Infant stuck inside the car - dead 12V battery

[RWG]

After reading about the horror stories about 12 volt battery failures, I decided to have ours replaced. We had no problems, I just considered in preventative maintenance. The car is 3 years old this month and has 35000 miles and it is cold here in Minnesota. I had the dealer do the job for a less than $225. It took them 45 minutes. I could have done it myself but did not because you have to remove just about all of the frunk parts to access the battery and I was concerned there could be a software issue that I could not resolve. I also bought/installed a digital voltmeter with a cigarette lighter power connection and plugged it into the cigarette receptacle in the center counsel junk box. This way I can monitor battery voltage and determine if the battery is being charged. Over the past year or so, battery voltage readings were approximately between. 12.5 to 14.5 volts which appears to be appropriate.

I wish ford would have treated the 12 volt battery operational statics just like they did high voltage battery. I have been owning and driving vehicles for over 60 years and this is the first vehicle I have ever owned that does not have some type of visual indicator of the 12v. battery health. Perhaps Ford will address the issue on future software platforms.

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[jay1122]

the proper procedure is to pop the frunk with that tiny cable. Then jump the 12v to pop the door. The owner just does not know and are panicking. Smashing the window is not necessary. It is kind of stupid of ford to follow tesla design. A traditional keyhole and physical key would be better. Cost cutting being the reason as always.

I don't think it is Ford's fault or should cover it. Unfortunately for Ford, the optic is bad especially with baiting title like infant stuck in car. Better to just pay and shut the customer up.

 

[Tomatoboy]

After reading about the horror stories about 12 volt battery failures, I decided to have ours replaced. We had no problems, I just considered in preventative maintenance. The car is 3 years old this month and has 35000 miles and it is cold here in Minnesota. I had the dealer do the job for a less than $225. It took them 45 minutes. I could have done it myself but did not because you have to remove just about all of the frunk parts to access the battery and I was concerned there could be a software issue that I could not resolve. I also bought/installed a digital voltmeter with a cigarette lighter power connection and plugged it into the cigarette receptacle in the center counsel junk box. This way I can monitor battery voltage and determine if the battery is being charged. Over the past year or so, battery voltage readings were approximately between. 12.5 to 14.5 volts which appears to be appropriate.

I wish ford would have treated the 12 volt battery operational statics just like they did high voltage battery. I have been owning and driving vehicles for over 60 years and this is the first vehicle I have ever owned that does not have some type of visual indicator of the 12v. battery health. Perhaps Ford will address the issue on future software platforms.

It is always wise to replace batteries preventatively on daily drivers, folks who routinely wait until they die are going to have a bad time with any vehicle, but with the Mach-E it could be a bigger hassle. Personally, I replace daily driver batteries at roughly the 3-4 year mark in my Mid-Atlantic setting, or whenever they test as failing, whichever comes first. Sure, I’ll let a battery like the one in my old Ford tractor or a project car go longer, but I don’t depend on them for transportation.

 

[pr0t0c0l_dr01d]

Has anybody tried using a replacement lithium ion 12 volt battery instead of a traditional lead acid battery? Are there compatibility issues?

 

[Mach-Lee]

Has anybody tried using a replacement lithium ion 12 volt battery instead of a traditional lead acid battery? Are there compatibility issues?

That has been brought up several times already in this thread, the answer is they are a bad idea and not compatible. Waste of $500, you can replace the AGM three times for that price.

 

[moog]

So the 12V battery is always monitored by the car, so the car knows when the 12V battery is low.

Possible "simple" solutions:
- Notify the driver in the car AND app that the 12V battery is low.
- If the car is "ON" and the 12V battery is low on charge - Warn the driver on the screen(s) of the risk of turning off the car without the car being connected to a vehicle charger. This way if the car is left on via the high voltage battery, the car will not "die".
It will allow the driver to get to a charger, or to a "safe" place to turn off the car without being stranded.

More "difficult" solutions:
- Better 12V battery charge system management from the high voltage battery.
- Mechanical "key" entry into the vehicle. (perhaps via the rear hatch- dealer retrofit mod)
- Supercapacitor power to the door keypad for emergency door opening.


