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

[phil]

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. ?‍?

Actually, we had exactly the same situation - very small numbers of failure reports - at exactly the same duration following introduction of the second generation part.

We are now a little more than 8 months after the November 2023 introduction of Gen 3 part. Here's a thread from 8+ months after the May 2022 introduction of the Gen 2 part:

https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...with-the-hvbjb-error…wish-me-good-luck.24986/

As of late January 2023, the Forum was only aware of a couple of Gen 2 part failures, and was quite confident in the improved "robustness" of the then-new part. As it turned out, 8 or 9 months was just not sufficient time for the new part's inadequacy to reveal itself. It takes a long time for the new parts to actually get to customers in large numbers, and for those customers to use the car enough to stress the part to failure.

I share your hope that Ford has gotten it right with Gen 3. But at this point, it really is just a hope, not confidence based on experience. We simply do not yet have sufficient experience, same as we had no idea in January 2023 how poorly the Gen 2 part would ultimately perform.

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[HuntingPudel]

Actually, we had exactly the same situation - very small numbers of failure reports - at exactly the same duration following introduction of the second generation part.

We are now a little more than 8 months after the November 2023 introduction of Gen 3 part. Here's a thread from 8+ months after the May 2022 introduction of the Gen 2 part:

https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/i-was-finally-hit-with-the-hvbjb-error…wish-me-good-luck.24986/

As of late January 2023, the Forum was only aware of a couple of Gen 2 part failures, and was quite confident in the improved "robustness" of the then-new part. As it turned out, 8 or 9 months was just not sufficient time for the new part's inadequacy to reveal itself. It takes a long time for the new parts to actually get to customers in large numbers, and for those customers to use the car enough to stress the part to failure.

I share your hope that Ford has gotten it right with Gen 3. But at this point, it really is just a hope, not confidence based on experience. We simply do not yet have sufficient experience, same as we had no idea in January 2023 how poorly the Gen 2 part would ultimately perform.

I thought that @heisnuts already failed a second generation part before then. I might be wrong. He’s failed so many of them that he got them changed more often than he had to rotate his tires. ??

 

[phil]

Yes, heisnuts and GuliblGuy were the two known failures at that time. Since it was only a very small number of failures, most forum members chalked it up to infant mortality or no-part-is perfect. But it turned out those two were only the tip of the iceberg. Here's hoping that this time there is no iceberg! But I'd want more time before reaching that conclusion.

 

[Mach-Lee]

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.

Nope. I drove 4000 miles with “service vehicle soon”

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!

We’re seeing a couple of week on here. Forum members are only a small subset of the overall Mach-E population. It’s probably down to <5% now. Honestly, I wouldn’t worry about it too much anymore, since you can still drive the car home.

 

[smoke20]

Back story our Front drive unit failed over New Year's trip to Galveston heading back to Austin. We had it towed over 120 miles and they kept the service department open so we could get a loaner car and make sure the Mach E was dropped off. They have EV service advisors as well.
We live just outside of Dripping Springs and it's a shorter drive than other dealerships in Austin.
Good luck!

Dripping Springs? Good vodka!!

 

[garyd9]

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

Reading this forum immediately before going on a road trip might not be the best thing for your stress levels. Actual failure rates are fairly low, but people tend to post more often when there's a problem, making it look like the failure rates are incredibly high.

 

[zvez]

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.)

that first post in that thread is brilliant. Tho thoroughly depressing. I'd thought my 23.5 would be immune from the issue but this apparently isn't the case from reading about this issue.

 

[UncleDB]

FWIW I drove with the wrench and limited power for 3+ weeks (first it was the wait to get an appointment to be diagnosed then another wait to get the part in)...

I was similar situation as you however, limited distances, rarely more than 10 miles in a day etc. I couldn't find anything that said it would necessarily make matters WORSE, only that I of course ran the risk of it stopping and not starting again... which for me was a worthwhile risk considering I had bought the car less than a month prior and had NO interest in explaining to my family that dad's 3 week old car was going away for weeks on end. Were you able to get a loaner? My dealer said they wouldn't have any for at least a few weeks, blah blah.

