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Lincoln MKZ Restraint Control Module


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Well folks - after 13 months of zero-compaint, pure joy experience with my 2013 MKZ Hybrid, the first unexplained issues has arrived.

 

Early last week every single onboard electronic warning list up my dashboard like a Christmas Tree ....

In summary - here is what I'm dealing with ....

 

Hill Assist No Available warning light

AirBag Warning light

Lane Keeping System unavailable

Adaptive Cruise Control non-functioning

Traction control warning light

Rear Camera parking aid not working

Radio Flickering on and off

Navigation system completely unreliable

Service Engine soon "wrench" icon warning light

 

My dealer has told me that it is a defective "Restraint control module"; unfortunately this is a part that is not readily available in stock and as such Ford/Lincoln is telling my dealer that mid-late June is a best case estimate for availability ...

 

Anyone else have this happen to them?

 

John

 

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I think I heard of one other case. Sounds like the module is going nuts and overloading the CAN bus which is causing all of the other problems. It's like having a runaway pc on your LAN.

 

Is it still driveable? If not did they give you a Lincoln loaner?

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Waiting weeks for a part on a relatively new vehicle is simply inexcusable. At the very worst, the dealer/automaker should be able to okay them taking the part off a new vehicle that's sitting in dealer stock in order to fix one that's already being driven by a paying customer.

 

Hope it gets resolved as quickly as possible.

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Yes, I did get a Lincoln loaner - a MKX .....

the dealer has told me this is a part that they do not keep in stock .... and it cannot simply be removed and installed from another car ...

They have told me they have no idea the ETA on a replacement .....

 

Uggh!

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Nick, its happening more and more. Production gets supplied first and parts are made as needed. Its called "just in time" production. If it is an uncommon part or a part that there is a SUDDEN increase in demand due to an unexpectedly high failure rate (DPS6 clutches for instance) it can and does take days, weeks and in the case of the aforementioned clutch MONTHS. Inconvienent on customers, devastating to the tech trying to fix it. And you CANNOT swap modules anymore. Swapping modules car to car can cause unrecoverable issues with software within the module, effectively killing the module. Todays complexity has effectively ended that practice.

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I hope you fare better than I did with my inoperable heated wheel. I have left the car at the dealership 5 times to have the wheel repaired. After a few failed attempts, it was decided they needed to order a 'clockspring'. That only took a few days, so back to the dealer it went. When I picked it up, allegedly repaired, the wheel still didn't work. So I scheduled another time to bring it in and leave it. Then it was decided that I needed an entire new steering wheel. So I picked it up, and a week later left it at the dealer again for the installation. When I picked it up, it still didn't work....both times they said it had been repaired, but it didn't work at the dealership. As I said, 5 times it has been left, and now I will have to do it again. Since it's summer and I didn't need the heated wheel (I went the entire winter without it working), I decided to wait until something else goes wrong. It just did, the navigation is acting up, so I'm gonna leave it again. I've given up on trying to get the accent lighting fixed, it has been 'fixed' twice, but always defaults to white within a week or so....Lincoln knows about this problem, but no fix has been found. Ditto with the auto up down windows, which have to be reset regularly. At least I can easily do that myself. Very few of the problems I have had with the car have actually been permanently fixed when brought in for repair. I am extremely disappointed with this car after being very happy with it for many months. Seems problems started after the PCM recalibration which was to increase mpg, but it has actually gone steadily down ever since they did that. At least they say I will be getting the $1050 check next month. But it has been a real pain in the butt taking it back to the dealer so many times and having so few problems actually fixed. Calling Lincoln customer service doesn't help, in fact, it is just a good way to get conflicting and incorrect information. For example, oil change intervals. The manual gives several different intervals, and a rep gave me a 3rd one on the phone. She was adamant that I was wrong when I told her I had gone along with the one year or 10,000 mile which is one of them given in the manual. Then she was amazed when she found that she had been wrong with her 7,500 mile figure, and admitted that mine seemed to be correct. Damned if I know what is actually right at this point, one rep insisted it was 5,000 miles. Anyhow, the dealer didn't say anything when I brought it in at 10,000 miles.

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Sounds like your dealer isn't very good - which one are you using?

 

I believe your OM says to change your oil when the computer tells you to change it but not more than 1 yr/10K miles.

 

Yep - page 438. There is no conflicting information.

 

Fusion Full Hybrid

Your vehicle is equipped with an
information display, which indicates the
proper oil change interval. This interval
may be up to one year or 10000 miles
(16000 kilometers).

438

Scheduled Maintenance
When ENGINE OIL CHANGE DUE or OIL
CHANGE REQUIRED appears in the
information display, it is time for an oil
change. Make sure you perform the oil
change within two weeks or 500 miles
(800 kilometers) of the ENGINE OIL
CHANGE DUE or OIL CHANGE REQUIRED
message appearing. Make sure you reset
the oil monitoring system after each oil
change. See Engine Oil Check (page 237).
If your information display resets
prematurely, becomes inoperative or the
vehicle battery becomes discharged or
disconnected, the oil monitoring system
resets to 100% oil life. You should change
your engine oil one year or 10000 miles
(16000 kilometers) from the previous oil
change. Never exceed one year or 10000
miles (16000 kilometers) between oil
change intervals.

