Powertrain Malfunction/Reduced Power - New Truck 600KM

[Syynet]

Bought my Ford Lightning XLT SR on Dec09, 2023

On December 14, 2023, while driving, I suddenly noticed that the car could move forward even without stepping on the accelerator. The car displayed a red wrench warning light, and the screen showed "service vehicle soon." I quickly applied the brakes, and upon restarting, the car couldn't accelerate and could only move slowly. There was no response when pressing the accelerator. I turned off the car, restarted it about three times, and the malfunction light disappeared, allowing the vehicle to operate normally.

I checked the FordPass App, it shows Powertrain Malfunction / Reduced Power

Also, since I picked up the car until now, during several hundred kilometers of driving, I have smelled a slightly burnt odor at least three times, and then I turned off my car's heating.

In the afternoon, I called the Richmond, Canada, after-sales service. They mentioned that they can only perform repairs when the malfunction light is on. Since I don't have the malfunction light now, they cannot proceed with the repair. What should I do? I noticed that most responses here are related to the United States, but I am in Canada. Any suggestions?

 

[LazyLightningATX]

I would push a little harder with getting service to look at it and maybe contact the salesperson you bought the truck from, since it is so new.

 

[Adventureboy]

Also, since I picked up the car until now, during several hundred kilometers of driving, I have smelled a slightly burnt odor at least three times, and then I turned off my car's heating.

I'm in Canada. Where are you located?

The burnt odor from the cabin heater is pretty common for the first few trips with the new heater running full on a new truck. Mine is a year old and it still had a faint odor when it kicked into high the first time this season (as does the furnace in my house when I light it up the first time of the season). The elements get pretty hot and even a small amount of dust or manufacturing coating will burn off and create some faint odors. Odors should not persist beyond the first run or two of the season.

As for the other issue, if the truck was moving with no input on your side, first, make sure your settings are what you expect - One Pedal drive can be inadvertently deactivated if you start the truck remotely and it jumps to the Guest profile with OPD off. This can cause the truck to pull like an ICE automatic when you are expecting it to stay put. This, however, will not cause a service message light.

Next, make sure the dealer is fully aware of the situation and that it could very well be a safety (and liability) issue. Make sure you document the conversation (who, when, where etc.) just in case.

If the truck throws a service message, there is a record of the failure condition and your dealer can see the detail behind it whether or not the message is present on the dash. They don't even need physical access to the truck. I called my dealer yesterday because I got the service message light and they can see all kinds of stuff on the truck remotely. Mine was a 12v battery failure but my service advisor could see it while I was talking with her on the phone and the truck sitting in my driveway. She could also see my OTA Update failures due to chronically low 12v SOC. I'd call BS that the dealer can't fix it if it doesn't show the message - push back or find another dealer that knows how to work with modern trucks.

That said, You only have a few hundred kms on your truck, you may want to drive it for a bit and see if the problem resurfaces. The truck uses very heavy-duty contactors and dozens of power relays that can take a few cycles to break in properly. I expect it is not common to see a code or two up front but certainly possible with this type and number of contactor/relays. Call it a ghost in the machine, but a relay break-in can cause the control systems to throw a code however you may never see the problem again.

If it were me, and the truck moved again on its own, and I'm sure it wasn't the unintentional OPD deactivation, I'd drive it to the dealer and park it. Insist they fix it and/or sign off that it is safe.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Just a side note, the Lightnings heating uses a PTC which uses a coolant immersed resistive element, which heats glycol fluid which is circulated to the HVAC cabin module.

They do not use resistive "air heaters" that other older models might use.

The "burnt" smell might indicate an issue with any of the modules inside or outside the Lightning, short of waiting for something to out right fail and not getting a technician to do pre-emptive investigation, you'll have to wait it out.

 

[Syynet]

I'm in Canada. Where are you located?

The burnt odor from the cabin heater is pretty common for the first few trips with the new heater running full on a new truck. Mine is a year old and it still had a faint odor when it kicked into high the first time this season (as does the furnace in my house when I light it up the first time of the season). The elements get pretty hot and even a small amount of dust or manufacturing coating will burn off and create some faint odors. Odors should not persist beyond the first run or two of the season.

As for the other issue, if the truck was moving with no input on your side, first, make sure your settings are what you expect - One Pedal drive can be inadvertently deactivated if you start the truck remotely and it jumps to the Guest profile with OPD off. This can cause the truck to pull like an ICE automatic when you are expecting it to stay put. This, however, will not cause a service message light.

Next, make sure the dealer is fully aware of the situation and that it could very well be a safety (and liability) issue. Make sure you document the conversation (who, when, where etc.) just in case.

If the truck throws a service message, there is a record of the failure condition and your dealer can see the detail behind it whether or not the message is present on the dash. They don't even need physical access to the truck. I called my dealer yesterday because I got the service message light and they can see all kinds of stuff on the truck remotely. Mine was a 12v battery failure but my service advisor could see it while I was talking with her on the phone and the truck sitting in my driveway. She could also see my OTA Update failures due to chronically low 12v SOC. I'd call BS that the dealer can't fix it if it doesn't show the message - push back or find another dealer that knows how to work with modern trucks.

That said, You only have a few hundred kms on your truck, you may want to drive it for a bit and see if the problem resurfaces. The truck uses very heavy-duty contactors and dozens of power relays that can take a few cycles to break in properly. I expect it is not common to see a code or two up front but certainly possible with this type and number of contactor/relays. Call it a ghost in the machine, but a relay break-in can cause the control systems to throw a code however you may never see the problem again.

If it were me, and the truck moved again on its own, and I'm sure it wasn't the unintentional OPD deactivation, I'd drive it to the dealer and park it. Insist they fix it and/or sign off that it is safe.

I am in Vancouver, BC

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