So, when does a Ford Mustang become a lawn ornament? In this case a $30,000 one? According to Ford, apparently in 2021.
Didn’t See it Coming?
What seems to be the issue has to do with the new Ford Mach-E’s battery setup. The way the batteries charge, the smaller 12-volt battery and larger lithium battery charge at the same time. The smaller battery then uses the larger battery to keep charge and then runs most of the smaller operating functions because of the larger battery’s output. So what is the problem then?
What seems to be the case is a software issue that has the batteries not working cooperatively when charging. The process is that the larger battery is supposed to charge the smaller when plugged in and it seems customers are saying that in some cases the small battery doesn’t charge. The end situation is somewhat obvious: since the smaller battery runs the small electronics, the car will not start. Basically turning your brand new, neighbor-envying Mustang into a red flamingo. Surprising the higher-ups didn’t foresee the need for a redundant starting mechanism.
And in the Meantime
Ford doesn’t have a fix currently and says that it’ll most likely be later this year through a software update. There are a few online “jumping” fixes that seem like jumping through a dozen hoops to do and there is also Ford’s emergency roadside assistance to provide the smaller battery jumps, but it is also a time killer. Hopefully taking the car to the dealership for further service and solutions will provide customers with the help they need.
It appears that this is only affecting “a small number of cars” from the first few months of this year as well, so the numbers seem to be fairly low. What this means for the reliability value of the new pony-SUV is tough to tell, but the small issues are mounting faster than the new phenom is selling.
