Stuck in 4x4 - Dealer/Ford can’t diagnose, 6 weeks and counting

[ontheheel]

A couple weeks ago, I got a “Check 4x4” message and Powertrain warning indicator when starting my Bronco in the driveway. I fiddled around with the controls for a minute, and then shut it off before starting it up again. This seemed to clear the fault, and I went on my way.

then, last week, it did it again, and I was unable to clear the fault. I had to get to work, so I noted it and drove to work (3 miles away). It wouldn’t let me select any GOAT modes (I usually drive around town in eco), and displayed that I was in 2H on the dash, and on the 4wd selector. The thing that stood out to me was that I’m pretty sure it shifted itself into 4wd, because I could feel the drivetrain binding in the turns on dry pavement. When I parked it, cranking the wheel at full lock, it came to a full stop without applying the brake at all.

After work, I drove it back home and left it parked while I waited a few days for an appointment to open up at my local dealer. Got it towed to the dealer, and it took several days for them to get a diagnosis to me.

They said that the Sta-bar was bad, along with the harness for it, which was causing the faults and forcing a shift to 4wd.

Is it just me or does that sound crazy? Does the sta-bar disconnect have control over the transfer case?

This is the type of issue I worried about when buying this vehicle. I’m coming from a TJ that I explicitly purchased because it was manual everything and bare-bones simple to work on. It’s just got me worried about how complex of a machine it is, and how something so peripheral can make my car undriveable.

Sponsored

 

[Dreamer]

Watching

 

[Ford Motor Company]

A couple weeks ago, I got a “Check 4x4” message and Powertrain warning indicator when starting my Bronco in the driveway. I fiddled around with the controls for a minute, and then shut it off before starting it up again. This seemed to clear the fault, and I went on my way.

then, last week, it did it again, and I was unable to clear the fault. I had to get to work, so I noted it and drove to work (3 miles away). It wouldn’t let me select any GOAT modes (I usually drive around town in eco), and displayed that I was in 2H on the dash, and on the 4wd selector. The thing that stood out to me was that I’m pretty sure it shifted itself into 4wd, because I could feel the drivetrain binding in the turns on dry pavement. When I parked it, cranking the wheel at full lock, it came to a full stop without applying the brake at all.

After work, I drove it back home and left it parked while I waited a few days for an appointment to open up at my local dealer. Got it towed to the dealer, and it took several days for them to get a diagnosis to me.

They said that the Sta-bar was bad, along with the harness for it, which was causing the faults and forcing a shift to 4wd.

Is it just me or does that sound crazy? Does the sta-bar disconnect have control over the transfer case?

This is the type of issue I worried about when buying this vehicle. I’m coming from a TJ that I explicitly purchased because it was manual everything and bare-bones simple to work on. It’s just got me worried about how complex of a machine it is, and how something so peripheral can make my car undriveable.

Hi there! Will you send us a message with your VIN and your local Ford dealer? I can look into things on my end.

 

[ontheheel]

To be clear, I’m not necessarily questioning the diagnosis itself, but trying to understand the system implicated in the diagnosis.

 

[ontheheel]

Update:

Dealer replaced sta-bar and wiring harness, and I picked it up Wednesday evening. Drove it five minutes to dinner, ten minutes to church, then 15 minutes to home. It sat in the driveway yesterday, and I started it up to go on a camping trip this weekend with my sons, and the dash lit up again with the same issue.
Check 4x4, shows 2H on the dash and 4wd selector, but it’s definitely in 4h. Turn steering to full lock, and the drivetrain binds up and it stops itself after a few feet.
This weekend was supposed to be a rain check on the camping trip this car ruined on Veterans Day weekend. Now I’ve got three little boys who are crestfallen for a second time in three weeks.
This is frustrating. Has anyone else experienced this?

 

[jzweedyk]

My sta bar also screwed up. There is a service bulletin that says they have to put dielectric grease on the connector.

 

[andersman02]

Id bring it somewhere else..... How handy are you? Could possibly check grounds on things.... To me I don't see how anything in the stabar could force it into 4x4... To me sounds like something is wonky in the computer or xfer case connectors maybe.

There could be a wiring harness that has a connection to these things, that's what I'd be looking at/for.

