My "Stop Safely Now" Saga

[chrisGT]

Taycan had 88 reports and only sold just under 12,000 units or 1/4 of the production of the MME. NHTSA has percent produced to numbers affected, along with multiple other factors considered prior to opening a formal ODI. Porsche fixed theirs 'Stop Safely Now' equivalent with software updates so we'll see what approach Ford takes.

It had about 40 when the investigation started. I owned one of them, that's how I know. An NHTSA investigator reached out to me for more details.
The Taycan's problem was different. It was purely a software bug with no hardware involved. The bug in the Power Electronics module software could throw a catastrophic error which made it stop while driving. But because it was just a software issue (no hardware damange) you could restart the car and it would work again, so it wouldn't live you stranded.
FWIW, I experienced the same issue even after the recall software update and I am reading in the Taycan forum that Porsche is updating the same module again...

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[dtbaker61]

Background:
My car is a 2021 Mustang Mach-E GT Performance Edition, a Job 2 model built on December 1, 2021. At the time of the failure I had 6,031 miles and the vehicle had been in service for just over three months. I normally charge at home on a Level-2 GRIZZL-E charger (to 90% every morning, with departure times and pre-conditioning), and the last time I'd used a Level-3 DC Fast Charger was 11 days prior on Sunday, April 10. At the time of failure the battery state of charge was approximately 72%.

Thursday, April 21:
Stopped on the way home from work to do some shopping, came out to leave to find the "Stop Safely Now" error. Repeated attempts to re-start were unsuccessful. I waited 30 minutes to no avail. Called Ford's Emergency Roadside Assistance, and the first truck arrived after 30 minutes. Driver stated that because I was in a parking spot he would need to charge an additional $100 "fee" to load. I refused and called Ford again, who dispatched another company. I had to wait an hour, but they arrived and quickly and easily backed the car into a spot where they could load. (Note I was able to get the car into Neutral using the center screen, as my 12V battery still had capacity.)

The tow driver had never loaded a Mach-E, so I was glad I'd downloaded the Towing Point PDF found on this forum. He quickly and easily got the car onto the flatbed, drama-free.

Watching her roll away from the passenger seat of my wife's F-150...

Offloaded at my local Ford dealer, luckily only a five-minute drive away.

No dealer loaners are available, so I'll be driving my 2007 Shelby GT500 to work for the foreseeable future. Not exactly a comfortable commuter car!

Friday, April 22:
My service tech wasn't able to get the car into the bay to start disassembly (he was working on a 2.3L Mustang), but was able to get all the trouble codes, which confirmed the HVBJB issue.

Monday, April 25:
New HVBJB was ordered, with a 3- to 5-day ETA. Dealer loaner was available - a 2022 Ford Edge Titanium AWD (fully loaded) - so I picked up and signed an initial agreement with an expiration of May 8. Nice, but I still miss my EV!

Monday, May 2:
Replacement HVBJB arrived. Still awaiting time on my service tech's calendar to begin repair.

Tuesday, May 3:
Repair began late in the afternoon.

Wednesday, May 4:
In-progress pictures sent by my service manager and tech. Notably, mine is the first Mach-E whose battery has been removed, hence the great interest from the entire service department!

Thursday, May 5:
Good news, bad news. Good news: HVBJB replacement complete with no issues. Bad news: pressure testing of the reassembled battery failed. Small crack found where the battery cover rises up to cover the array under the rear seat. Great quote from my tech: "Apparently these things are made of eggshells!"

Friday, May 6:
Visited dealer to inspect cracked battery cover and to sign an extension of the loaner agreement. New battery cover ordered, ETA 3-5 days. As my service manager and tech watched me carefully photograph every item with a part number, they muttered, "You are SUCH an engineer!" Guilty as charged!

Monday, May 9:
Replacement battery cover arrived...damaged from shipping. It was hapazardly loaded on a double-pallet too small for the box. Another replacement ordered, this time with "special handling" which will hopefully protect it better. Downside is, it'll likely take longer, and they can't track it's ETA. So now we're just waiting.

So that's where I am as of Friday, May 13. This is Day 22 without my car. My dealer has been great every step of the way, with a loaner ASAP, timely updates, and nearly free reign to inspect things in progress. I just hope the next battery cover arrives intact!

I'm also concerned that the root cause hasn't yet been addressed - we've already seen other forum users have the same issue re-occur. I don't want another ticking time-bomb under the "hood" - I want to be able to trust my car! Apparently according to the Field Service Engineer, a TSB is on the way, but who knows how long that will take...or if the root cause will actually be fixed. Fingers definitely crossed!

