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Service Engine..Again


cegarbage
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You can't start the car unless your foot is on the BRAKE!!!!!  And in order to start the car it must be in park or neutral--in addition to having your foot on the BRAKE.  How can the car drive through the garage wall if the car is in park or neutral?  It can't.

 

I maintain that you don't know how to start/drive this vehicle.  The vehicle has not started unless the ready to drive light shows up.

 

You cannot start the vehicle in reverse or drive.  Everything in your videos is normal because you don't understand how to properly start the vehicle!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I wouldnt go that far because I've seen weird stuff with military vehicles and others that they claimed werent suppost to but it did and with witnesses around.  One has to believe what the OP says or whats the point of a forum.

 

cegarbage, I would take your car back to the dealer and wouldnt take it till its fixed or go to another. If you car does what you say its doing in your last post, you got something more wrong with it.

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...I consciously started the car without my foot on the break and it started...

 

No you didn't start the car.  You turned the electronics on--that is all.  You can't start the car without your foot on the brake and the gearshift in either park or neutral.

 

You don't appear to know how to start the vehicle.  Turning the key on does NOT start the vehicle unless the other requirements are met.  You are turning the electronics on but not starting the vehicle.  When the vehicle is properly started the ready to drive comes on.

 

Many of us have turned the key before pressing on the brake pedal.  The only indication this has happened is that the ready to drive light does not illuminate.  The car does not start but since your foot is on the brake you can shift from park to another gear.  But the vehicle has not started and the key has to be turned off and the gearshift returned to park (or neutral) before using the proper procedure to start the car.  That is what happened in your videos.

 

Operator error is the reason your car doesn't start.

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I wouldnt go that far because I've seen weird stuff with military vehicles and others that they claimed werent suppost to but it did and with witnesses around.  One has to believe what the OP says or whats the point of a forum.

 

cegarbage, I would take your car back to the dealer and wouldnt take it till its fixed or go to another. If you car does what you say its doing in your last post, you got something more wrong with it.

Did you review the videos?  Everything in those videos is normal.  I don't have to believe the OP when he is obviously confused.  He thinks that the vehicle has started when the lights come on.  The vehicle has started only when the ready to drive light comes on and that won't happen unless the brake pedal is depressed BEFORE turning the ignition on while the car is in either park or neutral.  There is no other way to actually "start" this vehicle.  There is nothing wrong with this vehicle.

 

This situation is very similar to the situation I described where the person let his vehicle coast into the garage wall.

Edited by JATR4
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After reading everything again and doing some searching. The only answer I can give is this: The engine light will come on with how you are doing it. Its just one of those things. As long as it goes off when the car is running, you are fine. Thats why there are no error codes.  In all of the videos, you show your car is in reverse. You can switch gears without the car running. Unless you want to do another video with you hopping into the car for the first time and then do everything step by step, we really dont know but we can only guess from what we have seen from the other videos. To answer your main question; "I tried using a MaxiScan ODBII Scan Tool and no errors came up. Would this device be able to detect an error code? " the answer is yes, IF there was an error code, it will show. Also, you can run a vehicle report from your car and if there is any issues, it will also report. GL!  

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Did you review the videos?  Everything in those videos is normal.  I don't have to believe the OP when he is obviously confused.  He thinks that the vehicle has started when the lights come on.  The vehicle has started only when the ready to drive light comes on and that won't happen unless the brake pedal is depressed BEFORE turning the ignition on while the car is in either park or neutral.  There is no other way to actually "start" this vehicle.  There is nothing wrong with this vehicle.

 

This situation is very similar to the situation I described where the person let his vehicle coast into the garage wall.

umm, he was questioning the engine light on and his main question was about a reader......thats why this whole thing was started because he had engine errors, took it to the dealer, they upgrade the software, and when he did what he did, he saw the engine light on again and questioned it. ...i believe thats it...

Edited by lonzo71
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umm, he was questioning the engine light on and his main question was about a reader......thats why this whole thing was started because he had engine errors, took it to the dealer, they upgrade the software, and when he did what he did, he saw the engine light on again and questioned it. ...i believe thats it...

