Considering giving up the fight

[TDS-03]

So for the last year my 2012 has been slowly getting worse. It started with bad 12v (replaced), was at the dealership for 3 months (they replaced several things under warranty, wire harness, etc.) and then after not figuring out anything else, said it was one of the water pumps. After hearing the repair bill, I told them to give it back to me and I replaced that myself (for $300 instead of over $1200 quote since was not a warranty part).

After, it seemed to work for several trips, then SSN message. I've been just resetting codes and keeping on driving on short trips to grocery, and other errands. I'm now entirely out of the 8 year warranty and entirely frustrated with Ford's handling of this car/warranty. I would bet on the battery being the real issue, but Ford does not appear to care at all.

I'm a Ford guy...I have 3 others currently. I'm sick of dealing with it...it makes me angry as this is such a nice low mileage car otherwise. Still looks practically new otherwise, but its just dying slowly. Has anyone parted one out? Anyone in SoCal want a project?

[triangles]

If it was still under warranty when the problems started and they haven't fixed the issue and it ends up being the battery, it's pretty easy to make the argument that legally it should still be covered by warranty. After all it's not your fault their incompetence couldn't properly diagnose the problem until after the warranty expired. Might be worth talking to a lawyer and who knows your local TV news might be interested in fighting on your behalf if they have an investigative report. With the Mach E coming out Ford may not want the bad publicity. Hold their feet to the fire!

What codes is it throwing and hopefully you have been documenting them before clearing them. There are some on here who have had the battery replaced and know what DTCs indicate a problem with the battery. I believe someone even posted the factory workshop manual so you can follow the troubleshooting that your ford tech would given the DTCs it is throwing.

[skyguy_6153]

If you come back with a coolant leak in your battery pack, I just posted a guide to help walk you through on how to fix it viewtopic.php?f=16&t=4982
You're now the third person in the past month who I have seen had this problem. I had it in September, but got it fixed by myself and help from other FFE owners.

[Heima]

I believe someone even posted the factory workshop manual so you can follow the troubleshooting that your ford tech would given the DTCs it is throwing.

That would be me, and the service manual is here:
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=4921#p32331

[TDS-03]

If you come back with a coolant leak in your battery pack, I just posted a guide to help walk you through on how to fix it viewtopic.php?f=16&t=4982
You're now the third person in the past month who I have seen had this problem. I had it in September, but got it fixed by myself and help from other FFE owners.

When the car was in for service, they noted that that coolant was low. Of course I kept asking "where did the coolant go then?". They kept telling me they checked the battery and it was dry. I'm going to guess it was BS as I pretty much have the same codes and what appears to be same situation.

I may have to try this as a project. I will have to get several other "projects" out of the way first tho.

I assume it would be of little use, but curious if the coolant was bypassed and removed from the upper pack, could the sensor be bypassed?

[electrons]

I gave up the fight Monday. After 5 years of a 2016 Focus Electric, I got a new 2020 Leaf SV 149-mile range version (215 mile range available for more $$ buckaroos). Same color, very similar to the Ford's Kona Blue. New Leafs (Leaves?) are stylish, not ugly like the bug-eyed 1st gen ones.

I had some, not much, trouble with the FFE in the last 5 years. I wrote some threads on my "adventures" here, getting some minor abuse & arguments from stubborn clueless dealership personnel along the way. I assume more would have gone wrong on it from year 6 to 8, the end of the battery & electronics warranty. >>>> Then beyond that, I wonder if Ford would even support it with parts anymore. They don't seem to like this FFE much.

Surprisingly, with 34k miles and $4k in hail damage last year, they valued my trade-in FFE at $6,900. That was more than I was expecting for a 76-mile range 5-year old FFE with hail damage. ( The insurance company handed me a check for $4,000 and I never fixed it. Insurance company told me I didn't have to fix it, so it's legal to just keep the dough when you get hail damage. ) So I guess the "math" is $6900 + $4,000, meaning I really got $10,900 for it. .... I don't know if every dealership would give such a great deal. I didn't do any haggling on the deal.

This month Nissan is rebating $6,000 back on all new Leafs. And, Leafs still have the $7,500 federal tax rebate available. Some states kick in some more $$ too. Leaf sales for 2020 are at about half the number from the last 4 years. They're desperate to move them. The dealership I went to had a huge selection which was nice. Their new Ariya for big bucks will be out in about 10 months, which should be a big hit.

Interesing tech thing about the Leaf that probably applies to the FFE too: The Leaf owner's manual discusses battery heating to keep the electrolyte in there from freezing & they say the heater will kick on, plugged in or not, at -1F and run til it's 14F. A -1F happens regularly in the north so you ought to keep these things garaged up there.

Also, the Leaf's battery is air-cooled, no pipes with coolant in it to ruin the HV battery as happened too often on the FFE.

The Leaf doesn't handle as well as the FFE. It's more comfortable though. More room inside, more cargo room. Leaf rides smoother. Acceleration is about the same. All new Leafs have Automatic Braking to keep from hitting something when you're distracted (more common on new cars).

I'm getting used to the Leaf. I no longer have the "sports car" FFE, miss that handling straight out of "Fast & Furious" hot-hatchback territory.
Leafs are made in Tennessee, though likely of almost all foreign parts. Leaf SV models like mine have the same Michelins the FFE had for low rolling resistance.

[Heima]

Thanks for the update, and the info about the Leaf. Hope you get plenty of smiles out of it.

[Fat Focus]

I put $500 down on a Mach-E GT this morning. Anyone want to buy a white 2018 FFE with $29k on it?

[electrons]

I put $500 down on a Mach-E GT this morning. Anyone want to buy a white 2018 FFE with $29k on it?

Tuck that "$29k" safely in the glovebox, not on the roof or hood please, & I'll buy it for $29k.

You've got plenty of time. The GT won't be out til Sept. '21. Your reservation may be a month or two after that. It should still be eligible for the $7,500 federal tax credit too. Ford sold a lot of PHEV Fusions & C-Maxes yet not anywhere near 200k of them. About 70k PHEVs sold by Ford so far. Only about 10k FFEs of course. 200k is the limit for phase out.

That Mach E GT looks incredible. 600 ft-lbs means you'll feel like you're doing neck exercises every time you stomp on it.

Try trading in your 2018. I was surprised when I just traded in a 2016 FFE for a 2020 Leaf (a week ago) and they gave me $6900 and I got an insurance check for hail damage on it for $4k last year (not repaired), so really that means the low-range 2016 FFE was valued at about $10,900.

Your 2018 is worth that & a couple thousand more I'd think (maybe?). 2018 FFE's are much better than a '16 with all that extra range, almost a new vehicle still, should sell OK on the used car market. Carmax will not give much cash for any used car, but sometimes it still beats a dealership new-car trade-in deal!

[Fat Focus]

Haha yeah it's got 29k miles on it. I don't really need the car at this point, working from home. I drive it once a week to play golf, and have a couple other vehicles if I do sell it early. I'd like to trade it in since I think I avoid some sales tax that way.

I'm really looking forward the the Mach-E. I'll opt for the Performance Edition that has an extra 34 foot pounds of torque. It should be just about as fast as my supercharged Shelby.