Allright, I have 2k miles on the 07 Expy Limited now and I just had my second failure of the AutoTrac or Traction Control System. This thing is going to need to be checked out but I was hoping to get to the first oil change at least.

The First episode: I turned onto a semi-circular freeway onramp at around 35-40 mph. MIdway through the ramp, the brake pedal started pulsating and slowing me down. The engine temporarily would not accelerate any further. The "slippery" road light on the dash started flashing when the brake applied itself and then it after a few seconds, the brake pedal stopped pulsing and the power came back for me to accelerate onto the freeway. THIS WAS HIGHLY UNNERVING. I'm assuming the vehicle was attempting to prevent a rollover or loss of control, but it felt to be causing one as my speed was not significant. I could have taken that ramp at 60 no problem. The light then stayed on STEADY until I got home and turned the car off. The light went out and everything seemed normal after that.

THe second episode: We have towed a 7000+ lb. boat a few times now without a hitch. Impresive power and handling. Yesterday, I backed the trailer into the water and hooked up the boat to leave. I put it in drive and let off the brake. When I applied the accelerator, there was NO POWER. The engine was running, but the engine would not REV. The vehicle was rolling slowly backwards! I shifted around several times into park, back to drive, same thing NO power. I put it in neutral, tried 4LO, transmission back in drive and same thing. The "slippery" light was flashing again, apparently disabling the engine power. The boat ramp was not slick at all and there was no tire slippage. I finally shifted into "1", was still in 4LO, and the vehicle surged forward when I nailed it because it hadn't shifted out of 4LO when I moved the switch. That warning light stayed steady again until I turned the vehicle off. I restarted it, went back to neutral, 2WD, then "D" and it ran just fine.

Both of these episodes were scary. My wife would have panicked the first time had she been suprised by the accident avoidance system doing that.

HELP! I need to get to the dealer but want to get any info on these systems so I don't go in blind and have them tell me everything is fine.

 

UPDATE:

Expedition has been at the dealership for around 8 hours now, and just got notified that they are done.

As is typical with problems of this nature, they did not find anything specifically wrong. No error codes were stored and nothing unusual found. They re-programmed the PCM (powertrain control module) and TCM (traction control module?) and suggested that perhaps that will correct future problems as the software may have been updated since the vehicle was new.

I'm not holding my breath. Going to be keeping close watch and records on any further abnormalities. Nobody else has experienced any weird traction control or advance trac activations?

 

that's wild.

your truck could have easily wound up in the lake.

I'm wondering if maybe water could have been an issue in the second episode since, I'm guessing, your rear end was at least partially submerged.

it kinda sounds like a problem with a sensor, or maybe a loose connection.

have you had the same problem again on freeway ramps since the first episode? I would try my damndest to reproduce the problem and see exactly what motion is causing it, because stuff like that doesn't just go away.

have you checked for any technical bulletins regarding issues with the advance-trac systems?

stay on top of it, and let us know what the results are.

and good luck.

 

No TSB's that I am aware of:

I have noticed a strange pattern with the traction control, though.

When I am stopped and pointed up a hill (like pulling a trailer on a boat ramp), I sometimes will use a 2-footed technique to let off the brake slowly as I depress the accelerator, to avoid any rolling back. Well, the TC system doesn't seem to like the brake being depressed and appears to be cutting the engine power when I go to press the accelerator. It did this again yesterday when I went went to pull up a driveway. I am going to test disabling the TC system (by pushing the button) and by disabling the Advancetrac entirely ( pushing and holding the TC button, I think).

 

I have an 07 also and notice the same thing. 1st gear comes fast and kinda jerks. Also have noticced the roll back on hills even without a load. Other than that I love this thing. Mike

 

We pulled the boat out at the launch again today. I disabled the traction control by pressing the button once and the light came on SOLID. There was no roll back today and power was normal. Kind of a pain to have to do that, but it definitely solved the problem.

 

rbarbot2...I know this is a super old thread but I was wondering if it was ever resolved.

Seems as though we had similar issues and I'm curious if they fixed it by replacing the throttle assembly and new spark plugs..

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/6...-failures.html

 

These hiccups have happened on my 07 and 08 at random times. All when turning and accelerating at a normal rate. Brakes activate, pulsate, then back to normal. It's the crap traction control setup. Thinks the truck is flipping.

 

My wife's 07 did that same thing today. Do I need to take it to the dealer and have it checked out or should I just leave it and drive it. It freaked her out!!

 

Just to clear things up. If the brakes are applying and the Triton’s power is being reduced, its not necessarily the traction control systems (TCS) fault. Ford does not go into great detail explaining the differences in the AdvanceTrac systems.


"AdvanceTrac" is the umbrella name for Ford’s electronic traction & stability control system.


Ford Expedition’s AdvanceTrac system includes:

electronic stability control (ESC)

roll stability control (RSC)

trailer sway control (TSC)*

and

traction control system (TCS)

which includes

engine traction control (ETC) and brake traction control (BTC)

Expedition 4x2 gets 2-wheel brake traction control

Expedition 4x4 gets 4-wheel brake traction control



Every system listed works similarly by reducing power and/or by using the ABS brakes. However, this is the only thing they have in common. Each system has a different task or goal and should not be confused with one another. TCS does not do the same thing as ESC for example.

If the Expedition is being driven around a corner at low speeds, and the brakes activate, and engine power is reduced, then there is most likely a problem with the ESC or RSC safety systems. TCS is not likely to be the culprit.


*introduced for the 2010 model year

 

My RSC with ESC trouble light has come on multiple times. It started around 20k miles and is still being troubleshot after replacing 3 different sensors and building a "light shield" around the sensor that determines steering wheel shaft position supposedly was being affected by sunlight. The vehicle is going back a 5th time next week. I never had pulsations but deffinitely a "trouble" code being flashed for the RSC system. I really wonder if it would do it's job in the event my wife tried to avoid some road hazzard. My signature has not been updated to reflect the vehicle ion question is a 2009 Expedition EL 4wd