SneakyE

My Boss is currently in the shop for cooling issues for the second time. The first time they replaced the radiator fan which seemed to fix the problem for a while. But while driving home yesterday it overheated again. Luckily I was right by the dealership when it happened so I dropped the car off for them to look at it. I just got a call from my service rep and she was telling me that the technician told her the problem was because I was driving with the TracKey and the car wasn't supposed to be driven with it for extended periods of time. This seems surprising to me as I'm driving it around town and not pushing it nearly as hard as it would be pushed on the track. Plus I've driven with the trackey for the last 1.5 years without any problems until recently.

My question is: Does anyone else daily drive their Boss exclusively with the trackey during the summer and have you had any overheating issues while driving on the streets?

Can anyone at Ford comment on what my service rep is telling me (if you're reading this Deysha )?

Thanks in advance.

Senderofan

I think they're giving you a load of Bull Crap. I've used the Trackey exclusively since I picked mine up new in July, 2012. I have never noticed mine overheating at any time...the temp gauge runs slightly less than half way when I DD with the A/C on. On the track it climbs up there a bit....but never got close to overheating.

My gut feeling is....they don't know what's going on with your vehicle and they don't understand the Trackey....which was developed by Ford Racing ( and I'm sure the folks at Ford Racing were smart enough to know that a high percentage of Trackey owners would DD using the Red Key).....so it's easiest to blame it on you and the Trackey. Guess I'd start looking for a different dealer....one that will figure out what really is wrong with your car.

Wayne

JeffL

trackey actually INcreases fan speed.

probably air in the system somewhere just needs burping actually really needs someone that knows what they are doing.

22k miles the only time I use the gray key is during the winter snow months have never come close to overheating.

Brandon302

Does sound like BS, though I wouldn't think it smart to admit to driving exclusively on the Trackey since I thought it was "Off road use only".

Senderofan

No....their ad just said it was not intended for street use...because of things like the engine braking and more aggressive throttle response. But....if they had intended it for track use only...I wouldn't think they would have gone for the 50 state emissions legal hoopla. I think they knew....really knew that guys would want to run the Trackey on the street. It just makes the Boss....more of what we think of regarding the original 69 & 70 models.

Just MHO of course.

Wayne

Brandon302

Touche, I had thought it said it wasn't supposed to be used on the street, but it doesn't say that it can't be used for street driving.

Senderofan

Yeah.....I think the engineers had to work hard with their lawyers to word things just right. Catless headers and X pipes without cats use that more powerful language "For off road use only".....to keep the EPA police away. The coyote / roadrunner motors can probably be made to run so smooth that they could be used by Lincoln....so the Trackey really brings us a little of the heritage to all this new technology.

Anyway....I really don't think the red key is causing the problem. That dealership isn't as strong in the coyote / roadrunner engine department I guess.......or maybe the scanner doesn't tell them exactly what's wrong.

Wayne

66sprint200

I live just north of you and have not even SEEN my gray key for over a year! I've had zero issues with my 2013 LS with the exception of the occasional "ping" with low RPM acceleration (even with 93 octane pure gas), which does bother the **** out me by the way! But no overheating issues, or anything else for that matter.

The dealership is shooting you a load of Texas long horn "manure".......

SneakyE

I talked to the the dealership yesterday and they said they could get it to overheat with the trackey but not with the gray key. They said they talked to Ford about it and were told to work with Ford Racing on the issue. The service rep I talked to said he recalled another Boss with this issue and he believes the resolution was to not drive around town with the trackey.

I'm not too happy with how it's going so far. What bothers me is that I've been driving with the trackey exclusively for over a year and a half without an issue and last summer was much worse than this year. Something changed that is causing an issue but it looks like they are trying to find someone else to blame rather than find the cause of the problem.

Thanks for the replies confirming what I already knew. I'll let y'all know how it goes.

RTD

I exclusively use the Track Key for daily driving, with the weather often in the upper 80's and lower 90's, and have never had any overheating issues.

tsully

The Track Key software and calibration will not cause overheating. Most of the cooling software is identical to the GT.

Johnny5alive

I also do not drive with the gray key. Logic would indicate that cooling parameters in trackey software would be set for increased cooling to deal with INCREASED need on the track. Your dealer makes no sense.

FordService

Hey SneakyE,

As you know, I’m not a tech or an engineer, but let me get it escalated so we can get to the “nitty gritty” of the situation. Please PM me with your VIN, dealer, full name, mileage, and best daytime number.

Deysha

SneakyE

Thanks Deysha but I talked to my service rep just an hour ago (not the one that told me they were talking to Ford Racing) and they determined that a sensor for the radiator fan needed to be replaced. They had a hard time finding one but she thought they had acquired one and were in the process of installing it. I'm waiting for her to call me back to confirm the status of my car.

This sounds a lot better than the story I got from the service rep I talked to while mine was taking a couple of day off. And it makes much more sense than saying it was the trackey's fault.

I appreciate your willingness to get this resolved and if I run into any more trouble I'll let you know.

Mustang Freak

Glad to hear it was something simple AND that Deysha's got our back!!!

boss man

It just blows my mind that these things have to get to this level.....Makes me feel comfortable that FORD knows there product. They should make a comerical showing a Ford Tech Making statements about making repairs to our BOSS's That he knows NOTHING about. As Don Trump says>>>>>>>>>>YOUR FIRED.
I know its not all dealers, But there are just to many Bad Ones out there.

bigbossman

This on both counts. Congrats on the fix. And Deysha has escalated my issues most excellently in the past.

tlflow

I know that guy he used to work a subway as a sandwich artist ...



he ain't a mechanic, and yes this is a tube-steak sandwich joke on him


what a Dumas, I can't even find my gray key anymore ... SE corner of the republic!

FordService

You’re very welcome, SneakyE! Please keep me updated.

Always, Mustang Freak!

Thanks, bigbossman!

Deysha

SneakyE

I got my boss back last Thursday evening and haven't had a problem with it since. Even on days where the thermometer on the car was reading 104 and I was stuck in stop and go traffic.

They found that a senser and wiring harness associated with the radiator fan had melted. This probably happened when the radiator fan burned out a couple of week prior.

For future reference, my service adviser said she contacted Ford Racing and confirmed that it was okay to drive on the streets with the trackey. She also contacted other boss owners to see if they used the trackey on the streets. It was nice that she followed up on what I told her despite me contradicting what the mechanic was telling her.

Thanks y'all for your input. It was nice to have confirmation and knowing that Deysha has my back!