"Engine Fail Safe Mode" On 2004 EB

My 2004 EB has gone into "Engine Fail Safe Mode" a couple of dozen times since I've purchased it. According to the dealership, Ford engineers are aware of the "problem" and are working on it.

Has anyone else had this problem? I'd like to know why it's happening. The vehicle doesn't seem to be in any distress whatsoever. All of the gauges are fine. The engine just decides to go half-power for no apparent reason. It ONLY happens when I'm maneuvering the vehicle in/out of parking spaces or my garage. It never happens when driving down the streets or expressways.

A couple of times, the "Service Engine Soon" indicator also lit. It, according to the dealership, pointed to the EGR system. They replaced both the valve and filter and still the vehicle goes into fail safe.

Reply to
John J. Lewis
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Just picked up a new 2004 EB at the beginning of February. It had less than

300 miles on it when I went to drive home from work one day and I got all sorts of warning lights on the dash and a failure on the message display as soon as I started it up. I hadn't even put it into drive. Kind of odd since there was no problem with the vehicle when I drove to work in the morning.

When going through the System Check on the message center, I had a "Data Error" indication from the brake fluid level monitor. The manual indicates that a "Data Error" would be caused by a sensor failure. All the other system checks gave an OK status. I figured it was just a bad float switch since the reservoir was full of brake fluid so I decided it would be okay to drive. I also had the antilock ABS light on, the parking brake light on, the tire pressure light on, the 4WD HI light would blink on and off at irregular intervals as would the "Service Engine Soon" light. Other oddities were that it wouldn't go into 4WD Hi or Low and the automatic door locks wouldn't lock when starting out as they usually did. I checked all the systems manually and couldn't find anything else that would be giving me all those lights so I figured I'd get it back to the dealer the next day. I got about a mile from work and it went into "Engine Failsafe Mode". I managed to drive it home although the transmission didn't want to shift properly.

The dealer was very apologetic for the problem especially since the vehicle was so new. They diagnosed the problem to be the ABS electronic control unit. It took about five days to get the problem fixed because they said there were none of those units available in the tri-state area. They said the unit came up as "backordered" when they put it into the parts computer. They also said that it might be because Ford was releasing an updated ECU and until they were released, there wouldn't be any available.

I've since gotten the vehicle back and have been driving it for two weeks now and haven't had any further problems. Hopefully this isn't an omen of things to come. The service manager couldn't explain why I had some of the lights and messages that I did but he did say that all of these sensors work in conjunction with the ECU. Sounds like you might have either a bad wheel sensor, since it happens when maneuvering in or out of a tight space, or an intermittent computer. Why such a problem would have anything to do with putting the engine into failsafe mode (both yours and mine) is beyond me. Unfortunately, everything in these vehicles today is so completely dependant upon sensors and computerized control systems that when they go bad or get flaky, they affect even the most unrelated systems (i.e. automatic door locks).

Don R.

Reply to
Don R.

Thanks for the response Don.

I learned just today from the dealer that these ECUs are indeed brand new from Ford. Ford was aware of the problem and this should fix the problem. Unfortunately since they were backordered they won't be able to install mine until Tuesday.

I hope all of this is in fact the ECU. If not, I will insist that Ford minimally exchange this truck.

On another note... Does your fan (for automatic heat) kick into high and stay there? Even on days above 32 degrees, with my set point temperature of 76 degrees, the blower fan will kick into high and pretty much stay there no matter how long I drive the vehicle. It's like being next to Niagra Falls. The fan never shuts off or goes to the lower less noisy speeds.

What happens is that eventually the air starts going from hot, to lukewarm, to downright cool. All the while, the fan stays in high. What is your experience? Does your fan eventually make it to the quieter/lower speeds?

John

Reply to
John J. Lewis

John,

My fan seems to work as it should. When I start the truck on a cold day and AUTO is selected on the temperature controls, the fan is off. When the engine starts to produce heat the fan speeds up and gets faster as the engine heat builds. When the cabin gets to the preset temperature the fan slows down to the lowest setting and is so quiet I can't even tell that it's running.

The only odd thing that I noticed is that if I go from a manually selected function to AUTO the AC light comes on even if it's cold outside. I don't know if the AC compressor is actually running or not since I'm getting heat but the indicator light is on. Maybe that's normal, I don't know. I didn't see anything in the manual about it. Maybe I'll have to re-read that section. Anyway, I just turn it off and it stays off.

Sounds like you also have something amiss with your automatic heating controls. I don't know if the temperature controls have their own ECU or not but I would hope that it isn't tied into the truck's main computer. Oh, well, at least the lemon laws are better than they used to be. Hope you get things corrected without too much hassle.

Don R.

Reply to
Don R.

Thanks. Yet another thing for me to fight with the dealership about.

This, from my reading of the manual, is by design. AC doesn't really mean the AC compressor is running. It means that outside air is being circulated inside the vehicle. There isn't much in the manual about this but it does mention this when you look for the description of the AC button.

Interestingly, when I turn AC off, it notice no difference. (It turns off automatically when the outside temperature goes below 29 degrees Fahrenheit.)

Thanks.

John

Reply to
John J. Lewis

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