Help Needed! New car arrived and is “dead”

[EELinneman]

The dealer should be able to test the 12v battery and see if it's not holding a charge. Maybe even charge it outside the vehicle. If it dies after every power down I wonder if it's more the HV to LV charging system and perhaps not the LV battery.

The 12v battery can drain if the vehicle isn't run at least once a week and it will only charge when the vehicle is on and not plugged intro a charger.

As mentioned by @connoisseurr , they should check all the modules for updates. There were several components that were updated that improve the charging of the 12v battery. If the vehicle just came in I would expect it to already have those fixes, but shouldn't assume anything...

Based on your statement about the run once a week (which makes sense) and the large number of cars that are in limbo and cannot be delivered invest in the battery companies. This will be a huge pr disaster for Ford once Jalopnik and others hear about this. Perhaps someone at Ford can put on their adult pants and start to actually solve these problems.

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[Glen]

That sux. I am sure they will fix it. Dont let it bum you out.

 

[jlauro]

I would hope the once/week recommendation originally given from Ford is more frequent than typically needed, especially for a relatively new battery, and I assume it's also more of an issue in freezing weather which is when many (but not all) of the battery issues were happening. As it gets cold over the next few months we will find out if it's been resolved for everyone or not... Either way, I plan to drive my Mach E at least once a week. Batteries for ICE vehicles also tend to have more issues in the Winter if not run once a week. That's great if Ford fixed it for the Mach E as stated by @generaltso. Is there any official documentation from Ford that they no longer have that recommendation?

 

[kennethjk]

I would hope the once/week recommendation originally given from Ford is more frequent than typically needed, especially for a relatively new battery, and I assume it's also more of an issue in freezing weather which is when many (but not all) of the battery issues were happening. As it gets cold over the next few months we will find out if it's been resolved for everyone or not... Either way, I plan to drive my Mach E at least once a week. Batteries for ICE vehicles also tend to have more issues in the Winter if not run once a week. That's great if Ford fixed it for the Mach E as stated by @generaltso. Is there any official documentation from Ford that they no longer have that recommendation?

If a car is garaged in the winter there is no reason for a battery, especially a new battery to die, period. Just unacceptable.

as I said before, I left two cars in my garage in NY for two months in Jan and Feb, one car was 7 years old and the other is 6 years old, original batteries, both started up right away when I came home.

 

[jlauro]

So if you go on vacation for a month and come back the car will be dead?

I was away for two months and when I came home both cars started up right away.

That's great it worked out for you. Probably more of an issue if cold weather and older 12v battery.

From the manual:
https://www.fordservicecontent.com/...d=8806&vFilteringEnabled=False&userMarket=USA


If you plan on storing your vehicle for 30 days or more, read the following maintenance recommendations to make sure your vehicle stays in good operating condition.
We engineer and test all vehicles and their components for reliable, regular driving. Under various conditions, long-term storage may lead to degraded performance or failure unless you use specific precautions to preserve vehicle components.
...
Battery Systems
We recommend the following actions for your vehicle:

• When storing your vehicle for greater than 30 days the state of charge should be approximately 50%. Additionally, we recommend disconnecting the 12v battery...

...
Miscellaneous
...

• Move vehicles at least 25 ft (7.5 m) every 15 days to lubricate working parts and prevent corrosion.

 

[jlauro]

If a car is garaged in the winter there is no reason for a battery, especially a new battery to die, period. Just unacceptable.

as I said before, I left two cars in my garage in NY for two months in Jan and Feb, one car was 7 years old and the other is 6 years old, original batteries, both started up right away when I came home.

Given the age of the vehicles, they probably did not have as many electric components that run 24x7 as the Mach E does, doing various tasks in the background such as watching for a phone as a key to walk by and other slow drain activities.

I had my 2013 Dodge charger battery die last winder when I left it alone for about a month due to less driving during covid. It's notjust a EV issue.

 

[kennethjk]

That's great it worked out for you. Probably more of an issue if cold weather and older 12v battery.

