Powertrain Failure + Stop Safely + 21 jail bars after first roadtrip :(

[rreddy3]

You have a negative contactor stuck closed in the HVBJB, so yes the problem is the HVBJB and it needs to be replaced.

I've been seeing a number of these contactor stuck closed cases on 2023s lately, interesting...

A year or two ago you would have been stranded with this fault, Ford now allows you to drive with a stuck HVBJB contactor which is a huge improvement. Allows you to avoid a tow and drive it to the dealer yourself.

Question to you and Steve others knowledgeable on the HVBJB issues (apologies if this has already been asked and answered elsewhere) ... is there any particular pattern of vehicle use including charging patterns, or trim level, or weather extremes, which seems to have any causal relationship to HVBJB failures, or do failures appear to be essentially random? thanks

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[garyd9]

Question to you and Steve others knowledgeable on the HVBJB issues (apologies if this has already been asked and answered elsewhere) ... is there any particular pattern of vehicle use including charging patterns, or trim level, or weather extremes, which seems to have any causal relationship to HVBJB failures, or do failures appear to be essentially random? thanks

The first post in this thread might answer your questions: https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...ers-biggest-fear-facts-and-info-thread.18143/

(Note that the post is somewhat out of date, but it still has a ton of useful info.)

 

[rreddy3]

The first post in this thread might answer your questions: https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...ers-biggest-fear-facts-and-info-thread.18143/

(Note that the post is somewhat out of date, but it still has a ton of useful info.)

Thanks

 

[Mach-Lee]

Question to you and Steve others knowledgeable on the HVBJB issues (apologies if this has already been asked and answered elsewhere) ... is there any particular pattern of vehicle use including charging patterns, or trim level, or weather extremes, which seems to have any causal relationship to HVBJB failures, or do failures appear to be essentially random? thanks

I would say mostly random at this point. You're at the mercy of the part quality you get. You can take it easy and it can still happen.

 

[tlynn14]

The first post in this thread might answer your questions: https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...ers-biggest-fear-facts-and-info-thread.18143/

(Note that the post is somewhat out of date, but it still has a ton of useful info.)

Thanks I was poking around and didn't realize this was *the* thread! Perfect.

 

[HuntingPudel]

I would say mostly random at this point. You're at the mercy of the part quality you get. You can take it easy and it can still happen.

Yep. Mine barfed the first time after I babied the car for a year and 2/3. It went SVS after a 3/4 throttle freeway on-ramp. I just started going WOT when I can on my second generation part. It might take a little bit to fail that one. ?‍?

 

[rreddy3]

I would say mostly random at this point. You're at the mercy of the part quality you get. You can take it easy and it can still happen.

Thank you Lee. So, we watch the roulette wheel spin and see where it stops. It is good to know the car’s are now able to be driven to service. Are there mileage or speed limitations on the “emergency” drive for service? Thanks again.

 

[rreddy3]

Yep. Mine barfed the first time after I babied the car for a year and 2/3. It went SVS after a 3/4 throttle freeway on-ramp. I just started going WOT when I can on my second generation part. It might take a little bit to fail that one. ?‍?

Now that you mention it, I recall reading your description of the first failure…easy driving to the freeway after work, and then the ramp beckoned, at some point your sister rescues you at the dealership from your freeway ramp escapade, Grady is one angry ? since his dinner was late, and the rest is history.

I guess one of the morals of the HVBJB saga is not to get paranoid about it. Just make sure your survival gear and bug out bag are in the car at all times including the satellite communicator! Or is that paranoid?

 

[HuntingPudel]

Now that you mention it, I recall reading your description of the first failure…easy driving to the freeway after work, and then the ramp beckoned, at some point your sister rescues you at the dealership from your freeway ramp escapade, Grady is one angry ? since his dinner was late, and the rest is history.

I guess one of the morals of the HVBJB saga is not to get paranoid about it. Just make sure your survival gear and bug out bag are in the car at all times including the satellite communicator! Or is that paranoid?

I was able to drive it home after stopping at a dealer. Grady was pissed because we got home late (and therefore late dinner). I got the SSN the following Monday morning while the car wasn’t moving. I guess it finally melted open while I spent an hour listening to the radio. ??

