GEN 1 Hill Descent Control Fault / Service AdvanceTrac

[The Car Stereo Company]

I had this issue on my 2014 Screw. I dealt with it for about a year before I finally brought it to the dealer. It turned out to be a bad steering angle sensor (located in the steering wheel itself). I had it replaced and its been good to go ever since.

hey, you might have answered another issue i have. thanks

 

[Dane]

just had Hill Descent control fault , service advancetrac, and check brake system all come on at one time while drivingback from Austin. Checked 3rd brake light and no moisture and even changed bulbs. Cleaned Mass air flow sensor. Still getting alerts. How do i check rear speed sensors ? All advice and suggestions appreciated

Just had this exact thing happen on my 2012 as soon as I left the oil change place last Friday. The timing was too coincidental, but long story short it ended up being a wheel speed sensor (not anything they did) on my front driver's side hub. Luckily I had an old hub in the garage and swapped out the sensor. I did have to go drive it to clear the error. My little ODB2 scanner didn't show any error and disconnecting the battery didn't clear it. As soon as I started moving all was well. In addition to the three errors above my ABS was also kicking on when it shouldn't. That was fun.

 

[FNG in FL duhhh]

Any solution from the dealer.? Trying to avoid them as truck is out of warranty time wise.

I’ve also read that it could be the stop light switch assembly
(p/n 8t4z-13480-a).

So I recently (within two months) took my newly purchased 2014 screw with only 55k miles to discount tire for tires. I only got two new ko2’s put on in the rear and the fairly new rear ones moved to the front (as they only had 5-6k on them). When I got the truck back I noticed it was pulling to the right. I made sure all four tires were balanced correctly which they were so I assumed the alignment was off. I took it to Firestone and had an alignment done. When I got it back it was still pulling to the right. I had an appointment elsewhere so I did not bring it back immediately but I did call them. The manager suggested to check the alignment but if it was still within spec it may be a bad tire. A week later I brought it in to Firestone and the alignment was checked and confirmed in the green to still be good. Again when I left it was still pulling to the right. So I called discount explained everything to them and they told me to bring it in to rotate the fronts to narrow down the bad tire. While waiting for this appointment days later I was pulling out of a parking lot and the hill decent control fault and service advance trac warnings came on. I did not notice anything different in the driving characteristics of the truck and when I stopped , turned off and restarted the truck it went away. I read it has caused some people to loose power steering or their turn signals to not stay on. I’m having no recognizable symptoms to the warning lights coming on. So discount swapped the front tires side to side and it still pulled to the right so because I had the tire certs they gave me two brand new ko2s which were again put in the rear and the set I bought weeks prior (less then 1000 miles) moved to the front. After all this the truck still noticeably pulls to the right and I’m getting the same two warning alerts with zero symptoms more often now.

Am I missing something? I didn’t have any issues driving all the way from TX with the truck. No pulling to the right or alerts popping up.

Not trying to thread jack just having very similar issues and trying to diagnose them easy to hard. I’m pretty sure the dealer will automatically say it’s the $2000+ steering rack. I’ve read some of the smaller scanners won’t read these codes specifically so I don’t know if going to a auto parts store would be a valuable start.

Could discount or Firestone have damaged the wheel speed sensor (as stated above as the issue) installing tires or doing an alignment?

Could a bad steering angle sensor in the steering wheel (as stated above was one issue) cause the pulling to the right? Steering wheel seems straight and not off center.

Also FYI I did recently replace the rear third brake light that had burnt out leds. It was a oem new one from Ford and is still working with no issues or condensation. I also read above about this possibly being the issue.

Any help is much appreciated.

 

[j2k]

^^^ In my experience with the bad steering angle sensor, there were no noticeable changes in the truck's driving characteristics. I just had the hill descent control fault and service advancetrac warning lights as well as the traction control light appear on the dash. Good luck in in getting this issue resolved quickly!

 

[FNG in FL duhhh]

^^^ In my experience with the bad steering angle sensor, there were no noticeable changes in the truck's driving characteristics. I just had the hill descent control fault and service advancetrac warning lights as well as the traction control light appear on the dash. Good luck in in getting this issue resolved quickly!

Yea same here as far the lights coming on but that happened well after the first set of tires were put on and after two alignment checks. I got the lifetime alignment and they said there is no limit but damn if it’s them not doing the alignment properly this doesn’t help at all. I thought about going to a different Firestone just to see if they can do a better job.

J2K was yours covered under warranty? If not what did that repair cost you?

I’m thinking of getting possibly a dealer or aftermarket warranty to cover the truck. Especially if it is the steering rack. Any suggestions in that department? I’m pretty sure Fords will be a lot of money especially bumper to bumper with their added fees. Or if anyone has a trustworthy maybe SVT Ford dealer in Florida that they know of and trust that would be cool to.

I appreciate it though.

