Safety Program: 25S18: HV Battery Electrode Misalignment Discussion

[chl]

It showed up in the Ford website for me.

I assume it's going to be an entire new battery. Why would the issue be isolated to a specific module. And how could they possibly fix electrode misalignment without replacing it?

"...NL38-10C779-AD, NL38-10C779-BD, and NL38-10C779-CD are the part numbers of the suspect arrays. Dealers have been instructed to replace all suspect arrays. Of course, at no charge to affected customers. Owner notification letters will be mailed between March 17, 2025 and March 21, 2025..."

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/...battery-cell-manufacturing-defect-248161.html

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[chl]

So what exactly can they inspect? Are the electrodes able to be inspected or measured? I'm assuming they are part of the internal battery module or cells so no. Will Ford be sending dealers complete batteries including the tray and thermal components assembled in a controlled environment? Or will this be the same as my module replacement in 2023 where the service tech is responsible for applying new thermal paste and torquing bolts to appropriate specs.

If Ford isn't replacing the entire battery my truck will have modules that are three or four years older than the new ones. From my experience with Lithium batteries this doesn't seem like a good idea.

I read they are going to look at the part numbers (serial numbers?) and replace the arrays that match the mis-manufactured arrays, so not a complete battery replacement.

Supplier Identification :
Component Manufacturer
Name : SK Battery America (SKBA)
Address : 1760 Steve Reynolds Industrial Pkwy
Commerce Georgia 30539
Country : United States

 

[chl]

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2025/RCMN-25V131-0013.pdf

This appears to be the vehicles affected:

2022 Model Year - March 16, 2022 through October 19, 2022

2023 Model Year - October 20, 2022 through November 20, 2023

2024 Model Year - December 19, 2023 through August 14, 2024

My VIN comes up clean.

But I wonder if they really know precisely how many vehicles might have the defect, hopefully yes the records are complete and accurate, and the recall will not be expanded later.

I do not charge past 80% - when I picked the truck up it was at 100% and only one time did I charge to 90% when I was trying to get the LV battery high enough for an update last summer - and stick within the no more than 50% of capacity charge-discharge, i.e., stay between 30% to 80%.

It is only "SELECTED" vehicles in those build ranges that have the issue, and the VINs of affected vehicles are not sequential either. I am within one of the ranges, but not affects TG!

Seems like the battery manufacturer had several production lines and only two had the misalignment issue, those battery arrays have unique part numbers and Ford has records or which vehicle VINs got those arrays:

" Based on a review of historical data for cells manufactured through April 2023, the supplier identified evidence of cathode shift on stacker machines used on two production lines."

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/...battery-cell-manufacturing-defect-248161.html

But...

What I am trying to figure out is why charging to 80% is safe with "misaligned electrodes" that can cause a "hard short."

"The defect: in affected vehicles, a manufacturing defect in the high voltage battery cells may result in an internal short circuit after repeated charge and discharge cycles. This is due to production process deviations at the supplier, which may result in the electrodes in the high voltage battery cells being misaligned. ... The hazards: after repeated charge and discharge cycles, the vehicle could experience an internal short circuit in the battery which could result in a fire. Owners are advised to only charge their Ford F-150 Lightning to a maximum of 80 percent battery capacity until necessary repairs can be made. "

Have to think about that a while...

 

[JPro]

If they know which pouch batches are bad, they can probably relate the pouches to vehicles.

My truck was made in the first or second week of 2023s after the factory restarted for MY '23 production. So the pouches affected might be for 22s and 23s around that time period (Nov 2022).

I wonder when the trucks were made for other people here with the TSB,

My Lariat SR 22MY was made in July of 22 and is part of this recall.

 

[chl]

I suppose there is a problem with the cathode and/or anode shifting along the separator under stress which is why the 80% recommendation? The misalignment may be such that under stress the electrodes shift enough to make the separator ineffective resulting in a short.

"The anode and cathode are separated by a separator, which prevents direct contact and allows for the flow of ions during charging and discharging. If the separator material doesn't adequately separate the anode and cathode, or if the electrodes are misaligned, a connection could occur, causing an electrical short or fire."

https://www.gvs.com/en/catalog/battery-cell-separator-ev-and-ess

Just my guess at what's going on with the 80% limit recommendation.

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