Just confirmed - no eta on HVBJB replacements for GT

[EELinneman]

Next time your in Roanoke area just take your car on 311 heading out of Roanoke past Mackafee knob then drive as fast as you can “safely” on Blacksburg Rd through Catawba valley towards Blacksburg. You’ll get the failure on demand. Ask me how I know that Magic city is now pretty good at fixing HVBJBs if you decide to get the Rev D part…

I believe the part will fail if driven under certain conditions. Not everyone will drive in those conditions. Much easier to get those conditions in a canyon/mountain joy ride than it is on flat land. Even for a forum bubble issue this is a pretty high frequency if members effected.

Tanner,

First of all, that are near Roanoke is stunning. I drove through there a few years ago in early spring at sunrise and it was stunning.

In my case, the car had not been been at a DCFC in a while and I was driving about 35 mph on a crowded relatively flat freeway here in Denver. It is very clear to me that the parts put in the GTs at a minimum, perhaps all MMEs, are grossly underbuilt. Or, to use Ford's words "not robust".

Sorry to hear that you know this too.

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[EELinneman]

I know a lot of forum members have had this problem, but I am not sure it is as widespread as it feels like in the forum. I asked my dealer service department about it and they have no idea what I am talking about. Here is what the lead EV tech said:

"Referencing the Ford Senior Master Technician discussion board, a few instances have been seen where HV BJBs have been replaced for different DTCs. There is only that one thread regarding Mach E battery packs. One technician mentions there seems to be a concern with contactors welding shut when using DC fast charging stations. I can't find Ford letterhead saying this, so I will take it would a grain of salt until proven otherwise. Two HV BJBs and one full battery. All in California. That's all I have for reference. "

This is the forum bubble, where every problem ever found on a MME is reported. So maybe our perspective is a little skewed.

Mike, yes, this forum is a bubble, but so too is the discussion board you mention above. There are too many stories here provided by actual owners to accept "Two HV BJBs and one full battery. All in California. That's all I have for reference." There are 3 currently failed and waiting for parts here in Colorado alone. Sometimes, people minimize the impact of failure just to rationalize their decisions, or avoid responsibility. We see this daily with our politicians.

To me, hearing that on a master technician discussion board, the amount and impact of failures being dismissed is horrific. It means that Ford is ignoring the problem and letting their current customers suffer. Those current customers won't be future customers, nor will be the people they relate these experiences and organizational failures at Ford to. Time for somebody at Ford to put on their big boy pants and own the problem and get a solution in place.

 

[EELinneman]

Of course I cannot answer your question, but it is clear this isn't an issue all EV qualified service departments have seen. If it were as widespread as we feel it is, I think it would be much more widely known.

I am beginning to wonder if there are conditions out west that make the HVBJB failure more likely. It seems like a lot of forum failures are in CA. High speed driving up long grades is more common in the west than out here on the east coast. Also, I don't think we have seen any EU forum member report a failure. Why is that?

I still think my HVBJB is going to fail, but I am more skeptical about it now. It might be a 150,000 mile failure instead of a 23,000 mile failure. Todd drives the crap out of his car and made it 23k. I don't have anything like the Grapevine where I drive, and I am not driving 80+ mph.

I am beginning to think my failure could be years away. Maybe even after I sell my car.

(Now I am going to get SSN tomorrow. )

Gentlemen, place your bets! Mike is tempting fate and the contactor gods! I'm willing to bet my standard bet - 1 beer - that yours fails before Halloween.

 

[MazzMayhem]

Not to discourage going after lemon law - but would be a good idea to look asking Ford for a buy back/replacement car. They have an internal program that you can look into first. BEV support may shut down as soon as you talk about lemon law/lawyers.

I have a case in review. I asked for a new same spec or better 2023 replacement. Not likely to get that approved but you never know.

Agree but if by the 27th day in service my car isn't back to me or being repaired I will reach back out to Ford again to remedy. If there isn't a satisfactory response from Ford the only recourse seems to be lemon law. I'm not going to wait for them to figure it out. My faith in dealing with this or any future issues is near zero.

 

[mkhuffman]

Gentlemen, place your bets! Mike is tempting fate and the contactor gods! I'm willing to bet my standard bet - 1 beer - that yours fails before Halloween.

On my birthday? Say it isn't true!

Well, I may have to eat my words anyway because Todd posted that awesome map showing where all the repairs have been done so far. I hate to say it, but failure concentration in CA is not substantiated in the map. It looks like failures are pretty evenly distributed across the US. Now my worry meter just went back up. Thanks @DevSecOps !!!

 

[mkhuffman]

Next time your in Roanoke area just take your car on 311 heading out of Roanoke past Mackafee knob then drive as fast as you can “safely” on Blacksburg Rd through Catawba valley towards Blacksburg. You’ll get the failure on demand. Ask me how I know that Magic city is now pretty good at fixing HVBJBs if you decide to get the Rev D part…

I believe the part will fail if driven under certain conditions. Not everyone will drive in those conditions. Much easier to get those conditions in a canyon/mountain joy ride than it is on flat land. Even for a forum bubble issue this is a pretty high frequency if members effected.

