Aggravations, Ford's retained ownership.

[John H Haley]

I'd like to know if anyone shares my desire to choke (only a desire, sensitive folks, and deserved) someone at Ford or in the bureaucracy of our government for these idiotic unnecessary aggravations. Features I had to buy, behavior I detest, making me feel as if Ford has retained some ownership in the truck. In no particular order.:

1. The double honk. Maybe I'm in the woods checking a game camera, just pulling the card. Would like to be low profile. Maybe going into a gas station store to get a drink leaving passengers or my dog inside, or in my garage just remembered my cellphone. I get out, leave it running, take two steps to the front of the truck and . . . HONK HONK. I'm maybe two feet from the horn. Game is spooked. People turn and stare at the rudeness. Especially in the closed space that is my garage, I want to retaliate against the truck. The explanations I have heard for this hold no water, so spare me. This is some arrogant busybody environmentalist saving the world from my exhaust, and he needs to be slapped up side the head.

2. Truck turning off when truck stopped. Enough said. What does this feature, an unnecessary mechanical complication, cost?

3. The foot operated liftgate. It has closed on me several times, and I have never had success using it intentionally.

4. The engine shutoff when parked and left running for 15 minutes or so. If it's hot (I'm in south Georgia) and granny or my dog (pretty much always along) is with me, I leave the truck running when I go into Lowe's, etc., not knowing how long I'll be gone. This feature can only be defeated on a one-time basis, which means you must remember to do it every single time you park. Forget once, as you will, and the result could be gastly.

5. The interior feature of the alarm that sets when the truck is turned off. I'm in the woods, headed to my deer stand, being "vewy, vewy quiet," and 100 yards from the truck the alarm goes off. Or I'm in the grocery store and a customer tells me my alarm is going off. The dog moved. This, too, must be defeated on an every time basis. Can't wait for this to happen during a funeral, at the cemetery.

6. The castration of the keypad. The first thing I noticed is that it is now under glass, no tactile feedback, much harder to operate. Then I found it wasn't me not touching it right, it was Ford rendering it useless. It only works if the key is within two feet, meaning it only works if you have the key on you, meaning somebody at Ford needs . . . a good talking to?

I probably forgot something, and other than these great aggravations and a screwy head unit (random happenings), it is a great truck. The kicker to me is not that these aggravations are so aggravating, but that Ford did not allow the customer to defeat them, turn them off, other than on a one-time basis. That really gets in my face, it seems very personal and intentional. You will comply . . ..

 

[sjwhiteley]

You can disable the double honk using forscan: I know it's annoying to have to do that, but if it bugs you so much, it is a pretty easy way to fix it. There are a couple of other features you might want to enable, while you are at it.

Yes, the lift gate is less than reliable. Best option (again, annoying you have to do it) is to disconnect the antenna.

Engine shut off: push the button. Or, there are a couple of options to 'permanently' set it to not do that.

The alarm defaulting to on? Well, that's probably the best way for the vast majority of people.

The keypad works fine without the key nearby: perhaps you have a technical glitch?

Most of these features are what would satisfy the majority of people (intermittent tail lift gate not withstanding). Most of them can be defeated with a bit of work. I'd investigate that if you are so against them

 

[TheDoug]

One of the first things I did was disable that annoying double honk with ForScan.

I agree the 15 minute shutoff is annoying. @sjwhiteley suggested I permanent fix... what is it? ForScan? I didn't see the option when I first used it.

Tailgate sensitivity is horrible... it closes on me anytime I put in my trailer hitch or drop the trailer on the hitch.

There was recently a discussion here about the interior alarm being able to be defaulted to turn off the interior sensors. Don't hold me to this but I think I read that the 2020+ can do that but not 2018 and 2019.

 

[aggiegrad05]

Don't hold me to this but I think I read that the 2020+ can do that but not 2018 and 2019.

My 2018 does.

 

[TheDoug]

My 2018 does.

It stays as default? Sweet... will have to go tinker with settings. Thanks

 

[Deadman]

Lots of that BS is government mandated. The rest you can disable through different means.

 

[JasonH]

Does the vehicle shut off even if the key is present? I have a 3rd gen. We idle sometimes between games while running the AC. This may be specific to the 4th gen. On my 3rd gen, if you leave the key in the vehicle after exiting, you can lock it using the keypad to keep it running.

