blown. Why this happened, we don't know.

They're replacing the starter now and will try it. Has anyone else seen this and is this not just a little bit odd (not to mention frustrating) on day 2 with a brand new vehicle? Disclosure: This is my first ever north american vehicle. Also, I'm a fleet customer, so I didn't buy this outright.

I'm quite concerned this is going to happen again at a less convenient place than my own driveway when it wasn't urgent.

Any help, references or tips are welcome.

explorer towed away.jpg
 






Hi,

Please see my post: Major issues on 3rd day, 55 miles.

I have the same issue if yours also blinks the headlights when you hit the start button. I have brought it to ford multiple times, I have had them do multiple updates. Still, the problem persists. Most people I've read about are able to get ford to buy their vehicle back. Hopefully there's still time for you to do that because it doesn't look good. They've replaced the button, the started, tightened the wires, performed the SSM bulletins, etc etc. I have a case open with Ford and they have not gotten back to me.

The only way to reliably start it for me is using the remote start, and even then you CANNOT put your foot on the brake first, you must hit the start button after it's been remote started. If you put your foot on the brake after remote starting, it will stop running with the same symptoms (everything flashing).

For now we are living with it, and we are on year 2. I have the 8 year extended warranty so I hope whatever module is causing this goes out completely sometime in the next 8 years so we can just get it replaced. With the remote start, at least we have a good work-around. If you don't have remote start (which I assume you do since you're in Canada, even though it's a fleet vehicle and those are often missing important features), try the work around and let us know.

hi all, not sure if I'm posting this in the right place - if someone could let me know or move this, that would be appreciated.

Just this last Friday, Oct. 29th, I picked up a 2021 Explorer XLT AWD (base model). Happily drove it home and did a couple of errands, took my wife out for dinner. The following morning, so this would be day 2, it would not start. All the lights came on as expected but it would not crank. The start button was rapidly flashing green. I tried 20 times over and over with the steering wheel in a different position, brake on/off, etc,. etc.

A tow service came to boost/check battery and there was no issue there. A couple of days later, after talking to a Ford service advisor, I decided to have it towed back to the dealer. So this is with about 45 km on the odometer. Not 45,000.... 45! The dealer looked at it right away which was appreciated (and expected) and I was told from the service advisor that the starter motor fuse had blown. Why this happened, we don't know.

They're replacing the starter now and will try it. Has anyone else seen this and is this not just a little bit odd (not to mention frustrating) on day 2 with a brand new vehicle? Disclosure: This is my first ever north american vehicle. Also, I'm a fleet customer, so I didn't buy this outright.

I'm quite concerned this is going to happen again at a less convenient place than my own driveway when it wasn't urgent.

Any help, references or tips are welcome.

View attachment 422946
 






I've come to believe the flashing Start/Stop button is normal. I have that same issue when using accessory mode. I've never had the rapid flash when the vehicle is actually running. I don't know how long the button will keep flashing after I've turned Accessory mode OFF and closed the door.

Peter
 






Watch the video:


Several other videos also document this symptom.

It is definitely not normal. I understand that you think it's an accessory mode thing, but I have been stranded for 45 minutes before I found the remote start work-around. Believe me, this is not normal. I grew up on a farm fixing everything mechanical and electrical. These days I am a cloud engineer and can work with code and electronics very easily, I am definitely "tech-savvy".


I've come to believe the flashing Start/Stop button is normal. I have that same issue when using accessory mode. I've never had the rapid flash when the vehicle is actually running. I don't know how long the button will keep flashing after I've turned Accessory mode OFF and closed the door.

Peter
 






On mine, the entire button flashes/pulses and only while in accessory mode. I've never had any starting issues.

Peter
 






On mine, the entire button flashes/pulses and only while in accessory mode. I've never had any starting issues.

Peter
Gotcha, I should also mention that I've been able to have my dealership reproduce and witness the problem, which is how they are able to open the case with ford. Without them reproducing, they cannot officially open a case with ford. Unfortunately, Ford has told my dealership they need us to reproduce this reliably to get any further and that's the real bummer, because this thing can go 6 months between incidents but on a bad day (say, a nice 6 hour trip through the mountains), it will have this issue every time you stop and get out to admire the views, which happened to us last october. I must have had the issue 12 times that day. Then the next day, and the following 3 months will be like it never happened. It also doesn't matter if the car's been in the garage for 3 weeks (Since covid, we are WFH), or if you drove it 700 miles the day before, or whether it's -15 F or 100F, etc. It's a very elusive troubleshooting problem.
 






