Wrench light 2011 Explorer

[MarkM]

Anyone outside of 2011-12 having this issue? All but 1 case reported in this thread were 2011s. Also, any TSBs or SSMs out for this?

 

[explorernoles]

Powertrain or 4WD fault?

Anyone had their "wrench" light appear on their dash? What all did it entail? I have a 2012 Limited and twice in the last two months while driving, the light appeared and the car felt like it was in neutral and nothing would happen while hitting the gas pedal. Both times I had to pull over, shut the car off and it would be fine once restarted, but obviously need to take it it since this appears to be an occurring issue.

 

[peterk9]

Using the Forum's 'Search' program I found this thread and merged yours with it. It sounds like it could be a throttle body issue as many other have experienced.

Peter

 

[a98ws6]

On a side note guys, this is NOT just a Ford issue. I actually read this first post and immediately I had a red flag go off in my head. Sounded EXACTLY like a issue I had with my 2004 GMC Sierra. If you Google search this issue under GM trucks, you will know what I mean. Did it to me a bunch of times in my Sierra and I was ready to buy a new throttle body but I cleaned and sprayed w/WD40 the TB where the blade meets the housing. Apparently, if the blade gets caught up either from being misaligned or from soot build up from higher miles( mine had 140k) the TPS sensor would throw a code and I couldn't drive the car EXACTLY like your all's issues. Some people just replace the TB, and I was going to but cleaning mine seemed to make the issue go away. My TB even with high miles was not really very dirty at all but it was worth a shot and it seemed to have solved my issues. Might give it a shot. Just a FYI....

 

[Krcarr30]

2012 Explorer Limited - same exact issues limp mode

My story is somewhat similar, although I had the car only 12 hours from buying it preowned with 45,000 miles on it. Same exact thing, wrench light came on going 70mph, then it went into fail safe/limp mode, luckily I got off the next exit. Sat there for a few , turned off the car for a few minutes, then started up fine , wrench light went off, and drive it right to the dealership! They had it for 3 days and also could NOT replicate any error codes. Service advisor said he would send case to Ford. Doesn't sound promising. I sent him a threat of this forum along with a ton of other details, back up data, and evidence of this issue. So scared now.

 

[calcam]

My wife was driving the day after we got our 2013 Explorer back from having the steering gear replaced and the dreaded wrench warning light came on and the car sputtered and she had to pull over on a busy road. Luckily when she restarted everything was fine...until it happened in the way home from work. When in the shop for the steering gear (3 weeks!!) the dealer mentioned I needed a new battery (after 2.5 years??). Could this be causing the problem? If so, I'll just change it out myself, otherwise I need to have it towed to the dealer..ugh. We just got it back

 

[peterk9]

My wife was driving the day after we got our 2013 Explorer back from having the steering gear replaced and the dreaded wrench warning light came on and the car sputtered and she had to pull over on a busy road. Luckily when she restarted everything was fine...until it happened in the way home from work. When in the shop for the steering gear (3 weeks!!) the dealer mentioned I needed a new battery (after 2.5 years??). Could this be causing the problem? If so, I'll just change it out myself, otherwise I need to have it towed to the dealer..ugh. We just got it back

My battery in the 2011 was changed after about 1.5 years. It was replaced under the factory warranty. Not sure if a battery would cause the wrench light to come on especially when the engine is running.

Peter

 

[pnuticus]

Sorry to bump an old thread, but we're also experiencing this now on a 2013 XLT 3.5v6. Started Friday (the 13th ugh), wife restarted and was able to drive without any issues. Drove it all weekend without any problems. Monday morning she has the same thing happen.
Using an ELM 327 adapter and the Torque Pro app, I did capture some pending faults Friday evening, but no fault codes were recorded.
C0135 - Chassis
P3533 - Powertrain
P3835 - Powertrain

Looks like I'll be driving it the rest of the week to get a video of the issue before I take it in.

 

[pjw73nh]

Well, I've got an earlier post in this thread that details my issue with the Orange Wrench Light From Hell.

I still have no answer to the question I posed so I'll try again. I am hoping someone will chime in with a definitive answer.

Here is what I "THINK" I know about the drive by wire system. I apologize in advance as I don't have my service manuals handy.

