Ford Flex Lurching/Stopping while driving - Traction Control error?
I have a 2009 Ford Flex. Over the past 4 years, the car has lurched or "stuck" about 5 or 6 times. I'll be driving along and all of the sudden the whole car will stop, like someone had just slammed the brakes. It only lasts a second, so the car doesn't actually come to a full stop, instead everyone in the car lurches forward, the wheels kinda screech, the engine sounds like it just went into super low gear, and poof! it's over and we are driving along like normal again.
The 2nd time it happened, I noticed the "Traction Control Light" goes on for the same split second that the car is acting up. And when I think about how Traction Control works, it makes sense! It's like the car/computer is trying to control the speed of the wheels, even though we are just driving along on a dry road between 20-40 mph. I've taken it to Ford, under warranty mind you, and they claim they can't find anything wrong. (In fact they were kind of asses about it, Tustin Ford in CA.)
My fear is that I'll be driving in the rain one day, or in the snow, and I'll just lose control and slide off the road. Perhaps it could cause a big accident.
It's now out of warranty and when I called Ford about what to do, they basically said, "Well, bring it in and we'll charge you to fix it." (If they can figure it out!!)
Anyone else out there with the same issue? What can I do? Any recommendations?
Comments
Have you found a resolution to this problem? I have a friend that is experiencing the same exact issue!
The original poster stated that the problem occurred five or six times over a four-year period. The odds of taking that car for a road test and gathering data that would directly lead to a solution are probably close to those of winning the Powerball. Anything that anyone would try would be at best a guess and you would have no way to prove if it actually succeeded. They would only know it failed if/when the problem surfaces again.
Now if it was repeatable and occurring a number of times on any given trip, the technician would start by monitoring at the minimum the following pieces of information. Vehicle speed, engine speed, transmission gear commanded, all four ABS wheel speed signals, steering angle sensor, yaw rate sensor, longitudinal and lateral accelerometers, plus the ABS controller solenoid commands. This should give insight into what is happening, but the why it is happening may still need to be determined.
Some information that might help make the problem occur for testing would be where does the problem occur, as in a specific road of intersection? How long does the car need driven for it to happen in both time and distance. Does the weather seem to play a role? (Hot, cold, rain etc.) How fast is the car traveling prior to stopping? Does it happen more after several stop and go events? Anything not mentioned here? In a lot of cases something that appears to be completely random could in fact be repeatable "IF" the conditions where it occurs can be identified.