My 23 KW battery is being replaced

[davideos]

When I got my new 33.5KWh battery, it was the 2nd time I had a battery pulled from the car. The first time, the battery was "repaired" and put back in. I suspect that the determination to replace the battery depends on the issue.

I heard that a car manufacturer has to support a product for 10 years. Which I think is one reason the EV1 was scrapped and even the Chrysler Turbine car. Not exactly sure; just what I suspect. I'm not concerned about a replacement battery being available, but rather, a replacement battery being affordable. I suspect that by the time a replacement battery is needed, I'll either be done with the car (16 years old) or there will be someone or company around who can rebuild it.

[James]

After 3 and half weeks of unanswered phone calls, five-word email responses and, no loaner car I got my car back with a refurbished 23kw battery pack. The experience with the dealer has been absolutely the worst I've ever experienced.

I tried changed it for the first time on the weekend and got up in the morning to a battery that won't charge past 76%, a coolant pump cycling on and office every minute or so, an no coolant in the coolant tank. So back to the dealer. Great.

The dealer is trying to tell me that there "was just an air bubble", which I know isn't true because there wasn't even enough coolant in the system to run the pump. I checked the work order for the battery replacement and notice there is no mention of a new coolant filter and coolant flush after the "new" battery was installed.

The dealer is refusing to do anything but top up the coolant. Just wondering if anyone might have a copy of the service manual to screen shot so I can show it to the dealer? I've just about had it with this whole situation.

[Heima]

James,
I can't upload the service procedures, but if you pm an email address, I will send them there.
And yes, the procedures state:

Installation

1. NOTICE: If the battery is being replaced, the coolant filter must replaced or component damage
will occur.
To install, reverse the removal procedure.
Refer to: Cooling System Filling and Bleeding (303-03 Electric Powertrain Cooling, General Procedures).
2. If the battery is being replaced install a new coolant filter.
Refer to: Coolant Filter (303-03 Electric Powertrain Cooling, Removal and Installation).

[davideos]

That's what they did to me....they forgot the coolant. I can't even imagine how they can forget that. Anyway, you were lucky to get to 76% charge...mine wouldn't make it nearly that far before it stopped with a charge fault. I was using an L2 charger. I suppose if you used L1, then it might be able to dissipate the heat a little more easily.

[thanhdaica1985]

I want to confirm I also will get a refurbished battery pack, part # CM5Z-10B759-TARM. The strange thing is that my doesn't start after the installation. And an engineer will have to come out to do some reprogramming. I thought this part # has the lower capacity and it is as simple as a drop-in replacement. My car is a 2012 model. Any thoughts on this?

[debugpoint136]

I can confirm that my 2013 also got a remanufactured 23 kW battery after I got the wrench sign. It was covered under battery 8 year warranty. The car was at the dealer for roughly two weeks, and they told me that the problem was a coolant leak. The dealer said that they have no say in the matter, and it's totally up to Ford as to which battery they ship as a replacement. The person checking out showed my the invoice that the battery cost $11,000.
However, the replaced battery only has 16 kW capacity. I can go up to 60-64 miles, as compared to the previous one, where I would get 70-75 in similar temp and driving conditions. Should I talk to Ford customer service?

I am also worried what happens after warranty is over. Does any one know why the coolant leak problem happens and if we can take any precautions to avoid that.

As of today I am so glad to have my car back I missed it!

Regards,
Deed

[tinilk]

Hi Deed, from other posts I've read on the forums here, the 23 kWh cars originally had about 19 kWh usable capacity with brand new cells. About 2 kWh is reserved as a buffer at the top, and a bit less than 2 kWh at the bottom so "full charge" is about 90% actual SOC and "battery depleted" is about 8% SOC.

Your remanufactured pack doesn't have any new cells unless some were damaged or out of spec. 16 kWh usable capacity is about what you might expect from it being pulled out of someone else's 6 or 7 year old FFE and installed in your car. You probably babied your old battery, whereas the one you have now may have been sitting fully charged for most of its life on hot asphalt in Phoenix AZ.

I'm worried about when my warranty is up too! I doubt there's anything you can do to prevent a leak happening again, besides draining & replacing the coolant every 5 years / 50k miles or less. (I don't even know whether a coolant leak was the culprit in my car's case.)