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Throttle Body Service or Failure


Maavalous1

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Hi sixponies,

 

I understand this is frustrating. Our engineers take your safety and vehicle quality very seriously. I'm going to connect you with your regional customer service manager, who'll work with you and your dealer to come to a solution. Please send me a PM with your full name, phone number, VIN, current mileage, and preferred servicing dealership.

 

Todd

 

 

Todd,

 

PM sent.

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I'm also having this same issue. I have a 2011 Edge AWD with about 37,000 miles. My wife will be driving and it loses all power. So far she's been able to make it to the side of the road and the awd off message appears followed by the wrench light. I took it to the dealer and they found no problems or trouble codes. I was told the light had to be on in order to determine what the problem was. The problem with that is the vehicle has to be turned off and restarted to run again and that resets the light.

 

My daughter just got her driving permit and this becomes a safety issue for us.

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Sorry, I forgot to post an update earlier. About two weeks ago, I bought a new TB on eBay for ~$120 and replaced it myself (my warranty's expired). Prior to buying and changing the TB, I wanted to make sure that this would fix the problem, so I talked to a good friend of mine who had this happen last year (goes by "Dingo" on this forum). I wanted to know if the problem returned after the TB swap. DIngo said that this fault hasn't returned on his Edge since having the TB changed. That gave me some reassurance that this was the right repair for this problem.

 

It's very easy to do. Just remove the intake hose, disconnect the wiring plug from the TB,and then the TB comes off after removing four bolts. The whole process should take at most an hour, so I'm not sure why it costs upwards of $700 at the dealership. For me it took a little longer because I also installed a K&N Cold Air Intake the same time. But by replacing the TB myself, I saved a ton of money, and had the fun and satisfaction of turning the wrenches and fixing it myself. Right after I swapped the TB, my wife took the Edge on a 1200 mile round trip journey to Alabama and didn't have any problems.

 

But here's what I don't understand, and maybe the Ford Service folks can explain for us: It seems (at least from what people discuss on this forum) that that there are several wide-spread problems with various systems/parts on the Edge and that they're present in both first and second generation models. I'm talking about this throttle body problem, the recurring problem with the Vista roof not closing or closing slowly, and the door ajar sensor issue. At what point does Ford finally own up to the fact that these parts were faulty designs to begin with or faulty parts/systems or whatever and recall/replace them at no cost to the customer, no matter what the individual mileage may be on a given Edge? I'm sure there are many more people dealing with these issues than just what we've seen on this forum. I'd like to see some statistic from Ford Service on these three issues regarding how many parts have been replaced and/or service has been performed for these three prominent problems.

 

To not own up to major problems like these doesn't speak too well to Ford's "Quality is Job 1" mantra, and could drive loyal Ford customers towards other brands...

 

 

 

 

 

Hi sixponies,

 

I understand this is frustrating. Our engineers take your safety and vehicle quality very seriously. I'm going to connect you with your regional customer service manager, who'll work with you and your dealer to come to a solution. Please send me a PM with your full name, phone number, VIN, current mileage, and preferred servicing dealership.

 

Todd

 

I just spoke with a woman named Heather via phone. She gathered some info regarding my concerns, but essentially said that because

my Edge is out of warranty, I'm on my own re: repair costs. I feel that Ford should take steps to own up to and correct these problems that

are present in many Edges over several model years. These are repairs that would be very expensive for me. One door adjar sensor has

already failed, and now I'm dealing with another one? That's unacceptable! This is a defective part that Ford should repair no cost to the customer.

Same with the Vista Roof issues. Do some research on the Edge Forum,& you'll find that many, many owners are having these problems.

 

I tend to look at these things from a business standpoint. It really doesn't matter whether a problem is known or not or widespread or not - it's still a manufacturing defect and subject to the warranty terms. If you want protection beyond the factory warranty you have to purchase it.

 

OTOH I think it's good customer service to extend the warranty on parts with a higher than average failure rate. Ford seems to be walking the line here, doing it sometimes and not others. The difference is I don't really fault them for not extending the warranty.

