Here's the story. I had to make a roundtrip from Ventura, CA to Arizona and just returned today. It's all Hwy 10, 106F, speed limits from 65 to 75mph. FEH performed perfectly on the way to AZ.

I made the return trip today (500 miles) and stopped for gas halfway. I had been cruising at 75mph, 106F heat, rpm running between 2000-4000, FWT and MeT at normal values, engine oil filled to the mark.

When I restarted after the gas fillup most of the dash lights came on, but I especially noticed the Oil Pressure light and the Service Engine Soon light.

I needed to backup a few feet to be able to raise the hood, so I put it into Reverse, touched the gas, and was alarmed to have the FEH surge FORWARD against the parking curb. I couldn't believe what had just happened so I ran through the gear range and back to Reverse, foot on brake, and it again accelerated forward. I triple checked that it was indeed fully seated in the Reverse position on the shifter. I cycled the key several times and everything returned to normal operation.

I completed the trip without any further problems. But looking under the hood now in my garage, the ICE is very noisy (loud) and there is a pronounced clunk (thud) when shifting into R, D, and L. Something seems very wrong but all warning lights are off.

Has anyone ever experienced anything like this? I feel like I should report the forward acceleration when in reverse to the NHTSA as that is a very dangerous problem imho.

 

Wish I had an answer for you, but unfortunately I do not. But I think it's definately worth reporting to NHTSA and to Ford. Sounds like this could have been something you hear about in the news where someone crashes through a store window and swears that they did nothing to cause it. Then everyone wonders what the real cause was. But you were lucky. And because you were able to triple-check to see that the problem was the car and not you, we know where the problem lies. Good luck and let us know about the outcome.

 

It sounds to me like the eCVT control module has a problem. That is the only thing that can be reflashed for repairing the eCVT. The only other thing is the shifter which is basically an electronic switch.

You're the first I've heard of having this problem.

GaryG

 

I took the FEH to the local Ford dealer today, but they wanted $135 to do any work, including a code scan. So I decided against that, and will continue to drive it locally to see what develops. There is definitely a noticeable increase in noise from under the hood, but I don't know what that may mean. I assume there will be a hard failure at some point which can be diagnosed. Lots of problems with this vehicle in only 45k miles.

 

Don, there should be no $135 fee if the problem is related to the eCVT (not the shifter) since you're under the hybrid warranty. Don't wait!

GaryG

 

Thanks Gary, I understand that. My concern is that they won't be able to reproduce the problem or find any codes, and I'll be out $135 for nothing. The service advisor stated that some codes are lost when the key is turned off, so codes might not be found for my episode.

 

The vehicle is potentially dangerous. If you continue to operate it in this condition, you have definite civil and potential criminal liability if someone is injured or killed.

Get it off the road and repaired...then worry about who's going to pay for it.

 

Most dealers should have what they commonly refer to as a "flight recorder" that connects to the OBD-II port. You have a box with a button, when pressed, it records whatever PIDs they have choosen. They use that to analize your problem. Some dealers required the customer's credit card number to insure the return of the device which is of no use to one unless you have the IDS system anyway.

 

Could it be the one-way clutch? Did you get any codes?

 

No codes that I can read with the SG. Don't know what the one-way clutch is.

Bill, thanks for the idea about the flight recorder, I'll ask when I go to the dealer next.

I did call Ford customer support and they seemed interested and assigned me a "case number". Supposedly someone will call me Monday and they will coordinate with my dealer to get this investigated.