Think about yourself driving quietly on board your Ford Escape and suddenly an engine signal appears on your dashboard ! The most common kind of reaction is worries of risking a major trouble. To know what exactly this light refers to, you will have to learn how to read an Ford Escape fault codes, you may have previously heard about OBD system, this is precisely what we are going to speak about. Our editors have decided to produce this content to enable you fairly quickly locate the origin of this default code and to give you peace of mind. To get this done, we will first take a look at the nature of a fault code on Ford Escape, then how to read an Ford Escape fault code, and finally how to erase this fault code in order to turn off the light on your dashboard.

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What is a Ford Escape fault code?

A fault code is a generic or standard code which is identical to all automotive companies , they are also identified as DTC (Data Trouble Code), the objective is to ensure that any diagnostic OBD can translate them. They will be symbolized by a standard format, such as example: P0255. Each info will have a special meaning. Default codes are codes issued by the calculators of your Ford Escape. These ECUs will constantly monitor your vehicle’s emissions, pressures, mixtures and when the values exceed the limits set by the vehicle’s ECU, the fault code will show up. The benefit of understanding how to read a fault code on your Ford Escape is that you will have gain access to to complete info about your car which will enable you to discover what concern you are standing in front of.

How to read a fault code on my Ford Escape?

In this second section we will now focus precisely on what brings you on the website, how to read a fault code on Ford Escape. To access this valuable info you will need to to obtain a diagnostic tool, also called OBD 2, named after the socket on your Ford Escape to which you will have to connect. These diagnostic tools are easily available in the market, you will be able to find some in Bluetooth version which connects to your phone and some standard versions with a reader associated to the socket, as far as price is concerned, you will be able to find models between 30 and 100 euros. Once you have obtained an OBD2 diagnostic reader, you will have to find the diagnostic plug on your Ford Escape, it is established on the left side of your steering column on the lower part of your dashboard, behind a hatch. It is easy to locate because it is triangular shaped and has 16 pins. All you have to do is connect with your diagnostic tool to read the fault code of your Ford Escape.

How to erase the fault code Ford Escape

Finally, to conclude this article, we are going to describe you the process to perform to erase a fault code on your Ford Escape. Once you have navigated through the menus, you will access the list of active fault codes on your car. However, you will have to ask yourself an important question, is it really good to erase this fault code on Ford Escape? Indeed, erasing a fault code without fixing the trouble corresponds to burying its head in the sand. Moreover, the computer of your Ford Escape is made to take decisions according to the data it collects, if an essential fault code is on, it will possibly modify the engine operation to preserve it. So if you erase the fault code, make sure to resolve the problem to which it is associated. Some OBD diagnostic tools do not allow you to do this. You have a dedicated navigation menu on most diagnostic tools that should allow you to clear this fault code on Ford Escape.

If you wish more tutorials on the Ford Escape, go to our Ford Escape category.