Another remote start gone wrong, GLOWING CAT

[jtpc2021]

Seems like everyone who is having this issue is up in stupidly cold areas.
New rule: only use remote start in warm climates for AC. Live up north? Get a garage and avoid remote start.

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[OTACORB]

Seems like everyone who is having this issue is up in stupidly cold areas.
New rule: only use remote start in warm climates for AC. Live up north? Get a garage and avoid remote start.

I've never even experienced the surging thing, but living in Louisiana the coldest we get is around 32. But you'd swear we were in the alps the way everyone wraps up. LOL

Still Ford needs to figure this out because a glowing cat, generally means a non-flowing cat. That not good!

 

[djd3]

Thank you for documenting this. While @Ford Motor Company fumbles over themselves, can you submit this to the NHTSA?

https://www.nhtsa.gov/report-a-safety-problem#index


There is only 1 complaint with NHTSA on this so far.

 

[greycat]

Maybe Ford imagined engine warm up would be 10 times faster if the convertor shoots to 1,800 degrees fahrenheit. Beats waiting for the thermostat to open at 180 fahrenheit. Orange wires-Orange Convertor?

Probably not...

I tried remote start on my Hybrid out of curiosity to see if it worked. Determined it was useless for me because I never saw any purpose to warm up a car. I was always taught leaving a car idling at start up is a good way to wear it out and waste gas. Not to mention the danger of doing that with the garage door down. Oops. Same with heated seats and steering wheels. Just more sh*t to go wrong.

 

[maverick4natic]

I got in my Mav, which I had remote started about 10 min earlier, and noticed the sulfur smell, so I hopped out and looked at my catalytic converter. This is what I found:


Follow up video with engine off 20 min later:


Truck was started with climate control set to max defrost. I've only noticed the smell with heat turned up high. Normally I set it to 60 degrees, and I don't have the problem, although I do get the weird revving engine sound while it's running after being remote started.

What do I do next? Is Ford going to do a recall, or do people's homes need to burn down first?

@Vicious007 as a future hybrid owner in MN, is this purely a remote start issue, whether it be app or key initiated?

 

[Flomounier1]

They will say, and I quote...

" Hi there! Please send us a private message with your VIN and dealership name and location. I'd like to look into this concern on my end. "

Then they will open a ticket and claim someone will get back to the user within 2-3 days. Then nobody will get back to the user, and no method for following up will have been provided.

That has been the trend I have seen so far on this forum.

That is exactly what happened to me twice.

 

[YazYaz]

They can acknowledge the problem and tell people not to warm up their car so stuff doesnt get burnt down. Just like they did with the radio freezing issue. They put out a manufacturer communication of the issue before they had fix.

First step in solving a problem is admitting you have one. So we are not even at step one.

So it has been determined 100% that letting your car warm up causes this problem?

 

[Aza]

You must have missed that burned out Maverick thread from a few weeks back, where it was super obvious that the fire began in the engine compartment.

I am half joking since it looked to be a warm climate, but still.....we have already seen our first Maverick burn.

That one was an ecoboost though not hybrid

 

[Portcqb]

Where this only effects the hybrid I wonder if the heat scavenger on the exhaust has some kind of electric baffle to keep heat in the exhaust. If it's currently programmed to restrict the flow too much to warm up the engine and coolant it may be causing all of this.

 

[Darnon]

What is the cat "attached to" on the ecoboost, if not the engine?

Cylinder head w/ exhaust manifold -> turbocharger -> downpipe -> catalytic converter.

Whereas on the hybrid the exhaust manifold and converter are integrated into a single assembly.

 

[nickmav]

All i know is im happy i wont have my maverick for a few more months. I use remote start all the time on my current vehicle (actually installed it this winter) and I would have been using the remote start on the mav for months like this... scary thought

 

[999]

Either way it's "attached to the engine" I think.

Cylinder head w/ exhaust manifold -> turbocharger -> downpipe -> catalytic converter.

Whereas on the hybrid the exhaust manifold and converter are integrated into a single assembly.

 

[Nightowl]

I'm not taking any risks. When I get my hybrid, I will never turn the heat on or use remote start. Going to do a backseat-delete then install one of these puppies! I'll vent it through the moon roof so it will be safe.

 

[T McG]

Maybe the glowing converter is a new factory option…to cook hot dogs and hamburgers when you’re camping.

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