Expert: Cleggsan - 7/24/2010

Question
Hi. I have a 2006 Ford Escape XLS. Recently on the factory radio, the preset number 2 button has been malfunctioning. When I simply press it, it acts like I held it in, causing it to save the current station as a preset. It is NOT sticky (like from a pop spill) and the button doesn't actually stay in, it just thinks I held it in. It only does this for the number 2 button. Also, it doesn't do this all the time, but more recently it has been doing it a lot. This is the only problem with the whole system that I know of. Got anything for me? Thanks.

Answer
The buttons are mostly ribbon contacts like used on PC keyboards and remote control buttons.  They don't actually detent but will stick down anyway.

If you can remove the preset button assembly and open it up it may be cleaned or adjusted.  For example I had a cell phone with the same problem; the 9 button would stick down or sometimes would not make contact rendering the phone nearly useless. Upon opening up the phone and pulling the keypad off the phone guts I gently wiggled all the components and reseated the buttons, put the casing all back together and the phone worked for months thereafter.

I suspect that is what is happening with your preset button assembly.

If it cannot be wiggled back to work properly it may need to be replaced; a difficult matter to find replacement parts probably.

See what you can do and let me know if you need more ideas.