Parking Brake Fault

[Chairborne Ranger]

Here's a new one; I came home after running some errands this morning, parked my '25 ST and popped the hood so I could replace my rodent deterrent mothball canisters once the engine cooled down. An hour or so later when I dropped the hood to close it I heard a warning chime from the cabin and saw a dialog box in the center of the instrument cluster pop up that read "Parking Brake Fault Service Now". The vehicle was not running and I was parked on a flat surface and had not engaged the parking brake when I parked. I started the ST and the dialog box appeared again briefly so I set the brake then released it then shut the SUV down for a moment and restarted it and didn't see the parking brake fault warning again. Just a glitch? I'm not sure why closing the hood would have triggered anything unless there's something loose in the engine bay. Anyone else ever experience this one?

 

[2020FordRaptor]

Probably just a glitch. Clear it and see if it comes back.

 

[RFC1992]

I usually set the brake prior to putting the vehicle in Park. I have had this happen 3 or 4 times. I notice when I am faster in the process it was more likely to occur.

I unselected the brake. Cycled engine on, reset brake, put in park, and shutdown. All was well.

Not the same situation as you but an additional data point.

 

[WaferTech]

rodent deterrent mothball canisters ???

 

[Chairborne Ranger]

As they say today; "if you know, you know" but I guess everyone doesn't. I found out the hard way back in 2013 when I traded in a Buick for a Toyota. I reside in a rural area and it turns out that car manufacturers (primarily Asian brands) have adopted soy or plant based insulation for their vehicles wiring. Rats and mice find the smell of this material tempting and will proceed to eat your vital electronic cables disabling your ride and costing you hundreds or thousands of dollars.

Within weeks of getting my Toyota I smelled something vile when entering the vehicle that only partially improved when I cranked the AC. Upon further investigation I found a large dead rat in my cabin air filter and a number of wires and the sound insulation panel under the hood had been chewed up along with telltale fecal deposits everywhere. The dealer sheepishly admitted to me after the fact that this is a known problem and even at their business they have to deal with hangry rodents. Remedies include the aforementioned mothballs, fox urine spray in the wheel wells, dryer sheets, peppermint oil, various traps and predatory felines. Also using gutter guard cut to fit larger ingress points under the hood or air intake can be helpful. Hope you never find out.

 

[WaferTech]

As they say today; "if you know, you know" but I guess everyone doesn't. I found out the hard way back in 2013 when I traded in a Buick for a Toyota. I reside in a rural area and it turns out that car manufacturers (primarily Asian brands) have adopted soy or plant based insulation for their vehicles wiring. Rats and mice find the smell of this material tempting and will proceed to eat your vital electronic cables disabling your ride and costing you hundreds or thousands of dollars.

Within weeks of getting my Toyota I smelled something vile when entering the vehicle that only partially improved when I cranked the AC. Upon further investigation I found a large dead rat in my cabin air filter and a number of wires and the sound insulation panel under the hood had been chewed up along with telltale fecal deposits everywhere. The dealer sheepishly admitted to me after the fact that this is a known problem and even at their business they have to deal with hangry rodents. Remedies include the aforementioned mothballs, fox urine spray in the wheel wells, dryer sheets, peppermint oil, various traps and predatory felines. Also using gutter guard cut to fit larger ingress points under the hood or air intake can be helpful. Hope you never find out.

Thanks, seem to learn something new almost every day on this site. I have a roll of that screen material, used for vents on my storage shed.