Powertrain Fault idiot light came on

[GregKet1]

Bitch mode: On

 

Several annoyances this morning.

 

I went to drive my son to school this morning and when I started the car there was a "See Owner's Manual" message with a picture of a little wrench.  Not very informative...  

 

I drove my son to school, came home and then searched the manual.  The Symbols Glossary on pages 7-9 doesn't show any symbol of a little wrench.  Great, an incomplete manual. 

 

I kept searching the manual page by page and on page 82, under "Instrument Cluster" there is a symbol of a wrench which is associated with "Powertrain Fault": Contact your authorized dealer as soon as possible.  OK, this could be bad.  I decide I should run a Vehicle Health Report so I go out to the car and start it again... no fault shown.  Oh yay, an intermittent issue.

 

I run the Vehicle Health Report and there is no issue reported with the powertrain at all.  So the health report is only "health at this particular instant"?  No historical data is included?  Also less than useful for diagnosing issues.

 

*Sigh*  If you are going to put computers in cars, please hire good programmers with diagnostic experience.  This is proving useless.

 

Bitch mode: off

 

Has anyone seen this before?

 

 

[Kira]

Similar .... and the summary is Ford could not diagnose the problem.

 

Details:

I was at highway speeds on a slightly uphill grade when the wrench light came on.  I noted a slight loss of power.  When this happened, I had been running on hybrid mode for several miles (battery had depleted several miles back).  I saw that the car was trying to switch into EV.  Engine power eventually went back to normal.  Light went off eventually.

 

I ran a vehicle health report that night but like you said, no luck.

 

I took the car to the dealer service department as soon as my schedule permitted.  They had to keep the car for 2 days because a) they have a limited number of hybrid certified mechanics b) they had to go back and forth with Ford 

 

They pulled out several codes and the last one was this Powertrain fault light incident.  There was not enough info for them to figure out what caused the powertrain to malfunction for that short duration.  They were trying to reproduce the problem but no luck.  They claim no existing problem with the car after running all their diagnostics.  Recommended I go back as soon as it happens again.

 

I would encourage others to post if they experience something similar, even if the wrench light is on only for a short duration.

 

[Griff]

Similar .... and the summary is Ford could not diagnose the problem.

 

Details:

I was at highway speeds on a slightly uphill grade when the wrench light came on.  I noted a slight loss of power.  When this happened, I had been running on hybrid mode for several miles (battery had depleted several miles back).  I saw that the car was trying to switch into EV.  Engine power eventually went back to normal.  Light went off eventually.

 

I ran a vehicle health report that night but like you said, no luck.

 

I took the car to the dealer service department as soon as my schedule permitted.  They had to keep the car for 2 days because a) they have a limited number of hybrid certified mechanics b) they had to go back and forth with Ford 

 

They pulled out several codes and the last one was this Powertrain fault light incident.  There was not enough info for them to figure out what caused the powertrain to malfunction for that short duration.  They were trying to reproduce the problem but no luck.  They claim no existing problem with the car after running all their diagnostics.  Recommended I go back as soon as it happens again.

 

I would encourage others to post if they experience something similar, even if the wrench light is on only for a short duration.

I have the check engine light on. it appears there may be a TSB for this problem. http://fordfusionhybridforum.com/topic/7063-tsb-13-6-22-hybridenergi-check-engine-andor-wrench-lamp-and-various-dtcs/

 Looks like a trip to the dealer for repair. Ain't this some BS!!!

[blackjac24]

Saturday driving on the free at 78 mph, all of a sudden car down shifted, rpms stuck at 2000 and felt like I was in neutral. wrench came up and see manual warning. Powertrain default. Stopped at the next exit turned car off, turned back on no warning, wrench was gone. then ran fine. Came home on the freeway same thing happened. Scary feeling having the kids in the car and if someone was close to me on the freeway they would have rear ended me. Took it to the dealer they couldn't find anyone else that has experienced this but they were going to trouble shoot it. 

[alanpfi]

I started with the wrench but then escalated to the "check engine" light and, in the end, the ominous red "check brake system" light and then my emergency brake light came on. None of it was true of course. But after 7 trips to the dealer with them going step by step and finally, ultimately, replacing the entire electrical harness (8 days), I drove off the lot this morning and saw everything was working perfectly. Tonight, leaving work I drove about 12 miles on local streets and the red "check brake system" light reappeared. They're offering to either buy the car back or give me another one. I love the car aside from all this. They can't figure it out so if that's what you're getting for a response as well, do yourself a favor and call the 800 number and get it started.

