Stranded in Wisconsin: Mach E road trip fail

[BadgerGreg]

I think it's great that Ford is stepping up to transport the car home and cover the rental. I don't know that it's a good sign that the car is already running. I hope it's not a "we can't reproduce the problem" situation.

Check out my update. I'm just hoping this error doesn't repeat; it's possible the dealerships have access to the necessary software updates to address this problem. Hopefully an upcoming OTA will head this off for the rest of the owners.

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[thefallenbeloved]

UPDATE (March 1, 2022): the dealership contacted me and said it was a software issue only. They were able to clear the error codes and they say the car is back to normal. I didn't get all the technical details yet, but there were no battery control modules or other hardware that needed to be replaced. Also, not a 12V battery issue. The tech said that this is a known problem that will likely be addressed with an upcoming OTA.

Glad that it was a minor issue, but a bit spooked that it was a software glitch. In any case, the car will be transported back to me later this week (hopefully). Thanks @Ford Motor Company for helping me resolve this and helping with the rental/transport costs!

WOW. How did they determine that? I'm wondering if mine is the same?

 

[Ford Motor Company]

I took my kids to Madison Wisconsin (from metro Detroit) on a weekend trip to see family. The trip out on Friday was fantastic; easy charging and enjoyable trip. Efficiency was manageable and the EA charging stations were reliable and fast.

I kept the car plugged in at my sister's home on Level 1 charging. Temps were ranging from the mid teens to mid 30s (cold, but not absurdly cold). On Saturday night, got a charge fault error while at 33% SOC. Went to try unplugging and plugging in again, and had a red ring at the charge port indicator. Got in the car and started it up. The "Stop Safely Now" message popped up and the car wouldn't engage (I couldn't get it out of Park). I went to bed hoping that the car would reset itself overnight.

I got in the car this morning and the same problem persisted. I was supposed to drive back to Michigan today, so instead I'm having the car towed to a local (Madison, WI) dealership, spending $600 to rent a car to get back to Michigan (lowest available rental cost), and wondering how long it will take to get it back. Hopefully, Ford will have the decency to transport my car back to Michigan when the service is completed, because I don't want to spend the time and money to get back to Madison to pick it up.

@Ford Motor Company - I've been a cheerleader for this car for my first 20,000 miles, but it's hard to be a cheerleader today. Very disappointed for a car that is not yet one year old.

UPDATE (March 1, 2022): the dealership contacted me and said it was a software issue only. They were able to clear the error codes and they say the car is back to normal. I didn't get all the technical details yet, but there were no battery control modules or other hardware that needed to be replaced. Also, not a 12V battery issue. The tech said that this is a known problem that will likely be addressed with an upcoming OTA..

Good afternoon, Greg! Could you please send us a private message with your VIN and dealership information? I would like to look into this charge fault concern for you on my end. Thanks!

 

[Gimme_my_MME]

Good afternoon, Greg! Could you please send us a private message with your VIN and dealership information? I would like to look into this charge fault concern for you on my end. Thanks!

Do you read any of the messages in the rest of the posts??? They just posted an update from their dealer that things were going great. And they even thanked YOU FOR YOUR HELP!

 

[BadgerGreg]

Good afternoon, Greg! Could you please send us a private message with your VIN and dealership information? I would like to look into this charge fault concern for you on my end. Thanks!

Thanks @Ford Motor Company! I PM'd you with the details. My car will be arriving home this afternoon/evening, which is faster than expected!

 

[BadgerGreg]

And it all ended well...got my Mach E back today, only three days after towing it to the dealership in Madison (WI). I blushed when I found out how much Ford paid to tow it back to Michigan. Ford kept this customer loyal.

 

[Budman]

Way to go Ford! Contrast this episode with the stunt Rivian just pulled by increasing the price by 15% to 20% for some customers who were within a few weeks of taking delivery.

 

[Electric Goat]

UPDATE (March 1, 2022): the dealership contacted me and said it was a software issue only. They were able to clear the error codes and they say the car is back to normal. I didn't get all the technical details yet, but there were no battery control modules or other hardware that needed to be replaced. Also, not a 12V battery issue. The tech said that this is a known problem that will likely be addressed with an upcoming OTA.

Glad that it was a minor issue, but a bit spooked that it was a software glitch. In any case, the car will be transported back to me later this week (hopefully). Thanks @Ford Motor Company for helping me resolve this and helping with the rental/transport costs!

I hope that they're correct. They performed the same actions and did the same thing after the first time that this happened. My MME ended up failing again after just a few days and now I'm waiting weeks for parts. II'd recommend using a different vehicle for critical trips for a few weeks. I'd hate to see you get stranded like that again.

 

[Blue highway]

UPDATE (March 1, 2022): the dealership contacted me and said it was a software issue only. They were able to clear the error codes and they say the car is back to normal. I didn't get all the technical details yet, but there were no battery control modules or other hardware that needed to be replaced. Also, not a 12V battery issue. The tech said that this is a known problem that will likely be addressed with an upcoming OTA.

Glad that it was a minor issue, but a bit spooked that it was a software glitch. In any case, the car will be transported back to me later this week (hopefully). Thanks @Ford Motor Company for helping me resolve this and helping with the rental/transport costs!

Reading through this thread it's good to see how Ford handled it... Very nice.

However, "addressed with an upcoming OTA" (face palm) I hope those start working...

 

[Murse-In-Airy]

Hard to believe this saga was only 5 days total. Felt like much longer. And I’m only reading about it from over here in NY. Glad it was resolved.

 

[BadgerGreg]

I hope that they're correct. They performed the same actions and did the same thing after the first time that this happened. My MME ended up failing again after just a few days and now I'm waiting weeks for parts. II'd recommend using a different vehicle for critical trips for a few weeks. I'd hate to see you get stranded like that again.

Good to know; I'll stay local for a bit. Fortunately, I have no road trips planned for the next few weeks. If I have no problems during that period, my confidence will come back. Ford reached out to get details on my actual service, so I'm guessing they're collecting information on critical software upgrades necessary to avoid this issue.

 

[RickMachE]

Way to go Ford! Contrast this episode with the stunt Rivian just pulled by increasing the price by 15% to 20% for some customers who were within a few weeks of taking delivery.

I just read this morning that they reversed that decision.

 

[generaltso]

I just read this morning that they reversed that decision.

Yep.

 

[cjrodriguez31]

I’m taking this as a good sign. Apparently they charged my car overnight, so the battery is taking electrons. I should find out this morning what they did to the car.

I just got the same message last night for my car !! I called the service dept and of course no answer so im hoping they call today thats its done!

 

[Ford Motor Company]

Welcome to the "stop safely now" club. Mine is only 3 months old and I've been without my Mach-E for most of the month because parts are on back order. It's just been sitting at the dealer collecting snow. I'm told that I can expect the needed parts to arrive sometime next month.

Good afternoon! Could you please send us a private message with more details about this situation? I would like to look into this parts back order concern for you on my end!

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