21 Select Dead, Frunk Won't Open With External 12v

[ricksta6]

In Chicago where it was a high of 1 degree today. Made it to the gym without any issues. Went to leave and remote started the car and when I go out to it and turn it on, I got a bunch of errors (AWD off, stop safely, service needed, etc etc), and couldn't shift the gear out of park. Displays and radio turned on and climate controls appeared to be active but heat didn't come on. Tried to get it to start a few times to no effect. Called roadside assistance and ran home for the physical key while I waited for a tow.

Got back and tried one more time with the physical key. Didn't work, went back inside and got an alert that there was a door ajar. Went back out and the lights were flashing but door wouldn't open or unlock at this point. I assume the 12v completely died.

Tried to open the hood with a 12v via the front compartment but it wouldn't unlatch. Cancelled the tow as I had to get going and had been waiting ~3 hours for it and will try again tomorrow but not sure how they will be able to tow it if I can't get the hood open or the vehicle into neutral. Any idea what sort of tow to ask for? The roadside assistance didn't seem to fully understand the issue.

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[Maquis]

One with wheel dollies so he can drag it on to the flatbed. Or if you’re lucky, the 12V will die completely and you’ll be able to pop the frunk.

PSA: We‘re see about 2 threads per day of 2021s with failing 12V batteries. If you own a 2021 with the original battery, replace it.

 

[ricksta6]

One with wheel dollies so he can drag it on to the flatbed. Or if you’re lucky, the 12V will die completely and you’ll be able to pop the frunk.

PSA: We‘re see about 2 threads per day of 2021s with failing 12V batteries. If you own a 2021 with the original battery, replace it.

Since I can't unlock the door wouldn't that indicate the 12v is completely dead?

 

[LKlotz33]

I am currently going through this exact same issue. My 21 premium has been at the dealership for 4 days. They can’t gain access to the vehicle. Still waiting on them to find a solution to replace the 12v. They told me the 12v was reading 0% on my account but still when they added power to the 12v jumpers the hood doesn’t open.

 

[zvez]

Since I can't unlock the door wouldn't that indicate the 12v is completely dead?

it's my understanding for the frunk wires to work the 12v has to be completely dead.

 

[HuntingPudel]

The 12V battery can be low enough to not supply enough juice to the car’s systems but not completely dead. The frunk jumper wires do not seem to work if there is any juice left in the 12V system. This can result in a situation where the car will not unlock and the jumper wires will not open the frunk lid. It’s becoming a common enough occurrence to be somewhat alarming. ??

 

[DeusEx]

Since I can't unlock the door wouldn't that indicate the 12v is completely dead?

Keep unlocking and locking the door from your keyfob and pressing the unlock button on your door. Eventually you'll fully kill the 12v where you should be able to pop open the frunk. It may take 5 minutes or longer.

https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/completely-locked-out-😭.37460/page-2#post-826363

 

[Maquis]

Since I can't unlock the door wouldn't that indicate the 12v is completely dead?

It’s flashing your lights, so no.

 

[Womps]

Ford should be so proud of this design. Are other electric vehicles designed the same way to leave you totally stranded because maybe your battery is dead?

 

[Sikkun]

Ford should be so proud of this design. Are other electric vehicles designed the same way to leave you totally stranded because maybe your battery is dead?

Believe Tesla also has the 12v jumpers in bumper design also. Assume they are not the only ones either.

 

[Flyboy]

It sounds like a problem I reported 4 or 5 months ago, my dealer had the car twice and still didn't fix it. The frunk will open just fine with the mechanical pull inside the car. if you try any of the electronic "buttons" like the soft button on the screen or the frunk button on the remote, you will hear the actuator making the usual sounds (twice) but the frunk will not open. I tried pushing as it activated and still nothing - even got the Frunk Fail Error message each time. Dealer claims it was fixed and wasn't. The Ford rep on this forum said they would look into it and get back to me, and they didn't.

So what happens when the battery fails... sounds exactly like your problem. There is no easy way to get to the LVB to change it.

This happened to me while the car was still under warrant and I have the extended warranty.
I am presently monitoring the battery SOH and voltage with a built in voltmeter. All 3 charge modes (12.8-12.9, 13.1-13.3, and 14.4-14.8V) are normal except when the temperatures drop below 40 deg F, then it reads 15.0 on the charge mode.
I keep hoping Ford will respond to my response action request - so far nothing...

As soon as we are out of the Deep Freeze and dig out of 11" of snow (in New Orleans - go figure) I will get a new battery and keep rolling the dice because a new battery will not fix the problem with the frunk release.
One last note - the emergency button inside the frunk probably won't work either. If this is a DOT safety requirement, does this qualify as a safety recall?

 

[PA27]

Similar issues this morning. Car was plugged in last night for cold north Alabama temperatures. App told me at departure time the vehicle has charged to 70% as expected and cabin temperature was ready and battery conditioned for departure. Except when I got in, cabin cold all the lights you saw and HVB was not at 70%, etc. I left doors unlocked and waiting for warmer temperatures today then I will go disconnect 12v for a few minutes to see if it resets as the app still shows no warnings.

 

[ricksta6]

Couple updates:

Currently back and waiting for the tow. First tow called to confirm they did not have the right equipment since it's stuck in park. Second tow has no ETA but confirmed they have the right equipment.

I forgot to mention the car was showing as charged to 100%, not that that matters for the LVB.

I'm pretty positive I got the original LVB battery replaced 1-1.5 years ago when it was in for service. Don't really understand why it would drain so much, even in this cold, relative to other vehicles.

Also pretty positive it's completely dead at this point, but I'm no longer going to try to pop the hood to find out. Will let the dealership deal with that. I brought both physical key FOBs with me to try to drain it further by locking/unlocking. The red light indicator at the top of the number pad on the door will still light up when I press the button, but everything else seems 100% dead. No other lights or indicators or anything.

 

[bellyer]

Funny thing with my '21 Job 1 Mach-E related to this. I had my dealer in Chicago pick my car up and take it in last week having asked them to replace the 12v battery to be on the safe side. The dealer sent my vehicle home to me about 3 hours later having fully inspected and tested the battery and found it to be completely healthy and they say that they installed some update they have access to related to the 12v battery (no idea what that update is). They did not charge me a penny for the appointment and told me that there is absolutely no need to replace the battery at this time. So, now I am not sure what to believe, but the dealer swears that the battery is in great shape.

 

[Tomm]

Nice that your dealer did not just sell you the battery!!

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