No problems now suddenly cascading issues - 2020 Aviator CV and sensor issues

[tank76]

Hello all,
I am trying to find a solution for my wife Lincoln Aviator. So a week or so ago, the Ford dealership sent out a mobile mechanic to do an oil change on my wife's 2020 Aviator. He finished up and told me that both front CV axles were slinging grease and would need to be replaced. The vehicle has about 60K miles on it so I found that odd, seeing how my wife drives it like an old lady. So we discussed price and I decided that I would get it done in the near future or do it myself to save some coin. The mechanic said they were probably good for six months or so. I didn't have a chance to verify for myself as we had a lot going on over the next week. My wife has driven the Lincoln twice since the oil change. Suddenly, out of nowhere today, The following malfunctions start happening almost all at once
--4wd malfunction service required
--Service AdvanceTrac
--hill start assist not available
--collision assist not available
--drive control malfunction
So I immediately called the dealership and had a mobile mechanic go to my wife's work where she was. It was the same da*n guy as before. He stated to my wife in a rather condescending tone that problems were due to the bad CV axles slinging grease all over the wheel sensor. Meanwhile, I am researching and notice a TSB for the front driveshaft speed sensor located on the front differential. The mechanic really didn't do a whole lot but dismiss the idea and tell my wife that he would get her an estimate for repair for the CV axles.
I have not had a chance to put the car on my ramps yet and check for myself but for the bit of investigating I did while lying in my driveway:
A: the Driver Side CV axles is covered in an EXCESSIVE amount of grease however from what I could see the boot is intact, no real holes in it that I could tell, it looked seated properly and the boot bands were in place and tight. The grease was relative clean and was all over everything. B: passenger side CV boot has some grease towards the back that was more gritty like it had been there awhile but the boot looked the same as the driver side.
SO my questions:
1. could a grease covered malfunctioning wheel speed sensor cause all of these cascading effects
2. How the hell did all that grease get on that one side and how is it getting out of the boot
3. is there a wheel speed sensor on one side or both sides?
4. would cleaning the wheel speed sensor possibly solve the issues
5. this started right after the oil change and mention of bad CV joints, Coincidence? ( I will add that I want to give everyone the benefit of the doubt but something struck me as "off" about the whole situation)

We had 0 problems other than typical recalls up to this point
it is a 2020 Aviator Black label

I plan on getting it up on my ramps tomorrow and giving it a closer look. Any input or experiences with similar issues would be helpful
I will add that I am pretty mechanically inclined and am no stranger to sensors, working on cars, computers etc. so give me what you got LOL

 

[tank76]

Hello all,

My wife's 2020 Lincoln Aviator received an oil change from the Ford mobile Mechanic last week. Once he completed it he told me that the front CV joints were slinging grease and needed to be replaced. After some discussion about the price I told him I would consider it. Long story short the price he gave me was quite high for a CV axle replacement so I wanted to mull it over and consider doing it myself or going somewhere else. At that time he said they aren't clicking yet or anything so they should be good for awhile longer. I did briefly get under the car as best I could without jacking it up and there was a lot of grease present on the driver side and some on the passenger side at the back of the CV boots. I did not see exactly where the boot had failed on each side but I have not been able to get it up on my ramps yet and look due to time and weather.

Fast forward a week from that day. All of a sudden my wife gets multiple error codes flashing on her screen:
--4wd malfunction service required
--service advancetrac
--pre-collision assist not available
--hill assist not available
--drive control malfunction

And I think on other one. Before the oil change 0 issues other than a sync cam under recall. So I called the dealership and the same mechanic came back out to my wife's work. This time however he was very rude to my wife and condescending. he barely looked at anything and said it was due to the grease slinging from the CV boots and that he'd get them to give her an estimate on replacement.

So at this point I did my own research and it appears that a few things could cause this.
A: wheel speed sensor -- if the CV axles are slinging grease this would make sense as I am sure that the sensor ties into all of these inputs.
B: Front halfshaft speed sensor -- there is a TSB on it (dealer mechanic and dealership played stupid on this)
C: 4wd control module

The most obvious to me seems like the wheel speed sensor especially if it is covered with a ton of grease and dirt.

