"Check 12-Volt Battery" alert in FordPass now enabled

[Mach-Lee]

So I have a question then: When I contacted the Ford Advisor, this is what he said:
"Your 2024 Mustang Mach-E 12V Battery State of Charge is at 98%.
The high Voltage Battery State of Charge is at 90% and the State of Health is at 97%."

Is there something additional that needs to be checked?

Yes, you need to have your 12V battery tested as the message indicates (make a service appointment to test the 12V battery). The advisor should have told you to get it checked. Those numbers do not give enough info to make the call.

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[JamFly]

Took mine to the dealer for this exact message last week. Had to convince them first it’s not the 12V lockout recall message. They were very confused about what was happening, tried to blame my amp (which I’ve had for a year), updated all software modules, then finally replaced the battery. They said LV was 91% health but replaced it anyways cuz they couldn’t find any other issues. Problem solved. Seems like Ford needs to communicate better with their service department. Got a free charge out of it over 3 days and software so that’s nice. 2023 GT PE job 1

 

[Mach-Lee]

Took mine to the dealer for this exact message last week. Had to convince them first it’s not the 12V lockout recall message. They were very confused about what was happening, tried to blame my amp (which I’ve had for a year), updated all software modules, then finally replaced the battery. They said LV was 91% health but replaced it anyways cuz they couldn’t find any other issues. Problem solved. Seems like Ford needs to communicate better with their service department. Got a free charge out of it over 3 days and software so that’s nice. 2023 GT PE job 1

Good. Ford’s documentation says to test the battery, and if it’s bad then the battery needs to be replaced and the BMS reset in order to clear the warning message.

I expect It will take some time for dealers to learn what to do when encountering this message.

 

[RickK7]

Newish owner here (6 weeks) of a used 23MME Premium with 12k miles. First EV ever, and love it. Not an expert on car maintenance at all. However, I purchased a Schumacher Electric Marine & Automotive Charger twelve years ago in order to trickle charge my two vehicles once every few weeks. Since then, I have never had to replace a battery and I have kept vehicles for five to seven years before replacing them.
I'm curious to know from more knowledgeable users here if I might expect the same results by using it on my MME. From my experience, changing out a battery every three years is a bit excessive but I do realize that with the MME it is a bit more critical.

 

[Billyk24]

Yes, you need to have your 12V battery tested as the message indicates (make a service appointment to test the 12V battery). The advisor should have told you to get it checked. Those numbers do not give enough info to make the call.

Could someone actually tell us what tool Ford Service Department uses to test the 12V battery capacity? The hooking a light bulb up to the 12V battery isn't what owners are going to do or use. Is there a piece of hardware that actually owners can use to accurately measure the 12V capacity as shown in the photo?

 

[RandyMache]

Tesla has had this for a long time, but my kid has warned me that when that message come on, it is best to get that new battery immediately or almost as soon. 12-volt batteries for EVs are a problem not yet solved.

Personally, I think it's the OEM batteries they put in their vehicles. I believe, no proof, but my experience in more than a dozen new cars [mostly fords], tells me they put sub quality batteries in the new cars. My experience has been in the dozen new cars I've bought, 8 of them required a batterie replacement within the first 2 years. My MME is no exception. At 18 months, during a routine checkup, the dealer discovered my battery was below tolerances and replaced it right there and then. Take from my experience what you will..... My comments and $4.50 will get you a cup of coffee.

 

[DYohn]

The only vehicle I've ever owned that ate batteries was a Mitsubishi Outlander. If I got 18 months out of a new battery I was lucky, and the dealer could never find anything "wrong" with the electrical system nor the batteries. I ended up buying one from Costco because they have a 100% replacement warranty if it fails in the first three years - I paid for thye first one and was on the fourth free replacement battery when I sold the vehicle.

On the MME, bottom line for me is if I get the warning I will not ask for the battery to be "checked" nor will I care what data might be lurking, I will simply have it replaced. That seems to me to be the intention behind this new information function.

 

[gavine]

. 12-volt batteries for EVs are a problem not yet solved.

Tesla solved this with lithium-ion 12v batteries on their current line-up. Smaller, lighter and more durable (last longer). At some point, all EV manufacturers will follow-suit. Can't happen soon enough.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Could someone actually tell us what tool Ford Service Department uses to test the 12V battery capacity? The hooking a light bulb up to the 12V battery isn't what owners are going to do or use. Is there a piece of hardware that actually owners can use to accurately measure the 12V capacity as shown in the photo?

They use a Midtronics tester, probably the DCA-8000 these days (which costs $6000).

Using a conductance battery tester, such as the above, would be moderately successful at detecting bad batteries. You would enter the battery type (flat plate AGM) and the SAE cranking amps (380A) in order to test the battery. The leads need to be connected directly to the battery terminals for a fully accurate test, but you can get a ballpark reading from the jump points.

