2017 Lincoln MKZ - Limp Mode - No rolling starts - More FUN

[14SHOCAR]

Well... 6032 miles into the car, I've managed to find a problem.
As I was pulling out of my condos, my car went into limp mode. Not entirely sure what happened so I figured I'd air out my frustration here. 
I live in an area where when I pull out into traffic from my condos, it’s a pretty busy road. I put the car into sport mode just in case I need to get up and go, though I rarely do. When turned onto the road I got about 50 feet before my transmission slammed into to 2nd or 3rd gear and was limited to 5-7 MPH. I was only going about 25MPH when the car did this. Unfortunately, there was a driver who was not paying attention behind me and almost slammed into the back of my car. Needless to say I was in panic mode because I thought the car died and I am not entirely sure how to start the push button car while it is rolling…. (another topic to be discussed).
I also noticed when the car had the really hard shift, the car went from “Sport” to “D”. The check engine light turned on and the car sputtered to a safe area. I noticed I had about 35 miles of gas remaining so I sputtered with hazards and all to a gas station to fill up a half tank. After letting the car sit and looking for any oil leaks, and transmission leaks, the car started up and it’s running normally again.
Since I’ve tuned an EcoBoost before, I picked up on a very interesting thing. I feel as if the ECU reset itself, as my shifts are much more firm (like when you first load a tune).
#1 The car shouldn’t go into limp mode if it runs out of gas right?
#2 It shouldn’t limit you to 5mph – 10MPH if it is running out of gas?
#4 A check engine light shouldn’t turn on when the engine is still running and the gas is low?
Speaking with the dealership, they mentioned that the ECU has been known to need a reset / new ECU due to a water leak.
And probably the most important #5:

The car is push button…. Everything. (drive selector too). I know the trick where you put a car in neutral and start the engine, the car will coast and continue movement. Since the push buttons require a foot on the brake, how do you do a rolling start on a push button car???

 

[14SHOCAR]

Oh -- and one more thing to vent about -- Lincoln Concierge Service / Road Side Assistance.

I couldn't get through to a Lincoln Concierge using chat or using the phone number provided. I also tried roadside assistance and got hung up on right away... three times. MAJOR FAIL

 

[ajpturbo]

I wouldve tried shifting to neutral and a light touch of the brake to start the car.

Car should not have done that i suspect just a fluke....usually with limp mode reduced power mode is temporary and a simple restart will fix it.

Often the reason for limp mode is fords strategy for monitoring torque control and torque error for what it should be and what the actual wheel torque is...its a good system that is mean to make the car deliver consistently torque in all temps and elevations

But often the problem is fords super tight tolerance for measuring the error . The car was probably in a scenario that created a difference in detected torque and that produced limp mode or FMEP

There are items in a tune that help eliminate that from happening but you dont want to defeat the system entirely but sadly some do that

Interestingly enough alot of the factory ford strategies allowed more error in the torque logic to avoid limp mode when the f150's suffered this

The problem was with the torque detection logic which is why there were tune updates and not really the condensation in the intercooler...all intercoolers will suffer condensation which is why they should be periodically drained and not DRILLED into which is a mod that can never be undone

The best solution is to drain the intercooler along with the proper changes to the tune...not saying thats your problem but the torque detection logic has proved to be a problem in the past...if the proper logic is in the tune then condensation would never be a problem but some struggle with that concept especially people that dont tune and have come from the f150 crowd

Can you find your strategy and let me know?

 

[SHOdded]

Any number of sensors could have also triggered this or a similar reaction, most common being a throttle position sensor/failing throttle body.  Were there any codes in the PCM?

Hopefully, if it IS a PCM reset that happened, they can trace the faulty component and not throw up their hands.  Electrical gremlins have been known to result in vehicle "swaps" before.

 

[14SHOCAR]

ATP- I forgot to grab the strategy code for you. I'll make sure I do this when I get my car back from the dealership. As always, your extensive knowledge is appreciated.  While torque could have put it in limp mode, it wasn't the transmission disengaging. It was absolutely engine stuttering. My engine was literally trembling and sounded like it was only firing on two cylinders. After is shut it off and turned it back on, the engine continued to shutter. I couldn't more than 7 MPH with the throttle pressed down. I would have thought restarting the car would have reset the ECU / torque condition. After I gave my self a half tank of gas (didn't want it full if it was a fuel pump thing), opened the hood for inspection, shut the hood and restarted I didn't have issues other than a little harder shifts.

