Mach e dead in garage, next step

[dtbaker61]

I had a similar experience on June 8 but much more serious. My wife was at Walmart with our two kids and as she got out the car closing her door to head to the back door to get our kids the car somehow died. As you noted, nothing worked to unlock the door. Mind you we live in NC, and the outside temperature was about 95 degrees. ...

glad to hear nobody died....

I can relate to the 'sudden death' of the 12v. Mine failed after I closed my door behind me with NO warning, and locked the doors. If my phone had been sitting inside I would have had no way to even call for help if I were at a remote job site as I often am...

I hope that @Ford Motor Company is taking this seriously and considering worst case stranding scenarios in cases of 12v failure as they (eventually) did with HVBJB failure.

I would suggest that you file a complaint at the NHTSA site since you DID suffer damages.

.... I would gladly accept the 'security risk' of unlocked doors rather than having kids, dogs, or my phone locked inside when/if the 12v fails. This can probably be a setting or a software change. i.e. when 12v fails, do you want all doors to lock, or unlock with the dying gasp of energy? seems like if the 12v hits 11.5 volts, and the HV hasn't initiated a charge, all the doors should unlock.....

lets ask @Ford Motor Company to consider this as a software enhancement that gets force-pushed out OTA, or available at Dealerships via FDRS

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[ChehRob]

There really needs to be a failsafe for these sorts of things.

 

[Sikkun]

Door is supposed to have super capacitors that can be opened even when the battery is dead, assuming it’s unlocked.

Not sure how you get out of the front and then all the doors are instantly locked? Now if it dies locked in your garage…frunk jump is the only option.

 

[milepost1]

Wow...when they made that video were they trying to see how short they could make it?

And the removal of the rear and left underhood beauty panels...like magic! It took no force at all and they just lifted off! Gosh! That guy is good! It's either that or he's lost every single one of these:

Prefer shorter to the longer fluff videos. Usually 20 min long with 5 min of real info.

 

[67 Stang Convertible]

yup 3 yr old 12v....they die with NO warning.

Funny thing was I had an OTA that just would not go through about 6 months ago (2.5 years old). Although the car drove perfectly, the dealer sais the 12V was a little week. So, he changed it and so, subsequently, I have been able to avoid this scenario so far. And, the OTA went through that night.

 

[dtbaker61]

Funny thing was I had an OTA that just would not go through about 6 months ago (2.5 years old). Although the car drove perfectly, the dealer sais the 12V was a little week. So, he changed it and so, subsequently, I have been able to avoid this scenario so far. And, the OTA went through that night.

that was about all the warning you will get... before the OTA starts they check 12v SOC, if it is low, they don't go. If you haven't gotten any OTA 'in a while' it may well be because 12v capacity has degraded.

you can sorta check this by leaving your MME 'on', with timeout 'off', overnight or for 24 hrs to charge 12v to 100% and the OTA may come.

 

[67 Stang Convertible]

that was about all the warning you will get... before the OTA starts they check 12v SOC, if it is low, they don't go. If you haven't gotten any OTA 'in a while' it may well be because 12v capacity has degraded.

you can sorta check this by leaving your MME 'on', with timeout 'off', overnight or for 24 hrs to charge 12v to 100% and the OTA may come.

Seems strange the "Big Battery" just doesn't charge the 12V unless the car is on.

 

[dtbaker61]

Seems strange the "Big Battery" just doesn't charge the 12V unless the car is on.

HV will charge LV, but not until the 12v is *very* low... like 12.1-12.2
the OTAs won't start if LV SOC < 85% or so <12.6 or so

a 'weak' LV has reduced capacity and will drop to <12.6 when you park and turn off the car after a couple hours, and the OTA will never start. A 'good' battery will still show a high enough voltage to allow the OTA to start.

 

[azerik]

Wow...when they made that video were they trying to see how short they could make it?