At this point I haven't heard anything from the dealership on an estimate. I will add that both my wife and I were very nice and accommodating both times.
So the dealership has put a bad taste in my mouth about it and I am about to just look into it myself. So before I tear into it, I'd like to see if there is anything else I should check. Also, if the sensor is the issue and start functioning again will the assists and modes come back and the codes clear on their own or will I have to invest in a good scanner to clear them myself. vehicle is a 2020 Lincoln Aviator Black Label with about 65K miles on it

Thanks

 

[bbf2530]

Hello all,

My wife's 2020 Lincoln Aviator received an oil change from the Ford mobile Mechanic last week. Once he completed it he told me that the front CV joints were slinging grease and needed to be replaced. After some discussion about the price I told him I would consider it. Long story short the price he gave me was quite high for a CV axle replacement so I wanted to mull it over and consider doing it myself or going somewhere else. At that time he said they aren't clicking yet or anything so they should be good for awhile longer. I did briefly get under the car as best I could without jacking it up and there was a lot of grease present on the driver side and some on the passenger side at the back of the CV boots. I did not see exactly where the boot had failed on each side but I have not been able to get it up on my ramps yet and look due to time and weather.

Fast forward a week from that day. All of a sudden my wife gets multiple error codes flashing on her screen:
--4wd malfunction service required
--service advancetrac
--pre-collision assist not available
--hill assist not available
--drive control malfunction

And I think on other one. Before the oil change 0 issues other than a sync cam under recall. So I called the dealership and the same mechanic came back out to my wife's work. This time however he was very rude to my wife and condescending. he barely looked at anything and said it was due to the grease slinging from the CV boots and that he'd get them to give her an estimate on replacement.

So at this point I did my own research and it appears that a few things could cause this.
A: wheel speed sensor -- if the CV axles are slinging grease this would make sense as I am sure that the sensor ties into all of these inputs.
B: Front halfshaft speed sensor -- there is a TSB on it (dealer mechanic and dealership played stupid on this)
C: 4wd control module

The most obvious to me seems like the wheel speed sensor especially if it is covered with a ton of grease and dirt.

At this point I haven't heard anything from the dealership on an estimate. I will add that both my wife and I were very nice and accommodating both times.
So the dealership has put a bad taste in my mouth about it and I am about to just look into it myself. So before I tear into it, I'd like to see if there is anything else I should check. Also, if the sensor is the issue and start functioning again will the assists and modes come back and the codes clear on their own or will I have to invest in a good scanner to clear them myself. vehicle is a 2020 Lincoln Aviator Black Label with about 65K miles on it

Thanks

Hi tank76 and welcome to the Lincoln Forums. Sorry to hear about the issues you are experiencing. Have you double-checked whether the issue you are now encountering should be covered under the 6 year/70,000 mile Powertrain Warranty?

It may seem like a silly question, but owners of all makes of vehicles have experienced Service Departments that are seemingly unaware of proper warranty coverages.

Keep us updated and good luck.

 

[lincoln2020]

oh wow, that’s not good if the cv boots didn’t even make it 5years.
how many miles on the vehicle is you don’t mind sharing?

please keep us posted

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[tank76]

The vehicle has 62K miles on it. I did look up the Lincoln powertrain warranty for a 2020 and it does INDEED say that the CV joints are covered under the 6 year 70K powertrain warranty for AWD vehicles (pg13). So I will try and go that route first. Our dealership here is not the greatest so IDK how far I will get pleading my case. In the mean-time, weather permitting, I am going to take the front wheels off, clean all the slung grease off the back of the CVD and remove the wheel sensor or sensors from their mounts in the knuckles and clean them off. Hopefully, that will clear the codes and allow the functions to be assessable again until I can drop it off. That would make sense if the Wheel sensor is a magnetic pickup that reads some sort of toothed ring in the knuckle or on the CV axle. I am sure that sensor ties into all those systems to measure wheelspin.

 

[bbf2530]

The vehicle has 62K miles on it. I did look up the Lincoln powertrain warranty for a 2020 and it does INDEED say that the CV joints are covered under the 6 year 70K powertrain warranty for AWD vehicles (pg13). So I will try and go that route first. Our dealership here is not the greatest so IDK how far I will get pleading my case. In the mean-time, weather permitting, I am going to take the front wheels off, clean all the slung grease off the back of the CVD and remove the wheel sensor or sensors from their mounts in the knuckles and clean them off. Hopefully, that will clear the codes and allow the functions to be assessable again until I can drop it off.

Hi tabk76. I would strongly advise you do not disassemble anything. First, that only gives the Dealership the opportunity to claim your actions led to or worsened a problem.
Second, you don’t want to “clear the codes” before presenting your vehicle to the Service Department. You want the codes there.

You should be able to drive the vehicle to your Dealership as-is. And if not, or you’re not comfortable driving it, call Lincoln Complementary Roadside Service and have it flat-bedded there.

That would be my advice.

Keep us updated and good luck.

 

[tvanhall]

Could be the dealer was "angling" for warranty work without saying so. At least that is my "glass half full" take. If it is under warranty, they should welcome the work!

