MFT has frozen - what to do?

[tazcubed]

So, on my 2013 Ford Explorer Sport the MFT (3.5.1) screen has completely frozen. Following the threads I've found, I've tried pulling fuse #29, but no success in a reboot. Has this changed on the 2013s?

Personally, I wouldn't have minded pulling the main power plug into the fuse box as suggested by a guy on youtube that he did on an Edge, but unfortunately there's not a fuse panel in the truck - only under the hood and I wasn't able to source the power supply into the fuse box.

Does the truck have to be restarted with fuse #29 pulled in order for it to work (doesn't make sense to me if it's always powered)? I'm reluctant to use the www.outofmytouch.com app reboot via USB right now, but surely there's got to be a way to get this fixed?

Any other suggestions before I elect to bring it back to the shop to effect some repairs?

Seriously, they need a simpler way to effect a reset.

 

[Bryceb]

So, on my 2013 Ford Explorer Sport the MFT (3.5.1) screen has completely frozen. Following the threads I've found, I've tried pulling fuse #29, but no success in a reboot. Has this changed on the 2013s?

Personally, I wouldn't have minded pulling the main power plug into the fuse box as suggested by a guy on youtube that he did on an Edge, but unfortunately there's not a fuse panel in the truck - only under the hood and I wasn't able to source the power supply into the fuse box.

Does the truck have to be restarted with fuse #29 pulled in order for it to work (doesn't make sense to me if it's always powered)? I'm reluctant to use the www.outofmytouch.com app reboot via USB right now, but surely there's got to be a way to get this fixed?

Any other suggestions before I elect to bring it back to the shop to effect some repairs?

Seriously, they need a simpler way to effect a reset.

There is a fuse panel inside... but you have to be a contortionist with miniature hands to get to. the #29 under the hood isn't the correct fuse.

the Delayed Reboot works fine if you can get it to load in your unit's current state.

Short of that, disconnect the battery cable for a few minutes.

 

[tazcubed]

There is a fuse panel inside... but you have to be a contortionist with miniature hands to get to. the #29 under the hood isn't the correct fuse.

the Delayed Reboot works fine if you can get it to load in your unit's current state.

Short of that, disconnect the battery cable for a few minutes.

Thanks! I've managed to contort myself to find it - behind a panel that's screwed/bolted in - the least they should have done is make it easy to pop the access panel off. How Ford thought this was a good idea is beyond me. Now to find the appropriate tools (a sledgehammer may be amongst them) and fix the frozen screen...Nothing like trying to do this on a frickin freezing day!

 

[MikeCallery]

I would have gone the battery route. It is not going to damage anything except likely dropping a few of your Sirius channels and definitely cuts power. Fuse #29 is the one but I would also be concerned about any residual feeds.

 

[tazcubed]

I would have gone the battery route. It is not going to damage anything except likely dropping a few of your Sirius channels and definitely cuts power. Fuse #29 is the one but I would also be concerned about any residual feeds.

Apparently the screen freeze is known and a fix is in for SYNC. I've got an update being applied Wednesday to see if it sorts it out.

 

[dco43054]

So is it still frozen? And if so, is it black, or is there an image on it?

I've given up on pulling the fuse. I'm not going to contort myself up under the dash again. The only difference is that when you disconnect the ground cable some of the other vehicle run data may be reset in the engine management system, etc. But this is no different that if you have a battery replaced, so I don't get why people are mortified to do it.

The negative cable disconnects easily with one bolt - I think it's 10 or 12MM

 

[tazcubed]

So is it still frozen? And if so, is it black, or is there an image on it?

I've given up on pulling the fuse. I'm not going to contort myself up under the dash again. The only difference is that when you disconnect the ground cable some of the other vehicle run data may be reset in the engine management system, etc. But this is no different that if you have a battery replaced, so I don't get why people are mortified to do it.

The negative cable disconnects easily with one bolt - I think it's 10 or 12MM

It's not black, but frozen on the main screen - obvious since the time never changes and touch function is incapacitated. If this occurs again, I'd rather put a switch under dash off the power lines into the system in order to do the reset - makes more sense to me (and simpler/easier in the long run).

My gut tells me that while pulling the battery cable will work, that if there's a static charge left somewhere it may lead to electronics damage. I had a 2008 BMW 5 series that fried it's electronics a couple of times over and would hate to have a bill come back to me on this one now (that one to me was a design/engineering issue).

Ford's DUMB decision is to put a panel covering the interior fuse box (seems to be new of 2013s) and not simply make it a toolless cover - there's at least a couple of hex screws to deal with.

 

[dco43054]

It's not black, but frozen on the main screen - obvious since the time never changes and touch function is incapacitated. If this occurs again, I'd rather put a switch under dash off the power lines into the system in order to do the reset - makes more sense to me (and simpler/easier in the long run).

My gut tells me that while pulling the battery cable will work, that if there's a static charge left somewhere it may lead to electronics damage. I had a 2008 BMW 5 series that fried it's electronics a couple of times over and would hate to have a bill come back to me on this one now (that one to me was a design/engineering issue).
.

Static charge? I don't see how disconnecting the battery cable would impact that, but whatever. I've disconnected mine a half dozen times to get MFT to reset. And again - if you have to replace a battery, do some work on the car, whatever - you'll be needing to disconnect the battery.