Gotcha, I should also mention that I've been able to have my dealership reproduce and witness the problem, which is how they are able to open the case with ford. Without them reproducing, they cannot officially open a case with ford. Unfortunately, Ford has told my dealership they need us to reproduce this reliably to get any further and that's the real bummer, because this thing can go 6 months between incidents but on a bad day (say, a nice 6 hour trip through the mountains), it will have this issue every time you stop and get out to admire the views, which happened to us last october. I must have had the issue 12 times that day. Then the next day, and the following 3 months will be like it never happened. It also doesn't matter if the car's been in the garage for 3 weeks (Since covid, we are WFH), or if you drove it 700 miles the day before, or whether it's -15 F or 100F, etc. It's a very elusive troubleshooting problem.
You may want try forscan to check and enable data logging. I did that to catch an intermittent airbag issue that turned out to be a connector under the driver's seat. I showed the log data to the tech to help them work with Ford.

Best of luck to fellow cloud engineer!
 






You may want try forscan to check and enable data logging. I did that to catch an intermittent airbag issue that turned out to be a connector under the driver's seat. I showed the log data to the tech to help them work with Ford.

Best of luck to fellow cloud engineer!
That's a good idea. I still have the adaptor from upgrading my 2016's Sync2 to Sync3. Thank you!
 






hi all, not sure if I'm posting this in the right place - if someone could let me know or move this, that would be appreciated.

Just this last Friday, Oct. 29th, I picked up a 2021 Explorer XLT AWD (base model). Happily drove it home and did a couple of errands, took my wife out for dinner. The following morning, so this would be day 2, it would not start. All the lights came on as expected but it would not crank. The start button was rapidly flashing green. I tried 20 times over and over with the steering wheel in a different position, brake on/off, etc,. etc.

A tow service came to boost/check battery and there was no issue there. A couple of days later, after talking to a Ford service advisor, I decided to have it towed back to the dealer. So this is with about 45 km on the odometer. Not 45,000.... 45! The dealer looked at it right away which was appreciated (and expected) and I was told from the service advisor that the starter motor fuse had blown. Why this happened, we don't know.

They're replacing the starter now and will try it. Has anyone else seen this and is this not just a little bit odd (not to mention frustrating) on day 2 with a brand new vehicle? Disclosure: This is my first ever north american vehicle. Also, I'm a fleet customer, so I didn't buy this outright.

I'm quite concerned this is going to happen again at a less convenient place than my own driveway when it wasn't urgent.

Any help, references or tips are welcome.

View attachment 422946
Update: it wasn't the starter. Two days after getting the vehicle back from the dealer who seemed pretty sure it was the starter that was causing the 30A fuse to blow (!) it left me stranded with the same issue in a town about 45 min away. Towed again. This time I was pretty firm with the dealer - it's got to be fixed right. The dealership did look at it immediately, which was again appreciated and expected. They found that one of the wiring harness was not in place, and the wire bundle was dangling and would rub on one of the front drive axles, clearing away just enough insulation that it would occasionally - depending on how it was parked - cause the issue. It's been a week since the proper positioning of the wire harness, and I've done about 1000 km on the vehicle and absolutely no issues. I hope this helps anyone that is having the issue. I can post the write-up from the dealer here or send it to you on a PM. Drive safe. - Mike
 






Appreciate the follow-up, Mike. :thumbsup:

Peter
 






Gotcha, I should also mention that I've been able to have my dealership reproduce and witness the problem, which is how they are able to open the case with ford. Without them reproducing, they cannot officially open a case with ford. Unfortunately, Ford has told my dealership they need us to reproduce this reliably to get any further and that's the real bummer, because this thing can go 6 months between incidents but on a bad day (say, a nice 6 hour trip through the mountains), it will have this issue every time you stop and get out to admire the views, which happened to us last october. I must have had the issue 12 times that day. Then the next day, and the following 3 months will be like it never happened. It also doesn't matter if the car's been in the garage for 3 weeks (Since covid, we are WFH), or if you drove it 700 miles the day before, or whether it's -15 F or 100F, etc. It's a very elusive troubleshooting problem.
My version of the intermittent starting issue seems to mimic everyone else’s. I am unable to start for some time. Around 20-30 minutes usually. The remote start via the app seems to override the issue if performed correctly. I haven’t tried some of the other suggested fixes like having the starter replaced, checking the wire harness installation, or any of the TSB’s but I have brought it to Ford where they couldn’t replicate the issue.

