valeriol
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Valerio
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2021
- Threads
- 16
- Messages
- 182
- Reaction score
- 148
- Location
- Jersey City
- Vehicles
- 2021 Mustang Mach-E Premium RW
- Thread starter
- #1
File this under venting and lessons learned.
Saturday I was going to run a few errands. Before going I checked online and it showed the LVB at 46%, low, but not critical and I decided that I was going to charge it once I got back (more about this below). First stop, no problem, second stop a quick dash into CVS to pick up a prescription, when I get back into the car every possible warning message pops up. Turn everything off, get out of the care, wait a few minutes and try again, same story.
I decided to call Ford to see if they can diagnose remotely. As I'm battling with the phone menus, an idiot decides to do a U-turn at a pretty high rate of speed and, despite the fact that the street there is 4 very wide lanes, manages to hit me. After getting out and covering the driver with insults, I got all the necessary info and went back to the matter on hand. I was hoping to get in touch with someone that could perform remote diagnostics, but all I could get was roadside assistance (don't know if this was because it was a weekend) and it took me several tries before I could talk to a human being. The person I talked to informed me that they could not help figure out what was wrong, nor could they put me in touch with someone who could, and offered to send a tow truck which I accepted (bad choice). He asked me if I could put in neutral and I told him I wasn't sure (I was afraid of experimenting and then not being able to do it again once the tow arrived). 45 minutes later the tow truck arrived and despite all my attempts I could not get it into neutral. I tried the fail-back method of pressing both accelerator and brake, the gear button would unlock, but as soon as I tried to turn it it would jump back to P and lock again. Decided with the tow driver that I needed a tow with dollies, which his company did not provide. Called back Ford and they told me they would schedule a pick up with somebody who did. Since I was less than 15 minutes walk away from my house, I decided to go home to wait. I called several time Ford only to hear a message stating that my case had been escalated, while getting a few text messages from Ford asking me if the tow had arrived.
After 3 hours I decided to go back to the car to check on it and leave a note (it was technically in a no-parking area, although on weekends they never ticket there). On my way I was called by Ford to inquire on the details of my tow. I pointed out that I needed somebody with dollies and was told "I can do that". I pointed out that I had already been told that 3 hours earlier and he had no record of it. As he's scheduling the tow he told me to take down their direct number, I told him that I was in the street and he should send me a text and was told they did not have the ability to do so. I told him that the people they talk to are stranded on the road and cannot take down numbers and in any case Ford had been sending me texts, to no avail. 2 hours later the guys with the dollies arrived and brought it to the dealer and now I waiting for them to run diagnostics.
End of rant.
I regret not asking for a jump first, my suspicion is that it was an issue with the LVB and that would have solved it, at least for the time being. I'm starting to think that the 46% that I got from my account on the web was incorrect and start to wonder how reliable it is. I have an OBD device and I do use Carscanner, but I do that when I return home to determine if I need to charge it or not. I wish I had done so before leaving and I might have been able to see the problem. Couldn't they put a "Status" button on the care home page that would display the vital statistics in real time ? The system has all the information and there is the space.
About the charging. We live in the NY metropolitan area and the subway is almost always the best option. The car is stored in a parking garage with no chance of hooking up an external charger. So, if I see the SOC drop below 50%, I turn the car on in the garage, disable the system time-out, set the screen to calm, lower as much as possible the dash brightness, turn off lights, stereo and HVAC, hide the fob in the bottom of the car and lock using the phone. A few hours later I go back to turn the car off. Cumbersome and annoying, but I don't really have a choice. BTW: I still have one of those portable battery boosters that I had bought for my old ICE, would that work with the Mach-E LVB in case of emergency ? If I keep it in a place that is easy to reach and assuming i can get into the car, it could get me out of a similar jam.
Saturday I was going to run a few errands. Before going I checked online and it showed the LVB at 46%, low, but not critical and I decided that I was going to charge it once I got back (more about this below). First stop, no problem, second stop a quick dash into CVS to pick up a prescription, when I get back into the car every possible warning message pops up. Turn everything off, get out of the care, wait a few minutes and try again, same story.
I decided to call Ford to see if they can diagnose remotely. As I'm battling with the phone menus, an idiot decides to do a U-turn at a pretty high rate of speed and, despite the fact that the street there is 4 very wide lanes, manages to hit me. After getting out and covering the driver with insults, I got all the necessary info and went back to the matter on hand. I was hoping to get in touch with someone that could perform remote diagnostics, but all I could get was roadside assistance (don't know if this was because it was a weekend) and it took me several tries before I could talk to a human being. The person I talked to informed me that they could not help figure out what was wrong, nor could they put me in touch with someone who could, and offered to send a tow truck which I accepted (bad choice). He asked me if I could put in neutral and I told him I wasn't sure (I was afraid of experimenting and then not being able to do it again once the tow arrived). 45 minutes later the tow truck arrived and despite all my attempts I could not get it into neutral. I tried the fail-back method of pressing both accelerator and brake, the gear button would unlock, but as soon as I tried to turn it it would jump back to P and lock again. Decided with the tow driver that I needed a tow with dollies, which his company did not provide. Called back Ford and they told me they would schedule a pick up with somebody who did. Since I was less than 15 minutes walk away from my house, I decided to go home to wait. I called several time Ford only to hear a message stating that my case had been escalated, while getting a few text messages from Ford asking me if the tow had arrived.
After 3 hours I decided to go back to the car to check on it and leave a note (it was technically in a no-parking area, although on weekends they never ticket there). On my way I was called by Ford to inquire on the details of my tow. I pointed out that I needed somebody with dollies and was told "I can do that". I pointed out that I had already been told that 3 hours earlier and he had no record of it. As he's scheduling the tow he told me to take down their direct number, I told him that I was in the street and he should send me a text and was told they did not have the ability to do so. I told him that the people they talk to are stranded on the road and cannot take down numbers and in any case Ford had been sending me texts, to no avail. 2 hours later the guys with the dollies arrived and brought it to the dealer and now I waiting for them to run diagnostics.
End of rant.
I regret not asking for a jump first, my suspicion is that it was an issue with the LVB and that would have solved it, at least for the time being. I'm starting to think that the 46% that I got from my account on the web was incorrect and start to wonder how reliable it is. I have an OBD device and I do use Carscanner, but I do that when I return home to determine if I need to charge it or not. I wish I had done so before leaving and I might have been able to see the problem. Couldn't they put a "Status" button on the care home page that would display the vital statistics in real time ? The system has all the information and there is the space.
About the charging. We live in the NY metropolitan area and the subway is almost always the best option. The car is stored in a parking garage with no chance of hooking up an external charger. So, if I see the SOC drop below 50%, I turn the car on in the garage, disable the system time-out, set the screen to calm, lower as much as possible the dash brightness, turn off lights, stereo and HVAC, hide the fob in the bottom of the car and lock using the phone. A few hours later I go back to turn the car off. Cumbersome and annoying, but I don't really have a choice. BTW: I still have one of those portable battery boosters that I had bought for my old ICE, would that work with the Mach-E LVB in case of emergency ? If I keep it in a place that is easy to reach and assuming i can get into the car, it could get me out of a similar jam.
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