Battery Just died…It went from 49% to ZERO % in less than 2 mins.

[PorkChopExpress]

I'm curious to know if anyone at the dealership explained the particulars of your battery chemistry to you?

I'm aware of the charge tolerance of LFP packs but didn't know it was a requirement to hit 100% periodically. This is the kind of thing dealerships should be trained on.

EDIT/UPDATE: I totally get the laughing emoji responses to my statement above, I really do. However, the Mach-E has been out for years now. Initial sales staff ignorance in the first year or so, though disappointing, is understandable. But I'm not laughing anymore. At this point in time, with the total number of BEVs Ford has sold to date, the apparent lack of knowledge displayed by Ford dealership sales personnel regarding EVs is no longer funny to me. It's annoying.

Nope. I didn’t get a great orientation at the dealership. He paired my phone and that was about it. Definitely no information on the battery chemistry. I read the owner’s manual back in April and read this forum on a weekly basis. I had been charging my battery to 95% a couple of nights a week, but only to 100% maybe Twice. Thanks for your post!

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[Mach-Lee]

I'm aware of the charge tolerance of LFP packs but didn't know it was a requirement to hit 100% periodically. This is the kind of thing dealerships should be trained on.

It would be nice if they told you, but that's why you read the owner's manual. It's in there.

 

[Guss-E 2021]

It would be nice if they told you, but that's why you read the owner's manual. It's in there.

Really? The manual addresses different battery chemistry?

Yes I agree about reading the manual. As a tech geek, I'm always reading about specs and tolerances. That being said, these are electric cars. Plenty of folks are new to BEV ownership. Something as basic as "because this model uses an LFP pack, you'll want to charge to 100% at least once a month" is hardly asking a lot from a sales person. Not that different from oil change and tire rotation frequency tips.

 

[SonicBlue]

Interesting, I knew LFP packs needed to be charged to 100% with some regularity, but I definitely didn’t realize the “accuracy degradation” was potentially so extreme when they haven’t been calibrated recently.

Yeah… I’m a little skeptical. If not charging periodically to 100% caused the the accuracy of the GOM to fail by 50%, that’s a pretty major fail.

 

[Fixbear]

I'm curious to know if anyone at the dealership explained the particulars of your battery chemistry to you?

I'm aware of the charge tolerance of LFP packs but didn't know it was a requirement to hit 100% periodically. This is the kind of thing dealerships should be trained on.

EDIT/UPDATE: I totally get the laughing emoji responses to my statement above, I really do. However, the Mach-E has been out for years now. Initial sales staff ignorance in the first year or so, though disappointing, is understandable. But I'm not laughing anymore. At this point in time, with the total number of BEVs Ford has sold to date, the apparent lack of knowledge displayed by Ford dealership sales personnel regarding EVs is no longer funny to me. It's annoying.

I had the opposite experience in April of 2021. The sales person was very helpful and took over a hour to explain a lot of the vehicle to us. Including marrying the phones and Ford Pass to the car. Maybe because she was working with a all male sales staff that she felt she had to be better, Even after the sale she helped with getting us a loaner for warranty work. And staying on top of the body shop and service department.

 

[PorkChopExpress]

I had my Mach-E checked today at Crossroads Ford in Apex. They do the believe the Battery Failure was related to the 12V Battery. They performed a 12V Battery Condition Test and There was an error code on the date of the incident (7/28/24). They ended up replacing the 12V Battery. I‘ve attached the invoice with the code for those that want to see it.

On a side note I did take the Mach-E out this Sunday and got the battery down to 45% with no problems.

 

[Mach-Lee]

They believe the Battery Failure was related to the 12V Battery.

I disagree. Dealers often blame the 12V battery when they have no clue what the actual root cause is. The 12V died because the HVB went to 0% and couldn't be recharged. The process of going completely dead will cause some damage to the 12V battery, which is why it tested bad. The 12V dying was an effect, not the cause of the sudden 50% drop.

The root cause was an out-of-calibration HVB BMS due to lack of recent 100% charging activity with the LFP pack. Not the 12V battery.

Just want to dispel any additional 12V paranoia here.

 

[JamesStew71]

Hello, I would like to see if I can assist you with your battery concerns further on my end. Could you please send us a message with your VIN and mileage?

Give him your numbers , so he can shroud your skirt with a smoke screen - then you will not see the gom meter

 

[Fixbear]

I disagree. Dealers often blame the 12V battery when they have no clue what the actual root cause is. The 12V died because the HVB went to 0% and couldn't be recharged. The process of going completely dead will cause some damage to the 12V battery, which is why it tested bad. The 12V dying was an effect, not the cause of the sudden 50% drop.