 

[tank76]

Understood, I don't plan on clearing any codes. I did make an appointment to drop it off Monday (their earliest) When I stated what it was doing, "what their mechanic said it was", etc. I said it should be covered under the powertrain warranty. They said they'd need it for three days to diagnose it and sent it up to warranty claims and that if they denied it that I'd be responsible for the diagnostic fee along with any work that I approved. The rep said that they may consider it a wear item and not cover it --typical for this dealership! I jokingly told them if that were the case that I would refer them to the Lincoln warranty documentation for a 2020, Pg 13, under the items covered section and to look for the word "constant velocity joint" She didn't find it amusing and stated that it wasn't up to them but the warranty dept. Sigh! I can already tell I am probably going to have to get mid-evil with them. LOL.
The only thing I am planning on doing to it is cleaning off the wheel sensor. IF it doesn't fix anything and make the warnings stop and let my wife engage the features like advancetrac etc. then no harm no foul, If it does, then I know the problem but the codes will likely still be stored in the computer
My wife needs to drive the car tomorrow and what is concerning is she said at one point today the car seemed as if it were revving and not going anywhere for a second but then went away. The only thing I could think of is that she may have lost traction and the advancetrac didn't kick in because its not available. It goes to the stealership here on Monday

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[DomDoobie]

It does sound like a wheel speed sensor. I had the same thing on my Corsair. Had a defective one shortly after buying it. Had all the same signs your vehicle had. They replaced it and it’s been gone since

 

[G-635444]

Understood, I don't plan on clearing any codes. I did make an appointment to drop it off Monday (their earliest) When I stated what it was doing, "what their mechanic said it was", etc. I said it should be covered under the powertrain warranty. They said they'd need it for three days to diagnose it and sent it up to warranty claims and that if they denied it that I'd be responsible for the diagnostic fee along with any work that I approved. The rep said that they may consider it a wear item and not cover it --typical for this dealership! I jokingly told them if that were the case that I would refer them to the Lincoln warranty documentation for a 2020, Pg 13, under the items covered section and to look for the word "constant velocity joint" She didn't find it amusing and stated that it wasn't up to them but the warranty dept. Sigh! I can already tell I am probably going to have to get mid-evil with them. LOL.
The only thing I am planning on doing to it is cleaning off the wheel sensor. IF it doesn't fix anything and make the warnings stop and let my wife engage the features like advancetrac etc. then no harm no foul, If it does, then I know the problem but the codes will likely still be stored in the computer
My wife needs to drive the car tomorrow and what is concerning is she said at one point today the car seemed as if it were revving and not going anywhere for a second but then went away. The only thing I could think of is that she may have lost traction and the advancetrac didn't kick in because its not available. It goes to the stealership here on Monday

So I just opted to get my wife a rental in the mean time I will post the outcome once it goes in for diagnosis. Decided not to mess with it due to weather

 

[11MarkX]

My opinions:

1) Yes
2) Its odd if you don't see a tear. Are the clamps on both sides of the boot intact? Is it grease or oil? Could it be oil leaking from your AWD? Does it have a PTU? If so, check the level of your PTU. That's a $3000 part and only has a few pints of oil in it. (actually you should have the PTU oil changed every 30K). If you don't hear your CV's making a clicking noise when you turn, then just fix the boots. That grease is under pressure when you turn so the tear or hole can be very small. Best to buy the special CV grease, turn the wheel so boot is somewhat compressed, pump in as much as possible and seal tear. Fix it asap since any dirt will kill the life of those CV's. CV's last about 80-120K.
3) Both sides
4) Yes
5) Coincidence

 

[peterk9]

I just pulled up the Warranty Guide, and unless I'm mistaken, I believe they are covered under the 6 year, 70k mile powertrain warranty.

Front-WheelDrive: axle shafts, front bearings, seals and gaskets, universal andconstant velocity joints; Rear-Wheel Drive: axle shafts, bearings (frontand rear), center support bearing, drive axle housing (including allinternal parts), drive shaft, retainers, supports, seals and gaskets, universaland constant velocity joints. Four-wheel/All-Wheel Drive: axle shafts,bearings (front and rear), center support bearing, drive shafts, final drivehousing (including all internal parts), hubs-automatic front locking(four-wheel drive), locking rings (four-wheel drive), seals and gaskets,universal and constant velocity joints

Peter

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[peterk9]

Hello all,

My wife's 2020 Lincoln Aviator received an oil change from the Ford mobile Mechanic last week. Once he completed it he told me that the front CV joints were slinging grease and needed to be replaced. After some discussion about the price I told him I would consider it. Long story short the price he gave me was quite high for a CV axle replacement so I wanted to mull it over and consider doing it myself or going somewhere else. At that time he said they aren't clicking yet or anything so they should be good for awhile longer. I did briefly get under the car as best I could without jacking it up and there was a lot of grease present on the driver side and some on the passenger side at the back of the CV boots. I did not see exactly where the boot had failed on each side but I have not been able to get it up on my ramps yet and look due to time and weather.

