2007 mountaineer - awd, 4.6l. just over 60,000 miles
Howdy folks. If I could bend your ear for a moment, perhaps you can help. My mountaineer has been in the Dealer shop twice in the past 2 months for the same issue. The interior lights (map,vanity light) will not work when the key is on. They work fine when the car is off. The dealer has replaced a module that controls these lights, and the tire pressure sensors, as well as a few other things that I am not qualified to understand. This issue has returned again, along with an airbag warning light, and now the engine temp rises quickly to redline during any stop-and-go traffic or even at the drive through. The radiator has not yet purged itself from too much pressure yet, but I don't want to take any chances. (My wife drives this vehicle 70 miles a day in traffic and will make my life more fun than it is if this lets her down again.) The A/C will not stay cool when this happens, but all will recover when the vehicle is at a decent speed for a few minutes. I will add that the dealer has replaced the radio unit (failure of the navigation drive), as well as several ignition coil units and the spark plugs. I will be returning the vehicle to the dealer for service, since I still have the factory extended warranty available to me. I would love to know what could be the cause and a possible fix. Thank you for any help you could send my way.

Rod from Colorado

 

Welcome to the forum!

As for the interior light issue, are you saying if you switch the switches at the lights themselves when the key is in the ACC position (regardless of whether or not the engine is running) the vanity and map lights will not turn on? Has the dealership scanned the ABS computer to pull the diagnostic code that is causing that light to be on?

As for the overheating issue, it sounds like something is impeding flow of air through the A/C condenser and radiator. I'm not sure if the 2007 uses an electric cooling fan or a belt driven fan. You need to make sure the fan is working and air is able to flow. You didn't by chance put a piece of cardboard in front of the condenser or radiator just before winter and forget to take it out, did you? If you did, first, remove the cardboard, and second, don't put cardboard there next winter. You really don't get any benefit from doing this on a modern vehicle. If the fan is working and there is no cardboard, check for other debris that may be limiting the flow of air such as leaves, etc.

-Rod

 

Thank you for your rediculously fast reply, Rod.
Yes, that's exactly the scenario.. The dealer has checked the codes (although I do not have them handy), and explained to me that the electronic module that controls these lights, (with key on, no control available) had to be replaced. I was told that this module also controls the tire pressure sensors, keyless entry, and several other things. Only the lights seem to be affected by the module failure. This has been done 2x, and the issue has returned again. The tire pressure sensors had to be recalibrated after module replacement, as well as the keyfobs for the keyless entry.
The cooling fan is belt driven, and is spinning when the temp is redlined. No cardboard or other obstructions at the radiator. All radiator fins seem to be ok, with no more than usual bug or rock dings. The external reservoir was empty when I checked it today, and was refilled with almost 1 gallon of fluid. Since then, the tank has not dropped (15 miles of driving), nor has the cooling issue been resolved. No leaks have been found, no puddles or smell of antifreeze either. Could the thermostat or the water pump be malfunctioning periodically? My impression was that one of these failed, they just failed.
The airbag light did not appear for about 2 weeks after the last repair. The radio still works..

Rod

 

..One more thing I just thought of... The temp seems to be affected by the transmission being in drive.

Example, while checking the temp rise/drop during simulated traffic (in my driveway, car in park, then in drive with brakes locked) The temp dropped significantly when transmission was moved from drive to park. I was was able to do this repeatedly cool to hot, hot to cool, and so forth. Thoughts?

 

This is a strange one.

It sounds like the module they have replaced is what used to be referred to as the Generic Electronic Module (GEM). I think they changed the acronym in recent years and the current term escapes me at the moment.

Years ago Ford had some issues with the Taurus water pumps dissolving the water pump impellers. 2007's are new enough common issues like that may not be mainstream yet, so I don't know if that could be part of the issue here, causing poor coolant circulation. But on the Taurus the issue usually had symptoms of poor cabin heat and discolored coolant. It doesn't sound like you've had either of those.

I'm pretty baffled by the electrical issue at this point, but maybe knowing the codes that have been pulled in the past might help trigger an idea....

-Rod

 

The coolant color seemed good, nothing to indicate a problem. The heater has not been an issue, since it's been over 90 degrees for 2 weeks straight, but that should be easy enough to check. I am going to take the vehicle to the dealer tomorrow, since it acted up again this afternoon. Yet another rental car. The Focus is way too small. I will post what the dealer finds out when I get the truck back later this week/month. Thank you again for welcoming me to the forum, and for your time.

May there be a road.

 

With any luck you'll find that the coolant issue is due to air trapped in the system and a bleed of the cooling system will fix that. I'm very curious to hear what they finally find to fix the interior light issue though.

-Rod

 

Ten Days Later..
Well, Just got the vehicle back from Ford...

The electrical issues are being caused by the wires above the headliner wearing on the chassis and grounding out. The same with the wiring harness under the driver seat causing the airbag warning light. I have a hard time understanding why a 4 year old vehicle would have these issues. The temperature issue was caused by a leaking radiator (go figure..). It would not leak enough to smell, or steam, but was enough to reduce the A/C efficiency. The radiator was repaired, not replaced.
All seemed well for almost one whole day.
Now get this...the Navigation system has gone haywire again. I get a disk not recognized / invalid nav dvd error now... The radio/nav unit was replaced 4 months ago (after only 4 attempts and 3 weeks to get a replacement from the radio people, since Ford does not carry radios) due to the same error. I believe this is the proverbial last straw. The dealer will be getting another trade in as soon as I get the radio fixed. Again. Thank you for your help, and interest.

Rod

 

Wow, did you buy this Mountaineer new? If not, you may now know why the prior owner got rid of it, or maybe this was a prior rollover? Agreed, it's odd for such a new vehicle to have these kinds of issues.

-Rod

 

Not new, but only had 36,000 miles. We got it about 18 months ago for about $24,000, spent extra for the extended warranty. Glad we did. The vehicle had a little damage on the front right bumper, and a slightly bent wheel (selling dealer replaced rim for us no cost). No other damage we could see. Carfax and warranty/service info showed no major damage, like a rollover.
I am really dissapointed with this car, it looks great, drives great (sic), and has all the goodies we wanted. But these issues are more than I can stand. These type of things are why we got rid of the 97 Explorer with more than 315,000 miles. Guess I took it in the exhaust this time. Won't make the same mistake twice.

Now, how much is the Raptor?

 

I'm sorry to hear about these issues. Not that it will make you feel better, but I hope you got one of very few lemons from that year.

Pricey, but they are quite neat. Not quite the same target audience as the Mountaineer though....

-Rod