Abs module?! please read :)

[vdavis25]

According to ford, my advance Trac light is on due to failure to communicate with the abs module. He said he flashed everything and it didn't fix it. Looking at $1600 to fix unless I can find a used one they can put in... basically said it was probably because of the tires I have on it.

So thoughts? Any leads on the module? It's on backorder with ford so...

 

[vdavis25]

They also said something about something I can get to "delete" things so the tire size wouldn't matter but were not very specific and said I would just need to do a google search. I was feeling very frustrated by the end of the appointment, especially since I was told it should only take an hour and it ended up taking a lot more and cost me $260.. they are also saying I need to change upper and lower intake gaskets and the manifold gaskets.. if I had them do that, it would be $447 for the intake and $399 for the manifold! my god. How do people afford paying them those insane prices?! And how can I check for myself if that is actually something I need to do?

 

[rrgone]

Mismatched tires can cause ABS and AWD/4WD issues. If the problem is mismatched tires then changing the ABS module is not going to correct the issue. Are all 4 tires the same size and approximate wear? I don't know what the tech might have been referring to when he mentioned deleting something. Did you get anything in writing?

 

[vdavis25]

No, all 4 tires are the same. Ive had them for almost 2 years now and they checked them. I am past due on rotation but that is it.

He was fairly vague on what I could look up online and what it could delete, so nothing in writing on that. I have this crazy long list that equals out to about $3900 worth of "suggested" work, things like transmission service, rear end flush, brake flush, the gaskets replacement, the abs module, oh a tune up, fuel filter which I just replaced and a few other things. They never asked about any maintenance on it. I am guessing they decided it needed all of these things due to having 115,800 miles on it.

I know I left there very frustrated and not feeling like they were right in their assessment.. I will be definitely checking all other options before I fork out $1500 for them to replace the abs module.. they would not give me any codes either, I do have the list of the parts they would need if I wanted them to do all that work, so I have part numbers if I needed them.

 

[vdavis25]

No one has any other ideas? Should I post this in a different area? Any tests I can do myself to see if the abs module is or is not working? The abs light is not on, just the advance trac one. How big of a deal is it if it IS the module being bad? Has anyone else dealt with this due to putting oversize tires? Im wondering if there is a device that I can buy that would shut that system off, if that is what the tech was talking about? It is not a cheap fix so I want to figure out whatever options I may have first. The ford tech said if I put an OEM module back in I should put smaller tires on because they are convinced it was caused due to the tire size I have on. (265 75 16)

 

[ExcursionMJ]

If the module is bad then he is right about the price roughly. They usually are right around 1200-1600 depending on what Ford dealer you go to. It usually is over a grand for a new one. You can buy used ones and have them flashed. You can also always look online for a module: http://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-OEM-Gen...-ABS-Control-Module-4L2Z2B373AD-/221032094518

The thing is no matter what, if you get a new module or used one, you have to get it flashed by a dealer. Now as far as will the tires cause this issue? There is no real reason that bigger tires will cause your abs control module to go bad. Now is your control module bad? Possibly, but not because you went up to bigger tires. Why wouldn't tons of people who put lifts on have issues with bigger tires? They don't and there is a reason for that.

Now as far as how big of a deal if not having the module work correctly? Not that huge of a deal. Without the module, abs won't work. It's not the end of the world, and I've known some people to just remove the abs module and take it completely out. Now that's not a recommended route, but it's not a huge deal to drive it with the abs module not working.

Anyways, I will tell you this. You being told bigger tires caused an abs module issue would be the very first time I have ever heard that. I work in the automotive industry, though I'm certainly not an expert. I just know I've been around some of this stuff, and I've never heard of bigger tires ruining an abs module. Mis-matched? Sure. But just putting 4 of the same, but bigger? Nope. That doesn't mean that the abs module or advance trac isn't messed up. So you have no other codes at all? Have you gone to autozone to let them run any codes? They can actually see abs codes on the explorers. Usually they just do check engine light codes, but they can pull up abs stuff as well. You might have them run a check just to see if anything at all comes up. Most likely it would be a C and then some numbers. They won't be able to tell you exactly what it means most likely, but google can tell you what the abs code with a C means.