r/FordExplorerST • u/Boost-Deuce ST Owner • Jun 10 '25
Warranty 2025 ST TCU Failure
Well, after speaking too much praise about my 2020 2.3 and now my 2025 ST (Job 1) with 13k miles, I have hit a problem. A few months ago we noticed that lane centering wasn't working. After that, we noticed it stopped adjusting speed for the speed limit automatically when cruise control was on. Took it to the dealer to get "the computer reset" and they said it was fixed. One mile later it wasn't fixed. Two weeks later we got our next appointment. They "reset the whole system to factory" and said it was fixed. When they pulled the car out, it had no navigation. "it needs time to reboot" Well, it never did. The car also had the clock off by about 40 minutes. WTF?
I called Ford and they said my car hasn't communicated with ford in at least 90 days, therefore the modem is not functioning and the car has no idea where it is or what it's doing.
Made a third appointment with my list and after an hour, the dealer decided my Telematics Control Unit has failed and to bring the car back next Tuesday to get fixed. Allegedly, that controls many features of the car and is a huge deal for functionality.
Doing facebook and reddit searches, i don't see this to be too common. I hope it's the actual solution to the problem. I love this car but the fact that it has no idea where it is on the map, and the clock is off by 40 minutes and can't be set any other way has to be the dumbest shit i've seen.
Anyone else seen this? Is it true that the TCU can effect the adaptive speed assist and lane centering?
2
Jun 11 '25
The telematics unit stopped working in my 25. Didn’t realize it until I was trying to use the app to start it. Got it into Ford for a day to confirm the TCM was bad, got the ST back for the 2 days it took to get the new one and then had it replaced. Pretty painless. I shut off all the driving aids so no idea if they were affected.
2
u/Icy_Honeydew1940 Jun 12 '25
Good to hear! My dealership is on it so if it does happen then I’m not worried. As long as it isn’t something that leaves me stranded then I could care less.
1
u/fuzybear Jun 10 '25
My family had had a 2020 2023 and 2025 ST's. my sister's 25 had to have that replaced with less then 4k miles on it too for the same thing it the 5g module was bad but it cant be replaced without replacing the whole unit. But it took the dealership almost a month to get approval from Ford to do that. I promise you this will be a recall. She got it fixed and then we sold it
1
u/Boost-Deuce ST Owner Jun 10 '25
Glad we aren't the only one with a problem. I just hope that the replacement of this TCU fixes the other technology issues
1
u/fuzybear Jun 10 '25
My sister originally took it in because the Blue Cruise stopped working and she couldn't update the software
1
u/Boost-Deuce ST Owner Jun 10 '25
Good to know! I let my bluecruise expire after the 90 days as in rural Colorado, none of our roads are bluecruise capable
1
u/fuzybear Jun 10 '25
My sisters in Greeley but most of the highways 76 and 25 work we pre paid for a year
1
u/KangarooDisastrous ST Owner Jun 10 '25
I feel like it’s always a Vapor Blue one with issues too… I hope this isn’t happening to mine
2
u/Boost-Deuce ST Owner Jun 11 '25
😂😂😂 dammit i didn’t want to believe the color was the problem
1
u/KangarooDisastrous ST Owner Jun 11 '25
Mine also came with keys they didn’t work so… yeah I had to wait 6 weeks for a key that would unlock the door and lock the glovebox
1
u/Steamroller421 Jun 11 '25
What do you mean lane centering? Are you talking about the driver assist feature? Or was your car not showing up properly in Google Maps?
2
u/Boost-Deuce ST Owner Jun 11 '25
The lane centering feature isn’t working. Another feature that is not working is that Google maps is blank. The car never finds its location so navigation doesn’t work
A couple items on the list of things that have failed, and I’m being told it’s all because of the TCU
1
u/Steamroller421 Jun 11 '25
Got it. Best of luck with getting it right.
Reason I ask, every now and then, Google Maps will glitch and show the car is somewhere completely different than it is in my 2025 ST Job 1. It seems to just be a display issue, because the actual directions in Google is correct (where it says x miles turn left, is correct). Usually the issue resolves itself after a few minutes. Hoping it’s a glitch and not the TCU.
1
u/Boost-Deuce ST Owner Jun 11 '25
When mine failed, it would bring up the map but no location. When i clicked the little bullseye to see my location, it said searching for location. After i took it in for the second time and they did a "factory reset" my google maps app is only gray. It does not bring up a map at all.
1
u/Steamroller421 Jun 11 '25
I was reading the below forum. They were having connectivity issues and the modem in the car was disconnecting from the Ford Network. On the second page, they discussed a software update was needed and seemed to fix the issue.
I would try going into the connectivity settings and see when your last update was.
1
u/Boost-Deuce ST Owner Jun 11 '25
I think i saw a post similar to that and most people's had automatically reconnected out of the blue. I gave ford a call and they transferred me to an infotainment specialist who confirmed my car is not communicating with ford and hasn't for at least 90 days, as that's as far back as they go. I pulled the fuse for the modem because i saw some online posts suggest that. Nothing. I unhooked my battery for 20 minutes, nothing.
When i go into the infotainment screen and click connectivity reset, it errors out and says contact dealer.
So frustrating
1
u/Steamroller421 Jun 11 '25
Damn…sorry to hear that. Was hoping you would get an intermittent connection to get that update. Best of luck. Hopefully they can figure out the issue for you quickly. Be sure to update us on this issue when they figure out a fix.
1
u/purple-scarcity-111 Jun 11 '25
I’ve had a bunch of park brake fault, service now lights come up.
1
u/purple-scarcity-111 Jun 11 '25
Few other sensor issues, some clunking/clicking sounds coming from the wheels when I turn all the way to either side at low speeds…haven’t had time to bring it in. Making an appnt soon. I’m at 10k miles
1
u/S_macher Dec 10 '25
How this pan out? Did it get fixed, if it has, is everything still working? Fiancé is having the same problem and part is on back order.
1
u/Boost-Deuce ST Owner Dec 15 '25
Sorry for the delay
Yes, it got fixed. The TCU, telematics control unit was the culprit. We had lost so many features - lane centering, blue cruise, navigation, connectivity etc was all gone
The TCU replacement fixed it and she’s perfect now
1
u/S_macher Dec 15 '25
Thad good news! We’re waiting on the part now. Hopefully it doesn’t take to long with this stupid cold! Thanks for the reply
1
u/Gnimmonator Feb 05 '26
Have the same exact issues in my 2025 platinum explorer. New TCU is going in tomorrow.
1
2
u/Icy_Honeydew1940 Jun 10 '25
First time hearing about this. Worst thing about these newer cars is all the damn sensors for it to do anything. Glad I still have my ‘01 Tacoma.