Vehicle will not start

Rossi6998 · Dec 10, 2019

Went to press the start button and the vehicle would not start. Headlights flashed and green dot on start button started flashing. No engine sound. Almost like the theft system was activated. Put remote in console slot thinking it might be a remote issue. Vehicle still didn’t start.

Was finally able to start vehicle with Ford Pass. Vehicle at dealership now. Anyone have this problem in the past?

**Update - See Post #11**

OHST · Dec 10, 2019

Has not happened to me. Keep us posted on what they find out.

adp2020ST · Dec 10, 2019

Has not happened to me either.

NWExplorerST · Dec 10, 2019

First I've heard of anything like this.

Tony L · Dec 10, 2019

Happened to me. I took in for service and after a week they said it had a loose wire in a connector cause the network to fail.

Tony L · Dec 10, 2019

Rossi6998 · Dec 10, 2019

Ford just told me I needed a software update. I will get the TSB number and all information and post later tonight. Thanks!

Tony L · Dec 10, 2019

They told me the same thing. Unfortunately I had the exact same thing happen three days after I picked it up so I don’t think its totally resolved quite yet, but it’s not creating a huge issue at the moment.

Tony L · Dec 10, 2019

Rossi6998 said:

Be sure to read my comments on the Youtube page.

Rossi6998 · Dec 10, 2019

Tony - I am having the exact same problem as you stated in the first paragraph of the comments section of your YouTube video.

Rossi6998 · Dec 10, 2019

Regarding my post above (Post #7), TSB #48268 - 2020 Explorer/Police Interceptor Utility - Discharged Battery/No Crank - Built on or before 30-Aug-2019. The Bulletin states, "Some 2020 Explorer/Police Interceptor Utility vehicles equipped with SYNC built on or before 30-Aug-2019 may exhibit a discharge battery/no crank condition. This may be caused by the software in the accessory protocol interface module (APIM), body control module (BCM) and/or the telematics control unit (TCU) module. To correct the condition, reprogram the APIM, BCM, and the TCU using the latest software level of the appropriate Ford diagnostics scan tool. If the BCM software update is not available in the FDRS Toolbox, a software fix is being developed. As a temporary fix, uninstall and reinstall FDRS selecting 'remove all data'. If the battery drain concern is still present, follow normal diagnostics in Workshop Manual (WSM), Section 414-01 > General Procedures. Effective Date: 17-October-2019."

Rossi6998 · Dec 13, 2019

Additional information - I spoke to my Ford guy today. I told him about Tony's issue (same as mine) and Tony's YouTube video/comments. My Ford guy did further research and indicated the software update I received was just released a day prior to my update. He said hopefully this will solve the problem, but also indicated it could still be a temporary fix until a permanent fix is available. So far so good, but it has only been a couple days. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Rossi6998 · Dec 28, 2019

To date, I have not had any further issues with the vehicle not starting. I did notice the Auto Start/Stop does not seem to work as often. When I am stopped at a light, the vehicle engine continues to run and indicates the vehicle is charging the battery. Since the update, the engine has only shutoff (via the Auto Start/stop) a couple times. Most of the time, the engine continues to run to charge the battery. Since retiring a month ago, I do not have a 20 mile roundtrip drive to work on a daily basis, so I am not driving the vehicle as long and as often. This could be part of the issue. My belief is the vehicle has a large drain on the battery and has to continually charge to keep the battery in the operating range. Will continue to monitor.

KegsBdry · May 5, 2020

Rossi6998 said:

Great job finding this article. My vehicle is back in the shop for this very reason. It has been there 4 days! Apparently, the message isn't showing anymore. And since I mentioned to the shop this happened after a long drive, they put a 45+ miles on my vehicle to 'recreate the issue'. Luckily gas is cheap now.

The first time this happened, they just replaced the battery. The second time this happened, I was getting a dash error (see attachment) after a 100 mile drive. I hit OK 3 times but decided to redirect to my local Ford Dealership Service Dept instead of driving home. They mentioned something about a BCM needing updating but this article gets more into the weeds of the problem.

Thank you for finding this article. Why aren't they doing a RECALL on this issue?

Rossi6998 · May 6, 2020

I could be wrong, but I believe recalls are for safety-related defects or defects that do not meet Federal safety standards.

KegsBdry · May 6, 2020

Rossi6998 said:

I think a battery draining to the point of being stuck on the side of the road is a safety concern.

Rossi6998 · May 7, 2020

Safety concern or annoyance??? Don't get me wrong, I get it! Trust me, when my vehicle would not start, I think Ford heard me cursing in Detroit. I was not happy! Having said that, I don't think Ford or the Government are going to see it your way. If you were driving down the road and the engine all of a sudden stopped, then I would say you have a good argument. But, to have an issue where your vehicle will not start after you turned it off is (IMHO) an annoyance, not a safety issue. If I misunderstood your issue, my apologies. Again, just my opinion. Good luck!

KegsBdry · May 7, 2020

Rossi6998 said:

That was funny about Ford hearing you in Detroit.

The first time I had a battery issue the car simply wouldn't start. So it was OFF from the beginning.

The second time this issue happened, I was getting repeated dash errors about my battery about to fail while driving over 100 miles. I steered towards the closest Ford dealership & dropped it off. And that was after Ford put in a new battery to correct the first instance. This second instance should qualify if it is happening to enough Explorers out there. They also read how to fix the issue from a Ford Bulletin, proving this is a known problem.

Rossi6998 · May 7, 2020

Yea... Your issue was definitely different from mine. My vehicle would not start once the vehicle was off. I never got a warning indicating the battery would fail while driving. That would definitely concern me. If Ford did the software update (like they did with mine), hopefully that will fix the problem. I have not had a problem since the software update (December 2019). Good luck!

KegsBdry · May 7, 2020

Rossi6998 said:

I hope it's fixed too. I'm taking a long trip tomorrow to do another test.

When this happened the first time, I got a Sleep Mode message from Ford Pass app about a day before the wouldn't start. Did that happen to you too? Seemed like a warning to me that the battery would be dead soon.

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Vehicle will not start

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