The root cause was an out-of-calibration HVB BMS due to lack of recent 100% charging activity with the LFP pack. Not the 12V battery.

Just want to dispel any additional 12V paranoia here.

Battery fail test are a common money maker for dealers. To do a true and accurate test requires time. Time to charge the battery to a near full level. A resting time, and then a load test. Best if done over days, not hours. One can not condemn a battery without a accurate load test.

 

[macchiaz-o]

https://www.ford.com/support/how-tos/electric-vehicles/home-charging/how-do-i-maintain-my-electric-vehicle-battery/#:~:text=Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries,charge and distance to empty).

Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries: Set the maximum charge level to 100%. Charge to 100% at least once per month to maintain estimated in-vehicle range accuracy (both state of charge and distance to empty). If not charged to 100% at least once per month, owners may experience degraded vehicle performance and a decrease in the accuracy of the vehicle's estimated range.

It would be nice if they told you, but that's why you read the owner's manual. It's in there.

I recommend Ford prioritize implementation of driver feedback when calibration is required.

The vehicle measures the number of days and number of kWh of energy refilled since last filled to 100% (calibrated). When either metric is exceeded by Ford's thresholds (e.g. 30 days, 1000 kWh), actively warn the driver. Put this on the display and make beeping sounds etc: "battery calibration required. tap here to charge to 100%."

Tapping the button temporarily overrides the user defined charge limit until the car determines calibration is good.

 

[FriendlyLightning]

Hey all! I had a similar, albeit far less extreme situation to the OP. It's actually happened twice, but fresh on my mind since the most recent occurrence was this afternoon. I charged to 90% this afternoon, about three hours before I left. I notice that my vehicle often drops to 89% shortly after I turn it on after charging to 90%. I assume that it's at 90.0% and the startup energy usage drops it below 90 - no big deal. However, by the time I had made it down my private drive to the roadway (less than 1/2 mile, snail's pace acceleration on dirt roads, going no more than 20 MPH), my SOC was at 84%. This also happened a week or so ago driving for the first time after charging to 90%.

I have the long range ncm battery in my 2024 Mach-E GT which I've owned for just under 2 months. I've maintained a 90% charge limit for everyday driving (per the manual), and only charged it above 90% once for a road trip (I want to say it topped out at 96%-97% before I had to leave). As long as it's been in my possession, it's never been charged to 100%. I read in the manual as well as this forum that lfp batteries should be charged to 100% once a month for range accuracy, but there is no such recommendation made for ncm batteries. Do they ever need this, especially for battery calibration?

 

[Mach-Lee]

Hey all! I had a similar, albeit far less extreme situation to the OP. It's actually happened twice, but fresh on my mind since the most recent occurrence was this afternoon. I charged to 90% this afternoon, about three hours before I left. I notice that my vehicle often drops to 89% shortly after I turn it on after charging to 90%. I assume that it's at 90.0% and the startup energy usage drops it below 90 - no big deal. However, by the time I had made it down my private drive to the roadway (less than 1/2 mile, snail's pace acceleration on dirt roads, going no more than 20 MPH), my SOC was at 84%. This also happened a week or so ago driving for the first time after charging to 90%.

I have the long range ncm battery in my 2024 Mach-E GT which I've owned for just under 2 months. I've maintained a 90% charge limit for everyday driving (per the manual), and only charged it above 90% once for a road trip (I want to say it topped out at 96%-97% before I had to leave). As long as it's been in my possession, it's never been charged to 100%. I read in the manual as well as this forum that lfp batteries should be charged to 100% once a month for range accuracy, but there is no such recommendation made for ncm batteries. Do they ever need this, especially for battery calibration?

Yes, NCM batteries still need to be charged to 100% periodically or else the capacity reading will become inaccurate. I recommend that you charge it fully to 100% (and let it sit for several hours) several times per year. Follow this procedure: https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/hv-battery-calibration-procedure.23815/

 

[FriendlyLightning]

Yes, NCM batteries still need to be charged to 100% periodically or else the capacity reading will become inaccurate. I recommend that you charge it fully to 100% (and let it sit for several hours) several times per year. Follow this procedure: https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/hv-battery-calibration-procedure.23815/

This is exactly what I was looking for! Thanks so much. I’ll give it a try.

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