And the removal of the rear and left underhood beauty panels...like magic! It took no force at all and they just lifted off! Gosh! That guy is good! It's either that or he's lost every single one of these:

$4.50 each. Ask me how I know..

 

[dtbaker61]

Door is supposed to have super capacitors that can be opened even when the battery is dead, assuming it’s unlocked.

Not sure how you get out of the front and then all the doors are instantly locked? Now if it dies locked in your garage…frunk jump is the only option.

when mine died, I had just gotten out and shut the door.... I do not have walk-away lock enabled. I heard the doors lock and battery was DEAD. door pillar code was dark, PAAK did not unlock door (I had phone in my pocket, but it didn't help).

that's NOT ok, and creates a very dangerous situation.

If you are inside the car, the mechanical door handle release engages when you pull all the way back, and you can exit if you are not a pet or child in a car seat and can reach the handle. If you get out, and the battery dies, all the doors lock automatically....

 

[Triggerhappy007]

I had a similar experience on June 8 but much more serious. My wife was at Walmart with our two kids and as she got out the car closing her door to head to the back door to get our kids the car somehow died. As you noted, nothing worked to unlock the door. Mind you we live in NC, and the outside temperature was about 95 degrees. I tried to use the ford pass to remotely unlock the doors, roll down the windows, remote start the car but nothing worked. At this time, panic and terror started to set in as my wife starts to see our 1- and 3-year-old screaming in terror. We had no choice but to call the fire department. Ultimately, the fire department had to break the front passenger window to get our kids out. We were told that the inside temp of the car was around 120 degrees, and our kids would have been dead in about 3 more minutes.

At this time, I still have not been told what caused this issue and my car has been in the shop for a month now. I also had the 12v replaced on 4-20 so it basically was brand new. I have a 2022 GTPE that has been in the shop 5 times since Aug 2023 for HVJB/Battery issues. The HVJB has been replaced 3 times already. I tried to request a buyback after my 3rd HVJB was replaced back in May but was denied and I tried again after this car almost killed my kids and was denied again so good luck.

Sorry your family had to go through that. Sounds exactly like what happened to another family in a Tesla last month.

What's the lemon law in your state? In my state, it's 2 years and 24K miles. Maybe contact a lemon law attorney.

 

[Nician]

OP’s situation happened to me this morning as well. Drove my car into the garage on Friday and hooked up the charger.

Monday morning, my car won’t unlock. Weirdly, the key fob and door number pad will cause the turn indicator lamps to flash front and rear and locking will honk the horn, but no change on the doors being locked and unable to open.

Found the frunk battery/unlock jumper cable port and hooked up multiple chargers with no success. The frunk never opens so I can’t get to the battery.

Working with ford roadside assistance, two locksmiths, and a call from a towing company all day and no resolution.

dealer is sending their field service team tomorrow. See if we can get the frunk open or get the car positioned so we can get it on a flatbed/tow truck with skates since we cant put it in tow mode/neutral.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Found the frunk battery/unlock jumper cable port and hooked up multiple chargers with no success. The frunk never opens so I can’t get to the battery.

Battery chargers won’t work, you need jumper cables or a jump pack.

 

[Nician]

Both myself and one of two locksmiths tried starter booster packs. I tried mine in “override” mode. I didn’t notice if the locksmith knew to select override.

confirmed with a voltmeter that mine was outputting constant 13 to 15volts (versus pulsing trying to detect a battery)

And of course, my jumper cables are in the Mach-e so I can’t jumper from my wife’s car

 

[jbooth]

There really needs to be a failsafe for these sorts of things.

Physical key and handle on the trunk.

It will be slightly comical with an adult crawling over the (upright) back seat that has carseats LATCHed in to be able to reach the door double-pull release (or worse needing to get all the way to a front door) but no broken glass and no aerodynamics hit like from handles on the doors. The fobs already have the key blank, so if you carry a fob you already carry the weight too.

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