RESOLUTION! $28,000 damage to Mach-E from tow truck hooking into battery rail

[ValentinoRossi]

The tow manual says to hook in front of the control arms and tie down using the wheels.
it’s too late now but you might want to learn how to jump the 12v and put the vehicle in tow mode. It would have possibly saved you this headache. The random tow guy won’t be bothered learning it.

Can someone please explain what the tow mode is?

Also, why is jump starting the 12v required? It sounded like OP still had battery power left since the car told him to pull over?

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[E-questrian]

Damn this is scary. Any pics of the area the hooked too so it can be prevented? Should be a notice sent out to tow companies. Hope it gets sorted out.

 

[jlauro]

Can someone please explain what the tow mode is?

Also, why is jump starting the 12v required? It sounded like OP still had battery power left since the car told him to pull over?

Tow mode basically puts the car in neutral (except there isn't really a neutral with electric motors, but basically allows the wheels to turn) for a limited time so you can tow it short distances without a flatbed, or take it through an automatic car wash, etc. That said, it wouldn't surprise me if it doesn't let you do that when it forced you to pull over.

 

[E-questrian]

Can someone please explain what the tow mode is?

Also, why is jump starting the 12v required? It sounded like OP still had battery power left since the car told him to pull over?

no once we pulled over there was a complete loss of power

 

[Motomax]

Can someone please explain what the tow mode is?

Also, why is jump starting the 12v required? It sounded like OP still had battery power left since the car told him to pull over?

Check your manual, it’s better if you know how to find it.
jumping The 12v is important because a low 12v battery will prevent you from going to neutral. A low battery will kick the vehicle over to park even in neutral-this is where tow mode comes in. I’m assuming the OP had issues with his 12v because why else would they be dragging it instead of rolling it.

 

[E-questrian]

the videos are too big to post

 

[Motomax]

Tow mode basically puts the car in neutral (except there isn't really a neutral with electric motors, but basically allows the wheels to turn) for a limited time so you can tow it short distances without a flatbed, or take it through an automatic car wash, etc. That said, it wouldn't surprise me if it doesn't let you do that when it forced you to pull over.

You’re not talking about tow mode. You’re talking about temporary blocking the auto park(30min). Two different modes, two completely different ways to activate. Tow mode should not revert back to park even with a low battery if I interpret the manual correctly.

 

[Mach1E]

Ford picked the tow company, they are at least partly to blame for not vetting who they refer. I agree it's the insurance from the tow company that needs to take responsibility, but Ford needs to take responsibility for not informing the tow company of how to properly tow the Mach E, making it difficult / non obvious how to do so, possibly take the tow company off the list of who they use, etc...

Technically you could try to go after (sue) anyone, but I would bet Ford has a long list of fine print you agreed to when you ordered or purchased the car that releases them from any sort of liability in these situation.

In general, if you’re gonna sue someone, sue the person who actually did the damage. Really really really gonna be hard to prove it’s Ford’s fault that a tow truck driver hooked into a wrong spot.

You’d likely have to prove some sort of negligence or pattern of picking bad tow companies on Ford’s part. And that’s a huge reach.

Like if I hit you with a baseball bat, way easier to get $$ out of me than the store that sold me the bat, the property owner where I hit you, the baseball bat manufacturer or the parent company of some other company my company does business with (which would be Ford).

 

[scoopman]

This is reminding me to get those stickers I found to put on the holes under my car where you should not tow. holes not meant for towing need like red paint or an X on them, or else these things are bound to continue happening.

I wonder if Ford is going to give a think more about this for the F-150 Lightning, where you can see more BEVs at scale and needing to be towed out of rando situations. Every one of these is $28,000 and a battery pack that is already in short supply as a part because there's not good UX under the car on where not to put a tow hook.

 

[jlauro]

You’re not talking about tow mode. You’re talking about temporary blocking the auto park(30min). Two different modes, two completely different ways to activate. Tow mode should not revert back to park even with a low battery if I interpret the manual correctly.

It's more than blocking autopark, but they do essentially the same to the motors, but you are right they have different activation procedures and deactivate differently.

 

[ValentinoRossi]

For this picture. Is it just me or is not only the bar ripped open from the hook but they also put the jack stands/lift supports on the same battery bar?

 

[ValentinoRossi]

Check your manual, it’s better if you know how to find it.
jumping The 12v is important because a low 12v battery will prevent you from going to neutral. A low battery will kick the vehicle over to park even in neutral-this is where tow mode comes in. I’m assuming the OP had issues with his 12v because why else would they be dragging it instead of rolling it.

Thank you, now it makes more sense. So the tow mode is not for towing without a flat bed for short distances like the other person replied, correct? It's specifically to put the car in neutral so they can winch it up (and down) the flatbed with dragging like OP.

 

[Motomax]

Thank you, now it makes more sense. So the tow mode is not for towing without a flat bed for short distances like the other person replied, correct? It's specifically to put the car in neutral so they can winch it up (and down) the flatbed with dragging like OP.

It’s for slowly flat towing a short distance to a waiting flat bed tow truck or any other time where you want to remain in neutral no matter what.
the other temporary neutral (temp disabling auto park) will allow the vehicle to stay in neutral for 30 min or until the battery (12v) gets too low. If you use this when you’re having vehicle issues you could end up with a nice surprise of locking up the wheels unexpectedly.
Tow mode is access through the screen and temp neutral through the Shifter and L button. Personally I think tow mode should be acessed through the shifter as well, going through the screen is just another failure point.

 

[jlauro]

Thank you, now it makes more sense. So the tow mode is not for towing without a flat bed for short distances like the other person replied, correct? It's specifically to put the car in neutral so they can winch it up (and down) the flatbed with dragging like OP.

From the manual:
EMERGENCY TOWING If your vehicle becomes inoperable without access to wheel dollies or a vehicle transport trailer, it can be flat-towed with all wheels on the ground, regardless of the drivetrain, under the following conditions: • Your vehicle is facing forward for towing in a forward direction. • You switch Emergency Tow on. • Maximum speed is 35 mph (56 km/h). • Maximum distance is 50 mi (80 km).

 

[karioka]

”Pull over Safely” came up on the dash, so we pulled over to side of highway and called Ford Road Side Assitance. A tow truck was dispatched. Car was dragged on to tow bed with a winch. The first winch snapped. The Ford dealership I was towed to had never worked on an electric car. We were halfway between our home in Canada and our winter place in Florida. On the recommendation of Ford Customer Care, they arranged to have the car transported down to a dealership in Florida. The tow company hooked into the battery rail and damaged the batteries. $28,000 repair bill. Now Ford customer care tells me I have to deal with Agero- claims for Road Side Assistance, that it’s not Ford. Agero denies the claim because it can’t be proven that it was the tow company’a fault it could have happened when the car was transported to Florida. Ford says it’s not their fault. My insurance company says it’s not claimable through them. So I am left finding lawyers in both the US and Canada to deal with this. Then I am sent a survey asking if I would refer Ford to a friend!

On a recent trip from the Bay Area to Salt Lake City, I had to hire. a tow truck in Lovelock, NV to go to Winemucca, NV for recharging. I got stranded in Lovelock without sufficient range to go either way. I paid $400.00 for the tow and applied for reimbursement at Ford Roadside Assistance. They denied my claim because I didn't go to the nearest Ford dealer ???