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Dave, from Tennessee, is reaching out to members of a Ford truck forum after receiving an alarming message about his 2017 Ford F-150. Dave says, “Looking for help, as Fordpass chat can't help. Ford Customer service can’t help. Have four hours on phone with Customer service and Fordpass. Their solution is call a wrecker. Two month old F-150 Platinum. I got a message on the Ford Pass app, "Truck entered Deep Sleep Mode". Ford can not tell me what Deep Sleep Mode is. They can not tell me if my remote will work to unlock truck. They can not tell me if key pad will work to unlock truck. They can not tell me how to get it out of deep sleep mode. I am offshore working. I am really wanting to know what I have to do when I land at the airport Thursday morning to get in and start my truck. Sad that Ford can not or will not help. My First ever Ford, out of 15 new pick ups. Customer service is sure off to a very bad start.”
That would be very frustrating, being worried about what you will find when you finally get back to your truck. Other truck owners quickly reach out to help.
Blue, from Kentucky, started an online search about the problem. He tells Dave, “From ford site: "I attempted to use my system after my vehicle was parked for more than 3 days and it responded that my vehicle was in Power Save Mode and I needed to schedule a wake-up time, what is the reason for this?
Your system is designed to protect your vehicle from draining its battery when the vehicle is parked for an extended period of time. In order to preserve your vehicle’s battery the Remote Access system will go into a "sleep" mode. Your Remote Access system can be "woken" from this mode in two ways. One is to turn the ignition on in the vehicle using your factory key or you can schedule a "wake-up" time through your Remote Access mobile phone app or web portal. Please note that it may take up to twelve hours for the "wake-up" process to complete. Please see the on-line User's Guide for more information on Power Save Mode."
Location of the factory key on a push button start vehicle
Dave is very concerned because no one ever mentioned anything about this when he bought the vehicle. He asks, “Also where is factory Key on a push button vehicle? Nothing in my owners’ manual about this.”
Runner doesn’t have the system but he does have one answer to help Dave. “The factory key on a push start vehicle is inside the fob. Not having this system I can't say for sure, but it sounds like if you use that key to manually unlock the door then it wakes up from sleep mode.”
Dave is very frustrated with the customer service representatives who aren’t able to answer any of his questions. “I have the owners manual PDF on my computer. Not one word about Deep Sleep in it. Yes, I see where the key is located in the Fob. So I can unlock. Still doesn't answer on how to start our get out of Deep Sleep Mode. How is it Ford Customer service after 4 hours on Phone can’t help? How is it 3 hours on Fordpass call line, and two more on Fordpass chat can’t help? Why is it Deep Sleep is not in owners manual?
Sorry I am stressing after being gone for 21 days, would like to know how to start truck with out calling wrecker and losing a whole day, as I have a ten hour drive home.”
Wolf, from Michigan, says that Dave shouldn’t be worried, he claims that only the Sync connected controls have gone to sleep, not the truck. “The poster (Dave) has a TCU (Sync Connect) vehicle. The TCU has a sleep mode so as not to continually drain the battery. The remote and keypad should still work fine. Unlocking, locking, and remote starting from Fordpass will not work until you "wake-up" the TCU.”
Anger about poor customer service
Dave thanked everyone for their help and explained why he was so upset. He isn’t angry that the modem goes into sleep mode to protect the battery, he is angry that no one could answer his questions. It was his fear of his truck not starting that he found so frustrating. “I would have been calm, had this been in my owners manual. Talks all about 30 day storage or more, no word about this. I would have been calm if Fordpass could have told me what this was, or how to get it out of deep sleep. They said they never heard of it. I would have been calm if Ford Customer service knew what it was or how to get in my truck. But they told me to have it towed to the dealer.”
You really can’t blame Dave for his confusion or frustration over this issue. When he got back to land, he was able to get into his truck and make his long drive home without any problems.
Ford's quick response to problem
Interestingly, Ford appears to have changed the message that alerts owners that their vehicles have gone into “deep sleep” mode. The message now includes an explanation that “This occurs when your vehicle has been inactive for 14 or more consecutive days. All connectivity to the vehicle, such as vehicle controls, fuel level and vehicle health alerts, will be temporarily disabled until Deep Sleep mode is deactivated. To deactivate Deep Sleep mode, simply manually start your vehicle.”