 

[rreddy3]

I was able to drive it home after stopping at a dealer. Grady was pissed because we got home late (and therefore late dinner). I got the SSN the following Monday morning while the car wasn’t moving. I guess it finally melted open while I spent an hour listening to the radio. ??

Funny looking back at it but probably not so much at the time. I imagine Grady extracted a heavy price to allow you back in his good graces …

 

[phil]

I am currently trying to fail my replacement (refurb. second generation) HVBJB. ??

Good luck!

 

[davem251]

I would say mostly random at this point. You're at the mercy of the part quality you get. You can take it easy and it can still happen.

Do you have any sense as to what percentage of the cars eventually have a failure?

I have a 2023 GT (now about 15k miles) and sometimes I feel like I am living on borrowed time.

Taking it on a road trip next week, I am sure that’s when it will ? on me!

 

[dabois89]

My '23 GT was towed to a dealer the morning after a mostly uneventful road-trip this past week, and I am so irritated!

My vehicle was manufactured May 2023 and I purchased new in July 2023 from dealer; since then it's been a dream to drive and other than my learning curve, it's my favorite vehicle I have ever owned. Typically, I trickle charge at 120V using the mobile charger (not a problem at all for me since I use the car in-town only and typically only drive less than 40 miles in a day and even that is rare, 3-4 times a month). I know that for some people that wouldn't work, but we'd need to upgrade our garage panel or install a new outlet that connects to a larger panel on the other side of the house and that will create some aesthetic issues and/or expense that I have been happy to avoid given that our current set-up works just fine. I usually keep vehicle plugged in (so battery can be cooled as needed and I recharge to 90%) when home because we live in the Central Texas heat! We have an ICE SUV so there is always another vehicle to drive. I digress.

So, the roadtrip from Central Texas to Baton Rouge, LA was mostly uneventful other than finding that the area around LSU has a pretty poor supercharging infrastructure for non-Tesla or Rivian vehicles! I supercharged to the suggested levels in the A Better Route Planner app without issue, and Blue Cruise was amazing to use on I-10! The only minor hiccups we encountered were 1) someone, not me, left on one of the vanity lights overnight (on the mirror on the fold-down sunshade - but there wasn't any problem noted when starting up or anything), then 2) pixelation issues on the touchscreen when using Google Maps, that eventually resolved when we exited and reopened the app, 3) I had 10K mile service done on 7/31 (at about 9200 miles), left for LSU on 8/1 and made the return trip 8/3. As soon as we hit around 10K miles, I started seeing a "Service Vehicle Soon" message, and assumed it was related to the 10K and they didn't reset it when I had the service performed (seriously, I don't think they did anything at all, I should have marked my tires to be sure they even rotated them! I went in with my tires at around 36psi assuming they would inflate them to 39 as part of service, and they didn't even check that), and 4) update 6.8.0 showed as "not completed," but "software installed." Also a note for the 10K service... I asked why my vehicle health shows as Good not Excellent in the Fordpass app, even after tires inflated properly, given that I'd had no issues and was only at 9200 miles, and the service advisor saw a message (yellow yield sign thing, can't remember exactly what it looked like)... basically something about too many attempts to contact/update - I can't remember the verbiage- but basically said just come back if any issues. This never showed in my app, only when he did the stuff on his computer.

It was the following morning, 8/4, when I saw the lights first appear on starting the vehicle (Powertrain Failure wrench, red Stop Safely light) and noticed the 21 gray "jail bars" on the energy use indicator. I actually drove about 15 miles with the car like this, not familiar with the symbols. My previous ICE car had a wrench when oil change was due, so thought nothing of it, and I assumed that maybe there was something related to 10K service going on. It wasn't until I came here to the forums to check that I got nervous!! I used emergency tow to get the car to the dealer on a Sunday afternoon (closed) and finally was able to speak with someone to check the car in yesterday morning 8/5. I got the feeling my service advisor is not super familiar with Mach-E instrumentation/display, and am already kind concerned. Car is at a different dealer than the one I used for 10K service last week because that seemed like a joke. We don't have highly rated Ford Service in our area (Austin, TX), so I have to take what I can get.

Anyway, sorry for the long read, but wanted to include all the details/clues in case this resonates with anyone and there are any theories... I already feel like I might have to advise Ford Service on this one! My VIN is 3FMTK4SEXPMA45442 if anyone has one of those fancy tools I keep seeing abbreviated!! Thanks in advance.