Fast forward a week from that day. All of a sudden my wife gets multiple error codes flashing on her screen:
--4wd malfunction service required
--service advancetrac
--pre-collision assist not available
--hill assist not available
--drive control malfunction

And I think on other one. Before the oil change 0 issues other than a sync cam under recall. So I called the dealership and the same mechanic came back out to my wife's work. This time however he was very rude to my wife and condescending. he barely looked at anything and said it was due to the grease slinging from the CV boots and that he'd get them to give her an estimate on replacement.

So at this point I did my own research and it appears that a few things could cause this.
A: wheel speed sensor -- if the CV axles are slinging grease this would make sense as I am sure that the sensor ties into all of these inputs.
B: Front halfshaft speed sensor -- there is a TSB on it (dealer mechanic and dealership played stupid on this)
C: 4wd control module

The most obvious to me seems like the wheel speed sensor especially if it is covered with a ton of grease and dirt.

At this point I haven't heard anything from the dealership on an estimate. I will add that both my wife and I were very nice and accommodating both times.
So the dealership has put a bad taste in my mouth about it and I am about to just look into it myself. So before I tear into it, I'd like to see if there is anything else I should check. Also, if the sensor is the issue and start functioning again will the assists and modes come back and the codes clear on their own or will I have to invest in a good scanner to clear them myself. vehicle is a 2020 Lincoln Aviator Black Label with about 65K miles on it

Thanks

Please do not post 2 threads on the same issue. No problems now suddenly cascading issues

Peter

 

[Demolition]

Yesterday I started receiving all of the exact malfunction messages you listed above. What did you find to be the cause of this issue?

 

[Pilot_Guy_CLT]

Hi All,

I'm new here, but for posterity, I'd like to post my current scenario, with the intention of following up with my local Dealer's (Ford) response, and the ultimate fix.

Date: December 6th, 2024 (Daytime)

Weather Conditions: Cool (5C) and Dry

Vehicle: 2021 Aviator Reserve AWD, 45k miles - still under Lincoln Bumper-to-Bumper (4yrs/50k)

Incident Details:

Aviator presents the below Messages while driving on flat road, under completely normal driving conditions.

• "4WD Fault Service Required"
• "Service AdvanceTrac"
• "Pre-Collision Assist Not Available"
• "Hill Start Assist Not Available

After driving an additional 20 minutes or so, an additional message showed up...

• "Drive Control Fault Service Required"

There doesn't appear to be any mechanical issues (CVs making noise, hard shifts wheel spin/traction issues). Just the various Messages and illuminated Wrench and Traction Warning inidcators on the instrument cluster.

Update 1: December 11th 9am EST: Aviator dropped off at Captial Ford of Charlotte for diagnostics. Expecting a call mid-afternoon form Service Advisor.

Update 2: December 11th 3:45pm EST: Service Advisor, calls to update me, Ford Techs ran diagnostics and found a faulty AWD module, removed and replaced the module. Aviator is ready for pickup same day.

Update 3(Final): December 11th 4:45pm EST: Go to pickup Aviator, uneventful. Get the details from my Service Advisor... The Ford Techs retrieved the code, plugged up a meter to select ports on the AWD module and found 0 ohms resistance in some places where they would typically see some resistance in the circuit. This boviousl indicates an internal breakdown within the module.

Cost to me was $0, as this repair was covered by Lincoln. I was without the family car for 7 hours, luckily we have another vehicle and there was little more than a slight inconvenience to me. Would do it all again in a heartbeat, if needed.

Work Order Attached to this post... Work Order notes below for those who don't want to read the attachment:

"45407 Verified several warning lights on, self test AWD module.
Failed networks test. Performed PPT H. Gain access to AWD module 12 volts
H2 0 Ohms to Ground. Access GWM ohm tested 0 ohms retest concern still
present. Replaced and programmed AWD module road test system operates normal."

Drove it home without any issues, and started up this morning just fine, no lights. All seems to be well. I know I got lucky with the dealership having the parts in stock, no telling what that wait could've been! I am curious, does anyone on here have any idea what this repair might cost outside of Lincoln Warranty coverage?

I hope this informaiton is useful to anyone else with this issue. Community, if this is better served in it's own separate post, pleae let me know. I'll be happy to convert it! Thanks!

 

[Luberci]

Hi.
Today, my mechanic friend told me some terrible news: I need to replace the axle outer boot on my Aviator, as it is damaged. However, the auto store informed me that this part is not available separately. Previously, I had a Durango, and this part was also unavailable for it, but it could be perfectly replaced with a Toyota Prado part. Does anyone know which car's axle outer boot can be used on an Aviator? Thank you!

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