Had the Fordpass sent Dave this message, or had the customer service people been able to tell Dave this, they could have avoided all of his concerns.
So if you get a message about your 2017 Ford F-150 going into Deep Sleep mode. Don't panic, you can wake it up, by manually unlocking it and it should start as usual.
Mary Conway covered the Detroit Three for more than twenty years for the ABC affiliate, in Detroit. Her affection for the Motor City comes naturally. Her father ran a gas station while Mary was growing up, in Wisconsin. Follow Mary on Twitter at @maryconwaymedia.
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Comments
I had this sync fordpass on
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I had this sync fordpass on my 2017 escape. Which by the way is a horrible vehicle for other reasons. Be very careful with fordpass as they track your vehicle use and driving habits such as acceleration, braking, shifting, location, speed, etc. Very important data which can later be sold to someone like say.... Insurance companies! You will see a coming date in the future where you insurance rates will be controlled this way. ever hear of a no claims discount on your insurance. break the speed limit x times and you will loose your safe driving discount etc.
Quick some loyal auto enthusiast with money, quickly patent this idea so we can prevent it from happening!!!
My 2017 was parked for 3 days
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In reply to I had this sync fordpass on by bill mee (not verified)
My 2017 was parked for 3 days and when I went to start I was informed on my Ford app that it was as in a deep sleep mode! Ford assistance is s joke. Tried calling and all I got was a computer asking for my vehicle id and other info. Never waswss able to speak to anyone about starting my vehicle. Went on you tube but it wouldn’t start. Seems that the deep sleep mode drained the battery. Luckily I have aaa and they were able to assist with a jump. As a matter of fact, I also called my dealer back home and nobody could assist.
Deep sleep mode is activated
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In reply to My 2017 was parked for 3 days by John (not verified)
Deep sleep mode is activated when the battery volts drops. When battery volts are under XX% you can’t start truck thru the app. I just charge the battery from time to time to top it up and never have another problem
This deep sleep has been
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This deep sleep has been happening to me while my truck is running. Ford has no answers as to why this is happening. The app to remotely start the vehicle was a huge selling feature for me, Has anyone else experienced this?
Rob
My 2018 F-150 goes to sleep
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In reply to This deep sleep has been by rob (not verified)
My 2018 F-150 goes to sleep as soon as I turn it off. The battery tested fine and it goes to sleep mostly in cold weather. Thank goodness I really enjoy going out in the cold to warm up my truck due to some of the stupidest engineering in the auto industry.
"We programmed a feature that constantly fails for you."
"Ouch. How do I disable it?"
"You can't."
"C'mon, the 'F series' truck is the best selling vehicle in the country."
"Now THAT we can fix."
Deep sleep mode occurs every
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Deep sleep mode occurs every time I try to start my F150. Seems to have happened during their last app update.
2017 150 Truck went on Deep
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In reply to Deep sleep mode occurs every by Cant start my truck (not verified)
2017 150 Truck went on Deep Sleep Mode after update on Feb 4 .Still can not clear .It worked Good for the Previously 3 Months
My truck will go into deep
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My truck will go into deep sleep mode when the temperature is very cold. It seems when the temperature gets down to -30 degrees the deep sleep mode is activated. This will happen only hours (even minutes) after the engine is shut off. I’ve never had an issue starting it later, especially if it’s plugged in.
My truck goes into deep sleep
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My truck goes into deep sleep mode every time I start my pickup (when it is around zero or below zero). I've been given a new battery as a fix. Still hasn't fixed it. At this point, my truck is stuck in deep sleep mode. Starting it with the key does not wake it up. My dealer staff is confused, and Ford has no idea on what's wrong.
I have a 2018 Ford Explorer
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In reply to My truck goes into deep sleep by Kemo (not verified)
I have a 2018 Ford Explorer and on January 30th 2019 my Explorer went into a deep sleep mode where I couldn't remotely unlock the doors or it also wouldn't start and the temperature that day was below zero. I got a jump from roadside assistance and it started. Three days later it was warmer and the vehicle was in sleep mode again and I had to get another jump to start it up. I'm at the dealer shop now and their very unsure what's going on so I'll find out what they come up with once they do a overhaul of the vehicle.