 

[edizzle]

Does the vehicle shut off even if the key is present? I have a 3rd gen. We idle sometimes between games while running the AC. This may be specific to the 4th gen. On my 3rd gen, if you leave the key in the vehicle after exiting, you can lock it using the keypad to keep it running.

this would be handy if true.

 

[StealthyBulldog]

It does shut off even with key in vehicle. My wife takes our dog in to agility class and I wait in the vehicle for an hour, it prompts you to hit ok, and will continue running if you do, otherwise it shuts off.

 

[JamaicaJoe]

snip

Most of these features are what would satisfy the majority of people (intermittent tail lift gate not withstanding). Most of them can be defeated with a bit of work. I'd investigate that if you are so against them

People don't need, and the majority don't want all these excess electronic doodads. It's just gimmicry to confuse buyers into spending more money on an overpriced vehicle. God forbid they might buy a car without hands free tailgate opener or running boards that fold up if they work at all once ice and water get into them

You cannot tell me that folks would rather have an enormously complex turbo 6 than to have an equally powerful V8.

There are 23 year old Expeditions still motoring along with 250K miles on them. These last generation are going to fade fast once the electronics wear out or people cannot troubleshoot minor failures.



Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

 

[wakeboarder]

It does shut off even with key in vehicle. My wife takes our dog in to agility class and I wait in the vehicle for an hour, it prompts you to hit ok, and will continue running if you do, otherwise it shuts off.

So people just need to train their dogs to hit the ok button.

 

[Squark]

It does shut off even with key in vehicle. My wife takes our dog in to agility class and I wait in the vehicle for an hour, it prompts you to hit ok, and will continue running if you do, otherwise it shuts off.

You can disable the auto shutoff, but the setting resets each time you start your car. It’s under Advanced Settings in your instrument cluster. I think it’s called Auto Engine Off.

 

[dlcorbett]

I'd like to know if anyone shares my desire to choke (only a desire, sensitive folks, and deserved) someone at Ford or in the bureaucracy of our government for these idiotic unnecessary aggravations. Features I had to buy, behavior I detest, making me feel as if Ford has retained some ownership in the truck. In no particular order.:

1. The double honk. Maybe I'm in the woods checking a game camera, just pulling the card. Would like to be low profile. Maybe going into a gas station store to get a drink leaving passengers or my dog inside, or in my garage just remembered my cellphone. I get out, leave it running, take two steps to the front of the truck and . . . HONK HONK. I'm maybe two feet from the horn. Game is spooked. People turn and stare at the rudeness. Especially in the closed space that is my garage, I want to retaliate against the truck. The explanations I have heard for this hold no water, so spare me. This is some arrogant busybody environmentalist saving the world from my exhaust, and he needs to be slapped up side the head.

2. Truck turning off when truck stopped. Enough said. What does this feature, an unnecessary mechanical complication, cost?

3. The foot operated liftgate. It has closed on me several times, and I have never had success using it intentionally.

4. The engine shutoff when parked and left running for 15 minutes or so. If it's hot (I'm in south Georgia) and granny or my dog (pretty much always along) is with me, I leave the truck running when I go into Lowe's, etc., not knowing how long I'll be gone. This feature can only be defeated on a one-time basis, which means you must remember to do it every single time you park. Forget once, as you will, and the result could be gastly.

5. The interior feature of the alarm that sets when the truck is turned off. I'm in the woods, headed to my deer stand, being "vewy, vewy quiet," and 100 yards from the truck the alarm goes off. Or I'm in the grocery store and a customer tells me my alarm is going off. The dog moved. This, too, must be defeated on an every time basis. Can't wait for this to happen during a funeral, at the cemetery.

6. The castration of the keypad. The first thing I noticed is that it is now under glass, no tactile feedback, much harder to operate. Then I found it wasn't me not touching it right, it was Ford rendering it useless. It only works if the key is within two feet, meaning it only works if you have the key on you, meaning somebody at Ford needs . . . a good talking to?

I probably forgot something, and other than these great aggravations and a screwy head unit (random happenings), it is a great truck. The kicker to me is not that these aggravations are so aggravating, but that Ford did not allow the customer to defeat them, turn them off, other than on a one-time basis. That really gets in my face, it seems very personal and intentional. You will comply . . ..

