Motorpsychology
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Chris
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2019
- Threads
- 21
- Messages
- 3,299
- Reaction score
- 11,527
- Location
- Prescott, WI
- Vehicle(s)
- 2021 Ranger STX SuperCab 4X4 Carbonized grey; 2025 Mazda CX-90 Platinum Quartz
- Occupation
- Vagabond
- Thread starter
- #1
One of my shortcomings, or attributes, depending on which side of my eyeballs you're on, is I am rarely brief nor concise. So grab your favorite beverage and set a spell:
We like to name our cars, and that was the name we gave our 2025 Explorer ST Line that my wife and I ordered in December 2024. She is the 90% driver of the car and she wanted red so we upped our game to the ST Line, as Rapid Red isnāt available in the base Active. It had Blue Cruise as standard equipment, which neither of us cared about, and red brake calipers that all the cool kids have. It arrived on March 31 2025, and shortly after, we took a road trip to Dearborn and Ann Arbor Michigan. Dearborn to visit The Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village; a superbly done historical campus that I highly recommend seeing. On the return trip, we stopped in Ann Arbor at a specialty fabric shop that my quiltahololic wife has done business with online.
Fast forward to late June, and we were out and about when suddenly, the warning chime sounded repeatedly and several warning lights went off one after another, mostly to do with radar stuff and anti skid, anti collision, BLIS, but the one that worried me was the Wrench Of Death light and a message about the transmission. We were near our destination and decided to have lunch, and take it to the nearby Ford dealer. After lunch, I squinted hard and grit my teeth as I pushed the start button- everything was fine, like it never happened. So we continued on with our day. Not long after, it happened again while my wife was driving, and the same thing; shut it off and everything reset. It was about due for an oil change, so I made an appointment to have it looked at and do a Works Package. There was a TSB for the problem, which they performed and wrote up in detail.
We got the car back and it performed normally, until July 10th she and some family members including two of our grandchildren were out and about. At their last stop, the car refused to start, no sound, nothing. Then she couldnāt turn the ignition off, and the liftgate which they had opened earlier would not close electrically. She called a tow truck and was informed that it would take three hours to get to her rural location, My son and I drove down with his SUV to rescue them and I was to wait for the tow. Meanwhile, they managed to get the car started again, liftgate closed, and the festival of lights on the display. So we cancelled the tow and I drove it 45 miles to the dealership, chiming and blinking away, without incident. The following Monday, the shop performed the TSB again, as instructed by the factory tech line. Afterwards on a test drive it happened again, and they were able to bring it back with the malfunctions active. They were then advised to replace the main ECU, the one that controls al the other lesser controllers. Now it was generating different codes.
Several attempts later, and it was still throwing codes, and by now it had been over 30 days in the shop and we were advised by the Service Department that we ought to look into a lemon law buy-back, which we did. The Repurchase people at Ford Motor Company were understanding and professional, and prompt. The process was uncomplicated, though there were several steps to complete. In the end, we got the settlement we had initially submitted, after the āSplor was in the shop for 48 days with no hope of resolution. After this saga, my wife was all done with Fords and we now have a 2025 Mazda CX-90, an 8- passenger in Platinum Quartz. We named it The Creamboat. It has an inline 6 turbo- like all the cool kids have.
I am keeping my 2021 Ranger; my second all-time favorite vehicle, the first being my '70 Dodge Challenger that I bought new shortly after returning from the 'Nam.
We like to name our cars, and that was the name we gave our 2025 Explorer ST Line that my wife and I ordered in December 2024. She is the 90% driver of the car and she wanted red so we upped our game to the ST Line, as Rapid Red isnāt available in the base Active. It had Blue Cruise as standard equipment, which neither of us cared about, and red brake calipers that all the cool kids have. It arrived on March 31 2025, and shortly after, we took a road trip to Dearborn and Ann Arbor Michigan. Dearborn to visit The Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village; a superbly done historical campus that I highly recommend seeing. On the return trip, we stopped in Ann Arbor at a specialty fabric shop that my quiltahololic wife has done business with online.
Fast forward to late June, and we were out and about when suddenly, the warning chime sounded repeatedly and several warning lights went off one after another, mostly to do with radar stuff and anti skid, anti collision, BLIS, but the one that worried me was the Wrench Of Death light and a message about the transmission. We were near our destination and decided to have lunch, and take it to the nearby Ford dealer. After lunch, I squinted hard and grit my teeth as I pushed the start button- everything was fine, like it never happened. So we continued on with our day. Not long after, it happened again while my wife was driving, and the same thing; shut it off and everything reset. It was about due for an oil change, so I made an appointment to have it looked at and do a Works Package. There was a TSB for the problem, which they performed and wrote up in detail.
We got the car back and it performed normally, until July 10th she and some family members including two of our grandchildren were out and about. At their last stop, the car refused to start, no sound, nothing. Then she couldnāt turn the ignition off, and the liftgate which they had opened earlier would not close electrically. She called a tow truck and was informed that it would take three hours to get to her rural location, My son and I drove down with his SUV to rescue them and I was to wait for the tow. Meanwhile, they managed to get the car started again, liftgate closed, and the festival of lights on the display. So we cancelled the tow and I drove it 45 miles to the dealership, chiming and blinking away, without incident. The following Monday, the shop performed the TSB again, as instructed by the factory tech line. Afterwards on a test drive it happened again, and they were able to bring it back with the malfunctions active. They were then advised to replace the main ECU, the one that controls al the other lesser controllers. Now it was generating different codes.
Several attempts later, and it was still throwing codes, and by now it had been over 30 days in the shop and we were advised by the Service Department that we ought to look into a lemon law buy-back, which we did. The Repurchase people at Ford Motor Company were understanding and professional, and prompt. The process was uncomplicated, though there were several steps to complete. In the end, we got the settlement we had initially submitted, after the āSplor was in the shop for 48 days with no hope of resolution. After this saga, my wife was all done with Fords and we now have a 2025 Mazda CX-90, an 8- passenger in Platinum Quartz. We named it The Creamboat. It has an inline 6 turbo- like all the cool kids have.
I am keeping my 2021 Ranger; my second all-time favorite vehicle, the first being my '70 Dodge Challenger that I bought new shortly after returning from the 'Nam.
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