I'm going to see if I can do rolling restarts with the car moving and the vehicle in neutral. It's good to know for emergency purposes.

Shodded -- I hope not. Well maybe... lol. I do want to get the revel sound system in my next MKZ. I'm hoping that the dealership lets me know what codes are thrown.

Looking forward to finally getting videos of my car rocking now the weather is better.

This image shows the intersection I crossed and didn't make it to the Napa driveway before the car took a s***. Literally less than 50 feet.

Sad, Sad day.

 

[Brucelinc]

After you get this little snafu taken care of, I hope you have AJ tune that beast.

 

[SHOdded]

Hoping for positive developments!

 

[ajpturbo]

After you get this little snafu taken care of, I hope you have AJ tune that beast.

If he is tuneable then you are tuneable.....actually they are able to be tuned now but sct has a little bug to work out but i can see the tune now but there is an error going on

 

[14SHOCAR]

I'll let ya know AJP. I'm looking forward to a tune when she's back and stable.

 

[Brucelinc]

I look forward to seeing what these will do with a tune.  It might take some tweaking to reach the full potential but I suspect a low 12 second time is possible with just a well sorted tune.  Just getting the transmission shifts optimized would improve the performance pretty drastically.

 

[14SHOCAR]

Update on the car: There is no update.

I got a call from the dealership and they said they can't reproduce the issue. (lol no surprise there). I called back and asked them what DTCs occurred on the vehicle. I'm waiting to hear back from the dealership. They said there are "concerns" with the vehicle.

Good thing I didn't tune it yet. lol.

 

[Brucelinc]

Not to make light of this but if a dealer told me there were "concerns" with my car, I would be very concerned.  However, I doubt if there is anything seriously wrong.  I would have thought the first thing they would have checked was for DTCs. 

Thanks for the update and keep us posted.

 

[ajpturbo]

Thats why i say tune....stock cars blow engines

What does "concerns" even mean?

Maybe im the minority but service advisors serve no purpose to me...id rather talk to the mechanic...but they discourage that...they'd rather have a guy in clean clothes weasel his way through a vague explanation  interpreted from the mechanics notes...but i guess most are satisfied with that

 

[lamrith]

Maybe im the minority but service advisors serve no purpose to me...id rather talk to the mechanic...but they discourage that...they'd rather have a guy in clean clothes weasel his way through a vague explanation  interpreted from the mechanics notes...but i guess most are satisfied with that

I don't want to side track the thread, but  have to agree on that.  All the mechanical / car enthusiast I have talked to dislike them.  Normal "my car won't go" type of people the service writers are ok.  I ran into it with my last car, even had screenshots of the Tech2 programmer and section they needed to go into.  Nothing, 2 dealerships could not program key fobs due to service writers not letting me speak to tech for 5min.  I borrowed a tech2 from a private party and have the car reprogrammed and learning new FOBS in 10min.

Similar with ford after you had me inquire about reflashing ECU before we start tuning.  "Why do you want it", "it will take 2hrs", "no reason to do it", one excuse after another when a couple min with mechanic and a case of beer it would have been done on a weekend...

 

[14SHOCAR]

Soooo they said they scanned the car and didn't see any codes. Yet they have "concerns".  The service advisor is..... USELESS.

I basically said to him -- The car lit up like a Christmas tree, with both "service vehicle" and check "service manual" those both generate DTCs. I then said after I restarted it was not firing properly and pretty much every cylinder should have misfires. I said the probability of having NO codes is pretty much not a possibility at this point. He said he'd talk to his mechanic and get back to me.

SMH

In the mean time, my profile pic is changing into my car getting towed.

 

[ajpturbo]

Im pretty comfortable saying you simply hit reduced power mode(limp mode)...cant say why though...could be a tune problem....wouldnt worry about it but it is ashame....updated ford tunes had items that specifically addressed that and helped so im surprised it still happens as much...but that's assuming its a tune problem

 

[14SHOCAR]

But Limp mode even after a restart?

 

[ajpturbo]

Yeah thats a bit strange...send me that strategy when you can

 

[Brucelinc]

That service advisor obviously doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground.  I am beginning to wonder about the tech. 

 

[14SHOCAR]

That service advisor obviously doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground.  I am beginning to wonder about the tech.

The service advisor said he was going to call me back in 30 minutes from when I sent that post... Still holding my breath.