Hello! Few people know about this problem in the operation of the climate control system in the Ford Explorer 5 (2017-2020 and maybe on newer models). When the air temperature is above 25 degrees Celsius and the AUTO mode on the climate control is turned on, the external air intake damper is always closed and the air cooling mode inside the cabin operates. At the same time, the control button for the external air intake switching flap is in the “External air” position and the driver thinks that everything is ok, but in fact the flap is actually closed and disabled (pressing the button does not activate the flap as long as the external air temperature is above 25 degrees). The only way to deal with this error is to turn off the AUTO climate control mode - in this case, the damper control button begins to work as it should and you can turn on the air intake from outside. This type of climate control operation creates significant difficulties on long trips with passengers, since after just 1 hour there is practically no oxygen in the car and a headache may begin. I even took special measurements with a CO2 sensor - after 1 hour the level exceeded critically acceptable standards. I contacted Ford with this problem because it is a widespread problem and all my friends and on forums have this problem, although not everyone knows about it - Ford did not answer me about this problem.
There is only one question here - does anyone know how to configure a different climate control algorithm or can make changes in the FORScan settings blocks?
Thank you!
So as well as recycling the air it attempts to recycle the passengers.
That is going to be a setting in the BCM\PCM.
My guess on the reason for the flip to recirc is that it’s more efficient to run the AC in this mode above a certain temp.
According to this story: https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/ford-explorer-owners-carbon-monoxide-nhtsa/
The issue is a CO level, not a CO2 level and its caused by bad welds on the exhaust which can be remedied by taking the car to a shop to get them redone
No, no, you didn’t understand me quite correctly. I’m talking about the fact that when the air temperature outside the car is above 25 degrees and the climate control is in AUTO mode, the air recirculation mode in the car is constantly running and there is no influx of fresh air from outside. An hour after such a trip, my head begins to hurt from lack of oxygen. And I specifically measured the CO2 level in the car to prove to myself that there was no influx of fresh air. Previously, cars had such a climate control function, but it worked differently: when the temperature in the cabin was very high, recirculation was turned on only for effective cooling, and when the cabin cooled down, recirculation was turned off. And in my case, recirculation in AUTO mode does not turn off while the outside temperature is above 25 degrees. The problem is exclusively in the climate control settings.
I doubt there’s a setting for fixing Ford’s stupidity…
My focus does something stupid as that: if you turn on the fan (no AC) and set it to go towards the windshield, the AC will automatically kick in without letting the user know (the ac led remains off)… I only noticed that because of fuel consumption and the fact I started to get cold…
Also, my Focus decides enough is enough and will kill recirculation and take air from the outside, regardless the windows being a bit open… I’ve noticed this because I stated smelling fumes from the car ahead…
So yeah, automation is as good as the kids (not engineers) let it be…
I’m not seeing any reports of this anywhere and I can guarantee you that there are PLENTY of people in the US/Canada that have Explorers who spend multiple hours driving non-stop in temps 25ºC/77ºF and up with the AC on.
So if this was common I would expect to see a NHTSA complaint or two.
Has the vehicle been modded in any way, shape or form (including ForScan changes or a tune) ?
This sounds more like a blend door actuator problem on the vehicle than something inherent in all of them.
It’s even good that there is no such problem in the USA or Canada, because I might be able to make some changes in the operation of the climate control using Forscan.
My car was made in Russia (Ford Sollers) and as far as I understand, the climate control works like this on all Explorers 2017-2019. I didn’t make any changes using Forscan, this is how climate control works on all these cars from the factory.
As for cars manufactured for the USA or Canada, I would check if it were possible. When the car is quiet and you press the recirculation button, you can hear the damper mechanism working. Well, or you can connect Forscan and see in the corresponding section whether the recirculation damper is open or not. So, on my car, if the external air temperature is above 25 and the climate control is in AUTO mode, then you can press the recirculation button as many times as you like (a light above the button will light up and go out depending on the press) - but the damper will not move and will always be located in recirculation mode. As soon as the outside air temperature drops below 25, the recirculation button begins to control the damper in normal mode. Therefore, many drivers do not notice this problem, they see that recirculation is turned off, but in fact it is on.
I would be very grateful if the owner of a similar car would check how the recirculation damper works at high outside temperatures.
Well, and most importantly, what settings in Forscan do you think can be responsible for this logic of climate control operation? Maybe I can try something…
That sounds more like a hardware issue or a problem with the FCIM, etc
You could have more than one actuator involved and if the arm is broke on one of them ForScan could still see all of them moving and not see that the actual physical damper isn’t moving.
If the same design is used on all then it is something either a market specific problem or a hardware issue.
