Stalling issues, 4.6 3V, may be able to help
02-11-2014, 08:16 AM
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Stalling issues, 4.6 3V, may be able to help
About 6 months ago, my 2009 F150 ( my first domestic vehicle in 35 years) started an intermittent stalling problem. It just happened (like the many other descriptions I have read on here and other forums) at odd times. No particular conditions seemed to cause it. It seemed truly random, which IS unusual.
The truck had 45k miles on it at the time, and the first few times, I just chalked it up to bad gas, or a moisture issue. The CEL never came on, and i figured taking it to the shop (despite the fact that it is covered under the 5/60 warranty), would be a waste of time.
It continued to do this randomly 'til this past December, when I finally decided to take it to Autozone, and get the codes (if any) that were stored. It had a code which indicated a bad upstream O2 sensor, so I called the dealer. The service writer (at the Ford Dealer) told me it was NOT covered by my 5/60 warranty, so I started to look for prices on it in the aftermarket. Talking to one local parts guy, he said it SHOULD be covered under the 8/80 warranty. I then called the dealer back and talked to another service person, who told me the first one was incorrect, the O2 sensor is covered under BOTH warranties. At that point, I was fast losing confidence in the dealer's abilities!
I made an appointment, and waited around almost all day, until they finally came out and told me it needed both upstream O2 sensors, and an intake manifold runner control. They had to order all the parts, which meant another trip up to the dealer, and more waiting. I was assured that would cure my stalling issue.
They called two days later, we made another appointment, and I waited a good portion of the day once again. They finally came out with the keys, and told me it was done. They did not charge me the 78$ "diagnostic" fee.
So far, two lost days of work. No charges..thank goodness.
It ran fine, albeit using more than it's usual amount of gas. I figured it might need to break in a bit, so thought nothing of it.
After about a month, it started again. This time, it was more prevalent though. In one 3 mile trip, it stalled 7 times. It became more frequent, and had to be fixed. DEFINITELY a safety issue.
I made the appointment, and took it up to leave it there-it was doing me no good at all in that condition. I got the call the next day (- it needed, (in their opinion) a new Throttle Body. I asked if they had a code on it, or any reason to believe it was that, since they wanted to charge $517.00 to install one. They stated that they had isolated it to that device, and that "it might not fix the problem- it could take more than that." The old dartboard diagnosis approach, I guess.
While talking to the service advisor, I looked up (online) the price on the TB-$207. The dealer told me it would take 4 days to get it, and i could have it(from the online source) the next day. I declined the install, and told her I would be up to get the truck. They DID charge me the 78$ diagnostic fee, even though no codes were found, and they could not guarantee that the stalling was due to the TB.
After a bit of research, I did find that certain TB's were bad in Fords, especially those in the Escape model. The Escape TB's appear to be built in the same plant, in MEXICO, as the F150 models. I ordered one, and as anyone who has replaced one knows, it is a 15 minute job.
The problem APPEARS to be fixed. The surging which was apparent at idle, and the stalling seems to have stopped, but time will tell.
Notes:
1. Why is this not covered under the 5/60 warranty?
2. Why should I pay for a diagnostic fee which SHOULD Be covered as well, for a POWERTRAIN problem?
3. The salesman who sold me this truck crowed endlessly about the "great 5/60 warranty"...what a joke!
In closing, my truck had NO codes showing the TB to be bad, so this might not show up as a fault. I HIGHLY recommend that, if you have a stalling issue, and find it to be the TB, REPORT it to the NHTSA, to make sure that it is noted as a significant causality of failures, and is covered as a TSB or recall.
The truck had 45k miles on it at the time, and the first few times, I just chalked it up to bad gas, or a moisture issue. The CEL never came on, and i figured taking it to the shop (despite the fact that it is covered under the 5/60 warranty), would be a waste of time.
It continued to do this randomly 'til this past December, when I finally decided to take it to Autozone, and get the codes (if any) that were stored. It had a code which indicated a bad upstream O2 sensor, so I called the dealer. The service writer (at the Ford Dealer) told me it was NOT covered by my 5/60 warranty, so I started to look for prices on it in the aftermarket. Talking to one local parts guy, he said it SHOULD be covered under the 8/80 warranty. I then called the dealer back and talked to another service person, who told me the first one was incorrect, the O2 sensor is covered under BOTH warranties. At that point, I was fast losing confidence in the dealer's abilities!
I made an appointment, and waited around almost all day, until they finally came out and told me it needed both upstream O2 sensors, and an intake manifold runner control. They had to order all the parts, which meant another trip up to the dealer, and more waiting. I was assured that would cure my stalling issue.
They called two days later, we made another appointment, and I waited a good portion of the day once again. They finally came out with the keys, and told me it was done. They did not charge me the 78$ "diagnostic" fee.
So far, two lost days of work. No charges..thank goodness.
It ran fine, albeit using more than it's usual amount of gas. I figured it might need to break in a bit, so thought nothing of it.
After about a month, it started again. This time, it was more prevalent though. In one 3 mile trip, it stalled 7 times. It became more frequent, and had to be fixed. DEFINITELY a safety issue.
I made the appointment, and took it up to leave it there-it was doing me no good at all in that condition. I got the call the next day (- it needed, (in their opinion) a new Throttle Body. I asked if they had a code on it, or any reason to believe it was that, since they wanted to charge $517.00 to install one. They stated that they had isolated it to that device, and that "it might not fix the problem- it could take more than that." The old dartboard diagnosis approach, I guess.
While talking to the service advisor, I looked up (online) the price on the TB-$207. The dealer told me it would take 4 days to get it, and i could have it(from the online source) the next day. I declined the install, and told her I would be up to get the truck. They DID charge me the 78$ diagnostic fee, even though no codes were found, and they could not guarantee that the stalling was due to the TB.
After a bit of research, I did find that certain TB's were bad in Fords, especially those in the Escape model. The Escape TB's appear to be built in the same plant, in MEXICO, as the F150 models. I ordered one, and as anyone who has replaced one knows, it is a 15 minute job.
The problem APPEARS to be fixed. The surging which was apparent at idle, and the stalling seems to have stopped, but time will tell.
Notes:
1. Why is this not covered under the 5/60 warranty?
2. Why should I pay for a diagnostic fee which SHOULD Be covered as well, for a POWERTRAIN problem?
3. The salesman who sold me this truck crowed endlessly about the "great 5/60 warranty"...what a joke!
In closing, my truck had NO codes showing the TB to be bad, so this might not show up as a fault. I HIGHLY recommend that, if you have a stalling issue, and find it to be the TB, REPORT it to the NHTSA, to make sure that it is noted as a significant causality of failures, and is covered as a TSB or recall.
Last edited by CantonF150; 02-11-2014 at 08:18 AM.
