Expected lifespan of Ford mobile charger?

[Skip Towne]

Does anyone have a technical assessment or real design data on the expected lifespan or duty cycle of the Ford Mobile Charger?

It seems a bit "lightweight" for daily use-- which Im doing now. Honestly, I'd be OK to learn NOW it is not designed for daily use so I can:
1. put the mobile charger back onto the trunk for occasional mobile uses
2. buy something better suited for daily use

Because the alternative is for the mobile charger to come to an early demise from over-use at some unfortunate time - like when charging overnight before a big road trip. That would leave me in a bad situation, where I may be inclined to shout words my neighbors shouldn't hear. We don't want any of that.

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[Jim D]

Based on person experience, until the 1st power surge.

 

[Pushrods&Capacitors]

 

[Neil4Real]

Some people have had issues with it overheating but being that it’s covered by the 3 year/36k mile warranty, I’d hope they tried to make them stand up to daily use so they don’t have a bunch of warranty replacement requests.

 

[Mach-Lee]

They should be designed for daily use, however we are seeing a lot of overheating problems/failures with them after several months of daily use. The damage seems to be cumulative, once the issues start they only get worse. It appears the internal connections go bad and generate more heat. Charging speeds will be reduced and you'll see more charging errors as thermal throttling occurs. You should be able to get a warranty replacement at your dealer by this point, however many dealers don't believe it's covered by warranty (false), or they don't have a 240V outlet installed at the dealership to test it (even though they are required to). Therefore it's difficult to get a warranty replacement when it starts to go bad.

It would be my recommendation to buy a different, robust EVSE for daily charging use, and leave the Ford charger in your trunk for occasional travel use only.

Perhaps Ford will issues a bulletin at some point for mobile charger concern analysis that will aid in warranty replacement.

 

[c max]

When I had my c max energi, I used the mobile charger at least 4-5 times a week, usually more (small battery, 30 mile estimated range in nice weather).....I could do my daily driving almost all battery.......used the included charger for 8+ years, and it was a lighter gauge than the included with mme......had no problems.......

 

[TonyaE]

They should be designed for daily use, however we are seeing a lot of overheating problems/failures with them after several months of daily use. The damage seems to be cumulative, once the issues start they only get worse. It appears the internal connections go bad and generate more heat. Charging speeds will be reduced and you'll see more charging errors as thermal throttling occurs. You should be able to get a warranty replacement at your dealer by this point, however many dealers don't believe it's covered by warranty (false), or they don't have a 240V outlet installed at the dealership to test it (even though they are required to). Therefore it's difficult to get a warranty replacement when it starts to go bad.

It would be my recommendation to buy a different, robust EVSE for daily charging use, and leave the Ford charger in your trunk for occasional travel use only.

Perhaps Ford will issues a bulletin at some point for mobile charger concern analysis that will aid in warranty replacement.

Dang it!! It will probably be worse than burnt toast after 1 NC summer. I need to go ahead and purchase a dumb EVSE.

 

[TonyaE]

When I had my c max energi, I used the mobile charger at least 4-5 times a week, usually more (small battery, 30 mile estimated range in nice weather).....I could do my daily driving almost all battery.......used the included charger for 8+ years, and it was a lighter gauge than the included with mme......had no problems.......

How long on the charger? I think that will be the difference

 

[JamieGeek]

When I had my c max energi, I used the mobile charger at least 4-5 times a week, usually more (small battery, 30 mile estimated range in nice weather).....I could do my daily driving almost all battery.......used the included charger for 8+ years, and it was a lighter gauge than the included with mme......had no problems.......

Included C-Max charger is only Level-1 a lot less power going through it thus it will last longer than the one for the Mach-E.

 

[DR.J56]

I believe in a backup for essential things. After using the Ford unit that came with my MME for 3 or 4 months I got a ChargePoint so I would have the Ford as a backup. Never had an issue with the Ford one.

 

[RickMachE]

It has no published lifespan. It has a warranty for 3 years, 36,000 miles. That said, it is called a "mobile charger".

 

[RockwallRick]

I used mine for 9 months but it seemed to be slowly degrading as my garage temperature was going up. Just this week I installed a GrizzlE and put the FMC back in the car so it can have a nice long rest!!

 

[c max]

How long on the charger? I think that will be the difference

On the c max energi, Ford had said that a full charge would take 7 hours, never did for me....a full charge would take about 5 hours and I also got more estimated miles due mostly to how I drove.......on the mach e I keep between 80%-90%, usually charge over night, 10-12 hours.......I charge (during the hot summer) at night/evening when cooler.....during cold winter, during mild part of the day (unless car says to plug in)

 

[c max]

Included C-Max charger is only Level-1 a lot less power going through it thus it will last longer than the one for the Mach-E.

Due to being retired and driving mostly local roads, I have only used L-1 since I got the mach e Feb. '21......about 12,000 miles.....suits me just fine.....on occasion use a free volta L-2......but all at home is L-1.....

 

[COACH CHRIS]

They should be designed for daily use, however we are seeing a lot of overheating problems/failures with them after several months of daily use. The damage seems to be cumulative, once the issues start they only get worse. It appears the internal connections go bad and generate more heat. Charging speeds will be reduced and you'll see more charging errors as thermal throttling occurs. You should be able to get a warranty replacement at your dealer by this point, however many dealers don't believe it's covered by warranty (false), or they don't have a 240V outlet installed at the dealership to test it (even though they are required to). Therefore it's difficult to get a warranty replacement when it starts to go bad.

Mine just started overheating this week. I've used it almost exclusively since July '21 and it's been rock solid up to this point. I have an appointment with the dealership to validate the error code it's throwing - hoping it goes smooth enough. Still, bummed to hear this is a systemic problem. I suspect I'll have a Grizl-E in the future.

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