Wrench light resulting in limp mode - At dealer twice now almost 30 days cummulative

[stowayman]

At 1800 miles my 2025 GT premium PP 6spd. active exhaust, displayed wrench light and went imto limp mode ... needed to be towed to dealer... Stayed there a week they replaced accelerator pedal assembly, cleared powertrain codes and said it was fixed. I picked it up and a week later I get stranded again with wrench light and limp mode... was able to "limp" it back to dealer and they've had it their diagnosing now for almost 30 days...it remains at dealership.

I bought the car new in Feb 2026. The latest discovery was some pin fitment issues with wiring harness connectors ... the dealer is awaiting parts apparently.

Ford corporate has offered a 6k coupon to buy a new car?? Insane... I've been talking to lemon attys - Anyone have experience with something like this?

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[Ninjak]

@stowayman : I have not had an issue dealing with the dealer and lemon laws. but I have this question:
When the wrench came on and you went into limp mode, were you accelerating or driving at speed, 'cruising' along? Also, did you feel any type of surge or hesitation before the wrench light?

I ask because this can be an issue with the throttle body. If the ECU is not receiving the correct position to calculate the amount of TQ and power adjacent to what the TB position should be, the vehicle will go into limp mode. It can happen any time just cruising along. That is why I asked.

I have not heard of it happening to a stock s650 vehicle, but I have seen it happen to tuned vehicles.

 

[stowayman]

Vehicle is bone stock... dealer asked me this right away ...

dealers latest statement

"
We know there is a problem somewhere in the communication of the throttle and cooperative parts that control acceleration. That is all I know as of right now


--Lithia Ford Lincoln of Boise"

 

[Neggytive]

LEMON LAW or Ford buyback

30 days is way too long to be making payments on a ca and not having use of it due to defects in the product not of your doing

Get out while you can, also file a complaint with NTSB as this is a safety issue

 

[AZ_Ryan]

At 1800 miles my 2025 GT premium PP 6spd. active exhaust, displayed wrench light and went imto limp mode ... needed to be towed to dealer... Stayed there a week they replaced accelerator pedal assembly, cleared powertrain codes and said it was fixed. I picked it up and a week later I get stranded again with wrench light and limp mode... was able to "limp" it back to dealer and they've had it their diagnosing now for almost 30 days...it remains at dealership.

I bought the car new in Feb 2026. The latest discovery was some pin fitment issues with wiring harness connectors ... the dealer is awaiting parts apparently.

Ford corporate has offered a 6k coupon to buy a new car?? Insane... I've been talking to lemon attys - Anyone have experience with something like this?

Can you tell us what you and the car were doing when the light came on? Some added details would be helpful.

 

[stowayman]

regular city driving ...

 

[AZ_Ryan]

regular city driving ...

Lol. Were you accelerating? Sitting in traffic? Down shifting? Drive mode?Temperatures?

 

[Zig]

Try to get the codes. Some will be upstream and some down but knowing which will point towards a direction.

 

[Neggytive]

It is not his job to get the codes, it is the Tech's job, and if needed Ford's tech specialists.

There are a whole bunch of things that will put a car into "limp" mode

Without knowing the theory and operation of the system, and what will trigger it I am at a loss, but that many days out of service plus the techs tearing the car apart replacing parts or should I say firing the parts cannon at it never ends well.

Squeaks, rattles, the plastics in this car scratch of you look at it the wrong way, wiring harnesses displaced from clips, etc etc etc.

Half the problem is Ford makes a crap product, we Mustang owners are better off than most Ford owners but we are not immune from poor design or manufacturing.

The other half is there are very few techs out there who are really qualified to do data driven electrical diagnostics, and since this is surely a warranty claim none of them are going to be happy flagging warranty rate hours on a problem that is beyond their pay grade. I can only imagine the Service Manager trying to get Ford to authorize hours and parts at this point.

I'd be asking for the District Rep's contact info and I'd be calling Ford, on addition to looking at whatever lemon law protection your state might give you.

 

[AZ_Ryan]

It is not his job to get the codes, it is the Tech's job, and if needed Ford's tech specialists.

But surely the techs told him what codes were found. That would have been the first question out of my mouth when then they called me. Its not outrageous to ask that info be shared with us on a thread the OP started. Then again the OP seems pretry reluctant to share basic details of the issue.

