Snow mode rear end "sway"

[Edward Sundquist]

I just purchased a 2011 with 99k miles, brand new all terrain tires and am experiencing the same issue.
Stryker described it exactly as I would. Happens regardless what mode the vehicle is in. I'll be following to see if anyone finds a solution.

 

[peterk9]

I just purchased a 2011 with 99k miles, brand new all terrain tires and am experiencing the same issue.
Stryker described it exactly as I would. Happens regardless what mode the vehicle is in. I'll be following to see if anyone finds a solution.

Welcome to the Forum.
Dedicated Winter tires are the best and safest tires for driving this time of year although your issue may be beyond the added traction they provide as others still had the issue.

Peter

 

[Stryker1DD]

I’m going to politely say. It’s not the tires. Sure snow tires provide better grip. We all know that. Listen to everyone’s description, it’s not the tires. It’s not when braking or accelerating necessarily, just driving on icy roads going straight it feels like the rear end is being dragged causing it to slide side to side. I jacked up the rear end and the brakes aren’t causing any access resistance.

My feelings about intelligent 4WD,.... it’s a great idea and I understand it, but when I put a vehicle in 4WD. I want 4WD. Why wouldn’t there be a selection to choose 4WD? Really disappointing 4WD.

 

[Edward Sundquist]

I’m going to politely say. It’s not the tires. Sure snow tires provide better grip. We all know that. Listen to everyone’s description, it’s not the tires. It’s not when braking or accelerating necessarily, just driving on icy roads going straight it feels like the rear end is being dragged causing it to slide side to side. I jacked up the rear end and the brakes aren’t causing any access resistance.

My feelings about intelligent 4WD,.... it’s a great idea and I understand it, but when I put a vehicle in 4WD. I want 4WD. Why wouldn’t there be a selection to choose 4WD? Really disappointing 4WD.

I’m going to politely say. It’s not the tires. Sure snow tires provide better grip. We all know that. Listen to everyone’s description, it’s not the tires. It’s not when braking or accelerating necessarily, just driving on icy roads going straight it feels like the rear end is being dragged causing it to slide side to side. I jacked up the rear end and the brakes aren’t causing any access resistance.

My feelings about intelligent 4WD,.... it’s a great idea and I understand it, but when I put a vehicle in 4WD. I want 4WD. Why wouldn’t there be a selection to choose 4WD? Really disappointing 4WD.

I did pull off one tire in front last night at 9pm and all suspension components seemed to be tight. As did ball joints and wheel bearing. I pulled a rear tire off as well, and in my 3.5 minutes of trouble shooting, I did notice some slight drag from the brake caliper. So that will be my first thing to assess.

One could probably take a heat gun and check temps after driving down highway for a while and see if there is a difference from wheel to wheel.

If it's an issue in the axle/differential itself, that's beyond my scope of "expertise".

I will keep posting my findings here, as I hope others do as well.

 

[blwnsmoke]

My feelings about intelligent 4WD,.... it’s a great idea and I understand it, but when I put a vehicle in 4WD. I want 4WD. Why wouldn’t there be a selection to choose 4WD? Really disappointing 4WD.

Because it isn't 4wd, it is all wheel drive.

 

[peterk9]

I’m going to politely say. It’s not the tires. Sure snow tires provide better grip. We all know that. Listen to everyone’s description, it’s not the tires. It’s not when braking or accelerating necessarily, just driving on icy roads going straight it feels like the rear end is being dragged causing it to slide side to side. I jacked up the rear end and the brakes aren’t causing any access resistance.

My feelings about intelligent 4WD,.... it’s a great idea and I understand it, but when I put a vehicle in 4WD. I want 4WD. Why wouldn’t there be a selection to choose 4WD? Really disappointing 4WD.

I mentioned in my post that this issue is likely beyond a tire issue according to what others have posted. And as blwnsmoke said, the Explorer is AWD, not 4WD. I believe Snow and Sand modes will get you as close as possible to providing power to all wheels. I don't know why a handful of members here are experiencing this issue but I hope a resolution is found.

Peter

 

[Nick Hess]

Hey Guys I joined this site because my 2016 Explorer Sport has been a nightmare, I am experiencing the same thing it doesn't matter what mode you are in, the back end wants to float around when hitting snow patches in the road. I had the rear toe link recall done, the car has 30,000 miles on it we just had brand new good year weather ready tires installed and it still does it. We also had a 4 a wheel alignment done and it came back handling the same way. So we brought it in a second time for the tech to fix and he confirmed everything was in the green on his machine has anyone found a fix for this?? The car has all new brakes and rotors there is nothing hanging up....

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum Nick.
As per my post above, no resolution has been found yet. I attribute that to the fact that the cause hasn't been discovered.

Peter

 

[Stryker1DD]

My vehicle has an appointment on the 16th with the selling dealer, I may have the alignment checked earlier if I can. That’ll give me a second opinion as well.

I’ll post any information when I get it.

 

[03WIExplorerLtd]

Air pressure ?