If you want to own a conductance tester, I recommend this one: TOPDON BT100

You will be able to see if the cranking amps are declining. I would replace if you see health reading less than 80% on the tester.

Personally, I think it's the OEM batteries they put in their vehicles. I believe, no proof, but my experience in more than a dozen new cars [mostly fords], tells me they put sub quality batteries in the new cars. My experience has been in the dozen new cars I've bought, 8 of them required a batterie replacement within the first 2 years. My MME is no exception. At 18 months, during a routine checkup, the dealer discovered my battery was below tolerances and replaced it right there and then. Take from my experience what you will..... My comments and $4.50 will get you a cup of coffee.

All my Ford batteries have lasted 5+ years. Pretty much all car batteries in the USA are made by one of three manufacturers, East Penn, Clarios, or Exide and rebranded. The quality of the battery is not the issue; it's how the battery was treated during its lifespan. Early Mach-E's had lots of 12V issues. The batteries would go dead in transport from sitting for months. And the 12V management was not good about recharging it until it was almost dead. There were also software issues that would cause the battery to drain and recharge very often, such as charge faults or 3rd party apps. All those factors created wear on the battery. Damage accumulates over time and can cause early failure. These problems are mostly fixed, so new batteries will last a lot longer in Mach-E's moving forward provided the software is up to date. But the damage has been done from those early faults.

How you use the vehicle also plays a role. If you only drive short trips less than 15 minutes, there is not enough time for the battery to recharge fully between starts, and it will fail earlier. Also, if you live in a very hot climate such as SoCal, your battery will fail sooner. This is not the fault of the battery; the driving habits and environment are just very demanding.

 

[Meljfry]

Yes, you need to have your 12V battery tested as the message indicates (make a service appointment to test the 12V battery). The advisor should have told you to get it checked. Those numbers do not give enough info to make the call.

Just for clarification, I didn't get the message. I just asked them to check it because of the recall that was just announced.

 

[Mach1E]

Took mine to the dealer for this exact message last week. Had to convince them first it’s not the 12V lockout recall message. They were very confused about what was happening, tried to blame my amp (which I’ve had for a year), updated all software modules, then finally replaced the battery. They said LV was 91% health but replaced it anyways cuz they couldn’t find any other issues. Problem solved. Seems like Ford needs to communicate better with their service department. Got a free charge out of it over 3 days and software so that’s nice. 2023 GT PE job 1

Exactly what I was afraid of.

You get the message, do exactly what it tells you to do and end up having to fight with the dealership and in the end your battery wasn’t even bad (91%).

 

[Ford_orr]

Sounds like there was a miscommunication. Did they actually test your 12V battery or not? If so, what were the results? If you got the warning message posted here, it is NOT just a recall notification.

Again, because you live in a hot climate and your battery is more than 3 years old, I would strongly recommend replacing it regardless of what they say.

Hey Lee, quick question. I plan on taking a long (2+ hour) drive here shortly to charge up the 12v since I haven't been driving much recently, so my question is, does the average speed of the drive make any discernable difference in the charging capacity, or is it just having the vehicle running/moving for a lengthy amount of time? Would a 2-hour drive that averaged 30mph affect the charging differently that the same 2-hour drive, but at 65mph average. Thank you sir!

 

[BillPitman]

Sounds like there was a miscommunication. Did they actually test your 12V battery or not? If so, what were the results? If you got the warning message posted here, it is NOT just a recall notification.

Again, because you live in a hot climate and your battery is more than 3 years old, I would strongly recommend replacing it regardless of what they say.

2021 Mach-e, I check my 12v battery health every month or so…..Still shows 100% health, this is using an Ancel BA101 tester……
Glad they added this feature to FP app…….., should add it for the Maverick 12v system also. 2024 Maverick Hybrid, just over a year old, checked today, 51% battery health. Bill P

 

[Mach-Lee]

Hey Lee, quick question. I plan on taking a long (2+ hour) drive here shortly to charge up the 12v since I haven't been driving much recently, so my question is, does the average speed of the drive make any discernable difference in the charging capacity, or is it just having the vehicle running/moving for a lengthy amount of time? Would a 2-hour drive that averaged 30mph affect the charging differently that the same 2-hour drive, but at 65mph average. Thank you sir!

Speed doesn't matter, you could charge the car for two hours and accomplish the same thing.

 

[Brent@ANParts]

Glad to see they added this alert. As many others have already mentioned, 12v batteries are notoriously troublesome with EVs. I went through about one a year, meanwhile my collector cars have a few batteries 10+ years old. Added bonus you can't get locked out when the battery dies!

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