Drive to Park…very scary

[Concerned]

I have a 2023 Black Label Aviator and it’s been a nightmare. I’ve had all the usual electrical recalls that everyone else has had but I was wondering if anyone else has had their Aviator suddenly go into Park while driving? I was thankful that I wasn’t going very fast and that I didn’t have my kids in the car. It’s happened to me twice and it really scared me. The dealer couldn’t duplicate the problem and therefore, couldn’t fix it. Because it didn’t throw any codes, they can’t find what to fix. The dealership told me to call corporate Lincoln concierge- which was a complete dead end. This is a major safety issue and I refuse to drive a car I don’t feel safe in.
Has this happened to anyone else?

 

[moose66]

This is a new one. I can’t imagine cruising along and the vehicle just shifts into park. Sounds almost unbelievable. What did you do when it happened? That can’t be good on the transmission. Did you take it in after the first occurrence, or the second? Either way, since they could not find the problem, it would no longer be my vehicle!

 

[bbf2530]

Hi Concerned. There are two especially strange/concerning issues here. First, is the mere fact it is shifting into Park on its own while driving. Second, is the fact that there is an electronic override designed to prevent the vehicle from being shifted into both Park and Reverse while driving which also does not seem to be functioning correctly.

What happened when the vehicle shifted into Park? Did it come to a screeching halt? Noises, loss of vehicle control if/when the wheels locked...etc. etc.?

While it is true that there are a limited number of things they can do if they can not duplicate the issue and/or there are no DTC codes, you need to follow up with the Dealership and Lincoln Concierge to have this bumped up to Lincoln/Ford engineering.

Keep us updated and good luck.

 

[Concerned]

Yes, I took the car in right after the first occurrence as well as after the second. The local dealership eventually got engineering involved after I refused to take the car back until they got corporate involved. But still no luck with finding what caused the car to do that.
I had both hands on the steering wheel and yes, it came to a screeching hault and the car completely stopped. I looked down and to my total surprise, the gear was in “Park.” It was terrible… on-coming traffic was close and had to stop to not hit me. I put my car back in “Drive” and got out of the way. The car went into the dealership, engineering called, couldn’t find anything. I got the car back and then it happened again. Back to the dealership. Since I’ve had this car, it’s been to the service department 5 times in 6 months. That’s a little absurd.
I told my story to Lincoln Concierge and filed a Good Faith Report and it was denied. It has to be appproved before the car is released. I was shocked to say the least. I have a car that’s completely unsafe, and If my case got denied, what gets approved? I don’t understand this and it’s been incredibly frustrating.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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[Dguffin]

Thought I saw something about explorers doing this, and OTA updates were possibly to blame. Connected vehicle features were being turned off so OTA updates couldn’t happen for now. Supposedly a OTA update was trying to happen while driving and putting the vehicle into park.

 

[Going_Going_Gone]

That is a new one for me. I've had the understanding that Ford programmed failsafes into the drivetrain controls to make it (supposedly) impossible for the transmission to go into R or P while driving; even if a driver actually shifted to one of them unintentionally. I can remember seeing videos of Ford trucks being driven and shifted into R with nothing happening, and those were twenty-some years ago when the Torqshift was introduced.

 

[Dguffin]

With today’s technology anything is possible unfortunately.

 

[Pioneer4x4]

Are you sure it went INTO Park first? Parking pawls won't engage when moving, they have a chamfer on them and they will bounce off the splines (horrible sound) until going slow enough, then slam in.
I suspect that something else caused it to autobrake to an emergency stop, and it applied Park as it stopped.
I can't imagine, actively looking at the indicator as something I was driving came to a severe stop, but only looking after.

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[tgara]

Are you sure it went INTO Park first? Parking pawls won't engage when moving, they have a chamfer on them and they will bounce off the splines (horrible sound) until going slow enough, then slam in.
I suspect that something else caused it to autobrake to an emergency stop, and it applied Park as it stopped.
I can't imagine, actively looking at the indicator as something I was driving came to a severe stop, but only looking after.

This sounds plausible. I can imagine the OP getting into a situation where the emergency braking system engaged, the car stopped, then went into Park as a precaution to prevent further movement. I would expect there to be some record of the dynamics of such an event in the car’s memory (for insurance or law enforcement purposes) but not necessarily any trouble codes since the evasive systems worked as specified.

 

[peterk9]

This is a new one. I can’t imagine cruising along and the vehicle just shifts into park. Sounds almost unbelievable. What did you do when it happened? That can’t be good on the transmission. Did you take it in after the first occurrence, or the second? Either way, since they could not find the problem, it would no longer be my vehicle!

I believe I've read about this happening but because I'm constantly back and forth between this forum and the Explorer one, I can't recall where I read it. I'll have to do some detective work.

Peter

 

[Pioneer4x4]

I believe I've read about this happening but because I'm constantly back and forth between this forum and the Explorer one, I can't recall where I read it. I'll have to do some detective work.

Peter

Speaking of, what is a good Explorer forum? I should join up there as well, but didn't want to go further down that blue oval (ELIPSE!!!) hole than necessary.

 

[tgara]

I believe I've read about this happening but because I'm constantly back and forth between this forum and the Explorer one, I can't recall where I read it. I'll have to do some detective work.

Peter

That’s the early Alzheimer’s affecting your memory.

There is an “Automatic Return to Park” function that Shifts the vehicle into park when the car is stationary and the vehicle is switched off, or you open the driver door with the seatbelt on latched, or you unlatch the driver seat belt with the driver door open. It’s not clear if the OP did any of those things.

