50,000 mile owner update. Quite an impressive vehicle overall.

[SnBGC]

My 18 month old Mach-E has finally reached the 50,000 mile mark. Quite an impressive vehicle overall.
I think this is a fantastic vehicle that is let down by glitchy software. That being said, the software obstacles are totally manageable. Meaning, the random software issues have never kept me from using the car. The critical systems have always functioned as expected. So far, the glitches have been with auxiliary features such as infotainment, driving aids, mobile app etc.

I don't see any reason for a play-by-play of my ownership experience. Many here already know the great things about this car so the purpose of this post is to talk about some items that I have experience along the way and get some feedback if others are having similar experiences.

So let's see....
The tires have worn evenly on all four corners and I drove them for 49,655 miles before installing a new set. That is VERY good performance for a BEV tire in my opinion. Those still had a little over 4/32" of tread dept still so I could have probably gone to 55k miles but I didn't see any reason to risk it.

1. I did notice that at around 45k miles the MECS (motor and electronics cooling system) degas tank was low on fluid.
2. I see some oil seepage past the axle seals on the front and rear motor. Front is worse....rear isn't so bad.
3. The driver's door panel is starting to show some sun fading where the top rail of the door panel is exposed to the sun.
4. I had a rattle in the right rear side of the car that turned out to be a loose door striker latch. That was a simple job to tighten it back up again. No biggie.
5. I get regular messages for Front Camera Fault and Collision Assistance Un-Available messages. When those occur, the driving aids don't work very well. So far these episodes have been temporary and the system returns to normal operation within a mile or two.

I have learned to live with the update process. They always have some sort of consequence but usually they are minor issues that are easy to remedy or go away on their own after a short while. I am disappointed to lose the ability to track off center when using Lane Centering but it's not a deal breaker by any stretch of the imagination. Blue Cruise Hands-Free is pretty nice when it is working well. I find it works well when out on the open road. I recently drove to San Diego and back and that system substantially reduced the amount of driver fatigue that I would normally experience otherwise. So, there is value there for those that have the use of that system.

Some of the notices in FordPass are pretty useful. The car really doesn't like to be low on washer fluid and it lets me know on the driver's screen every few hours as well as in Ford Pass. I also got a neat notice about my tires needing to be replaced so that was pretty cool (even though I was on top of it already....).

I really like the native navigation system. Has worked very very well for me. I don't use Carplay or Android Auto but I like that the car supports those features and can do it without wires. That comes in very handy when my wife or kids have something on their phones that I want to put on the screen. It's pretty easy just to switch over to their broadcast and continue driving along.

This car has saved me a ton of money in fuel, maintenance and repairs. I estimate around $8,000 per year. I would recommend this vehicle to others. It is fun to drive. Well built. Has all the features that I need and a bunch of additional features that I never knew I liked but am now glad to have.

I will get the leaking motor seals looked at and shoot for another 50k trouble free miles.

 

[Blue highway]

Nice! 50K! you "live" in this car

 

[nvabill]

Great write up, thanks for the heads up on what to watch out for!

 

[ckt]

Have you noticed any battery degradation?

 

[StillWaitingForMachE]

How did you notice the leaking motor seals? What should I be looking for? And how do you check the MECS fluid level?

 

[ARK]

That's great, it's wonderful to see the vehicle hold up so well after that many miles. How much do you typically drive each day to rack up 50,000 in 18 months? I think it's probably been about a decade since I drove 50,000 miles.

 

[Blue highway]

Kind of amazing to me that Ford was 2+ years ahead of GM and so many others.

 

[back_at_it_19]

My 18 month old Mach-E has finally reached the 50,000 mile mark. Quite an impressive vehicle overall.
I think this is a fantastic vehicle that is let down by glitchy software. That being said, the software obstacles are totally manageable. Meaning, the random software issues have never kept me from using the car. The critical systems have always functioned as expected. So far, the glitches have been with auxiliary features such as infotainment, driving aids, mobile app etc.

I don't see any reason for a play-by-play of my ownership experience. Many here already know the great things about this car so the purpose of this post is to talk about some items that I have experience along the way and get some feedback if others are having similar experiences.