[Hawk]

Yikes, this just happened to me and I have had the car 14 months and almost 14k miles without any issues to this point.  My wife drove it to work and light came on just before she got there.  Parked with no issues, locked up and plugged into charger.  At end of day went to get in and nothing, no power at all to open doors and of course start the car.  It was in a parking garage 2 floors down and we thought we would have to push it out to flat bed.  Luckily we were able to "jump" start it because otherwise I don't know what we would have done.  How do you unlock steering, put car in neutral etc when you have no power? (on a funny note I jumped it with my nissan leaf, once we hooked it up the tow driver gave me the crank the key gesture.  I must say it is very different jumping a car when neither makes a sound)  It got it working thankfully but clearly a dead battery was not the problem?  It drove out of garage fine and then was towed to dealer.  Waiting to hear what they find out now.

[murphy]

It's covered in the Owner's Manual.  Take the console right side panel off (it's held by spring clips) and insert a screwdriver into the slot to release the shift lever from the Park position.  I recommend that you do it when it is not an emergency to learn the process.  It's not obvious but it does work.  A flashlight is also helpful.

[Hawk]

Thanks, good to know.  I will definitely try it out at home some time.  As it was I had to quickly figure out how to use that key and where the positive terminal was located for jumping. Hopefully there will not be a next time but at least I will be prepared for it. 

[Hawk]

Murphy, where in the manual does it explain how to remove the console to release shift lever from park position? I have looked but can't seem to find it. Thanks

[murphy]

Murphy, where in the manual does it explain how to remove the console to release shift lever from park position? I have looked but can't seem to find it. Thanks

In my second printing Owner's Manual it is on page 176 under the heading "Brake-Shift Interlock" which is in the Transmission section.

[Homegameroom]

I had the wrench light come on yesterday morning.  I also noticed that, when I got in the car that morning, the navigation display said something like "System shutting down due to low battery".  I also noticed that it was still trying to charge from the charger (220 volt, which had been plugged in for 12+ hours).  And the normal chimes had defaulted from the nice tones to the cheaper-sounding tones.  It's at the dealer today - I have 35,000 miles on my 2014 Energi, and I'm planning on a 2000 mile road trip in less than a week.  THe car has been pretty flawless up to now.  :-(  

[bdginmo]

I had the wrench light come on yesterday morning.  I also noticed that, when I got in the car that morning, the navigation display said something like "System shutting down due to low battery".  I also noticed that it was still trying to charge from the charger (220 volt, which had been plugged in for 12+ hours).  And the normal chimes had defaulted from the nice tones to the cheaper-sounding tones.  It's at the dealer today - I have 35,000 miles on my 2014 Energi, and I'm planning on a 2000 mile road trip in less than a week.  THe car has been pretty flawless up to now.  :-(  

 

You might try replacing the 12v battery. It would not at all be unusual for a battery of that age (assuming it was original to your 2014 model year) to go bad.

[Homegameroom]

I agree - but the dealer just called back.  The traction battery (or the charging system) is throwing faults (too low of a charge on the traction battery).  They are keeping it overnight to check it out in the AM.  Ugh! 

[bdginmo]

I agree - but the dealer just called back.  The traction battery (or the charging system) is throwing faults (too low of a charge on the traction battery).  They are keeping it overnight to check it out in the AM.  Ugh! 

 

Oh wow. How many miles do you have the vehicle? What does the battery meter on the dash show? Keep us posted.

[Homegameroom]

I have 35,000 miles on the odometer - only 1000 more to the end of the warranty!!!!!!!

The dealer still has it; i picked it up today and it did the same thing!  I don't really think they have a Hybrid/Plug-in tech on staff.  and after talking to them about it I'm beginning to think that the 12 volt battery is indeed the culprit.  They said they checked it; i asked if they took it out of the car and checked it or not.  Of course, they never removed it, and I enlightened them about volts, amperage, and current.  How can you accurately check a battery while it is in the circuit?

[Homegameroom]

Mt (traction) battery meter has always been fine.  But my useful mileage did go down when I bought a new set of tires.  No worries though- i was not a fan of the OEM ties anyway, and these are much better (quieter and better traction).

[bdginmo]

I have 35,000 miles on the odometer - only 1000 more to the end of the warranty!!!!!!!