Having a vehicle completely brick and leave the owner locked out completely is abysmally poor design. Unacceptable. Should have ALWAYS been a mechanical key opening somewhere on the vehicle.

 

[Electric Goat]

Welp... looks like I'll be getting a new 12v battery ASAP also just to be on the safe side. I also have an infant and a toddler.

...and, this morning, my Mach-E left me stranded for the 5th time in 3 years.

Dreaded parking brake failure wouldn't allow the parking brake to full disengage. Apparently there's a TSB for this so Ford will be repairing this.

The wife really hates my car now.

 

[Tomatoboy]

Has anybody tried using a replacement lithium ion 12 volt battery instead of a traditional lead acid battery? Are there compatibility issues?

Been discussed in several threads already. Not a good option. The MME’s 12V battery management system (BMS) and charging system are only designed for an AGM battery.

 

[superdave80]

the proper procedure is to pop the frunk with that tiny cable. Then jump the 12v to pop the door. The owner just does not know and are panicking. Smashing the window is not necessary.

Says the guy that hasn't had to see their kids trapped in a vehicle when it is hot outside.

"Hold on kids, Daddy has to go find a 12V power source to get you out. Don't get heat exhaustion or die while I'm gone!"

 

[Track9979]

the proper procedure is to pop the frunk with that tiny cable. Then jump the 12v to pop the door. The owner just does not know and are panicking. Smashing the window is not necessary. It is kind of stupid of ford to follow tesla design. A traditional keyhole and physical key would be better. Cost cutting being the reason as always.

I don't think it is Ford's fault or should cover it. Unfortunately for Ford, the optic is bad especially with baiting title like infant stuck in car. Better to just pay and shut the customer up.

In the reddit thread - Ford roadside tried that with no luck, and looks like Ford is covering the issue after being tagged on social media. The reddit poster is also talking to NHTSA, which IMHO is the best thing to come out of it, because you know Ford won't do shit to make this better until their hand is forced.

 

[Electric Goat]

Says the guy that hasn't had to see their kids trapped in a vehicle when it is hot outside.

"Hold on kids, Daddy has to go find a 12V power source to get you out. Don't get heat exhaustion or die while I'm gone!"

Considering that it always seems to be at least a 3 hour wait for a tow truck to arrive, either I'm smashing the window or the fire department is.

 

[Mosworthy]

The story is possible, even plausible, but...
What does this mean?

The car was "completely disabled" (nothing worked!), but "the car locked"? Huh? How?
It locked but then it wouldn't unlock?
Color me skeptical until more information than a Reddit post shows up.

This...
And I got flamed on the Reddit post for asking

 

[Mosworthy]

They need to hurry up and add a warning when the battery is reaching the end of its life.

The app tells you, but we all turn off notifications.....

 

[Mosworthy]

Ford road side service and AAA couldn't get into the car and these are supposed to be the ones that know how. The fact remains that if there was a mechanical way to get into the car, this wouldn't have been an issue.

Know how is a stretch .....

 

[Mosworthy]

I've been pondering for some time where I am going to mount remote battery post access port. I still haven't decided, but I do intend to follow through.
I've also considered dedicating a small portion of the Frunk tub to a cheap Chinese LFP 12V axillary battery connected in series to the AGM. Ford equipped my F150 Powerboost with just such an auxiliary battery, although it's a little 7AH AGM. I swapped that for an LFP, which for a similar small size, it's 25AH. The results, so far, have been outstanding. (I use a Bluetooth voltmeter that logs voltage 24/7/365)

My Mach-E is almost daily a chariot for 3 little urchins in the back seat. So I prefer not to be faced with the scenario in question, if at all possible. But I can assure you that even if worst case scenario did take place, there's no window in the Mach-E that would be safe. ?

I personally LOVE the handleless doors on the car. Absolutely gorgeous to my eyes. But Ford definitely left a potential gotcha that I will be addressing myself.

There is a whole post on us modding for easy access

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