 

The TB/Loss of Power issue is a serious safety issue, and potentially very dangerous. I myself experienced the sudden loss of power while traveling at highway speeds on a busy freeway in Chattanooga, TN. Luckily, I was able to get over to the shoulder to turn off/restart the car. But I could've been in a very serious accident, causing harm to me and my family. Does Ford feel that the possible litigation costs and potential injury/loss of life, and subsequent loss of consumer confidence and sales are cheaper than what it would cost them to issue a recall for the TB and replace it at no cost to the customer.

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I hear a lot of people say how dangerous these things are (not just this one but lots of other issues) but I have yet to actually hear of anyone having an accident due to this type of failure. Cars lose power or blow a tire or run out of gas every day. I just think the actual risk is minimal. It's scary as hell and damned inconvenient but I just don't see it as a serious safety issue unless you're forced to keep driving it with this potential problem for more than a couple of weeks. Then the risk would definitely go up with repeat occurences.

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Either Ford hasn't figured out why these problems (door latch, TB, fuel tank) are happening, or they think the chances of anything major resulting are minimal. At this point, it can't possibly be a lack of awareness of the existence of these problems. For example, there is a TSB for the door ajar issue, even tho it may not be a permanent fix. TSBs should be issued for these other common problems too. Are they even in the works?

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With all due respect to our moderator... and not trying to be hostile at all. I am a man just wanting to make sure that the right thing is done. Note, also, that I am a loyal Ford customer who believes in the future of the company enough to own stock.

 

The fact that cars lose power or blow tires every day is certainly true. I doubt seriously that anyone would quietly accept as "just fate" those occurrences being from KNOWN issues. Remember that Firestone almost went out of business not once but twice for ignoring such "common occurrences" with their tires? Can you say "GM ignition switch"?

 

The point of this is that there is a potentially dangerous fault with the 3.5L throttle body that literally everyone is aware of and yet Ford is ignoring it. Turning people away because "it doesn't throw a code" when they get to the dealer. Knowing exactly what the symptoms point to and that it doesn't throw a code unless the event is currently happening. This is simply negligence on Ford's part.

 

I started this thread because a Ford dealer mechanic told me this was a known problem. So much so that TB parts were 3-6 months backordered in 2013.

I have been unable to find any other info regarding any other vehicle with chronic TB problems... not even a Chrysler :O) Not saying I have perfect knowledge, but I did a LOT of searching and asked a LOT of mechanics. All I could find is that, sooner or later, they all get dirty and fuel mileage crashes and things run badly... but not dying on the road bad at just 30K miles.

 

Just to wrap this up...

Do you have children? Where I live, losing power at rush hour would result in a wreck at the very least... and deaths are all too common on our crowded roads. Can you imagine, for a moment, you have a teenage daughter driving your Edge, full of her friends, home from an away football game very late on Friday night? Or that same daughter desperately injured in an accident in your home and being rushed to the hospital?

We depend, way too much in my opinion, on our cars to be ready at any moment. Yes, bad people do sloppy or no maintenance and they have no one but themselves to blame for a car failing on them. I'll give you that Six Sigma is a goal seldom reached and would still result in some small number of such failures... humans are not perfect so nothing they build will be.

 

Someone who is following all the sane and normal procedures to have a safe and reliable car, including informing Ford, should NOT be left stranded on the side of the road by a widely known flaw. Just doesn't make sense. Someone has or will die because of this. Because it hasn't made the news in our town, doesn't mean it hasn't already happened.

 

Just some thoughts to consider...

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I have a 19 year old daughter who drives 30 miles to college every weekday. If this happened to her and it wasn't covered under warranty I would replace it myself for $200 and 15 minutes of my time. I don't rely on warranties or recalls to fix something that I think is a safety issue.

 

If it's that important then how could you wait for Ford to do something? Fix it yourself.

 

I understand not doing a recall on a part that may only be failing 10% or 20% of the time and doesn't pose a direct safety risk. If it was that risky the NHTSA would have forced a recall.

 

I understand if you guys feel differently.

