Drive mode selection not available ?

first issue I have ran into on my 17 gt350. took the car out today and the mode selection wasn’t available. I always switch immediately into sport mode when driving. When I tried it gave me the “not available” light as if you are in reverse trying to change it. Exhaust was in sport even in 6th (which was kinda cool) but it still bothered me there was an issue. You can still manually change steering and dampers individually but not exhaust.

Did a little research already and it boiled down to exhaust sticking or bad actuator valves not being able to open and close. So warranty will cover if need be hopefully.

I tried pulling over into a shopping center and turning off and then waiting a few seconds and turn back on. Still the same issue. I figured when I got back home I’d disconnect the battery and see if that worked. Didn’t do that but waited a few hours and went back into the garage started it up and ..... works as normal. Perfect , good to go. Goes into all modes . Ok...

Just seeing if anyone has experienced this at all. Or should I just go see if warranty can fix exhaust actuator valves before it comes back?

Drewsky65 said:

first issue I have ran into on my 17 gt350. took the car out today and the mode selection wasn’t available. I always switch immediately into sport mode when driving. When I tried it gave me the “not available” light as if you are in reverse trying to change it. Exhaust was in sport even in 6th (which was kinda cool) but it still bothered me there was an issue. You can still manually change steering and dampers individually but not exhaust.

Did a little research already and it boiled down to exhaust sticking or bad actuator valves not being able to open and close. So warranty will cover if need be hopefully.

I tried pulling over into a shopping center and turning off and then waiting a few seconds and turn back on. Still the same issue. I figured when I got back home I’d disconnect the battery and see if that worked. Didn’t do that but waited a few hours and went back into the garage started it up and ..... works as normal. Perfect , good to go. Goes into all modes . Ok...

Just seeing if anyone has experienced this at all. Or should I just go see if warranty can fix exhaust actuator valves before it comes back?

Click to expand...

If the dealer finds a stored exhaust code, they'll update the ECU software to the latest version that won't lock you out if the valves stick.

Drewsky65 said:

first issue I have ran into on my 17 gt350. took the car out today and the mode selection wasn’t available. I always switch immediately into sport mode when driving. When I tried it gave me the “not available” light as if you are in reverse trying to change it. Exhaust was in sport even in 6th (which was kinda cool) but it still bothered me there was an issue. You can still manually change steering and dampers individually but not exhaust.

Did a little research already and it boiled down to exhaust sticking or bad actuator valves not being able to open and close. So warranty will cover if need be hopefully.

I tried pulling over into a shopping center and turning off and then waiting a few seconds and turn back on. Still the same issue. I figured when I got back home I’d disconnect the battery and see if that worked. Didn’t do that but waited a few hours and went back into the garage started it up and ..... works as normal. Perfect , good to go. Goes into all modes . Ok...

Just seeing if anyone has experienced this at all. Or should I just go see if warranty can fix exhaust actuator valves before it comes back?

Click to expand...

Hows the battery health? Weak batteries will do weird things

me32 said:

Hows the battery health? Weak batteries will do weird things

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Funny the last few weeks it Does seem to have a first weak start if it sits a day or two. Just like a slow crank on cold starts. This is a good point ! Thank you

Update. Was a weak battery after all. Barely started up yesterday. Decided to pull it out and get a new one. Issue completely gone.

Drewsky65 said:

Update. Was a weak battery after all. Barely started up yesterday. Decided to pull it out and get a new one. Issue completely gone.

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Had a weak battery on my 12 Boss. Ford will replace it if it's under 12k miles 12 months free of charge.

Drewsky65 said:

Update. Was a weak battery after all. Barely started up yesterday. Decided to pull it out and get a new one. Issue completely gone.

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Glad it fixed your issue

1FASFKR said:

Had a weak battery on my 12 Boss. Ford will replace it if it's under 12k miles 12 months free of charge.

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Battery was about 2 1/2 years old. These AZ summers and winters do put a beating in them. So I think it was toast and over 12 months old. Thanks for the input on this tho!

Some feedback on this thread.

I had been having intermittent problems with the "drive mode not available" and "exhaust mode not available" for some time. I had chalked it up to the tune for awhile and then I started thinking maybe it was the exhaust valve modules going bad.

Then it got to where the car would struggle to start after a short drive. Weirdly, if it sat for a long time it would be okay, but if I started it and drove it to the grocery store, when I came out, it would struggle.

I read this thread and decided to replace the battery. I still need to get the alternator and voltage regulator checked, but after replacing the battery, obviously the car fires right up (and would do so even if it was a bad component somewhere else until the battery gets worn down from bad cycles). But in the couple of drives since then, I didn't get a single "exhaust mode unavailable" error or the driver mode error.

It's weird that the car would not allow you to change modes based on a voltage or current problem.

I'll report back later, but it seems that this thread was correct. Problem was electrical related and not tune or exhaust valves.

I've done a fair amount of rooting around inside the GT350's electronics using IDS and most of the safety and driving dynamics modules have a "low voltage error" PID that they'll broadcast if the supply gets too low. Presumably that's because the module may not be able to actuate the solenoids or whatever it's supposed to control.

When you request a drive mode change by hitting a switch, the Instrument Panel Controller module sends out commands to the affected modules. It will cancel (within a few milliseconds) any mode change if it doesn't get a confirming reply from all of the affected modules or if any of the modules responds with an error code.

JAJ said:

I've done a fair amount of rooting around inside the GT350's electronics using IDS and most of the safety and driving dynamics modules have a "low voltage error" PID that they'll broadcast if the supply gets too low. Presumably that's because the module may not be able to actuate the solenoids or whatever it's supposed to control.

When you request a drive mode change by hitting a switch, the Instrument Panel Controller module sends out commands to the affected modules. It will cancel (within a few milliseconds) any mode change if it doesn't get a confirming reply from all of the affected modules or if any of the modules responds with an error code.

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Makes sense. Basically if the computer thinks it might not be able to comply or pull off a mode change with dampener controls or valves, it precludes the driver from attempting it. I get that, but why wouldn't Ford put the next step which is informing the driver as to the issue/reason. I never dipped below what would be considered low voltage or above when it was trying to recharge. And whenever I'd run my codes on my Nguage it never came up.

Just good information that if anyone is having issues with anything, check the e-system straight away is it might be the culprit, even if it's not throwing codes.

ANGREY said:

...why wouldn't Ford put the next step which is informing the driver as to the issue/reason...

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In Ford's world, that's what dealers are for. There will be a stored code but without the Rosetta stone you can't read it.

JAJ said:

In Ford's world, that's what dealers are for. There will be a stored code but without the Rosetta stone you can't read it.

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As long as we're talking about features and improvements that won't happen, I hate when the issue comes up that it continuously overtakes my display screen. It's one thing to not be able to switch drive modes, it's another that it keeps informing me it's unavailable. THAT is more irritating than actually not being able to put it into track mode and have it stay there.

Let me elaborate on the new battery. The guy at auto zone was a ford tech for 5 years or so. He informed me we needed to reset the system so it did in fact get a new battery and the alternator didn’t overcharge the new one. I brought my car back the next day after I installed the new one. And he cleared the code for me as he had his scan tool from ford still. Nice guy who liked the car a lot.

I informed him on how this all started and he told me the system will shut off unnecessary electronics when it sees the battery getting weak. Makes all the sense in the world really. Here I was thinking my warranty needed to fix the exhaust valves from other threads I read around the net. Nope just battery on it’s last legs.

Good information. BMW's have the same system. It works. Glad you solved your issue!!