1. Is this to lock the car? This seems situational though I guess while hunting it could get annoying.

2. You can reach over and hit the button, or use the defeat that alot of people on here used.

3. It didn't great but worked well enough. Mines was rear ended, and the techs adjusted the sensor and worked so much better. Ironically, the collision center where worked was GM.

4. I've never had to leave the truck waiting that long, but doesn't this save gas as well?

5. This is a safety feature to prevent kids from being left in the car. I remember when these first came out and unfortunately a child died in an expy because the they were left in without the car being on. I believe this was added after that incident.

6. One of my fav features and worked perfectly. Yours maybe actin up.

It's been a while but here we're my irritations when I owned:

1. Popping mirrors, very loud and obnoxious. Sometimes people would stare because it was so loud. Theres a tsb for it now but it came out right before it was turned in.

2. Rattles. First it was the seat, then it was the moonroof, then it was the seatbelt. Also, there was a creak coming from the console. My 09 nav never rattled so this I never understood. It took three trips and a recall to get rid of the seat rattle, and the roof would rattle on and off, but quit after a year.

3. Bluetooth. The truck would continually drop bt connection for both my me and my wife's phones, but mostly mines. Dealer couldnt/wouldn't fix and it went to 2 different dealers for it.

4. Inconsistent ride. Mines had the standard springs and wish I got the ccd. On most days, it rode fine, and good days, it had a luxury car ride, but on bad days, the ride was tiring. Sometimes, itll go from great to bad and vice versa in the same leg if long enough. I won't say it was because the shocks were leaking as it was doing this after about a week into owning. I know every vehicle has ride variances day to day, but the expys ride variance was wildly huge sometimes.

 

[5280tunage]

I'd like to know if anyone shares my desire to choke (only a desire, sensitive folks, and deserved) someone at Ford or in the bureaucracy of our government for these idiotic unnecessary aggravations. Features I had to buy, behavior I detest, making me feel as if Ford has retained some ownership in the truck. In no particular order.:

1. The double honk. Maybe I'm in the woods checking a game camera, just pulling the card. Would like to be low profile. Maybe going into a gas station store to get a drink leaving passengers or my dog inside, or in my garage just remembered my cellphone. I get out, leave it running, take two steps to the front of the truck and . . . HONK HONK. I'm maybe two feet from the horn. Game is spooked. People turn and stare at the rudeness. Especially in the closed space that is my garage, I want to retaliate against the truck. The explanations I have heard for this hold no water, so spare me. This is some arrogant busybody environmentalist saving the world from my exhaust, and he needs to be slapped up side the head.

2. Truck turning off when truck stopped. Enough said. What does this feature, an unnecessary mechanical complication, cost?

3. The foot operated liftgate. It has closed on me several times, and I have never had success using it intentionally.

4. The engine shutoff when parked and left running for 15 minutes or so. If it's hot (I'm in south Georgia) and granny or my dog (pretty much always along) is with me, I leave the truck running when I go into Lowe's, etc., not knowing how long I'll be gone. This feature can only be defeated on a one-time basis, which means you must remember to do it every single time you park. Forget once, as you will, and the result could be gastly.

5. The interior feature of the alarm that sets when the truck is turned off. I'm in the woods, headed to my deer stand, being "vewy, vewy quiet," and 100 yards from the truck the alarm goes off. Or I'm in the grocery store and a customer tells me my alarm is going off. The dog moved. This, too, must be defeated on an every time basis. Can't wait for this to happen during a funeral, at the cemetery.

6. The castration of the keypad. The first thing I noticed is that it is now under glass, no tactile feedback, much harder to operate. Then I found it wasn't me not touching it right, it was Ford rendering it useless. It only works if the key is within two feet, meaning it only works if you have the key on you, meaning somebody at Ford needs . . . a good talking to?

I probably forgot something, and other than these great aggravations and a screwy head unit (random happenings), it is a great truck. The kicker to me is not that these aggravations are so aggravating, but that Ford did not allow the customer to defeat them, turn them off, other than on a one-time basis. That really gets in my face, it seems very personal and intentional. You will comply . . ..