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With all due respect to our moderator... and not trying to be hostile at all. I am a man just wanting to make sure that the right thing is done. Note, also, that I am a loyal Ford customer who believes in the future of the company enough to own stock.

 

The fact that cars lose power or blow tires every day is certainly true. I doubt seriously that anyone would quietly accept as "just fate" those occurrences being from KNOWN issues. Remember that Firestone almost went out of business not once but twice for ignoring such "common occurrences" with their tires? Can you say "GM ignition switch"?

 

The point of this is that there is a potentially dangerous fault with the 3.5L throttle body that literally everyone is aware of and yet Ford is ignoring it. Turning people away because "it doesn't throw a code" when they get to the dealer. Knowing exactly what the symptoms point to and that it doesn't throw a code unless the event is currently happening. This is simply negligence on Ford's part.

 

I started this thread because a Ford dealer mechanic told me this was a known problem. So much so that TB parts were 3-6 months backordered in 2013.

I have been unable to find any other info regarding any other vehicle with chronic TB problems... not even a Chrysler :O) Not saying I have perfect knowledge, but I did a LOT of searching and asked a LOT of mechanics. All I could find is that, sooner or later, they all get dirty and fuel mileage crashes and things run badly... but not dying on the road bad at just 30K miles.

 

Just to wrap this up...

Do you have children? Where I live, losing power at rush hour would result in a wreck at the very least... and deaths are all too common on our crowded roads. Can you imagine, for a moment, you have a teenage daughter driving your Edge, full of her friends, home from an away football game very late on Friday night? Or that same daughter desperately injured in an accident in your home and being rushed to the hospital?

We depend, way too much in my opinion, on our cars to be ready at any moment. Yes, bad people do sloppy or no maintenance and they have no one but themselves to blame for a car failing on them. I'll give you that Six Sigma is a goal seldom reached and would still result in some small number of such failures... humans are not perfect so nothing they build will be.

 

Someone who is following all the sane and normal procedures to have a safe and reliable car, including informing Ford, should NOT be left stranded on the side of the road by a widely known flaw. Just doesn't make sense. Someone has or will die because of this. Because it hasn't made the news in our town, doesn't mean it hasn't already happened.

 

Just some thoughts to consider...

 

This is exactly my point. Having experienced this myself on a busy freeway, I can tell you that it is indeed a serious safety issue. When the TB chokes out and the power drops, it happens very suddenly, without warning, causing the vehicle to rapidly drop from whatever speed at which you're traveling to little more than 10-15mph very rapidly. Also, then engine can't be revved much beyond 1000rpm when this happens. So, along with this sudden loss/lack of engine power, you also have a major reduction in power-assisted steering and braking. When is the last time any of you drove a 4K+ lb vehicle on a crowded freeway, at 15mph, with virtually no power steering/braking? That's what happened to me, and I was in the middle lane of a three-lane freeway, and I can tell you that it wasn't easy, and getting over to the shoulder with cars whipping past/around me at 70+ mph was challenging to say the least.

 

The real conundrum with this issue is that it does throw a CEL light/code, but it's reset/dumped (albeit temporarily) as soon as one turns off/on the vehicle. So if you do this and then take it in for service, the tech can't troubleshoot it without a code. So what are Edge drivers supposed to do when it happens? Call a tow truck and get towed to the nearest Ford dealer for repairs while the code/light is still present? In my particular case, I was leaving Chattanooga and returning over 500 miles home to Central IL I guess I should've called a tow truck, and had it fixed at the local dealer, where it would've cost me upwards of $700 just for repairs, right?. That doesn't include the lodging costs for me to stay in Chattanooga while awaiting repairs, nor the extra lost work time.

 

 

I have a 19 year old daughter who drives 30 miles to college every weekday. If this happened to her and it wasn't covered under warranty I would replace it myself for $200 and 15 minutes of my time. I don't rely on warranties or recalls to fix something that I think is a safety issue.

 

If it's that important then how could you wait for Ford to do something? Fix it yourself.

 

I understand not doing a recall on a part that may only be failing 10% or 20% of the time and doesn't pose a direct safety risk. If it was that risky the NHTSA would have forced a recall.

