BLIS Sensor Blocked - Anyone had this?

[smr2112]

Curious if anybody else has had this problem, kind of weird...

 

I pulled out of my garage the other morning. it was pouring rain, coming down hard.

All seems OK, I drive a few miles to get on the highway and then the driver side

BLIS Led goes solid and warning message comes onto the dash (something like):

"The BLIS System Has Been Disabled - Sensor Blocked - Check Manual". When

I put it into Park and go through Reverse I get "Cross Traffic Sensor Blocked"

- they obviously share the same sensor.

 

And it stayed like that until I get to my destination. You can clear the message,

but the LED stays lit. You can also disable BLIS of course, and the LED goes out.

 

I go into office, then later back in car and start - all is OK now. It did come

on again about 15 minutes later, but hasn't gone on since. Somehow I am

sure it was related to the rain. I don't know if I got some wet leaves or something

on the rear quarter-panel. Nothing noticeable. Or did something get wet?

 

I drove again in mild rain that night, no issues since. Maybe coming out of the garage

into the pouring rain, it was a calibration issue? Dealer would never be able to

reproduce this. A quick System Check from the dash found no issues. I have not

run a VHP since.

 

Anybody had this problem or have any clue?

 

UPDATE - I did find this from the manual and was my thought when it occurred. Guess

it is normal.

 

3 - Heavy rainfall or heavy snowfall is interfering with the radar signals - No action required by the driver. The system will automatically go unblocked once the rainfall/snowfall rate decreases or stops. Do not use BLIS-CTA in

heavy rainfall or heavy snowfall.

[rfruth]

I've had this two times seems to be a Best Buy that triggers it in my case but not sure, see link here for more

[robm15]

Yes, that has happened to me twice since I got my FFH in May. Both times were in the morning on the way to work, and both times it cleared before I got to work. I'm not sure why it has happened, but could have been moisture. I'm not really sure the cause. It was raining once, but was not raining the other time, and I hadn't driven through any puddles.

[fsb99]

I've had this two times seems to be a Best Buy that triggers it in my case but not sure, see link here for more

 

Had this happen once on a clear day and during the middle of a 40 mile freeway trip. When I arrived at my destination I turned off the vehicle and it was gone when I restarted. I had a chance to ask a Ford engineer on this and he said that a possible cause could be radio frequency interference. Maybe that Best Buy has a transmitter that is causing your issues - depending on the frequency, could be an FCC violation.

[smr2112]

The RF interference makes some sense. I am guessing it does some sort of one-shot

calibration when you turn it on and if it fails, it's off.

[treeofliberty]

I've had intermittant "Blind Spot System Fault" and "Cross Traffic System Fault" messages now since buying the car, back in July. The RF interferance theory makes sense. Most of the time, the sensor on the passenger side is the one that goes out, and it's often while driving in urban freeway traffic, althought that's the lion's share of my FFH driving.

 

Attempts to have this serviced by the dealership monkeys have been a waste of time, although I did get a "free" car wash in exchange for an overpriced oil change.

 

I'm starting to think this is a design flaw, rather than a build flaw.

[oduboy]

I've had intermittant "Blind Spot System Fault" and "Cross Traffic System Fault" messages now since buying the car, back in July. The RF interferance theory makes sense. Most of the time, the sensor on the passenger side is the one that goes out, and it's often while driving in urban freeway traffic, althought that's the lion's share of my FFH driving.

 

Attempts to have this serviced by the dealership monkeys have been a waste of time, although I did get a "free" car wash in exchange for an overpriced oil change.

 

I'm starting to think this is a design flaw, rather than a build flaw.

I have experienced this problem twice so far and it has been on the same road in the same spot but by the time I get home and park it seems to correct the issue. I haven't had to turn the car off and back on for it to clear the problem. It has only been the sensor on the Driver's side as well the passenger side sensor still works fine.

[junehhan]

I have experienced this problem twice so far and it has been on the same road in the same spot but by the time I get home and park it seems to correct the issue. I haven't had to turn the car off and back on for it to clear the problem. It has only been the sensor on the Driver's side as well the passenger side sensor still works fine.

 

 

I've had this problem once now, although it didn't go away till I reached my destination and turned the ignition off. It was the driver side sensor that was blocked as well. I was driving in a very dusty part of town next to our garbage mountain when it happened.

[SRACP]

We have had this 3 times since Sept. 2 On clear days, no other cars around in the middle of a neighborhood. All 3 times we had to turn off the car to reset it. It's been over a month since the last one.

[acdii]

It happened once on my Sport, I think it was due to damp sensors, both mirrors lit up and system was disabled, cleared when I restarted the car, hasn't happened since. I do notice that bushes, garbage cans, mail boxes, and tall grass will light up the mirrors, so I'm guessing the system may be a wee bit too sensitive. I think Ford has a TSB out to reprogram the unit, but not sure of that yet.

 

I'm thinking the sensors are too hot, and since they are behind the skin of the rear bumper, if moisture gets up in there and coats the inside of the bumper, then the energy from the sensors gets reflected back, and puts the sensor into an overload condition since the distance is outside of its programming. When mine went wacky, it was after I had driven a few miles and parked at a restaurant for an hour, it was foggy out when I got there, but not where I was parked over night. I haven't had a reoccurance since, nor have I had the car in the same environment.