 

Edited by akirby
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Sounds like your dealer isn't very good - which one are you using?

 

I believe your OM says to change your oil when the computer tells you to change it but not more than 1 yr/10K miles.

 

Yep - page 438. There is no conflicting information.

 

I did find a different oil change interval in some of the service information which came with my car, but went with the 10,000/1 yr figure which is what the information display advised me. My car was the first MKZ my dealer had sold, and I have found changes in the manual in several areas in more recent printings of the manual available online in pdf form. My problem was that the customer reps I spoke with both insisted I was wrong until they checked further and found that their mileage intervals were wrong. The last lady, a long time rep, retiring soon, was flabbergasted that she had been giving wrong information to owners all along.

 

My selling dealer is in Sweetwater, TN. I've been back there twice, but it is a 3 hour round trip, so I have been going to a local Ford dealer in Blue Ridge, GA, who is authorized to also service Lincolns. Both dealers have very nice people, but they simply don't seem to be able to fix my problems. I bought my previous MKZ from the Lincoln dealer in Cleveland, TN, but didn't return there after being told by their long time service manager that my navigation unit kept leading me astray since it was only designed to work in very large cities, and I had never used it in a city larger than Chattanooga. He insisted it was working properly. I knew this was ridiculous, as did my salesperson, who took a DVD from another new MKZ which I installed in mine, and the problem was solved. I have pretty much lost confidence in FoMoCo service departments. I have also lost confidence in Ford's or Lincoln's ability to design easily operable electronics in their premium vehicles. I doubt I will ever buy another top of the line model car, with all of the available electronic options. I've owned 8 Lincolns, and the newer they got, the more difficult they became to perform simple tasks, and the less reliable they were. My 2011 Mustang is much more comfortable to drive, as well as much safer. For example, on it I can switch from streaming Pandora from my iPhone to playing a CD by pushing one button. With my MKZ, it requires taking my eyes from the road while making multiple steering wheel button pushes, or touch screen changes.

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You can also press the voice button and say "CD" - or something like that.

 

Isn't there a source button on the center console?

 

There are no buttons at all on the center console, only touch pads and sliders (and nothing for 'source'). I have heard that Lincoln has recognized their mistake and are putting buttons back for the most used functions. Voice commands are pretty much useless for all things on My Lincoln Touch, at least on my car. It rarely recognizes either my voice commands or my wife's. If I am driving by myself, the only safe way to change things with navigation, entertainment, etc., is to stop and go through the touch screen commands. I have had other cars with much better voice recognition. For many years I have been a strong cheerleader for Lincolns, but after 6 months into this new one, I have changed my feelings greatly. This car was not ready for prime time when it was introduced, even though the introduction (and my delivery date), was delayed for many months. I still love the car when things are going well, but there is virtually always something that is not going well. The misleading EPA mileage figures are the obvious big thing, but the auto up/down power window resets, accent lighting default resetting, and My Lincoln Touch problems are constant reminders of the many aggravations.

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Interesting that there is no source button on the center stack - my fusion has one.

 

You can use the right hand display in entertainment mode to change media with the right steering wheel D-pad.

 

I find that when I talk loudly the voice recognition doesn't work well - speak normally straight ahead and it seems to work well most of the time.

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Interesting that there is no source button on the center stack - my fusion has one.

 

You can use the right hand display in entertainment mode to change media with the right steering wheel D-pad.

 

I find that when I talk loudly the voice recognition doesn't work well - speak normally straight ahead and it seems to work well most of the time.

So does my Mustang. When I can't stop, I do use the steering wheel pad to operate entertainment functions. It is terribly unintuitive, however, and requires looking away from the road more than I feel is safe. I know what you mean about talking loudly, I have to do it in the Mustang when the top is down, but it works better in the Lincoln if you talk normally....but it still doesn't work more than it does.....to the point that I rarely even try it any longer. There are a couple of simple commands that it does usually understand, but not many.

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  • 1 month later...

Hey John - -

 

I actually have the exact same issue with my '13 MKZ.My dash threw up the same combination of lights as yours did. My Lincoln dealer has hmy car since the 11th of this month and I've been in a rental since. Furthermore, I called and asked to speak with a manager in the service department, and explained to him that I have a problem paying a note on a car when I haven't had it for upwards of three weeks. They claim that the part is on backorder. The manager explained to me that when my car is returned to call Lincoln corporate and seek reimbursement for this month's payment.

 

John, have you had any issues with it since you've gotten it back? Additionally, I believe that the RCM sits under the front passenger seat. A fairly large fella sat in my front seat and I'm curious if that caused it to trip?

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FYI the Restraint control module is under the center console. Under the passenger seat is the occupant classification module. A large passenger should not cause any issues.

The RCMs are on backorder and I personally have seen the time to get the part go down. I hope you get your vehicle as soon as possible. I know it has to be frustrating, but I would rather inconvenience you rather than put you in a vehicle with a issue that may or may not allow the air bags to deploy.

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