Tow Company Warning... Getting a new HV battery

[zvez]

Yikes, I just saved this doc for easy access if ever I need a tow truck.

I'm thinking I'll put it on my phone for easy reference.

Sponsored

 

[scoopman]

I'm thinking I'll put it on my phone for easy reference.

This and I have it on a Google drive so I can search for it in an "oh crap I'm stranded moment" I hope never happens.

My car is still on a choochoo from Mexico but I wonder if some kind of "no tow" markings in the apparent holes on the battery that should not be used would also be a good mod.

 

[MyLittlePony2022]

I looked at the Ford Manual and I am confused. They indicate flatbed only but if a flatbed or dollies is not available, you can do a flat, with all wheels down, tow in emergency mode. Caveat is slow speed, limited mileage, in tow mode, etc.

Does this mean that flatbed is the preferred mode only but in the event of an emergency you can do dollies or flat tow? They show a picture of what I would say is a tow by dollies and it is indicated as a no go. Not sure why dollies are not an option since all the wheels are off the ground. I would elect for dollies over a flat tow in an emergency. I am not an expert on towing since I have only had to exercise this once in my life.

 

[Carsinmyblood]

Tow truck driver.

THAT'S the problem. Easily solved if Ford filled the holds with $0.03 rubber plugs.

I'm guessing robots aren't that dexterous.

 

[Carsinmyblood]

The repo guys are gonna be doing a lot of paperwork on these.

 

[GABAR]

I’m interested in hearing what the tow company insurer says because this could get very interesting.

 

[RedStallion]

Tow truck driver.

THAT'S the problem. Easily solved if Ford filled the holds with $0.03 rubber plugs.

I'm guessing robots aren't that dexterous.

Rubber plugs is not a serious obstacle for an industrious tow truck driver. When I had my old car towed between two cities the driver put some scratches and brought the car all covered in dirt so you can't see anything.

 

[generaltso]

Maybe we should all just tape this picture from @ChasingCoral to the underside of our cars for the tow truck drivers to see.

 

[All Hat No Cattle]

But on the other hand when you get a tow through Ford Roadside Assistance you would expect that they are acting at the behest of Ford and thus know what they are doing, rather than just some random person with a tow strap. You don't check up on the mechanic at the Ford dealership when you take your car in because you expect Ford to have set some guidelines that the independent dealerships are following on how work gets done to the standard Ford expects.

Absolutely correct. Is Ford going to market the MME to just male, tech savvy, car geeks?

When I call FORD ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE I expect them to send a competent, qualified, and knowledgeable tow truck driver to safely haul my vehicle to a Ford Dealer, not to cause more damage.

If I have to tell the tow truck driver how to do his job, what is next?

Maybe telling the dealer how to troubleshoot my problem?

Come on Ford, unless you want to dump the average female driver from your potential customer base, fix this. Today!

The OP was nice enough to come on this forum to warn us. If this happened to a woman, I suspect that her experience would be posted on Facebook, not the Mach E Forum.

Does Ford really want something like this? From April.

AUTOSHOW Chinese woman’s Tesla protest prompts 5-day detention, company apology

https://www.reuters.com/world/china...-display-car-show-detained-5-days-2021-04-20/

 

[Jim D]

This and I have it on a Google drive so I can search for it in an "oh crap I'm stranded moment" I hope never happens.

My car is still on a choochoo from Mexico but I wonder if some kind of "no tow" markings in the apparent holes on the battery that should not be used would also be a good mod.

I put it on Google drive which is easy to access from my phone

 

[RickMachE]

It should always be in your interest to make sure your car is transported correctly and not damaged. Otherwise, you'll be without a car for weeks/months until it's fixed. This took me 2 minutes to find and would have saved you a lot of trouble.

I would never think that it is my responsibility to look up how to pull my car onto a tow truck. However, I would look in the manual whole I waited.

 

[ChasingCoral]

I would never think that it is my responsibility to look up how to pull my car onto a tow truck. However, I would look in the manual whole I waited.

Problem is most tow truck operators don't think it's their responsibility either. They usually even have you sign a waiver that says it isn't.

 

[imstriker]

Ok, I admit that I never expected this to become a debate over whether I should have spent 6 hours at home waiting for a provider to show up and then tell him how to do his job when he was hired by the company that made the car. That's ok though, if that's your jam I'm glad I could help. At any rate, here is the update....

The insurance adjuster still has not managed to make it out to see the damage. Repeated calls from me and the dealer do not seem to be speeding that up. The dealer is talking to some people at Ford to try and put some more pressure. My talks with the insurance do not seem to have any question about covering it, just not in a hurry. I did decide I'll take them up on their rental car to cost them more and maybe move them along.

At the dealer, they are pretty convinced that a new battery is in order. They have been working with Ford and to my surprise believe they can have the battery in 3-5 days. That's great news. Now we just need the rubber stamp from insurance.

 

[kennethjk]

I would never think that it is my responsibility to look up how to pull my car onto a tow truck. However, I would look in the manual whole I waited.

I tend to look at these things in any new car I get but not 100% sure I would remember when something actually happened. I like reading this stuff, I have one son who barely knows his tires require air, so most people won’t know the right way to tow.

easy solution, I read on another thread that European MME cars have tow hooks. Have them on American MMEs also and that solved where front license plates go.

 

[Tomcat]

this is an outstanding link thanks for posting!

Yes, I agree. Thanks for making us aware! Hopefully I'll never need to have it towed, but just in case, I'm saving this as well.

Sponsored