 

I understand if you guys feel differently.

 

So what's it take for Ford and/or the NHTSA to seem this a major safety issue worthy of a recall? How many injuries, or worse yet, fatalities have to occur before they step up to the plate? You can't say that this doesn't pose a direct safety risk if you've experienced it like I have, as stated several times in this thread. The risk to drivers and passengers in an Edge with this problem is very real, and is also a risk to others on the road around them if the Edge craps out on the highway with this fault. Not only that, but this problem has been around for at least three years--there have been 2011, 2012, and 2013 Edge owners who have experienced it. Ford should've identified the problem and came up with a solution in 2011 so it wouldn't continue to surface in subsequent model years. Same with the "door adjar" sensor issue. This doesn't speak well at all for "Quality is Job 1".

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This is exactly my point. Having experienced this myself on a busy freeway, I can tell you that it is indeed a serious safety issue. When the TB chokes out and the power drops, it happens very suddenly, without warning, causing the vehicle to rapidly drop from whatever speed at which you're traveling to little more than 10-15mph very rapidly. Also, then engine can't be revved much beyond 1000rpm when this happens. So, along with this sudden loss/lack of engine power, you also have a major reduction in power-assisted steering and braking. When is the last time any of you drove a 4K+ lb vehicle on a crowded freeway, at 15mph, with virtually no power steering/braking? That's what happened to me, and I was in the middle lane of a three-lane freeway, and I can tell you that it wasn't easy, and getting over to the shoulder with cars whipping past/around me at 70+ mph was challenging to say the least.

 

The real conundrum with this issue is that it does throw a CEL light/code, but it's reset/dumped (albeit temporarily) as soon as one turns off/on the vehicle. So if you do this and then take it in for service, the tech can't troubleshoot it without a code. So what are Edge drivers supposed to do when it happens? Call a tow truck and get towed to the nearest Ford dealer for repairs while the code/light is still present? In my particular case, I was leaving Chattanooga and returning over 500 miles home to Central IL I guess I should've called a tow truck, and had it fixed at the local dealer, where it would've cost me upwards of $700 just for repairs, right?. That doesn't include the lodging costs for me to stay in Chattanooga while awaiting repairs, nor the extra lost work time.

 

 

 

So what's it take for Ford and/or the NHTSA to seem this a major safety issue worthy of a recall? How many injuries, or worse yet, fatalities have to occur before they step up to the plate? You can't say that this doesn't pose a direct safety risk if you've experienced it like I have, as stated several times in this thread. The risk to drivers and passengers in an Edge with this problem is very real, and is also a risk to others on the road around them if the Edge craps out on the highway with this fault. Not only that, but this problem has been around for at least three years--there have been 2011, 2012, and 2013 Edge owners who have experienced it. Ford should've identified the problem and came up with a solution in 2011 so it wouldn't continue to surface in subsequent model years. Same with the "door adjar" sensor issue. This doesn't speak well at all for "Quality is Job 1".

 

I'm not defending Ford's lack of quality or the apparent lack of replacement parts. I just don't agree that it's enough of a safety issue that Ford should recall hundreds of thousands of vehicles to replace hundreds of thousands of perfectly good throttle bodies. Don't forget that part of the solution is reprogramming the PCM so that you don't lose power when the anomaly occurs or at least it happens less frequently. It's not a physical failure of the TB - it's a sensor going out of range due to an electronic defect and the PCM gives up and shuts it down.

 

If you really think it's a serious safety issue, get a replacement throttle body from amazon for $200 and install it yourself. Ford will refund the cost if your vehicle is covered by the warranty. If you just sit around waiting for Ford to replace it for you for several weeks or months then it must not be as serious an issue as you say it is.

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Posted by me in this thread on 29 Sept:

 

Sorry, I forgot to post an update earlier. About two weeks ago, I bought a new TB on eBay for ~$120 and replaced it myself (my warranty's expired). Prior to buying and changing the TB, I wanted to make sure that this would fix the problem, so I talked to a good friend of mine who had this happen last year (goes by "Dingo" on this forum). I wanted to know if the problem returned after the TB swap. DIngo said that this fault hasn't returned on his Edge since having the TB changed. That gave me some reassurance that this was the right repair for this problem.