 

[DarkHorsePremium]

Ford's willingness to offer $6k towards a new vehicle purchase (not that that's even remotely enough) is your signal to exit the vehicle. I think it would definitely be worth it to hire an attorney and pursue buyback or lemon law. Sounds like the car has a major issue. They're going to push back and see how far you are willing to go. I'm sorry I don't have any experience with this, but if it's economically feasible for you getting out of the car and getting into a new one, it's probably what you want to do. An attorney might be able to help advise you on that. I hope everything works out for you. We all do.

 

[AZ_Ryan]

Ford's willingness to offer $6k towards a new vehicle purchase (not that that's even remotely enough) is your signal to exit the vehicle. I think it would definitely be worth it to hire an attorney and pursue buyback or lemon law. Sounds like the car has a major issue. They're going to push back and see how far you are willing to go. I'm sorry I don't have any experience with this, but if it's economically feasible for you getting out of the car and getting into a new one, it's probably what you want to do. An attorney might be able to help advise you on that. I hope everything works out for you. We all do.

Its hard to give advice to walk away from the car when we have no idea whats wrong. CEL can be thrown by the most basic things. We still have no information on whats actually wrong with the car.

 

[Skye]

Ford corporate has offered a 6k coupon to buy a new car??

Because the dealer and Ford won't lose as much money if you use that coupon.

Pathways:

- The car is repaired and returned to service

- OP files for a refund under Idaho's Lemon Laws. OP is entitled to get back the price of the vehicle, less use, taxes, fees, maybe some other expenses. Ford buys the car back. If Ford can repair the car, it will be shown as a buyback. It's like a salvage car. Ford and the dealer take a rather large loss when selling it again

- OP accepts the coupon and trades-in their existing vehicle for another Mustang, car or truck. The dealer repairs the original car. The car is re-sold, used. It isn't listed as a buyback because it wasn't bought back. It was traded-in. The dealer and Ford are better off for that

If the current repair process meets the Lemon Law standard in Idaho, the OP will have to do the financial math or measure the odds of scenario two or three. See what's most beneficial for the OP.

In the buyback, the dealer might make a fair offer to be done with it. They might drag it out. In most examples I have read of, a formal filing, no lawyers, is enough. In some, a letter from a lawyer and a filing might be needed to jump-start the dealer and Ford. Arbitration might be involved, but it's not as formal as it appears to be. Sometimes, it's a state arbitrator on a conference call with the OP and the dealer. All these factors depend on the dealer and how they are treating the situation.

The use of the coupon, trade-in, new car, fees, taxes, refunds, etc., affords the dealer avenues and opaqueness for clawing back losses. Caution. What initially appears to be a fair or good deal could turn out to be something else.

https://ag.idaho.gov/content/uploads/2018/04/IdahoLemonLaw.pdf

Edit,

The Ford OASIS system (Online Automotive Service Information System). It's the system that records repair activities carried out under warranty. An OASIS report, in addition to other documentation (like Ford Service History), can help confirm a car's past. It's an extra piece of information that can give greater insight when considering the purchase of a used Ford vehicle.

 

[DarkHorsePremium]

Everyone is making some excellent points. Agree, all we can do is speculate at this point.

I'm sure they can fix the car, but if it can't be fixed in a month (that isn't related to parts availability), I'd start to get concerned. Now they're throwing things against a wall to see what sticks. I wonder if they've had one or more traveling senior techs look at the car? I wonder if they've offered a compensated rental?

Warranty is great, but you have to account for your loss of use. If I lost use of my daily driver. I'd be negatively impacted. This is why I think consulting an attorney is a good idea. If you have a compensated rental that minimizes your inconvenience. Now exiting the vehicle might not be as urgent. It can sit at Ford for months.

In that case, get a rental and be prepared to pursue compensation or lemon law if it's not offered. What Ford has offered thus far is not even close to being fair compensation. Is it telling? Anyone's guess.

We don't know what this is, so let's throw the guy a bone. Ford is definitely going to go for the path of least resistance, (for them) but meanwhile you're out a vehicle. I just hope they can get this figured out for him and get the car back on the road.

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