Gray Bar Opinions, Please

[Thor2j]

If your car sits out in the cold it will get many gray bars. Sometimes I have to leave it out in 10-20 degree weather. When I get it in it has 10 plus bars and very little power. As I drive it I gain a few bars back. If I plug it in at night I usually only have 1 bar but I live in the mountains of Colorado. Only time I never have bars is summer. 2 or 3 bars is negligible performance hit. 10 is big hit.

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[JohnFoxeSheets]

What is service soon? Pretty ambiguous....bad?

If it's what we're guessing, you do not need to worry about it. Your car will have the upgraded part.

He likely has the HVBJB pending failure issue. Older cars had an under-performing High Voltage Battery Junction Box (basically a bunch of high powered relays). It can fail. Ford modified their software to detect imminent failure and if it does, then it displays Service Vehicle Soon and drastically reduces the maximum amount of power available in order to lessen the chances of the HVBJB actually failing, thereby leaving the vehicle drivable, but in a reduced state.

But the original HVBJBs have been replaced by more robust parts, so the likelihood of failure is very low (though as with all things, still not zero).

For you and a new car purchase, it's not a worry.

 

[dmitry]

You know what to do to have it fixed though, right? Just want to make sure

Thanks for asking. I just started to learn the information provided here. Thanks for forum it doesn’t sound so scary as I thought. Tomorrow will call to the Ford Customer service and closest dealer to me.

 

[HuntingPudel]

I beat on my car a bit when I first got it. Jail bars never really bothered me. I ran into the 5 second limit a few times and it is noticeable. Then my dog got cancer. So I drove to keep him comfortable. Then we found out about the HVBJB problem. Since then, I don’t beat on the car. When it warms up I will probably break my HVBJB to get the new part. If you get a 2023, you will not have to worry about the HVBJB. ??

 

[astrorob]

by the way, this also happens in teslas. they don't express it in the UI the same way but based on battery temperature and SOC there will be a reduction in peak power availability. IMO this is just an EV thing, not an MME thing.

 

[buzznwood]

by the way, this also happens in teslas. they don't express it in the UI the same way but based on battery temperature and SOC there will be a reduction in peak power availability. IMO this is just an EV thing, not an MME thing.

While I agree that this is an EV thing, the nobbled 5 seconds of full power if your lucky on a performance EV is just a MME thing.

To the OP what is your major objective with getting the GTPE? If you want one for the magneride and like how it looks compared to the standard trims and from a performance perspective you don't really care but like the idea having some extra poke occasionally in every day driving then you wont find the grey bar power limits much of an issue.

If you are going in with wanting a performance EV as the number one requirement then you may well be disappointment as in that regard it falls flat on its face it steers like a bus and the grey bar power limitation is very noticeable. If however your OK with being teased with 5 seconds of what it could have potentially been had the engineering lived up to the marketing then go for it.

In simple terms are you OK paying $$$$ over a premium awd model for a performance trim that doesn't offer performance expected of the name. If you are unsure then take one for a test drive and see what you think as everyones idea of what they class as performance is very different.

 

[BigMach-E]

Two weeks in of ownership of a GTPE, and I say if you are considering it, just do it. Power difference where it counts between GTPE and other Mach Es is just worlds apart.
Yes there is a 5 second limiter. Yes it is noticeable in certain situations. The GTPE is still so spirited in most situations that it’s scary. If you are all about performance for dollar, with exclusion of all else in an EV, try to find an Kia EV6 GT at MSRP. Know that it has terrible range, you are giving up a lot of comfort, and we still don’t know much on the reliability front.

For me, and I consider myself to be a semi-enthusiast, the GTPE hits all the right spots: comfort, space, quickness, storage, tech, range, quietness, sportiness, price, build quality, looks and usability. There is nothing else like it. Do other EVs do each of these things better, individually? Yes, but nothing does the full package quite as well as the GTPE.

I think of it as a jack of all trades, master of none (except maybe looks).
If you are still unconvinced, try other EVs.

 

[randomvoice]

Man I was you when I was reading through the thread. How can a 'performance' car have a 5 second limit?! Then I test drove the thing and there is no way I was ever gonna hold the accelerator at full throttle for 5 seconds in this car on a normal road lol! The thing hits you and pushes you back in the seat like crazy. I personally never even realize I'm going over the speed limit by 10+ in this car because it is so quiet.

I love the performance on my car and never felt like I needed more. In most conditions, from a stop to 60, you're gonna really gonna smoke everyone on the road apart from other performance level EVs. That is where you'll probably notice most of the difference. At highway speeds, I've again always been able to easily overtake without any issues in the car.

So unless you intend to track the thing, for normal day to day driving, I think it is more than adequate.

 

[P65]

Gray bars, might as gray hair, be a sign of past pleasures....

 

[BTRYPWRDPONY]

Nope- Has not been an issue, even in Chicago this winter.

 

[smoke20]

Ok; thanks for the opinions. I’m in. Found a carbonized gray metallic GTPE with midnight pony package or something like that. Anyway, getting it on Friday.

 

[Mach1E]

Ok; thanks for the opinions. I’m in. Found a carbonized gray metallic GTPE with midnight pony package or something like that. Anyway, getting it on Friday.

Enjoy!

Had mine since October 2021 and I’m a power junkie and still love driving it.

Are the gray bars a disappointment? Absolutely. But ask yourself this- how often do you floor it above 75 mph? That’s the only time they matter.

All the torque fun happens at low speeds. Would I like to run 11s in the 1/4? Sure. But not enough to drive a Kia or Model T.

And the down low acceleration is so brutal……. It feels faster than many of those other cars that actually run faster 1/4 mile times. Hard to beat the feeling of 634 lb ft at 30 mph.

 

[MABachE131]

It's no bother at all in real world. Not even during cold... Not even during the "artic blast."
If you floor it past 5 seconds you're going to have to pull your eyeballs out from your brain.

 

[DevSecOps]

You guys complaining about gray bars just need to update the FSCM to the latest version... ?

https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...ond-control-module-fscm-power-limiting.18234/

 

[Larry Paul]

Hello,
I am circling and circling....before buying; I like this vehicle...the MME GTPE. Or maybe I really want to like it. Yes, I really want to like this vehicle. I am anti Tesla. And I am old enough to not consider Kia and Hyundai to be 'real' auto companies. Anyway I have read about about the top end limit and the 5 second governor. Although a performance enthusiast, I could probably be fine with these things. As I unwrap this onion, I am reading about gray bars....gray bars in cool weather....gray bars at 70% and less....gray bars here...gray bars there....all prohibiting full performance. Seems troubling.

Opinions; Are the gray bars a problem for you?

Super short: NO.

longer answer: I have almost 10K miles on my GTPE. The Grey bars are a total NON issue for me. I will see 1-2 show up periodically-but it has never been a problem-or even noticed from the pedal.

With that said, if you are wanting to drive this car on a race track all the time-it could be an issue. However, if your main use is driving the car on a daily basis with occasional spirited driving (like what I do) I suspect you would never be troubled by it.

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