My Explorer Overheated

[blwnsmoke]

Same here, I'm nervous and my build date was 5/25. I always have my left cluster display the temp gauge just in case.

Ditto, temp gauge always on display. No ac issues or fan squeal but just waiting for the dredded day. Having an 11 month old, it concerns me more about being stranded then if it wasjust me.

Im all set with putting a car seat in a tow truck.

 

[FordService]

City, is there any response from Ford on the date ranges? There has been more then one person who has been built after the 3/14 date who has overheated and posted on here & FB.

I'm nervous as well being my build date was 3/25.

No, there aren’t any official releases about that date. I can understand being nervous about this, which is why I made sure you’ll be called soon to discuss this further.

Cory

 

[jrmexplorer]

Ditto, temp gauge always on display. No ac issues or fan squeal but just waiting for the dredded day. Having an 11 month old, it concerns me more about being stranded then if it wasjust me.

Im all set with putting a car seat in a tow truck.

I've had a loud high pitch squeal after shutoff, but the pitch remains constant until it eventually just stops abruptly. Happened twice last month and hasn't happened since. Not sure if this is related or not. However, I have had it idling in hot weather with a/c on high and temp gauge stayed at normal.

 

[donm527]

well the TSB mentions noise while winding down so i would take that as being luckier than the others that just went straight to overheat and take it to the dealer to have them swap the assembly. btw, what is the build date on your X? good luck

"Some 2011 Explorer, MKT, Flex, Taurus, and MKS vehicles equipped with dual engine cooling fans and built between 9/1/2010 and 3/14/2011 may exhibit a noise as the cooling fans wind down to a stop, lack of air conditioner performance while the vehicle is stationary or moving at slow speeds, and/or an overheat condition. "

I've had a loud high pitch squeal after shutoff, but the pitch remains constant until it eventually just stops abruptly. Happened twice last month and hasn't happened since. Not sure if this is related or not. However, I have had it idling in hot weather with a/c on high and temp gauge stayed at normal.

 

[Adam14]

For those who have had the service department repair the cooling fan.....how long did it take (assuming parts were already on hand)? I made an appointment but I'm told that I can't get a loaner since I don't have an extended warranty. I still need to get around and I thought they'd get me a loaner since I'm still under warranty (only 3k miles).

 

[jeff59rt1]

Took one month to get new fans, started making noise at 300 miles. Should only take an hour to replace which means one day drop off to replace unit. Dealer didn't want to even touch mft... Have had no luck with it so far..

 

[Adam14]

Took one month to get new fans, started making noise at 300 miles. Should only take an hour to replace which means one day drop off to replace unit. Dealer didn't want to even touch mft... Have had no luck with it so far..

Hopefully they'll have everything in stock. Thanks for the info. My MFT has been working much better since the latest update. I wonder why they don't want to mess with your MFT? I'd try a different dealer.

 

[jnimon]

Hopefully they'll have everything in stock. Thanks for the info. My MFT has been working much better since the latest update. I wonder why they don't want to mess with your MFT? I'd try a different dealer.

2 hrs total to have the cooling fan assembly replaced. But I wouldn't count on them having in stock. My service dept. ordered from Michigan and i was told it was on backorder. I was scheduled to leave on a trip the following day & the service dept. made some calls to local dealers and was able to find a cooling fan assembly locally and replaced it that afternoon. Just lucky I guess.

 

[Adam14]

2 hrs total to have the cooling fan assembly replaced. But I wouldn't count on them having in stock. My service dept. ordered from Michigan and i was told it was on backorder. I was scheduled to leave on a trip the following day & the service dept. made some calls to local dealers and was able to find a cooling fan assembly locally and replaced it that afternoon. Just lucky I guess.

That's what I'm worried about. If I have to wait for an extended period of time, without a loaner, I'm going to be very upset. I know things break on vehicles and all, but I've had it a month and it only has 3000 miles on it. After paying $40k for a new vehicle, I expected reliability to be the last thing to worry about...especially so soon. I thought I'd purchased the best vehicle I've ever owned but now I'm wondering if it was one of the biggest mistakes I've ever made.

