2022 MME Premium AWD - battery issues? Thank you for reviewing! 🙏

[jfkjgp]

I have a new to me 2022 Mach E Premium. It’s got slightly higher miles on it than I’d like (33k miles) and I probably overpaid a bit ($32,900), but I got it at CarMax (I know, I know…), they are generally a bit higher in price but they gave me a couple thousand more on my trade than anyone else offered, which offset my NYS sales tax and I was able to walk away with the car and a check in hand.

The car does not have an extended range battery. At the dealership a couple of days ago, on a 100% charge, the range was 212 miles. My daughter has driven a bit and then we put it on the L2 charger at home.

Yesterday morning it was at 100% and the range was 167. Maybe it was because it was brrrr cold in the garage in the morning, but I’m concerned about a 45 mile drop in charge life. Never had that issue with my Tesla, even in the coldest of times (upstate NY, cold cold).

I normally would have set the charger to 90 percent but I’m glad I didn’t, but at 33k miles, I have no idea if the previous owner tried to condition the battery for optimal performance.

But here’s the bigger rub…. When I left the house, to head out on a 79 mile trip with 167 miles range, we made it the 79 miles, and I had 22 miles range left.

Again.. it was cold out, steering wheel heat on and driver’s seat heater on. Cabin heat set to 74 degrees.

So…. Am I concerned about the batter? Yes!
But is this common with the Mach E (non extended range)?

Seems like I should get a bit more range out of it than I did. After finally finding a charger that worked in town, I was able to put it on the fast charger and I got it up to 80% which gave me a range of 129 miles for the return trip.

Again, I don’t know if the previous owner conditioned the battery or didn’t condition it, but I do feel like it should have more range than that. It’s a 2022 premium, but for those of you who are out there who live in the cold, is this common? Or should I be getting more range?

Carmax does have a 10 day return policy. They also have a 90 day 4000 mile warranty. I can take the car back and literally say I don’t like it and they would cut me a check for what I paid for it and I could look for something else. I’ll take a punch in the nose for what I paid in sales tax.

Or, is this what I should expect? I could also take it to the Ford dealership and perhaps they can run some tests on it or, I don’t even know? But some help from the forum here would be greatly appreciated.

This one is black on black and in really nice 8.5/10 condition

Thoughts-

Do I take it back to CarMax and walk away with my cash and look for something else?

Or… is this typical of a non ext range in the cold weather?

Or… would Ford cover anything under their 8 year 100k battery life warranty?

Or… or….? Help please? ?

- A little update- This entire very long post is from yesterday’s activities. Today when I got in the car it was at 100% and the range was 212. It still seems a bit low, but perhaps that’s what it is- and there’s nothing I can do about it…

Someone on another post mentioned getting the battery scanned and that if it didn’t come back at better than 80% that it would be a warranty issue. Unfortunately this person didn’t happen to mention where I could get it scanned. I’m assuming if anywhere it might be the dealership

And…. (On another note)

I had a Tesla prior to the “law” that came out about making a pedestrian noise or having front end noise at slower speeds.

The noise on this one seems quite loud. Clearly I have no idea if it’s loud at faster speeds, but as my son pulled it into the garage last night, it seemed LOUD. Quite loud.

I was unaware of this “law” about the EV’s having to emit a noise when driving at slow speeds or if it senses a pedestrian (??). My son works at a Chevy dealership and tells me that it’s pretty common for the loud noise, but I thought it was quite loud. I don’t know if there’s an issue.

Again, should I take it to the Ford dealership and have them listen to it and see if it’s the right amount of “decibels” or is it relatively loud when it’s in the presence of pedestrians and going at a slow speed so that people can hear it? My son tells me that the EV Equinox is much louder, but he wasn’t standing in the garage next to it, he was driving it in, and he’s the one that told me about this noise “law.” But again it just didn’t seem quite right to me. Is it supposed to be pretty loud?

Did I get a dud?

Again I do have the opportunity to take it back. I would eat some on what I saved in taxes and of course I would have to find another vehicle, but I’d rather have a car that does what it’s supposed to do and performs the way it’s supposed to perform.

Back to the main subject (which might be the same subject- is the battery whining, and that’s my loud noise?).

Does anyone happen to know, if there were a battery issue and it wasn’t conditioned, would this be covered under the battery warranty with Ford or would it be a matter of, “you’re out of luck, because the battery is just not really holding a great charge.” ?

So… long post. I’m sorry, but… is the range really terrible on this one or is it par for the course, and… is it supposed to be pretty loud at a slow speed?

I do have a bit back offer from CarMax (I keep getting told that I way overpaid - but my trade helped the deal be more palatable). If I go in and have them buy it back from me… I lose almost 3k in what I paid in taxes. Downer.

