My PowerBoost is essentially dead

[Samson16]

How in the name of all things holy do you not have a brand new hand built truck by now? Bumper to bumper warranty still in effect correct? They should have ordered you a new one just like the bad one and given you something decent to drive while you waited. Send the bad one back to Ford to be melted down and then launched into space on a no return trajectory.

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[devern]

"Lemon Law" doesn't exist in Canada and the CAMVAP arbitration is not a quick process. Even then, the outcome probably won't be a new vehicle, since part of the process is a technical inspection by the manufacturer.

Honestly, it's reliable 99% of the time. Luckily I don't live in warmer climate, or that might change (ironically, this would also make it easier for the service dept. to replicate the problem, so could be fixed more easily). Based on our observations, we only see the issue when:
- It's hotter than 16C outside (61 degress in Freedom-units)
- The vehicle is parked in direct sunlight

Maybe we just need to buy a summer PowerBoost and only run this one over the winter

 

[amschind]

I have found a number of really good Ford techs since I bought this truck. My previous stance was that all stealership techs were untrained monkeys or well-trained gremlins, but that has proven to be false.
It's like any other mechanic or doctor: find a good one that you can trust.

 

[devern]

I have found a number of really good Ford techs since I bought this truck. My previous stance was that all stealership techs were untrained monkeys or well-trained gremlins, but that has proven to be false.
It's like any other mechanic or doctor: find a good one that you can trust.

Most definitely. Most of the problem with delays we ran into last year seem to be related to Ford's warranty policies, not our local dealer (reading between the lines, of course--they would never tell me that explicitly). I'm confident in their service department's abilities, but they need to operate within specific boundaries in order for my service bill to read $0.

Once this is off the manufacturer warranty, I expect even warranty work under the dealer's extended warranty will be much less of a headache.

 

[devern]

The warranty people have struck again. Apparently the dealer has been instructed to complete "new software updates" available for the modules...

I mean, if there is any evidence that the HS1 CAN communication protocol, or the PCM wakeup signal have changed in software, then I will bite. Otherwise, this seems like yet another exercise in futility. You would think they have wasted enough employee time at this point that it would be cheaper to just replace modules.

I know I'm just a clueless, untrained customer... but I am good friends with an electrical engineer who assures me I am reading the wiring diagrams correctly... and that my theory is plausible (maybe not a typical failure mode of a MOSFET, but something connected to it could be affected by heat).

 

[amschind]

The warranty people have struck again. Apparently the dealer has been instructed to complete "new software updates" available for the modules...

I mean, if there is any evidence that the HS1 CAN communication protocol, or the PCM wakeup signal have changed in software, then I will bite. Otherwise, this seems like yet another exercise in futility. You would think they have wasted enough employee time at this point that it would be cheaper to just replace modules.

I know I'm just a clueless, untrained customer... but I am good friends with an electrical engineer who assures me I am reading the wiring diagrams correctly... and that my theory is plausible (maybe not a typical failure mode of a MOSFET, but something connected to it could be affected by heat).

I haven't slogged through this whole saga: did the BCM ever get replaced, or is it still the original part?

 

[devern]

I haven't slogged through this whole saga: did the BCM ever get replaced, or is it still the original part?

Great news! It was warm enough to give them trouble when trying to do the update!! What luck... anyway, they said they have it narrowed down to 1 of 3 modules (I'm guessing, BCM, SOBDMC, or PCM).

 

[biohazard0157]

I have a 2021 Powerboost that I bought used last year. The 2022 I had on order was cancelled because they didn't have any parts left for what I had ordered so I found one used. That probably should have told me it was a lemon because no one would get rid of this truck if they didn't have a lemon, but its such a good truck and I've waited a couple years for it, so I've put up with the issues.

My issues seem similar to others on this thread. I keep getting weird codes pop up on the screen and in the ford pass app such as powertrain malfunction, pre-collision assist not available, restraints indicator lamp warning, blind spot detection with cross traffic fault, etc. Usually the codes pop up 4-5 at a time and don't seem related. The "fix" is usually just turning the truck off for about 5-10 minutes and coming back and starting it back up. Everything then works except for the check engine/service engine soon light which will reset after 50 miles and be good for another few weeks until it happens again. Its been a long journey since July with at least 6 trips to the dealer to have it looked at. I'm always told everything is fine and to come back and pick it up. Since July, but prior to April it had spent over 41 days in various service bays. About 11% of the time I've owned it. I love this truck and if it wasn't such a great truck to drive I would have dumped it the month I bought it because the dealer service and ford care has been so bad.

