Ford EcoSport Information Display not Working - What's the Problem?

When your Ford EcoSport information display is not working, you should try different types of resetting and then check the connection. Also, you could need to show it to the dealer. Sometimes, the problem is not in the software but in some component of the infotainment. If this is the case, you will need professional help - I don't see any DIY methods with a broken infotainment system.

Touch screen problems highlights

• Reasons:touch screen death, glitch, freezing of the software
• Quick fix:reset the system
• Price forrepair:$0 - $1,000
• Time forrepair:0.2 - 2.5 hours
• Howcommon:very common
• DIYrepair:sometimes possible

Registering the symptoms of EcoSport display problems

To better understand what the problem is, you should register the symptoms and see what exactly happens with the information display in your car. Actually, whatever I say in this article, can easily be applied to any Ford vehicle with the Sync 3 system. This is an especially glitching system offered by Ford, so I'm pretty sure hundreds of people will find this article helpful.

So, first of all, you need to understand what exactly happens with the infotainment system. I know about several possible scenarios and they are extremely different in terms of how you can deal with them.

Here are the scenarios:

• First: The problem is with the display that shows your speedometer. In most cases, a simple reset with the help of battery disconnection (read further in the article about it) will help you. But sometimes, the display may be affected.
• Second: The information display in the Sync 3 system is not working but the buttons under it have lights and are functioning. You can still turn on the radio, you just don't see any information.
• Third: The information display in Sync 3 is not working and the buttons are dead, you can't turn on the radio or whatever. The infotainment system is completely dead and doesn't react on your try to turn it on.
• Fourth: The display in the infotainment system is suddenly off when you drive. Then, it may or may not go on, it may or may not react on any buttons.
• Fifth: The infotainment display freezes from time to time in your Ford EcoSport. The radio may keep on working but you can't change the radio station or even make the volume lower - it just doesn't react.

Whatever scenario you have, the solutions will most likely be the same. You need to deactivate the system and then turn it on again to see if this is just a software glitch. If it is, you are quite lucky and can repair the display at no cost. But if the issue is worse than just software freezing, you will most likely need to take the EcoSport in for the inspection.

Unfortunately, I knew of several cases when the entire infotainment system had to be replaced and this cost people quite a lot of money. But let's try to solve the problem with minimal costs before we get ready for the worst-case scenario.

Resetting your EcoSport information display

There are several ways to reset the system. You should try them starting with the easiest one and then, if this doesn't help, go on to the more complicated procedures. Also, you should know that the majority of ways of resetting will work well with both screens - the information display and also the speedometer display.

Here are the possible reset options:

1. Key cycle

The easiest way to reset the system is to do the following:

• turn the engine on and let the screen try to turn on, too;
• turn the engine off;
• go out of the vehicle and close the door;
• lock the doors with your fob, activate the alarm, or at least close the central lock;
• wait for 1-2 minutes;
• unlock the doors and get into the car;
• turn on the engine and try turning on the display.

This is the key cycle that sometimes helps you to get rid of unpleasant events such as the display not working. Of course, this will most likely help you in those cases only when the problem is minor. But this can assist you with both, information and speedometer displays.

2. Soft reset of the infotainment

This method will only work with the Sync 3 display, not with the speedometer one. Almost all experienced Ford owners know that pretty much all kinds of infotainment systems in these cars can be reset. This procedure clears all the data including programmed radio stations and time settings. But you can get your infotainment screen back.

For the soft reset, you will need to press the power button and the right-seek button simultaneously for about five-six seconds. Once the system starts rebooting, release the buttons.

This soft reset may help you solve several problems with the infotainment system in your Ford EcoSport without even getting out of your car. This is easy and accessible in any situation.

3. Battery reset

If none of the above helped you, the next thing to do is reset the car by disconnecting the battery. The procedure is a little more complicated and it will require some tools.

Here's how you can do that:

• turn off the vehicle and open the hood;
• locate the 12V battery;
• take off the cable from the negative terminal;
• then, take off the cable from the positive terminal;
• after that, press honk or turn on the light to get rid of any power that's left in the system;
• wait for 5-7 minutes;
• connect the positive terminal, then the negative one;
• try turning on the infotainment system and see if it works now.

If the problem was with the software or freezing screen, in most cases, disconnecting the battery will help. This is an easy and good trick that will work with almost all vehicles including the Ford EcoSport.

Reset doesn't help - what's wrong?

If your instrument cluster display doesn't work still after you provided it with all those kinds of key cycles and resets, the most possible reason is that the cluster display is dead. Also, if all other functions of the vehicle are working well, this adds confidence to this suggested scenario. Unfortunately, in this case, the only thing you can do is change the broken instrument cluster.

If the infotainment is still dead, there are several possible issues that could've happened:

• a fuse is blown - investigate the fuse maps and locate the fuse that is responsible for the infotainment, maybe you should just replace it;
• the infotainment screen is disconnected - to check this, you will need to carefully take it out and check the connections;
• the system is affected by water - this may affect connections, wires, or the screen itself;
• the infotainment is overheated and turned off to save it from burning out;
• the infotainment screen is not functional now, you just need to replace it.

If nothing helps and you still see the black screen with no reaction on your tries to turn it on, you can see that the system is broken and needs replacement. At this point, you should take the car to the professionals and ask them to inspect the display so that you could be sure that you need the new infotainment system or instrument cluster.

How much is it to replace the Sync 3 display in the EcoSport?

The thing is that you can buy both OEM and aftermarket Sync 3 screens and the entire system. While OEM will cost you about $2,000, the aftermarket solution may cost $600 to $1,500 depending on the functions and type of the screen.

Of course, I don't recommend the cheapest versions because they will most likely be pretty glitchy.

Also, you should remember about labor. It's not a really good idea to replace that screen on your own because you can damage the tender interior plastic. It's always better to let professionals do this job. It's not going to cost you more than $200 in an independent repair shop.

Final thoughts

Now you know how to deal with a screen that is not working in your Ford EcoSport. This is a really common problem for all Ford cars with the Sync 3 system. And sometimes even instrument cluster screens stop working. Unfortunately, neither of these problems is going to cost you little money to repair.

I recommend you start with a reset. This will help you check if the issue can be solved for free. Then, if nothing helps you deal with the problem, you can go to the dealership or a good repair shop and have the vehicle inspected.