Ford bulletin SSM 52509
What it saysSome 2023-2024 Police Interceptor Utility vehicles built on 04-Dec-2023 and through 16-Apr-2024 may exhibit a condition where FordPass is inoperative, Fleet Telematics cannot be enrolled and/or the TCU fails… NHTSA’s full summary ↓
Ford filed this with NHTSA as a service bulletin dated May 4, 2024, received May 17, 2024. It names 2 model years (2023–2024). A service bulletin is not a safety recall: it is the manufacturer telling its dealers how to diagnose or repair a condition, and whether the work is paid for depends on the warranty in force. Quoting the number at a service desk can save a diagnosis.
Get the next Ford Explorer bulletin by email Weekly, only when something new is filed. Nothing else; one-click unsubscribe.
What the bulletin says
Source: NHTSA's summary of the manufacturer's communicationWhat it applies to, as the document itself states it — the build window in the manufacturer’s own words, read by machine from the PDF NHTSA serves. The build date is on the certification label in the driver’s door jamb; the dealer settles a borderline vehicle by its VIN.
Some 2023-2024 Police Interceptor Utility vehicles built on 04-Dec-2023 and through 16-Apr-2024 may exhibit a condition where FordPass is inoperative, Fleet Telematics cannot be enrolled and/or the TCU fails provisioning with the parameter identification (PID) for TCU Auth mode reading as Unprovisioned mode. This may be due to incorrect configuration data in the TCU, audio front control module (ACM) and/or accessory protocol interface module (APIM) modules. To correct the condition, download and run the TCU-Telematics Control Unit (TCU) Module Configuration application and the APIM-Accessory Protocol Interface Module (APIM) Configuration application using the latest level of the Ford Diagnosis and Repair System (FDRS) scan tool. If the APIM is not available on the vehicle, then run the configuration applications for the TCU-Telematics Control Unit (TCU) Module Configuration and the ACM-Audio Front Control Module (ACM) Configuration using the latest level of the FDRS scan tool. For claiming, use causal part 14G087 and applicable labor operations in Section 10 of the Service Labor Time Standards (SLTS) Manual.
Document filed under this number
| Document | Kind | Dated | NHTSA id | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SSM 52509 | Service bulletin | May 4, 2024 | 11000186 | PDF, 71 KB |
The summary is NHTSA’s abstract of the document, as filed under 49 CFR 579.5. One communication is usually filed as several documents — the bulletin, a dealer notice, an owner letter — and the number on any of them finds this page. A PDF link is shown only once NHTSA’s own server has been seen to serve that document; the rest are checked over the following nights. Quote the number at a service desk; it is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Model years it names
Source: as the manufacturer filed themA vehicle page’s bulletin list shows the newest few communications filed against that model year; the count there is every one.
Email me new Ford bulletins for the Explorer
A weekly email, sent only in a week when Ford files something new with NHTSA for the model you pick — service bulletins, campaigns, warranty extensions, over-the-air notices, every model year. Nothing else is sent; one-click unsubscribe in every message. Separate from recall alerts.
What owners reported
Source: NHTSA complaint databaseOwners of the 2 model years this bulletin names have filed 136 complaints with NHTSA since 2015.
A complaint is one owner’s account, not a defect finding, and a bulletin is not a recall. Nothing here says this bulletin was issued because of these complaints, or that the repair it describes fixed them. Complaint files on this site begin in 2015.
Quote the number at the service desk. It is what the dealer’s system is keyed on.
Every manufacturer communication NHTSA holds for Ford, by the number printed on the letter.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA, 49 CFR 579.5Is Ford SSM 52509 a recall?
No. A service bulletin is a manufacturer communication filed with NHTSA under 49 CFR 579.5; a safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number (two digits, a letter, six digits) and a federal duty to repair for free. Check the vehicle’s recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, or on its page here.
Is the SSM 52509 repair free?
Not automatically. A service bulletin describes how to diagnose or repair a condition; who pays depends on the warranty in force, any extension, and the dealer. Quoting the number can save a diagnosis either way.
Which vehicles does SSM 52509 cover?
The manufacturer filed it against 2 model years: 2024 Ford Explorer, 2023 Ford Explorer. Whether one particular vehicle is affected is a matter of its VIN and its build, not its model year alone. The document itself sets the build window: 2023-2024 Police Interceptor Utility: built 4 Dec 2023 – 16 Apr 2024 — the build date is on the certification label in the driver’s door jamb.