2021 Mach e stuck in parking garage with multiple warnings(won't shift to park)

[KRG]

Hello everyone,
I am new to the forum.

Looking for advice / similar experiences from Mach-E owners.

Vehicle details:

• 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E (AWD)
• ~50,000 miles
• Original 12-V battery
• Parked in a multi-level office garage (6.5 ft clearance, 6th floor)

Conditions when issue started:

• Very cold weather (around 10C)

Symptoms:

• Car will not shift out of Park
• Gear selector locked
• Multiple warnings appear:
  • “Stop Safely Now”
  • “Service AdvanceTrac”
  • “AWD Off”
• At times the car is completely dead (doors won’t lock, screens off)
• Jumping the 12-V battery briefly powers things on, but the same warnings return immediately and the car still won’t shift
• No specific “High Voltage Battery Fault” message

Current situation / constraints:

• Car is stuck on the 6th floor of a parking garage
• Clearance is ~6.5 ft, so standard flatbed tow trucks cannot enter
• Ford road side assistance cannot assign any towing companies because of constraints
• Many tow companies and roadside assistance have declined due to lack of wheel dollies / garage extraction capability

Options I’m considering:

1. Replacing the 12-V battery (AGM H3 / Group 47)
   • Several people have suggested these symptoms are consistent with a failing 12-V battery in cold weather
2. Attempting to place the car in Neutral (I think I can jump start and put in Tow mode but not sure if it stays in tow mode after I remove the jump) and see if I can manually get it down
   • Concerned about safety and whether this is advisable without stable 12-V power

Main questions for the community:

• Has anyone experienced this exact combination of warnings due to a 12-V battery failure?
• Did replacing the 12-V battery fully resolve the issue?
• Any success stories (or warnings) about putting a dead Mach-E into Neutral for towing/moving it down the building
• Recommendations for best next steps before assuming a high-voltage issue?

Appreciate any firsthand experiences or advice

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[devmach-e]

Definitely sounds like a dead or dying 12V battery. The cold isn’t helping. Replace the 12V battery first and then go from there. Be sure to perform the 12V BMS reset procedure after replacing the battery. Replacement 12V battery should be fully charged when you put it in.

 

[kennelh]

Definitely sounds like a dead or dying 12V battery. The cold isn’t helping. Replace the 12V battery first and then go from there. Be sure to perform the 12V BMS reset procedure after replacing the battery. Replacement 12V battery should be fully charged when you put it in.

 

[RickMachE]

Charge the 12v.

 

[KRG]

Charge the 12v.

Does charging the battery help in this case?(When I tried jump starting it is only active until I have the jump connection)
If so, how would I do this? what kind of battery charger I need?

 

[shelnian]

You can remove the battery and take it to an auto parts store that has the right battery size and have them charge and test the removed battery so you know if it's bad.

 

[A-A-Ron]

What are you using to jump the car? If there's enough power, the car should be able to start, and it should power the 12v system off the high-voltage system once it's on. When my 12v went out, once I could get it jumped, the HV system kicked in and the 12v system was reporting full power.

 

[KRG]

What are you using to jump the car? If there's enough power, the car should be able to start, and it should power the 12v system off the high-voltage system once it's on. When my 12v went out, once I could get it jumped, the HV system kicked in and the 12v system was reporting full power.

I tried with regular jumper cables and jumped with another car. It did power the 12v but after I disconnect the jumper cables power is lost.
I got to know about emergency tow mode which I think I can get into when jumping 12v but I am not sure how long it'd stay in the tow mode

 

[Mach-Lee]

Hello everyone,
I am new to the forum.

Looking for advice / similar experiences from Mach-E owners.