2017 F150 Limited. Exact
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2017 F150 Limited. Exact same problem. No problems with unlocking/locking and starting with the key fob, the Ford Pass app just won't work. I have the same deep sleep message. Apparently starting the vehicle manually is supposed to fix that problem but that hasn't done it for me. I contacted Ford and was told that long periods of inactivity(14 days), low battery voltage, or extreme cold temperatures will activate the sleep mode. The first two aren't my problem, I've been using the truck daily and I have a smart charger that is hardwired to my block heater line. So cold weather? We've been through a few weeks of -30c weather but this happened to me when it was -22c outside. So heres my beef, why in god's name would you design a remote start feature that disables itself when it gets cold out? Isn't that exactly when you would want to use this feature? At any rate, no help from the Ford help line nor the guys at the dealership. Day four with the same problem. Think I am going to go disconnect the positive battery cable and reset the system. Only other thing I can think to do.
I had same problems of deep
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I had same problems of deep sleep mode all the time. I only have a short commute and when I checked the battery level it was low. I charged it up and had no issues since
This has happened to me on my
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This has happened to me on my 2017 Limited F-150 as I too work offshore. When I got to the heliport, I used the remote start feature on my key fob and everything was fine. No issues since then.
If I reboot iPhone after new
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If I reboot iPhone after new downloads or to reset activated false alarm , it seems to work on my 2017 f150 Lariat
Over the last 10 years, each
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Over the last 10 years, each new car I've bought has had progressively "new" features.. Features I've eventually decided I did no longer "Want" in ANY car I drive. Being tracked.. Black boxes that record your driving habits.. linked by satellite.. <eavesdropping anyone?>..
Put it THIS WAY.... Lets just say you've gotten into a minor fender bender, one car mishap that happens to set off your airbag or some sensor... after you may have had a few drinks.. your BAC near, or at the legal threshold... Well Gee....
Your cars WONDERFUL new high tech FEATUREs alert the police to assist..
Which subsequently results in "Your car gave you a DUI !!"
Uhm.. No Thank You... I've sold my tech laden cars, vowed to NEVER buy a car newer than 1999 with a Black Box.. GMs ALL have em.. some dont til 2012 .
Right now my main cars are my 1966 Corvair Show car w/ac, and my 1968 Austin Healey Sprite.. and I'm paying $60/mo Full Coverage Havin Fun &LOVIN IT !!..
I have a 2014 Ford Titanium
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I have a 2014 Ford Titanium Fusion Hybrid.
I have had nothing but problems with the electronics from the beginning. After 3 weeks a screen came on that said I needed an update. Would I like to use WiFi or use ford pass to update then a yes or no to decide what to do. Yes did not work so I pressed no to get rid of the screen. After it stopped on me in the middle of a parking lot I took it to the dealership LOL. They kept the car 3 days and said they had no idea how to get rid of the screen the car was up to date. I took the car home and started going through the electronic choices and found the automatic update. I turned it off and have not seen the update window since. Now the car is 3 months old with 920 miles on it and after 3 days of non use (which by the way happens every week since I work a 4 day week and do not use the car in between) it went into deep sleep mode. I had to call the towing service to show me how to use the manual key hidden in the key fob. At this point I know better than to use call the dealership. The same as the rest of you---while I waited for the tow truck I called the Ford app people and the Ford customer service along with trying to find something to help in the manual. We all know how that turned out!!!!
Next time I will buy a Toyota
What the shit is deep sleep
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What is the deep sleep mode? How do I start my 2017 Explorer. Idle for 21 days. No dealer help. No Ford help. No interior key access. How do I manually start it without a key entry? If there is one, where is it?
I have a 2018 Expedition in
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I have a 2018 Expedition in Texas. It is a daily driver, and this deep sleep message keeps coming up... Something is draining my battery, and I have no idea what is causing it. Three days after seeing this message the first time I had to charge the battery in order to start the car and wake it up. Again, this is a daily driver so periods of inactivity are 12hrs to 24hrs at the most. My wife drove the vehicle yesterday several times. This morning she went to a friends house that is about 15 minutes from our house. She turned off the vehicle for approx 20 minutes. When she got back in to leave the car would not crank and was in deep sleep... She got a jump and and everything was fine. I was advised to bring the vehicle into the quick lane service bay at a local Ford dealership to have the battery checked. By the sounds of it - the battery might not be the issue... We really like this vehicle and are hoping this is not going to be a chronic problem.
