Ford Maverick Owners Find Secret ‘Konami Code’ To Hack Into Truck’s Gauge Cluster
These Maverick drivers just keep discovering new ways to tinker with their trucks.
Ford Maverick owners are some of the most resourceful out there, turning their budget trucks into something more with surprisingly simple mods. We've seen folks add cruise control to their Maverick XL base models with relatively little effort, as well as swap in digital instrument clusters that are meant for other Fords. It shouldn't be shocking, then, that they've also found a Konami code of sorts that unlocks a bunch of geeky details about their trucks.
The elaborate process of pushing buttons, locking doors, and putting on your seatbelt in a specific order was discovered remarkably early on. A Maverick Truck Club thread detailing the engineering test mode was posted in December 2021 by an owner with the username of Sirslayer, who was among the first customers to receive the compact pickup. When they finally made it to the secret screen, they found part numbers and even their truck's build date that was stored in the vehicle's computer.
To access it, you hold down the OK button on the steering wheel and start the engine at the same time. Keep holding the OK button until "ET" shows up on the dash in green letters. Some owners report having to click the seatbelt and lock the doors in order for it to show up. In that sense, it's a lot like the cheat code that was used in tons of different Konami games back in the day. (It's Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, and A, if you forgot.)
Sirslayer heard about engineering test mode from a Focus RS owner. After some more research, I learned this is more or less an open secret that works on several Ford models. Notably, drivers use it to correct their vehicles' onboard fuel mileage calculator as they often read too optimistically from the factory. This is done by adjusting the AFE Bias, which in turn corrects the miles-per-gallon display. Multiple Maverick owners report it reading about 1.5-2 mpg too high from the factory, and it's also useful if you install different-sized tires on your rig.
Other nerdy tidbits accessible through these menus include an analog gauge sweep, a precise radiator temperature reading, and a color test mode, which turns on every dash light. Importantly, it also displays engine rpm for hybrid models, which don't feature a tachometer otherwise. There are plenty of reasons to monitor rpm so that may be one of the engineering test mode's handiest features.
The rest is occasionally useful but perhaps not absolutely crucial for everyday operation. Still, it's a neat tool that some Maverick owners are just now finding out about—and really, who would think to do all this on their own?
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