If you review the videos, it appears he tries to start the vehicle with the gearshift in reverse.  That won't work and the engine light comes on and stays on.  When you turn the ignition on the engine light ALWAYS comes on.  When the vehicle is properly started the engine light goes off and the ready to drive light comes on--normal.

 

The dealer reprogrammed the PCM not because anything was wrong but they probably didn't know what was wrong and thought that was the easiest fix.  I doubt anything was ever wrong with the vehicle.

 

The videos prove he doesn't know how to start the car.  He claims he started the vehicle in reverse--IMPOSSIBLE.  He may have turned the electronics on but he did NOT start the vehicle.  The ready to drive light comes on only after he turns the ignition off and properly starts the vehicle with his foor on the brake and the geasrshift in park (it will start in neutral also).

Edited by JATR4
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cegarbage, while I agree JATR4 comes on a little strong... You state you started the car without your foot on the brake and it started.  This is not possible.  The car is not started unless the green ready to drive icon is present.  This can only be accomplished with your foot on the break and the vehicle in park (or neutral).  A 'power run' or electronics only start can be done at any time by just turning the key or pushing the start button but unless the green ready to drive icon appears, the car is not actually started and ready to drive.

 

If you do have the green ready to drive icon appear after starting the vehicle without your foot on the break, as you state, this is incorrect and is something else you should have a dealership look at.

Edited by openair
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One other thing you can try...

 

If you run in to this situation again where you don't have a green drive light and a check engine light on, make sure you're in park, depress your brake pedal, and try starting the car again.  I don't think you need to shut it off and turn it back on again.

 

I have the pushbutton start.  The button itself has a green indicator on it.  If you press that start button without depressing the brake (thus, putting it in accessory mode), the indicator blinks green.  If you depress the brake and start it, it lights up solid green.  It's a dead giveaway for what mode the car is in.  In your situation, there is no real indication that you put your car in accessory mode, aside from the check engine light.

 

It has been a 'gotcha' for a few members on the forum until they got used to making sure the brake was pressed before starting the car.

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It's absolutely not an issue with me not starting the car right. For kicks, I consciously started the car without my foot on the break and it started. That's the first, and last time I will ever do that, I'm normally parked in my garage and would risk driving through it if my foot weren't on the break.

 

There have been times when this has occurred that the gear shift has locked and I have been unable to move between gears. I don't have it on recording.

 

The one good point mentioned was the green light does not appear in all cases. I didn't notice that.  The only thing I can think is  it's difficult to tell if an electric ignition really starts because they start so quietly. At least in the last video, it is apparent by the camera I did start the ignition because you can see my right hand turn the ignition back off before restarting.

 

The next time this occurs I'm going to stick my reader in the port and see if I can get a reading. Since the error resets itself and is not being held, it does not appear I can get a reading without it.

Have you confirmed that this is operator error and nothing wrong with your car?

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I tried it today. Mine will start in neutral, but I can't shift into neutral if I'm in park (prior to turning on the vehicle) - and there is a persistent warning if I shut it off in neutral, indicating to put it in park. So while it will start there, I can't see how it would get to neutral in the first place. The bottom line is that the vehicle is most likely going to be in park when starting, and you have to put your foot on the brake or it won't be in "go" mode (as many have mentioned).

 

As I have said, I have a C-Max Energi, but I'm sure this part of the Ford Energi system is common between vehicles.

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I tried it today. Mine will start in neutral, but I can't shift into neutral if I'm in park (prior to turning on the vehicle) - and there is a persistent warning if I shut it off in neutral, indicating to put it in park. So while it will start there, I can't see how it would get to neutral in the first place. The bottom line is that the vehicle is most likely going to be in park when starting, and you have to put your foot on the brake or it won't be in "go" mode (as many have mentioned).

 

As I have said, I have a C-Max Energi, but I'm sure this part of the Ford Energi system is common between vehicles.

