I recently purchased a 2016 Escape. I can turn on the radio by pressing the volume knob, but I can’t adjust the volume with the knob or change any of the Sync 3 audio settings.
Here’s what works:
All physical controls work other than volume, meaning I can turn it on and off, change radio stations, change source, etc.
Can connect my phone through BT and play audio
CDs play
What doesn’t work:
Physical volume knob
Steering wheel volume control - press up or down and the volume pops up on the Sync display, but the volume doesn’t change and the on-screen display always shows a volume level of 0 even though it’s really loud
Any audio controls through the Sync settings. For example, I can drag the “balance” slider all the way to the left and it will immediately snap back to the center
What I know about the vehicle:
I know that someone changed the APIM to add navigation. The navigation works fine.
Sync 3 version 3.3
I do not know if the previous owner did anything with the ACM. The part number on the one installed is CJ5T-19C107-GB, which I’ve read here might not be for a 2016?
I have already backed up all of the as build modules, so I can provide those if needed.
It sounds like your AsBuilt settings are off. If the last owner did an upgrade he probally has them wrong or was giving the wrong settings. The only way to fix it is to get Forscan and an adaptor to correct them. If your lucky you will be near someone who can fix it for you also.
Ok, this is resolved. I downloaded the as built data from Ford using the VIN, then used As-Built Explorer to compare those values to the ones I backed up using FORScan.
Turned out, the only changes were to the ACM, and it appears that the previous owner had installed a custom sound system. All speakers were set to line-level, the amp was bypassed, etc. That would make sense why I couldn’t adjust volume or anything, as they were doing it using an aftermarket system.
My assumption is that when the car was repo’d, they removed their sound stuff and put back in the OEM parts but just never reprogrammed the ACM or didn’t know how.
But, all is well that ends well. Stereo works great now.
Obviously, FORScan and the FORScan forums are amazing and provide tons of good resources, some of which I used today. Especially the As-Built Explorer tool that let me compare what the car originally came with versus what was currently loaded.
That said, it never really clicked until I stumbled on this site and read a bunch of other people’s threads where you guys walked someone through fixing a real-world situation. There was even a thread where someone posted a video of the exact same thing I was seeing, where audio settings would snap back to 0 as soon as they were changed on-screen.
I was so happy today after I managed to get everything working that I decided to upgrade from Sync 3.3 to 3.4. So, I created the USB installer using the Ford site and it failed. Then I realized that Ford thinks my vehicle has a non-nav APIM.
Came back here and used Syn3 to upgrade from 3.3 to 3.4 and from maps 1.9 to 2.0 and everything went swimmingly.
This is a great resource, and saved me a lot of money after being quoted ridiculous amounts just to look at the issue I was having.