But hey- does anyone know of a 22 or 23 premium EXT RANGE with decent miles on it in Black, white, silver or blue for sale? If you happen to see one, kindly let me know?

Your help is very much appreciated!! Thank You! ?

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[Mach-Lee]

EVs can lose up to 50% range in cold weather. Unlike Tesla, Ford's range display tries to be accurate and actually decreases with colder temps. A standard range Mach-E will have an actual range of about 100-150 miles in cold conditions.

Also, the range display is not an accurate indication of battery health. Send me your VIN for a check if you're still concerned.

To avoid range loss, remember to plug in nightly and set a departure time before a long trip. This will warm up the battery and preserve range.

The pedestrian alert sound volume is normal and meets federal standards for decibel level. It might seem loud in a garage but that's normal.

 

[dalola]

There have been similar stories to yours (about range) in extreme conditions, which you likely were experiencing on your trip in question. So many factors play into (winter) range, so it seems likely what you experienced might be "normal" given the extremes identified, and other details left out. Things like wind speed/direction, road surfaces, altitude gain/loss, gross vehicle weight, etc... it all factors into range. If you have a trusted, competent Ford dealer who could scan your car, just to ensure everything checks out, it might help you sleep at night. But ultimately, you have to react/act in the best interest of your situation, whatever that may be. Good luck.

 

[jfkjgp]

There have been similar stories to yours (about range) in extreme conditions, which you likely were experiencing on your trip in question. So many factors play into (winter) range, so it seems likely what you experienced might be "normal" given the extremes identified, and other details left out. Things like wind speed/direction, road surfaces, altitude gain/loss, gross vehicle weight, etc... it all factors into range. If you have a trusted, competent Ford dealer who could scan your car, just to ensure everything checks out, it might help you sleep at night. But ultimately, you have to react/act in the best interest of your situation, whatever that may be. Good luck.

Thank you! I'll take it to the Ford dealer in the morning and hope that they can do a scan in the express lane. I appreciate your response!

 

[Mach-Lee]

Thank you! Curious what you can check with my Vin- I know there are places out there such as Manheim, but how does it check it in real time?

Thank you!

Your high voltage battery state of health is 95%. That's normal considering the age and mileage.

However the 12V battery under the hood is in critical condition and needs to be replaced ASAP unless you just did so in the past week or so (did they do that right before sale?). There is a very high chance the car will die suddenly with the readings I'm seeing unless it's been changed.

 

[jfkjgp]

Your high voltage battery state of health is 95%. That's normal considering the age and mileage.

However the 12V battery under the hood is in critical condition and needs to be replaced ASAP unless you just did so in the past week or so (did they do that right before sale?). There is a very high chance the car will die suddenly with the readings I'm seeing unless it's been changed.

Wow. Okay. Thank you! How do you know this? Please do tell

 

[Mach-Lee]

Wow. Okay. Thank you! How do you know this? Please do tell

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[jfkjgp]

Service subscription

Thank you so much!! It’s all kind of falling together now… when we went in for the first time to see the car, the little panel on the front passenger side bumper was open. I figured someone had hit it or maybe it got knocked open in the car wash.

Well (as you know), that’s the access for the 12 volt jumper cables. Clearly they had to jump the car. And the past couple of days when I went to start it, it would click-click, like when the battery is dead in a gasser. That 12 volt battery (I must assume) starts the motor? It was really weird to hear that sound.

But it was just confirmed that CarMax did not replace the battery (even after their 125 point inspection). So, I’m taking it back tomorrow and getting my money back. The crap of it is that I spent money to have the car shipped in (fortunately only 200 bucks, but it’s still 200 down the drain). And now I lose my tax advantage that I had on my trade in. They will cut me a check tomorrow and I’m walking far far away. In the meantime, might you please share the website that you use to check the vin numbers and I’ll see if I can get a script and run the next car that I’m looking at, or is it quite pricey? Is it something I can run a couple on and then cancel my script at the end of the month or does one have to buy a full year? I’d love to have that information. I’m looking kind of all around the north east but I found one in GA that I’d like to run. After these losses, I don’t have the money to ship something from AZ or CA. But I’d be interested in knowing the name of the site you use. Are you a dealer? Must one be a dealer? I no longer have a dealer’s license but I have access to one. And of course, about a year ago, when I thought I was done buying cars for a while, I cancelled my Mannheim script - but with the internet and all of the tools that are now available, the deals that used to come at auction are now few and far between. Thank you again for running that for me! And thank you in advance if you can share the website, I’d appreciate it! I appreciate your help- you helped me decide that this isn’t the car for my daughter. I think it’s a dud. I’m trying to find and ext range now but I’d be very interested in running the vin on prospects so I don’t run into the same issue. It’s a bummer bc there are 2 red ones (2023’s) pretty local, one with 8k miles, the other with 12k miles and they look to be in mint shape but my daughter won’t do red. Bummer. Anyway. Thank you again for you help ?!!! Sorry about the lack of paragraphs, but every time I try to make one, it drops me off the page. Thanks again!!!

