TCU Replacement?

[toddh]

I took my 2013 Focus in to the dealer because the 12V battery is draining if I leave the car for more than a day and the car will not start. It doesn't matter if it is plugged in after charging or sitting in the driveway.

I took the battery out and charged it, then took it to Autozone for a load test and it passed before taking the car to the dealer.

The dealer is saying the TCU needs replacement, about $500. That will fix the battery drain.

They also said the LED Charging Ring that no longer lights showing charging status is another $800, it comes as an assembly.

Car is at the dealership now, I told them to hold until I made a decision.

They also said they are doing a modem repair and door handle repair from service bulletins.

Total would be $1300- $1400. Does this sound correct?

Todd

 

[user 5595]

I have no ideas on the dollar values, but how much mileage do you have on your car? Would the TCU and charging ring be covered under the 8-year 100000 mile/160000 km warranty?

 

[toddh]

Car has 22k miles.

Dealer says neither item is covered under warranty.

 

[scottt]

Car has 22k miles.

Dealer says neither item is covered under warranty.

Call Ford. Wouldn't be the first time a dealer told me no on something, only to have the company say sure.

 

[toddh]

I will call Ford, thanks.

Does it make sense that the TCU is causing the 12V battery drain?

I have been reading through the posts on 12V battery discharging(there are a lot of them) and there does not seem to be any consensus from what I have read so far.

 

[amped]

TCU= telematics control module?

You mentioned a modem repair. Is that the equipment upgrade from 2G to 3G, or some other problem? I was under the impression that the 2G to 3G modem replacement required a TCU replacement (modem integrated in TCU? or maybe incompatible with old one?). Shouldn't the 3G replacement be free.

The TCU is always on and places a constant small drain on the 12v system. I suppose a malfunction could cause a larger drain to occur.

 

[EVA]

Sounds kind of like a bunch of recalls haven't been done. And you're not clear on what has and hasn't been done. The door handle thing is the door latch recall. The modem replacement is a recall that should have been done at the beginning of the year - 2G to 3G, your remote connection to the car won't work anymore since 2G cellular network has been retired.

Have the dealer, or you, check which recalls are outstanding before you spend money on a computer replacement.

The classic answer to the 12V battery problem was a reprogramming recall. I'd bet some money you haven't had that recall done yet. You can use the ford owner's site to see outstanding recalls. The list isn't necessarily perfect, but should get you in the neighborhood.

 

[EVA]

By the way Toddh - you don't have to post the $800 LED ring issue in multiple threads. People usually figure out what's going on and will help if they can when you make one single post.

 

[toddh]

I called Ford and they said the parts/repairs are not covered under warranty.

EVA, you are correct there are several recalls that need to be done on the car. The dealer has the list and said they would perform the recalls. They did not indicate to me the Modem recall would solve the TCU problem.

Is the Modem an integrated part of the TCU or a separate component?

Thanks for the info about posting in multiple areas, I was only posting about the Charging Ring in various locations so that users who were looking for that issue would have a history of the issues reported.

 

[toddh]

The dealership just called back. The service consultant said that the recall for replacement of the modem would not entail replacement of the defective TCU.

She is going to double check with the technician working on the car but as it stands they are indicating they are separate components and unrelated repairs.

I am a little confused as this thread says Modem and TCU are the same thing.
http://www.myfocuselectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=3740&p=26353&hilit=TCU#p26353

Can anyone shed some light?

 

[amped]

https://ford.oemdtc.com/2653/15n04-embedded-modem-replacement-2012-2016-ford-2015-lincoln

Docs here suggest that the modem is (or is part of) the Telematics Control Unit. If this car hasn't already had the 3G replacement done under 15N04, I would think the replacement should be free (until 5yrs after factory warrant start date, IIRC). Possibly there is some other part in the FFE with the same three letter acronym? I would definitely want to get straight exactly what they are replacing before shelling out $500.

 

[toddh]

After looking into it further the dealership said the new part# for the Modem update was different than the part# for the TCU, which made them think they were separate parts. However the new part# is the Updated TCU/Modem.

They will have the parts here in a couple days and the TCU repair will be covered under the Service bulletin for the Modem upgrade.

 

[EVA]

Nice - glad the repair isn't going to cost you money.

 

[toddh]

So I need some more help.

They called yesterday the car was ready.

I went to pick it up today and it was taking them an unusually long time to bring the car up. When I asked the service individual he told me the battery was dead and he had to jump it.

I explained that that's the exact reason I brought the car in because the 12 V battery was going dead.

So they originally told me the TSU was bad and needed replacing in order to fix the battery drain and wanted to charge me for the replacement(when it was actually covered under a service bulletin). However, after replacing the TCU the battery drain still exists.

My service technician called me back a couple of hours later saying that replacing the TCU did not include reprogramming additional modules which would be required in order to fix the battery drain and I needed to pay an additional $350 to have that done.

