Plug in to Maintain 12V Battery??

[RickMachE]

Can you be more specific as to this panel's location?

Open frunk. 3 panels. Plus and minus sign on driver's side panel.

Sponsored

 

[PsYfY]

You need to find a dealer with enough competence to diagnose and fix your problem.

Sticker price on the car was $58K and I have to go searching for a competent dealer? It’s Ford’s job to provide a car that does what it says it will or find a suitable replacement. This is my first time buying American, if this is what I have to expect, I will go back to the Japanese automakers, I have never had an issue like this with Toyota, Subaru, or Honda.

 

[AtomicInternet]

Sticker price on the car was $58K and I have to go searching for a competent dealer? It’s Ford’s job to provide a car that does what it says it will or find a suitable replacement. This is my first time buying American, if this is what I have to expect, I will go back to the Japanese automakers, I have never had an issue like this with Toyota, Subaru, or Honda.

NOBODY cares about your threats. NOBODY. Go buy your Japanese automobile and leave. Complain on their forums. So tired of this ultimatum nonsense. NOBODY HERE CARES WHAT YOU BUY

 

[Adventureboy]

I have this issue as well on my 2023 MME Premium. First time it happened about 1 month into owning the car I thought it was a fluke. Then it happened again and I brought it in for service. They kept the car for 2 days and said that it was fixed via an update. Then it happened again. Brought it in again, it took them 19 days to get an update that would allegedly fix it. Then yesterday I received the alert again so it clearly has not been able to be fixed.

This is a major problem as this issue has the potential to leave you stranded outside of your car and we are going into the winter months. Looks like Ford has a bug in their software that they are unable to address. I am in conversation with Ford Motor Company and I am going to request a buyback because I am not convinced they can fix this issue. It is a shame Ford does not have better support for their EVs. Really love the MME and I am happy with owning an EV, just not assured that Ford is a reputable brand.

This is a normal process. It will not leave you stranded unless the 12v battery is unhealthy. I've owned my MME for 2.5 years and have gotten this message quite a number of times. It is nothing to worry about unless you can't explain why the battery may be low. In my case, it is usually because the MME hasn't been driven for a number of days or has been used only short distances for a few days.

If you get the message regularly for no apparent reason, then you need to investigate. Otherwise drive on

 

[PsYfY]

This is a normal process. It will not leave you stranded unless the 12v battery is unhealthy. I've owned my MME for 2.5 years and have gotten this message quite a number of times. It is nothing to worry about unless you can't explain why the battery may be low. In my case, it is usually because the MME hasn't been driven for a number of days or has been used only short distances for a few days.

If you get the message regularly for no apparent reason, then you need to investigate. Otherwise drive on

I drive the car about 25 miles daily, charge in the evening almost every night, and I do not have any aftermarket devices installed, so I really cannot explain why the battery might be low. Message happens at random, but I have gotten it about 7-8 times in the year I have owned the car. Also, it doesn't feel like something I should just accept or ignore although I genuinely enjoy the car.

 

[Snakebitten]

Sticker price on the car was $58K and I have to go searching for a competent dealer? It’s Ford’s job to provide a car that does what it says it will or find a suitable replacement. This is my first time buying American, if this is what I have to expect, I will go back to the Japanese automakers, I have never had an issue like this with Toyota, Subaru, or Honda.

Toyota, Suburu, Honda EV?

The low voltage (12V) battery issues with EV's is far from a Mach-E exclusive. It's even fairly common amongst current ICE/Hybrids as well, compared to the vehicles of our past.

And it's completely understandable why since the vehicles are now laden with technology and "connectivity" features that are taxing the low voltage battery while we are nestled in our beds at night. The modern vehicle AGM battery never gets to sleep.

It's possiblly worse for the EV because the manufacturers wouldn't normally equip the vehicle with the traditional ICE sized battery, since it won't be asked to crank the engine over in sub-freeze temperatures. So the headroom for that battery in AH just doesn't bode well for even the smallest parasitic draw, or a conservative charging strategy.

I have 2 vehicles that I installed Bluetooth voltage meters so that I can conveniently monitor for unexpected issues regarding. The last thing I intend to do is drop my vehicle off at an apathetic dealership, where they might keep it for multiple days, only adding to the poor undersized batterie's woe.