 

It's very easy to do. Just remove the intake hose, disconnect the wiring plug from the TB,and then the TB comes off after removing four bolts. The whole process should take at most an hour, so I'm not sure why it costs upwards of $700 at the dealership. For me it took a little longer because I also installed a K&N Cold Air Intake the same time. But by replacing the TB myself, I saved a ton of money, and had the fun and satisfaction of turning the wrenches and fixing it myself. Right after I swapped the TB, my wife took the Edge on a 1200 mile round trip journey to Alabama and didn't have any problems.

 

But here's what I don't understand, and maybe the Ford Service folks can explain for us: It seems (at least from what people discuss on this forum) that that there are several wide-spread problems with various systems/parts on the Edge and that they're present in both first and second generation models. I'm talking about this throttle body problem, the recurring problem with the Vista roof not closing or closing slowly, and the door ajar sensor issue. At what point does Ford finally own up to the fact that these parts were faulty designs to begin with or faulty parts/systems or whatever and recall/replace them at no cost to the customer, no matter what the individual mileage may be on a given Edge? I'm sure there are many more people dealing with these issues than just what we've seen on this forum. I'd like to see some statistic from Ford Service on these three issues regarding how many parts have been replaced and/or service has been performed for these three prominent problems.

 

To not own up to major problems like these doesn't speak too well to Ford's "Quality is Job 1" mantra, and could drive loyal Ford customers towards other brands...

 

 

 

 

I'm not defending Ford's lack of quality or the apparent lack of replacement parts. I just don't agree that it's enough of a safety issue that Ford should recall hundreds of thousands of vehicles to replace hundreds of thousands of perfectly good throttle bodies. Don't forget that part of the solution is reprogramming the PCM so that you don't lose power when the anomaly occurs or at least it happens less frequently. It's not a physical failure of the TB - it's a sensor going out of range due to an electronic defect and the PCM gives up and shuts it down.

 

If you really think it's a serious safety issue, get a replacement throttle body from amazon for $200 and install it yourself. Ford will refund the cost if your vehicle is covered by the warranty. If you just sit around waiting for Ford to replace it for you for several weeks or months then it must not be as serious an issue as you say it is.

 

I did replace the TB myself, as stated on 29 September ^. And as I said earlier, I'm out of warranty, so it would've cost me upwards of $700 to have it repaired, based on what I've heard from other out of warranty Edge owners who's had this problem fixed at the dealer.

 

So at what point in your opinion (and Ford's I guess too) does it become a safety issue? When this problem causes one accident, injuries and/or fatalities? Or how many more than one would it take?

 

As for the lack of quality, not correcting problems like this, the door sensor, and the Vista roof issuesi n a timely manner and letting them continue over several model years is what gets an automaker a bad rep re: quality, and causes customers to look to other brands... I would think that this would be a good motivation for Ford to fix it.

 

Edited by sixponies
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Ford has had rocking seat tracks since our 93 Explorer and apparently it's still not fixed. Some things just aren't a priority and working in corporate America I understand it.

 

I draw the line for things that can cause a fire or cause the car to lose control and I think that's what the NHTSA looks for as well.

 

I would like to see Ford extend the warranty on more of these known problems and fix some that have lingered too long.

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I draw the line for things that can cause a fire or cause the car to lose control and I think that's what the NHTSA looks for as well.

 

I would like to see Ford extend the warranty on more of these known problems and fix some that have lingered too long.

 

That's exactly my point with the TB problem. If it happens at high speeds, on a crowded freeway (like it did to me), there's a strong possibility of an accident occurring.

 

And the TB, Vista Roof, and especially door ajar problems have lingered for far too long, and Ford should do the right thing and extend the warranty on them.

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I completely understand your position but I also understand Ford/NHTSA's position that it isn't dangerous enough to warrant a recall because you still have control of the vehicle.

