High-voltage battery warning

[mmeMoe]

Happened again! My wife and daughter were stuck again with a High-Voltage Battery Warning and the car stopping in the middle of the road.

Luckily the nearby road construction crew helped them out by placing cones and safely directing traffic around them. I had to drive 30mins over to get them out safely.

After 30-40 minutes the car "rebooted" or whatever it did, but it started again. I am driving it over to the dealership again...

Any advice and suggestions on how to handle this would be appreciated.

It is a 2023 MME Premium AWD, standard range.
VIN: 3FMTK3SS1PMA48844

Purchased June 19 2023
First High-Voltage Batter Warning: July 06 2023 (mileage ~1,400)
Was at Dealer/Service from July 6- July 18 2023 (receiving mileage ~1550 -- they put ~150 in diagnosing and testing the vehicle)
Second High-Voltage Batter Warning: August 08 2023 (mileage 2,019)

Thanks,
Mohamed

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[Mirak]

Strike Two. Unless they can definitively replicate and fix the issue, I would demand a buy-back so you can replace your vehicle. Aside from the HVBJB issue that does not appear to be in play, this does not appear to be a normal bug/defect that others are posting about.

 

[Mach-Lee]

This is a unique problem:
P0B40 - Hybrid/EV Battery Voltage Sense 'B' Circuit
P0B45 - Hybrid/EV Battery Voltage Sense 'C' Circuit

P0B45 was the code that stranded you on July 6th as well.

The BECM reading of multiple cell voltages is faulty. This could be a problem with the cells, the wiring harness/connections in the pack, or a bad BECM module. BEV team and a field service engineer needs to get involved. You might need a new pack.

 

[HuntingPudel]

If you haven’t yet, call 1-800-392-3673 and ask for the BEV team.

 

[mmeMoe]

If you haven’t yet, call 1-800-392-3673 and ask for the BEV team.

I reached out to them, but unfortunately, their response was not helpful at all. They simply stated that the car is under warranty, and the repairs would be covered. It's concerning that they didn't seem bothered by the scary ordeal my family experienced due to the car stalling and shutting down on a major highway… twice now.

I asked about gas reimbursement for the last ICE loaner and they said they’ll get back to me and never did. When I called today they said my case is still open and they’ll get back to me.

The local Ford Service agent was nice and told me they’ll work with the EV techs and Ford and figure it out.

 

[Mingus22]

The exact same thing is happing to me with the 23 premium awd std battery we bought on 7/19. First time was leaving the dealership on the way home!! Happened again about 120 mile in, then it happened last night while my wife was driving with 390 miles on it. it’s been in the shop twice for it, I’m gonna bring it back today after work. At this point I’m just waiting until the Illinois lemon law kicks in. When the car works it’s great, but it’s a crap shoot if it will we me to and from home.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

The exact same thing is happing to me with the 23 premium awd std battery we bought on 7/19. First time was leaving the dealership on the way home!! Happened again about 120 mile in, then it happened last night while my wife was driving with 390 miles on it. it’s been in the shop twice for it, I’m gonna bring it back today after work. At this point I’m just waiting until the Illinois lemon law kicks in. When the car works it’s great, but it’s a crap shoot if it will we me to and from home.

Hi there, Rob. This high voltage battery concern doesn’t sound like something we want you to experience with your Mach-E. Could you please send us a PM with your VIN and the name and location of your Ford dealer? To send a private message, just click on our username and select "Start Conversation". I'd be happy to look into how I can assist you on my end.

 

[mmeMoe]

The Service Manager, at my local Ford dealership where my 2023 MME is at, connected me directly with the technician/mechanic assigned to my case. Despite their best efforts, they couldn't replicate the warning. In their correspondence with the Ford EV engineer, they were advised to return the car to me without replacing the potentially problematic battery components.

What they can do is to potentially try induce the battery error by driving and charging my car over a longer period of time in manners that might stress the battery to throw the error again. This, however, would mean adding more miles to my new vehicle.

Both the Service Manager and the technician empathized with my concerns, agreeing that releasing the car back to me, especially knowing that it will fail, was neither safe nor appropriate. They provided me with Ford Customer Service's 1800 number and suggested I file a complaint.

