Really BAD issue with remote start Fordpass... Hybrid Maverick

[MilMaverick]

I went into cluster remote start and turned off auto climate controls as well as heated seats and heated steering wheel off. The smell and the glowing seemed to have stopped, car runs normal, no engine pulsating.
Have been using remote start for the last 3 days, climate set manually, running for about 5 10 minutes no issues.

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[Kennydee]

FYI. I have a Lariat Hybrid. Last week here in Iowa it was negative temps outside. I used the FordPass to remote start truck. Twice I had the surging, electrical smoke smell inside/sulfur smell outside. My engine light also came on for failure to reach temperature adequately.
After that I manually started the truck to warm it up and didn’t have a problem.
I took the truck to the dealer this morning and they checked everything out and found that the engine thermostat was malfunctioning. They have ordered the parts to fix it. Not sure if this part is related to the sulfur smells.

 

[Mark Rash]

XL Model here with bunch of upgrades.

So this was the first morning I got to test out the remote start with FordPass.(I did try it once before when setting up Fordpass) I have owned the truck since the 23rd of DEC, so.. 5 days, no issues. About 300 miles on it.

I got up to get ready for work, hit the remote start on the Ford Pass, it said the vehicle was started, and I went about getting ready, letting dog out, bathroom etc.

Well all that done I went to go out and head to work, and first thing I noticed was the truck was making a god awful noise like it was constantly starting and stopping every second. And then this smell hit me...

It was an incredibly intense fuel smell. Almost like rotten eggs. Unburnt fuel maybe? It actually made me almost physically ill.

Well I had to get to work, so I got in the truck rolled down the windows, and put the key in an shut the truck OFF. Then I turned it on, it said ready to drive, and I drove to work. No issues, no weird noises, no more weird smell. It was a cold drive to work for sure, but had to air out the original smell.

I mean I actually still feel a bit ill from it.

I guess Im going to test it out tonight after work and just keep an eye on it and watch it remote start. I dont believe in "flukes" when it comes to car reliability, so I still will talk to the dealer.

For context I did technically test the remote start via fordpass when we initially set up Fordpass at the dealer, so THAT time, it appeared to work fine.
It was particularly cold this morning, maybe 40 degrees F.

Has anyone tagged @Ford Motor Company in this thread? I've read through it over the last few days but don't have time to go back through to see. At least a couple others have now reported this problem with the glowing red catalytic converter and rough idling when remote starting in cold weather.

 

[OXHB619]

Has anyone tagged @Ford Motor Company in this thread?

they got tagged a few times last night

 

[SpruceDuck]

FYI. I have a Lariat Hybrid. Last week here in Iowa it was negative temps outside... they checked everything out and found that the engine thermostat was malfunctioning. They have ordered the parts to fix it. Not sure if this part is related to the sulfur smells.

Thanks for sharing your story--

I'm really hoping that's the end of your worries. The sulfur smell and the red hot glow in my engine is likely catalytic converter related, but I'm shade tree over here, at best. I’m under the impression new cars should not smell like sulphur, but I’ve heard some people say it’s not unheard of. Did they say anything to you about the cat? There are only a few things that can cause that smell.

Please keep us posted on how things work out.

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2/4/22
Update:
Trying to soften my tone over here. As of yesterday, I have yet to hear back from the service department. It has been one week since I dropped the vehicle off.

Confession: I wasn't the coolest guy in the world when my new car started doing semi-scary things. I wasn't a lunatic either. I just know there's a kinder, more sensible way to look at things. I was definitely a bit peeved in those videos. I just can't get over how many times a shop or a mechanic, reputable or not, says, "we can't replicate it." I'll admit, I was kind of pumped about the car, and then got pretty deflated. That's no excuse to forget these are mass-produced manufactured goods, not one-off space ships-- there's bound to be a loose nut or two every once in a while. Plus it's been a fairly stressful stretch for the industry, and a fairly stressful stretch for many people too. Should I be so shocked if it turns our there are widespread teething problems with the '22 Mav? Disappointed? Maybe. But shocked? No. In the meantime, I have no good reason to not give the decent people at my local dealership and service department the benefit of the doubt. It ain't their fault.

I'll post once I hear something.
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2/10/22
Update:

Today marks two weeks of my Mav living at the Ford serv dept. They’ve only been able to replicate it once— they’re waiting for the weather to get cold again. They want to hook it up to the scanners while it’s happening. They gave no information whatsoever about what might be going on with the truck.

I communicated with the “Official Ford Account” on this forum and I was told by that rep she’s passing my info and story onto another Ford department. Hopefully that raises some eyebrows.