1) Yup, hated this. Disabled mine via Forscan as qucikly as i could
2) Normally I don't mind this, and for various reasons mine disables itself a lot, likely because with Covid, many of my trips are pretty short. Not to mention that throughout the winter here, there's several heaters going so the car doesn't shutoff. But there are times when it shuts off that I hate, like when I'm sitting in traffic waiting for a clear spot to merge.
3) This was super bad, it nearly closed on my kids multiple times when they were sitting on the tailgate. Disabled this via Forscan, I know some just unplug the sensor, but I don't like having open electrical connections in wet spots.
4) Haven't really run into this but I suppose it would be annoying.
5) This is funny, I didn't realize it had this, until I ran into a gas station while a kid was in the car. Since car jacking is happening a lot more lately, I lock the doors while I run in. Found out fast it's pretty sensitive.
6) I've never had issues with the keypads, I actually use it a ton and love it. The number of times I run to the garage to get something and realize I don't have my keys, this is so handy!

My biggest issues are quality and crappy Ford customer service at this point. The customer experience clearly doesn't matter to Ford. I'm also pretty tired of seeing the cost of parts for stupid stuff. These crappy plastic parts are clearly money makers for Ford. I bought this thing because I wanted an efficient, powerful powertrain but unfortunately it seems to be the most unreliable part of the car (outside of software/electrical).

 

[Fizzy]

3. Our salesman showed me the exact spot to wave my foot. Never had a problem with it, and it activates 95% of the times I try. You kick at the exact right seam of the hitch cover, and you kick in a fast front back motion - don't linger or hold your foot there.

5. When you shut off the car, the dash displays an option something like "Alarm: Interior or Perimeter". Just select Perimeter and it won't arm the internal sensors for that lock cycle.

My own bugbear: the inside of the corners of the rear bumper are like shelves and collect and gather tons of dirt and rocks that spray up from the rear wheels. You can't see it from the outside, but when you go to pressure wash the vehicle, and spray those rear bumper corners, mud oozes out of the seams and the cross-traffic alert/backup sensors. And it never stops. I have sprayed and sprayed for 15+ mins and mud continues to ooze out, making it impossible to get a white Expy clean. I'm going to look under there soon, and see if I can 3d print (or fashion a part from materials) to block the ingress points.

Here:View media item 7471

 

[5280tunage]

Couldn't agree more with @Fizzy, there are places all over this thing that fill up with junk. Putting on the Weathertech mudflaps has helped some, but still not that great.

 

[PhrogPilot]

Another vote for hating the foot/liftgate feature. Never works when I want it to - ALWAYS works when it sees an opportunity to smack me in the head. I think it is actually a living thing and it hates me.

 

[Jimbeaux]

I have a 2020 Expedition.I am in total agreement with the electronic aggravations. Ford has allowed the geek software designs to go unchecked. I am also in total agreement that Ford Customer Service does not know how to fix these problems either. I suggest the liftgate problem will hurt somebody or hurt the door itself; … then the lawyers will jump in and there will be a recall.
Additional aggravation number one is the garage door opener signal sender. I have owned a 98, 03, 07, 11, 17 prior to this. The 2020 visor button was the hardest to program. As well, the signal is primarily emitting forward on this model unlike the others which makes it very troublesome to leave and close the door, sometimes having to turn the vehicle 90 degrees in front of the door.
Additional aggravation number two is having to reset the auto-start/stop each time I get in the car. I hate it.
My wife's Lexus allows the user to turn the liftgate sensor and several sensors on and off. I know it can be done. Ford just needs to hire better geeks and reprogram their defective designs.

 

[Fizzy]

Additional aggravation number two is having to reset the auto-start/stop each time I get in the car. I hate it.

This is a reality of reducing emissions and increasing fuel efficiency. Many manufacturers, both foreign and domestic, do this now.

 

[aggiegrad05]

Additional aggravation number two is having to reset the auto-start/stop each time I get in the car. I hate it.
My wife's Lexus allows the user to turn the liftgate sensor and several sensors on and off. I know it can be done. Ford just needs to hire better geeks and reprogram their defective designs.

What @Fizzy said. This is not a screw-up on Ford's part, it was a decision made to achieve their gas mileage numbers. If you want the feature disabled, buy forscan and reprogram the software to disable it. Because you're right...it is easy to do...Ford just chose not to do it so the vehicle was certified at the mpg numbers Ford wanted.

Alternatively, spend $80, buy the Auto Stop Eliminator, plug it into the OBD port, and never think about it again.