12V Recall (25S65) Software Released

[Billyk24]

Battery replacement interval depends on your normal climate. In a really hot climate or a really cold climate, 3 years may be a little too long. In a very moderate climate, you might be able to get away with 4 years. The sad fact is that it will die eventually. The timing depends mostly on your climate and the individual battery.

Could be longer. My 2021 built November 2020 still has the original 12v battery. 5 years almost. Might as well replace the 12v with the software update.

Sponsored

 

[ChrisO]

Maybe I missed it, but do the two screens in the car remain “on” after the car is turned “off” using the start-stop button?

I ask because nothing is more annoying than turning the car off ….then having to navigate to the screen where the frunk/trunk buttons are located…..and while doing this, your passenger opens their door ….and the screen turn off!!!
…..and you cannot open their door hat hatch from inside the car.

All my other vehicles turn off the screens only after the door is shut (not when opened). If the door never opens and the car is turned off, screens stay on for a couple of minutes.

As a person that has spent a lot of time waiting on my wife in the car, this is the behavior I see.

If the car is on, and you open a door, and then I turn it off after the closes the door, both the screens and the USB ports will stay active for the 1000 seconds (16.666 minutes) and then both will shut off. This is basically what tends to happen when I'm waiting for my wife.

If the car is on and you turn it off before any door is open, then the screens will turn off right away, but the USB ports will stay on for the same 16.666 minutes or until you open a door.

Bottom line, if you need to navigate the screens don't turn the car off (or put it in accessory mode, which BTW limits what you can control too). Since the car isn't "idling" this is a lot less of a concern than on an ICE car (leaving it "running").

 

[Mach-Lee]

As I understand it, that update warns on low State of Charge, which may or may not correspond with State of Health. I may have misunderstood it though.

Opposite, the alert is based on state of health, not state of charge.

Maybe I missed it, but do the two screens in the car remain “on” after the car is turned “off” using the start-stop button?

I ask because nothing is more annoying than turning the car off ….then having to navigate to the screen where the frunk/trunk buttons are located…..and while doing this, your passenger opens their door ….and the screen turn off!!!
…..and you cannot open their door hat hatch from inside the car.

All my other vehicles turn off the screens only after the door is shut (not when opened). If the door never opens and the car is turned off, screens stay on for a couple of minutes.

The screen behavior is unchanged after the update.

 

[Sikkun]

I made an appointment online through FordPass to have this recall done at my local dealership on Thursday, and that I would wait at the dealership while they did it. We'll see how that flys. Hopefully they've done a few by now and have the routine down for a quick turnaround.

Routine:

Attach battery charger, plug in dongle, start laptop, read instructions.

Instructions:
Start car.
Turn off car.
Start car.

These updates are really simply to apply.

 

[Tampamike]

Just had nine done with mobile service in my garage at home. It was all accomplished via laptop. Two separate updates took about 30 minutes, maybe. All very quick and easy. Love that mobile service Bill Currie Ford!

 

[Nompe_]

It's currently only a US recall. I don't even think that the Canadians have gotten on this one yet.

I contacted Ford Switzerland and they confirmed that my car is also concerned by this recall.

I will contact my dealer to have the update done in the next days.

 

[PhD]

The 12V lockout recall software (25S65) has been released for all Mach-E's as of today. You can now schedule to have it installed at your dealer if you have a '21-24 vehicle. The update will take the technician about 30 minutes to apply. I've already installed the software on my car, and as expected:

• The charging system will maintain 14.5V for 12 minutes after vehicle shutdown.
• If the 12V battery were to fail while driving, the DC/DC converter will continue to provide power to the door latches through the 12-minute post-shutdown period, allowing unlock and entry/exit.

After the update, you may notice the slight hum of a cooling pump running after driving and parking the car (if it's warm outside). This is normal, it is cooling the DC/DC converter producing the 12V power. If it's cool outside, the vehicle will be silent with no indications the 12V is actively charging. The high voltage system now stays energized during the 12-minute post-shutdown period. After 12 minutes have elapsed, you will hear two successive clunks, which are the main high voltage contactors in the HVBJB opening.

This update will also be beneficial if you drive many short trips (<10 minutes), because you will have additional 12V charging time after shutdown. This will help keep the 12V battery charged up, and covers the load of headlights, screens, and opening/closing doors during the post-shutdown period. Before, all those accessories would drain the 12V battery by about 5-10% after each shutdown.

One important service change—if you are replacing the 12V battery from now on, you will now need to wait at least 12 minutes after the vehicle is shut down before removing the battery terminals. The charging system will remain powered up (and may be silent). The same is true if you are removing a terminal to do a 12V reset. If you don't wait 12+ minutes, you could short out the DC/DC converter or blow a mega fuse if the positive cable touches ground, even after removing the negative terminal. Terminal voltage should be less than 13V before removal.

