Problem:
It is a 2018 Ford Escape FE SEL 2WD and the winters already here, I will was looking into options for installing remote start and I came across the fordpass app which is supposed to have that feature (occasionally buggy I read). And so I downloaded the app and registered the car with the VIN and after setup I proceeded to test it, the doors unlock and lock without an issue, but when try to start the engine, the car goes through the motions (doors lock, lights blink) three times and then nothing. On the phone I get an error message saying “warning… Vehicle failed to start”
I use Fordpass Remote Start with my 2018 SE.
It should work with any trim that has SYNC 3.
SYNC 3 is included with all 2018 SEL and Titanium models.
It is an option for the 2018 SE.
This is now resolved.
It appears to need a reprogramming of the Body Control module and so i figured I had 3 possible paths to take
1. There is the excellent forscan which is free to use (Windows), i would get a cheap ELM cable to try to clear any DTCs which might be present in the Body CM. (cost 20 dollars) maybe this would fixed the issue. If this fails
2. The company VXDIAGSHOP offers a VXDIAG VCX Nano cable for Ford/Mazda and it ships with version of Ford IDS. This is of course what the dealer has access to, I would see if i could fix any failures from scenario 1 above or attempt to update the BCM if this is required (based on the FSA posted above) – estimated cost 130CAD, but scary as hell given the numerous BCM horror stories i have been reading online.
3. Cough up an estimated 300CAD plus taxes for the dealer to fix this (150CAD plus taxes if i can get them to do the BCM update without running the diagnosis).
So i got the Forscan and a cable with a manual HS/MS CAN switch, hooked it up to the car and sure enough there was a stored Code: B1492 – Fuel Cutoff Event
Status:
- DTC Present at Time of Request
- Malfunction Indicator Lamp is Off for this DTC
I tried clearing the code and it just would not disappear. I searched online and sure enough there were plenty of references to DTC B1492 affecting Ford Escapes involved in some types of crashes. This code is stored in the BCM and will cannot be erased. Further search suggested the BCM crash status would need to be reset using a Full featured diagnostic software (IDS and a couple of others i had never heard about before last night, but not Forscan or Focccus).
So I ordered the Vxdiag cable, went to their website and downloaded a copy of IDS v131 (I will not go into details about this aspect). The cable arrived a few minutes ago (along with a mini car inverter i bought to power my laptop battery from the running car just in case i had to be there for a while, given that the laptop is old and can barely hold an hour of charge, i didn’t want to be surprised by a failed laptop).
I hooked up the IDS, set it up and it took all of 2 minutes to reset the BCM crash status. I shut down the car, took out my phone and tested the remote start feature from the app and this time around it worked with no issues.
There are quite a few folks who have posted about this issue around the internet but no one posted their solution, so i wanted to make sure this was not another unresolved thread left hanging for the next guy/gal who wants to fix this issue (apparently the B1492 code is responsible not only for a failed remote start, but also a failure of the auto stop/start ecoboost function in some cars.)