MAZDA BT50 2018 WENT INTO LIMP MODE TOWING UP A HILL WITH SMALL CARAVAN ATTACHED.

KJB · Guru

RE: MAZDA BT50 2018 WENT INTO LIMP MODE TOWING UP A HILL WITH SMALL CARAVAN ATTACHED.

cobberdog · Veteran Member

thanks Kesa32, im due for service so will mention what you said to mazda.

Greg 1 · Guru

I have experienced this with a couple of Rangers. The first was mine and finally tracked down to a battery with a collapsing cell allowing the voltage to drop too low and the trans computer went into limp home mode. The power train warning light would come on when it did it. The strange thing was that it was intermittent and usually happened when I had the van on with the extra current draw. The other case was my mates Ranger that went into limp mode out the back of Mt Isa. I hooked up my scan tool and that showed a turbo boost sensor being faulty. I cancelled the codes and away it went, but every 200ks it would do it again. We got it to Darwin and the local dealership knew exactly what it was. A software glitch that there was an upgrade for. They did the upgrade and no more issues. It's the disadvantage of modern vehicles unfortunately be they petrol or diesel. We now have our lives ruled by computers and they are far from perfect. .

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

Had similar auto issues with Triton. Driving in uncleared tracks, line inspecting . Sill
Part I was going slow . I guess very little cooling , lots of converter slip ! Heat is the enemy !

Radar · Guru

cobberdog wrote:
im still not sure what to do, mazda know about the 2nd time it happened ( in low range 2nd gear )no trailer, 4wding through the high country,but only took notes of what happened. i would have thought i should had been told to take car straight to them or maybe stop driving it. its very unnerving to be doing what the car is built to do in 4WD mode then goes into limp mode going up a long steep slippery track, loss of power and a light flashes on.

That sure would be yuck.

Warren-Pat_01 · Guru

Hi cobberdog,
Have you also looked at the Mazda BT50 forum?
I had a look at the Isuzu forum - they stated that the transmission operating temps were ideally 75-90 degrees. With that info, I installed a scanguage & on our last trip home from Toowoomba & towing our van, the temps went much higher.

Even our last day when it rained heavily from Sarina to Townsville thanks to TC Narina, the gauge at one stage peaked at 111 degrees but ran almost constantly at 100 degrees. I contacted a specialist here in Townsville- he said they prefer that transmissions run at less than 100 degrees & if I fitted an external cooler, I could have troubles with my warranty (confirmed by the dealer). My car has about 4000kms to go before the next service so I'll get the oil checked then.

Radar mentioned driving driving in manual. My dealer said I should always drive in "D" & let the transmission "do it's thing", however they are in the business of selling cars, spare parts. As I generally keep my cars for long periods, I prefer to drive to conditions which means I mostly now tow in 4-5th.

Driving around town, up the highway the temp hasn't gone over 80 degrees but that's with nothing on the back. The scanguage2 isn't cheap (approx $300) but it's worth the spend. I monitor auto transm, coolant, EGR temps & battery volts. A friend who has a Jeep Cherokee has all of these items already included in the car!

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

Not much chance of trans running under 80* it is also heated to whatever the engines coolant is ! It wouldnt take much to have trans temp 20 to 30* higher inside auto . Warranty is only an issue if the part fitted caused the issue ! Theyll try to convince you to go through their business! What its all about $$ ! $300 would buy a good trans cooler !

wootts · Member

Very interesting, I had the same problem 3 days ago. 2018 BT50 extra cab tray top 21000ks. I towed my van 150k no problem, on return journey home at about 9.30am and maybe 40ks travel in sport mode auto mine went into limp. Pulled over, waited about 10 mins and proceeded travel, after about another 30ks same problem, pulled over and had another wait. Proceeded home no more trouble. Rang Mazda dealer and is booked in to find problem next Tues.
Will keep you informed with there response.

