Hey all--
Some of you may remember that i posted last month for the first time and mentioned that i was having 4x4 issues with our new 07 ST 4x4. Well they have been addressed now(sort of) and i thought i'd take a minute to write about them, for therapeutic reasons if for no other
1--4x4 engages when it shouldn't: this was fixed by a computer flash to change how the 4x4 senses slip and what thresholds it uses
2--4x4 super loud when engaged, rough engaging: This issue was fixed by a transfer case flush whisper quiet now
3--4x4 engages when it should, but doesn't seem to ever shut off: Now things get ugly...
This is apparently by design. "They all do that"..
My poor dealer went round and round with ford and only after taking out *2* other brand new 07's could the mechanic believe what he was being told. Once it turns on automatically, it will not shut off until the vehicle comes to 100% complete stop--it will scale back to 30% but go no lower. So if it engages on a on ramp or toll gate, or just going along, and you then drive 2 or 3 hundred miles, you will do so with your transfer case at 30% duty until you come to a complete stop. Now, i live in Rochester NY and it is far from uncommon for a neighborhood street to be unplowed and messy and yet a primary road will be down to pavement, dry and near perfect. You can see the problem this puts me in. There is a work around to this problem. When it's in 4x4 and shouldn't be, i hit the "4x4 High" button then hit the "auto" button and the tcase releases and things return to normal, until I hit a tiny bit of water on the pavement, take off from a slushy spot, or otherwise have less than 100% traction. For all intents, this makes the ST damn near useless to me, as i now have to deal with the cantankerous 4x4 constantly fighting with me. Let's not even talk about gas mileage, drive line wear, towing, or tire wear! Or the fact that it drives like sh!t on hard pavement when it's in this "30%" state. I called ford about it and filed a complaint, but am not very hopeful of a solution. Should i not hear anything in a month or so, i will be faced with either having the program modified in the after market, or selling the trac all together. I plan to call ford weekly for a bit and see what happens. I also plan to report this to the NHTSA as a safety and design issue.
If there are any 07 owners out there that can re-verify for me that this happens in thier trucks, i'd be immensely grateful. My 07 is an early run, as are all the ones my dealer has in stock. I will try to get out to a couple other dealers and see as well if i can get some late model year trucks out for a drive.
--chris
Some of you may remember that i posted last month for the first time and mentioned that i was having 4x4 issues with our new 07 ST 4x4. Well they have been addressed now(sort of) and i thought i'd take a minute to write about them, for therapeutic reasons if for no other
1--4x4 engages when it shouldn't: this was fixed by a computer flash to change how the 4x4 senses slip and what thresholds it uses
2--4x4 super loud when engaged, rough engaging: This issue was fixed by a transfer case flush whisper quiet now
3--4x4 engages when it should, but doesn't seem to ever shut off: Now things get ugly...
This is apparently by design. "They all do that"..
My poor dealer went round and round with ford and only after taking out *2* other brand new 07's could the mechanic believe what he was being told. Once it turns on automatically, it will not shut off until the vehicle comes to 100% complete stop--it will scale back to 30% but go no lower. So if it engages on a on ramp or toll gate, or just going along, and you then drive 2 or 3 hundred miles, you will do so with your transfer case at 30% duty until you come to a complete stop. Now, i live in Rochester NY and it is far from uncommon for a neighborhood street to be unplowed and messy and yet a primary road will be down to pavement, dry and near perfect. You can see the problem this puts me in. There is a work around to this problem. When it's in 4x4 and shouldn't be, i hit the "4x4 High" button then hit the "auto" button and the tcase releases and things return to normal, until I hit a tiny bit of water on the pavement, take off from a slushy spot, or otherwise have less than 100% traction. For all intents, this makes the ST damn near useless to me, as i now have to deal with the cantankerous 4x4 constantly fighting with me. Let's not even talk about gas mileage, drive line wear, towing, or tire wear! Or the fact that it drives like sh!t on hard pavement when it's in this "30%" state. I called ford about it and filed a complaint, but am not very hopeful of a solution. Should i not hear anything in a month or so, i will be faced with either having the program modified in the after market, or selling the trac all together. I plan to call ford weekly for a bit and see what happens. I also plan to report this to the NHTSA as a safety and design issue.
If there are any 07 owners out there that can re-verify for me that this happens in thier trucks, i'd be immensely grateful. My 07 is an early run, as are all the ones my dealer has in stock. I will try to get out to a couple other dealers and see as well if i can get some late model year trucks out for a drive.
--chris