Upon calling, the customer service representative reviewed all the notes and even reached out to the my local Service Manager for a direct account. While sympathetic, he mentioned that the most he could do was to formally log my complaint.

Interestingly, the Ford Social Media Team noticed this thread and reached out to me via their "Official Ford Account." I've also provided them with all the details and the case number from my call.

As of now, I'm awaiting their response. Honestly, this isn't the experience I was hoping for after investing $50K in a new car.

 

[mmeMoe]

Update: My local Ford Dealership/Service Center has put close to 500 miles on my new car and finally been able to replicate the error. Funny that they also had to tow my car back to their shop. They said they will have to reach out to the Ford EV Engineer to try and resolve the issue / change parts.

No one from Ford has reached out to me despite my calls, messages, case numbers, and complaints...

I have zero confidence in the car or Ford for that matter. Also, I did not buy a brand new car for someone to drive it around 500 miles with the intention of stressing it into failing

 

[dtbaker61]

Thank you both for your help! Cannot thank you enough.

I did get an ICE loaner (a gas guzzling Bronco).

I spoke with BEV rep and he says he will look into gas reimbursement (when I called the hotline last week from the FordPass app my file was created so only that agent I spoke with can help me going forward). He put in a note for the other rep to contact me tomorrow. But this rep did contact the Ford service center where my vehicle was towed to - they apparently won't be able to run diagnostics till NEXT monday the earliest!

Other than that the BEV rep wasn't that helpful - he asked me what is it that I want them to do! He said warranty should cover any work so nothing needs to be done...

This is pretty crazy... my EV journey is not off to a great start.

when you get the diagnostic report (showing DTCs), please post! The group can likely help you sort it out and guide you through Dealership communications.

 

[dtbaker61]

The Service Manager, at my local Ford dealership where my 2023 MME is at, connected me directly with the technician/mechanic assigned to my case. Despite their best efforts, they couldn't replicate the warning.

so.... they are telling you there were NO codes recorded for diagnostics?

I would insist on a copy of the diagnostic report. I hope they did not just clear codes and send you home.

 

[mmeMoe]

They told me the codes got cleared by the computer and they cannot pinpoint the exact issue. Ford Engineer the local service manager spoke with has instructed them to return my car back to me.

The Service Manager and the local tech working on my car told me they did not feel like it was safe to do that, so they wanted my permission to drive the car long distance (100+ miles) to try and get the car to generate the same error while they had their computer hooked up to it. So after almost ~300 miles they got the car to generate the same High Voltage Batter Warning error and stall.

The service manager tells me these are the parts they need to replace but are still waiting on Ford to approve.

1. two cells
2. charger
3. motor controller
4. battery module computer

I spoke with a lawyer. My car has been in the shop for over 30 days and twice with the same issue. He is recommending I lemon it. Ford customer service has been non responsive and it has been very frustrating and disappointing experience.

 

[mmeMoe]

The exact same thing is happing to me with the 23 premium awd std battery we bought on 7/19. First time was leaving the dealership on the way home!! Happened again about 120 mile in, then it happened last night while my wife was driving with 390 miles on it. it’s been in the shop twice for it, I’m gonna bring it back today after work. At this point I’m just waiting until the Illinois lemon law kicks in. When the car works it’s great, but it’s a crap shoot if it will we me to and from home.

Any further updates on the issues you are having with your car?

 

[Mingus22]

Any further updates on the issues you are having with your car?

So far it’s still in the shop, this is day 24, I think, they are waiting on parts. The contact from Ford, not the dealership, keeps me updated once a week. He called yesterday saying still waiting on a battery part that needs to be “shipped via freightliner”. So I’m just racking up days in the shop and putting miles on the loaner they gave me. I need 30 total days in the shop for the Illinois lemon law to kick in. At this point I don’t even want it back, hoping for a buyback and I’ll just put my money back in the bank and wait for something else to catch my eye. Which sucks because I really like the mme styling, and no other EV catches my eye at this point.

 

[JoeSnow]

Please report your issue to NHTSA, since this is a safety concern.

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