 

[OH2AZ2OH]

The MachE will give you a much more realistic range estimate in cold temps than a Tesla.

Replacing the 12V battery is roughly the same as the shipping fee that you're going to lose. My dealer charged me right around $200 for the battery, install and a tire rotation added another $100 or so. Access to the 12V battery is a pain, and there's a software reset required when changing the 12V battery, so I was fine with the dealer upcharges on it.

 

[Phil-Springs]

Honestly sounds like you might be over reacting a bit. The 12v on Mach es should be replaced around the 3 year point as normal maintenance. Using the GOM (car estimated range) to judge real range is a huge mistake. Nothing presented suggests this car is a dud. Standard range battery at 95% state of health should get 140 to 210 miles depending on conditions. If those numbers don’t work the extended range cold weather numbers are more like 180-200 miles. I’d take a deep breadth before freaking out

 

[Mach-Lee]

The 12V battery costs less than $200 to replace (or you can do it yourself), and everything should be fine after that. If you want to throw the deal away because of that, well that's your choice.

The range meter on an extended range Mach-E will work the same way and suddenly go down in the cold. There are lots of topics on this by concerned new owners until they learn that's just how it works and the car is fine. My range gets cut in half every winter, especially when it's below zero. You got about a 100 miles of range on your trip, which is expected, especially if you were driving faster than 75 MPH, uphill, on snow-covered roads, or into a headwind. An extended range pack would come in around 135 miles range in the same conditions. Again, nothing is wrong, that's just the physics of EV energy use in the cold. You could probably easily get 25% more range by preconditioning, reducing heat setting to 68ºF, and slowing down.

 

[wchristie]

I would ask CarMax to replace the 12V battery. Maybe I missed something......

Is CarMax unwilling to do this?

 

[jfkjgp]

The 12V battery costs less than $200 to replace (or you can do it yourself), and everything should be fine after that. If you want to throw the deal away because of that, well that's your choice.

The range meter on an extended range Mach-E will work the same way and suddenly go down in the cold. There are lots of topics on this by concerned new owners until they learn that's just how it works and the car is fine. My range gets cut in half every winter, especially when it's below zero. You got about a 100 miles of range on your trip, which is expected, especially if you were driving faster than 75 MPH, uphill, on snow-covered roads, or into a headwind. An extended range pack would come in around 135 miles range in the same conditions. Again, nothing is wrong, that's just the physics of EV energy use in the cold. You could probably easily get 25% more range by preconditioning, reducing heat setting to 68ºF, and slowing down.

Thank you! I appreciate it. I don’t know what to do. I mean I still have it but so many people have told me that I WAY overpaid for it. It’s a 2022 with 33k miles on it and I paid 32,998 (33k) for it.
I’ve been looking around for other ones - one with and extended battery. CarMax will cut me a check back for what I paid for the car. What’s really weird though is that I see ALL of the ext batteries are all 91kwh but when I see the window stickers, some show the ext battery cost of 3k, then I’ve seen 5k and I’ve seen 7k. Any idea why they are priced like that? It’s all the same equipment, right?
But looking around it seems like I can find a cheaper car with lower miles. Agggh I don’t know what to do. I can certainly change out the 12v battery. Unless there is something special or specific about them, I imagine I should be able to find one. Looks like it’s kind of a pain to change it out, but I’m sure I can handle it. CarMax will reimburse me for the cost of the battery if I want to go that route. But there are some better deals out there. I found a 23 with 8k miles on it CPO for 33k, which is what I paid. Of course I’d have to have it shipped here or drive down and get it, and I’ll have tax, title and license to pay, so I will be more out of pocket. You said the the battery health is normal that the amt of miles I have on the car… in my same situation, what would you do?? Do you have the ext range? Thank You! ?

 

[dalola]

If I were you, I'd first sit down with a calculator, and run the numbers on each potential scenario you are considering, to see where you stand financially with each one. Then at that point, it may be easier to make a decision. Or you can just say F' it, and do whatever you want. But ultimately, no one can decide what's better for you, than you. So, put your pants on, and make a decision. You have all the information you need. ?

 

[ChuckA]

My ‘21 Premium AWD ER is getting 233 miles at 100% ( I’m actually at 210 @ 90% ).
I’m in CT and I got the ER knowing the range would drop significantly in the winter.

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