What to do if your 2017 Ford F-150 falls into "Deep Sleep" mode
Dave, from Tennessee, is reaching out to members of a Ford truck forum after receiving an alarming message about his 2017 Ford F-150. Dave says, “Looking for help, as Fordpass chat can't help. Ford Customer service can’t help. Have four hours on phone with Customer service and Fordpass. Their solution is call a wrecker. Two month old F-150 Platinum. I got a message on the Ford Pass app, "Truck entered Deep Sleep Mode". Ford can not tell me what Deep Sleep Mode is. They can not tell me if my remote will work to unlock truck. They can not tell me if key pad will work to unlock truck. They can not tell me how to get it out of deep sleep mode. I am offshore working. I am really wanting to know what I have to do when I land at the airport Thursday morning to get in and start my truck. Sad that Ford can not or will not help. My First ever Ford, out of 15 new pick ups. Customer service is sure off to a very bad start.”
That would be very frustrating, being worried about what you will find when you finally get back to your truck. Other truck owners quickly reach out to help.
Blue, from Kentucky, started an online search about the problem. He tells Dave, “From ford site: "I attempted to use my system after my vehicle was parked for more than 3 days and it responded that my vehicle was in Power Save Mode and I needed to schedule a wake-up time, what is the reason for this?
Your system is designed to protect your vehicle from draining its battery when the vehicle is parked for an extended period of time. In order to preserve your vehicle’s battery the Remote Access system will go into a "sleep" mode. Your Remote Access system can be "woken" from this mode in two ways. One is to turn the ignition on in the vehicle using your factory key or you can schedule a "wake-up" time through your Remote Access mobile phone app or web portal. Please note that it may take up to twelve hours for the "wake-up" process to complete. Please see the on-line User's Guide for more information on Power Save Mode."
Location of the factory key on a push button start vehicle
Dave is very concerned because no one ever mentioned anything about this when he bought the vehicle. He asks, “Also where is factory Key on a push button vehicle? Nothing in my owners’ manual about this.”
Runner doesn’t have the system but he does have one answer to help Dave. “The factory key on a push start vehicle is inside the fob. Not having this system I can't say for sure, but it sounds like if you use that key to manually unlock the door then it wakes up from sleep mode.”
Dave is very frustrated with the customer service representatives who aren’t able to answer any of his questions. “I have the owners manual PDF on my computer. Not one word about Deep Sleep in it. Yes, I see where the key is located in the Fob. So I can unlock. Still doesn't answer on how to start our get out of Deep Sleep Mode. How is it Ford Customer service after 4 hours on Phone can’t help? How is it 3 hours on Fordpass call line, and two more on Fordpass chat can’t help? Why is it Deep Sleep is not in owners manual?
Sorry I am stressing after being gone for 21 days, would like to know how to start truck with out calling wrecker and losing a whole day, as I have a ten hour drive home.”
Wolf, from Michigan, says that Dave shouldn’t be worried, he claims that only the Sync connected controls have gone to sleep, not the truck. “The poster (Dave) has a TCU (Sync Connect) vehicle. The TCU has a sleep mode so as not to continually drain the battery. The remote and keypad should still work fine. Unlocking, locking, and remote starting from Fordpass will not work until you "wake-up" the TCU.”
Anger about poor customer service
Dave thanked everyone for their help and explained why he was so upset. He isn’t angry that the modem goes into sleep mode to protect the battery, he is angry that no one could answer his questions. It was his fear of his truck not starting that he found so frustrating. “I would have been calm, had this been in my owners manual. Talks all about 30 day storage or more, no word about this. I would have been calm if Fordpass could have told me what this was, or how to get it out of deep sleep. They said they never heard of it. I would have been calm if Ford Customer service knew what it was or how to get in my truck. But they told me to have it towed to the dealer.”
You really can’t blame Dave for his confusion or frustration over this issue. When he got back to land, he was able to get into his truck and make his long drive home without any problems.
Ford's quick response to problem
Interestingly, Ford appears to have changed the message that alerts owners that their vehicles have gone into “deep sleep” mode. The message now includes an explanation that “This occurs when your vehicle has been inactive for 14 or more consecutive days. All connectivity to the vehicle, such as vehicle controls, fuel level and vehicle health alerts, will be temporarily disabled until Deep Sleep mode is deactivated. To deactivate Deep Sleep mode, simply manually start your vehicle.”
Had the Fordpass sent Dave this message, or had the customer service people been able to tell Dave this, they could have avoided all of his concerns.
So if you get a message about your 2017 Ford F-150 going into Deep Sleep mode. Don't panic, you can wake it up, by manually unlocking it and it should start as usual.
Mary Conway covered the Detroit Three for more than twenty years for the ABC affiliate, in Detroit. Her affection for the Motor City comes naturally. Her father ran a gas station while Mary was growing up, in Wisconsin. Follow Mary on Twitter at @maryconwaymedia.