My 2023 Lightning Lariat is getting a battery pack replacement!

[Yellow Buddy]

Battery problems are not unique to BEVs. My first hybrid, a 2010 Ford Fusion, lost its battery at 8,000 miles. My hope is that the battery technology and quality improve so that failures are one offs rather than what seems common place on this forum. I do remember the dealer telling me that they had replaced only one other battery at the time and that was due to collision damage In an Escape hybrid.

What I don’t understand is that if high voltage batteries have been mainstream for at least 20 years, why all the problems now? When I bought my truck, it was in part due to my comfort with the Ford Fusion Hybrids that we had owned and the fact that they were all bullet proof.

Different manufacturers, different battery tech, different implementations.

FWIW, I have several high mileage Teslas and not a single battery problem or replacement for me, but they’re obviously not immune either.

It’s probably a bit like saying engines have been around forever, why do they still fail. Well a Wankel is a bit different from a LS6 or an I4 Ecoboost.

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[chickenlives]

Different manufacturers, different battery tech, different implementations.

FWIW, I have several high mileage Teslas and not a single battery problem or replacement for me, but they’re obviously not immune either.

It’s probably a bit like saying engines have been around forever, why do they still fail. Well a Wankel is a bit different from a LS6 or an I4 Ecoboost.

I also have 2 Tesla 3s both early cars 2018. Neither has had battery issues. Before that I had a 2013 Focus EV then a 2017 VW E-golf. Neither had battery issues. I'm just hoping they diagnosed this correctly.

 

[chickenlives]

After getting a "High Voltage battery warning" message when I started my truck one morning a few days ago, I had to have my truck towed to my Ford dealership. It was no longer drivable. After looking at it for a few hours they determined I needed a full battery pack replacement. I've had the truck for 13+ months without issue. I drove it the night before 50 miles with no problems. I was told It'll take 1-3 weeks for the battery to come in. They rented me an ICE 2024 F150 Lariat from Enterprise and sent me on my way.

I called Ford and got better details on what they are going to replace. Initially the service agent just said I needed a battery replacement. But the parts they actually ordered were:
- High voltage battery module.
- Battery energy control module.
These parts have been ordered but the agent claims he does not yet have an actual ETA.

 

[chickenlives]

I called Ford and got better details on what they are going to replace. Initially the service agent just said I needed a battery replacement. But the parts they actually ordered were:
- High voltage battery module.
- Battery energy control module.
These parts have been ordered but the agent claims he does not yet have an actual ETA.

Update:
The Ford Recall department called me directly (unprompted) . They saw that my truck had this warning. They were unaware that the truck had been brought in for service. I Told him what had so far transpired and the dealership handling it. They opened a case for me and gave me a case number. They said this falls under recall 23B57.
He said:
- He's personally handled 108 cases like this. - His dept will work with the dealership to help get this resolved.
- The dealership works with factory engineers to diagnose these types of issues and that sometimes this can go back and forth to get the repair resolved. I assume this means they try something and if that doesn't resolve it then they try something else.

 

[Grumpy2]

The Ford Recall department called me directly (unprompted) . They saw that my truck had this warning. They were unaware that the truck had been brought in for service.

Here is a good topic for AI, why does it take a human to move this along? Friday when you had the dash warning, to Wednesday when BEV noticed it is tooo slow, especially when the BEV team still didn't know you were already in a shop!

This isn't brain surgery, it probably isn't that costly to just get a more streamline system.

 

[chickenlives]

Update:
The Ford Recall department called me directly (unprompted) . They saw that my truck had this warning. They were unaware that the truck had been brought in for service. I Told him what had so far transpired and the dealership handling it. They opened a case for me and gave me a case number. They said this falls under recall 23B57.
He said:
- He's personally handled 108 cases like this. - His dept will work with the dealership to help get this resolved.
- The dealership works with factory engineers to diagnose these types of issues and that sometimes this can go back and forth to get the repair resolved. I assume this means they try something and if that doesn't resolve it then they try something else.

Update Feb-08
Went to Ford to get some stuff out of my truck. I talked to the tech that has been working on my truck. Here's what he told me.
They plug the car in and both he and Ford Central see and diagnose the problem together. There is some back and forth diagnosis going on. It was determined that a battery module did fail. The dealership service department then waits for Ford Central to order the part and the dealership waits to be notified as to when it does get ordered. Mine got ordered today. The tech said he's handled several of these module replacements and that there was a faulty run of these modules in 2023. I guess Ford has found and addressed this.

 

[Grumpy2]

They plug the car in and both he and Ford Central see and diagnose the problem together. There is some back and forth diagnosis going on. It was determined that a battery module did fail. The dealership service department then waits for Ford Central to order the part and the dealership waits to be notified as to when it does get ordered. Mine got ordered today. The tech said he's handled several of these module replacements and that there was a faulty run of these modules in 2023. I guess Ford has found and addressed this.

It seems you have a Dealer that isn't fighting the EV revolution, but wants to be part of it.

It is too bad there isn't a list of similar Dealers.