This last dealer is at least listening to me and didn't just tell me I was crazy. They are telling me this time that its the "engine wire assembly" and I'm assuming that is the same as the wiring harness several others have mentioned on this thread. My question is once they have that "diagnosed" as the replacement, how long should that take after the part arrives? I was told on the 18th of April they had received that part and would be working on it. At this point its been three weeks and they still can't give me a completion date. Does anyone know how long it should take to replace that part? I'm getting really tired of driving the ford edge hertz has assigned me for the last month!

 

[Je1279]

My wife's Jeep Wrangler recently started throwing all sorts of errors at random (ABS, 4WD, traction control, check engine, airbag, etc.). She even completely lost power steering on one occasion. Took it to the dealership where they diagnosed it as a defective ABS module and replaced the module. The following day, all of the errors reappeared. After running a scan shortly after and finding 27 communication related codes, I did some research and found that other owners had traced the problem to a canbus junction block behind the glovebox. Not sure if our trucks have anything similar, but it's a good example of a simple part causing substantial chaos when a bunch of different modules run through it.

 

[WolF150]

My 2022 Powerboost Lariat has now been in the shop for 10 days, It won't accept any software updates. every time they think it gets done it stops. I don't think the Mechanics are properly trained for this. They had to get a software engineer from For Tech support to help them and that didnt even work. This truck has been in the shop more days than my 2013 F150, my 2017 Audi A6 and my wife's Nissan Rogue combined and I have only had this a year.

 

[Snakebitten]

Not a rare story.

Software engineer is an interesting term for someone who can use FDRS with success.

 

[devern]

Well, I have my truck back since Friday. They replaced the IPMA module, which doesn't seem like it could be related... but the way vehicles are nowadays, it's not farfetched to think that a short on the 12V circuit could have ripple effects somewhere else. The work order stated that the pins were suspect on the module. And the way mosfets work, an irregular voltage would cause it to not behave as intended, so that could explain the PCM/SOBDMC/BECM wake signal not working.

One thing I've learned through this whole ordeal is to have a more healthy dose of skepticism.

 

[biohazard0157]

I also got my powerboost back on Monday. After 6 trips to different dealers and 38 days on this visit to replace the wire harness I think they might have actually fixed it. The list of what they removed and put back is pretty long. The list of testing they did to get to that conclusion is also pretty extensive. The service report is 6 pages. Only time will tell if this is fixed, but all the things I used to do that would trigger the codes haven't caused any issues this week and everything is working as it should as far as I can tell. I'm optimistic that I might actually keep this truck for at least a few more years!

 

[devern]

So we had the truck parked in ideal conditions to recreate the problem over the weekend (27C, parked in direct sunlight--a beautiful weekend, btw)... It started reliably each time! Now what's going through my head is: "I wonder... if a bad pin or solder joint on the IPMA was causing a short to ground/drop in voltage of the 12V system, could that be what caused me to get stuck at the 1.7.1 OTA?"

I'm still skeptical that the problem could still return, but... the work order stated the IPMA had suspect pins when they were inspecting/repairing the wiring harness connections last year, so that's why it was the first module they tried replacing.

Anyway, I'm trying to temper my expectations, but I am hopeful that this is the end of this saga. I'll likely be ordering a Mongoose soon--it would be really convenient to have the truck bed camera when in motion, among other things!

 

[devern]

Welp. That victory was short-lived... does Ford of Canada respond to ultimatums? "Please replace wiring harness and all faulting modules under warranty or replace the truck." So sick of dealing with this... what's worse, my wife is usually the one who is left stranded in this lemon.

Now I'm reading new posts that the 2023s are having eerily similar issues... maybe Ford shouldn't get my business anymore. I get that this things are hard to diagnose, but at what point should I expect the actions above? When it strands me/my wife 15 times? 20? When it has been in the shop for at least 20 weeks?

UUUUUUUGGGGGH. /rant

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