A long time lurker and reader of content on this site. In fact I used some info here when looking at details to purchase the truck I am posting about. I had a 93 ranger I bought new and loved for many years of use that I ended up giving to a buddy of mine who drove that thing into the ground with about 300k miles on it.... Anyway I am at wits end with with my truck and really do hate having this be my 1st post but it seems I have little other options..

I have a 2015 super 2.7 I bought new in early 2016 today with only around 11k miles on it and encountered random issues where the vehicle would not start or stall and throw random errors for my wife on occasion. It was kinda funny at first since it never happened to me and we had this running joke that the truck just didn't like her as it always started for me no problem. Then eventually it started happening to me as well. At first I assumed it was a dead battery as it had sat for a bit as my wife refused to use it as she didn't feel comfortable. So I charged the battery and could not still get it started. I called for roadside to tow it to the dealer, after the battery tested fine for me. On one last attempt I managed to get it started by disconnecting the battery, locking the doors using the physical key and not the lock buttons on the fob and sure enough it started. So I ended up driving it carefully to the dealer, who claimed they could not find anything, so they did a computer reset and an oil change as it was due this was at around 4550 miles anyway. I have the paperwork from this visit but it only mentions the oil change and nothing about the computer reset....

Fast forward to about 8 months ago and sure enough we have the same issue and still only at about 10500 miles. Again at first I thought it was a dead battery again as we do not use the truck that much and I did the same as last time. Except this time the vehicle won't start for me no matter what I tried. So I call the dealer and scheduled them to tow it in.

The symptoms are that the vehicle won't start and the warning lights all go haywire, randomly cycling through tons of errors or that it stalls right after shifting to drive and the light madness happens. Still on a whim, before they can come pick it up I managed to start it just by turning the key and again drive it into the dealership to avoid a tow. This time they keep the vehicle for about 18 days at this new dealer, (we moved) and they end up replacing starter relay and some other items. The paperwork only shows they had the vehicle for about 13 days. Since then this year the issue has happened 2 more times with two failed attempts at the same dealer. The last time this last weekend, the dealer said they did a reset of the computer and the vehicle was fine. So I go to pick it up yesterday and manage to only drive away about 20 feet out of the dealer lot and it stalls dead in the middle of a busy intersection at rush hour.

The only way to get it back to the dealer is to start it repeatedly, while it stalls with the dash is doing its Christmas light show and I barely managed to get it back into the dealership and rush in to talk to the service folks before they close. They say they are running diagnostics and that the service technician is driving it to try to see what happens and if he encounters the issue he can easily have it towed.

It is now sitting with the dealer and I am really not happy with Ford or this truck. Part of my issue is that because the dealers who did diagnostics or repair did not seem to fully document the details for each visit, So I don't have a complete record from when this issue first came up and since it was intermittent and seemed to go away after the first time I didn't think about it and go back and get something from them in writing.right away.

Clearly at this point I am way outside of the 2 year window for a lemon law buyback even though I have hardly any miles on it.

Does anyone have any advice or getting Ford to step up and do the right thing here? I just don't feel safe driving my family around in this thing. Thanks for any help you can provide.

A disable vet at wits end....

 

These electronically controlled vehicles WILL NOT tolerate an intermittent battery problem. Try a KNOWN good battery out of another vehicle or go buy a new battery. Many of the new batteries are intermittent right from the store so you might have to try a second new one. Once you're certain that it's not a battery problem, go check the battery cables closely, I've seen battery acid eat the copper out of the inside of the cable.

Since Johnson Controls bought out most of the other US battery manufacturers, I've seen no end of battery problems! FYI the brand name on the battery means NOTHING.

After JC took over, I had 5 battery failures in less than two year. At least two of them failed the same day that I bought them. ALL of the batteries from Advanced Discount Auto Parts failed. I bought batteries from them from the time that the opened their first store in Roanoke but I'll never buy another one from them! In fact everything in their store is now junk after their merger with Advanced Auto Parts IMO. The last batteries that I bought were (IIRC) Everlast brand from Walmart. They had the lowest price in my area and the best warranty. So far they're held up reasonably well.

 

Thanks very much for the reply. The dealer did test the battery and said it was good. In fact that is where I started assuming it was a dead or bad battery issue. At one point they actually put in a new one to rule it out and tested unfortunately with the same result. The cables, connectors and terminals themselves look pretty clean and close to new oddly enough.

 

IMO you need to look up some of the codes that are being generated and see if they come from the ECM or BCM and then start closely checking all of the connectors between that module and the battery (and also back to ground). You need to get an electrical service manual if you don't have one. If it's throwing a lot of codes then it seems likely that the module is bad or it's not getting constant power. If the codes are coming from more than one module then it has to be a power or ground problem (unless both modules are bad). You could probe the power and the module (or fuse box, or relay box) and start shaking the wiring and see if that causes it to lose power. You need to check the return (aka ground) side as well. It's likely to be a long and tedious process. I wouldn't recommend just throwing parts at it (the stealership's approach). If you do you'll spend a lot of money and may still not fix the problem.

There have been more than a few threads on here where people found rotted wiring below the doors and other places. Also some found corroded circuit boards under the dash. But your truck is new enough that I wouldn't immediately suspect that. But it's a common problem in older trucks that have leaking windshields.

When your truck died without warning, what did you have to do to get it started again? Did you have to jumper it or charge or or did that electrical system just start working again? I've seen both happen with bad batteries. sometimes they just seem to have a temporary open connection, other times they're just suddenly dead.

I'm still betting that you have an intermittently bad battery. As I said; replace it and then you'll know. A new battery costs less than the "diagnostic fee" that the stealership will charge just to read out the diagnostic codes.

PS one more thing regarding bad electrical connections; I've seen way too many dealership mechanics break the connectors! They never take the time to unplug them properly they just yank them apart and break the locking tabs. Usually that means that the connector will start making intermittent contact and/or moisture will get into it and corrode the contacts and a few months later the connection starts going bad. It's one of the big reasons that I RARELY allow anyone else to work on my vehicles or any other kind of equipment that I own. In the USAF we called those "induced failures" and they almost always outnumber actual hardware failures.

 

If I were a betting kinda guy, I'd bet you're going to end up with a new wiring harness. If the ECM doesn't receive a proper signal, it has no clue that you are trying to start it so it does nothing. But just for fun, I'd check under the dash and look for dirt or dried mud. Hopefully you don't have a flood truck.

 

Thank you both for the replies. The truck definitely has been not in any sort of mud or flood. It has been pretty well cared for and lightly used. Luckily at this point the costs for diagnostics and attempts to repair are still being covered under warranty since I paid for the extended one but after so many failed attempts to fix I am just losing faith they will actually ever fix it.

At this point the dealer has been able to duplicate the issue and has the the truck and I was told they have a call into ford technical support. I also contacting ford directly and got a call back from the regional customer service manager who was downright rude in my opinion. She even said her job is to "enforce the rules" whatever that means. I assumed customer service meant actually helping me navigate this mess of a truck I have. That call finally ended with her saying she has no record of the dealer contacting Ford support but that is probably since it takes a while to get into the system. She said she would call the dealer and follow-up with me next week and that this could take some time.

When I get the truck back I will try the battery option if things don't actually get resolved. I have tried making some suggestions to the dealer service folks and they are generally not interested in anything I have to say so I will just have to wait.

 

Boy, so frustrating! You are due a new battery regardless, I would replace it for sure. I always replace mine when 3 to 4 years old. They cost less than the hassle of getting stranded.

Hope they get it fixed for you.