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[peterk9]

Speaking of, what is a good Explorer forum? I should join up there as well, but didn't want to go further down that blue oval (ELIPSE!!!) hole than necessary.

I've been a member of this one for over 12 years; https://www.explorerforum.com/forums/

Peter

 

[peterk9]

That’s the early Alzheimer’s affecting your memory.

There is an “Automatic Return to Park” function that Shifts the vehicle into park when the car is stationary and the vehicle is switched off, or you open the driver door with the seatbelt on latched, or you unlatch the driver seat belt with the driver door open. It’s not clear if the OP did any of those things.

In the OP's case, he mentioned he was driving so the only thing he could have done was to unlatch the seatbelt but I doubt that happened.

Peter

 

[Concerned]

This sounds plausible. I can imagine the OP getting into a situation where the emergency braking system engaged, the car stopped, then went into Park as a precaution to prevent further movement. I would expect there to be some record of the dynamics of such an event in the car’s memory (for insurance or law enforcement purposes) but not necessarily any trouble codes since the evasive systems worked as specified.

All I know is that I was driving, coming up to a turn into a shopping mall, no one in front of me, my hands were on the steering wheel, foot on the gas pedal and it suddenly stopped- like to a screeching halt- I panicked, look down and my car was in Park. And then again a month later!

 

[Vincent]

Just a thought but I'd get a Dashcam or maybe even a GoPro and mount it to the headrest aimed at the dash. If it happened again it might give a clue as to why, and at least you'd have evidence to show Lincoln

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[Big Lebowski]

First and foremost, I hope the OP and family is safe and ok. Sincerely.

Having said that, something seems off. If the car went into park at speed (lets say 30mph+) It would be violent and sudden and the car would be so screwed up, there would be no driving it. If the Aviator was physically capable of SLAMMING into park while moving that fast, it would be the last time I drove it. Period. Call a flatbed, I'm not driving it.

However, it seems more likely that the driver did something to cause it to go into park, ie: opening a door while rolling (below a certain speed). Not saying the OP is lying, just that they may not be aware that the did something or brushed the Park button accidentally. This would also explain why service didn't find anything if it dropping into Park was "performing" as designed.

Just my $.02...and hope a logical explanation presents itself.

 

[Bigjay64]

I have a 2023 Black Label Aviator and it’s been a nightmare. I’ve had all the usual electrical recalls that everyone else has had but I was wondering if anyone else has had their Aviator suddenly go into Park while driving? I was thankful that I wasn’t going very fast and that I didn’t have my kids in the car. It’s happened to me twice and it really scared me. The dealer couldn’t duplicate the problem and therefore, couldn’t fix it. Because it didn’t throw any codes, they can’t find what to fix. The dealership told me to call corporate Lincoln concierge- which was a complete dead end. This is a major safety issue and I refuse to drive a car I don’t feel safe in.
Has this happened to anyone else?

So sorry this is happening to you my friend. I recently purchased a Lincoln Continental and while it has not occurred while driving, it has happened when I’m about to park. First time it happened I thought, cool!! But I could not find any language on the vehicle that spoke to this as a feature!
I’m thinking it is an electronic problem, miscommunication of sorts.

 

[Concerned]

First and foremost, I hope the OP and family is safe and ok. Sincerely.

Having said that, something seems off. If the car went into park at speed (lets say 30mph+) It would be violent and sudden and the car would be so screwed up, there would be no driving it. If the Aviator was physically capable of SLAMMING into park while moving that fast, it would be the last time I drove it. Period. Call a flatbed, I'm not driving it.

However, it seems more likely that the driver did something to cause it to go into park, ie: opening a door while rolling (below a certain speed). Not saying the OP is lying, just that they may not be aware that the did something or brushed the Park button accidentally. This would also explain why service didn't find anything if it dropping into Park was "performing" as designed.

Just my $.02...and hope a logical explanation presents itself.

I appreciate your response and really wish I was doing something that caused it to go into Park automatically both times but I had both hands on the steering wheel, driving completely normal, and it literally popped into park. I wasn’t going 30 mph, thankfully. I was going 10 - 15 mph both times and yes, it did shake me pretty hard. My head whipped back n forth, and I was pretty disoriented, shocked and scared to say the least. I didn’t open my door, or brush the park/drive gears as suggested above. I loved my custom car and I’m devastated and extremely disappointed that this has happened. I didn’t do anything to make the car behave this way. It’s an unsafe car and needs to be seriously looked at so this doesn’t happen to anyone else. And I did call the dealership immediately both times and expressed to them the safety concerns and I also told them that I would not drive it until it’s fixed and I’m not being taken seriously… it’s been very frustrating. After the first incident, they assured me that nothing was wrong with my car and I reluctantly took it back. After it happened the second time, I was done. This is crazy… I will never drive that car again unless they can confirm and prove to me without a shadow of a doubt that the problem has been fixed. Huge bummer on multiple levels.

 

[Concerned]

So sorry this is happening to you my friend. I recently purchased a Lincoln Continental and while it has not occurred while driving, it has happened when I’m about to park. First time it happened I thought, cool!! But I could not find any language on the vehicle that spoke to this as a feature!
I’m thinking it is an electronic problem, miscommunication of sorts.

Thank you for our response. I agree- it’s no secret that the new Aviators have had major electrical issues and I think this is one of them! Unfortunately, it’s a pretty major one that’s being ignored.