Catastrophe After One Week

[smartino]

I do wonder if these cars were on a “chip hold” which allowed the 12v battery to become low. Seems this is happening to newer builds within a few days if delivery. I’ve had mine since February and had the 12v issue on the 2nd day of ownership. Had the TSB done and not a problem since then.

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[Cm12]

The fact that Sync saying it was shutting down to save battery really sounds like a 12V battery problem. It shouldn't need to conserve power, unless the battery is near its low voltage cutoff. I'm betting the cold weather is affecting the AGM battery more than expected, for whatever reason.

I think you’re spot on. I have an October 2021 build and I’m suddenly having the 12v battery issues too. Started during several consecutive days of unusually cold temps in the 20s.

 

[mrvinton]

How to Recondition/Service Your 12V Battery

Do a search and read the above thread by Mach-Lee lots of good information as to why this happens and how to prevent.

 

[67 Stang Convertible]

Today, my Premium SR AWD of 1 week suffered a complete meltdown (or I guess I should say “freeze up” given today’s 3 degree high temp) in the middle of I-35W in downtown Minneapolis. I was at 75% charge and everything was functioning normally, I was driving under 20 mph in congestion, and then all hell broke loose when I came to a stop. The first thing I noticed was the big screen shutting down to conserve power, and then the fact that the motor had turned off and the dash was flashing every possible error / warning message at me. I thought, okay, let’s shift into park and then restart, but pressing the start / stop button did nothing - and now I couldn’t shift into neutral or anything else. The only thing that seemed to function was the OK button to read the next failure message - and they spanned “rear door ajar” (it wasn’t) to “parking brake fault” (I hadn’t applied it). Long story short: I called the state patrol, they summoned a flatbed tow truck, and we hauled my overwhelmed car back to the dealership where I signed purchase papers the week before. We couldn’t even get the driver’s door to latch - is there a “latch”?

I know there are several threads about electronics failures similar to mine, and I’ll comb through those for hints. But I hope you’ll also share your thoughts and/or send links to thread that you think might be relevant. I want to be ready to advocate with the service department starting tomorrow, since they were all but closed when we arrived late this afternoon.

Here are a couple of screenshots that I just took - thanks in advance for your help!

Wow, that sounds awful. Curious don't we have a "tow mode" in the software menu? How did they get it up on the tow truck if you couldn't make it go into neurtral?

 

[Jbkimmel]

@Jbkimmel sorry to hear this. I’m keeping my fingers crossed as the temp for our morning drive tomorrow is -19F. Which dealership are you using? I purchased at Inver Grove Ford here and Eric has been my service advisor. Plus or minus the supply chain back orders they have been pretty helpful when I’ve been in.

Thanks, Alan - I chose Midway for my order because it’s a mile from my office in Roseville. They were great on the sales side, fingers crossed on service. But they did set me up with a free loaner without me even having to ask or demand… Appreciate the IG Ford tip!

 

[Jbkimmel]

I do wonder if these cars were on a “chip hold” which allowed the 12v battery to become low. Seems this is happening to newer builds within a few days if delivery. I’ve had mine since February and had the 12v issue on the 2nd day of ownership. Had the TSB done and not a problem since then.

That makes a lot of sense. My car supposedly started production 11/16 and ended 11/29, and then disappeared for most of December. That is, I couldn’t track its progress north. I thought the seat belt issue may have been a factor, since Ford originally though my MME was part of the recall before determining that it wasn’t.

 

[Jbkimmel]

Wow, that sounds awful. Curious don't we have a "tow mode" in the software menu? How did they get it up on the tow truck if you couldn't make it go into neurtral?

The driver had to drag my rear wheels the 20 feet onto the flat bed. And then at the dealer, he jiggled those wheels off the bed and drove the truck out from under. Pretty graceful, actually. I’m guessing this is why our alarm systems have a setting to detect the car being tipped, since thieves can do the exact same thing! ?

 

[Jbkimmel]

Thanks all for your support. Does anyone have the TSB number that calls for replacing the faulty LVB? I found 49758 but it’s short.

 

[Jbkimmel]

How to Recondition/Service Your 12V Battery

Do a search and read the above thread by Mach-Lee lots of good information as to why this happens and how to prevent.

Wow - so much incredible information on this forum, accumulated by all you pioneers with early 2021s! So how should the dealer be able to tell whether my LVB simply needs a long charge / reconditioning over the weekend, vs a new battery? I don’t want to lose two weeks with them putzing around.

 

[Maquis]

Wow - so much incredible information on this forum, accumulated by all you pioneers with early 2021s! So how should the dealer be able to tell whether my LVB simply needs a long charge / reconditioning over the weekend, vs a new battery? I don’t want to lose two weeks with them putzing around.

There’s nothing magical about the 12V battery - it’s a conventional AGM battery used in many cars. Your dealer should know how to test it. That said, I’d certainly not hesitate to causally mention it to the service writer. “Hey, is that a special battery? How do you test it?”

 

[Gixxer750]

Time to dig out my Battery Tender for when the Mach-E arrives... With mine being off-site for over 2 months waiting on a chip, I know my 12V will not be in good shape by the time I get it.

 

[ChasingCoral]

Wow - so much incredible information on this forum, accumulated by all you pioneers with early 2021s! So how should the dealer be able to tell whether my LVB simply needs a long charge / reconditioning over the weekend, vs a new battery? I don’t want to lose two weeks with them putzing around.

My car was drivable after a few hours on a trickle charger. You probably could have gotten a jump/quick charge from the tow truck and driven away. Definitely needs dealer service to solve the problem though.

 

[kdryden99]

Time to dig out my Battery Tender for when the Mach-E arrives... With mine being off-site for over 2 months waiting on a chip, I know my 12V will not be in good shape by the time I get it.

That is a very good idea but I question even the condition of the battery. Without being charged for such a long time it might be broken. A broken AGM battery can be fixed but not with a tender. Many of you who are taking ownership these days should download the pre inspection checklist @ChasingCoral made. Make sure the dealer checks tests the 12v before leaving. Tell them you're just concerned since the car has been in limbo for a long time.

 

[Jbkimmel]

That is a very good idea but I question even the condition of the battery. Without being charged for such a long time it might be broken. A broken AGM battery can be fixed but not with a tender. Many of you who are taking ownership these days should download the pre inspection checklist @ChasingCoral made. Make sure the dealer checks tests the 12v before leaving. Tell them you're just concerned since the car has been in limbo for a long time.

I was just going to ask whether one of you salty old dogs have compiled your wisdom anywhere for us plebes. Thanks again.

 

[TheVirtualTim]

Thanks - I have to admit that I don’t yet fully understand the relationship of the 12V to the main battery, but I’ll read up tonight….

The 12v battery runs all the modules on the car. If it gets low, those modules all start losing power and ... this is the result.

There is a module responsible for monitoring and maintaining the state of charge. If the 12v battery gets low, it should charge it either via the AC charger (if the car is plugged in) or via the high-voltage battery (if the car is not plugged in).

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