2022 car is bricked in garage :/

[evirtuous]

Everything was fine until this afternoon when I was heading out to run an errand and suddenly weird clicking(?) noises and multiple, random faults displaying, including "is the vehicle plugged in?" (not verbatim).

Anyways, called ford for a tow truck which will not be covered under warranty because I drive a lot. The first tow truck driver was going to approach it as they do a Tesla which did not give me a lot of confidence so I contacted ford again and requested someone with specific experience with the mach-e.

If it is bricked, what will be the order of operations? And what are tow truck driver red flags in this situation?

Thanks very much!

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[E90alex]

12V probably died. Google for how to jump start a Mach-E.

 

[HuntingPudel]

Multiple random errors is a symptom of a low 12V battery. If you can get the frunk open, do it. Pull the rear and left side beauty panels. The battery jump points are under where the “+” and “-“ are on the left side beauty panels. Jump the car to get it started and drive it to your dealer. Do not shut it off and let your dealer’s techs worry about powering it down and moving it after it’s shut down. ??

 

[GreaseMonkey]

Ann, Steve above has the right solution. Since your car is parked safely in the garage, you are better off buying a jump starter and charging your battery and driving it yourself to the dealer. Jumping the car is not complicated. And it’s safer to do it this way vs getting the car towed.

I recall your vehicle was made in the same batch as my first Mach-E. Best of luck to you.

 

[evirtuous]

Thanks everyone for your input!
Tow driver knew what to do and my macheen is safely on the way to the dealership. ?

 

[JohnFoxeSheets]

Thanks everyone for your input!
Tow driver knew what to do and my macheen is safely on the way to the dealership. ?

Great. Given the age of the car, it very likely needs a new 12V battery. (Mine is the same age and the dealership changed it under warranty - but I have low miles and the extended warranty.)

 

[Rj786]

Good to hear the car is safely at the dealership. I also have 2022 Premium, factory order was shipped from Mexico in Sep 2022 and I took ownership on Oct 25, 2022 So three years coming up in 10 months. I have 25k Km, about 15k miLes, curious to find out when did you take ownership of yours in 2022 and did your batteries fail before 3 years. Thanks

 

[Shayne]

Great. Given the age of the car, it very likely needs a new 12V battery. (Mine is the same age and the dealership changed it under warranty - but I have low miles and the extended warranty.)

I was not aware until this forum how much hot weather chews up lead acid 12V's. 12V's in more temperate climates normally last 3x as long. We always found out an ICE 12V is weak by CCA when it is cold. Not the case with an EV and therefore sudden. Designs need to get off the 12V dependance when they have 91 Kw of electrical power sitting there. My second 12V has 3.3 years on it right now now and have become interested in how long it will last. 12V goes a bit different with this one than before but no major deal (not bricked).

 

[Scarpia]

"Bricked" is a pretty dramatic description of what appears to be just a dead battery.

 

[kindofblue]

I"ve read a number of reports of 12v batteries on MMEs needing to be replaced at ~3 years. I'm planing on doing so this fall to prevent this from happening.

 

[evirtuous]

Ann, Steve above has the right solution. Since your car is parked safely in the garage, you are better off buying a jump starter and charging your battery and driving it yourself to the dealer. Jumping the car is not complicated. And it’s safer to do it this way vs getting the car towed.

I recall your vehicle was made in the same batch as my first Mach-E. Best of luck to you.

Hi GreaseMonkey! Hope you've been doing well.

 

[evirtuous]

Good to hear the car is safely at the dealership. I also have 2022 Premium, factory order was shipped from Mexico in Sep 2022 and I took ownership on Oct 25, 2022 So three years coming up in 10 months. I have 25k Km, about 15k miLes, curious to find out when did you take ownership of yours in 2022 and did your batteries fail before 3 years. Thanks

Hello. Very end of June 2022. Currently have about 60k miles on it. Yep, failed before 3 years.

 

[GreaseMonkey]

I was not aware until this forum how much hot weather chews up lead acid 12V's. 12V's in more temperate climates normally last 3x as long. We always found out an ICE 12V is weak by CCA when it is cold. Not the case with an EV and therefore sudden. Designs need to get off the 12V dependance when they have 91 Kw of electrical power sitting there. My second 12V has 3.3 years on it right now now and have become interested in how long it will last. 12V goes a bit different with this one than before but no major deal (not bricked).

Or just use a 48v lithium ion and be done with it. Why do we need to be behind the times? The legacy OEMs are failing in the innovation game to our collective detriment.

 

[evirtuous]

"Bricked" is a pretty dramatic description of what appears to be just a dead battery.

Why can't ford have an icon of a 12v battery box with X's as eyes and a tongue sticking out to alert drivers of this issue?

 

[E90alex]

Or just use a 48v lithium ion and be done with it. Why do we need to be behind the times? The legacy OEMs are failing in the innovation game to our collective detriment.

It’s really only such a problem in the Mach-E since there’s no mechanical way to open any part of the vehicle if the 12V is dead. The electronic door latches are a failed “innovation”/fad and creates more problems than they solve.

If there was a way to open the frunk or any door with a key blade then you can just pop it open and jump it with a jump pack you keep in the car and be on your way. But instead you have to hope the 12V is dead enough to allow the emergency frunk pop and you still need an external 12V source.

Even a lithium 12V would be an improvement in longevity and reliability but there’s not really any standardized Li-ion 12V so they’re all proprietary. And when they do actually fail (as all batteries will eventually), they can cost thousands of dollars and you can only get them from the dealer.

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