Car will not start

[NightHawk]

After going through all this I just wonder how much diagnosis and repair training Ford offers to EV-certified dealerships. The evidence says nowhere near enough.

I don't believe diagnosis and repair training are the problem here. Ford could probably improve the diagnostic equipment some but I think the main problem is the design of the FFE itself. While it's great when it works, it clearly wasn't designed with troubleshooting in mind. There is no datalogging of states so when an intermittent problem crops up there is no way for a technician to know what happened. The FFE is still a first generation EV. It's EV components have remained virtually unchanged since being introduced in late 2011 so while it maybe not forgivable, these short comings are at least understandable. Hopefully Ford has learned from these design issues of the FFE and future ford EV's won't be as difficult to fix when things go wrong.

I wonder if this troubleshooting issue is any better with other EVs like the Chevy Bolt and Nissan Leaf?

 

[tinilk]

This week's update, the dealer found an internal short in the motor electrics wiring harness. So they're waiting for that harness to be shipped. Dunno if they already received the HVB connector that they ordered before, or if both parts are shipping together.

Meanwhile Ford's CSMs have given up. My last email from a CSM who I recognized was 2 weeks ago. Since then I got three different emails from other CSMs who I've never talked to, all with the same boilerplate message copy & pasted: "We just wanted to touch base with you today in regards to your case. The dealer is in the process of repairing your 2014 Focus as we speak as the engineer was successful in diagnosing your vehicle and offering a repair process. Please provide us with a valid phone number so we may continue to follow up on your case accordingly. Thank you."

I replied to the first email with my phone number, which of course they already have. No reply back.

 

[Guest]

Yes, it turns out the CSMs are useless. They know nothing about your car and are just there to make you think ford cares, which they dont. The dealer is still waiting for ford to get back to them about replacing the battery or not. Its been 2 weeks and the owner even called them this monday to see what the deal was. Evidently, the "hotline" is very slow. Well, la de da. Its been so long since they touched my car that the MFM app says my car is in sleep mode now, and cant be accessed until someone actually goes out to the car and opens a door or something. I was just about to start the lemon law proceedings when they dangled this new carrot in front of me, new battery. So they proceeded to suck me in for another 3 weeks of BS. 112 days and counting. And thats just this one time its been back at the dealership since I bought it. Pathetic.

 

[Guest]

Latest update is that the field service engineer has approved the replacement of the battery and is waiting for the final approval paperwork from ford to order the battery. Not sure exactly how this differs from what Ive been waiting for for the last 2 weeks. I guess it means no more fishing expeditions to check random things and Im one step away from a new battery. Not holding my breath but it seems like progress in the right direction. On another note, the dealership needed the 2018 escape back as the mileage was getting too high for the program that the car was in. So, the replacement is a brand new 2018 ecosport with 100 miles on it. At first glance its a shorter stubby version of the escape. I guess like a jeep renegade type thing. I drove it briefly last night and its a typical ecoboost buzzy box of bees. Its actually got a bigger motor than the escape had. 2.0 vs 1.6, but seems to drive the same. I floored it a couple of times from about 30 mph. Not really impressed. Maybe it needs more miles to work better, Idk. Interior is spartan compared to other ford models. Less console, more open space. Kinda old school, maybe cheap feeling. Its an ses 4wd and the sticker is 27k. Hopefully I dont have it long enough to form a greater opinion. LOL.

 

[jmueller065]

Latest update is that the field service engineer has approved the replacement of the battery and is waiting for the final approval paperwork from ford to order the battery. Not sure exactly how this differs from what Ive been waiting for for the last 2 weeks. I guess it means no more fishing expeditions to check random things and Im one step away from a new battery. Not holding my breath but it seems like progress in the right direction. On another note, the dealership needed the 2018 escape back as the mileage was getting too high for the program that the car was in. So, the replacement is a brand new 2018 ecosport with 100 miles on it. At first glance its a shorter stubby version of the escape. I guess like a jeep renegade type thing. I drove it briefly last night and its a typical ecoboost buzzy box of bees. Its actually got a bigger motor than the escape had. 2.0 vs 1.6, but seems to drive the same. I floored it a couple of times from about 30 mph. Not really impressed. Maybe it needs more miles to work better, Idk. Interior is spartan compared to other ford models. Less console, more open space. Kinda old school, maybe cheap feeling. Its an ses 4wd and the sticker is 27k. Hopefully I dont have it long enough to form a greater opinion. LOL.