There is a similar issue with
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There is a similar issue with a block of 2016 Escapes - called "Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC)- Battery drain/no start. May be due to a cluster reset which is waking up the vehicle bus, causing a higher draw from the battery. May require the IPC to be reprogrammed. Just something to look into, maybe.
Great artical explaining it -
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Great artical explaining it - but our 2018 F150 just did this earlier today and even turning the key manually doesn’t work. We drive this car every day! Tried disconnecting/reconnecting the battery - nothing. Called 2 Ford dealers - they have never heard of this and offered to tow it in. I’m still under 36k miles (at least I think so - I can’t tell for sure because nothing lights up and app won’t work) so - at least the tow and possibly a new battery won’t cost me more than time and hassle. Ahhh technology at its finest!
I have 2019 F150 same
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In reply to Great artical explaining it - by Kim (not verified)
I have 2019 F150 same problem. Mine has 800 miles on it and after 4 days of not driving it happened to me. Also call the dealership and their service department never herd of this problem, but offered to tow it on Monday morning. The problem is how do they unlock the parking break with no power. Then I called Ford pass and they knew about the problem and then sent me over to customer service. The Customer service person wanted to send roadside assistance and since it is in my driveway I declined. We just took my wifes Jeep with 55k miles to church on Saturday eith no problems. I am sorry but a 50k truck should not be doing this after less then a month and 800 miles on it.
I just bought a used 2017
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I just bought a used 2017 Fusion Sport a week ago and was out in my garage washing it and had the power on listening to the radio (something I've always done with my cars. The power shut off automatically before I was done, so I opened the door, pushed the start button again and the radio came on for a few more minutes and then shut off again, then I saw the message on the screen that said it was powering off to save the battery. I got in the car and hit the start button a few times in a row (apparently too fast) and the whole car went dark, except for the P on the shifter and the Seek and Tuner lights next to the main radio knob (on/off/volume). The lights don't come on when I open the door or anything. After reading lots of these comments on line I'm also apparently in "deep sleep mode". I tried putting the key in the door, but since the doors were already unlocked, nothing is happening. I guess since the battery is so low it just won't wake up. Next thing to try is to jump it I guess. Ugh...
Same issue with my brand new
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Same issue with my brand new (2 months old, 2,000 klms) 2019 Ford Fusion Hybrid Titanium. Locked out of my car, fobs don't work, FORDPass app crashed and once I had access to it showed that my car was in "deep sleep" had to look for you tube vid to figure out the manual key entry and of course with the entire car on shut down I cannot "manually start" as instructed as it is a push button start. Ford Guide was useless, they said it happens when the battery is low and/or it is cold. I drove yesterday and the battery was fine and it is warm fall weather. I'm doomed in a Canadian winter! They said I should just call road side assistance and get it towed to the dealership-quite a hassle. What if this happens in a remote area without cell coverage? Or in traffic? Any ideas out there? I too was not informed of the possibility of this happening. I am very unhappy with this bunch of new tech that has massively failed.
2019 Ford F150 with 6400kms..
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2019 Ford F150 with 6400kms... shut the truck off last night around 7pm... got a notification on my Ford Pass App around 5:20am that it was in deep sleep mode... Used the key to get into the truck and it was absolutely dead... Boosted it and it fired up right away so the battery didn't seem drained... but now every trouble light on the dash is on and no features work such as Drive Mode etc... Disappointing and now I'm afraid to shut the truck off... No dealer open until Monday... le sigh
I understand exactly what you
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I understand exactly what you were going through. Same thing happened to me when I was in the Bahamas. Nobody knew anything.had to get AAA to jump start then I took it to a dealer who kept it for a week to try and replicate. Today, four years later, same thing happened. Car was inactive for 24 hrs in my garage. Had to jump start. Now we’re skeptical driving anywhere. All the advice on internet talks about holding key fob next to steering column or cup holders to start vehicle. This is bogus.doesn’t work.