I also know there's going to be a full day (or more!) of software updates once the battery is reassembled and reinstalled. I'm definitely looking forward to the charging curve improvements!

I'll update this thread as I learn more.

best pictures yet!

... I sure wish we knew more about which component failed, and WHY

 

[Bullitt]

One other thing to keep in mind about this whole thing is that even if you're skeptical that Ford cares about the customer experience and even if you don't think they care about the potentially bad PR, the main reason why I believe Ford is likely making it a top priority to figure this out is the money component. With all the bean-counting that goes on, obsessing over a 25 cent savings on this part and a dollar saved on that during development, no company wants to pay out a ton of money in warranty claims later.

If we conservatively assume 50 cars have had this issue already, and we lowball the cost at 2k per repair for the parts, extensive labor, towing, loaner and even time/travel for an engineer in some cases, we're still talking about 100k already. I know that's peanuts for a big OEM but if this does actually become widespread, heads will roll somewhere in Ford over the millions lost. Not to mention potential lawsuits and heat from the NHTSA. This could turn into the next Firestone rollover fiasco if cars start bricking at highway speed in larger numbers. I would expect a fix pretty quickly, especially if it's something that's failing because of software calibrations causing hardware to fail and not the hardware itself.

 

[voxel]

It had about 40 when the investigation started. I owned one of them, that's how I know. An NHTSA investigator reached out to me for more details.
The Taycan's problem was different. It was purely a software bug with no hardware involved. The bug in the Power Electronics module software could throw a catastrophic error which made it stop while driving. But because it was just a software issue (no hardware damange) you could restart the car and it would work again, so it wouldn't live you stranded.
FWIW, I experienced the same issue even after the recall software update and I am reading in the Taycan forum that Porsche is updating the same module again...

Since you follow Taycan forums.... I loosely heard that the failure rate of the HV battery pack of the Taycans was the highest of all EVs. How often do the packs fail on that EV?

 

[ponydsp]

https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/t...-caused-replacements-damages-and-fires”.7809/

People don’t really talk about it anymore…

 

[chrisGT]

https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/t...-caused-replacements-damages-and-fires”.7809/

People don’t really talk about it anymore…

That was posted in a tesla fanboy's page and it is not confirmed.

Since you follow Taycan forums.... I loosely heard that the failure rate of the HV battery pack of the Taycans was the highest of all EVs. How often do the packs fail on that EV?

I don't follow much anymore but I would say I have seen 5-10 cases reported in the forum in about a year and most fail early during first weeks of ownership. I believe the taycan has the same battery as the Audi etron SUV so it has already been in production for several years. If there was a major issue we would have probably known.

 

[Regularmache]

It had about 40 when the investigation started. I owned one of them, that's how I know. An NHTSA investigator reached out to me for more details.
The Taycan's problem was different. It was purely a software bug with no hardware involved. The bug in the Power Electronics module software could throw a catastrophic error which made it stop while driving. But because it was just a software issue (no hardware damange) you could restart the car and it would work again, so it wouldn't live you stranded.
FWIW, I experienced the same issue even after the recall software update and I am reading in the Taycan forum that Porsche is updating the same module again...

Beautiful vehicle the Taycan and as far as auto troubles, any vehicle on the leading technology edge is bound to have things come up. I never buy refreshed or completely new models of established models of vehicles but here I am with a completly new from the ground up including powertrain in my driveway.
As long as I get the support that it seems people with issues are getting, I'm glad to partner with companies as they build the future.

If I ever feel taken for granted you can bet It'll be a long time before I go back the manufacturer that treats me that way.

 

[MoonRiver]

sorry for what happened. Great pictures. What does the battery cover do? Is it holing pressurized liquid?

 

[MadManMoon]

sorry for what happened. Great pictures. What does the battery cover do? Is it holing pressurized liquid?

It's not liquid-filled. My guess is that it's slightly over-pressurized to keep dirt and debris from entering the battery compartment.

 

[sparky]

Bricked Mach E Extended Range with 10K miles and recently completed the roof and windscreen recall the week prior. Same story. Went to brunch came out to a car that would not start. Same "Stop Safely Now" error. Low voltage (12 Volt) came in slightly low at 12.6 VDC. Attempted two jumps from another vehicle and a higher amperage tow truck with no change in error code. We resulted in doing a tow of shame in front of several other Teslas.

