Mysterious problem that just went away on its own

[machoman1337]

On Monday, when I started the car after leaving the office, it threw a CEL and said "Motor Vehicle Coolant Overheat". I'd just had the car serviced a month ago, and the weather is very cool right now (the car was parked outside all day in 15C weather), so an overheat upon starting the car doesn't make sense. I'd parked it outside in 30C weather for at least two months without problems too.

 

I thought it was a glitch, so I turned off the car, then turned the key again .This time it started without a CEL, but said Hill Start Assist was not available (thank god I didn't have to drive uphill), and also said traction control was disabled. I was able to drive back without any issues, but those two lights worried me. I also noticed that the battery icon in my left screen no longer showed the spinning circle when I used regen brakes, though the up-arrow did come on. It seemed like regen brakes had been partially disabled by whatever problem occurred.

 

At a stoplight, I put the car in park, turned it off, then turned it on again, and the problem didn't go away.

 

I intended to capture the DTC upon getting home so I could show it to the dealer. Unfortunately, I'd eaten Indian buffet for lunch and my stomach started feeling queasy on the way home so as soon as I pulled into the garage I made a beeline for the toilet, instead of capturing the DTC. After finishing my "business", I went to check on the car again and it was perfectly fine (I'd left it off for > 20 min)! I was dumbfounded. I checked the coolant levels and they were fine.

 

The problem has not shown up again at all this week, and I can't go to the dealer without being able to reproduce the problem. I have no idea if it'll ever happen again.

 

Has this happened to anyone before? Should I be worried?

 

This is rather unfortunate... the car is just over 3 years old. My previous Fusion was bought at 4 years old and never showed a single powertrain issue in the two years I owned it. Sure, it rattled and creaked everywhere whereas my current Fusion doesn't, but being able to start a car with zero problems is far more important.

Edited September 19, 2015 by machoman1337

[GrySql]

Indian buffet? You are a Macho Man!

Back to the issue, did you look at the ET Mode for the DTC or do a VHR? Might be something in there.

[lolder]

Gremlins are frequently a 12 vdc battery having problems.

[machoman1337]

Indian buffet? You are a Macho Man!

Back to the issue, did you look at the ET Mode for the DTC or do a VHR? Might be something in there.

By the time I figured out how to do a VHR, it seemed like any events that may have been logged were cleared :(

 

Gremlins are frequently a 12 vdc battery having problems.

Possible but unlikely on my car, as I had the 12V battery replaced with an OEM one in November 2014.

Edited September 20, 2015 by machoman1337