Under the hood: Dangerous problem a dealer can’t find

BRAD BERGHOLDT

Wow! I can relate to your stress level. My motor home began doing similar things while driving home from Alaska. It keeps your heart racing the entire time while driving, especially during tricky single lane/no-turn-out mountain crossings! And it was tough to fix!

A possible solution to this is a scan tool data movie, triggered at the time of symptoms. Ford dealer techs use a VCM II (vehicle communication module) to network a laptop or tablet to the vehicle’s PCM (powertrain control module) allowing comprehensive monitoring and control functions, The VCM also has a built-in customer flight recorder (requires operator pendant). The VCM and pendant can be lent to the customer for an intermittent situation such as this. Depending on the type of fault, there’s decent chance the cause, or at least some useful indicators would show up during a follow-up data movie review.

Too bad it’s not a Honda. Their cars automatically record a great data movie whenever the check engine light illuminates, or with prior set-up by a technician, a future movie can be triggered by a stall-out or particular parameter irregularity.

The best bet to resolve this is to keep meticulous records of each incidence — driving conditions, run time, fuel level, accessories in use, road bumps and turns — and then turn up the heat on Ford corporate to man up and put a CFR into play for this unacceptable situation.