Dealership has had it now for going on the third week. They are citing the replacement of the battery bus where the Low Voltage 12 VDC interfaces with the brains and main battery system. This has been cited before in the blogs. Replacement part is on hand but the dealership has a specialist being flown in to remedy the replacement part installation.

Overall problem gave us pause on ownership and we will qualify for the Lemon Law buyback for CA if it comes to that. Looking to see if repairs will be complete this week.

 

[scoopman]

Bricked Mach E Extended Range with 10K miles and recently completed the roof and windscreen recall the week prior. Same story. Went to brunch came out to a car that would not start. Same "Stop Safely Now" error. Low voltage (12 Volt) came in slightly low at 12.6 VDC. Attempted two jumps from another vehicle and a higher amperage tow truck with no change in error code. We resulted in doing a tow of shame in front of several other Teslas.

Dealership has had it now for going on the third week. They are citing the replacement of the battery bus where the Low Voltage 12 VDC interfaces with the brains and main battery system. This has been cited before in the blogs. Replacement part is on hand but the dealership has a specialist being flown in to remedy the replacement part installation.

Overall problem gave us pause on ownership and we will qualify for the Lemon Law buyback for CA if it comes to that. Looking to see if repairs will be complete this week.

Sorry this is happening to you @sparky -- while you await your car to be fixed, could you please fill out the form at https://www.nhtsa.gov/report-a-safety-problem#index -- it will help call attention to this design flaw by regulators.

 

[sparky]

Completed.

 

[MadManMoon]

Updated first post to indicate an intact battery cover was finally received! Hopefully we're on the home stretch!

 

[MadManMoon]

Today's update: Tech informed me that Parts COPIS is telling them they're sending ANOTHER cover to be inspected for foam prior to shipment. For those keeping track, this is the FOURTH battery cover (including the original). And tomorrow marks 30 days out of service.

I e-mailed my Ford CSR (I opened a case the day the issue occurred) stating that since tomorrow is 30 days, respectfully request consideration in the amount of my next monthly payment. Hopefully that works.

I'm turning a corner here - I'm now leaning towards buy back/lemon law. I don't think I want this car back, or any Mach-E for that matter, until this issue is truly resolved. We have multiple forum members with the HVBJB issue occurring twice, and one lucky member thrice! I don't want to be driving a ticking time bomb, wondering every time I stop if I'll be able to drive again next time.

I feel like a hostage - there are no other EVs I could reasonably get my hands on for months, so what are my options?

At this point, my wife's 2022 F-150 is the last Ford we'll ever buy. I've been a vocal Ford fan and supporter for two decades; we've purchased over a dozen new Fords in that time and have recommended at least a dozen more to friends and family. That stops now. I can't in good conscience recommend any Ford vehicles given their current state of price, quality, and reliability.

Talk me off the ledge, folks - am I just angry, or is it time to walk away?

 

[alangant]

Today's update: Tech informed me that Parts COPIS is telling them they're sending ANOTHER cover to be inspected for foam prior to shipment. For those keeping track, this is the FOURTH battery cover (including the original). And tomorrow marks 30 days out of service.

I e-mailed my Ford CSR (I opened a case the day the issue occurred) stating that since tomorrow is 30 days, respectfully request consideration in the amount of my next monthly payment. Hopefully that works.

I'm turning a corner here - I'm now leaning towards buy back/lemon law. I don't think I want this car back, or any Mach-E for that matter, until this issue is truly resolved. We have multiple forum members with the HVBJB issue occurring twice, and one lucky member thrice! I don't want to be driving a ticking time bomb, wondering every time I stop if I'll be able to drive again next time.

I feel like a hostage - there are no other EVs I could reasonably get my hands on for months, so what are my options?

At this point, my wife's 2022 F-150 is the last Ford we'll ever buy. I've been a vocal Ford fan and supporter for two decades; we've purchased over a dozen new Fords in that time and have recommended at least a dozen more to friends and family. That stops now. I can't in good conscience recommend any Ford vehicles given their current state of price, quality, and reliability.

Talk me off the ledge, folks - am I just angry, or is it time to walk away?

Only you can decide when it might be time to call it quits. But you might want to read the thread
https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/i-just-joined-the-stop-safely-now-club-too.17454/ before you decide.
This member mentions that Ford may be testing a resolution/fix for the HVBJB in his repair. Too soon to tell, but I take this as hopeful.

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