I have a 2015 Ford F-150 XLT that was experiencing severe steering issues previously. I took the vehicle to a local shop as the Ford dealership in town said they wouldn't be able to get my truck in for at least 3 weeks due to volume. The issue was quickly identified as a faulty rack and pinion. The replacement part was ordered along with new tie rod ends and the shop installed everything and had the front end aligned.

The issue now is that they said when the vehicle is started, there are 3 error messages being displayed.

Hill Start Assist Not Available
Service Advancetrac
Steering Assist Fault Service Required

If I click on the ok button to acknowledge the messages, they go away and don't seem to return until the next time I start the vehicle. The shop that did the work said they did a diagnostic check on the truck and there were no results.

Anyone run into anything similar? Suggestions on where to begin that I can check myself? My guess is I'll have to drive it like this until a dealership can fit me in. Luckily, it drives just fine and isn't experiencing any issues.

 

this is going to be long winded.
what front end repairs have you done? exactly?
there was an electric power steering f150 that had ONE outer tie rod replaced. after that the customer kept having power steering assist codes. the end result that took 2 shops and the dealer putting in 3 electric racks. the customer kept coming back 2 weeks to a month later with issues. the factory tie rods and ball joints might be made with nylon cups inside. the replacement may be made with "copper gusher washer" like moog. there is nothing wrong with moog. the issue lies in the resistance between the 2 different materials from side to side. you wont feel it but there will be a resistance differential between turning left or right. the vehicle could be picking up on this.
just a shot in the dark, with a very very difficult possibly unique situation.

 

All that was done was a new Motorcraft Rack and Pinion and new outer tie rod ends and a wheel alignment. Nothing else was done.

 

The steering gear (or steering rack whichever you want to call it) is an assembly that includes the PSCM (power steering control module) being that it is a new computer module it has not had any parameters programmed into it and a VIN assigned. If they have not done that I would bet that is your likely solution because the PSCM sends and receives data from multiple other computer modules. If they have not yet discarded the old its an easy fix. Plug in and copy paste basically otherwise I don't know how to go about telling it all the required parameters to match how your vehicle was configured (options such as lane keep assist or pro trailer back up or parallel park assist etc change what the PSCM needs to communicate with so new steering racks come with a bare bones programming in them to allow them to function and communicate)

 

Also worth noting the 2 steering gear mounting bolts and the steering column shaft bolt are all rated for single use only per Ford. I would ask if they replaced those too cause they are torqued to 184 lbft so they have yielded and the steering column bolt is just a really really really bad bolt to have fail because they were too cheap to replace it and or too lazy to toque it to 22 lbft (over torque stuff and it can randomly snap with a heat cycle too cause thats not a big bolt there.)

 

Thanks for the reply JP. I do have the old steering rack here in the garage as I need to send the core back to the place I purchased the new one. When you say plug in and copy/paste, plug into? And I will certainly ask them in the morning about the bolts. If they haven't replaced them, I can ask them to do so and make sure they torque them correctly.

 

Plug the old steering rack back into the trucks electrical connectors so the parameters can be saved and then uploaded to the new one. I don't work on passenger vehicles I work on commercial vehicles so I don't know how to do the procedure in Fords IDSS and I don't know if Forscan is capable of doing this but I do know all vehicles are similar. When I have to replace a module I back up everything to my computer if possible (if not I have to work with the OEM to get the proper configurations files to upload to the new module) then do the hardware change and then reconnect and upload the saved parameters to the new module. If you have forscan I would hook up to the truck and go into the programming tab and upload the original asbuilt files you hopefully backed up. If it gives the option to write the data that means something was different. Also if the cables are not long enough it may have to be in position so remove the new steering gear temporarily or maybe cut zip ties to gain length then re-secure.

 

Awesome. I would bet that this is probably the issue. I'll be digging into it over the weekend and see where I can get. Thank you so much for the help and advice.

 

Not a problem, I was happy to. Let us know what it turns out to be but I would place money its in the programming.

With how integrated all the computer modules are with modern vehicles (and its only getting worse) the day of a shade tree mechanic that does basic maintenance on family vehicles is quickly fading. Sensors and wiring are so "particular" its not even funny. Without my diagnostic software I would not be able to do my job. Not because I don't know what I'm doing, but because I simply cant. I recently attended some training for Detroit Diesels and they were saying in a couple years what they are teaching right now will be outdated as they already have test units on the road for the next generation in after-treatment advancements and fuel savings etc

I was once told "if your not moving forward your moving backwards, cause you cant just stand still as everything passes you)

 

I was able to hook up the old rack and pull down the data. I hooked up the new again and updated everything. When I look at the PSCM, it still says initial configuration not complete. I don't see anywhere in Forscan where I can update the vin, etc to the rack. All the other settings for the PSCM match the As-Built which is the same as the old device. I'm guessing Forscan won't allow me to go into things at that level and I'll have to take it to the dealer to do