Charge Fault - won't charge

[carbuff]

Yep hear ya on the cost.

And speaking of cost.....I heard back from the dealer today on my car. Looks like part of the wiring harness that goes from the charging port to the battery is bad and has to be replaced. Ford is claiming this is not under warranty and the dealer wants $1300 for parts and labor. The car is 4 years and 3 months old, 36k miles. I've never had a wiring harness go bad in a car, and this isn't a wear item or an abuse issue, so clearly this was a defective part from Ford. The battery and electric drive system are 100k mile warranty, but somehow they claim this isn't part of that system. Any advice on how to fight this? Other than raise a stink and argue I'm not sure what options I have. $1300 ain't enough to make hiring an attorney worthwhile, hence Ford's willingness to pull this crap.

Wow, Im sorry to hear this. This is just the type of thing I was worried about. You would think something like this was covered as it seems like its part of the battery system but no. Its part of the reason I took the deal to buy back my car. Most of my bumper to bumper warranty was spent at the dealership so I knew that any new problems would lead to a similar situation. I didnt even pay $1300 for my new jeep. LOL. Ive read the battery warranty and its very specific as to what items are covered. I believe its the battery, the main harness, and the electric motor assembly. Thats all. I dont think even a lawyer could help with that. Best thing to try is to make a stink with the dealer and see if you can whittle the price down a bit. A lot of that price may be labor. Repeat customer, considering new car soon, etc. They might consider those things.
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[TexaCali]

Yep, I've seen this type stuff from Ford before on warranty claims. My truck had a turbo go under warranty. The cause of the failure was actually the exhaust manifold cracked. Ford refused to cover the exhaust manifold (which feeds the turbo), on what was basically a new truck. Raised a huge stink and got the bill down significantly, but still had to eat some of the cost. Wasn't worth going to court.

Selling your FFE to the dealer was smart. Ford has never even sold 2,000 FFE's in a single year. 2016 they sold just over 900, and so far this year (Jan-July) they have sold a whopping 547 FFE's. This is a compliance car and support is going to be dismal. It will only get worse in the years to come. I am seriously considering selling mine.

Problem is I don't know what to buy. I'd love another EV, but looking at sales numbers, there are only 5 EV's that are not compliance cars - the three Tesla models, the Bolt, and the Leaf. I can't afford a Tesla, the Bolt doesn't appeal to me at all, and even the new Leaf is unattractive (CR gave it a bad review). Maybe the VW Neo will be a great car, or maybe Tesla will offer a Model 3 for $35k that isn't so stripped down that no one would seriously order it. So at least until I figure out what to do for a commute car, I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope the FFE stays reliable. Pity, it really would be a great car if Ford was just serious about supporting it (and actually selling them).

[carbuff]

Yep, I've seen this type stuff from Ford before on warranty claims. My truck had a turbo go under warranty. The cause of the failure was actually the exhaust manifold cracked. Ford refused to cover the exhaust manifold (which feeds the turbo), on what was basically a new truck. Raised a huge stink and got the bill down significantly, but still had to eat some of the cost. Wasn't worth going to court.

Selling your FFE to the dealer was smart. Ford has never even sold 2,000 FFE's in a single year. 2016 they sold just over 900, and so far this year (Jan-July) they have sold a whopping 547 FFE's. This is a compliance car and support is going to be dismal. It will only get worse in the years to come. I am seriously considering selling mine.

Problem is I don't know what to buy. I'd love another EV, but looking at sales numbers, there are only 5 EV's that are not compliance cars - the three Tesla models, the Bolt, and the Leaf. I can't afford a Tesla, the Bolt doesn't appeal to me at all, and even the new Leaf is unattractive (CR gave it a bad review). Maybe the VW Neo will be a great car, or maybe Tesla will offer a Model 3 for $35k that isn't so stripped down that no one would seriously order it. So at least until I figure out what to do for a commute car, I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope the FFE stays reliable. Pity, it really would be a great car if Ford was just serious about supporting it (and actually selling them).

Agreed on all your points.

[TexaCali]

Update: We are now at 4 weeks to the day. Dealer is waiting on the replacement harness part from Ford. Should arrive Thurs or Friday. We will see how quickly they can install it and if it actually fixes the problem. I realize 4 weeks is very short compared to what some here have gone through, but it is still an unacceptably long time to wait for what should be a quick and simple repair on a car that is (in theory) much simpler to maintain and repair than an ICE car. Especially when you consider I am located in the heart of one of the largest tech economies in the world and not in some remote undeveloped area.

