Hey fellow E-Cers... I have a lovely story for you today. Read!
So I am in Michigan right now, my home state, after finishing up my second-to-last semester of college and spending a week with the girlfriend's family. I got here on Wednesday, and the Escape sat in the garage until today, when I went out to put gas in it (15.5 gallons, to be exact) and get a car wash. That was this morning.
About 3:30 PM, I realize that I hadn't updated Sync yet (I've been wanting to since October), so I load the update onto a flash drive and plug it into my car. The thing is... you're supposed to have your car running when you do it and not have the key in the Accessory slot. I was doing some outside chores at the same time, so I quickly plugged the drive in and turned the car to Accessory. When I got back two minutes later, I realized that the update hadn't processed, and that there was a compatability issue (the drive is FAT32 format, so the car's message confused me). I suddenly remembered that the Sync website says to have the car running... but that's when I discovered that it wouldn't start. The TheftLock light blinks rapidly and there's no crankover whatsoever. For those who might think I have a dead battery... everything electrical on the car works fine.
I made two calls. The first call went to the nearby Ford dealership, who said that none of the technicians (it's a Saturday, btw) knew what to do, and that I should probably have it towed in on Monday. They were closing at 4PM, and there aren't any mechanics in on Saturdays (oil changes, etc. only). I got nothing from them regarding advice or possible solutions. The second call was to the dealership from where I purchased the Escape (back in Minnesota), and to the service advisor that I've come to know so well from my previous visits. He consulted some of the technicians and discovered that they perform the Sync upgrade with a cable from a computer and do so when the car is not turned on, and he suggested that it might be a key problem. One of the mechanics suggested disconnecting the battery for 30 minutes (the whole doesn't-hurt-to-try idea) but the attempt was futile.
On Monday, I'm going to try to get the nearby Lincoln-Mercury dealership to help me out (the nearby Ford dealership has a reputation for overaggressiveness). If anyone has any ideas as to what might have happened, please let me know! This sucks not having a car to use.
Some other things I should probably point out: the remote's keys still work (unlock, lock, liftgate glass release), and one of the two keys went back with the girlfriend this morning.
Happy holidays!
So I am in Michigan right now, my home state, after finishing up my second-to-last semester of college and spending a week with the girlfriend's family. I got here on Wednesday, and the Escape sat in the garage until today, when I went out to put gas in it (15.5 gallons, to be exact) and get a car wash. That was this morning.
About 3:30 PM, I realize that I hadn't updated Sync yet (I've been wanting to since October), so I load the update onto a flash drive and plug it into my car. The thing is... you're supposed to have your car running when you do it and not have the key in the Accessory slot. I was doing some outside chores at the same time, so I quickly plugged the drive in and turned the car to Accessory. When I got back two minutes later, I realized that the update hadn't processed, and that there was a compatability issue (the drive is FAT32 format, so the car's message confused me). I suddenly remembered that the Sync website says to have the car running... but that's when I discovered that it wouldn't start. The TheftLock light blinks rapidly and there's no crankover whatsoever. For those who might think I have a dead battery... everything electrical on the car works fine.
I made two calls. The first call went to the nearby Ford dealership, who said that none of the technicians (it's a Saturday, btw) knew what to do, and that I should probably have it towed in on Monday. They were closing at 4PM, and there aren't any mechanics in on Saturdays (oil changes, etc. only). I got nothing from them regarding advice or possible solutions. The second call was to the dealership from where I purchased the Escape (back in Minnesota), and to the service advisor that I've come to know so well from my previous visits. He consulted some of the technicians and discovered that they perform the Sync upgrade with a cable from a computer and do so when the car is not turned on, and he suggested that it might be a key problem. One of the mechanics suggested disconnecting the battery for 30 minutes (the whole doesn't-hurt-to-try idea) but the attempt was futile.
On Monday, I'm going to try to get the nearby Lincoln-Mercury dealership to help me out (the nearby Ford dealership has a reputation for overaggressiveness). If anyone has any ideas as to what might have happened, please let me know! This sucks not having a car to use.
Some other things I should probably point out: the remote's keys still work (unlock, lock, liftgate glass release), and one of the two keys went back with the girlfriend this morning.
Happy holidays!
