HEAT induced drive mode issue

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So, yesterday we went from cloudy w/ Rain to Sunny and Hot & Humid.
Air Temp was 96f , Humidity was 75%, Heat index was almost 117f.

Got into the HEAT BOX.. Break Pedal Start.. Set AC to: LO Temp , A/C , Recirc , NO E-Heat.

The Jet engine under the FRUNK/FROOT started up... Then I pulled out of the driveway. less than 2,000 ft later I got notifications that the Drive modes were not available.

I could not turn off: 1P drive , Auto Hold , Traction Control
I could not change or select a drive mode.

I turned off the A/C. Put the windows down. And drove to the nearest Touch-less car wash.. en-route the TEMP on screen came down to 107f.
The modes were still "not available". After the car wash, the Temp was 98f and stopped the FE. Shut off , Re-start, Reset SYNC,, and the Drive Modes were available again. After driving away from the car wash, the Temps rose back to 101f but the drive modes stayed available. WIth the windows down and NO A/C.

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[SnBGC]

As best as we can tell, the system disables the drive modes when the battery temp is above a certain limit. Unless you know the trick that @macchiaz-o discovered to force the car to cool the battery while parked on plug......the next best way to cool the battery is to drive the vehicle at a sensible speed because the airflow through the radiator dissipates the heat the quickest and allows the battery to cool down faster than leaving the vehicle stationary.

 

[Shayne]

Sorry to hear that. Possibly letting it run stationary for a bit in the heat right now may help prior to taking off to condition it for driving (a remote start)? Have it plugged in and hit charge to 100% before taking off? Possibly this? Not much that concerns me with this car now; a big buffer, 80% DCFC wall is my whining but the most concerning is linked. Still no word that I am aware of from ford if they are aware or care but heat has been a problem on a number of them to date. You thing they would provide a temporary procedure of best practices or something. Quite apologizing for paak and deal with what is important. @SnBGC or @macchiaz-o are the ones to discuss this problem with as they understand and have been aware of it for awhile. Possible PM?

 

[Shayne]

As best as we can tell, the system disables the drive modes when the battery temp is above a certain limit. Unless you know the trick that @macchiaz-o discovered to force the car to cool the battery while parked on plug......the next best way to cool the battery is to drive the vehicle at a sensible speed because the airflow through the radiator dissipates the heat the quickest and allows the battery to cool down faster than leaving the vehicle stationary.

Beat me and I did note it. ? Good man

 

[macchiaz-o]

My vehicle lost its drive modes maybe 10 times or so now... It always finds them again on the next key cycle.

Driving slowly before driving quickly isn't going to help. I've lost drive modes while idling at the work parking lot for a minute before moving... I've lost them while leaving the parking lot (moving slowly), and while travelling 35-40 mph as well as 72 mph.

The only constant seems to be that it's frickin' hot outside and the car has been sitting and baking for awhile.

Not sure if it even helps, but you can trick the car into allowing itself to cool down while plugged in to the wall outlet. To do this, change your charging schedule to have a target battery percentage BELOW your vehicle's current percentage. And change the allowable charge hours to include the current clock time.

 

[DYohn]

Interesting. Here in AZ I've driven in 118F heat with the display on the screen showing 135F due to asphalt heating and never had a similar issue. A/C set to AUTO and 73. The cooling fan gets loud, but that's expected.

 

[Blanked]

As best as we can tell, the system disables the drive modes when the battery temp is above a certain limit. Unless you know the trick that @macchiaz-o discovered to force the car to cool the battery while parked on plug......the next best way to cool the battery is to drive the vehicle at a sensible speed because the airflow through the radiator dissipates the heat the quickest and allows the battery to cool down faster than leaving the vehicle stationary.

At one point the driver display did say something about Plug-In... but it did not stay long enough to fully read or snap a picture.

 

[BMT1071]

Interesting. Here in AZ I've driven in 118F heat with the display on the screen showing 135F due to asphalt heating and never had a similar issue. A/C set to AUTO and 73. The cooling fan gets loud, but that's expected.

I haven't seen the issue either. That said, I almost always either set a departure time or remote start before I head out. The only reason it is 'almost' always is that FP has screwed me a few times and not sent the start request to the car.

 

[macchiaz-o]

Interesting. Here in AZ I've driven in 118F heat with the display on the screen showing 135F due to asphalt heating and never had a similar issue. A/C set to AUTO and 73. The cooling fan gets loud, but that's expected.

I haven't seen the issue either. That said, I almost always either set a departure time or remote start before I head out. The only reason it is 'almost' always is that FP has screwed me a few times and not sent the start request to the car.

This is only my speculation, but I don't think driving in the heat is the issue here.

I'm unable to park in a shaded area at work. So my vehicle sits in broad sunlight in the middle of a huge asphalt parking lot all day. I think the issue is that the vehicle sun bakes while sitting, off, and it takes zero action to thermally regulate itself during that time.

 

[BMT1071]

This is only my speculation, but I don't think driving in the heat is the issue here.

I'm unable to park in a shaded area at work. So my vehicle sits in broad sunlight in the middle of a huge asphalt parking lot all day. I think the issue is that the vehicle sun bakes while sitting, off, and it takes zero action to thermally regulate itself during that time.

Agreed. That's why I mentioned that I always pre-condition.

 

[DYohn]

This is only my speculation, but I don't think driving in the heat is the issue here.

I'm unable to park in a shaded area at work. So my vehicle sits in broad sunlight in the middle of a huge asphalt parking lot all day. I think the issue is that the vehicle sun bakes while sitting, off, and it takes zero action to thermally regulate itself during that time.

Yea, I can't comment on that situation. I have never had to park in the heat for longer than a couple hours at restaurants. No issues then even in peak AZ summer, but it's not been baking for 8 hours either.

 

[BMT1071]

Yea, I can't comment on that situation. I have never had to park in the heat for longer than a couple hours at restaurants. No issues then even in peak AZ summer, but it's not been baking for 8 hours either.

I have not had the sun load that @macchiaz-o experiences but I have left my car in the east economy garage at Sky Harbor for a few days.

 

[JimmyMachE]

The only constant seems to be that it's frickin' hot outside and the car has been sitting and baking for awhile.

What was the batttery temperature when it occured?
Temperature of the battery pack can be read with any elm327 adapter and Car Scanner ElmObd2 app.

 

[SnBGC]

Interesting. Here in AZ I've driven in 118F heat with the display on the screen showing 135F due to asphalt heating and never had a similar issue. A/C set to AUTO and 73. The cooling fan gets loud, but that's expected.

Out of curiosity, do you have window tint and the larger battery?
I have wondered if the smaller battery is more susceptible to heat gain especially if driven infrequently or shorter distances (not enough time for the chiller to cool the battery down low enough before parked). ????

I have only lost drive modes once and that was because I was parked in my 125 F driveway with a scanner attached and data logging various temps. I was messing around with the RPM of the A/C compressor to see what would happen and I found out. Won't be doing that again.

At one point the driver display did say something about Plug-In... but it did not stay long enough to fully read or snap a picture.

We have your back.
Here is a photo of what that looks like. Those of us here in AZ have this image burned into our retinas by now.

 

[Blanked]

We have your back.
Here is a photo of what that looks like. Those of us here in AZ have this image burned into our retinas by now.

[/QUOTE]
Yep, that was it! Thanks.

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