 

I could see a recall to apply the software fix to make it less likely to lose power. That would make sense.

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Maybe the hazards/brake lights should be automatically activated as a warning signal to other drivers in the event of such "disablement". Brakeless slowdown is still dangerous, as most traffic today tends to follow closely, and the CUV is not exactly aerodynamic/drivetrain-efficient. An automatic warning to other drivers would be very helpful, as a workaround, since there ARE other conditions that can disable the powertrain.

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Losing power to the engine will never slow a car faster than the brakes. Therefore the brakes of the car behind you will prevent any accident.

 

When the engine loses power with this fault, it also shifts the tranny down to first gear, thus causing a rapid, unexpected deceleration. And speaking from first hand experience, I can tell you that it's not a gradual loss of power, it's very sudden and unexpected. Try (if you dare risking damage to the transmission) slamming your transmission down to first gear while traveling at 65+mph and see how fast you slow down.

 

As for the brakes of the car behind you, they're only as good as the foot pressing on them. So accident prevention in that regard is directly dependent on the vigilance, situational awareness, and reaction time of that driver.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Back on Topic...

 

New member. HUGE thanks for the posts so far. You let me know what to look for...

 

My 12 Edge was stalling over and over. I made it happen after my wife told me... I just drove it aggressively and it died fairly quickly (showed the wrench etc). It reset when I restarted...

 

First trip to the dealer(after multiple stalls), no repair, dealer could not duplicate.

-Car died 2 days later (and more times)

Second trip to dealer, Replaced canister purge valve (I let them know that this sounded like a throttle body issue)

-Car died a few days later

Third trip- They replaced the MAF sensor ("We cant do anything without a code for the Throttle body")

Car Died again.

 

This last time, they sent a tow truck because my wife simply would not drive the vehicle again. They also sent a rental car.

 

I called Ford Corp and started a case with them as well. I told them that I would not let my wife and children back in that vehicle and that, given the history here I was surprised that there wasn't a recall and or a class action suite not based on injuries but on time / effort / stress...

 

Ford got together with the dealer and they hooked up the blackbox and had a tech drive the car for a few days and it stalled again and the tech hit the button while it was failing and it gave "THE code"...

 

P2111 - Throttle Body actuator

 

 

Here's the deal. When you restart your vehicle, the code clears because the Throttle body actuator resets and is no longer stuck...

 

They'll likely only find this with the black box because it records the systems history while driving and saves everything for a few minutes before and after you hit the "mark" button when the vehicle dies.

 

 

It seemed like the dealer wanted to help but Ford would not let them until I made that call. The dealer said "we have to go through these steps before doing the throttle body"

 

It was absurd really... I didn't ask, but it begs the question, why would they not do the black box first?

 

 

 

 

And here's the thing about the misdirection that's starting to happen in this thread regarding safety...

 

Cars rear end or other cars all the time. Stalled or not, shit happens because there is difference in speed between two vehicles. The thought that one has breaks and one is just stalling, so brakes will prevent blah blah blah is beyond stupid.

 

My wife narrowly missed getting hit on the freeway... She also nearly got T boned because the car died pulling out onto a busy street (leaving her stuck sideways in traffic and a truck pulled into the next lane but the car behind it had it's view blocked and slammed on the brakes and missed them by a few feet...

 

My wife said "When you children ask you what the nasty smell is and its the burnt rubber of the car that just missed you, you know it's time to stop driving the car"...

 

 

 

This is a numbers game Ford...

 

I appreciate you fixing our Edge and we've loved it so far but, much like GM have learned, you don't want to find out where the break even point is between fixing the problem and paying for bodies...

 

I'm betting Ford step up.

 

 

If your vehicle is stalling and not throwing codes, call Ford directly. Do that no matter what year the vehicle is. It's not like you are throwing your dealer under the buss. You are simply giving your dealer support by activating Ford.

 

Ask for the blackbox test. Refuse any bullshit answer they give you.

 

Document everything and let them know you are documenting everything... It will give Ford and the dealer proper incentive.

 

 

Hope this helps... Be safe.

Edited by Cman
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