Error message: Powertrain malfunction / reduced power

[rohankumar]

Just got a call back from my dealership and they stated a faulty part of the gear shift module needs to replaced. They just put in an order and I might be able to pick up the car tomorrow. So in my case it wasn't just a random fault. Hoping there's no other issues after the replacement tomorrow.

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[Ford Motor Company]

Just got the Powertrain malfunction/reduced power error on my car (that I’ve had for less than 1000 miles and not even 3 week). Acting a little wonky after that. Initially started up again and backed into the garage fine, but then after restarting to back up a little more, it was giving me an error message about vehicle not being in park when I tried to put it in reverse (it was).

it’s been glitchy all day before this. Got stuck on the guest profile and I had to reset sync to be able to switch to my profile. Then, when I got home and shut it off, it said “no key detected, restart car”. Also wasn’t letting me change settings because it said I was using a MyKey (never set one up).

car updated to 3.5.4 last week.

If it starts up ok next time, should I roll with it or should I go ahead and take it in? Now I’m nervous to drive it.

Hi there! Will you send us a message with your VIN and your local Ford dealer? I can look into things on my end.

 

[MustangAmy]

Hi there! Will you send us a message with your VIN and your local Ford dealer? I can look into things on my end.

Done. Thank you.

 

[Edosansf]

On Wednesday this week I had a very similar issue.
Vehicle: Mach-E Premium AWD.
Car has been in service 2 months with just under 1000 miles. No issues until Wednesday.
On power on I got the message to schedule service as soon as possible and the reduced power warning. I also had the issue with the profile stuck on "Guest" and I could not change it.
I drove 45 files with the warning. On arrival I powered on/off and then got in addition the red battery icon on the dashboard. I set up a service visit at the local dealer next monday.
On Wednesday afternoon I still got the reduced power warning and service message, but no red battery. The profile behavior also went back to normal.
Yesterday, Thursday evening, the reduced power warning went away.
So now the car is behaving as usual.
I think I will still take it to the dealer on Monday so they can give it the once over.

 

[MustangAmy]

On Wednesday this week I had a very familiar issue.
Vehicle: Mach-E Premium AWD.
Car has been in service 2 months with just under 1000 miles. No issues until Wednesday.
On power on I got the message to schedule service as soon as possible and the reduced power warning. I also had the issue with the profile stuck on "Guest" and I could not change it.
I drove 45 files with the warning. On arrival I powered on/off and then got in addition the red battery icon on the dashboard. I set up a service visit at the local dealer next monday.
On Wednesday afternoon I still got the reduced power warning and service message, but no red battery. The profile behavior also went back to normal.
Yesterday, Thursday evening, the reduced power warning went away.
So now the car is behaving as usual.
I think I will still take it to the dealer on Monday so they can give it the once over.

The warnings cleared after a few restarts. I drove it on multiple trips today, totaling about 60 miles without any issues. Have an appointment at the dealership on Monday, though, that I plan on keeping.

 

[11fourteen]

I got this same set of issues today after charging at a public charger (that happened to have a broken latch, not sure if related). Planning to let the vehicle site for a few hours and check back.

 

[MustangAmy]

Took the car in today. Dealer said when they pulled the codes, it told them to update a few modules, which they did. They were unable to reproduce the error and didn't find anything else wrong. Hopefully, it was just a computer glitch.

 

[rohankumar]

I have had all sorts of delays in the part being delivered into the dealership, dropped off the car on Thursday and might be able to pick it up tomorrow possibly. Dealership assured me that many modules have been updated in the interim and also they should have me at the software version available.

 

[CarDreams]

I got the Powertrain Malfunction /Reduced Powe error as well after I DC fast-charged and attempted to charge when I got home (after a two hour interstate drive). Car would not charge, and the error popped up on the FordPass app. Lo and behold, see the dreaded gear and “Service Vehicle soon” error. I have an April 2022 build, only 8k miles.

I looked at the forms and unplugged, waited 15 min, and the car started charging. I woke up this morning and the error message was gone.

Hopefully, mine was just the bug and not a DC fast-charging issue (HVBJB failure). My dealership does not have any appointments for two weeks.

 

[phil]

If everything is working normally then it’s just a charging or gear shift fault.

Thanks, Mach-Lee. I think this is what happened to me - gear shift fault. After shifting, got the malfunction notice, and power was indeed greatly reduced. Shut down and restarted after 15 min, and everything has been fine since.

Do you have a recommendation? Is it best to ignore this one-time failure, or should I get a "gear shift module" repair, like rohankumar here?

Just got a call back from my dealership and they stated a faulty part of the gear shift module needs to replaced.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Thanks, Mach-Lee. I think this is what happened to me - gear shift fault. After shifting, got the malfunction notice, and power was indeed greatly reduced. Shut down and restarted after 15 min, and everything has been fine since.

Do you have a recommendation? Is it best to ignore this one-time failure, or should I get a "gear shift module" repair, like rohankumar here?

It's up to you, I'm a proponent of having your car fully updated, but I understand an occasional glitch might not be worth scheduling a dealer trip to some people.

 

[Logal727]

It's up to you, I'm a proponent of having your car fully updated, but I understand an occasional glitch might not be worth scheduling a dealer trip to some people.

What would the dealer do if there’s no TSB to update for?

 

[Mach-Lee]

What would the dealer do if there’s no TSB to update for?

I'm fairly certain he'll have a code in memory that will correspond to one of several GSM TSBs that have been published.

 

[phil]

I'm fairly certain he'll have a code in memory that will correspond to one of several GSM TSBs that have been published.

rohankumar's dealer indicated "a faulty part of the gear shift module needs to replaced." You're thinking this is unlikely, and it's probably software instead? Thanks.

 

[Mach-Lee]

rohankumar's dealer indicated "a faulty part of the gear shift module needs to replaced." You're thinking this is unlikely, and it's probably software instead? Thanks.

It's both. The software can be flashed on some models, but others have to be physically replaced depending on which batch the GSM came from. Your dealer will determine what's necessary per the TSB.

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