Heated Steering Wheel Quit Working

[Je1279]

For what it's worth - and for the few who were following this - I have an update, as well as some things that I have learned.

Since nothing simple / obvious reared its head as a quick solution, I finally broke down and made an appointment at the dealership. It was explained to me that the Ford Service Manual has a very specific series of steps (flowchart) for diagnostics / troubleshooting that needs to be followed. Further, since this is a warranty claim, this process is much more strict, and the dealership has no room for "going off-script", "freelancing" or otherwise "going rogue".

The diagnostic / troubleshooting procedure indicated that the clock spring had failed, and needed to be replaced. Naturally, the dealership did not have one in stock, and it needed to be ordered. I was assured it would be in in 2 ~ 3 days, and I could bring the truck back in.

A temporary interruption to my own story - but this is where things start to get frustrating and irritating. I live in the middle of nowhere, and the small-town dealership that I am using is some 80 miles away. So, every time I take the truck in, it's 160 mile round trip (a little over 2-1/2 hours), plus waiting on the truck while they work on it (so far, typically about 1 ~ 1-1/2 hours per episode).

So, the clock spring part comes in, and I make another appointment for installation. It turns out that the clock spring is not the solution. Next thing on the troubleshooting list is to replace the steering module. Naturally they don't have one in stock, and it has to be ordered.

The module comes in, another appointment is made, the module is replaced, and it is not the solution.

The dealership went ahead and exhausted what remaining steps there were, to no avail. The dealership has opened up a Ford Engineering service request. Two days later they had a reply. They want me to bring the truck back in and they are going to update the HVAC module. And if that doesn't work, then they are going to replace the module. Guess what - the dealership doesn't stock them, and they will have to order it - but they can't order it unless the update fails to be the solution.

So, the appointments have been 1) initial diagnostics, 2) clock spring replacement, 3) steering module replacement. So far, I have 12 hours of wasted time and almost 500 miles of travel wrapped up in this. Now I have to go back again to let them them try to update the module - yet another trip. And if that fails, then yet another trip.

On the one hand, there is a part of me that understands and appreciates the process that they are going through - that is to say, I appreciate the logic behind it. And it's not their fault that I live where I do.... But on the other hand, this is so incredibly wasteful of time, gasoline, and added miles on the truck. I'm not upset with the dealership - I'm frustrated, irritated, and becoming angry with the process.

I have another appointment to get the module updated. We'll see how this goes...

Whew, feel a little better now that I vented some....

Definitely sounds frustrating. Hopefully, they get it sorted for you.

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[crazywayne311]

yeah that sounds super frustrating...hope they get it fixed though

 

[Kanuck]

With many years of trouble shooting equipment, a meter and an electrical drawing would be my go to. I understand the way they have to do it... but throwing parts at it doesn't make any sense. I have always found the center of the circuit and checked...pass, go right or fail go left on the drawing.

Sorry to hear about your waste of time...hope it is fixed soon.

 

[FirstFord]

I understand the way they have to do it... but throwing parts at it doesn't make any sense.

I TOTALLY agree! And it sounds like that is exactly what they were doing - throwing parts at it. But yet, they allegedly have this rigorous Ford troubleshooting process that they have to go through which (presumably) is in place to prevent the wasteful replacement of good, working parts - i.e., "throwing parts at it." Why did this rigid troubleshooting process result in the replacement of two (apparently) perfectly good parts? It sounds like Ford's troubleshooting process failed on several levels - it failed in positively identifying the issue, and it failed in avoiding the replacement of "good" parts. <- This was my initial take, and the line of thinking I had. That being said, I don't want to go out on that limb too far. To me, if a component has firmware or software (like a module), it's a bit of a different animal than mechanical or traditional electrical components. Just my line of thinking....

 

[FirstFord]

Update 2: Bad news / good news. I dropped off my truck for the next round of corrective actions, none of which worked. The dealership tech is now in regular communication with Ford engineering, as they test one component after another. So, the bad news is that it is still not fixed. The good news is that my regular lengthy commutes are over. The dealership gave me a loaner (good for them!), and they are going to keep my truck until they get it figured out. Finally a little sunshine into this mess!

 

[FirstFord]

Update 2: Bad news / good news. I dropped off my truck for the next round of corrective actions, none of which worked. The dealership tech is now in regular communication with Ford engineering, as they test one component after another. So, the bad news is that it is still not fixed. The good news is that my regular lengthy commutes are over. The dealership gave me a loaner (good for them!), and they are going to keep my truck until they get it figured out. Finally a little sunshine into this mess!

Update 3: My truck has been at the dealership since Feb 4, and it still is not fixed. Everyone (allegedly including Ford Engineering) is stumped. As of yesterday, the dealership pulled the tech off of the job and assigned a different tech to it. The Service Advisor explained that the replacement tech "is really good at electrical and electronics", so it sounds like they are taking the approach that the first tech may have missed something. Me's thinks that they may also be taking the step of "putting a fresh (or at least different) set of eyes on it" - a step that I have personally found to be beneficial from time to time. We'll see.

 

[FirstFord]

Update 4, and Final: Got the truck back on 2/17, and the heated steering wheel now works. The Service Advisor said that it was a Ford programming issue (huh???). I questioned him on this, stating that it worked for 2 years, why would it suddenly quit working - because of programming? He shrugged his shoulders, and said, "I don't know - they get software updates over the air; you know these trucks are so complicated..." So, he was indirectly suggesting that an OTA was responsible.

I am NOT a tech, and so much of this truck is out of my scope of technical knowledge, but I have a hard time believing that an OTA broke it. When I got home, I reviewed the print-out in greater detail. The "Readers Digest" version of the print-out: They replaced the clock spring, HVAC module, and Steering Column Control module - as per diagnostic direction and Ford Engineering input, and at each phase, the indicated solution failed. There was nothing on the print-out that indicated the actual final solution. My suspicion is that the original culprit was a module that went bad, but when they replaced it, the replacement module was not configured for my truck, giving a "fail". Further, my suspicion is that the "programming" that the Service Advisor was referring to was the correct re-configuring of the replacement module. But as I say, it's a guess.

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