1. There is a transducer of some sort at or near the accelerator pedal to convert physical position into an electronic signal that the PCM/ECM can interpret.

2. There is an actuator (and possibly a position sensor built-in) at the throttle body, that A. Actuates the throttle commensurate with the accelerator pedal) and also senses the position and feeds this info back to the PCM/ECM.

3. The Orange Wrench Light From Hell (and associated limp mode) appears when the ECM/PCM senses some kind of discrepancy in the positioning/data from these 2 or 3 components.

4. Many folks in this thread have reported that by changing the throttle body out their issue (the OWLFH) has been resolved.


My question is: If I DO end up needing a throttle body to resolve the OWLFH, can I just get the TPS. It seems logical that the TPS is what gives the PCM the positioning data. Isn't the body itself just the hardware/casing that the TPS attaches to?

Or is it the MAF INSIDE the throttle body, and is THAT sending the info the computer relies on before it flashes the wrench and goes into limp mode.

Thanks in advance.

 

[pnuticus]

FYI, my issue was resolved by replacing the throttle body. Hope this helps others.

 

[Tim51]

I have a 2011 Explorer limited with 23500 miles about 2 weeks ago it started with a wrench light coming on over the tach. When it comes on you loose all throttle (no gas pedal at all NOTHING) when you hit OK for the wrench the tach comes back on and it is tach at 1000 rpm you give it the gas nothing. It will continue to roll until you put your foot on the break to stop it and if you release the break it will start rolling again. If you put it in neutral still no throttle control and still tacking at 1000 rpm. Shut it off and restart everything go back to normal. This has happen 3 day in a row, brought it to dealer they had it 1 week drove it 300 miles and it did not occur again. (Can't see can't fix) But the third time it happened I took a video which they have a copy of. But even with the video they still can't fix it because the COMPUTER did not give a code for turning the WRENCH ON.

I told the dealer that at Ford someone knows why the light came on. something turned the light on and disconnected the throttle code or no code.

After I got it back it happened again with my wife an now she has a video of it and I have told Dealer that I have it on video again. We are now weighting to see what the service manager is going to do next.

Has anyone else had a problem like this? I could not find anything on the site.

I have the exact issue with my 2012 Explorer. Happened twice. Did you ever determine what the problem was?

 

[peterk9]

I have the exact issue with my 2012 Explorer. Happened twice. Did you ever determine what the problem was?

Welcome to the Forum Tim.
I'm guessing you won't get an answer from Bob71. He was last seen here 6 years ago. Maybe someone else will have an idea.

Peter

 

[Odrapnew]

I have the exact issue with my 2012 Explorer. Happened twice. Did you ever determine what the problem was?

Like Peter said, the OP hasn't been on for a long time, however, I did see he got it resolved with a new throttle body.

Check out post 11.

If this works, should bring you right to his resolution.

Wrench light 2011 Explorer

I have a 2011 Explorer limited with 23500 miles about 2 weeks ago it started with a wrench light coming on over the tach. When it comes on you loose all throttle (no gas pedal at all NOTHING) when you hit OK for the wrench the tach comes back on and it is tach at 1000 rpm you give it the gas...

www.explorerforum.com

 

[Tim51]

Like Peter said, the OP hasn't been on for a long time, however, I did see he got it resolved with a new throttle body.

Check out post 11.

If this works, should bring you right to his resolution.

Wrench light 2011 Explorer

I have a 2011 Explorer limited with 23500 miles about 2 weeks ago it started with a wrench light coming on over the tach. When it comes on you loose all throttle (no gas pedal at all NOTHING) when you hit OK for the wrench the tach comes back on and it is tach at 1000 rpm you give it the gas...

www.explorerforum.com

 

[Tim51]

Today, I got lucky. I bought a diagnostic code reader that I kept in my Explorer. This morning, pulling out of the driveway, I had yet another AWD Off with a wrench icon light up the dash. The Explorer went into Limp mode. I turned the engine off but kept the ignition turned to accessory. I plugged in the reader and got the Code P2111 which is "Throttle Actuator Control Stuck Open." As always, I restarted the Explorer up again and it ran just fine. I drove one mile, turned off the engine and tried the code reader again. No surpirise here ... no code was displayed.

In short, I hope this helps anyone who has experienced the same dilemma. Hopefully, this will
lead to correcting the problem.