Leaf On Windshield Shut Me Down

[pjc123]

A similar thing happened to me. Driving down the highway a large red collision alert warning light came up on the console after a leaf flew past my windshield. It went off after the leaf passed.

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[Tomatoboy]

So far I’ve had the pre-collision assist Christmas tree light dash of doom be triggered by:

- Bugs.
- A very specific kind of light rain.
- A car wash. Not the water inside the car wash, but somehow the dark maw of the car wash itself, before it had started.
- The sun being in its “eye.” This has actually been the most common one for transient errors, typically low morning sun from fall to spring, hasn't happened in the summer yet. This one clears immediately.

I’ve only had the red alert for pre-collision assist fire off erroneously one time, and I have absolutely no idea what it saw, but I was already breaking for a hill so it didn’t actually activate.

 

[philmayfield]

Good to know!

 

[MJ Heat]

I think the leaf is a red herring.

You say you jumped the truck to get out of your parking space, then as you drive away you had the avalanche of errors. A blocked camera or sensor won't trigger a "service engine soon" or "pro power disabled" warning.

I think your 12 volt is dead/dying and the leaf has nothing to do with it. You also say your truck is 3½ years old, that's the magic age for batteries going wonky. Those errors all point to a dead 12 volt.


Edited to add information.

Hold up! I just realized that I did the exact same thing you did, when I read your post & replied earlier today. BOTH OF US did not clearly read what the other had written. I started off my original posting with "I jumped in my truck". I never said that I jumped off my truck. You misread my statement and inadvertently took out the word in. Conversely, I also misread your initial statement as "You say you jumped in the truck", and inadvertently added the word in to your post, at least in my mind. Sorry!

Just so we are clear. I did not jump off the truck. The battery has not been an issue. The started just fine on the day of the "leaf" event. The truck was actually parked last Thursday until this morning for about 96 hours of continuous non-use, and it again started great this morning. I might be wrong (I often am), but I don't think the battery was the source of my problem.

 

[wayne1948]

A faulty wheel speed sensor will light up the dash also

 

[Lefty665]

So far I’ve had the pre-collision assist Christmas tree light dash of doom be triggered by:

- Bugs.
- A very specific kind of light rain.
- A car wash. Not the water inside the car wash, but somehow the dark maw of the car wash itself, before it had started.
- The sun being in its “eye.” This has actually been the most common one for transient errors, typically low morning sun from fall to spring, hasn't happened in the summer yet. This one clears immediately.

I’ve only had the red alert for pre-collision assist fire off erroneously one time, and I have absolutely no idea what it saw, but I was already breaking for a hill so it didn’t actually activate.

I had a flurry of pre-collision alerts after an OTA update. They stopped after another update.

 

[spazzyfry123]

Adding to the story with an indirect anecdote. Very similar situation happened to us in one of our Toyotas. We live off dirt/gravel roads with the only real solid surface from the main road to the house being the garage and the concrete apron. All this to say that it is frequent to have mud/dirt/whatever on the vehicles. Started the truck up, no issue. Put it in reverse and pulled out of the garage, no issue. Put it in drive to make our way, everything lit up. For what it's worth, the battery was replaced in this truck just a few months prior.

I'm hooking up my OBD scanner and getting error after error after error - but noticed something mentioning "collision" or "parking" or what have you multiple times. I do a few laps around the truck checking all that I can find. Front emblem is actually radar, that's clean enough. Sensors on the windshield look fine. What's that? A small clump of mud a fraction of the size of a lady bug partially covering one of the front parking sensors? I flick it off with my finger and the dash magically goes back to normal...

I just want it all disabled...

 

[MJ Heat]

Adding to the story with an indirect anecdote. Very similar situation happened to us in one of our Toyotas. We live off dirt/gravel roads with the only real solid surface from the main road to the house being the garage and the concrete apron. All this to say that it is frequent to have mud/dirt/whatever on the vehicles. Started the truck up, no issue. Put it in reverse and pulled out of the garage, no issue. Put it in drive to make our way, everything lit up. For what it's worth, the battery was replaced in this truck just a few months prior.

I'm hooking up my OBD scanner and getting error after error after error - but noticed something mentioning "collision" or "parking" or what have you multiple times. I do a few laps around the truck checking all that I can find. Front emblem is actually radar, that's clean enough. Sensors on the windshield look fine. What's that? A small clump of mud a fraction of the size of a lady bug partially covering one of the front parking sensors? I flick it off with my finger and the dash magically goes back to normal...

I just want it all disabled...

I regularly marvel at the incredible engineering in our vehicles today. Like all of the amazing technology in our lives, it is great when it works, but incredibly frustrating, and sometimes ridiculously expensive when it does not.

 

[Groovicles]

I jumped in my 22 XLT Powerboost last week, put it in reverse & backed out of my parking space, shifted to drive, & the dash lit up like a Christmas tree. The truck applied brakes, Pre-collision alert flashed, then multiple warnings & alerts popped up. A Pre-collision disabled warning, Pro Power disabled warning, Service Engine Soon, & Check Engine Light among others flashed one after the other & the check engine light stayed on.

I decided to power the truck off to see if that had any effect. After I powered back up, everything seemed to be fine for about 1/4 mile, but then it all happened again, with the truck intermittently applying brakes & even more lights, alarms, & notices popping up.

This time, I also got a Ford Pass notification telling me that the truck required immediate service. I pulled the truck over & shut it down again, resigned that my truck was getting ready to get towed to the dealer.

In doing a little research on my phone while sitting there thinking about the situation, I found that a disabled "radar" sensor could possibly cause that condition. I got out & walked around the truck, & saw that all sensors that I could see all over the truck were clear of debris & in good condition. I happened to notice a really small leaf on the top center of the windshield positioned right on the upper edge (there is apparently a sensor there), temporarily stuck there by a little moisture. I pulled the leaf off & hopped back in the truck hoping for the best.

As it turns out, the leaf must have been the problem. 50 miles later the check engine light went off. The truck has delivered the great performance & the same driveability that I have enjoyed since I got it 3 1/2 years & 60k miles ago, over the past week.

I thought that I would post what happened with my truck here, so we can all benefit from my experience. I literally was getting ready to call a tow truck. It would have been pretty frustrating to pay for a tow & the dealership service visit, for them to tell me that it was just a leaf. Or even worse, have the leaf blow off on the way to the dealership, & they tell me that they could find nothing wrong. That would have ruined my confidence in what has been a great truck so far.

The mighty F150 defeated by a leaf Its so sad how much these trucks cost that you just got to laugh at how fragile they are. Glad it was an easy fix this time!

 

[Lefty665]

If a leaf falls on a Ford and there is no sensor there to be obstructed does it make a sound?

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