It's easy to get into neutral.  If you don't have your foot on the brake when you "start" the car you turn on the electronics only.  Once the electronics are on (car NOT actually started) and you step on the brake you can shift to any gear, which is exactly what the OP did.  If you have turned the electronics on and want to start the car you can start it from either park or neutral with your foot on the brake.  There is no need to turn the car off if the electronics have started.  Just shift to park or neutral, put your foot on the brake and turn the key/push the button.

 

It is safest to start the car in park but it can be started in neutral.

Edited by JATR4
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It's easy to get into neutral.  If you don't have your foot on the brake when you "start" the car you turn on the electronics only.  Once the electronics are on (car NOT actually started) and you step on the brake you can shift to any gear, which is exactly what the OP did.  If you have turned the electronics on and want to start the car you can start it from either park or neutral with your foot on the brake.  There is no need to turn the car off if the electronics have started.  Just shift to park or neutral, put your foot on the brake and turn the key/push the button.

 

It is safest to start the car in park but it can be started in neutral.

Yes, I suppose if the electronics are powered up it can be done, but why the heck would anyone want to do so - put it in gear without being in "drive"? A lot of extra steps.

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Yes, I suppose if the electronics are powered up it can be done, but why the heck would anyone want to do so - put it in gear without being in "drive"? A lot of extra steps.

Scenario.  You are going on the 405 at 75 mph and your son reaches over and pushes the start/stop button.  You can hit the start button again but only the electronics will turn on.  The power brakes and power steering are not very responsive since the car is not started.  You can either STOP on the 405 and put the car in park and start it or you can lightly press on the brake pedal, shift into neutral and start the car while still pressing lightly on the brake pedal.  You cannot shift from drive without pressing on the brake pedal.

 

I would shift to neutral and start the car--if I didn't panic.

Edited by JATR4
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Scenario.  You are going on the 405 at 75 mph and your son reaches over and pushes the start/stop button.  You can hit the start button again but only the electronics will turn on.  The power brakes and power steering are not very responsive since the car is not started.  You can either STOP on the 405 and put the car in park and start it or you can lightly press on the brake pedal, shift into neutral and start the car while still pressing lightly on the brake pedal.  You cannot shift from drive without pressing on the brake pedal.

 

I would shift to neutral and start the car--if I didn't panic.

Interesting scenario, but I believe the car won't shut down at that speed. This was the issue with that Lexus crash a few years ago - they kept pushing the button trying to turn off the car. (In that case, Lexus allows you to hold the button, but they didn't know that).

 

The car is run by computer, and it is smarter than that.

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Interesting scenario, but I believe the car won't shut down at that speed. This was the issue with that Lexus crash a few years ago - they kept pushing the button trying to turn off the car. (In that case, Lexus allows you to hold the button, but they didn't know that).

 

The car is run by computer, and it is smarter than that.

I tried it today--not at 75mph--but the car does shut down.  I only pressed it once and did not hold it.  And pressing the start button again only starts the electronics.   You have to press on the brake pedal to get out of drive. 

 

Wouldn't it have been safer if the Lexus did shut off?

Edited by JATR4
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I tried it today--not at 75mph--but the car does shut down.  I only pressed it once and did not hold it.  And pressing the start button again only starts the electronics.   You have to press on the brake pedal to get out of drive. 

 

Wouldn't it have been safer if the Lexus did shut off?

I tried it with my 2014 C-Max Energi yesterday - the button did not work and the car remained on - had no effect at all. Interesting. I suppose the programming is different between the 2013 and 2014, or the C-Max Energi is different (but that makes no sense).

 

I'm sure Lexus did it so that the engine isn't inadvertently shut off at high speed.

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I have a start button, not sure if this applies, but when I hit the button without the brakes, a yellow notice will pop up letting me know which status I'm in. I can hit ok but it'll come back in a few secs. I dont see that in any of the videos. Maybe it wont because hes not in park, one would think it would as long as the engine isnt on...just thought I mention it but like I said before, without a video from start till the end...

Edited by jeff_h
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