[Zacher]

Yes it's happened to me. BLIS Sensor is blocked, please refer to your Owners Manual. And to answer another question, your Cross Traffic Alert is used by the same sensors. The manual does describe scenarios of when the sensor might become blocked.. snowfall, rain, dirt etc. I have had it occur twice now, with none of the conditions listed in the manual. It does go away after detecting about 3-4 more cars in the area, and so far has only affected the drivers side.

[happygilly2424]

I have experienced this problem twice so far and it has been on the same road in the same spot but by the time I get home and park it seems to correct the issue. I haven't had to turn the car off and back on for it to clear the problem. It has only been the sensor on the Driver's side as well the passenger side sensor still works fine.

 

 

 

I have a 2010 Taurus that is giving the same Blind spot system fault and Cross Traffic System fault messages. Took it into my dealership to have them fix it 3 weeks ago, it is still there!!! Fords top technical engineers have been into look at it and still have no resolution for it. Definitely a safety issue that needs fixed!

[Grey]

Mine goes off every time I turn in front of a CVS. I suspect their motion detector triggers a radar "hit" for my vehicle.

[PJFW8]

Mine goes off every time I turn in front of a CVS. I suspect their motion detector triggers a radar "hit" for my vehicle.

I intend to install the 2011 blind spot mirror glass when the parts are available. Swapped the mirror glass on my '08 Edge with the '09 blind spot mirror. Excellent and easy! Probably will not reconnect the blis light. I like the blis idea, but in practice it is not reliable. If I get an '11 Edge I will avoid this option!

[William Horton]

I intend to install the 2011 blind spot mirror glass when the parts are available. Swapped the mirror glass on my '08 Edge with the '09 blind spot mirror. Excellent and easy! Probably will not reconnect the blis light. I like the blis idea, but in practice it is not reliable. If I get an '11 Edge I will avoid this option!

Mine goes off EVERY day 5 days a week when I drive near a raised center median. The curb causes it to 'lock up'. I reported this to my dealer at the cars first service interval, but they reported that 'no codes' showed up.. I doubt that this problem would show any code. Based on the many replies on this subject, I would say this is a persistent problem that FORD should address. It makes any sort of reliance on the BLIS sensor pretty much worthless since the lockout stays locked and unusable for about 20 minutes of driving.

:banghead:

[dogo88]

Mine goes off EVERY day 5 days a week when I drive near a raised center median. The curb causes it to 'lock up'. I reported this to my dealer at the cars first service interval, but they reported that 'no codes' showed up.. I doubt that this problem would show any code. Based on the many replies on this subject, I would say this is a persistent problem that FORD should address. It makes any sort of reliance on the BLIS sensor pretty much worthless since the lockout stays locked and unusable for about 20 minutes of driving.

:banghead:

 

 

Well the Owner's manual does point out the following:

 

WARNING: To help avoid injuries, NEVER use the BLIS as a

replacement for using the side and rear view mirrors and looking

over your shoulder before changing lanes. BLIS is not a replacement

for careful driving and only an assist.

[FFHdriver]

Well the Owner's manual does point out the following:

 

WARNING: To help avoid injuries, NEVER use the BLIS as a

replacement for using the side and rear view mirrors and looking

over your shoulder before changing lanes. BLIS is not a replacement

for careful driving and only an assist.

Mine works perfectly, no problems.

[chriscard25]

Mine goes off EVERY day 5 days a week when I drive near a raised center median. The curb causes it to 'lock up'. I reported this to my dealer at the cars first service interval, but they reported that 'no codes' showed up.. I doubt that this problem would show any code. Based on the many replies on this subject, I would say this is a persistent problem that FORD should address. It makes any sort of reliance on the BLIS sensor pretty much worthless since the lockout stays locked and unusable for about 20 minutes of driving.

 

 

I drive the same route to work every week, and mine locks about 1 out of 20 times around the same place--center median. But--assuming it works correctly, it should either not lock at all, or every time, not infrequently.

[twduffy]

I have a 2010 Sport AWD. I have had this occur on the drivers side only. It has happened in rain, dry and sun, next to a median and when there is nothing there. I've had the car for a month now and it happens far to frequently. It won't reset until I turn the car off and restart. Talked to the dealer and he basically said go away.

[resq1diver]

With over 13k on the car, Mine still comes on when in the left lane and theres nothing there to reflect the signal. Its a non issue. If you read the manual, it said you might have to "wipe off" the area .....You can "reset" the message on the dash by holding down the reset button (may/not have) that is on the steering wheel. It should go away, but there little yellow/orange whatever color, will stay lit till the car is off and should be gone when you start it up again. I'm a little surprise that this is still being "talked" about....

[coolghoul]

I bought my 2010 Fusion Hybrid last week. Tonight was my first drive in the rain. I experienced this problem as well. Both my BLIS and Cross Traffic Alert yielded this error message.

 

I thought it may have something to do with the rain. It was disconcerting since visibility was very poor at night in the rain. I was driving in heavy traffic in 6 lanes of freeway. I couldn't see anything in the "blind spot". But I was worried that perhaps a motorcycle was possibly there. Or a vehicle without its lights on.

[coolghoul]

I'm still having this problem - even in perfect weather conditions. I'll be taking mine in for service. I must have a bad sensor(s) or something on the car.

 

The problem often manifests after about 30-45 minutes of driving. But sometimes it occurs sooner or not at all.