 

[GDN]

Update Feb-08
Went to Ford to get some stuff out of my truck. I talked to the tech that has been working on my truck. Here's what he told me.
They plug the car in and both he and Ford Central see and diagnose the problem together. There is some back and forth diagnosis going on. It was determined that a battery module did fail. The dealership service department then waits for Ford Central to order the part and the dealership waits to be notified as to when it does get ordered. Mine got ordered today. The tech said he's handled several of these module replacements and that there was a faulty run of these modules in 2023. I guess Ford has found and addressed this.

I'm glad you have movement and hope they get it repaired soon. It wasn't just '23, there have been plenty of '22's as well and there is NO indication that problem has been found and remediated.

So while I do hope you are getting repaired, just that bit of information tells me they aren't shooting straight with you. The dealers continue to put their head in the sand and pretend like we don't have resources and share information.

 

[ctuan13]

I wondered how long replacement battery parts would be available for our Lightnings. Like if it's 12-years-old and the battery craps out, what's the chance that a replacement part for a not overwhelmingly popular vehicle will be available (at an "affordable" price! )???

I'd always thought from some hearsay from my teenage years that there was a federal law requiring parts to be available for 10, 15 years, something like that. Apparently not. Straight from the horse's mouth from the Chief Counsel of the NHTSA in 2004:

Source:https://www.nhtsa.gov/interpretations/timereplcepartpollak12-03

Another Internet source states the obvious: manufacturers must obviously be able to provide spare parts during the warranty period for an item. But that's it. https://www.hemmings.com/stories/20...e-to-provide-replacement-parts-for-older-cars

My hope is given the Lightning's highly serviceable platform and battery pack design compared to most EVs, that the aftermarket takes over later on and we'll have options for rebuilt packs like what we see with Priuses and Leafs.

 

[ctuan13]

I think we are a year to two out from that happening. In all seriousness if all battery modules are subject to failure I think we will get new packs down the road. If it's a manufacturing issue that only affects a certain percentage of modules then the current fix will take care of it. Since it's happening to recent builds and Ford isn't disclosing the cause of the failures it's my humble opinion that all modules are subject to failure.

This would be unfortunate, but if I need to have battery work done, I'd much rather have a full pack replacement than a module replacement. Even if it's relatively straightforward, the idea of poorly-trained and overworked EV techs in a dealership service department, disassembling the pack, removing a module, balancing the new module, properly applying the thermal paste, properly attaching the internal coolant lines, cleaning seal mating surfaces, and properly torquing fastners, is far from ideal.

I'd be much more comfortable with them simple unbolting the current pack, disconnecting the main electrical connector and a couple coolant lines, lifting the new pack into place and reconnecting those connections. Way fewer opportunities for a small mistake that could lead to failure down the line, long after any warranty has expired.

 

[jetfixr1]

This would be unfortunate, but if I need to have battery work done, I'd much rather have a full pack replacement than a module replacement. Even if it's relatively straightforward, the idea of poorly-trained and overworked EV techs in a dealership service department, disassembling the pack, removing a module, balancing the new module, properly applying the thermal paste, properly attaching the internal coolant lines, cleaning seal mating surfaces, and properly torquing fastners, is far from ideal.

I'd be much more comfortable with them simple unbolting the current pack, disconnecting the main electrical connector and a couple coolant lines, lifting the new pack into place and reconnecting those connections. Way fewer opportunities for a small mistake that could lead to failure down the line, long after any warranty has expired.

Logistically speaking, its easier to transport and deliver one module, instead of the whole battery pack. Replacing the whole pack would surely be easier and reduce turn around time. However, since it's on Ford's dime, it ain't going to happen.

 

[Fireetr73]

Pursue the buyback issue for sure & please keep us posted on how it goes.

I started the process last week. I went into the dealer a few days later to pick something up I had left in the last loaner and had and the service manager bring me into his office and tell me that Ford had reached out and was deciding on buy it back. He advised me to continue to pursue the buy back. Today, for the first time in 93 days, I received pictures from my service agent of them working on the modules. I’ll keep you guys posted.

 

[chickenlives]

I started the process last week. I went into the dealer a few days later to pick something up I had left in the last loaner and had and the service manager bring me into his office and tell me that Ford had reached out and was deciding on buy it back. He advised me to continue to pursue the buy back. Today, for the first time in 93 days, I received pictures from my service agent of them working on the modules. I’ll keep you guys posted.

Wow. Seems like your experience dealing with this can really vary based on the dealership?

 

[GDN]

Wow. Seems like your experience dealing with this can really vary based on the dealership?

Like night and day. Like a dealer that cares about his customers vs one that is only worried about his pocket book (little does this dealer know is that if he cared for his customers his pocketbook would grow even faster).

 

[LightningShow]

I called Ford and got better details on what they are going to replace. Initially the service agent just said I needed a battery replacement. But the parts they actually ordered were:
- High voltage battery module.
- Battery energy control module.
These parts have been ordered but the agent claims he does not yet have an actual ETA.

Same exact situation here. Module #1 was ordered for my truck on Tuesday. Neither Ford nor the dealership has any idea of when this module might be available.

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