Adaptive Cruise Control problems of the 2023 Ford Expedition

The vehicle experienced a failure of multiple driver assistance and safety systems, with warning messages displayed in the instrument panel cluster. The affected systems include adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, blind spot warning, forward collision warning, lane departure warning, lane keeping assistance, parking collision warning, and rear cross traffic warning. All of these features are currently inoperative. During normal vehicle operation, messages indicated that driver assistance features were unavailable or malfunctioning. Diagnostic trouble codes related to invalid data and lost communication were stored in multiple modules. The failures appear to be caused by the image processing module a (ipma) intermittently not communicating on the vehicle network. This condition created a significant safety risk because multiple federally advertised and manufacturer-promoted crash-avoidance and collision-mitigation features were unexpectedly disabled during normal driving. The sudden loss of these systems reduces situational awareness and increases the risk of a collision, particularly during highway driving, lane changes, and parking maneuvers. The issue has been acknowledged by the manufacturer in special service message (ssm 53419), which identifies ipma software as the likely cause. Temporary recovery procedures have been attempted, but the problem continues to recur. A permanent repair has not been provided, despite this condition being known for over one year. The issue has been confirmed by dealer diagnostics. Warning messages appeared prior to and during the loss of functionality. The affected components remain installed and are available for inspection. The underlying software defect has not been permanently corrected as of this report.

The contact owns a 2023 Ford Expedition. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds with the adaptative cruise control activated, the vehicle failed to decelerate automatically upon approaching another vehicle, requiring the contact to depress the brake pedal. The pre-collision warning light was illuminated, and the vehicle made an abnormal beeping sound. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and the contact was informed that the vehicle was operating as designed; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where the contact was informed that a software update would become available in spring of 2025 to correct the failure. The vehicle was later taken to sarasota Ford (707 s washington blvd, sarasota, FL 34236), where the contact was informed that the software update was not yet available. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that a software update would become available to correct the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 9,000.

On three separate occasions, the car started accelerating by itself while speed control was engaged. Once I noticed, I stepped on the brakes and the speed control was disengaged before any accidents happened.