 

[peterk9]

Tire or barometric?

Peter

 

[Edward Sundquist]

So the wife took it in for oil change today at my friends shop. He shot the hubs with a heat gun and the rear passenger was 15 degrees hotter than the driver rear. (rotors showed no temp difference, which indicates it's not a caliper hanging up) Also put the vehicle in drive while on the lift and 3 wheels spun freely, except driver rear. Even after pressing on gas pedal, passenger rear barely turned.

Now I don't know if the AWD system had something to do with which wheels spun, but both symptoms lead me to believe it might be a wheel bearing going bad, without showing the typical signs. Either that or something in the rear diff. I will start with the wheel bearing, which will be going to the shop to be replaced after hearing horror stories about them having to be torched out. Ain't nobody got time for that!

I will update after W.B. changeout. Hopefully with a solution.

P.S. forgot to mention that prior to this, I pulled calipers off and made sure they were not seized up.

 

[Edward Sundquist]

So the wife took it in for oil change today at my friends shop. He shot the hubs with a heat gun and the rear passenger was 15 degrees hotter than the driver rear. (rotors showed no temp difference, which indicates it's not a caliper hanging up) Also put the vehicle in drive while on the lift and 3 wheels spun freely, except driver rear. Even after pressing on gas pedal, passenger rear barely turned.

Now I don't know if the AWD system had something to do with which wheels spun, but both symptoms lead me to believe it might be a wheel bearing going bad, without showing the typical signs. Either that or something in the rear diff. I will start with the wheel bearing, which will be going to the shop to be replaced after hearing horror stories about them having to be torched out. Ain't nobody got time for that!

I will update after W.B. changeout. Hopefully with a solution.

P.S. forgot to mention that prior to this, I pulled calipers off and made sure they were not seized up.

UPDATE:
So I didn't end up taking it to a shop to have wheel bearing replaced, but boy do I wish I had. To say it didn't go well is an understatement.
Long story short, I ended up taking the whole spindle, which houses the wheel bearing out, because I couldn't get the bearing to come out of the hub. I will have to bring that to a mechanic tomorrow and see if they can get it out.
Nick Hess, let me know what you find out tomorrow with yours if you get it back before I get this thing put back together. Good luck

 

[MrPlat]

This may be a long shot, but it sounds like maybe software not working properly. Does this only happen while accelerating? Does it happen when coasting? If it happens while coasting in neutral it is mechanical.

Has anyone tried disabling any of the "smart" features like lane keep assistance, trailer sway, etc? I haven't experienced this yet, but the weather is just starting to turn bad here, and I'm hoping I won't have to deal with it.

 

[Stryker1DD]

This may be a long shot, but it sounds like maybe software not working properly. Does this only happen while accelerating? Does it happen when coasting? If it happens while coasting in neutral it is mechanical.

Has anyone tried disabling any of the "smart" features like lane keep assistance, trailer sway, etc? I haven't experienced this yet, but the weather is just starting to turn bad here, and I'm hoping I won't have to deal with it.

It happens with my explorer while maintaining speed (on icy conditions). I don’t have lane assist, I did try disabling traction control, but was so focused on keeping it on the interstate that I didn’t notice and re-enabled traction control.
We are also suffering a family emergency and haven’t been able to look into the issue.

 

[Stryker1DD]

Went to a tire shop and had an alignment check done. Front end was slightly out on one side, rear was ok. Got it aligned. Also checked rotor temps with a heat gun and all are cool and releasing properly. Next week it’ll be back at the dealership for them to inspect.

 

[Edward Sundquist]

UPDATE!!!
So took it for a ride after wheel bearing install and noticed the problem was WAY worse and the steering wheel was off, so it was time for an alignment.
Just got it back and he said the rear end was off on both sides. I don't want to get too excited, but on the drive home, it handled the fresh snow without a hitch. No sway whatsoever, and the roads I drove on were a perfect test.
Time will tell if this corrected the problem, but as of now, I am very satisfied and relieved. Just wish I would've started with the alignment!

 

[03WIExplorerLtd]

Mine was sloppy after the recall, and the dealer only hand tightened the link. It was way out of alignment, and had that feeling of being on rails. Since my mechanic fixed, seems to be good.

 

[Edward Sundquist]

Final update:

Since having the vehicle in for 4 wheel alignment, the issue has not happened again. Very confident this was the root of the problem. Hope everyone experiences the same results I did.

 

[Stryker1DD]

Over two weeks ago we took our explorer back to the dealer to look into this sway Issue and a random clunk when braking. Needless to say the service department didn’t find anything wrong. Their work included visual inspection of components and torquing potential hardware. Nothing was found to be loose or worn. To make a long story short. We traded it in for a new 2020 explorer.

I suspect the issue may be created by the trailer sway control or vehicle stability control features. I may be wrong, but it’s my understanding the trailer sway control applies light brake applications when it notices sway. These light applications when on ice could have been causing the rear end to loose traction. My suggestion is if you notice the rear end sway try disabling the trailer sway control.