"4x4 Temporarily Disabled"
 

2016 F150 Lariat FX4. During this last snow storm I was using the 4x4 for the first time. I put it in 4H and it seemed to work OK for a couple seconds but when I actually needed the extra front traction it would disengage and a message would rear "4x4 temporarily disabled" and it would never re-engage untill I turn the 4x4 off. Then it would read "4x4 restored." the manual says it will disable itself when it overheats but there's no way it is overheated because it disables the second i need it. It also seems to work OK while driving with traction but as soon as I start spinning it disables. I can not find anything about this on Google or the forums. If anybody has had experience with this I would appreciate some feedback on what it could possibly be.

I have a 2018 Lariat, and experiencing this same issue. Fortunately I have not been left stranded yet and have been able to get out of any issues by using 4A, which I don't really understand.

One note, I do have BFG all-terrains, but only slightly larger than stock, so I do not buy this theory.

HEY FORD, PLEASE HELP US WITH THIS. I live in Cabo San Lucas, MX, and use my truck off-road everyday.

Solution found!!!
 

I am cross posting this from another thread that is covering the same topic but I’ve figured this mystery out!

I joined this forum for the sole purpose of replying to this thread in hopes that I am able to help out some fellow owners. I have a 2016 F150 Lariat with 56k miles on it, to keep things from getting wordy I'll use some bullet points.

• I was facing the same issues that all of you are facing. "4x4 Temporarily Disabled" when in either 4A or 4H.
• In the past year I've replaced both front wheel hub assemblies and the front driver 4WD Actuator.
• I essentially have zero 4x4 on a $60k dollar truck, pretty ridiculous huh?

Long story short, I bit the bullet and went to the dealership with my issue. It turns out there is a Special Bulletin that is essentially private to Ford that explains that this exact thing will present itself, not a recall but an in-house notification that this could happen. After they did their diagnostic, they are now, under warranty (not sure how this would apply to out of warranty vehicles), replacing two wheel hub assemblies, two IWE's (integrated wheel ends), all the vacuum lines, and the 4WD solenoid.

Though they did not specify the root cause, it is believed that the "cause" is that the 4WD solenoid under the hood is exposed to water as it comes off of the vehicle. The water then seeps into the vacuum lines, from there it trickles down to the IWE and then ultimately to the wheel hub assembly. The infiltration of moisture into this air-tight system causes all of these elements to fail. It seems that the moisture becomes a greater issue when you reside in colder areas (I'm in PA) due to said moisture freezing within the system during the winter. The internal components are rubber so when the water freezes to them it causes the pliable rubber to become rigid. Now you have a rigid piece of rubber that gets ripped when you try to engage the 4x4. Thus, 4x4 is disabled due to component failure.

I hope this is helpful to others who are seeking this VERY frustrating answer.

The special bulletin number is TSB202278. Here is the link to the bulletin:

https://f01.justanswer.com/apjp02/34...9bdfa4a0_1.pdf

I have a 2019 doing this same thing I wonder if the same bulletin would for my 19? Hmmmm pissed in Montana need this damn 4WD.

I believe the moisture infiltration was for 11th gen F150's. The remedy was a modified solenoid with a hood integrated into it to prevent water when opening the hood to spill over the solenoid. 12th gen and up the solenoid was moved to the other side of engine bay, and from what I've heard/seen, no troubles with infiltration.
That TSB 20-2278 outlines for the tech what to check for and replace, and would be current all the way to the 2020. There is another TSB out for the TOD transfer case that the Raptor, and Lariat above have, that is 4A. I'm not on my regular computer, or I'd provide that as well.
OP, I've heard of your problem, and I'm not gonna swear to it, and don't have info available at this time, but I think the trouble might be needing to have your Transfer Case Control Module, TCCM reflashed. Again, not gonna swear to that.

Well my issues was fixed, turned out I had a broken right front 4wd axle (all the gears were stripped off the end that inserts into the hub), hub was bad, and new wheel bearing. No sure how it all happened but it appears to be functioning properly. I just got the truck back this afternoon.

The halfshaft was stripped?:eek: Could/would you post the repair report?

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.f15...561bcc6ff.jpeg

[QUOTE=Michael Goudchaux;[url=[url]tel:6854785]6854785][/QUOTE] 4WD functioning normally been using it on and off all day today. Guess I got lucky not chasing my tail with a 4WD issue. One lesson I guess do not use 4WD on dry surfaces. I’ll be way more cautious, that’s the only way I can see would cause this. The torque somehow shredded the gears.