I explained to them the battery drain was a known issue and I gave them the TSB 13-9-19 and they told me that that was a nonexistent number. I looked it up twice on the form to verify that they told me it didn't exist.

So as it stands they want me to pay an additional $350 to program the modules after the installation of the TCU to fix the battery drain.

Since everything else they've said this far as been incorrect I'm looking for some helpful insight from someone that may know.

I was under the impression after replacing the TCU that they had to reprogram various other modules so that everything was kept in sync.

Is my understanding correct and should this be included in the replacement of the TSU/modem under the factory we call?

Thanks again guys!

 

[amped]

TSB 13-9-19 https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/inv/2013/INSL-PE13031-59132.pdf

I think the modem replacement/upgrade only involves programming the TCU. TSB 13-9-19 indicates reprogramming the powertrain control module (PCM). Is this what they are telling you needs to be fixed? What, precisely, are they saying needs to be done?

There is a recall involving the PCM: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2013/RCONL-13V523-0123.pdf
This is associated with the "stop safely now" (SSN) warning and stalling of the car. Have you experienced that?

I'm not certain whether or not a non-SSN issue with the PCM would be part of that recall.

Your problem may be covered under Customer Satisfaction Program 15B23 (assuming it hasn't already been done):

https://ford.oemdtc.com/2689/15b23-high-voltage-wire-harness-update-and-reprogram-powertrain-control-module-2012-2014-ford-focus-electric

[Edit] Looks like 15b23 only went through 12/31/2016

Sounds like you need a new dealership.

 

[EVA]

I'd second the looking for a different dealer. Sounds like they are telling you all kinds of stories. Trying to get money out of you.

The other option, maybe give Ford a call on Monday. Ford customer service is impossible to figure out, and you will be on hold forever. But they might cut through the garbage.

If the battery is dead again, then they need to replace the battery for you. Jump starting it is not acceptable. That it died under their watch, their responsibility.

Did you get a notification through the app that the 12V battery was low while they had the car? Check notifications on either the app or the myfordmobile webpage. I'd use that notification as part of the complaint to them that they need to give you a new battery at their cost.

 

[amped]

Since the modem replacement has been part of this saga, I doubt there's been an opportunity to go through the app's authorization procedure.

I too would be concerned about the condition of the 12v at this point. If it has degraded more since you handed it over to the dealership, it might be exacerbating the problem with the drain. The 12v can be in horrible condition and still manage to start the FFE (as long as the 12v is charged up). I had one for a while with perhaps <1 amp-h capacity remaining. It could start the car just fine after topping it up with an external charger (or charging it up from the DC-DC converter while driving) but the small constant loads from the car (while off) would quickly drain it down to ~10v where it was completely useless.


I'm just wondering if you bought this car used from a Ford dealer before 12/31/2016? I have the impression that your dealer wants to charge you for what had previously been free under Customer Satisfaction Program 15B23. If they had possession of it prior to this year, ISTM they should have had this done or at least alerted you to the fact that it was advisable (and free) to get it done.

 

[toddh]

I got my car back today. The car has been parked at the dealer for 4 days since the repairs and it still started so it appears the problem is fixed. Previously the car 12v battery was going dead over night.

They went through a number of systems and contacted Ford for assistance. In the end they said it was the charging ring.

As they explained it the charging ring was not sending the proper command to other components(a power converter ) keeping them in an On state when they should not have been. The repairs cost me around $580. The only thing they charged me for was the ring module and labor to replace it.

I have not seen others having similar problems so this seems like an isolate case. With only 20k miles I hope it is not something that is going to happen again.

 

[triangles]

I would have raised unholy HELL. I would think the charge port ring would fall under the 8 year EV component warranty. Maybe the warranty was different on the 2013 FFE? I had my charge ring replaced under warranty Granted my car was only 2.5 years old so it fell under the 3 year b2b warranty. It was because the first quadrant no longer illuminated. Come to think of it I did have my 12V go dead shortly before having this replaced... I wonder if it was related.

 

[scottt]

I'm now on my 3rd TCU. It was repaired (again) this past Saturday.

On the way from the dealer, the "Service AdvanceTrac" warning came on, ABS light, Wrench, and both AdvanceTrac lights lit. The speedo died, and the steering got a bit heavier. I wasn't able to pull over right away, however everything went away (except the wrench) after a few minutes.

This happened several more times over the weekend, with the "reset" times getting longer and longer. Now it appears that it's "failed" all the time.

The "MyKey" active also came on many many times this weekend as well.

And this morning, I got "No Key Present" or whatever the wording is. Tried both keys. Several opening and closing of the drivers door got things going again.

Will be taking the car back to the dealer today. Needless to say, Ford Customer Service and I are going to have a little chat.