From the manual:
https://www.fordservicecontent.com/...d=8806&vFilteringEnabled=False&userMarket=USA


If you plan on storing your vehicle for 30 days or more, read the following maintenance recommendations to make sure your vehicle stays in good operating condition.
We engineer and test all vehicles and their components for reliable, regular driving. Under various conditions, long-term storage may lead to degraded performance or failure unless you use specific precautions to preserve vehicle components.
...
Battery Systems
We recommend the following actions for your vehicle:

• When storing your vehicle for greater than 30 days the state of charge should be approximately 50%. Additionally, we recommend disconnecting the 12v battery...

...
Miscellaneous
...

• Move vehicles at least 25 ft (7.5 m) every 15 days to lubricate working parts and prevent corrosion.

All those things may be true but my point is the battery Ford gives you should not die and I can’t believe it has to be used weekly.

 

[kennethjk]

Given the age of the vehicles, they probably did not have as many electric components that run 24x7 as the Mach E does, doing various tasks in the background such as watching for a phone as a key to walk by and other slow drain activities.

I had my 2013 Dodge charger battery die last winder when I left it alone for about a month due to less driving during covid. It's notjust a EV issue.

I am sure there is some truth to that but having to use it every week, really. And no easy way to use a trickle charger doesn’t help either.

 

[jlauro]

I am sure there is some truth to that but having to use it every week, really. And no easy way to use a trickle charger doesn’t help either.

The place where I saw the recommendation from Ford that said to start it at least once a week they said you could remotely start it from the Ford app and it would shut off after 15 minutes. It came as an email several months ago, and wish I could find it, but I deleted it... Remotely starting does leave the doors locked.

 

[kennethjk]

The place where I saw the recommendation from Ford that said to start it at least once a week they said you could remotely start it from the Ford app and it would shut off after 15 minutes. It came as an email several months ago, and wish I could find it, but I deleted it... Remotely starting does leave the doors locked.

If you could set that up a recurring event , say every few days or weekly so you don’t forget that would be great

 

[s7davis]

from all i have read on multiple forums. it is a dead 12V battery that needs replaced. However, you might also have a censor or software issue that needs an update because something is causing the battery to drain. Perhaps the electronics are not actually shutting off or battery not charging while in motion or while so diagnostics should be done to check it out or get your own OBDII reader and plug it in and see what codes come up.

 

[RickMachE]

I do check dates and they seem to still be happening , how much I couldn’t say. Dont Know how this compares to ICE cars either. What I do know is having been on other forums for new ICE cars never saw issues with 12v batteries before.

so with that being said I hope they have or will solve this problem.

You should read the F-150 forum. Dozens of issues with batteries in brand new F-150s dying for a period of time.

 

[seattledan206]

For those of you who are wondering, the 12v battery runs every thing in the car except for the actual EV motors. That means it runs the computer while the car is parked waiting for you to come back and use PAAK or to get an over the air update. The EV battery does charge the 12v battery up, but only while your driving. If you leave anything on or don’t drive your car enough your 12v battery will eventually go dead. After you jump your car to get in, and jump your car to get it started, you need to drive it a least 30-40 miles to recharge you 12v battery.

 

[kennethjk]

You should read the F-150 forum. Dozens of issues with batteries in brand new F-150s dying for a period of time.

Ford again, maybe there is a coming thread

don’t want to go on that forum I might get too depressed and forgo the MME

 

[kennethjk]

For those of you who are wondering, the 12v battery runs every thing in the car except for the actual EV motors. That means it runs the computer while the car is parked waiting for you to come back and use PAAK or to get an over the air update. The EV battery does charge the 12v battery up, but only while your driving. If you leave anything on or don’t drive your car enough your 12v battery will eventually go dead. After you jump your car to get in, and jump your car to get it started, you need to drive it a least 30-40 miles to recharge you 12v battery.

Question- does the Tesla have the same battery issues? Because if it doesn’t is this a Ford problem in general

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