 

[j2k]

Yea same here as far the lights coming on but that happened well after the first set of tires were put on and after two alignment checks. I got the lifetime alignment and they said there is no limit but damn if it’s them not doing the alignment properly this doesn’t help at all. I thought about going to a different Firestone just to see if they can do a better job.

J2K was yours covered under warranty? If not what did that repair cost you?

I’m thinking of getting possibly a dealer or aftermarket warranty to cover the truck. Especially if it is the steering rack. Any suggestions in that department? I’m pretty sure Fords will be a lot of money especially bumper to bumper with their added fees. Or if anyone has a trustworthy maybe SVT Ford dealer in Florida that they know of and trust that would be cool to.

I appreciate it though.

Unfortunately, my 2014 was out of warranty and I never bothered with getting an extended or aftermarket warranty. I paid $367 for the sensor and $200 for the labor. The price was a bit of a **** job, as you can find the sensor (PN - BB5Z 3F818 A) online much cheaper and it only took the dealer about an hour or two to do the work. I contemplated a DIY fix, but I didn't want to risk ******** up the airbag.... and I just flat out am getting lazier with age.

 

[FordTechOne]

Any solution from the dealer.? Trying to avoid them as truck is out of warranty time wise.

I’ve also read that it could be the stop light switch assembly
(p/n 8t4z-13480-a).

So I recently (within two months) took my newly purchased 2014 screw with only 55k miles to discount tire for tires. I only got two new ko2’s put on in the rear and the fairly new rear ones moved to the front (as they only had 5-6k on them). When I got the truck back I noticed it was pulling to the right. I made sure all four tires were balanced correctly which they were so I assumed the alignment was off. I took it to Firestone and had an alignment done. When I got it back it was still pulling to the right. I had an appointment elsewhere so I did not bring it back immediately but I did call them. The manager suggested to check the alignment but if it was still within spec it may be a bad tire. A week later I brought it in to Firestone and the alignment was checked and confirmed in the green to still be good. Again when I left it was still pulling to the right. So I called discount explained everything to them and they told me to bring it in to rotate the fronts to narrow down the bad tire. While waiting for this appointment days later I was pulling out of a parking lot and the hill decent control fault and service advance trac warnings came on. I did not notice anything different in the driving characteristics of the truck and when I stopped , turned off and restarted the truck it went away. I read it has caused some people to loose power steering or their turn signals to not stay on. I’m having no recognizable symptoms to the warning lights coming on. So discount swapped the front tires side to side and it still pulled to the right so because I had the tire certs they gave me two brand new ko2s which were again put in the rear and the set I bought weeks prior (less then 1000 miles) moved to the front. After all this the truck still noticeably pulls to the right and I’m getting the same two warning alerts with zero symptoms more often now.

The error messages you’re seeing will not affect power steering; it’s a mechanical system. The first thing I would recommend doing is measuring the circumference of all tires. They should all be within half an inch. Excessive circumference variance between tires will set DTCs.

Could discount or Firestone have damaged the wheel speed sensor (as stated above as the issue) installing tires or doing an alignment?

Could a bad steering angle sensor in the steering wheel (as stated above was one issue) cause the pulling to the right? Steering wheel seems straight and not off center.

A damaged wheel speed or steering angle sensor will set DTCs, but will not cause a pull.

 

[FNG in FL duhhh]

Unfortunately, my 2014 was out of warranty and I never bothered with getting an extended or aftermarket warranty. I paid $367 for the sensor and $200 for the labor. The price was a bit of a **** job, as you can find the sensor (PN - BB5Z 3F818 A) online much cheaper and it only took the dealer about an hour or two to do the work. I contemplated a DIY fix, but I didn't want to risk ******** up the airbag.... and I just flat out am getting lazier with age.

Oh ok atleast it’s on them if something went wrong and they should warranty the work they did atleast I’d imagine. I appreciate the info. I drove it quite a bit today and none of the warnings came on. It’s very weird.

 

[FNG in FL duhhh]

The error messages you’re seeing will not affect power steering; it’s a mechanical system. The first thing I would recommend doing is measuring the circumference of all tires. They should all be within half an inch. Excessive circumference variance between tires will set DTCs.



A damaged wheel speed or steering angle sensor will set DTCs, but will not cause a pull.

Appreciate the advice. All the tire circumferences were the same and I checked the size of all the tires again and the load and speed ratings on the sidewall and they were all the exact same number and letter.

oh ok very weird it would start pulling after the new tire install and the alignment wouldn’t help.

 

[FordTechOne]

Appreciate the advice. All the tire circumferences were the same and I checked the size of all the tires again and the load and speed ratings on the sidewall and they were all the exact same number and letter.

oh ok very weird it would start pulling after the new tire install and the alignment wouldn’t help.

So to clarify, you measured the circumference (not diameter) of each tire using a tailor's tape and they were all identical?