Quick question for those of you with newer f150s. On my 12 fx4 I was driving in the snow today and turned the advace Trac off. Quite frankly I can't stand it and I believe its dangerous only when actually slick outside, but I know some love it so its beside the point. The point is I noticed that even when I turn traction control off and hold the button until advance Trac is off, I still hear the abs grinding under the hood. It will certainly let you spin the tires and does not cut power, but you can hear that abs going nuts.

When I got home tonight I repeated the scenario but had some fun in the driveway turn around. I engaged my rear locker and disabled every traction system and I still hear that abs grind in the very beginning when the wheels start spinning. I couldn't tell but I don't think it does it in 4wd.

The question being, do your trucks do this as well? Can you hear that abs module grind even when advance Trac is disabled and even so when your rear locker is engaged?

Thanks for any insight. I'm hoping its normal as I love this truck but hate hate hate our ford service departments.

 

Not sure if it's normal or not, but my '12 FX4 Eco does the exact same thing in the same situations as you described.

I am trying to find answers as well, because I don't think the brakes should be doing anything when the Advance trac is turned off. Mine will spin freely with Advance Trac off, but when I engage the rear locker it starts to limit it somehow again.

 

I havent checked if my truck does this but it could be BTCS (brake traction control). Depending on Fords strategy for the F150 maybe they are just disabling ETCS (engine traction control).

 

mine does the same thing. I hate it. Even when you turn everything off, there is still something that is trying to keep you from having any fun.
If I spin the tires to much even with everything off, it will still try not to go sideways. no fun at all.

 

I agree with the OP that it does seem dangerous especially when its cutting power and your trying to get moving to avoid other cars. As far as his question I'm not sure if my truck does this, I will have to try turning off TCS. I know it was definitely a new experience driving my new truck compared to my old 05 in the snow. From the way I take it even if you turn off TCS it still will kick in at certain speeds and all the other safety systems aren't totally disabled. As far as the elocker engaged my buddy even said his truck with TCS off didnt really seem like it was completely off, so he turns TCS off and leaves the elocker disengaged to mess around in the snow.

 

I have a 2011 F-150 Scab 5.0L 4x4 XLT and just spent the last hour stressing that my trucks advancetrac system was screwed until I found this forum. My truck does the exact same thing. Even with advacncetrac disabled (held button for 8 sec and light blinks) my ABS system is very active when breaking the rear end loose in some snow. Is there any way to fully fully disable the computer intervention?

Thanks.

 

So solar07 it sounds like the ABS intervention is completely normal.

 

... of course its only kicking in because you don't have traction
So if it didn't kick in you will just spin your tires.

And for those that skipped Physics 101 - static friction is always higher than dynamic friction. So tires that are not spinning have more grip and will accelerate faster.

You can pull the fuse for ABS/TCS. But there are probably liability issues with that if you are on a public road.

 

I have the same experience as you. Grinding even with traction control off.

 

So, you can't drive on a public road with an old vehicle that has neither?

 

It is about impossible to disable it all without pulling the fuse. It turns itself back on over 35 mph and still interferes as it is programmed to...

 

I believe as of 2011 every vehicle sold in the US was required to have ESC by government regulations. So I believe the answer to your questions is yes there could be liability issues if you were to get into an accident on public roads with the fuse pulled.

 

I'm not a lawyer
but I think there is a difference between driving an old vehicle without a safety system and disabling the safety system in a new vehicle.

case in point - if you drive a classic car that does not have seatbelts (due to its age) they won't ticket you (I think... maybe the laws have changed now?)
But if you drive a new vehicle and don't use your seatbelt they will ticket you.

Even if its not illegal, the civil courts could eat you alive.

 

Okay, I have this post on another forum but I think I should repost this here because I'm experiencing the same over-active Traction Control /Advancetrac problem:

When driving on any slick surface, when acclerating from a stop there is a popping noise coming from the front drivers side brake area, like the ABS/Traction control is coming on. To show this I put the truck a little bit into a snowbank and cycled thru from 2wd, 4x4H, 4x4L, but it happens when driving everytime when accelerating from a stop on any loose or icy surface.



http://s669.photobucket.com/user/bb4...ideo2.mp4.html



As shown in the video it happens when in 2wd, 4x4H, and 4x4L. When the truck is in 4x4L, ABS/Advance Trac/Traction Control is automatically disabled, yet the popping sound is still happening, so I know the problem is related to that system.



I've already brought the truck into the dealership twice. The first time I explained the popping noise as well as a seperate grinding noice that is coming from the transmission when I engage the 4x4 while driving (this seperate noise comes sometimes with a clunk when it engages into 4x4 - the faster I'm going when I engage 4x4 the louder the grinding sound is). I was clear with the front counter person that two seperate issuse are happening. The dealership kept the truck for a few days (they also had to replace a the heater motor because it was squealing and the steering rack with an E series rack as the original rack failed). They replaced the rack and heater motor and called me to tell me that both the popping sound in the drivers front brake area and grinding noise are related and fixed by replacing the actuator/IWE hub, they test drove it and everything was good. Ok!



So I pick the truck up, the heater motor didn't squeal and the rack felt perfect! But the front brake area popping noise and 4x4 grinding when engaged at any kind of speed was exactly the same. So I arrange for a road test with the shop foreman. Right away he noticed both noises were different and not related. So he said he'd look into it with the Ford Hotline as its not clear to him whats going on.



He called me back saying the 4x4 vacuum test was good but it needed a new solenoid. He also said the key I gave him was not a master administrator key and that I was actually running with a Mykey program which limits some things with the truck. He said he can't do any diagnostic tests on the ABS without reprograming the truck and to do this he needed a master administrator key. (I bought the truck from a non-Ford dealer in late Dec/2013 off a 1 year lease and I was only given the one key) So I bought a master administrator key and gave permission to reprogram the truck. He called back and said after reprograming the truck everything is good, he road tested it and no noises and it's ready to go.



So I picked up the truck last Saturday and drove around, when I engage the 4x4 it's doesn't quite have the grinding sound but it's quieter and has a more ratchety sound and less of a clunk. Maybe this is how it's supposed to be? Two other guys at work have 2011 and 2013 F150's and they have no grinding or clunk noises of any kind when they engage 4x4.



Now as for the drivers brake area popping sound it still is there, but it was reduced a lot, but what I noticed was now I have no Traction Control at all. I tested it out on some ice in a parking lot - I can do donuts and on the highway if I give it gas hard to merge with traffic the truck fishtails. The traction control light comes on as it always has, but the engine does not reduce power or apply the brakes to prevent sliding. The popping gets worse as I increase the throttle. I tried to pull my 8'x6' wood ice fishing shack off the lake in 4x4 low, as it was trying to tow the popping noise got worse under load. For comparison my ice shack is nothing to pull, my 400cc ATV does it no problem.



I'm waiting to get my truck back into the dealership as I type this - and let me be clear, I'm not dissing the dealership, they are doing everything they can to fix the truck, but all these problems seem to be simply poor quality by Ford which is not any dealerships fault.



Does anyone else have this issue with Advance Trac/Traction control kicking in while trying to accelerate? Reducing the safety systems to the point where they don't work doesn't seem like a proper fix. Or the grinding when engaging 4x4 while moving?



Thanks and sorry for the extra long read.

 

bb400guy,

Let me take a look. PM me your name, phone number, VIN, mileage, and dealer info. I'll see how I can help.

Ashley