Charging is a standard concern with electrical automobiles. However some homeowners of the brand-new Mustang Mach-E have run right into a peculiar downside: their electrical SUVs gained’t begin even when the principle battery pack is full.
That’s as a result of, The Verge has realized, there’s an issue with some early Mustang Mach-E SUVs that includes how the a lot smaller 12-volt battery will get charged. It’s the most recent in a rising line of small points that have come to light through the rollout of Ford’s first long-range electrical automobile.
As is the case in different electrical automobiles, the Mustang Mach-E retains its 12-volt lead-acid battery topped up by basically sipping energy from the a lot bigger lithium-ion battery pack. Primarily based on homeowners’ accounts across multiple discussion board threads, together with one who spoke to The Verge, the issue is that this stops occurring every time the Mustang Mach-E is plugged in to cost up the bigger battery pack.
That’s particularly a problem for homeowners in areas with chilly climate, as Ford encourages them to leave their Mustang Mach-Es plugged in so the SUVs can use energy from the grid to heat up earlier than driving.
The 12-volt battery powers lots of the Mustang Mach-E’s techniques (because the bigger battery pack is high-voltage), and so when it dies, the electrical SUV can’t be began. When this occurs, homeowners have reported the FordPass app says the car is in “deep sleep” mode. Some discussion board members have began referring to it because the “electrical brick” downside.
Ford not too long ago filed a technical service bulletin with the Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration that confirms the problem has to do with the software program on the powertrain management module. Ford wrote that this solely impacts Mustang Mach-E SUVs constructed on or earlier than February third, which means it’s doable that dozens are affected. (Ford would solely say {that a} “small quantity” of the almost 7,000 Mustang Mach-Es delivered in the first three months of the year have the problem.)
Proper now, these homeowners can’t get the repair by way of an over-the-air replace. The corporate stated in an announcement that they’ll should deliver their Mustang Mach-Es to a supplier:
We’re conscious {that a} small variety of Mustang Mach-E homeowners have had their 12V battery attain a low voltage situation. We proactively labored with early homeowners experiencing this subject to establish the basis trigger and a repair. Within the uncommon cases the place this nonetheless happens, prospects can now contact their native EV-certified Ford supplier to have the matter resolved.
Ford did inform The Verge that the issue shall be fixable by way of wi-fi replace “later this yr” and that Mustang Mach-Es at present coming off the road shouldn’t be affected.
It’s doable to leap the 12-volt battery, simply as you’ll jump-start an inside combustion automobile. Nevertheless it’s not almost as easy, particularly as a result of the battery is situated behind the Mustang Mach-E’s entrance trunk, and the hood’s digital latch is powered by the low-voltage battery.
To first open the entrance trunk then, homeowners have to open a panel in the front bumper that accommodates two leads, which can be utilized to leap the entrance trunk’s digital hood latch. Then they’ve to drag again a panel beneath the hood to search out the battery — although even at this level, some homeowners have had hassle accessing the leads on the 12-volt battery and have had to cut through the vinyl to jump-start the battery.
Ford affords free roadside help with the Mustang Mach-E, too, so homeowners have this as an possibility if they should get their electrical SUVs towed to a supplier. The roadside help can also be supposed to incorporate 12-volt battery bounce begins, according to the owner manual.
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