 

The dealer still has it; i picked it up today and it did the same thing!  I don't really think they have a Hybrid/Plug-in tech on staff.  and after talking to them about it I'm beginning to think that the 12 volt battery is indeed the culprit.  They said they checked it; i asked if they took it out of the car and checked it or not.  Of course, they never removed it, and I enlightened them about volts, amperage, and current.  How can you accurately check a battery while it is in the circuit?

 

I'm not sure how they load test it and whether they need to take it out of the car or not. But, regardless, the battery is older enough that they should just replace it. I don't see what the big deal is.

 

Mt (traction) battery meter has always been fine.  But my useful mileage did go down when I bought a new set of tires.  No worries though- i was not a fan of the OEM ties anyway, and these are much better (quieter and better traction).

 

Sounds like the HVB fine then. Yes?

[murphy]

A 12 volt battery is load tested by putting a large load on it and watching what happens to the voltage.  I have a tester that puts a 100 ampere load on the battery for 10 seconds.  During that time the voltage must stay above 11 volts or it's time for a new battery.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-BT-100-Battery-Load-Tester/dp/B000AMBOI0/ref=sr_1_4?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1488396978&sr=1-4&keywords=battery+load+tester

[bdginmo]

A 12 volt battery is load tested by putting a large load on it and watching what happens to the voltage.  I have a tester that puts a 100 ampere load on the battery for 10 seconds.  During that time the voltage must stay above 11 volts or it's time for a new battery.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-BT-100-Battery-Load-Tester/dp/B000AMBOI0/ref=sr_1_4?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1488396978&sr=1-4&keywords=battery+load+tester

 

I'm guessing you're supposed to unhook the + and - cables first? Or is it safe to do while it's connected to the car?

[murphy]

I'm guessing you're supposed to unhook the + and - cables first? Or is it safe to do while it's connected to the car?

Only one of the cables has to be disconnected to isolate the battery from the car.

[thatisug]

I had the wrench light come on yesterday morning.  I also noticed that, when I got in the car that morning, the navigation display said something like "System shutting down due to low battery".  I also noticed that it was still trying to charge from the charger (220 volt, which had been plugged in for 12+ hours).  And the normal chimes had defaulted from the nice tones to the cheaper-sounding tones.  It's at the dealer today - I have 35,000 miles on my 2014 Energi, and I'm planning on a 2000 mile road trip in less than a week.  THe car has been pretty flawless up to now.  :-(  

 

 

I just had this same exact thing occur to my 2016 Fusion Energi yesterday (The odd start up beep, warning on the Navigation System about it shutting down due to low power, and the check engine light with the lovely wrench).

 

I plan on taking it to the dealership tomorrow - curious if you were able to figure out what the root cause was?

[Sherry]

I’m now experiencing the same issue for my 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid with 72,000 miles.  The yellow wrench came on while my daughter was driving the car and it was 90+ degrees outside.  When I started the car again inside my garage, the yellow wrench was no longer there.  Does anyone know what’s causing this issue.  Ford should have issued a recall and investigate the issue.  So disappointing.

[16vjohn]

16 hours ago, Sherry said:

I’m now experiencing the same issue for my 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid with 72,000 miles.  The yellow wrench came on while my daughter was driving the car and it was 90+ degrees outside.  When I started the car again inside my garage, the yellow wrench was no longer there.  Does anyone know what’s causing this issue.  Ford should have issued a recall and investigate the issue.  So disappointing.

 

Pull codes to get a better idea of what happened. Time for a visit to the Ford dealer... your hybrid parts are probably still under warranty.

[Zar]

I have a 2013 Ford Fusion with approximately 98,000 miles.  I had the 100,000 mile service performed just a couple weeks earlier when I experienced the wrench light and see manual light up.  My car went into a coasting mode as if power was lost.  I coasted to side of road where I then turned the car off for a few seconds before turning back on successfully as if nothing happened.   This happened again about a week later where I had to do the thing.  I took it to the shop where they performed diagnostics. They ended up performing a software upgrade hoping that would help in resolving or assist with the diagnosing the problem.    I again drove for another several days before experiencing the same issue.  This time after restarting, the engine light came and remained on.  By the time I took to the mechanic a day and a half later the engine light had gone out.   Still in shop trying to diagnose.  Any ideas?

[Tony]

• Ford recalled the 2013 to 2016 Ford Fusion vehicles with a 2.5L (152 ci) engine in 2019. These vehicles have bushings that hold the transmission shifter cable to the transmission itself. Over time, they become worn and can cause the bushing to detach from the transmission. This would cause the wrench dashboard light to occur.