 

[ontheheel]

Still at the shop. Update on Friday was that they were testing the battery for issues. I’m pretty sure they’re throwing parts at it right now until something works. Brought this thing home just under three months ago, and I’m coming up on one month of not having it.

 

[ontheheel]

Battery came back bad. It had plenty of CCA to start the car, but was not reporting state of charge properly. The dealer (and Ford) think this is causing the issue. They will replace the battery this morning and see what happens.

 

[PWillette]

Considering the amount of electrics in the truck, a battery w/ low voltage could certainly be the culprit. I would have started there myself but like you say, these days they just seem to throw parts at issues that shows up.

 

[ontheheel]

Battery replacement didn’t fix the issue. Checking wiring harness to BCM now. I sent them a thread from this forum from another user who had the same issue, which was traced to this particular wiring harness. I gave that to them when I first dropped the vehicle off over a month ago, and they are only now investigating as the Ford hotline has told them to do. We will see if anything comes from it. If that does fix it, I’ll be frustrated that they didn’t investigate it at all for a whole month while hitting all these dead ends.

On the other hand, the service rep keeps dropping hints that my accessories are a likely culprit behind these things breaking.

First it was: “The tech said you rewired the PCM, which is involved in the 4wd system, so…”
“No, I didn’t require anything. I put in the Grimm Off-road compressor bracket. That just means I externally bolted it to the same location but on a new bracket.”

Then it was: “You’ve got a lot of accessories hooked up, and that’s probably causing the battery to go bad.” This was shortly followed by, “well the draw test came back perfect, it looks like whoever installed your gear did a good job.”
“That was me.”

Now it’s: “The tech said that you have a bunch of things hooked to the battery and that when he disconnected them, he couldn’t select any drive modes”
“No, that’s not correct - that was part of the problem I took this car in for in the first place. Also, there are only two things connected to the Ford-provided accessory posts on the battery terminal: a light bar and a compressor, both of which are switched circuits. As long as the switches are in the off position, it is an open circuit, so electrically, it is no different from being connected to the terminal or not.”

This is the highest rated dealer in my area - the others are abysmal. I’m frustrated that they’ve had my car for over a month, can’t diagnose the thing, and that they keep casually tossing out that it may be my fault. I’ve intentionally not messed with any power train or suspension, or even replacing any factory components with my mods. Everything has been bolt-on accessories, utilizing Ford’s provided accessory ready locations, just to avoid having to fight over this stuff.
At what point do I call this thing a lemon and ask Ford to buy it back from me?

 

[ontheheel]

Ford is now offering me a 5/76k ESP. Still no diagnosis.

I can tell when they are working on it, because I can see codes coming and going on the FordPass app, as well as the GPS location, odometer, and fuel gauge, and I don’t think they’ve touched it since last week. They keep saying that they need to investigate the potential bad BCM connector, but testing continuity doesn’t take a full week on a single harness. I realize they are probably flooded with more problems than they have people to fix them, but I haven’t been able to drive since 08NOV.

Does anyone know how things are typically prioritized at service departments? It seems like my Bronco is just sitting at the back of the lot for weeks on end.

 

[ontheheel]

They finally moved it into a bay a few days ago, and I can tell that they are working on it, because I see my estimated range dip by a couple miles every now and then. Still no word or updates. 43 days since I last had use of my Bronco. I don’t know when I should initiate a buyback with Ford. I really just want this diagnosed, fixed, and to be on my way. That seems less likely as time goes by, however. As much as I loved this truck and dreamed about owning a red Bronco as a kid, I feel kinda snake bit, and would lean towards a much less capable, albeit predictable vehicle like a 4Runner next time.

To be honest, the Bronco felt like a roll of the dice to begin with, considering Ford’s recent (and self-admitted) problem with quality control, but I made this purchase with my gut, hoping for the best. Maybe they’ll come back soon with a fix and I’ll never have another issue like this again, but I’ll need a lot of time to be able to trust this thing again.

 

[Squatch]

Lemon law that thing if you can.

Sometimes there's a bad chip or bunch of chips in all the stuff that you'll never be able to hunt down following the manual.

You shouldn't be dealing with it.

 

[Snacktime]

Sad part is they are stuck diagnosing with FDRS software. I got money on the actuator being out of index and no way to re -index it without disassembly.

Sponsored