Cheers Eric

cobberdog · Veteran Member

im interested in what they say and or find.please keep me updated . cheers peter. ive contacted MAZDA H/O ,i only got a ref / job number and will contact me whithin 3-5 days.

iana · Guru

Its been said time and time again, on other posts on various forums, the first thing to do is get a "Scan-gauge II", or similar, to be able to observe what the temperatures are doing. I tow with a BT50, and have been up many steep gorges and passes, and while having to adjust our driving modes, we haven't had a problem. The transmission oil was changed at Perth, a complete circuit of Aus, towing at max combined mass, and two services later the oil is still passing for another round.
With the scan-gauge, you will see how sensitive transmission temperature is to an increase of speed. We drive according to transmission temperature not speedometer, keeping our temp at about 107C, remember this is synthetic oil, and can run hotter than mineral. Certainly check to see if there is no excessive weight on the accelerator pedal, drive in sports mode where there are undulations and hills, and then go into manual on the steep inclines.
The scan-gauge will also allow you to diagnose other errors that come up, I haven't had to do that yet, so can't tell you how. The other parameters I monitor are coolant temp., voltage and speed. The unit set above the instruments allows us to see these indications easily while driving.

Jaahn · Guru

Hi smile

Just a comment on this Mazda/Ford combination engine and transmission. I do not own one nor have worked on them, but commonly the comment is there was no engine light when it has failed power wise and the dealer cannot find anything on a scan. That seems to me to be lazy programming of the ecu software. If the engine is working hard and the driver has his foot flat but not much is happening because the fuel lines are on wrongly or the tank pump is not keeping up the fuel or similar I would expect some other brand diesels would register a fault of some sort. When they do this the ecu remembers the parameters at the time and keeps them so you can go back and look at them with a good scan tool hmm even if the fuel pressure is not measured.

The ECU can do a lot of remembering and comparing. They can detect the difference between the individual idle variations between cylinders and balance the injectors with "trim" values to get the engine running smoother. It can in some engines detect other abnormalities not really fault, so why it cannot see a very obvious fault in these I can only suggest it is poorly programmed with poor fault detection software.

Possibly people do use the term 'limp' mode when in fact it is really just a loss of power. That muddies the discussions. If the ecu down grades the engine/transmission to a protection mode of which there would be several levels, commonly called 'limp' mode, there is always information stored and a dash light. confuse

Jaahn

wootts · Member

iana,

Does installing a scan gauge affect your warranty

Wootts

blaze · Guru

No, just plugs into the vehicles diagnose port
cheers
blaze

Dougwe · Chief one feather

I thought I might invest in a similar one that advertise on the GN Website so sent a email asking about it as was only in Melbourne and would arrive quickly and after 4 days still no reply.

Very disappointing when you try and support a company that use the GN to promote their goodies.

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

ECU is overriding the nut ! Its protecting itself ! Its not a fault !! Yet !!

cobberdog · Veteran Member

still waiting for MAZDA H/O and mazda essendon to get back to me. i will keep you posted

Bicyclecamper · Guru

cobberdog, they wont call you until sometime next year, and even then, they will have no answer. Really cobberdog, someone was having a bad day, or was hungover, when they were building your vehicle, and just said to themselves " Near Enough".

-- Edited by Bicyclecamper on Wednesday 31st of March 2021 12:53:03 PM

cobberdog · Veteran Member

MAZDA AUST called me today, i had to tell them what happened in detail on both occasions and said essendon mazda had not contacted or filed a report to them . i was asked to read first inspection /service dept report to them. Again i was not told, dont drive the car. MAZDA AUST said will sort this out for me and will call me back again soon after easter.
ps-- MAZDA aust sounded more interested in helping when i told him im reporting to you guys on the GREYNOMAD forum.
Heres hoping, cheers Peter

wootts · Member

Latest info,
Took vehicle to Mazda dealer last Tue, no error code, did computer up grade and sent me home (140km) went into limp mode twice on home journey, told to bring back to dealer which was last Thur, went to limp mode twice, each time I just stopped restarted motor all okay. Dealer had vehicle and did a DPF cleaning, took it for a good test drive where the driver reported it went to limp mode and could not get more than 20kph.Up shot I have now been given a hire vehicle by Mazda and the dealer has been in contact with head office. The hire company told me Mazda has the vehicle booked for at least 2 weeks.