Escape is designed from the Focus platform.
Ecosport is designed from the Fiesta platform.

Ecosport is supposed to compete with the smaller CUV's like GM's Buick Encore.

 

[tinilk]

Wow the tables have turned, now YOU get a new battery!

My rental Corolla started complaining about "maintenance required" and they asked me to take it to Valvoline lol. Now that it has an oil change I guess I can still keep it for another few weeks or months, who knows?

 

[Guest]

Yes, it reminds me of the fiesta that I drove, except it has the normal 6 speed automatic. Its small. Im 6'2" and I find the windshield cuts off visibility at the top for me. Im ducking to see if the light has turned green yet, that sort of thing. Oddly my jeep grand cherokee suffers from this as well. Back seat is ok for the passenger side but nobody with legs and feet can sit in back of the drivers side when Im driving, lol. Its also insanely difficult to get in and out of the back seat, despite the doors being huge. The barn door is weird. I dont think it will be popular. I prefer the escape. Lots more cargo space in the back for the escape. This is a 4wd ses with moonroof and other nice stuff standard for 27k. I dont know what the base price is for a fwd se. Id get a 3 year old escape for 15k over this all day long. If theyve got some type of $99 lease deal for it I can see it selling well.

 

[Guest]

So, an update. Today the super duper ford field engineer, along with a team of guys from dearborn, the service manager, the dealership owner and the techs spent an hour and a half running a butt load of tests on my car to get to the bottom and make a decision on a course of action. I was told that the whole thing was videotaped with cameras, at dearborn"s request. After all was said and done the dealership has been authorized to order the new.................... motor. Darn, I was really hoping for the new battery. The added capacity would have made it worth the wait. And its half the price of the motor, cmon ford ,its a no brainer. LOL. I guess a new motor is a good thing too even though the car only has 12k miles on it. I dont think I will notice the new motor except for that my car will not be getting wrench messages and SSN triangles. Evidently there was some voltage fluctuation in the tcm that indicated that the motor was bad. This was diagnosed as such months ago but ford denied the motor replacement at that time. Go figure. Maybe the new motor will not fix the problem. Then Ill get a new motor and a new battery! LOL. Sounds funny but I believe thats what happened to the other guy who had his battery replaced in the other thread. Oh, well now its just waiting for the part to get ordered and such. And of course I wont believe it until theres a new motor sitting in the dealership with my name on it. LOL.

 

[campfamily]

So, an update. Today the super duper ford field engineer, along with a team of guys from dearborn, the service manager, the dealership owner and the techs spent an hour and a half running a butt load of tests on my car to get to the bottom and make a decision on a course of action. I was told that the whole thing was videotaped with cameras, at dearborn"s request. After all was said and done the dealership has been authorized to order the new.................... motor. Darn, I was really hoping for the new battery. The added capacity would have made it worth the wait. And its half the price of the motor, cmon ford ,its a no brainer. LOL. I guess a new motor is a good thing too even though the car only has 12k miles on it. I dont think I will notice the new motor except for that my car will not be getting wrench messages and SSN triangles. Evidently there was some voltage fluctuation in the tcm that indicated that the motor was bad. This was diagnosed as such months ago but ford denied the motor replacement at that time. Go figure. Maybe the new motor will not fix the problem. Then Ill get a new motor and a new battery! LOL. Sounds funny but I believe thats what happened to the other guy who had his battery replaced in the other thread. Oh, well now its just waiting for the part to get ordered and such. And of course I wont believe it until theres a new motor sitting in the dealership with my name on it. LOL.

If this were me, and I wasn't getting a new battery, I would be starting lemon law proceedings.......or insisting the exchange your car with one with similar miles and equipment.

