Starting problem with 2010 Explorer

[Mike02z]

Hello,
My 2010 Explorer has been great, no issues whatsoever. My mother also purchased a 2010 Explorer and she has had issues with starting hers. When she stops it to run an errand and tries to start the Ex the dash lights come on but the Ex won't start. No cranking or anything just dead. When you depress the brake after it won't start you can hear a clicking sound coming from under the gear selector. Every time you press the pedal you hear it "click". If you wait 15-30 minutes the car starts fine.

We took it to the dealer and they said if it is not happening now they can't find the issue. Now my mother is afraid to drive it because she is afraid of getting stuck somehwere. Her Ex. has only 6k miles on it and I can't believe the dealer refuses to even look at it. I suspect it is some type of lockout feature and that the computer thinks the car is in gear and so it won't allow it to start. Any other suggestions on what this might be?
Regards,
-Mike

 

[aaronajb1981]

Im going to take a wild guess here and say for some reason the neutral safety switch isnt fully engaged. What this does is makes sure the vehicle in either in neutral or park for it to start. The clicking you are hearing is the shifter interlock. its a electro-mechanical switch that when you depress the brake it sends a signal to the switch. The switch is retracting its plunger and that is the clicking you are hearing. On 2006 explorers this item was recalled or had a TSB on it.

On a side note, if she does happen to get stuck. Have her removed the rubber part in the bottom of the cup holder. Under it will be a little square hole. with a small screw driver (longer skinny) press down. this is a manual over ride for the switch, have her move the shifter back and forth (put it in neutral and start it from there).

On a side note if it continues and the dealer will not do anythign about it have her contact ford directly. Describe the problem, how many times she has brought it in and once ford pounds on their door then they will be willing to work. I had to do this once and let me tell you then they wantd to work with me.

 

[waskly]

Hello,
My 2010 Explorer has been great, no issues whatsoever. My mother also purchased a 2010 Explorer and she has had issues with starting hers. When she stops it to run an errand and tries to start the Ex the dash lights come on but the Ex won't start. No cranking or anything just dead. When you depress the brake after it won't start you can hear a clicking sound coming from under the gear selector. Every time you press the pedal you hear it "click". If you wait 15-30 minutes the car starts fine.

We took it to the dealer and they said if it is not happening now they can't find the issue. Now my mother is afraid to drive it because she is afraid of getting stuck somehwere. Her Ex. has only 6k miles on it and I can't believe the dealer refuses to even look at it. I suspect it is some type of lockout feature and that the computer thinks the car is in gear and so it won't allow it to start. Any other suggestions on what this might be?
Regards,
-Mike

the clicking you are hearing is probably normal, its the lock that prevents shifting the gears with out the foot on brake.

the other problem is call ford, or just bring it to the selling dealer and dont take it back till its fixed. get a loaner! or request it too.

 

[Mike02z]

Thanks guys! I did call Ford yesterday and they just got back to me. They are going to have the dealer put a DDR on my Mom's car to track down the issue. They explained that this DDR is like a black box recorder found in planes. It will capture all electrical data and *should* be able to determine why her car won't start at times. I'll report back once I have more information.

The funny/sad part about this is that the main reason my mom traded her last car in was due to multiple electrical system issues that could not be corrected. While my mom is not happy to be having apparent electrical issues again she is happy at least Ford is trying to help resolve the issue for her.

 

[aaronajb1981]

What most dont know is this is part of the vehicle already. it logs speeds, accident data.... they just have to dl the data.

 

[waskly]

What most dont know is this is part of the vehicle already. it logs speeds, accident data.... they just have to dl the data.

no its not.

its called a vdr costs about 2k and it is installed by a service tech into the vehicle at the dlc connector. prior to installation it has to be set up what you would like the vrd to record.

as far as i know, no black box exists currently in a ford, like they do in a bwm, which is in the key not in the car.