 

[zvez]

Sticker price on the car was $58K and I have to go searching for a competent dealer? It’s Ford’s job to provide a car that does what it says it will or find a suitable replacement. This is my first time buying American, if this is what I have to expect, I will go back to the Japanese automakers, I have never had an issue like this with Toyota, Subaru, or Honda.

how many evs have you purchased from those companies? EV is an entirely different ballgame, good or bad, some dealers are better than others especially in terms of EV. I'm very lucky that my local dealer has a very enthusiastic lead EV tech (his wife owns a mach e). IT makes all the difference. I've only had a couple issues with the two mach es' I've owned but they were sorted very quickly

 

[zvez]

I drive the car about 25 miles daily, charge in the evening almost every night, and I do not have any aftermarket devices installed, so I really cannot explain why the battery might be low. Message happens at random, but I have gotten it about 7-8 times in the year I have owned the car. Also, it doesn't feel like something I should just accept or ignore although I genuinely enjoy the car.

Don't know it sounds like your battery may be on the way out. I got that message a couple times on my 21 but have never gotten the message on my 23. which I only charge once a week or so and drive less than 100 miles a week.

 

[PA27]

I‘ve had my 23 premium X a year. First few months this was a regular problem despite nothing ever plugged in but only short trips. Then, Ford did an OTA saying it improved the low voltage battery charging algorithm and the problem went away. Then yesterday, mine came on too but this time the low voltage battery reads 71% on the Ford website instead of the 50%ish it was last year when this was happening. I did nothing except two more 5 mile trips and the light has not come back ?‍

 

[Maquis]

I‘ve had my 23 premium X a year. First few months this was a regular problem despite nothing ever plugged in but only short trips. Then, Ford did an OTA saying it improved the low voltage battery charging algorithm and the problem went away. Then yesterday, mine came on too but this time the low voltage battery reads 71% on the Ford website instead of the 50%ish it was last year when this was happening. I did nothing except two more 5 mile trips and the light has not come back ?‍

The website no longer show 12V SoC, it’s now showing the HVB.

 

[PA27]

The website no longer show 12V SoC, it’s now showing the HVB.

When i first logged in I saw that too but, when I switched vehicles and then back to my MME it showed it

 

[Maquis]

When i first logged in I saw that too but, when I switched vehicles and then back to my MME it showed it

What is the exact sequence you used to get that? Mine is showing HVB for both vehicles no matter what I try.

 

[PA27]

What is the exact sequence you used to get that? Mine is showing HVB for both vehicles no matter what I try.

trying it again, logged in and selected dashboard, MME displayed with charge level showing miles, which it did first time last night but switched to % after I went back.from looking at maintenance schedule on Explorer. Cannot duplicate tonight so not sure and fact it showed such a high % doesn’t really make sense ?‍

 

[MCarl33]

I drive the car about 25 miles daily, charge in the evening almost every night, and I do not have any aftermarket devices installed, so I really cannot explain why the battery might be low. Message happens at random, but I have gotten it about 7-8 times in the year I have owned the car. Also, it doesn't feel like something I should just accept or ignore although I genuinely enjoy the car.

I see all these posts regarding 12V battery concerns like low battery messages etc. None of these posts mention to get the battery tested. I have a 2021 Premium and never got a low battery alert but did notice the SOC was always low 70s or lower. Had the dealer test the battery and it failed the test. Still under warranty so they replaced it. I would strongly recommend you get 12V battery tested just before your warranty is up.

 

[Doobster6]

Sticker price on the car was $58K and I have to go searching for a competent dealer? It’s Ford’s job to provide a car that does what it says it will or find a suitable replacement. This is my first time buying American, if this is what I have to expect, I will go back to the Japanese automakers, I have never had an issue like this with Toyota, Subaru, or Honda.

Marquis you are a very lucky buyer of Japanese vehicles! All three of the makes you mentioned have had their own share of dumb-dealer issues. My local Honda dealer used to be so arrogant it was pure drudgery going there for anything. And when Honda introduced the Clarity plug-in hybrid (2018) they (and maybe even ‘all’ Honda dealers, according to what I’ve read) were completely clueless as to what the car was, how to explain it or sell it.
I get where you’re coming from but hey, electrified cars are NEW to everybody other than Tesla, and dealerships are still staffed overwhelmingly with ICE-age dinosaur salesmen and techs. When I went shopping for my MME I was simultaneously also shopping for a dealership that understood the cars. I got lucky; the dealership two miles from my house had just brought on board one of a few dozen EV Master Techs that Ford had recently trained.
Sorry to hear about the problems you’re having but there is a reality to the EV world that has to be acknowledged. Anyone owning an electrified vehicle of any kind today can call themselves a pioneer of sorts, and along with being one comes the frustration of the ecosystem’s learning curve.

Sponsored