Keith

 

[Guest]

I know. I kinda feel the same. If they start backtracking or dragging their feet on the replacement motor then I will. I was ok with them replacing the motor months ago, so I guess its still ok. Its just that they dangled that carrot (battery) in front of me, then took it away that annoys me. And wasted a lot of my time. They truly suck. When my csm calls next time I really feel like going postal on her just so she can get disturbed too. But its not her fault that her job is a joke and she works for a terrible company. LOL. I still dont see how a bad motor caused a fault in the hybrid battery isolation circuit but theyre the experts. NOT!

 

[triangles]

WOW how long has it been that they're jerking you around? You know, if you put an order in for a Tesla Model 3 now, you just might get it before Ford is done picking their rear trying to figure out what to do with your FFE! :lol:

 

[tinilk]

Carbuff I don't know about you, at this point the apathy has fully settled in, I just keep putting gas in the Corolla (feel like it's my car now) and hanging on out of morbid curiosity to see how much longer they can drag it out. 16 weeks and counting.

I'm not even waiting on an expensive motor or a battery that has to be flatbed shipped. it's just supposed to be a couple of high-voltage connector parts.

 

[Guest]

WOW how long has it been that they're jerking you around? You know, if you put an order in for a Tesla Model 3 now, you just might get it before Ford is done picking their rear trying to figure out what to do with your FFE! :lol:

Thats the whole thing. I cant afford a model 3. LOL. So, its either fix this car or never have an electric car again. I have to check with the dealer again to make sure that the part was ordered, and that theyre not waiting on any paperwork from ford or any such nonsense.

 

[Guest]

Carbuff I don't know about you, at this point the apathy has fully settled in, I just keep putting gas in the Corolla (feel like it's my car now) and hanging on out of morbid curiosity to see how much longer they can drag it out. 16 weeks and counting.

I'm not even waiting on an expensive motor or a battery that has to be flatbed shipped. it's just supposed to be a couple of high-voltage connector parts.

I know how you feel. Just when you forget about it, some ***** (lol) asks you where your car is. At least Ive got a somewhat interesting car now. The Ecosport. People will ask me about it and such. I would call the dealer and ask where your parts are. Ford has this nasty habit of dropping the ball without informing the customer. I hope your car gets fixed soon. I have this bad feeling that the new motor will not solve the problem. Call me jaded. LOL.

 

[scottt]

Sorry you guys are having so much trouble. The transition from my problem 2015 to my 2017 went quite smoothly.

 

[tinilk]

Dealer update, my car is fixed. They had trouble getting the replacement HV connector to seat properly and had to wait for Ford to send another one. He wasn't sure if they ended up replacing the motor wiring harness. They sent the car out for cleaning, then he's going to drive it home & back over the next few days (at my request) before I go pick it up.

Ford's going to cover the car under extended "premium" warranty to make it up to me. Not sure if that means until 8 years / 100k or what. I should get details from corporate soon. I'm still going to request a refund of the last 4 months of payments. Extended warranty is nice and all, but I still may end up going through all of this again. Maybe next time I'll get to drive an Ecosport.

 

[Guest]

Great to hear your car is fixed. I got a call today. My brand new motor assembly is sitting at the dealer. Their main tech is in the middle of replacing the engine in an escape, so my install has to wait for a few days. I know the feeling of doubt about it actually being fixed. And you dont want to drive an ecosport. Its a tin can that will rattle your fillings out. LOL.

 

[tinilk]

Glad yours is getting fixed as well. Somehow I doubt that Escape owner dropped their car off in December and got in line ahead of you. :x

Maybe worth asking your CSM if they might offer you the super duper extended warranty as well? Pretty please?

 

[Guest]

Yeah, youre right. But I think they got caught off guard with how fast the motor got there. Ordered and delivered in less than a week. Ford? Its a miracle. LOL. I plan on trying for all I can get. Payments, gas, Insurance, extended warranty, prozac. LOL.

 

[triangles]

tinilk glad you are back on the road. Carbuff is that light I see at the end of the tunnel or a train? Might ask for something a bit stronger than prozac :lol: