adaptive steering calibration?
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 107
Likes: 6
adaptive steering calibration?
Has anyone had there adaptive steering calibration done? I've been talking with BDS about the steering after I installed my 2" leveling kit, it seems to wonder a lot now. At first BDS said to install a steering stabilizer and then they emailed saying I need to get my adaptive steering calibrated. I went to ford and talked with the tech, he looked at me funny, said they installed many lifts on there new trucks and never had to calibrate the adaptive steering. He also said to calibrate it he needs to go on a long straight drive between 80 and 120km/h and would have to charge me 1 to 2hrs labor. I'm fine with the charge I just think he is getting mixed up with the adaptive cruise control and the steering. So my question is how do you calibrate the adaptive steering and if you had it done did you notice a difference. My complaint is on the highway I'm always making small adjustment to the steering, not sure if you call that bump steer or wondering.
Mountain Pass
Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 185
Likes: 0
You do not need to re-calibrate the steering, I have done both Level and recently went to 4.5 Carli and nothing close to what BDS is telling you.. The problem is not enough caster.. When you level them you change the caster which needs to be added back into the steering.. Any good alignment shop should be able to replace your caster shims..
Elder User
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 872
Likes: 4
From: Greene, NY
I'm not even sure what there is to calibrate in the adaptive steering. It's still a mechanical connection. Just with a servo controlled gear ratio. If you're holding the wheel steady, it's still steering steady.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 810
Likes: 34
From: Sarasota, FL
ap48379,
I too have their leveling kit and had about 6 alignments done at various heavy truck shops, bringing castor all the way up to about 7 degrees with no resolution to the problem.
There is apparently a way to calibrate the adaptive steering however I have not found a dealership that will do it due to concerns about liability. Ive spent hours on the phone with BDS and every minute of it was a waste of time as they were never able to resolve the light steering and bump steer that I experienced after installing their kit.
Things got better for me once I went with a King steering stabilizer, in the factory location, and airing the tires back to the recommended psi. Airing them down for a more comfortable ride caused more bump steer for me. I can't recall my most recent alignment numbers but the last shop tightened the ball joints and a few other parts in the front end and it is better to drive now. It's not perfect and still not as tight as I would want. I had a few shops that had trouble balancing hub centric wheels. Found a good 4x4 shop that made a world of difference in the steering as well. So it was a combination of things that help me in the long run.
I too have their leveling kit and had about 6 alignments done at various heavy truck shops, bringing castor all the way up to about 7 degrees with no resolution to the problem.
There is apparently a way to calibrate the adaptive steering however I have not found a dealership that will do it due to concerns about liability. Ive spent hours on the phone with BDS and every minute of it was a waste of time as they were never able to resolve the light steering and bump steer that I experienced after installing their kit.
Things got better for me once I went with a King steering stabilizer, in the factory location, and airing the tires back to the recommended psi. Airing them down for a more comfortable ride caused more bump steer for me. I can't recall my most recent alignment numbers but the last shop tightened the ball joints and a few other parts in the front end and it is better to drive now. It's not perfect and still not as tight as I would want. I had a few shops that had trouble balancing hub centric wheels. Found a good 4x4 shop that made a world of difference in the steering as well. So it was a combination of things that help me in the long run.
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 107
Likes: 6
BDS informed me the wheel position and effort sensor needed to be calibrated, I would like to know what the procedure is to do this because my dealer seems to think they need to calibrate the adaptive cruise control by the way he was describing it. But maybe it is the same system. I'm just waiting a bit before I go to the dealer to get it done because I might be upgrading to the BDS 4", depends how well my tires fit. I'll update this thread once I get more information. I'm kind of surprised there's not more people complaining about this.
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 810
Likes: 34
From: Sarasota, FL
There are plenty of people complaining of this and a bunch of threads on it dating back a while. I assume that most, me included, have just given up and are just dealing with it. I do not think it's a sensor or electronic issue, but a geometry issue. But that's just my opinion.
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Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 1,377
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From: SE Michigan
When they replaced my windshield, the (mobile) tech took it on a 10 minute drive (half of that was getting to/from the expressway) to re-calibrate the adaptive steering (it uses the camera behind the rear view mirror).
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