2023 Ranger Tremor "Check 4x4" and "Terrain Management Fault".... lead to...

[Tremor-R]

Well, I was hoping my first post on Ranger5G would be more of a traditional meet and great, but unfortunately I had something happen to my new Ranger this evening that has me a bit scared. My wife and I were picking our daughter up from work this evening when I received two messages, "Check 4x4" and "Terrain Management Fault". Both were followed by the image of a wrench appearing on the lower left of my center display. When parked, I cycled the truck off and on again and the wrench symbol was no longer visible. On our return home we had just left the expressway when the messages and wrench reappeared. When approaching our first stop sign the truck violently jerked us to a sudden stop from about 20mph with 4-Low flashing on the center display. Both my hands were on the wheel and my wife was looking out the passenger window when this happened.... neither one of us had our hands anywhere near the Terrain Management knob. I know that the truck isn't supposed to shift into 4-Low unless it's in Neutral, but it did.... while in drive. Thank God this didn't happen on the freeway. I'm going to have the truck towed to our local dealer tomorrow and will give frequent updates as they become available. In the meantime, I would advise anyone receiving those fault codes to drive cautiously and would advise against driving at high speeds until you have it looked at by your dealer. If anyone else out there has experienced something similar, please let me know.

Scott

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[9zero1790]

wow! that could have really hurt someone. Any fluids or parts hit the ground after this? ive been on rough dirt roads and meant to turn the 4wd knob to 4h and turned it to many clicks, to the 4L setting and the truck basically said no, slow shift to neutral etc. on the dash. hope the dealer gets it fixed quickly and correctly.

 

[ppfd]

Read my thread. My 4WD didn't kick on by itself.
I have had steering issues though

 

[Jason B]

Did you check the 4x4 switch to see if it was in 4L, or did the electronics switch to 4L without the switch input? A few posters stated that it is sometimes easy to bump the switch with your knee due to its location. Someone even made a protector to prevent accidental engagement.

 

[NotBudule]

I know that the truck isn't supposed to shift into 4-Low unless it's in Neutral, but it did.... while in drive.

Scott

Not being mean here , but if I do believe that your Ranger went into 4 low , all by itself (Skynet ?) with no input from you whatsoever, then I would have to believe mine could also do that at any moment, and then worry about it , so , no, it didn't go into 4 low by itself (again , Skynet? ) and neither can mine !
I mean that crazy ! Bannans ! Hey , wait a minute here , RP ? Is that you?

 

[Tremor-R]

Not being mean here , but if I do believe that your Ranger went into 4 low , all by itself (Skynet ?) with no input from you whatsoever, then I would have to believe mine could also do that at any moment, and then worry about it , so , no, it didn't go into 4 low by itself (again , Skynet? ) and neither can mine !
I mean that crazy ! Bannans ! Hey , wait a minute here , RP ? Is that you?

wow! that could have really hurt someone. Any fluids or parts hit the ground after this? ive been on rough dirt roads and meant to turn the 4wd knob to 4h and turned it to many clicks, to the 4L setting and the truck basically said no, slow shift to neutral etc. on the dash. hope the dealer gets it fixed quickly and correctly.

wow! that could have really hurt someone. Any fluids or parts hit the ground after this? ive been on rough dirt roads and meant to turn the 4wd knob to 4h and turned it to many clicks, to the 4L setting and the truck basically said no, slow shift to neutral etc. on the dash. hope the dealer gets it fixed quickly and correctly.

9Zero, yes it was pretty surprising. No scattered parts on the ground. However, the truck was in drive and had just downshifted into 2nd at around 20mph when it went into 4-low. The engine did over-rev briefly during it's quick stop and there was a high-pitched whine from either the transfer case or the transmission (I suspect the transfer case) for a second during it's hard deceleration. I managed to drive it home under 20mph with the flashers on without further incidents. In regard to the 4WD knob.... this is my 2nd Tremor and I've been aware of accidental knob turns from others on this forum. I WISH I could say I turned it, but I didn't. As soon as the truck ground to a halt and I saw "4-Low" flashing on the dash, both my wife and I looked down at the knob AND shifter.... the "2D" was illuminated on the knob and the shifter was in "D". This is our 2nd Tremor and my wife and I have been wheeling for several years together, so even she's aware of having to place the vehicle in Neutral prior to engaging 4-Low. It's on its way to the dealer now and I'll keep everyone posted.