Vehicle details:

• 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E (AWD)
• ~50,000 miles
• Original 12-V battery
• Parked in a multi-level office garage (6.5 ft clearance, 6th floor)

Conditions when issue started:

• Very cold weather (around 10C)

Symptoms:

• Car will not shift out of Park
• Gear selector locked
• Multiple warnings appear:
  • “Stop Safely Now”
  • “Service AdvanceTrac”
  • “AWD Off”
• At times the car is completely dead (doors won’t lock, screens off)
• Jumping the 12-V battery briefly powers things on, but the same warnings return immediately and the car still won’t shift
• No specific “High Voltage Battery Fault” message

Current situation / constraints:

• Car is stuck on the 6th floor of a parking garage
• Clearance is ~6.5 ft, so standard flatbed tow trucks cannot enter
• Ford road side assistance cannot assign any towing companies because of constraints
• Many tow companies and roadside assistance have declined due to lack of wheel dollies / garage extraction capability

Options I’m considering:

1. Replacing the 12-V battery (AGM H3 / Group 47)
   • Several people have suggested these symptoms are consistent with a failing 12-V battery in cold weather
2. Attempting to place the car in Neutral (I think I can jump start and put in Tow mode but not sure if it stays in tow mode after I remove the jump) and see if I can manually get it down
   • Concerned about safety and whether this is advisable without stable 12-V power

Main questions for the community:

• Has anyone experienced this exact combination of warnings due to a 12-V battery failure?
• Did replacing the 12-V battery fully resolve the issue?
• Any success stories (or warnings) about putting a dead Mach-E into Neutral for towing/moving it down the building
• Recommendations for best next steps before assuming a high-voltage issue?

Appreciate any firsthand experiences or advice

To answer these, it's possibly your battery is frozen and won't hold a charge well. You can try leaving jumper cables attached off a donor vehicle for 15 minutes and then attempting to start the Mach-E.

Emergency tow mode is something that stays engaged while the car is off until it is turned on again. Make sure have someone in the driver's seat to operate the brakes while moving the car. If the car is dead, you will have no power steering or power brakes. It is possible to move the car, but you will have to turn the wheel really hard and press the brake pedal with much more force than you're used to (e.g. 100 lbs) to get the car to stop since you are relying on the mechanical override at the end of the brake stroke.

It is possible to remove car from a low clearance parking garage with an autoloader type tow truck. It will grab and pick up the wheels and you put a set of dollies on the other axle (unless you're RWD, then the front can stay on the road).

Keep in mind a failed HVBJB could cause the car to not start, in which case replacing the 12V battery would not help.

If this was my car, I would try the jumper cables to charge for 15 minutes off another running vehicle to see if I could get it to start, and also read the codes with my code scanner. If it will not start with the jumper cables attached to a running vehicle, then it's likely a different problem besides the 12V battery.

 

[JohnFoxeSheets]

If the 12-volt battery is indeed the original, then to my mind the odds if it not being the 12-V battery are reasonably low. I would looks for a service that will replace the 12-V battery without the car needing to be towed. This can certainly be done. (Or as has been suggested, you could do it yourself, but if you do, keep in mind that the 12-V battery is quite specific, both in size and in chemistry, so make sure you get the right kind.) Best of luck!

 

[Maquis]

When my 12V died, the symptoms were very similar to yours. I think you have 2 options - replace the battery where it sit or attach a 12V jump pack and drive away.

 

[RickMachE]

I tried with regular jumper cables and jumped with another car. It did power the 12v but after I disconnect the jumper cables power is lost.
I got to know about emergency tow mode which I think I can get into when jumping 12v but I am not sure how long it'd stay in the tow mode

But did you START it while connected?

 

[KRG]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I've a towing company who said who can do this by utilizing the tow mode. I will update here how it goes.
However, this would be 5th attempt as previous towing companies showed up despite mentioning the clearance and they were not able to help as their trucks are few inches over

 

[KRG]

But did you START it while connected?

Yes, I tried to start and switch it to drive/neutral mode but I see the same warnings which I got very first day

 

[mr_raider]

I've had this warning. If it's the dead 12v battery, connecting a battery booster should allow you to initialize the system and start the car, as well as shift out of park. If the battery is old, the problem will recur every time you stop and start the car after letting it sit since the 12v can't hold any charge anymore.

if boosting the 12v battery DOES NOT allow you to drive the car, you may have HVJB failure. The conditions are not mutually exclusive, and one may lead to the other. I had both issues in 2 week period, and changing the 12v battery did not solve my issue.

Again a full powered system, whether from the12v battery or an external battery booster, SHOULD shift out of park.

https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/is-this-a-hvjb-failure.52765/

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