HV Battery Failures

[calcan17]

Hello. I'm wanting to find out some details about FFE battery failures. Wondering if people can chime in on the topic with their experience:

1. Year of your FFE
2. If you charged it for the most part on L2 or L1 or both
3. If your battery failed (yes, no)

any other details you want to share. thank you in advance for participating in my survey.

 

[Anti_Climax]

2012, almost entirely L2, failed in 2018.
Had lost 25% of it's capacity by the time I bought it in 2016 and no idea how it was charged before I had it. But being 2012, fast charging definitely wouldn't be part of it.

 

[hoprocket]

1. 2018 FFE, purchased late 2017.
2. L1 OEM charger, primarily.
3. Failed late 2023, replaced under warranty

Because it was so slow charging on L1 I charged it every day and left it plugged in and fully charged most of the time. When the battery started to go it was a slow but steady decline in range over a few months. Cell #25 was lower voltage than all the other cells. Since I had the refurbished pack installed I have upgraded to a L2 at home and only charge it when needed. Hoping to get 6 more years out of it.

 

[calcan17]

2012, almost entirely L2, failed in 2018.
Had lost 25% of it's capacity by the time I bought it in 2016 and no idea how it was charged before I had it. But being 2012, fast charging definitely wouldn't be part of it.

Thx. It was still under warranty? Did the battery get replaced?

 

[jon1eye]

Mine is a 2012 FFE, had 89,000 miles when the battery failed (internal coolant leak). It was a few months out of warranty, so the previous owner sold it to me. I found a set of 33.5 kWh batteries (with 107,000 miles of use) and put another 23,000 miles on the car, all Level 2 charging, and now I have the SSN, low coolant level, and P0AA6 DTC with coolant in the battery.

Similar on my 2013 FFE. Vehicle had 61,000 when the batteries sprung the internal coolant leak. I bought that car and was planning on taking parts from both 23 kWh packs to make 1 good set, but that's not going so well.

Now I have 2 cars to either repair, or part out/ scrap. Still trying to decide what to do about it.

 

[Sftbldad]

The main problem with these batteries is they will have a slight degradation then fail within a couple weeks. I just had my 2017 replaced under warranty and also received a buyback offer from Ford. I went from 100 miles range to low 60 in 2 months. With the yellow wrench lit…These batteries have 2 cells that become damaged and pull the whole battery down.

 

[Anti_Climax]

Still under warranty, replaced with the larger pack for lack of stock on smaller packs.

 

[tim moore]

2014 Primarily L1 charging, no failure, in fact I am getting a charge 85miles in Chicago in late fall, and I have over 50K miles of driving. Original brakes and no problems.

 

[davideos]

I have a 2012 that a rarely charged at L1. Battery failed after 40k miles and was replaced with a 33.5kw battery under Warranty about 5 years ago. I still charge at L2. I figure that even with degradation, the car will wear out before the battery does. I generally only charge it when it needs to be charged and I'll charge it all the way when I do. Many times I get most of the way before I unplug, but occasionally, I let it stay plugged in fully charged to allow for battery maintenance that might be needed.

With the new battery, I've had 2 contactor failures. I ended up fixing it myself because otherwise, the repaired car would not have been worth the cost of the dealer repair. The contactors are supposed to be good for a million cycles and with pre-charge, there should be no sparking when the contactors are closed, but it seems to happen anyway. Other EV models have the same issues...I just wish they were accessible in such a way to make replacement easier and serviceable by the dealer. I'm 2 years on my first contactor replacement but the original failed after 3 years. So it will be some time before I know if it were just a bad contactor / contactor design, or perhaps something to do with how I drive the car in my environment. I cut one in half just to see what was going on inside and included some pictures.

 

[Dnland]

I've had two battery failures on 2 cars.
First was my 2014. Internal coolant leak at 70k in 2022, battery replaced with 8 days left on 8yr battery warranty.

My wife's 2018, heard a pop when plugged it in (cell popping?). Battery was toast. This was last year. Replaced battery under warranty but damaged plug on reinstall and after many many months, Ford bought the car back from me because the HV plug was NLA so they totalled out car. Argh!

Both mainly level 2 but sometimes level 1 on daily basis. 2018 was very rarely charged on a level 3.

 

[Anti_Climax]

Fod bought the car back from me because the HV plug was NLA so they totalled out car.

When you say HV plug, which one are you referring to?

 

[vkdyer]

1. 2017, bought new that April
2. Used the OEM L1 charger for the first 6 months, and then L2 ever since
3. No official failure yet. My range has recently dropped to the high 70s. Some of that is due to colder weather, but this is the shortest range I've seen since owning the vehicle. This summer, I was getting 100 miles between charges. I like taking the back roads instead of the highway when I can.