So i'm driving to work this morning at i am sitting at a redlight. It turns green and i give it some gas, the car surges then i hear warning chimes and the display reads that its in failsafe mode, perfect start to my day. Well apparently it only goes 3 mph in failsafe mode so that was fun having other drivers looking at me like i was crazy or something. The nice part is this all happened about a 1/4 mile away from the dealer that i go for servicing, but thats a loooooong 1/4 mile going 3 mph. So i limp into the service area and have it checked out. My advisor said it had 4 codes which indicated a throttle body malfunction. They clear the codes, scan all the systems, take it for a test drive and now its back to normal. The guy called it an electronic "glitch". Anyone else have a problem like this or have more insight to what may have happened. I didnt get the actual error codes from them, but i just got home after driving 80+ miles and it drives fine.
ETC-Failsafe mode / Throttle Body ?
- Thread starter Fla02LS
- Start date
LincolnTech38
Well-Known LVC Member
it depends on the codes.
it could be the throttle position sensor, the throttle actuator it self, or even a bad ignition coil
it could be the throttle position sensor, the throttle actuator it self, or even a bad ignition coil
I just did some searching on this issue and read that others have gone up to 20 mpg in failsafe mode, my car stuck at around idle, 500-700 rpm and would NOT go anything over 3 mph. Sounds to me like its more than a glitch. Another note i told the tech is not too long ago on the highway i hit the gas to pass someone and the car did nothing. Wasnt like a tranny issue where it would rev up then catch, i pushed the pedal and the rpms didnt go anywhere for atleast a full 1-2 seconds then it caught and took off. I forsee some future dealer visits regarding this.
This problem happened again twice since i left the dealership. The codes i got were P2110, P2107. I took it back to the dealer today and they are going ahead with replacing the throttle body. I hope this is the true problem, i have read before that the #4 coil can cause some interference and throw the same engine codes. The one thing about this issue is when it kicks into failsafe mode the rpm dont respond to the gas pedal one bit and it just cruises at 2-3 mph which has been VERY dangerous all three times it has happened. I guess the good thing is that i hustled my Ford dealer into a free rental car for the three days its gonna take to fix it. Anyone wanna come race a new Taurus!!!
02LSE96LSC91SE84TC
Dedicated LVC Member
Throttle by wire is gay.
Race??? I thought you were above such things.
Race??? I thought you were above such things.
Yes, throttle by wire is extremely gay and quite frankly will be a factor with my next car purchase. Dont ever want one again. The racing bit was a joke because the Taurus i have is a complete turd. Its a new model with all the options, but still a turd compared to a V8 LS. Even my old V6 LS seems like fast car compared to this Taurus.02LSE96LSC91SE84TC said:
2001LS8Sport
Dedicated LVC Member
I would be surprised if you can buy any new car in the near future that isn't drive by wire. It gives the manufacturer too much control for them to ignore. Packaging issues are much easier to overcome too when you don't have to run a throttle cable.
ToddG
Dedicated LVC Member
02LSE96LSC91SE84TC said:
Hmmmm. Homophobic remarks about car systems.
This guy's got issues.
02LSE96LSC91SE84TC
Dedicated LVC Member
I agree, its here to stay.2001LS8Sport said:
02LSE96LSC91SE84TC
Dedicated LVC Member
Issues?? You get that from that statement. You a shrink??ToddG said:
Didn't really mean it in that way. It was just a statement made on my general feelings of TBW. Its an annoyance to alot of people.
Sorry if I offended you.
How does using the word "gay" somehow make you homophobic ? I may be wrong but i think the word "gay" was in use way before it was associated with sexual orientation. In fact i think the word "gay" is actually used in some Christmas carols. Please, leave your ridiculous political correctness or whatever point you are trying to prove out of a car forum.
I was just doing some research and found out that a new throttle body for the LS is only $86 plus $7 for a gasket. Are there other parts involved or is that it? Seems really cheap. Makes me wonder if the dealer is just taking the cheapest fix first.
2001LS8Sport
Dedicated LVC Member
The throttle body won't come with a new throttle actuator...and I would bet that is the problem. I can't see how a hunk of metal can be the problem here.
garsarno
LVC Member
Had same problem / new throttle body installed. Turned out to be gas pedal arcing (drive by wire) instead. $238 part....
Quik LS
Dedicated LVC Member
2001LS8Sport said:
+1
the thottle is a simple mechanical device - nothing to really go wrong.
its more than a hunk of metal. it's a motor and a throttle position sensor. I had the same issue as did cars lincolntech38 has seen and it turned out to be a failing #4 (i think, rear coil pass side) coil. creates enough rf noise and near the pcm to throw TB codes. replace that coil before moving further....
to clarify , on the 03+ cars a new throttle body contains the throttle plate motor (actuator) and an integrated throttle position sensor. now you are able to replace the sensor separately but the actuator is part of the throttle body.
MDavis0424
Active LVC Member
My 2004 with 23k died on the way home from work last week, it would start back up, but very bad idle and would die as soon as you put it in gear. Had it towed to the dealer, they said the problem was the throttle position sensor. They stripped one of the bolts replacing it, and ended up replacing the throttle body. Ran fine for a week, then exact same symptoms yesterday and had to be towed in again. They're telling me it's unrelated to the problem last week.
I'll tell you a syptom of my issue. It happened a total of 3-4 times during random times, ex. start off from a redlight, switching over lanes, just plain accelerating at a normal rate and it would kick into ETC-Failsafe mode and there was no response from any gas pedal movement, it kept at about 800 rpm which gave me ohhhh...3-4 mph. Real fun stuff. Its like the throttle just went non responsive. All three times it was a hassle to inch my way over to the side of the road. But after alot of miles now there has been no return of the problem and it drives as good as it should.
MDavis0424
Active LVC Member
So now they're telling me it's the mass air flow sensor. I've expressed my deep concerns about their diagnosis, and requested that they stress test all the ignition coils before they give me the car back. Apparently they also had a problem with the battery going dead while they were testing it, which was why they couldn't determine the problem on Friday.
I can't see how a mass air flow sensor could cause this problem, I assume that a bad reading would have put the car in failsafe mode and I would have at least been able to limp the car off the road. I didn't even get the 3 mph that fla02ls got, mine idled at about 500 rpm which wasn't even enough to move the car.
I can't see how a mass air flow sensor could cause this problem, I assume that a bad reading would have put the car in failsafe mode and I would have at least been able to limp the car off the road. I didn't even get the 3 mph that fla02ls got, mine idled at about 500 rpm which wasn't even enough to move the car.
Quik LS
Dedicated LVC Member
is it a V8?
sound like a vacuum issue - which is often diagnosed as a MAF issue. Air could be getting in to the system around the MAF.
sound like a vacuum issue - which is often diagnosed as a MAF issue. Air could be getting in to the system around the MAF.