I had a similar frozen screen one of the times that MFT screwed up. Mine fixed itself after disconnecting the power, waiting a minute, then reconnecting.

 

[FordIVTteam]

It's not black, but frozen on the main screen - obvious since the time never changes and touch function is incapacitated. If this occurs again, I'd rather put a switch under dash off the power lines into the system in order to do the reset - makes more sense to me (and simpler/easier in the long run)....

Hi, tazcubed!

If it's still frozen, I suggest either a reboot (using the reboot app) or a visit to your dealer. If you choose to do a reboot and it fixes the issue, perform a Master Reset to your MyFord Touch. A reset will clear all SYNC related settings (phone pairing, phonebook, navigation). Please let me know if you have any questions!

Rebecca

 

[phareous]

I've had weird things happening so I decided to try the fuse pull too.. I could see the box (with the numbers on the front) but there is a panel that goes under the steering wheel...two bolts I had to use a socket set on. And then I couldn't manage to wiggle the panel out. Even if I did, it appears the fuse box is turned to the side (so it is not even facing the front), with yet another cover on it. It appears Ford does not want you to touch the fuse box. I just ended up pulling the battery cable

 

[tazcubed]

I've had weird things happening so I decided to try the fuse pull too.. I could see the box (with the numbers on the front) but there is a panel that goes under the steering wheel...two bolts I had to use a socket set on. And then I couldn't manage to wiggle the panel out. Even if I did, it appears the fuse box is turned to the side (so it is not even facing the front), with yet another cover on it. It appears Ford does not want you to touch the fuse box. I just ended up pulling the battery cable

Not having access to the fuse box is fine if and only if Ford is willing to absorb all costs associated to getting any burnt out fuse replaced at a dealership free of charge to the vehicle owner - for life. This includes any potential towing charges to get the vehicle to the nearest dealership. This is really a confounding design that shouldn't have passed into production without fixing it.

 

[dco43054]

I've had weird things happening so I decided to try the fuse pull too.. I could see the box (with the numbers on the front) but there is a panel that goes under the steering wheel...two bolts I had to use a socket set on. And then I couldn't manage to wiggle the panel out. Even if I did, it appears the fuse box is turned to the side (so it is not even facing the front), with yet another cover on it. It appears Ford does not want you to touch the fuse box. I just ended up pulling the battery cable

Not sure which panel you were trying to remove, but the fuse panel that has #29 in it is mounted flat to the outer fenderwell, 90 degrees to the footwell. The fuses face inside. They are accessible if you contort yourself into the footwell.

After laying on my back in the footwell once, I decided never to do it again, unless I really needed to replace a fuse.

 

[tazcubed]

Not sure which panel you were trying to remove, but the fuse panel that has #29 in it is mounted flat to the outer fenderwell, 90 degrees to the footwell. The fuses face inside. They are accessible if you contort yourself into the footwell.

After laying on my back in the footwell once, I decided never to do it again, unless I really needed to replace a fuse.

On the '13s Ford added a "kicker" panel that covers over the fuse panel straight across the original opening and requires a socket set to remove. No idea why they've done this, but it just adds to the problem of getting to an already difficult access point for fuses.

 

[jrmexplorer]

On the '13s Ford added a "kicker" panel that covers over the fuse panel straight across the original opening and requires a socket set to remove. No idea why they've done this, but it just adds to the problem of getting to an already difficult access point for fuses.

yup - they actually added those in the 2012 model year.

 

[dco43054]

yup - they actually added those in the 2012 model year.

Ford's better idea?

The panel did deserve a cover. Not sure why a bolt was required.

 

[BobbyMarks]

Disconnect the battery with the main headlights on, 1/2 hour.

Bobby

 

[rstepanek]

New to this forum, albeit I own two Explorers. Although I appreciate the various suggestions above, does anyone from Ford ever weigh in on what will really fix these issues or do they leave it to us to hopefully find the magic trick and share it with one another?

 

[peterk9]

New to this forum, albeit I own two Explorers. Although I appreciate the various suggestions above, does anyone from Ford ever weigh in on what will really fix these issues or do they leave it to us to hopefully find the magic trick and share it with one another?

Welcome to the Forum rstepanek.:wavey:
The answer to both your questions is YES.

Peter

 

[FordIVTteam]

New to this forum, albeit I own two Explorers. Although I appreciate the various suggestions above, does anyone from Ford ever weigh in on what will really fix these issues or do they leave it to us to hopefully find the magic trick and share it with one another?

Welcome, rstepanek!

Are you having any issues with your SYNC system, or have any specific questions that I can answer for you? I handle SYNC, MyFord Touch, and navigation concerns; Crystal (FordService) handles everything else. Don't hesitate to ask us questions.

Rebecca

 

[pgreen822]

MFT screen is black

Hi everyone!

I have a 2011 Ford Explorer Limited. My MFT screen went black yesterday. Although I am still under 36K miles, I am TWO WEEKS past the expiration of the standard warranty. I looked in the fuse box and the #29 fuse slot was empty. Do you know if this is something that a dealership would still cover? Is there any type of grace period? If not, what is the easy way to reboot the system for a non-technical guy? Thanks!