Cheers Wootts

cobberdog · Veteran Member

hi WOOTS, were you towing a van.

Bicyclecamper · Guru

If I was going back to diesels, , . I have a fair few, vehicles that are on the list that, I would never buy. It would better to buy an old truck, with no turbo, and definitely no computer. Maybe an old Landrover, as had a 76' model, that had no turbo, but went b......y everywhere, just a bit slower then other vehicles, I would contemplate a petrol landcruiser, if I won the lotto.

-- Edited by Bicyclecamper on Saturday 3rd of April 2021 05:11:24 PM

wootts · Member

Cobberdog, I was the first two times it happened, returning home from trip time but all other times no

wootts · Member

Got my ute back today, taken 3 weeks to find that a hose or 2 hoses that go from the turbo to the DPF unit had a fault. Apparently they or it is high pressure and there was a slight leak causing the computer to place the motor into limp mode. I am supposed to get a full report from Mazda Aus but I wont hold my breath.

Cheers Wootts

cobberdog · Veteran Member

Thanks Kesa32. im a little disapointed in the fact that i paid good money for a car that advertised the fact it is able to tow big boats, caravans etc , but dont seem to be able to do this without a modification. i wasnt told at purchase point that this problem could arise, MAZDA even had videos on social media that that bragged how good they were at towing, if i had known this could be a problem, i would not have bought this car. im waiting for MAZDA AUST to call me again as promised . im due for a service in early june so this could be interesting. A frustrating thing is that our caravan is one of the smallest if not the smallest and lightest van Jayco make, its only approx 13 feet long, water tank was empty.

PS-- during a conversation at the dealership they mentioned they now recommend a cooler be fitted if they are fitting towbars to your car.

Bicyclecamper · Guru

I feel vindicated with my comments!

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

So dont drive the crap outs them is what the manu would say !! Older motors have half the power !!

cobberdog · Veteran Member

UPDATE-- Mazda aust called me today for the third time and requested me to take my car and caravan to the local dealership for a more detailed testing (duplicating the same conditions when the car lost power/limp mode ) He said they noticed from my photos previously sent, that i had a few aftermarket items on the car. It will be interesting to hear what they have to say after this test . CHEERS, FROM A NOT VERY HAPPY MAZDA OWNER.

PS-- the A.C.C.C have a court case still ongoing with a few models of mazda that have similar problem that began in 2019 ,but due to the covid year may take a little longer than expected.

-- Edited by cobberdog on Tuesday 4th of May 2021 08:10:03 AM

Bicyclecamper · Guru

They are going to say, that your after market windscreen wipers are the fault, and they are not going to warranty it, and you will have a bomb car nobody will want including them,. They will also say your c.van is too heavy, and even though it reads light on the rego papers, and they will want you tp have it weighed. They are trying to get out of it, and I am sure you know that.

-- Edited by Bicyclecamper on Tuesday 4th of May 2021 09:29:39 AM

msg · Guru

Aus-Kiwi wrote:
Can be EGR ? Carbon building up in exhaust ? Mixture of oil through PVC and exhaust through EGR . Sets like concrete in exhaust ports . Especially if vehicle has been driven lightly . Then pushed hard !! Diesels need work to keep clean . Oil separator helps . Its the EPA effecting durability. The frustrating part is diagnosing faults !!

First go to solution for mechanics. Replace. Very expensive fix for some thing when it doesn't work. I would try remapping the computers first.

cobberdog · Veteran Member

yeah, could be right. il see what they have to say. if they say its something to do with the bullbar and winch that is fitted they will be embarrased because i had them fitted after the limp mode saga but before i took it to mazda. its booked in on 20-5 and will keep for a week