Climate Control Heater Issue

[DaveG99]

Mine is random. It works about 30% of the time. I test it almost every day.

 

[MagneticFiesta]

I took my car in for repair. I received a call from the shop today stating that Ford was aware of the problem and had issued an SSM (is that the same as a TSB?). The problem was (hopefully) corrected with a computer reprogramming. I won't get the car until Sunday so I'll let you all know then if it was successful but it certainly sounds promising.

 

[IrishST]

I took my car in for repair. I received a call from the shop today stating that Ford was aware of the problem and had issued an SSM (is that the same as a TSB?). The problem was (hopefully) corrected with a computer reprogramming. I won't get the car until Sunday so I'll let you all know then if it was successful but it certainly sounds promising.

Nice, keep us posted. I checked on the acronym, btw, and an SSM is a "special service message" which means they know of a problem, but the fix isn't concrete yet. Usually they are the first step in having something become a TSB, or full blown recall, apparently.

 

[forsakenProto]

Just a heads up guys, Ford released an updated SSM today saying that the problem can be solved by reprogramming the HVAC module to the latest calibration using Ford IDS software 99.02. Was going to do mine this afternoon but our computers were not wanting to update so I guess I'm stuck waiting till Monday to see if it actually takes care of it.

 

[DaveG99]

I guess it's time to bring it to the dealer

 

[mentokk]

Just had mine flashed at the dealership. It will take a few days to know if it worked, though the auto mode seems to work much better at maintaining a constant temperature now.

 

[needbout350]

I just searched the forums because I've been having this same issue. I bought my car a little over a week ago it's got less than 350 miles on it. I just read all 11 pages and was getting a little worried until this page. I also noticed that on page 3 someone posted a diagram showing the interior sensor was right behind the lcd which I've noticed gets quite warm. Maybe that could be contributing if it's always being cooked by the lcd. Hopefully the update fixes the problem though it definitely sounds like a software issue. I'll be waiting for someone to get the update and confirms it works before bothering to bring it to ford.

 

[mentokk]

I just searched the forums because I've been having this same issue. I bought my car a little over a week ago it's got less than 350 miles on it. I just read all 11 pages and was getting a little worried until this page. I also noticed that on page 3 someone posted a diagram showing the interior sensor was right behind the lcd which I've noticed gets quite warm. Maybe that could be contributing if it's always being cooked by the lcd. Hopefully the update fixes the problem though it definitely sounds like a software issue. I'll be waiting for someone to get the update and confirms it works before bothering to bring it to ford.

Go ahead and bring it in. They just update it over the OBD2 port. It took them about 45 minutes on my car. They had to update the IDS tool first. It worked great all day today. I'm pretty confident the reprogramming was successful.

 

[needbout350]

Go ahead and bring it in. They just update it over the OBD2 port. It took them about 45 minutes on my car. They had to update the IDS tool first. It worked great all day today. I'm pretty confident the reprogramming was successful.

Cool I'll bring it in first thing in the morning it's been pretty anoying with this cold weather but if this is a good fix then I've got it better than most people who have been dealing with this for a while now. Thanks for the update.

 

[needbout350]

Can someone post a link to where they found the ssm for this issue. That way when I walk into my stealership I can show them instade of them looking at me like I'm a crazy person.

 

[forsakenProto]

Can someone post a link to where they found the ssm for this issue. That way when I walk into my stealership I can show them instade of them looking at me like I'm a crazy person.

Just let them know it's SSM 45658 and they should have no trouble finding it.

 

[jayrod1980]

So does the SSM have the fix? Do they have a programming solution for the issue or what?

 

[forsakenProto]

So does the SSM have the fix? Do they have a programming solution for the issue or what?

An SSM is a service message that is sent out by Ford that can be viewed when running the VIN and selecting any issues the car may have using Ford's PTS website for employees. Basically when the employee runs your VIN and the symptom you are having in their system, that SSM is gonna pop up, letting the tech know that this is an issue that has been seen before, and will provide the tech with the information they need to either fix it, or help diagnose the issue. All this SSM is saying, is that there is now a new update for Ford's IDS software that allows the HVAC module in the vehicle to be reprogrammed to a newer calibration, and that should take care of the issue we have been having.

 

[jayrod1980]

Thanks a lot for the info

 

[forsakenProto]

You're very welcome, glad I could offer some assistance!

 

[DaveG99]

This also affects the air conditioning settings if you do not want it full blast cold. Last night I drove about 200 miles. It was in the high 60's and raining so I had the air on but it was getting to cold on the lowest setting. I had it on manual mode. I kept moving the temp up slowly and no change. Just cold air. I moved it all the way to 80 and it still stayed fully cold. The weird thing is I stopped for gas and then restarted my car and it worked fine after that. It's got a mind of its own. I'm going to hold off going to the dealer for this new fix until I see that it has actually worked. I don't have time for useless dealer trips

 

[forsakenProto]

This also affects the air conditioning in settings if you do not want it full blast cold. Last night I drove about 200 miles. It was in the high 60's and raining so I had the air on but it was getting to cold on the lowest setting. I had it on manual mode. I kept moving the temp up slowly and no change. Just cold air. I moved it all the way to 80 and it still stayed fully cold. The weird thing is I stopped for gas and then restarted my car and it worked fine after that. It's got a mind of its own. I'm going to hold off going to the dealer for this new fix until I see that it has actually worked. I don't have time for useless dealer trips

I've got mine sitting at the shop right now to have it done, so I should have a definitive answer for you this afternoon.

 

[mentokk]

I had mine reflashed this Saturday. My car no longer defaults to A/C full blast and no heat anymore. However, the system is still not working correctly. It is better than before, but still not fixed to an acceptable level. The temperature settings really don't correlate to an actual temperature. It seems like it has 3 or 4 temp settings. 60-70 is really cold, 70-80 is cold,81-82 is barely any heat, and 83 + is full blast heat. I had to turn the temperature to 83 this morning before I got heat. It was around 60 outside (yes, not cold to most of you north of me). I understand this is a cheap car, but maybe Ford shouldn't have advertised an automatic climate control feature if they couldn't deliver a reliable product. I am waiting on a phone call today from one of the regional customer service managers today. I'll update you guys if they have anything interesting to say.

 

[IrishST]

I had mine reflashed this Saturday. My car no longer defaults to A/C full blast and no heat anymore. However, the system is still not working correctly. It is better than before, but still not fixed to an acceptable level. The temperature settings really don't correlate to an actual temperature. It seems like it has 3 or 4 temp settings. 60-70 is really cold, 70-80 is cold,81-82 is barely any heat, and 83 + is full blast heat. I had to turn the temperature to 83 this morning before I got heat. It was around 60 outside (yes, not cold to most of you north of me). I understand this is a cheap car, but maybe Ford shouldn't have advertised an automatic climate control feature if they couldn't deliver a reliable product. I am waiting on a phone call today from one of the regional customer service managers today. I'll update you guys if they have anything interesting to say.

That's disheartening to hear. That's actually what my car does now like 20% of the time and I haven't had a reflash yet. Mine works normally like 5% of the time, does what you described like 20%, and is either full AC on 85 or below and max heat on HI the other 75%. Keep us posted on what hey tell you.

 

[jayrod1980]

Darn, I'm sitting here at the dealer in my uniform after a mid shift. I was just hoping to get this done quickly because it's so much of a pain after a stop. We will see how well it works. I take it my dealership hasn't seen the issue be used they seemed very surprised.