Ford Touch Screen Not Responding to Touch: Here Are All Your Options

Ford is known for making quality vehicles that come with technology that enhances your driving experience. This is true of the Ford SYNC system that many Fords come with as well. This technology allows you to control your media settings from the central touch screen. You can also connect your phone through Ford SYNC to make and answer calls.

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

Causes of Ford Touch Screen Not Working

Your Ford contains a Ford SYNC system that controls entertainment and communications in your car. The system can be controlled either through touch or voice commands. When it stops responding to touch, you'll have trouble navigating your entertainment options, as well as other controls.

If you want to stop dealing with this annoyance, you'll need to know the causes of the issue. That way you'll be able to choose the best option for restoring your touch functionality. Here are the most likely causes for your Ford touch screen not responding to touch.

• Software Errors or Bugs

The SYNC system in your car is a simple computer built into your dashboard. This computer interfaces with your car and controls a variety of settings. Like most computers, it is vulnerable to bugs and software failures. These bugs often appear to develop spontaneously and will negatively affect your user experience.

In your SYNC, these bugs can show up in many ways. You may experience black screens, lag, or an unresponsive touch screen. You might also have trouble connecting Bluetooth devices to your system.

• Electrical Problems or Faulty Parts

The systems in your SYNC rely on several electrical wires and components. These components are prone to wear down as time goes by. A burnt fuse, damaged wiring, or faulty component could result in abnormal behavior from any part of the SYNC. This includes the touch screen not responding as it should.

It is also possible that the digitizer, a transparent film that detects touch, has gone bad. The digitizer is a separate part from the display, and replacements are available online.

Because there are so many things that could go wrong with the electrical system, it might be best to have a technician look at the system to identify the problem.

How to Fix Ford Touch Screen

1) Restart the Car

The old computer repair joke goes, "have you tried turning it off and then on again?". While it seems like a silly joke, this is often the simplest solution to dealing with most computer and software issues.

You can try turning off the ignition and starting the car again. If turning off the ignition doesn't work, then you can try another method of restarting the system.

• Turn off the vehicle.
• Exit through the driver-side door, then close and lock it.
• Leave the vehicle alone until the touch display has turned off completely.
• Once the vehicle has shut down completely, and the screen has turned off, you can restart the car.

This is a simple way of restarting your Ford SYNC that will keep your data and settings safe.

There is a chance that this will solve the problem, but if not, don't worry. There are still other methods that you can try.

2) Soft Reset the System

Your Ford SYNC has a built-in reset that can be used to restore any functionality that has been lost because of software bugs. This is called a soft reset. Performing a soft reset will not cause you to lose any settings or data that has been saved on the system already.

If your screen isn't responding to touch, you can soft reset the system to get it working again. The procedure also works if the screen has frozen or gone black.

• Locate the power/volume button on the media control panel and hold it down.
• Locate the skip forward button on the media panel and hold it down as well.
• Hold down both buttons until the screen goes black.
• After the screen has gone black, the Ford logo should come up. Wait one minute after the logo has appeared.
• After one minute, you can now use your screen again.

Your touch screen should now be functional. If it is not, then you may need to perform a hard reset.

3) Perform a Hard Reset

If a soft reset does not work, then you may want to attempt a hard reset. Like a soft reset, a hard reset does not affect the system's data. However, it is a little more complicated, as it requires you to cut off power to the module. There are multiple ways to do this.

You can disconnect the car battery for about 30 seconds. After waiting 30 seconds you can connect the battery to the car again and wait for the system to boot up.

You can also perform a hard reset by accessing the fuse box.

• Turn off the engine.
• Remove the fuse panel cover.
• Locate and unplug the fuse box power for 30 seconds.
• Plug the fuse box power back in.
• Start the engine and wait for the touch screen to boot up.

Once you've used either of these methods, the system will have reset fully. Your data and settings will still be saved in the system.

4) Perform a Master Reset

If all other options have failed, then you may need to perform a master reset. Doing this will return your SYNC to factory settings. This procedure will get rid of any bugs or glitches that the system may have developed, but it will also delete the personal data on the system. You will lose all your settings, paired devices, saved addresses, and phone numbers that have been stored on the system.

Make sure to choose this option only if the other options have failed, and if you are prepared to lose all the information on your system.

• Turn on your engine and leave the gear in park.
• Turn on your Ford SYNC module.
• Locate and press the phone button. It should be located to the left of your screen, but the position may vary depending on your model.
• Use the arrow buttons to scroll through the options on your screen and select Return.
• Scroll down and select Master Reset.
• The system will ask you to confirm that you want to reset. Press OK.
• Wait until the screen displays "Reset complete".

5) Repair the Unit

If you've performed resets on your touch system with no positive result, then you are probably dealing with a faulty unit. There might be a problem with the touch screen, or there could be faulty wiring or damaged components in the system.

There are a lot of different components that work together in your SYNC system. It is best to hire a technician to tell you what needs to be changed. You may need to replace some bad wiring or a damaged internal component. If the damage is extensive, you might need to replace the entire unit.

This option is the only one that will cost you money. Depending on what has gone wrong with your system, you may spend a relatively small amount to a large amount of money getting it repaired. It's advised that you attempt every other option first, and only use this as a last resort.

Conclusion

The Ford SYNC is a very convenient system that helps you handle the settings and media controls in your vehicle with ease. But it can also be very frustrating when it becomes unresponsive to touch. While you can still make use of voice commands, you may prefer to control your SYNC through touch instead.

You can resolve this problem quickly when you know how to recognize the potential causes. Then you'll be able to choose the best option on how to get your touch screen working again.

If you're dealing with a software problem, you'll usually find that performing a reset will get your SYNC working again. A reset will clear away any software bugs or glitches. If your screen is still unresponsive after resetting, then a master reset is needed. This will get rid of all bugs and software problems but will also return your device to factory settings and erase all your data.

If you're still facing the same issues after a reset, then you're probably dealing with a hardware problem. You might have a damaged component in the system or a faulty display. If this is the case, you'll need to contact a technician to figure out what needs to be repaired or replaced.