So let's see....
The tires have worn evenly on all four corners and I drove them for 49,655 miles before installing a new set. That is VERY good performance for a BEV tire in my opinion. Those still had a little over 4/32" of tread dept still so I could have probably gone to 55k miles but I didn't see any reason to risk it.

1. I did notice that at around 45k miles the MECS (motor and electronics cooling system) degas tank was low on fluid.
2. I see some oil seepage past the axle seals on the front and rear motor. Front is worse....rear isn't so bad.
3. The driver's door panel is starting to show some sun fading where the top rail of the door panel is exposed to the sun.
4. I had a rattle in the right rear side of the car that turned out to be a loose door striker latch. That was a simple job to tighten it back up again. No biggie.
5. I get regular messages for Front Camera Fault and Collision Assistance Un-Available messages. When those occur, the driving aids don't work very well. So far these episodes have been temporary and the system returns to normal operation within a mile or two.

I have learned to live with the update process. They always have some sort of consequence but usually they are minor issues that are easy to remedy or go away on their own after a short while. I am disappointed to lose the ability to track off center when using Lane Centering but it's not a deal breaker by any stretch of the imagination. Blue Cruise Hands-Free is pretty nice when it is working well. I find it works well when out on the open road. I recently drove to San Diego and back and that system substantially reduced the amount of driver fatigue that I would normally experience otherwise. So, there is value there for those that have the use of that system.

Some of the notices in FordPass are pretty useful. The car really doesn't like to be low on washer fluid and it lets me know on the driver's screen every few hours as well as in Ford Pass. I also got a neat notice about my tires needing to be replaced so that was pretty cool (even though I was on top of it already....).

I really like the native navigation system. Has worked very very well for me. I don't use Carplay or Android Auto but I like that the car supports those features and can do it without wires. That comes in very handy when my wife or kids have something on their phones that I want to put on the screen. It's pretty easy just to switch over to their broadcast and continue driving along.

This car has saved me a ton of money in fuel, maintenance and repairs. I estimate around $8,000 per year. I would recommend this vehicle to others. It is fun to drive. Well built. Has all the features that I need and a bunch of additional features that I never knew I liked but are now glad to have.

I will get the leaking motor seals looked at and shoot for another 50k trouble free miles.

I’m at 31k and love it. Does anyone think dealers are actually doing a multi point inspection checking fluids during 10k service intervals?

 

[AlpaChino]

Does anyone think dealers are actually doing a multi point inspection checking fluids during 10k service intervals?

Yeah.

 

[SnBGC]

I’m at 31k and love it. Does anyone think dealers are actually doing a multi point inspection checking fluids during 10k service intervals?

Yes. Many will do that. It is in their interest to find something that needs attention.

 

[SnBGC]

Have you noticed any battery degradation?

None observed so far. I still see right about 300 miles of range at full charge. I expect to begin observing deg around 75k miles. I believe there is some deg but I just haven't observed it yet because the upper buffer hasn't been consumed yet. It is a matter of time though. Eventually I will begin to observe a loss of capacity but so far so good.

 

[SnBGC]

That's great, it's wonderful to see the vehicle hold up so well after that many miles. How much do you typically drive each day to rack up 50,000 in 18 months? I think it's probably been about a decade since I drove 50,000 miles.

Feels like I routinely rack up 100-150 miles per work day. I give the car the weekends off most of the time.

 

[SnBGC]

How did you notice the leaking motor seals? What should I be looking for? And how do you check the MECS fluid level?

I have a good look around when I rotate the tires. Look for leaking shocks and struts, brake line fittings, cooling hoses etc. Also a good time to clean the backside of the wheels so they look fresh again.

The expansion tanks are covered by the plastic liner panels under the hood. Pop those off and can get access to the stuff.

 

[reeflife]

I am not sure those seals are leaking. I believe they are bearings and the internal pressure may be pushing the lubricant through the bearings. Which could be a perfect amount. Just a thought. Great post! I am going to watch the tear down video again.

 

[RockwallRick]

Congrats on your 50K milestone! We are coming up on 15 months and still below 11K miles. How often do you rotate your tires? I had the first rotation done at 6.5K and will probably do it again at 11.5K.

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