SSM 50869 – Headlamps Turn On By Themselves When Vehicle Is Off – DTC B1533

[Ford Motor Company]

Now I am afraid that I have multiple problems. I exercise in my garage gym anywhere between 3-4AM MWF (I know this is insane). On Monday, during my workout (lights on in the garage, dark outside, garage door open), the Mach-E lights randomly turned on for several seconds then turned off. The mirrors stayed folded. That happened a few times (at least 10 minutes apart). I went to get the key from the house to enter the car, hoping that would "reset" something (blind guesswork). That seemed to work. Then the same thing happened later in the day with the garage closed (can't remember if it was dark - the garage has windows). Then, around 4PM the lights turned on and stayed on - that's when I got the key and entered the car and flipped the light switch around to make sure it was on the "auto" setting. This seems to be the problem that many others are having. This morning, the same thing happened. The lights turned on then off several times during my workout. I repeated Monday's steps (get key from house, open car door, saw light switch was already on auto, closed the door, and put the key back in the house). That did NOT work. I keep the keys in the house (I don't carry them around). The problem has happened with the keys in different parts of the house (both probably 20-30 feet away through 1 wall or 3 walls).

Are there any known alerts/messages that are indicated by turning the lights on then off (is the car trying to tell me that something is wrong, are there any proximity alerts for safety, etc)? I have now put both keys into a faraday bag to see if I notice the problem again on Friday (maybe the keys are just within range and the car intermittently "sees" them enter the range where it thinks it needs to "wake up"). Any insights here are appreciated as always!

Hi there! Would you send us a private message with your VIN and dealership name and location? I’d like to look into this concern on my end.

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[macchiaz-o]

Great question. I have NOT yet set up PaaK. We'll see if the issue goes away with the Faraday bag. Thanks for validating my approach!

Your approach and Mike's response were perfectly rational, but I can't help but follow up on this:

(lights on in the garage, dark outside, garage door open), the Mach-E lights randomly turned on for several seconds then turned off

 

[jimitoast]

Your approach and Mike's response were perfectly rational, but I can't help but follow up on this:

I see what you did there LOL

 

[mkhuffman]

Your approach and Mike's response were perfectly rational, but I can't help but follow up on this:

Or worse yet, Alexa has decided to crawl out of the blue ring and take over the car.

 

[jimitoast]

Or worse yet, Alexa has decided to crawl out of the blue ring and take over the car.

I probably did bring all of this on myself by naming the car "Ghost" (seriously)

 

[MaverickUser]

Hi there! Would you send us a private message with your VIN and dealership name and location? I’d like to look into this concern on my end.

Even though the SSM is addressed to Mach-E owners, it appears as though this part and this ODB code has applicability in other Ford models. The common Mach-E experience is having lights turn on while the car is off, though it might manifest in other ways. In my Maverick, it also causes the auto-high beam function to fail. Hopefully Ford recognizes that this is a broader issue and accelerates a fix.

Maverick thread with same ODB code

 

[breeves002]

Even though the SSM is addressed to Mach-E owners, it appears as though this part and this ODB code has applicability in other Ford models. The common Mach-E experience is having lights turn on while the car is off, though it might manifest in other ways. In my Maverick, it also causes the auto-high beam function to fail. Hopefully Ford recognizes that this is a broader issue and accelerates a fix.

Maverick thread with same ODB code

Not surprised they use the same switch in many vehicles just minor variations. They have said a new switch is coming this fall.

 

[chuyqwerty]

I just wanted to chime in and say this has happened to me before. One time, I got out of the car and heard the chime and I did not know why it was doing that, but then I noticed the knob in the "on" position for some reason. So I just turned it back to "auto" and didn't think much of it.

But then it happened again when I went to a restaurant. I got out of the car, the car was off, the lights were off. I sat inside the restaurant and there was a window where I could admire my Mach E.

While I was waiting for my food, the lights suddenly turned on. I thought maybe I accidentally turned the car on remotely or something. I waited a bit, but the lights would not turn off so went inside the car and noticed the knob was in the "on" position. So it literally turned itself on while the car was just parked there.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

I just wanted to chime in and say this has happened to me before. One time, I got out of the car and heard the chime and I did not know why it was doing that, but then I noticed the knob in the "on" position for some reason. So I just turned it back to "auto" and didn't think much of it.

But then it happened again when I went to a restaurant. I got out of the car, the car was off, the lights were off. I sat inside the restaurant and there was a window where I could admire my Mach E.

While I was waiting for my food, the lights suddenly turned on. I thought maybe I accidentally turned the car on remotely or something. I waited a bit, but the lights would not turn off so went inside the car and noticed the knob was in the "on" position. So it literally turned itself on while the car was just parked there.

I refer you to @macchiaz-o's post above. I haven't had this issue in 15+ months of ownership. At this point I doubt I'd know what the "Hey, you left the lights on!" chime was. Hence, @macchiaz-o's explanation makes the most sense.

 

[HuntingPudel]

The third time I noticed it (a few hours ago), I did that just to make sure I had not accidentally turned the switch to on. That's when I found this thread. Is that a reasonably reliable way to prevent it? Should I ensure that it is set to auto before turning off the car? I am OK doing that until they have a fix - I just want to make sure I don't get stranded somewhere with a dead LVB.

Mine switched itself on all by itself a few weeks ago while I was looking out the window of my office. Since the I have been randomly turning the switch off, waiting a few seconds, then turning back to “Auto.” I can’t say this has prevented a reoccurrence, but it hasn’t happened since then.

 

[HuntingPudel]

Your approach and Mike's response were perfectly rational, but I can't help but follow up on this:

 

[GoGoGadgetMachE]

amusingly this has never happened to me in the Mach-E, but it has in the Lightning, however. FordPass told me so.

 

[FarSide]

Did Ford Pass tell you in real time or 2-days later? this is the stupidest bug I have ever seen.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Even though the SSM is addressed to Mach-E owners, it appears as though this part and this ODB code has applicability in other Ford models. The common Mach-E experience is having lights turn on while the car is off, though it might manifest in other ways. In my Maverick, it also causes the auto-high beam function to fail. Hopefully Ford recognizes that this is a broader issue and accelerates a fix.

Maverick thread with same ODB code

And now there is an SSM (51058) for the '21-'22 F150, released today. So add that to the list of Ford vehicles that all need new headlight switches. This tiny logic error is a huge deal now. Bet the next generation of Fords will have a programmable headlight switch module, or they remove the logic from it entirely and have the BCM handle everything like the old days.

 

[Neil4Real]

And now there is an SSM (51058) for the '21-'22 F150, released today. So add that to the list of Ford vehicles that all need new headlight switches. This tiny logic error is a huge deal now. Bet the next generation of Fords will have a programmable headlight switch module, or they remove the logic from it entirely and have the BCM handle everything like the old days.

But still no new part yet, right? That’s not something they can do for the new part that’s soon to be released?

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