 

[Cesar Castelo]

2011 XLT Overheated at 1532 miles

My XLT has 1532 miles when it stalled and overheated in SF where the weather was very comfortable at 65 degrees outside. It was on a Saturday afternoon where I was taking an out of town guest for a visit in the city. It was towed to a Ford dealership in the evening. Monday AM, Ford told me it will be fixed by next day. By Thursday, I was told the parts won't be in until the following Tuesday. I insisted for a loaner since I have been out of car for 5 days and another 5 days without one will be too much of an inconvenience. I also called Customer Service and complained about the reliability issue of this vehicle. I was granted a loaner but limted to the most basic car. I opted for an upgrade but had to pay extra $ for it. After 10 days, I finally got my XLT back after they replaced the fan and radiator. Now I am worried. I should have kept my 2008 C300 Mercedes which I traded in.

 

[jrmexplorer]

well the TSB mentions noise while winding down so i would take that as being luckier than the others that just went straight to overheat and take it to the dealer to have them swap the assembly. btw, what is the build date on your X? good luck

"Some 2011 Explorer, MKT, Flex, Taurus, and MKS vehicles equipped with dual engine cooling fans and built between 9/1/2010 and 3/14/2011 may exhibit a noise as the cooling fans wind down to a stop, lack of air conditioner performance while the vehicle is stationary or moving at slow speeds, and/or an overheat condition. "

Thanks for the suggestion. I went to my garage last night and ran the car with A/C set to max for over 20 minutes. Temp needle stayed exactly on normal the whole time (once the engine warmed up). I opened the hood and used a flashlight to verify that both cooling fans were indeed spinning.

I did hear the whining noise I was previously referring to (but much softer in volume) and traced it to the HID headlights.

My build date was 5/13 (I took delivery on 5/25). Much later than the TSB - If mine overheats it will certainly be likely that the fan has a flawed design rather than a bad batch.

 

[jrmexplorer]

My XLT has 1532 miles when it stalled and overheated in SF where the weather was very comfortable at 65 degrees outside. It was on a Saturday afternoon where I was taking an out of town guest for a visit in the city. It was towed to a Ford dealership in the evening. Monday AM, Ford told me it will be fixed by next day. By Thursday, I was told the parts won't be in until the following Tuesday. I insisted for a loaner since I have been out of car for 5 days and another 5 days without one will be too much of an inconvenience. I also called Customer Service and complained about the reliability issue of this vehicle. I was granted a loaner but limted to the most basic car. I opted for an upgrade but had to pay extra $ for it. After 10 days, I finally got my XLT back after they replaced the fan and radiator. Now I am worried. I should have kept my 2008 C300 Mercedes which I traded in.

Assuming this is just a manufacturing defect as Ford says, it shouldn't concern you all that much. If you read earlier posts in this thread, the car has protections that limit the damage done in an overheat situation. I would not be happy for sure, but I wouldn't stress out too much. I would however always keep the left instrument cluster set to display the temp gauge and I would watch it like a hawk.

If replacement fans start failing or fans well outside of the TSB - (like mine) - then watch out - that could be a design defect which is much more serious.

 

[donm527]

Yeah, Hopefully May builds are all sorted out as far as that one. I'm hoping bad batch but I'm a little outside the date range with an April build so hoping I made it.

Yeah I wonder if it could be design. I havent checked Edge sites to see if they were overheating cause the TSB did include them. I did notice that front area that radiator is really in there and everything is crammed so tight, i wonder if the fan is just burning up in the Explorers and not in the other cars.

But just keeping my display with temp gauge and see how it goes. Almost at 4k so will be putting in full synthetic for a little more protection and that's all I can do.

Thanks for the suggestion. I went to my garage last night and ran the car with A/C set to max for over 20 minutes. Temp needle stayed exactly on normal the whole time (once the engine warmed up). I opened the hood and used a flashlight to verify that both cooling fans were indeed spinning.

I did hear the whining noise I was previously referring to (but much softer in volume) and traced it to the HID headlights.

My build date was 5/13 (I took delivery on 5/25). Much later than the TSB - If mine overheats it will certainly be likely that the fan has a flawed design rather than a bad batch.