Here's hoping this is a one time thing cause so far have QUITE enjoyed everything else about the experience otherwise.

 

[tlynn14]

I was able to get a rental yesterday (dealer made reservation for me); should be at no cost once they confirm issue is covered under warranty, which it should be.

It’s been at the dealer all week, and still no diagnosis… I don’t think anyone has even looked at it yet ? at least I am back on the road in the meantime! I might have held onto it rather than getting the tow if only I’d read up on this forum first. It definitely would have been possible for me to keep driving to a minimum until they could actually get it looked at, but I had no idea what type of issue this was!

My poor car baking out there all day in the Texas summer sun hurts my heart ??

 

[Hartland]

I had the same problem within a week of purchasing my 2023 model a few weeks ago. It turned out to be a software problem. Had it done the next day & no since touch wood

 

[roamtheworld]

I was able to get a rental yesterday (dealer made reservation for me); should be at no cost once they confirm issue is covered under warranty, which it should be.

It’s been at the dealer all week, and still no diagnosis… I don’t think anyone has even looked at it yet ? at least I am back on the road in the meantime! I might have held onto it rather than getting the tow if only I’d read up on this forum first. It definitely would have been possible for me to keep driving to a minimum until they could actually get it looked at, but I had no idea what type of issue this was!

My poor car baking out there all day in the Texas summer sun hurts my heart ??

Our MachE sat outside for 30 days to get the drive unit and HVJB replaced back in Jan so it was not as hot but our car was super dirty as I told them not to wash it if it wasn't brushless.
Waiting on parts is very common with Ford. No part large or small has been in stock for our car yet.

 

[tlynn14]

I was able to touch bases with the service advisor on Saturday, and the HVBJB was determined to need replacement. No ETA on part or repair, and SA is supposed to extend rental for me from 5 days to 10. Was assured that it will be the lastest version of the HVBJB; thanks to this thread, and for my own peace of mind, I did ask!

Hope this does the trick.

 

[tlynn14]

All repaired now with the 3rd gen HVBJB, hoping this does the trick! Tow was on 8/3, diagnosis received and part ordered around the 9th, installation was complete by 8/17, and final diagnostics, etc were done and car ready by 8/19. Just to give an indication of turnaround for anyone experiencing HVBJB failure of the 2nd gen part.

 

[johnmark]

All repaired now with the 3rd gen HVBJB, hoping this does the trick! Tow was on 8/3, diagnosis received and part ordered around the 9th, installation was complete by 8/17, and final diagnostics, etc were done and car ready by 8/19. Just to give an indication of turnaround for anyone experiences HVBJB failure of the 2nd gen part.

Glad to hear it. Let us know if you see any weirdness. For example, soon after I got the recall replacement in late March, I noticed that I would sometimes get "jail bars" after level 2 charging, which would clear up after driving it a bit. I also noticed that occasionally I would get the 1-pedal driving fault, which hasn't happened in a few weeks now.

On the plus side, I swear my milage is better now. I'm getting 3.5+ mpkwh on trips that I swear in the past would only get 3.1 - 3.3. This doesn't make logical sense to me, and I can't prove it definitively, but I can't recall getting milage that high on trips before. I'm about to drive from Eastern Mass to northern Virginia, so I'll know more after that trip.

 

[Schwartzcynthia]

My MME just hit 10k so I was hoping to take it in for tire rotation and the HVJBJ as I ordered it months ago when I got recall notice. I called today (should have called months ago). They said my part came in in June. No one called me. After a while they sent the part back to Ford. They wanted me to bring my car in for an assessment before reordering the same part...don't go to Maxwell Ford if you live in Austin. If anyone has a good Ford dealership in Austin you trust to work on the MME please let me know. The service guy didn't even know what an HVJBJ was...he had to look it up. EEK!

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