westhamfan
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Nov 12, 2021 9:05 am

Re: Failed High Voltage Battery

Same issue here. Got the news today. Owned it less than a year and only 58k miles.
unhappy1
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Nov 12, 2021 11:17 am

Re: Failed High Voltage Battery

I am in the exact same boat, loved the vehicle up until now, but this is an absolute nightmare. I only have 70k miles on it, and found out today that this is going to be a 14k dollar repair. It has maybe a 9k value if it is in working condition. It seems like Ford should have either recalled this issue or, extend the warranty to cover the issue, due to the fact that they are aware that there is an existing technical service bulletin acknowledging that there is a known issue of coolant leaking into and ruining the batteries (TSB 20_2140).

I asked the guy from the dealership service department what my options were, and he let me know that they would not even take it off my hands, and I now own a worthless paper weight. He then offered me up the Ford customer care #, I spoke with one person, that wan't able to resolve this (big surprise), and then sat on hold for the next 30 minutes while he attempted to contact 3 "different" supervisors and was unable to get anyone. They are supposed to get back with me within the next 3 days.

The frustrating thing about all of this is I have been telling everyone I know the upside to an EV, and how "great" they are, only to realize that I may have just made the worst purchase of my life. I just put down $100 dollars on a new lightening about 3 months ago and now I am definitely rethinking things if Ford is going to leave me with the expectation that I will be on the hook for $13k on a vehicle with 70k, about a known and identified issue. I will wait to see how thing pan out with Ford, but it really seems like if Ford anticipates moving into the EV market at the scale they are suggesting, they really ought to back and protect their existing products.

Something needs to be done to raise the awareness of this issue, ill keep you posted.
westhamfan
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Nov 12, 2021 9:05 am

Re: Failed High Voltage Battery

unhappy1 wrote: Fri Nov 12, 2021 1:19 pm I am in the exact same boat, loved the vehicle up until now, but this is an absolute nightmare. I only have 70k miles on it, and found out today that this is going to be a 14k dollar repair. It has maybe a 9k value if it is in working condition. It seems like Ford should have either recalled this issue or, extend the warranty to cover the issue, due to the fact that they are aware that there is an existing technical service bulletin acknowledging that there is a known issue of coolant leaking into and ruining the batteries (TSB 20_2140).

I asked the guy from the dealership service department what my options were, and he let me know that they would not even take it off my hands, and I now own a worthless paper weight. He then offered me up the Ford customer care #, I spoke with one person, that wan't able to resolve this (big surprise), and then sat on hold for the next 30 minutes while he attempted to contact 3 "different" supervisors and was unable to get anyone. They are supposed to get back with me within the next 3 days.

The frustrating thing about all of this is I have been telling everyone I know the upside to an EV, and how "great" they are, only to realize that I may have just made the worst purchase of my life. I just put down $100 dollars on a new lightening about 3 months ago and now I am definitely rethinking things if Ford is going to leave me with the expectation that I will be on the hook for $13k on a vehicle with 70k, about a known and identified issue. I will wait to see how thing pan out with Ford, but it really seems like if Ford anticipates moving into the EV market at the scale they are suggesting, they really ought to back and protect their existing products.

Something needs to be done to raise the awareness of this issue, ill keep you posted.
Not sure what will happen but I chatted with Ford directly and they gave me a case number and said they would be contacting the dealer directly. Given that this coolant leak is a known issue, I cannot believe they will just leave owners with useless vehicles regardless of the warranty status.
westhamfan
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Nov 12, 2021 9:05 am

Re: Failed High Voltage Battery

Ford said that it's just the breaks. There is zero they can or will do in this situation.
Heima
Posts: 269
Joined: Thu Feb 21, 2019 11:46 pm

Re: Failed High Voltage Battery

When I read stuff like this, it just breaks my heart.
I want people to have positive experiences with electric vehicles, and when a manufacturer acts like a jerk, it really sets me off, because I have been there as well.

So, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

The director of Service Engineering at Ford is Michael A. Berardi.

You could email this guy, saying that you were interested in electric vehicles, and decided to take the first step with a 2012 ford focus electric.

You were happy with the car until out of the blue, you got the Stop Safely Now message, and that after having it towed to the dealer, you were informed that the battery had an internal coolant leak and would have to be replaced at a cost of approximately $16000. This happened shortly after the warranty expired, and considering the vehicle has only 50k miles, does not seem reasonable, as any Ford internal combustion engine vehicle could easily last twice that long. Additionally, it seems that Ford is aware of this problem, issuing bulletin TSB 20_2140 for correction of affected vehicles. Yet though yours was manufactured within the effective date range, it does not qualify.

You are concerned that with the reliability you have experienced, the electric car is not an consumer sustainable means of transportation, and though Ford has invested billions into the Mach E, the F-150 Lightning, the E-Transit and soon many other new vehicles, it does not appear that Ford is making any commitment to stand behind the vehicles they have already sold. You are saddened that what was once a wonderful vehicle, is now a very expensive paperweight.

You have shared your experience on numerous electric vehicle forums, seeking assistance, and though you praised the vehicle in the past, others are criticizing the manner in which the dealer is handling this situation and question if Ford will follow through and support the Mach E or the F-150 Lightning owners after a few years down the road.

You are hoping they are wrong, but the attitude that you are experiencing from the dealership and Ford is not encouraging. You would like to know if Mr. Berardi can provide a positive resolution to this situation?
Heima
Posts: 269
Joined: Thu Feb 21, 2019 11:46 pm

Re: Failed High Voltage Battery

Thit!, well it seems that Mike Berardi retired from Ford. I wonder who his replacement is?

Why it is David J Johnson, whose email supposedly is djohns16@ford.com. Good Luck!
westhamfan
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Nov 12, 2021 9:05 am

Re: Failed High Voltage Battery

Heima wrote: Sat Nov 13, 2021 1:37 pm Thit!, well it seems that Mike Berardi retired from Ford. I wonder who his replacement is?

Why it is David J Johnson, whose email supposedly is djohns16@ford.com. Good Luck!
Gave it a shot! I'll let you know if I hear anything back. Working with my credit union now to get a line of credit that will allow me to pay off the vehicle so I'm not insuring a useless piece of metal sitting in my yard.
unhappy1
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Nov 12, 2021 11:17 am

Re: Failed High Voltage Battery

Interested in how things work out. I would really like to think that the upper management of Ford is playing the long game, and would place a higher value on reputation, branding, customer satisfaction, and future Sales in leu of the additional cost of doing the right thing!
BamaEV
Posts: 17
Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2021 4:41 pm

Re: Failed High Voltage Battery

Are you junking your car? There might be a market to sell the parts to other FFE owners who are having trouble getting service from their local Ford dealers
BamaEV
Posts: 17
Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2021 4:41 pm

Re: Failed High Voltage Battery

BTW, I had a battery coolant failure in Nov 2020. The local Ford dealer repaired it for me in Feb 2021. The car is a 2013, so it was barely within the warranty period, so no charge. They installed a refurbished battery, but I was still getting 95-100 miles per charge in the warm months of summer.

Then, a few weeks ago, the car stopped taking a charge. It still runs fine, but it simply will not charge. I took it back to the dealer and they say it is the high voltage wiring assembly connecting the charge port to the battery. The error code was S0BDM. It is now out of warranty, so it is a $4500 repair. I'm trying to find the wiring assembly and do the repair myself. The service department said they had seen other owners with the same problem, and they installed an after market wiring assembly that fixed the problem.

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