This is good to know, i have a 23 mach e select and will be going on a roadtrip from Maine to Virginia in Oct. Im definitely going to make sure I have the dealer check over everything before i set off. I know they cant always catch these things but at least it will ease my anxiety somewhat.

 

[HuntingPudel]

I should note that not terribly long after the second generation part was introduced in late May of 2022, we began to see SVS errors with that part, so for having such a small number or reports on the third generation part, I am hopeful that Ford got it right. ?‍?

 

[Ford Motor Company]

My '23 GT was towed to a dealer the morning after a mostly uneventful road-trip this past week, and I am so irritated!

My vehicle was manufactured May 2023 and I purchased new in July 2023 from dealer; since then it's been a dream to drive and other than my learning curve, it's my favorite vehicle I have ever owned. Typically, I trickle charge at 120V using the mobile charger (not a problem at all for me since I use the car in-town only and typically only drive less than 40 miles in a day and even that is rare, 3-4 times a month). I know that for some people that wouldn't work, but we'd need to upgrade our garage panel or install a new outlet that connects to a larger panel on the other side of the house and that will create some aesthetic issues and/or expense that I have been happy to avoid given that our current set-up works just fine. I usually keep vehicle plugged in (so battery can be cooled as needed and I recharge to 90%) when home because we live in the Central Texas heat! We have an ICE SUV so there is always another vehicle to drive. I digress.

So, the roadtrip from Central Texas to Baton Rouge, LA was mostly uneventful other than finding that the area around LSU has a pretty poor supercharging infrastructure for non-Tesla or Rivian vehicles! I supercharged to the suggested levels in the A Better Route Planner app without issue, and Blue Cruise was amazing to use on I-10! The only minor hiccups we encountered were 1) someone, not me, left on one of the vanity lights overnight (on the mirror on the fold-down sunshade - but there wasn't any problem noted when starting up or anything), then 2) pixelation issues on the touchscreen when using Google Maps, that eventually resolved when we exited and reopened the app, 3) I had 10K mile service done on 7/31 (at about 9200 miles), left for LSU on 8/1 and made the return trip 8/3. As soon as we hit around 10K miles, I started seeing a "Service Vehicle Soon" message, and assumed it was related to the 10K and they didn't reset it when I had the service performed (seriously, I don't think they did anything at all, I should have marked my tires to be sure they even rotated them! I went in with my tires at around 36psi assuming they would inflate them to 39 as part of service, and they didn't even check that), and 4) update 6.8.0 showed as "not completed," but "software installed." Also a note for the 10K service... I asked why my vehicle health shows as Good not Excellent in the Fordpass app, even after tires inflated properly, given that I'd had no issues and was only at 9200 miles, and the service advisor saw a message (yellow yield sign thing, can't remember exactly what it looked like)... basically something about too many attempts to contact/update - I can't remember the verbiage- but basically said just come back if any issues. This never showed in my app, only when he did the stuff on his computer.

It was the following morning, 8/4, when I saw the lights first appear on starting the vehicle (Powertrain Failure wrench, red Stop Safely light) and noticed the 21 gray "jail bars" on the energy use indicator. I actually drove about 15 miles with the car like this, not familiar with the symbols. My previous ICE car had a wrench when oil change was due, so thought nothing of it, and I assumed that maybe there was something related to 10K service going on. It wasn't until I came here to the forums to check that I got nervous!! I used emergency tow to get the car to the dealer on a Sunday afternoon (closed) and finally was able to speak with someone to check the car in yesterday morning 8/5. I got the feeling my service advisor is not super familiar with Mach-E instrumentation/display, and am already kind concerned. Car is at a different dealer than the one I used for 10K service last week because that seemed like a joke. We don't have highly rated Ford Service in our area (Austin, TX), so I have to take what I can get.

Anyway, sorry for the long read, but wanted to include all the details/clues in case this resonates with anyone and there are any theories... I already feel like I might have to advise Ford Service on this one! My VIN is 3FMTK4SEXPMA45442 if anyone has one of those fancy tools I keep seeing abbreviated!! Thanks in advance.

Hi there, Tracy! Go ahead and send us a private message with your VIN and the name and location of your Ford dealer, and I’ll look into this powertrain failure concern.

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