Starting from the beginning ... Current issue in bold if you want to skip the long history.

Prior to taking possession of my truck the selling dealership found that the heated/cooled seats in my vehicle would shut off immediately after pressing the button. They (allegedly) replaced the DSCM and associated relay. During the first few weeks of ownership, I was experiencing intermittent immediate shutoffs. After a few trips they were finally able to reproduce the problem and (allegedly) replaced the DSCM again. I say allegedly in both instances because this dealership refused to provide me copies of the RO. I paid nothing to the dealership for these issues so I didn't push the issue. When I got the truck back, the seats seemed to stay on so I thought the issue was resolved. However, I wasn't using the seats as it was summertime and I only use the heating function.

Fast forward to the fall. My wife and I started using the seats and noticed that although they were heating perfectly, they would shut off at exactly 15 minutes as if they were on a timer. We assumed this was normal at first, but a few friends and internet posters with 3rd gen Expeditions later told me it was not. Over the following months we also experienced a handful of instances in which the seats could not be turned back on after shutting off unless I turned off and restarted the vehicle.

In December I took the truck to my local dealership (not the selling dealership) and relayed the issue. They contacted Ford tech support and, ultimately, determined that the seats should run until manually turned off. The diagnosis listed on the RO for that visit states: "Scan for DTCs with IDS, Driver/Dual seat climate. Control module failure. Cannot communicate with IDS. Replace module recommended. Possible additional electrical diag required. Replaced heated seat module." Over the next few days we tested the seats and while they did now stay on indefinitely, they no longer heated up properly (details on that later). I informed the dealership of the problem immediately and they stated they would look at when I brought it back to complete some other repairs.

Later in December, after some parts came in for unrelated repairs, I returned the truck to the dealership. They kept my truck for 3 weeks. During this time they tested the seats, found no DTCs and considered the seats to be completely functional. Unfortunately, no one bothered to see if the seats were actually getting hot. After much debate I finally got the service manager on the issue and he acknowledged that the seats were not working properly. When I received my truck back in January, however, the problem was still not resolved. The dealership kept insisting that because there were no DTCs, the seats were functioning as designed. However, they still weren't heating up properly. They decided to throw more parts at it (because that's what "technicians" do) and ordered four TEDs (thermo-electric devices) for the seats.

Now here we are in February. The TEDs finally came in and were replaced this week. Nothing has changed. When you turn the seats on, you can hear a click, the fans come on, and the seats heat up. Even on high the upper seat backs get noticeably warm, but never hot. The seat bottoms and lower seat backs appear to be producing heat, but it's extremely minimal. According to the dealership, the DSCM was reporting temps within the specs specified in the service manual (~190F high, ~160F low). No one tested any component with an infrared thermometer gun. An intermittent communication error was detected during testing, but it was allegedly resolved after reconfiguring the DSCM. I was told that was the problem, but clearly it was not since nothing has changed in regards to the operation of the seats. They have already replaced the DSCM a total of 4 times in 7 months. No one at the dealership seems to know where to go from here and because they just want to wash their hands of it, they are using the Ford escape clause on the RO: "No DTCs. Operating as designed." The fact that the seats don't physically get hot is of no concern to them. Just to reiterate, the seats heated up properly prior to replacement of the DSCM in December, but shut off after 15 minutes. Any suggestions as to what may be causing such an issue? I am inclined to think the problem is related to programming or an electrical fault somewhere.

 

I have seen a few seat cushions collapsed not allowing the air to flow through them. The cushions have channels moulded in for the airflow. This allowed the TEDs to overheat and shut off

 

I would have considered that a possibility except for 2 things:

(1) Both worked perfectly (in regards to temperatures) immediately prior to replacement of the DSCM.
(2) Both seats are exhibiting identical behavior.

Also, the fans under the seats are still running and the buttons on the control panel remain illuminated. I should also add that live data (allegedly) shows the seats operating within spec, but they do not physically get hot.

 

If this was an option you paid for.........reimbursement. Would you pay for anything else that didn't work?

If the best in the business cannot figure it out, it's faulty and cannot be fixed.

Reimbursement.

 

Does Ford have any "known good" parts they could swap in locally? In December did they swap the DSCM at the other dealership? If not, I'd probably ask them to try a new DSCM. If your original dealer didn't show you the RO, it is possible, though unlikely you are only on DSCM number two.

You might get some benefit from having the mechanic test your truck, then test a new truck off the lot. I had to do that to get the sound symposer fixed in a Focus ST once. I knew it was different, but it wasn't throwing any codes.

 

Here's a recent post I made on another forum regarding the issue:

Following that post the dealer told me they don't know what's wrong and are officially washing their hands of it. I called Ford as the vehicle was under warranty at the time and Ford told me that it was between me and the dealer. I did suggest many, many times that they try another DSCM since the problem began immediately following replacement of the "faulty" module (I have serious doubts there was ever anything wrong with the module they replaced), but the dealer refused to even consider the possibility. In fact, the first time I picked the vehicle up I told them to put the old DSCM back if they couldn't fix the seats any other way, but in spite of state laws requiring that they retain parts for customer inspection they informed me that they had already disposed of the part. I'm really at a loss now as I am almost certain the DSCM is the problem and yet my options are either: (a) Visit another dealer and pay for diagnosis, replacement of the module, and programming out of pocket to fix the damage caused by the original servicing dealer. (b) Take the original servicing dealer to court.