My sister lives in Floyd, and the road up the mountain (Route 221) to her house is very steep, with very sharp turns that are amazingly fun to take fast. (You are probably familiar with it.) I have not done it yet in my MME, but it is high on my to do list. Maybe that will be what does it for me.

 

[EELinneman]

My sister lives in Floyd, and the road up the mountain (Route 221) to her house is very steep, with very sharp turns that are amazingly fun to take fast. (You are probably familiar with it.) I have not done it yet in my MME, but it is high on my to do list. Maybe that will be what does it for me.

I think what you are suggesting is that every owner has the responsibility to stress test these HVBJBs as a service to Ford. Both before and after replacement.

I'm a couple of miles south of 285 here in Colorado. I know just the spot.

 

[HuntingPudel]

I know a lot of forum members have had this problem, but I am not sure it is as widespread as it feels like in the forum. I asked my dealer service department about it and they have no idea what I am talking about. Here is what the lead EV tech said:

"Referencing the Ford Senior Master Technician discussion board, a few instances have been seen where HV BJBs have been replaced for different DTCs. There is only that one thread regarding Mach E battery packs. One technician mentions there seems to be a concern with contactors welding shut when using DC fast charging stations. I can't find Ford letterhead saying this, so I will take it would a grain of salt until proven otherwise. Two HV BJBs and one full battery. All in California. That's all I have for reference. "

This is the forum bubble, where every problem ever found on a MME is reported. So maybe our perspective is a little skewed.

All in California? Their sample is juuuuust a little stale.

 

[mkhuffman]

Mike, yes, this forum is a bubble, but so too is the discussion board you mention above. There are too many stories here provided by actual owners to accept "Two HV BJBs and one full battery. All in California. That's all I have for reference." There are 3 currently failed and waiting for parts here in Colorado alone. Sometimes, people minimize the impact of failure just to rationalize their decisions, or avoid responsibility. We see this daily with our politicians.

To me, hearing that on a master technician discussion board, the amount and impact of failures being dismissed is horrific. It means that Ford is ignoring the problem and letting their current customers suffer. Those current customers won't be future customers, nor will be the people they relate these experiences and organizational failures at Ford to. Time for somebody at Ford to put on their big boy pants and own the problem and get a solution in place.

You raise some good points. It is probably a good idea for some of the engineers who participate here also participate in the master tech discussion board.

Not sure what the rules are, and maybe that is the problem. Maybe Ford engineers are not allowed that kind of access. But it would be good from a communication perspective to keep all the techs who use that board up to speed on some of the major problems to look for. Not every little thing, but certainly this one deserves some attention.

 

[tfitzgex]

Parts fail, especially in first gen cars. I get that. What is making me furious, is that most of the dealers have 1 tech who is certified to do repairs on MMEs. They often can't order the parts until they get the car in to the shop, and with supply chain issues, and demand this leads to very long wait times for parts and consequently repairs. I personally have been waiting over a month to have my HVBJB replaced (second time) While I do have a rental from Hertz, I'm still paying my car payment, plus gas.. and frustration on how the Nissan Rogue "Sport" sucks.

 

[Zer0t]

I think Ford should prioritize repair over new production given they botched this part design.

 

[gordonf238]

There are no secrets. Go and get a quote from Carvana, etc for your GT and don't be surprised at how low it is. I did, rejected the offer and got a phone call that explained these cars are timebombs and that the market knows this. Thank you Ford

I wouldn't rely on Carvana as a reference point. They quoted me $15k less for our 2021 Volvo V60 vs. what the Ford dealer paid us as a trade-in, and what KBB and Edmunds blue book value was.

Carvana is another garbage tech company if you ask me.

 

[gordonf238]

I think Ford should prioritize repair over new production given they botched this part design.

Negative. New car sales (amongst other things) are listed in Ford's quarterly reports to the shareholders. No way are they risking their stock going down over low sales volumes.

The problem here is that they poorly tested the GT, and the parts used are not up to the task. They're learning that lesson the hard way.

 

[Shawnybs]

2021 Premium First Edition owner here,

Got lucky and already had a dealer visit scheduled through Ford's support team for a front motor whine, glass-recall, no 48-amp charging, and the HVBVJB errors popped up while waiting for my appointment. So, now (fingers-crossed) I can get it all done at once. Like EELinneman I live in Littleton, CO as well. Error's popped up after a road trip up to Fort Collins on I-125 (average speeds 65-75 MPH, very little altitude change).

Our car is at Phil Long Ford now, where we bought it. We tried to use Autonation Ford Littleton since they are closer but, to be frank, they have one of the worst service departments I've ever dealt with with any brand (I've owned several new cars over the years). I also used them many years ago after purchasing a car from them and it wasn't much better. Just poor communication all around.

Phil Long has been better so far, however no commitment on timeline yet (they've had the car for 1 week). I know the glass is the first thing they're working on. Ford's support representative has been pleasant so far.

Will update as it progresses! Fingers crossed this doesn't turn into a nightmare.

 

[tannerk89]

My sister lives in Floyd, and the road up the mountain (Route 221) to her house is very steep, with very sharp turns that are amazingly fun to take fast. (You are probably familiar with it.) I have not done it yet in my MME, but it is high on my to do list. Maybe that will be what does it for me.

That road up bent mountain is top notch, it would be a blast in the MME. You would definitely get your upgrade to Rev D part going up that one!

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