 

[Tremor-R]

Not being mean here , but if I do believe that your Ranger went into 4 low , all by itself (Skynet ?) with no input from you whatsoever, then I would have to believe mine could also do that at any moment, and then worry about it , so , no, it didn't go into 4 low by itself (again , Skynet? ) and neither can mine !
I mean that crazy ! Bannans ! Hey , wait a minute here , RP ? Is that you?

NotBudule, I completely understand your disbelief... I don't believe it either. But our disbelief doesn't negate the fact that this happened.... and with two other witnesses inside the vehicle; my wife and daughter. I honestly wish this didn't happen as my wife and I love this truck.

 

[Tremor-R]

Read my thread. My 4WD didn't kick on by itself.
I have had steering issues though

PPFD, thanks for posting. I'll check out your thread this evening after work.

 

[Tremor-R]

Did you check the 4x4 switch to see if it was in 4L, or did the electronics switch to 4L without the switch input? A few posters stated that it is sometimes easy to bump the switch with your knee due to its location. Someone even made a protector to prevent accidental engagement.

Jason, thanks for the suggestion. This is our 2nd Tremor and I've been aware of the knee-knob issue as a result of this forum. I wish I could say we did bump it, but the knob was in "2D" and the shifter in "D" when this happened. I'll be sure to keep everyone posted as I receive more info from the dealer.

 

[9zero1790]

im guessing its a computer issue but it likely brought some mechanical damage

 

[Tremor-R]

im guessing its a computer issue but it likely brought some mechanical damage

I'm hoping there are no mechanical issues. Yes, I'm thinking something electrical or possibly software/firmware related. I've yet to introduce a tune or have the ECU flashed in any way so I'm thinking more on the electrical side (water contamination in a plug/harness or a direct short perhaps?). I had the dealer take down everything that happened, especially the eigne over-rev and brief transfer case whine. If any premature failures to the engine/trans/transfer case happen in the future, it'll be documented as to this incident being the potential cause.

 

[9zero1790]

I hope you have a good dealer. Some of us have gotten some run around with ford dealers in the past. The issues you have concerns me. That could have been a horrible crash.

 

[Tremor-R]

Well, I was hoping my first post on Ranger5G would be more of a traditional meet and great, but unfortunately I had something happen to my new Ranger this evening that has me a bit scared. My wife and I were picking our daughter up from work this evening when I received two messages, "Check 4x4" and "Terrain Management Fault". Both were followed by the image of a wrench appearing on the lower left of my center display. When parked, I cycled the truck off and on again and the wrench symbol was no longer visible. On our return home we had just left the expressway when the messages and wrench reappeared. When approaching our first stop sign the truck violently jerked us to a sudden stop from about 20mph with 4-Low flashing on the center display. Both my hands were on the wheel and my wife was looking out the passenger window when this happened.... neither one of us had our hands anywhere near the Terrain Management knob. I know that the truck isn't supposed to shift into 4-Low unless it's in Neutral, but it did.... while in drive. Thank God this didn't happen on the freeway. I'm going to have the truck towed to our local dealer tomorrow and will give frequent updates as they become available. In the meantime, I would advise anyone receiving those fault codes to drive cautiously and would advise against driving at high speeds until you have it looked at by your dealer. If anyone else out there has experienced something similar, please let me know.

Scott

4/11 @ 5pm: Received a call from the dealer this evening. They did confirm that there's several codes stored in the ECU and will be reading/diagnosing them tomorrow.... stay tuned.

 

[9zero1790]

4/11 @ 5pm: Received a call from the dealer this evening. They did confirm that there's several codes stored in the ECU and will be reading/diagnosing them tomorrow.... stay tuned.

least they gave you some sort of news. i would have expected more. i mean they knew it had codes when you arrived with it on a flat bed... but - Ford dealer.

 

[Tremor-R]

I hope you have a good dealer. Some of us have gotten some run around with ford dealers in the past. The issues you have concerns me. That could have been a horrible crash.

9Zero, we'll see. I've yet to use this dealer, however a friend of ours reported he's received good service from them in the past.... if I run into trouble, I have a few wild cards up my sleeve that would help to move things along. I wouldn't loose any sleep over this if I were you. I did an extensive search over the net today and didn't find a single occurrence similar to my issue. I never had any problems arise with my 2021 Tremor, and this concern may only apply to the 2023 model. Anyway, I'll post another update tomorrow after I communicate with the dealership.

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