One thing that seems like (maybe at best) weird juju is because of the way the starter sounds when pushing the start button when it doesn’t start, it’s almost as if the starter isn’t getting enough power. I believe in one of the threads a faulty ground was mentioned. Because of this (probably incorrect conclusion) I tried pushing and holding the start button for several seconds even up to more than a minute. Once I do that, the remote start seems to work pretty consistently and it is not necessary to wait to start the vehicle. I believe that even though I have only tried this <20 times, it has been a consistent solution so I am not waiting to drive the vehicle.

I don’t know if I have included enough details for someone to try and replicate this bandaid “fix” until the dealer can fix it for real, I’d be interested to know if pushing and holding the start button helps them bypass the non start issue utilizing the described bypass with remote start either via the app or remote fob. At least that way you wouldn’t have to wait so long to get to wherever you’re going?
 






My version of the intermittent starting issue seems to mimic everyone else’s. I am unable to start for some time. Around 20-30 minutes usually. The remote start via the app seems to override the issue if performed correctly. I haven’t tried some of the other suggested fixes like having the starter replaced, checking the wire harness installation, or any of the TSB’s but I have brought it to Ford where they couldn’t replicate the issue.

One thing that seems like (maybe at best) weird juju is because of the way the starter sounds when pushing the start button when it doesn’t start, it’s almost as if the starter isn’t getting enough power. I believe in one of the threads a faulty ground was mentioned. Because of this (probably incorrect conclusion) I tried pushing and holding the start button for several seconds even up to more than a minute. Once I do that, the remote start seems to work pretty consistently and it is not necessary to wait to start the vehicle. I believe that even though I have only tried this <20 times, it has been a consistent solution so I am not waiting to drive the vehicle.

I don’t know if I have included enough details for someone to try and replicate this bandaid “fix” until the dealer can fix it for real, I’d be interested to know if pushing and holding the start button helps them bypass the non start issue utilizing the described bypass with remote start either via the app or remote fob. At least that way you wouldn’t have to wait so long to get to wherever you’re going?
We are taking our ST for a long trip for xmas, (these days it sits the garage 8 days a week) and it is almost sure to happen at least once, so I will try the the push and hold the start button to see if that has any effect.
 






We are taking our ST for a long trip for xmas, (these days it sits the garage 8 days a week) and it is almost sure to happen at least once, so I will try the the push and hold the start button to see if that has any effect.
I guess I should have mentioned my transmission was replaced at 5k miles because of a hard shift in and out of 7th gear. I had one instance of another electrical problem before that where the screen wouldn’t illuminate and for support walked me through the equivalent of 99 lives in super contra. I don’t remember the exact sequence but we had to turn the car off wait for 30 seconds open door, push and hold something, a few more steps, and then wait a minute or two and then it worked again when we turned it back on. But since then it never had the problem. The intermittent start issue is the only other thing we had as an electrical/system issue.

I’m not sure what I’m trying to accomplish by pushing and holding the start button for so long (really: at least 30 seconds) but the reason I recommended it was a couple times I was unable to get the remote start to work as an override. It could have been the door opened or I pushed the brake or whatever, but after a try or two I couldn’t use the app to remote start anymore and would have to wait. Pushing and holding the start button (for some reason) allowed me to try the remote start again, and having that option I got it going. Because I’m in Florida, waiting 5 minutes to run through the whole rigamarole was a lot better than 20-30. So I just started doing that any time it wouldn’t start. I believe in my experiences since then, there hasn’t been a time when the remote start wasn’t successful the first time still following the tricky way of being careful to only push the start button, not depressing brake, and also no other steps in between. Just wanted to make sure that was a little more detailed so it’s clear what I’m doing.
 






^^Welcome to the Forum. :wave:
Did you by chance try the following?

