reprogrammed ECU update question

[TCroly]

I recently had my car in for the latest ECU update and it is still driving unacceptably to me. I would like to know if others are experiencing similar drivability issues. I live in Maui Hawaii and there is only one dealer on the island and there are only 3 SVT Foci on the whole island, so the dealer is not very knowledgeable on the car.

My car stutters upon acceleration at about 3000 rpm after a cold start. Then after it is fully heated up, this stutter or hesitation is noticeable only when trying to drive at a steady speed of about 40 mph in 3rd or 4th gear. Acceleration when warm is fine and the car pulls right up to redline, but when trying to cruise along it feels like the road is rough and the car is bucking over the road surface imperfections, but it is actually being induced by the engine. Also if you accelerate to 5000+ rpms and then close the throttle and decelerate, there is a noticeable hitch in the deceleration that feels like an automatic transmission downshifting. this occurs about 3500 rpm.

Does anyone else have similar drivability issues as this? If so do you have any suggestions as to what to tell my dealer to check?

Thanks
Tom Croly

[deactivated]

hey, welcome Maui.....I saw a blue one when I was over there for Halloween....was that you?

there have been some people say they got no resolution to driveability problems after flashing....some removed the battery cable to reset it and that seemed to clear some things up after the computer relearned. You might try that.

[SOBESVT]

I just got mine back. I believe the dealer removed the battery cable (since the clock lost the right time) to reset the module themselves.

I just drove from the dealer to my office (about 5 miles) and the car felt just fine, actually better. The commute to home tonight (22 miles) will give me a more representative assessment though.

Just for the book of anecdotes. The service department gave me the car back filthy dirty. I didn’t even mentioned at service. I drove it to the showroom, went to the sales manager and asked him. Is it true that if you have an SVT product they are supposed to wash your car over at service? Yes of course! was his reply. Then I went; so why the just gave me back a dirty car. :mad: That did it...one hour and fifteen minutes latter I was driving a showroom condition detailed car that was smelling like new again. :bna

[TCroly]

Thanks for the advise on removing the battery cable. I do not believe the dealer did this, but I have driven the car 300 miles since the reflash , so would it still need to be reset?

Inteller,
My car is Silver, there is a blue one and a black one on the island that I know about. I was in Lahaina for Halloween with my car. As for costume, My wife was a nurse and I was a patient with my but hanging out of the blue gown you get at the hospital. Maybe you saw us on front street?

Tom

[DaveSVT03]

Tom,

It does sound a lot like the problem the reflash is supposed to fix. I had the same problem (bucking at constant speeds between 2k and 3k rpm) and in my case it took two trips to the dealer. The first time they did the reflash the said to let them know if it didn't fix the hesitation/bucking. They didn't put the sticker on as mentioned on the TSB thread, so I was already a little skeptical. Anyway, I took it in again I got a full write up and a sticker and it definately solved the problem. My long winded point is to make sure they did the most recent TSB. If they are friendly, I would bring in a print out of the TSB and ask them.

Good luck..

Dave

[TCroly]

Aloha Dave,
I do know that my car was reflashed because the car drives quite differently than it did before it was reflashed. And it did solve the lumpy cold start idle issue that my car had prior. I printed out the TSB (TSB# 03-19-11) and gave it to my service advisor when I brought the car in. But the tech insisted that my TSB was older than his, which also called for replacing the clamps on the intake manifold.

So it was reflashed, but I think that it is possible that it got RLA6 instead of YRFO. The tech says that it got the "latest version", but he did not know what I was talking about when I mentioned YRF0. He did not put the sticker on like he was supposed to though. So I have asked the dealer to bring in a field service engineer from Ford and hopefully we can get it resolved. It is possible that it got YRF0 and the hesitation I am feeling is from some other issue all together.

Tom

[deactivated]

if you are experienceing hesitation you need to have them take a look at the intake throttle body...make sure the variable intake motor isn't stuck or sticking.

[imajsdaddy]

or make sure your A/C is off! I know that mine feels liek I'm pulling another car behindit with the A/C on!

[TCroly]

Thanks for the feedback! I do notice that the stuttering problem is significantly less with the AC turned off. It is not gone, but it is at a level that is not so disturbing.

Is this something that everyone else is experiencing? Or has the reflash eliminated any stuttering in your car AC on or off?

Tom

[SOBESVT]

It was never all that bad before the reflash, just a little bit while it was cold. Now is [brand new] Lincoln like.

[Dmccoy]

Try this...
1) Make sure all accessories are off, and start the car with it in N with the emergency brake engaged.
2) Let the car reach normal operating temps, and let it idle for at least 1 minute after it has reached normal operating temps...NO LESS
3) Turn on A/C and let it idle again for at least a miunute...NO LESS
4) After you have let it idle with the A/C on drive the car for AT LEAST 10 miles with out killing the engine.

Be sure to not kill the engine during any of this. One thing to make this go quicker is drive the car and let it get nice and hot, then come to a place where you will be able to sit and go through the above steps. Turn the car off and remove the key, and let it set for a minute or two. Then start the car and follow the steps above. This just makes it get to operating temp a lot faster than doing this first thing in the morning.

Now, the car should be set. After you drive at least ten miles, you can turn the car off. From then on you should experience no more stalling. This is suppose to let the car learn its new program.

[SVTus]

what did you guy's have to tell the service people to actually make them do the ECU upgrade??? two dealership's i've been to say I have the latest (RLA6) and won't update it. Do itell them to just call SVT?

[SOBESVT]

I just printed the TSB and attached to a list of the things that were wrong with the car. handed it to the service advisor. No questions asked.

I would call SVT and have them call the dealer. That would be easer than the other way around.