 

[RandyH2]

For those who have had the service department repair the cooling fan.....how long did it take (assuming parts were already on hand)? I made an appointment but I'm told that I can't get a loaner since I don't have an extended warranty. I still need to get around and I thought they'd get me a loaner since I'm still under warranty (only 3k miles).

The TSB quotes 0.6 hours for diagnoses and replacement. If the shop has the part and you can time the appointment (wouldn't that be nice! "Come in at 2:00 and we'll have it done for you by 3:00." = DREAM), you could be in and out pretty quickly.

 

[Adam14]

I just dropped her off at the service department so they can diagnose the problem ( going out on a limb here, but I bet it's the cooling fans). But now I'm curious, since it only has 3k miles on it and I assume it's had faulty cooling fans for as long as I've had it, does anyone know if the performance will be any different when it's fixed? I'm not expecting anything crazy but I think I read somewhere that the engine shuts down certain functions to compensate for overheating, or something like that. Not overheating and cool air out of the A/C will be excellent improvements. Does anyone mechanically inclined know about this? Thanks

 

[yblackford]

No A/C when it's H-O-T equals AWFUL!

I'm experiencing a similar situation with my explorer. I've had it two months now and just over the last week, the motor has started making a weird, higher-pitch noise (like a model airplane sound). At the same time, the A/C stops blowing cool air when I'm stopped - whether idle or just not moving. This has made my evening commute (when it's really hot outside) just awful!

I tried taking it to my local dealership this morning, but they had a lot of appointments and couldn't get to it today. When I mentioned that other owners were experiencing this same type of situation, the service guy totally dismissed it. I now have an appointment to bring the car in later this week, but obviously, this is going to be a battle with them; I'm not sure if it's because I'm a woman or because they are just inept.

Does anyone know of a technical bulletin or anything official that I can reference when I drop the car off? THANKS!!!

 

[Adam14]

I'm experiencing a similar situation with my explorer. I've had it two months now and just over the last week, the motor has started making a weird, higher-pitch noise (like a model airplane sound). At the same time, the A/C stops blowing cool air when I'm stopped - whether idle or just not moving. This has made my evening commute (when it's really hot outside) just awful!

I tried taking it to my local dealership this morning, but they had a lot of appointments and couldn't get to it today. When I mentioned that other owners were experiencing this same type of situation, the service guy totally dismissed it. I now have an appointment to bring the car in later this week, but obviously, this is going to be a battle with them; I'm not sure if it's because I'm a woman or because they are just inept.

Does anyone know of a technical bulletin or anything official that I can reference when I drop the car off? THANKS!!!

Post #31 from earlier in this thread has the tech. bulletin.

 

[jrmexplorer]

I'm experiencing a similar situation with my explorer. I've had it two months now and just over the last week, the motor has started making a weird, higher-pitch noise (like a model airplane sound). At the same time, the A/C stops blowing cool air when I'm stopped - whether idle or just not moving. This has made my evening commute (when it's really hot outside) just awful!

I tried taking it to my local dealership this morning, but they had a lot of appointments and couldn't get to it today. When I mentioned that other owners were experiencing this same type of situation, the service guy totally dismissed it. I now have an appointment to bring the car in later this week, but obviously, this is going to be a battle with them; I'm not sure if it's because I'm a woman or because they are just inept.

Does anyone know of a technical bulletin or anything official that I can reference when I drop the car off? THANKS!!!

Go to another dealership if you think your local dealership is not going to treat you right.

However, I would NOT drive this car, I would demand a loaner vehicle and drive that until fixed.

 

[yblackford]

thank you! I missed that the first time around!

 

[Adam14]

The TSB quotes 0.6 hours for diagnoses and replacement. If the shop has the part and you can time the appointment (wouldn't that be nice! "Come in at 2:00 and we'll have it done for you by 3:00." = DREAM), you could be in and out pretty quickly.

Just got a call back from the service department. They said that there was a TSB and they got it replaced and cannot duplicate any overheating at this time. So we'll see. I dropped it off around noon and they called me back at about 3:15 with this info. If everything works fine, I'll consider myself very lucky and I know where I'll have service performed in the future!