I took my 2005 Mustang in to the dealer this morning because the fuel and temp guages are not working correctly. The temp guage pegs all the way to the right (but the engine is not hot) and the fuel guage sometimes registers empty, then the next time I turn the key on works fine.

The dealer said the guages all run through the stereo and they have had issues with XM radio hook-ups causing the problem.

Has anyone had any experience with this? They will be charging me a diagnostic fee if it turns out the problem was caused be the XM and will not cover the guages under warranty.

I have had the XM installed for a year with no issues previously.
Thanks.

 

Run through the stereo? That doesn't sound right!! What about those of us without Ford radios in our cars? If their statement was correct then our cars should all have gauge problems. Maybe this is a round about way of saying that the gauges run through the CAN-bus? Hmm...

Personally I don't think an XM radio could cause this issue.

I'd take the car to a different dealer as it sounds like your dealer is grasping at straws to justify their inability to troubleshoot the problem!

 

Run through the stereo...give me a break. I have had XM radios in my last two cars with no problems.

I have had previous problems with electronic dash packages. Find another dealer or take it back to the person who installed the radio and ask them to do a diagnostic on the radio to eliminate it from the equation.

Then, find another dealer...good luck!

 

Thanks guys. The dealership just called me and said "good news" which means I will not have to pay the $105 diagnostic fee.

They say the whole instrument cluster is going out and they are going to replace it under warranty. I am beyond my 36K warranty but purchased the 7 year / 84K mile extended one from Ford.

They have to order the cluster and cannot release my car until they get it in since the speedometer will have to be programmed for the correct mileage before they send it.

There was no more talk about the guages running through the stereo. I was getting prepared to debate how an XM could void any warranty but guess I can save my bulletts for now.