My wife calls me this morning on her way to the gym to tell me she thinks she is getting a flat tire. She had stopped off on her way and had the truck washed (undercarriage and all). Upon pulling out of the car wash and back onto the road she said the rear end suddenly felt like it has a vibration in it. I told her that yes it sounded like it could be a tire going flat and she should pull over and take a look around the car. I was thinking maybe she ran something over in the car wash.

Anyway she pulls over and has a look at all the tires. None of them appeared low. She was about 2 miles away from her destination so I told her to just drive it easily and see if it continued. About a mile more down the road it seemed to go away so she thought maybe she had picked up a rock or something in the tread that finally came out.

Forward 3 hours. She comes out of the gym with all 3 kids in tow to find that the doors will not unlock using the remote. Doing the unthinkable she uses the key to open the drivers door and then attempts to unlock the other doors which did nothing. She then tries to start the truck up but nothing going it doesn't even make a peep. She calls me back up to tell me the truck will not start. I work around 50 miles away so I tell her to call Ford Road Side Assistance. FRSA shows up with in 30 minutes and jumps the battery and she drove it home with no problem.

So here is my question. In the vast expertise of the forum members does any of this sound related? I am wondering if something got wet in the car wash which caused the vibration and or the dead battery. I am aware that some have had the rear end chatter issues (I have not so far at 28k) which I don't know if this is what that was or not. I should mention that I have had the issue where the truck has to be cranked 3-5 times when it is damp out before it will start 25% of the time. The dealer has been unable to reproduce every time I've had it in for the problem.

Thanks in advance...

 

I have an 03 but I haven't had that problem...yet.

 

Run it back through the carwash and see if it does it again. It sure seems like you're headed for some hard-to-find troubles in the future. Keep after the dealership to FIX the problem. And don't be afraid to try other dealers in the area if the first doesn't provide you with an acceptable solution.

 

Assuming that the GEM is still located behind the fusebox under the dash, my first thought is that a bad windshield gasket is allowing the GEM to become wet. That could allow a few accessories to remain on after the key is off. It might also cause the transfer case to select 4HI which would account for vibration while driving on pavement. Note the words "might" and "could".

 

We have a similar problem. I have not had any rear end noise to date, don't want to jinx myself, but my wife experiences the same exact problem. No start, no remote unlock, random radio station searching and sub woofer buzz after turn off. Been to the dealer twice. First time they replaced the battery and starter, Second time they could not find anything wrong and asked to stop in if this should happen again. My wife drives the truck with two small children most of the time and these things have happened twice a month, maybe more. It is very difficult to reproduce and I am troubled on what I need to do to get this fixed.

 

Thank you for the advice. I called the dealer this morning and I'm taking it in tomorrow for them to keep a few days. I will be sure to find out more about the GEM possibly playing a role. I'll report back on what the dealer finds/has to say.

 

The dealer just called me and said they have been pouring water over the the truck, hood open and shut for hours yesterday and today. So far it fires up the first time every time right after a dousing and after sitting for a while.

I did ask about the GEM as suggested. I was told that was a problem pre 03 as PaulC stated but "said" to not be a problem now. They said they inspected it anyway and it was fine. I was wondering if something is getting indirectly wet so I asked them if having the undercarriage washed or driving around in the rain could be the problem. The service advisor said he would go back and mention it but pretty much I should pick up it up tomorrow morning as the problem once again could not be reproduced.

When I bought my last car my friend (with 2 Volvo wagons over 300k) told me if you want something reliable skip the bells and whistles and go with the basics. He is starting to sound like a really wise man.

 

If the dealer is using a hose that produces less pressure than the carwash nozzles, they can hose your truck until hell freezes over, or the prep boy's fingers begin to prune. I like NoMo's suggestion about a return to the car wash.

Wonder why the wet GEM issue can't happen any longer. Did they relocate the GEM for '03? If the answer is a new improved windshield sealing method, then I submit that the new improved method may be imperfect from time to time.

Your Expy have a sunroof? Wonder how the sunroof drain hoses are routed?

 

Those are all good observations and suggestions.....Thanks. Yes my Expy does have a sunroof. I'll bring up these things tomorrow when I pick it up and I'll run it through the same car wash again this weekend. That particular car wash is one of those "no touch" washes that uses very high pressure and also happens to be one my wife just recently started using (this may be the 3rd time she has used it). The other ones we frequent are hand or brush wash which don't have nearly the pressure so you may very well be on to something. Thanks again.