I called Ford corporate cust support last Saturday and was told I’d hear back from a supervisor within 24-48 hours— haven’t heard back. I just got off the phone with a law firm that specializes in Lemon Laws and class actions. Getting those ducks in a row.

Spoke with Ford corporate later in the day and was informed the media specialist who‘s here on the Official Ford Account helped trigger a case, along with a case manager. I should be hearing from that person tomorrow or Monday. That’s encouraging. I still want to give Ford the benefit of the doubt, but also don’t want to get the short straw.

I hope we have some useful information to share with each other sooner than later.

 

[SpruceDuck]

FYI. I have a Lariat Hybrid. Last week here in Iowa it was negative temps outside. I used the FordPass to remote start truck. Twice I had the surging, electrical smoke smell inside/sulfur smell outside. My engine light also came on for failure to reach temperature adequately.
After that I manually started the truck to warm it up and didn’t have a problem.
I took the truck to the dealer this morning and they checked everything out and found that the engine thermostat was malfunctioning. They have ordered the parts to fix it. Not sure if this part is related to the sulfur smells.

I'm gonna mention that to my service dept. You might be one of the few people to have an engine light accompany your issue, if it's the same one we're all experiencing... which it sounds like it is. How has the repair gone? Any reoccurring symptoms?

 

[AnthonyMav]

So let’s say this happens in front of the service rep and the cat is glowing. Will they replace the cat? Has it damaged the cat to the point of it needing a new one, despite having a real fix to the problem?

by reading this, it sounds like we all know a temporary solution is to not remote start or start your car with the heat on full temperature and full fan.

 

[Darnon]

So let’s say this happens in front of the service rep and the cat is glowing. Will they replace the cat? Has it damaged the cat to the point of it needing a new one, despite having a real fix to the problem?

Cynically I'd say they probably won't do anything until the O2 sensors/PCM decide the catalytic converter efficiency is out of spec and it's still within the warranty required for emissions systems.

We have/had some 2013 Tauruses in our company fleet. Those had a recall where the fuel table tuning caused converters to fail prematurely if idled a lot. If it actually failed you were covered under the recall, but otherwise they just got the PCM flashed. If the catalytic converter then failed outside of the standard emissions warranty, too bad, the PCM reflash had closed out the recall with no additional coverage. (Also replaced a bunch of EPAS racks for $$$ while the nearly identical Explorer units got a recall, but that's a different gripe)

 

[Vols44]

The @fordvideoguy has alluded TY viewers to the fact that the 2.5L engine kicks in every time the battery runs low. This explains the idle fluctuation.

Overcharged batteries will give off a rotten egg smell. Sulfur dixoides that aren't being catalyzed (mainly during idle and conditions where the engine isn't above 2500rpm) will also smell like rotten eggs.

Part of a new vehicles break in period are the washcoat of aluminum oxide inside of catalytic converters.

 

[AnthonyMav]

The @fordvideoguy has alluded TY viewers to the fact that the 2.5L engine kicks in every time the battery runs low. This explains the idle fluctuation.

Overcharged batteries will give off a rotten egg smell. Sulfur dixoides that aren't being catalyzed (mainly during idle and conditions where the engine isn't above 2500rpm) will also smell like rotten eggs.

Part of a new vehicles break in period are the washcoat of aluminum oxide inside of catalytic converters.

So you’re implying all this could be normal or ok for the cat?

 

[KeinoDoggy]

So you’re implying all this could be normal or ok for the cat?

No way is this normal.

 

[Xerox6135]

It happen to me this morning second time in a month. This time I knew the cat was glowing because I could see the orange light under the truck. These cats will need to be replace at some point; I am sure. Called Ford Motor told them what was going on with the truck and that I scanned it and no codes. Was told they are aware of the problem and working toward a fix but had no idea when this may happen. Was told do not use the remote start till this gets sorted out.

 

[AnthonyMav]

It happen to me this morning second time in a month. This time I knew the cat was glowing because I could see the orange light under the truck. These cats will need to be replace at some point; I am sure. Called Ford Motor told them what was going on with the truck and that I scanned it and no codes. Was told they are aware of the problem and working toward a fix but had no idea when this may happen. Was told do not use the remote start till this gets sorted out.

That’s good news about them finding a solution. But now I’m concerned about them fixing what caused it and not replacing the cat… because that’s way more expensive than an ecu flash.

 

[AnthonyMav]

Happened twice today with mine. Key start, not remote start, so we can rule out the ford pass being an issue. Both times the coolant temp stuck at COLD for 30 minute drive and the out side temp stayed at -11 degrees – 0 degrees when it was 27 degrees out.

Maybe it’s thermostat related

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