Replace 12v battery at 36 months - no question's asked

[Rk808]

Went to far and fell in the 12 VDC failure trap. am posting to warn and help you avoid this issue. DO DEMAND or replace yourself the battery at the 36 month mark. I was lucky and blessed by a great dealer that had mobile service. Went past the 36 month and got caught at 41 months. Fortunately i was at home my Dealer was awesome and were able to support same day mobile service. Could have been allot worse. DO NO MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE! Change your 12 VDC battery at 36 months on the normal maintenance appointment. tell them to change it without a test. As they say JUST DO IT.

UPDATE 7/11 More info: I had the 12V warning at 36 months and asked the Dealer to replace it at the 40K service. They said there was a software change and the warning was inaccurate also reported the battery tested fine (Again UNTIL IT FAILS) I did get another warning the day before it failed.

ALSO shout out to to the reply noting the door entry button and other functions like recognizing the phone as a key close to the car were not functioning well prior to the failure and just figured it was something to do with an update. All that was corrected with the new battery as well. To me this is strange but also true

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[devmach-e]

Damn, I'm at 77K miles and 50 months. Guess I missed the deadline by quite sometime. Battery continues to work fine...

 

[2FlyMache]

Yep, had the same happen to me a couple years ago with zero warning. Went into garage to leave and the car was dead, jumpered the frunk to access the battery to test. Called my local Ford dealership and they came out and replaced for less than $300. Trust me it's better to be proactive as I was lucky it died at my house

 

[67 Stang Convertible]

The symptoms are not always obvious for a low 12 Volt.....Back in 2024 when she was just shy of 3 years old; I kept getting failed OTA......The remainder of the car worked without issue.......Took it to dealer to find out why OTA failure; they say bad 12 Volt......Take her home with new 12 Volt and OTA goes through with out a problem that night.......

So, now that she is 5 years old, I do keep in the back of my mind; that most likely will need to change her battery next year.......

 

[Space_Pony]

I was at 37 months with my 12 volt but now I won't need one because somebody crashed into my MME and totalled it. I had a feeling that I should wait until there was an alert. I had a hard enough time removing items from the car at the tow yard with my painful ribs. If I had just installed a new battery, I would have probably tried to remove it. I've got to get back to the hospital for my wife. Hopefully she'll be released today.

 

[Teslaeata]

Ooooh, really sorry to hear about your crash, Space_Pony.

Stangy love & best wishes to you & wifey for speedy get-better.

Hope the insurance claim goes through favourably and without a hitch.

You already got your nose in front saving cost of LVB

 

[hypersnake]

I bought my '23 in early '24 and am just now coming up on the end of my warranty early next year. I'm hoping the battery dies soon so I can get it replaced under warranty, but if not, my plan is to replace it immediately after the base warranty ends.

 

[Space_Pony]

Ooooh, really sorry to hear about your crash, Space_Pony.

Stangy love & best wishes to you & wifey for speedy get-better.

Hope the insurance claim goes through favourably and without a hitch.

You already got your nose in front saving cost of LVB

I had the cruise control set at 67 in a 65. When I saw him approaching in the rear view. He must have been driving 100 mph when he crashed into the rear of my car. There's no question about who's at fault. Hopefully insurance will give me a fair compensation so I can get another MME.

 

[scout]

have it tested-------------any mechanic or battery shop will do it----------we do it free @ Redy Battery Co. It's a 12 volt agm lead acid battery not black magic---no voodoo need!

 

[Willymy]

The battery works fine until it doesn't. I'm baffled why some fret over spending $300 when the alternative could be stranded somewhere

 

[Peugfan]

Just replaced my Jan ‘21 build Premium 12v battery. 5 yr 3mo trouble free service. Battery was fine but all the people shouting WOLF scared me to replace.

 

[DugthePug Dad]

I just got mine replaced under warranty @ 35.75 months.

The only sign I had was the door lock button on the outside would take 2-4 touches to lock the doors. I thought it was because of an update.

I wanted to get my Mach in for service before my 3 years was up. They tested the 12v and said it was bad and replaced it under warranty.

 

[AtomicInternet]

have it tested-------------any mechanic or battery shop will do it----------we do it free @ Redy Battery Co. It's a 12 volt agm lead acid battery not black magic---no voodoo need!

The problem with this is when your battery is "full" at 80% capacity or higher, it doesn't always test accurately. I had mine test "OK" twice after showing signs of issue before it failed a day later. There's damage that doesn't appear when it's been charged recently.

I also noticed this seems to happen much more frequently in hot states. Even in this thread it's mostly warmer climate folks who are reporting the 36 month failure. When I lived in Michigan I'd get 5 years with a battery no problem, now in South Carolina it's the 36 month lifetime.

My previous Focus ST had the battery die at the 24 month mark (replaced under warranty obviously) and I'm confident it's because it sat on the hot southern climate dealer lot for almost a year before I bought it. Fortunately, I could pop the clutch to start my old ICE car, my EV I'm not taking a chance.

 

[Tampamike]

Damn, I'm at 77K miles and 50 months. Guess I missed the deadline by quite sometime. Battery continues to work fine...

I know you know this, … but, …. It will keep working fine until it doesn’t work at all - usually at 6 in the morning when you need to be somewhere. It, hey, life on the edge can be exciting …

 

[Space_Pony]

If somebody wants to really be safe, replace it every 6 months. A little paranoia stimulates the economy.

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