Where are you? Are you one of the guys in Hawaii

[deactivated]

call SVT when you are at the dealer, explain the situation, then hand the phone to the service writer so SVT can give them approval over the phone. You shouldn't have to do this but it is what gets things done.

[SVTus]

where can you print the update out??? i live in louisville, ky. the dealership's keep saying they updated the ECU but the new YRFO sticker is not on (it also still high rev's when I start the car).

[SOBESVT]

Its here:
http://www.oaxa.biz/images/120Tech03-19-11.gif

Was posted by JUgarte on October 10 in the TSB Number Thread (3rd posting):
http://www.svtownersassociation.com/svtoaforums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4865

That should be enough. But have SVT Call them as well or get them on the phone for the dealer as inteller sugested.

Good luck!

[SVTus]

thanks. is there anyway i know 100% for sure that they did the ECU upgrade? there's no teat away tag, but they said they did the new ecu program and i havent felt the car surge.

[SOBESVT]

That's a though one. I guess that if you had a way to get your hands (or eyes) in your car OASIS you would at least know that they charged Ford for it.

But believe me that if they really do it the car will work so much better that you will have no doubt.

[TCroly]

Thanks everybody for your input. I did print out the TSB and give it to my service writer along with a list of symptoms. I did call SVT and they looked up the service work done on my car and seemed to indicate that I got the correct reflash, but they asked me to look for the tear tag to be sure and of course there wasn't one. I have asked my dealer to arrange for a field service engineer. So far i have not heard back from the dealer.

SobeSVT: Yes I am one of those Hawaii guys. Just loving life on Maui!

Tom

[SOBESVT]

Lucky you Tom!!

Miami is great but Maui should be out of this world. I guess that dealing with an uninformed dealer is a little price to pay for living in such a place. And what's this board for anyway if not to help each other out.

Feel free to ask for info anytime.

[SVTF-Va]

My 2 Centavos,

I have held off doing the flash update thing all year, I was having a pretty good time with RLA2 (which by many accounts was the best until "Y")

Yes it was torguey between 2-3 K and it idled like a dragster, but it was kinda cool actually.

I just got "Y" and it is overall exceptional. Everything is smoother, especially the idle and does not exhibit any torguey spots in the power band and just keeps applying power smoothly. My mileage is the same although possibly a little better (only 2 tanks so far - 28.6 avg.) The exhaust note is very constant and I now can pull completely off the pedal and THEN push the clutch and feel no hesitation or head-bobbing torque, smooth as glass!

Some people might want the more rough & ready attitude of RLA2, and I didn't mind it a lot, but after a month, I do appreciate the "sophistication" of "Y" more and do not feel in any way the the power was compromised, it actually may be better since the runners open closer to 5K than 6K, an earlier jump of power than before.

;)

[heavy85]

I got the new flash about a month ago and am real happy with it. Has better throttle response from idle, no more battery light, mo more 3000 RPM at cold start, no more surging, etc. I printed out the TSB and the description fit my car to a T. Anyway gave it to the service guy and they did it no questions asked - however he said they knew nothing about the TSB so if I hadn't brought a copy they would have never known anything about it. While it was there they also replaced some AC box because it was leaking water a bit (apparently there is some less known letter covering that as well)- now there's some kind of glue or something oversprayed all over the top of the passenger side dash - arg. They did detail it though which was nice - looked better than when I wax it!

Only thing is (and I doubt its related to the reflash but...) I've noticed something new happen maybe half dozen times which I can't pinpoint nor reproduce. First time it happened it was raining hard so I though the car hydroplaned even though it didn't feel like it but later the same thing happened when dry. What happens is that for a couple second it feels like someone replaced the engine with a vibratory compactor or an overhead power transformer (you know the ones that buzz real loud) or something. It's happened while accelerating at 60 MPH and it happened while idleing out of the garage so I'm pretty sure it's the engine but cant even imagine what it could be. It's just a fairly high frequency very obnoxious (spel?) vibration that you can feel and hear for a few seconds then goes away - usually only happens once or twice and only when engine is fairly cold? Not even sure what to tell the dealer - hasn't happened in several days so it would very difficult for them to reproduce? Anyone else felt this?

PS - Oh yeah and I really like the intake kicking in a 5k instead of 6k. Makes a noticable improvement and put it in the RPM band you are more likely to use.

Cameron

[TCroly]

Thanks everybody for your advise!

Here is an update.

My dealer has had my car for 13 of the past 21 days. He replaced the intake manifold, DSI cable and controller. reprogrammed ECU. Said he was confident the car was fixed!

I could tell instantly the he reprogramed the ECU because the car took longer to start as has been reported here. Also, the clock had to be reset indicating that they removed the battery cable.

So now... It still runs rough , kind of cuts in and out at steady speed. Same problem still not resolved!

I have AGAIN requested that they have a Ford field service representative look at the car, Anyone else have any suggestions.

Tom

[mfab69]

Hello,

I've had my SVT Focus for two months, just joined the site on 1/09/04. I'm trying to figure out what everything means?

Are updating flash and ECU the same thing and what do they mean? The only problems I've seen are.

1: Dash lights flicker, not really noticable.
2: When the car was new, the throttle was dead for about a second when pushed. I thought only carburators did that.

Other than that, it's the best car I've ever owned.

2003 SVT Focus
Infra Red
Black Leather/ Red Inserts
Cold Weather Package
Audiophile Package
6-Disk in dash
Power Moonroof
HID

[focusben]

Hmm..I would suggest checking out the electricals. Maybe even the fuel pump as others have had those replaced.

When I got my YFR0 update, I took it to the concession roads that night and just MASHED the thing out to let it relearn all the "new tricks". :D