I’m sure that this is not a problem or a breakdown - it’s setting the logic of the climate control. As soon as the temperature sensor detects a temperature above 25 degrees, recirculation is turned on by default. Without any button presses, etc. As soon as the temperature is below 25, everything is normal. And so on absolutely all cars from the factory. Thousands of them have been produced.
You’re missing the point,
IF CO2 is/was an issue there would be OTHER threads on it out in the world somewhere, especially during CV when people were afraid to roll down windows and ran recirc because they were afraid they’d catch it from somebody walking down the street or the car in front of them.
IF you are seeing a CO2 (not CO/carbon monoxide) issue then you have an issue with your specific vehicle or there’s been a mod of some type to cause it.
When I contacted the manufacturer, they confirmed to me that recirculation can be turned on automatically at high temperatures, but for more than 5 minutes. In my case, it is clear that this is a logic error in the operation of the climate control. And this is not just one machine, this is the entire production line over 2 years. The plant closed until 2020. There is nowhere else to turn. The service dealer sees the problem but cannot solve it without the factory, and the factory is closed))) A vicious circle. Maybe someone can tell me where to turn or still try to make the settings on my own and change the operating logic of the car’s climate control?
That function is the so called Covid decon function.
It doesn’t change when recirc kicks on, it allows for the heat/recirc combination to be allowed to raise the internal temp of the vehicle to 60ºC/140ºF for 15 minutes to kill any CV19 in the air or on surfaces.
This was a military/law enforcement only option that dealers were able to enable using IDS and the change covered multiple modules including the IPC where it added the option to turn it on.
The car is 2019, before Covid. This is simply a developer or programming error.
There are a few people in here close to the front line at Ford and none have acknowledged your issue so i suggest it might be something local to your region and you’l have to take it up with a Main Dealer.
Yes, you are probably right, but the current conditions and the chances of resolving the issue through Ford are almost zero. I was thinking that maybe the owner of a similar car could share the asbuild settings configuration for comparison? Maybe something can really be changed since cars in the USA or Canada don’t have this problem…
You’re fixated on AsBuild, it’s not a universal cure and doesn’t hold all the answers.
When did you actually “talk” to someone at Ford that said this could be done?
Ford currently supports the CV decon function being enabled on Mil/police MY2016-2024 Explorers so the fact that yours is a 2019 does not mean that this isn’t what they were referring to. If anything its more likely since the “new” units in most departments would have been 2019s or early/mid 2020s when CV broke out.
I contacted the local Ford manufacturer specifically. They answered me very quickly that, of course, this is only my problem and not a widespread one. That in hot weather, when the air conditioner is turned on, the damper closes for recirculation for only 5 minutes to quickly cool the car interior and opens again to allow fresh air from the street to enter. They also told me to go to the dealer for service. When I arrived at the dealer, he tested several cars that they had in the showroom and they confirmed to me that all the cars had climate control the same way as mine, and this means it was programmed that way by the Ford factory. So the factory sent me to Delaire and the dealer to the factory, and then the factory closed and the dealer ceased to be an official representative of Ford. Personally, I think that there is a clear problem in the algorithm of the climate system. It’s as if the recirculation mode was turned on when the temperature was high from outside, but they forgot to set the shutdown timer. Believe me, the car is quite well insulated with about 3 cubic meters of air, and when there are 4 people in the car, there is no oxygen after 30 minutes, it’s like four people breathing in one big bag. This is a real problem. At all the local forums where I described this situation, they didn’t believe me, but then they were convinced that I was right. All restyled cars produced at the local plant from 2017 to 2019 have this problem. Moreover, it is very strange for me to see, but essentially only the body was assembled at the plant; the main parts, modules, sensors, engine were produced in Mexico, Poland, Germany, etc. What could have been ruined like that at the factory?)))
The “factory” is an assembly plant, they don’t make the electronics, seats, trim or any of those items, the just put together pieces made elsewhere to make a complete vehicle.
To use the 2020MY Escape as an example, the battery packs were made in three different countries, the HUD is made in Portugal, the APIM is made in Mexico, the IPC can be Germany or Mexico, the brake pads in Italy, the engine in Mexico and the transmission in the US. With the exception of the engine and transmission none of these parts are made by Ford, they’re made for Ford by companies like Visteon, Continental, Panasonic, Brembo, etc.
Hence the reason that its doubtful that “'ALL” Explorers have the CO2 buildup problem you’re describing, it would have shown up elsewhere in the world. The plant is using the same components as other plants making the Explorer.
I would be interested the numbers of the CO2 amd O2 levels you are concerned about before and after a long trip. I am not aware of any cars that are so airtight as to be an issue which is why there was a CO problem, but it is an interesting idea to explore. If the car was that airtight, you would not be able to infuse new air in the cabin with the damper open without increasing the cabin pressure.
Nevertheless, I will have to find a monitor to make my own measurements.
The quickest solution at this time is crack the window open a smidge.