Multiple Faults, "See manual", (VIDEO)

[FLiPk614]

Hello all. This is my first post in the forum, just joined. It's a shame to be here bringing up issues already. In my wife's 2016 Explorer Sport, 49k miles. We bought this used from a dealership a month ago. All was great on the test drive, we purchased and drove it home. A couple weeks later, "Service Advancetrac, Hill Descent Control Fault, BlindSpot System Fault, Cross Traffic System Fault, Parking Aid, See Manual" warning lights all at the same time, bells and all. On a couple occasions the entire instrument cluster will reboot, speedometer goes to zero, radio turns off, climate control turns off, all while driving, engine and acceleration not affected. Everything comes back on after a few seconds. The first time it was just the warnings so i pulled off to the side, killed the motor, open door, restarted, all lights went away, and away we go. The second time, Instrument panel loses power but engine still not affected. Stop at a stop sign, kill the engine, start back up, and everything is good. A few days of no issues. Wife is driving and she reports that the dash is on and off all the way into town on the interstate, "about 12 times on and off" she says. Today, we drove into town, no issues. Stopped to go into the supermarket, came out drove to the bank, and while I'm stopped at the ATM, all the warning lights and bells going off again, then the dash goes out, comes back on, stop and start the car again, and all goes away, driving home no issues. There is no rhyme or reason. No pattern to it at all. I cant get it to do it, it just does it whenever it wants to. Checked the fuses and relays to make sure they are seated all the way. Wiggled connections under the driver side dash to see if i could locate any loose connectors. Everything looks good and tight. I'm scratching my head on this, hoping we are not going to regret getting this vehicle.

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum.
I wonder if that issue is why the previous owner got rid of it? Did you get a warranty with the purchase? I would bring it back and have the dealer check it out. Although there are threads here on Service Advancetrac, Hill Descent Control Fault, Cross Traffic System faults, they do not mention losing the instrument panel. That has been a separate issue. I wonder if this could be related to a bad ground somewhere? It may not be a bad idea to have the battery tested. A weak or bad battery can cause all kinds of issues on these vehicles.

Peter

 

[Adrian Gitch]

I'm with Peter on checking out the battery/ground. I had a couple instances with mine doing crazy sh&t with the dash etc... Then it wouldn't even turn over and my wife was stranded. Ended up replacing the battery, even though it had tested good at the parts store before. Never had a problem since replacing the battery.

 

[FLiPk614]

Thank you Peter and Adrian for both of your quick responses. I was thinking the same thing about being the reason they traded the car in. An older couple seems to have owned the car before us. We denied the extended aftermarket warranty unfortunately, been burned on them on 3 prior vehicles from them not covering what they said they were supposed to/not honoring the warranty at service centers. Last night I read every post in the 18 pages of Terrain Management Faults posted over the last several years. That a lot of vehicles that have had similar issues. I couldn't believe that are so many could-be solutions to the same problem. I have seen reprogramming ABS module, steering angle position sensor, wheel speed sensors, battery, instrument panel swap, steering rack, throttle body swap, just to name a few. Total shot in the dark. I was thinking losing a ground somewhere too, and battery, from other searches from this issue. I read somewhere that ford doesn't include a big enough battery in this vehicle with all of the bells and whistles it has. Thanks, that is a good place to start. This is our first high tech vehicle. Previously owned 02 F150, 03 Taurus SEL, 07 F150 Sport, and 2012 Chevy Equinox. I read about the procedures of swapping the battery, having to relearn idle and shift points, and the proper processes to get the vehicle back to running efficient. Is this something I need to follow exactly?

On another note, we drove it 50 miles round trip today, I made sure that I push button first to turn all aux power on, wait till all lights cleared on the dash, and then foot on brake to start and drive. We didn't have the TMS faults pop up on us at all today or have the dash lose power. Smooth sailing.