Could someone give me some input. Dealer screwed up 12V battery

[Gene Bank]

I have a 2022 MME GT. It's my baby. Perfect car , never a problem and I love it. I'm pushing 70 and definitely not a tetchy and I live in NH with cold winters. Being that the 12V battery is getting older, I made the mistake of being proactive in having my dealership replace it since it needed to go in for a state inspection and tire rotation anyway. That was last Wednesday. I drove it over with 70% charge the evening before, and dropped off the car. They said they would just charge it to 100% overnight on their outside L2 charger. So far so good. I get a call late in the next day that they put in the new 12V and do they want me to clear the "check voltage" red light on the instrument cluster? I said what red light? They said that it was on when the brought into the shop and they assume that was the reason I wanted the new battery. I said no, I just wanted to be proactive and have never seen this warning message. That was 4 working days ago. They said they have tried everything, but the message will not clear. They suggested just drive the car and ignore it. What??? No, I want it back as I dropped it off. They don't know what else to do.

Somehow they screwed something up. Not many MME up here. Can anyone give me advice as to what to tell them? If they can't clear the warning would you just pick up the car? Get a lawyer involved? I'm at my wits end and the service manager is getting snappy with me saying they don't build the car.

Thoughts? THANKS!

Sponsored

 

[Snakebitten]

A Ford dealership?

They can't clear a low voltage DTC and suggest the customer drive it to see if it clears itself?

What has happened in the automotive factory authorized service industry? The things we read on these forums seem implausible.

 

[ChasingCoral]

Get a lawyer involved?

 

[MotownMachdoc]

I have a 2022 MME GT. It's my baby. Perfect car , never a problem and I love it. I'm pushing 70 and definitely not a tetchy and I live in NH with cold winters. Being that the 12V battery is getting older, I made the mistake of being proactive in having my dealership replace it since it needed to go in for a state inspection and tire rotation anyway. That was last Wednesday. I drove it over with 70% charge the evening before, and dropped off the car. They said they would just charge it to 100% overnight on their outside L2 charger. So far so good. I get a call late in the next day that they put in the new 12V and do they want me to clear the "check voltage" red light on the instrument cluster? I said what red light? They said that it was on when the brought into the shop and they assume that was the reason I wanted the new battery. I said no, I just wanted to be proactive and have never seen this warning message. That was 4 working days ago. They said they have tried everything, but the message will not clear. They suggested just drive the car and ignore it. What??? No, I want it back as I dropped it off. They don't know what else to do.

Somehow they screwed something up. Not many MME up here. Can anyone give me advice as to what to tell them? If they can't clear the warning would you just pick up the car? Get a lawyer involved? I'm at my wits end and the service manager is getting snappy with me saying they don't build the car.

Thoughts? THANKS!

They may have put in a bad battery. Contact the Ford BEV team so they can work with the dealer. Did you buy the vehicle there? When I have had poor service I have contacted my sales agent. They in turn talk to the sales manager who contacts the service manager and things start to happen. It shouldn’t be that way. Service doesn’t build them but the dealer sells them. Without sales, the service department can layoff staff. You can also tell them they live off satisfaction surveys and a bad survey cuts into their pocket.

 

[Sikkun]

Obviously the only logical conclusion.

 

[Gene Bank]

Today is day #6 that they have had the vehicle. All they say is that they are talking with Ford. They have driven the car to see if it would reset and it will not. They said the car drives fine. How long can a dealership just hold a car when I'm not getting results. Obviously, they have not had a tech working on it every minute. I didn't buy the car from my local dealership. There is a bigger Ford dealership 30 miles away. Maybe I should just pickup the car? I wonder if they are going to argue about the bill, new battery, tire rotation and inspection?

 

[Fixbear]

It may be that the battery monitor plug is not connected properly. They had to remove it from the battery post. This is also a possible error from using the wrong battery for replacement. Not every dealer stocks the OEM battery. Also when it is changed, the battery monitoring system has to be reprogrammed for the new one. this takes a day to do properly. They should know how to deal with a AGM battery. But the Mach-E battery is only available thru limited sources. Ford/Autolite and I think Rock Auto now. As they have near full access to Motocraft.
They also may have damaged the sensor upon replacement of the battery.

 

[Gene Bank]

It may be that the battery monitor plug is not connected properly. They had to remove it from the battery post. This is also a possible error from using the wrong battery for replacement. Not every dealer stocks the OEM battery. Also when it is changed, the battery monitoring system has to be reprogrammed for the new one. this takes a day to do properly. They should know how to deal with a AGM battery. But the Mach-E battery is only available thru limited sources. Ford/Autolite and I think Rock Auto now. As they have near full access to Motocraft.
They also may have damaged the sensor upon replacement of the battery.

Thank you for the response. I should have updated the post. Finally after 7 days they got the error message off. No real explanation other than it finally worked. I do have one additional question about the new battery. I did not realize the MME requires a specific battery. I would assume if that if they put in the wrong battery the car would not start? I have had it back for 2 days and have driven 75 miles or so and all seems good. Should I do any more followup with them? Although they are the closest Ford dealership I will never go back there. Again, thanks for your response.

 

[Sikkun]

Thank you for the response. I should have updated the post. Finally after 7 days they got the error message off. No real explanation other than it finally worked. I do have one additional question about the new battery. I did not realize the MME requires a specific battery. I would assume if that if they put in the wrong battery the car would not start? I have had it back for 2 days and have driven 75 miles or so and all seems good. Should I do any more followup with them? Although they are the closest Ford dealership I will never go back there. Again, thanks for your response.

AGM battery isn’t exactly special, Mach E just uses a small one. But using a different battery type would not stop the car from turning on, it’s just not the OEM recommended or what the BMS is setup for.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Thank you for the response. I should have updated the post. Finally after 7 days they got the error message off. No real explanation other than it finally worked. I do have one additional question about the new battery. I did not realize the MME requires a specific battery. I would assume if that if they put in the wrong battery the car would not start? I have had it back for 2 days and have driven 75 miles or so and all seems good. Should I do any more followup with them? Although they are the closest Ford dealership I will never go back there. Again, thanks for your response.

I wonder if they just didn’t start the car fully. If you press the start button without pressing the brake, the red battery icon will light up. Maybe they finally figured out you have to press the brake to start it.

 

[Fixbear]

AGM battery isn’t exactly special, Mach E just uses a small one. But using a different battery type would not stop the car from turning on, it’s just not the OEM recommended or what the BMS is setup for.

But a non AGM will not have proper charge characteristics. Let alone that the BMS has to learn the new battery.

 

[pikepilot]

This brings up something I hadn't heard before.....must it be the dealer that replaces the battery due to the reprogramming required? I got lucky and got a new low voltage battery from them recently due to another issue but will eventually have to replace it.

 

[Snakebitten]

The "reprogramming" is otherwise known as a BMS reset. Nothing that complicated. Sets the "Days in Service" flag to 0 days.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

The "reprogramming" is otherwise known as a BMS reset. Nothing that complicated. Sets the "Days in Service" flag to 0 days.

Exactly. It also doesn’t take all that long either. I had my car’s 12v replaced a few days ago. The independent shop did the swap with an OEM battery and the BMS reset in around an hour. Drive in, removed the cover, hooked up a power supply, removed old battery, put new battery in. BMS reset, put it back together, drove out, parked, and texted me the bill with a payment link.

The Wizard of Oz themed reset of flash the headlights 3 times, step on the brakes three times, click your heels three times while chanting “There’s no place like Ohm” takes much of a day.

Sponsored