"When you start the engine, avoid pressing
the accelerator pedal before and during
operation. Only use the accelerator pedal
when you have difficulty starting the
engine."


Peter
 






I guess I should have mentioned my transmission was replaced at 5k miles because of a hard shift in and out of 7th gear. I had one instance of another electrical problem before that where the screen wouldn’t illuminate and for support walked me through the equivalent of 99 lives in super contra. I don’t remember the exact sequence but we had to turn the car off wait for 30 seconds open door, push and hold something, a few more steps, and then wait a minute or two and then it worked again when we turned it back on. But since then it never had the problem. The intermittent start issue is the only other thing we had as an electrical/system issue.

I’m not sure what I’m trying to accomplish by pushing and holding the start button for so long (really: at least 30 seconds) but the reason I recommended it was a couple times I was unable to get the remote start to work as an override. It could have been the door opened or I pushed the brake or whatever, but after a try or two I couldn’t use the app to remote start anymore and would have to wait. Pushing and holding the start button (for some reason) allowed me to try the remote start again, and having that option I got it going. Because I’m in Florida, waiting 5 minutes to run through the whole rigamarole was a lot better than 20-30. So I just started doing that any time it wouldn’t start. I believe in my experiences since then, there hasn’t been a time when the remote start wasn’t successful the first time still following the tricky way of being careful to only push the start button, not depressing brake, and also no other steps in between. Just wanted to make sure that was a little more detailed so it’s clear what I’m doing.
Sounds like we have the same problem for sure. I did make a post about mine, we were able to get the dealership to reproduce the issue and open a case with Ford, which sounds like good news but it's not - nothing happened after that. They replaced the ignition switch, checked those ground wires and a bunch of other ridiculous things, but it's still the same issue. The fact that the brake pedal is off limits is why I believe we have the same issue. Back when it was really ornery, you couldn't hit the brake pedal after starting or it would die again. These days it's gotten better to the point that remote start works every time and pushing the brake pedal doesn't immediately kill it. Crossing my fingers it doesn't start that again on our upcoming trip. Last year we took a 3 hour trip into the mountains - on the way back home we took the scenic route and stopped at all the scenic stops. Every single scenic stop, the issue would present, sometimes the infotainment screen wouldn't light up or it would have weird lines, that was a really long journey home. Then I was on a multi month campaign at the dealership, making them do the TSBs and all the things they could. Hasn't been that bad since them, could just be random though.

We got such a good deal on ours (significant hail damage on the lot) that I didn't consider returning it for lemon law, there's no way I would want to afford this at full price, so we live with the issue and plan on keeping it til it gives up the ghost. All of the other good things (towing capacity, co-pilot, fits in our garage, etc) outweigh this starting issue.
 






Update: it wasn't the starter. Two days after getting the vehicle back from the dealer who seemed pretty sure it was the starter that was causing the 30A fuse to blow (!) it left me stranded with the same issue in a town about 45 min away. Towed again. This time I was pretty firm with the dealer - it's got to be fixed right. The dealership did look at it immediately, which was again appreciated and expected. They found that one of the wiring harness was not in place, and the wire bundle was dangling and would rub on one of the front drive axles, clearing away just enough insulation that it would occasionally - depending on how it was parked - cause the issue. It's been a week since the proper positioning of the wire harness, and I've done about 1000 km on the vehicle and absolutely no issues. I hope this helps anyone that is having the issue. I can post the write-up from the dealer here or send it to you on a PM. Drive safe. - Mike
Thanks, Mike…I’m interest in know the location of the wiring harness that is rubbing or getting loose.
Did you experienced any starting problem after this fix?
- Mading
 






Thanks, Mike…I’m interest in know the location of the wiring harness that is rubbing or getting loose.
Did you experienced any starting problem after this fix?
- Mading
Welcome to the Forum Mading. :wave:
I see you have a 20202. ;)

Peter
 






I am confused on the part about Ford not calling you. If they are aware of an issue with no fix yet available , what would one expect Ford to do as far as phone calls?
 



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I am confused on the part about Ford not calling you. If they are aware of an issue with no fix yet available , what would one expect Ford to do as far as phone calls?
I'm guessing that you are replying to thedanman? If so, he was last seen here on December 18, 2021, so may no longer be following this thread.

Peter
 






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