[carbuff]

Update: We are now at 4 weeks to the day. Dealer is waiting on the replacement harness part from Ford. Should arrive Thurs or Friday. We will see how quickly they can install it and if it actually fixes the problem. I realize 4 weeks is very short compared to what some here have gone through, but it is still an unacceptably long time to wait for what should be a quick and simple repair on a car that is (in theory) much simpler to maintain and repair than an ICE car. Especially when you consider I am located in the heart of one of the largest tech economies in the world and not in some remote undeveloped area.

Yeah, in Cali, at least your dealer has probably seen one before. LOL. Im sure the majority of evs are sold there.

[TexaCali]

Yeah, in Cali, at least your dealer has probably seen one before. LOL. Im sure the majority of evs are sold there.

LOL! Yep indeed!


UPDATE - I have my car back!!!!!!!! Man I forgot how much I enjoyed driving that car. Pisses me off Ford is abandoning it and support is lacking. Here is the summary:

-Took to dealership Aug 9th for failure to charge
-Dealer replaced SOBDM but vehicle still would not charge
-Dealer replaced charge port wiring harness and now all appears to be working
-Dealer completed repairs late on Sept 6th (exactly 4 weeks) and I picked up the car today (Sept 7th).
-Ford refused to cover the wiring harness under warranty and I was charged just under $1200 parts and labor.

I will be complaining to Ford customer service over their failure to cover an obvious manufacturing defect, though I seriously doubt they will do anything to make it right...Or they will send me some coupon in the mail for a discount on my next oil change!!!!! LoL!!!

[carbuff]

Glad you got it back. I wouldnt expect anything from ford. I know that feeling of getting the car back and loving how it drives. That feeling lasted about 4 days for me though. LOL. Enjoy it!

[TexaCali]

Glad you got it back. I wouldnt expect anything from ford. I know that feeling of getting the car back and loving how it drives. That feeling lasted about 4 days for me though. LOL. Enjoy it!

Yep, not expecting anything, but I will at least know they have pissed off a long time and loyal customer who has bought 6 vehicles from them in the past several years (and still has 4).

Hear ya on the "but will it last"....which is why I'm carefully watching the market and will likely dump the car at the next sign of trouble or as soon as a viable alternative appears, which ever is first. Such a shame, it is a great car in so many ways.

BTW - dealer told me they see lots of FFE's in for repairs. They claim they never see the same problem twice, it is always something different. Talk about a confidence killer.

[teutocat]

UPDATE - I have my car back!! ...
...
-Dealer replaced charge port wiring harness and now all appears to be working
...

I can not believe $1200 for a wiring harness?
I think wiring harness is a passive component, how to get it broken?
Was the defective wiring harness shown to you?

[TexaCali]

UPDATE - I have my car back!! ...
...
-Dealer replaced charge port wiring harness and now all appears to be working
...

I can not believe $1200 for a wiring harness?
I think wiring harness is a passive component, how to get it broken?
Was the defective wiring harness shown to you?

Yep, agreed on all points. This was a manufacturing defect. Wiring harnesses are a pretty sorted thing with cars these days. Can't say I've ever owned (or knew someone who owned) a car where the wiring harness went bad. I'm sure it has happened, but it is pretty rare and obviously not a wear or owner abuse thing.

As to the cost, $1200 included a ton of labor. I don't have the bill in front of me, but wiring harnesses aren't easy to get to, so most of that was labor. I didn't ask to see the part, but politely let the dealer know I was pretty pissed that Ford would not cover what was obviously their defect. I also told the dealer they should stand up and make it right. In the end the dealer gave me $150 off the bill. Not exactly what I'd call making it right, more like a token gesture so they could claim they did something. Then again, Ford screwed up, not the dealer, so I can't come down too hard on the dealer for not eating the cost of Ford's mistake.

Bottom line, I'm now wondering if I should sell the car since the warranty appears to be of little value and support will only get worse since Ford isn't going to sell cars in the US and the dealer certainly isn't going to hire, train, and keep on staff people to fix cars that Ford doesn't build. Pity because I really do like the car.