Thank you Lee this was super helpful. The service rep at the Ford dealership was absolutely clueless about what the software entailed and said we had to leave it for an entire day. Said I would wait and it actually only took them 1 hour once they hooked it up. I also used my Brother label machine to put a label in the frunk where the + and - symbols are that said: "Warning: Wait 12 minutes after shut down before servicing battery"

 

[mccolt]

I just took my car in for the software update. When I picked it up, my Apple CarPlay was no longer working. They tried a hard reset and it still is not working. Did anyone else have this problem?

 

[preston4tw]

Wanted to report a negative experience trying to get the recall software update done. I took my 2023 Mach-E in to my dealer, Ford Country in Henderson Nevada, requesting the recall software update be done, as well as any other updates if possible. Dropped the car off yesterday evening and got it back around noon today.

While the tech appears to have run updates, it seems like their updater itself was out of date. When I got my car back it reported the driver facing cam update was available, and the tech notes said "MT25S65B CURRENTLY ONLY 2025 MY". My best guess is they updated the car to just before the driver facing cam update was released in August, which wouldn't include the recall update released five days ago.

I'm currently having a back and forth with my service advisor trying to convince them this is the case, that the update hasn't been installed, which I verified by turning the car on and off and watching the 12V battery voltage with a bluetooth battery monitor I installed earlier this year after an incident with the 12V dying. It's my understanding that after the update the DC/DC converter stays on for 12 minutes supplying 14.5V. On at 16:54, off at 16:55:

So it seems like some dealer service techs don't even realize the update is available. I've asked for the next attempt to be mobile service, provided I can even convince my service advisor that the update is both available and wasn't installed.

 

[TNGreenMachE]

Wanted to report a negative experience trying to get the recall software update done. I took my 2023 Mach-E in to my dealer, Ford Country in Henderson Nevada, requesting the recall software update be done, as well as any other updates if possible. Dropped the car off yesterday evening and got it back around noon today.

While the tech appears to have run updates, it seems like their updater itself was out of date. When I got my car back it reported the driver facing cam update was available, and the tech notes said "MT25S65B CURRENTLY ONLY 2025 MY". My best guess is they updated the car to just before the driver facing cam update was released in August, which wouldn't include the recall update released five days ago.

I'm currently having a back and forth with my service advisor trying to convince them this is the case, that the update hasn't been installed, which I verified by turning the car on and off and watching the 12V battery voltage with a bluetooth battery monitor I installed earlier this year after an incident with the 12V dying. It's my understanding that after the update the DC/DC converter stays on for 12 minutes supplying 14.5V. On at 16:54, off at 16:55:

So it seems like some dealer service techs don't even realize the update is available. I've asked for the next attempt to be mobile service, provided I can even convince my service advisor that the update is both available and wasn't installed.

This is a good reason to wait until the recall notice hard copy comes in the mail. With that in hand, the service department can't reasonably deny the service is now available for earlier years.

 

[DeusEx]

@preston4tw, I'd send your SA a copy of the file that Mike G provided here: https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/12v-recall-25s65-software-released.48958/post-1010226

They're not looking hard enough or in the right place.

 

[preston4tw]

This is a good reason to wait until the recall notice hard copy comes in the mail. With that in hand, the service department can't reasonably deny the service is now available for earlier years.

What's funny is afterwards I sent my service advisor an attachment in this thread, the PDF by FoMoCo's Service Engineering Operations: the safety recall supplement #1 calling out in bright red that as of Sept. 5th all 2021-2025 MY Mach-E's can be updated. I haven't gotten the notice that the supplement says has gone out in the mail yet but you're right, having either that or a printout of the PDF might be useful for people who want to try to get their recalls done before dealerships have figured it out.

https://www.macheforum.com/site/attachments/25s65_dealer_bulletin_supplement1-pdf.155119/

 

[dan_meh]

So it seems like some dealer service techs don't even realize the update is available.

Yes, I had this problem at three dealerships. I even called one back after confirming in this forum that it is available (thanks again) but they argued with me. Then I got the least self aware text today: “please schedule a time to come in and take care of the recall.”

Phooey… I took it to the dealer that was helpful. I didn’t need the car today, so I left it with them all day. It’s fixed.

 

[SCampbell]

Just got the update from my Canadian dealership that the update is available and as soon as they have it done on my new
2024 Mach e, I can bring it home! Yay!

 

[HuntingPudel]

I just took my car in for the software update. When I picked it up, my Apple CarPlay was no longer working. They tried a hard reset and it still is not working. Did anyone else have this problem?

Wireless CarPlay functioned just fine when I picked up my 2024 GT.

Sponsored