Dead 12V Battery In My C-MAX

[RedLdr1]

We purchased our new C-Max on November 10th, drove about a hundred miles total in three separate trips, and parked it in the garage for the night. On the morning of the Sunday, the 11th we went out to leave and found the car was totally dead... By totally dead I mean 100%...not even the LED Dome Lights would come on, absolutely nothing worked. Since our dealership is closed on Sunday I decided to wait to call Service until Monday morning. Monday morning I called Ford Roadside Assistance and they sent out a tow truck. Using a 12V battery jumper box got the C-Max to fire right up...with absolutely No indications anything had been wrong... I at least expected the Battery "idiot light" to come on, indicating a low battery, but it did not... Anyway I then drove the car to my dealership and turned it in to the service department. That afternoon they called and told me the 12V battery had failed a load test and they had installed a new one. Not a big deal to me, I have dealt with bad 12V batteries all the time in telecommunications facilities power systems...batteries fail and least it failed under warranty! :) So I picked up the C-Max and headed home.

 

Tuesday morning... Went out to run some errands and the C-Max was totally dead...again! There were absolutely zero indications anything was wrong when I had parked it Monday night...and I had looked very closely prior to shutdown. Another call to Ford Roadside Assistance, :sos: another jump start, with zero trouble indications again when started, and off to the dealer I went... This time the Service Adviser wanted to keep the C-Max in the shop and had already lined up a nice 2012 Escape "loaner" for me to use while they looked in to the issue. Wednesday morning the C-Max would not start again, but at least it was at the dealer...no need to call a tow truck! The dealer turned loose their electronics guru and he found that the Instrument Panel was defective and causing the battery to slowly discharge over night. My short day trips the previous Saturday had been spaced close enough together it wasn't an issue. A new Instrument Panel was ordered, arrived Friday morning, and was installed that afternoon. By mutual agreement the car stayed at the dealership to see if it start on Saturday morning. Saturday morning everything was fine, I turned in the Escape, picked up the C-Max, and off we went... :)

 

Somethings to watch out for:

 

First, there was never any indications of any problems prior to the failures or after the failures. Since it was the Instrument Panel that failed that is most likely why I never had any idiot lights, like Low Battery, come on to warn me. No "Error Codes" were present either...

Second, when I say totally dead I mean 100% dead, absolutely nothing worked. But after a quick jump start everything is back to normal? That's unusual...I suspect, but do not know for sure, that there is a low voltage "cutoff relay" somewhere in the system that caused the total shutdown to protect the 12V battery.

Third, I found out the salesman had needed to jump start the car on the day we took possession. While it is not uncommon for a car to need "boosted" after sitting on the lot for a long time this one had just been driven well over a hundred miles, it was a dealer trade, the previous day. That is not "normal" and would have been a "Red Flag" for me had I known it prior to Monday.

Fourth, some of the Features, like the "Horn Chirp on Lock", wouldn't work until the Instrument Panel was replaced. I thought I needed to configure them so I ignored them not working as I had planned to go through all the configuration parameters on Sunday.

 

 

Now the good news:

 

My C-Max is now running great, averaging around 43MPG overall, and everything works just fine.

My dealerships Service department was able to quickly isolate the problem, obtain the parts, and resolve the issue.

My dealership showed excellent Customer Service in arranging a nice loaner prior to my even requesting one.

None of the configuration, or user content I had already added, like my cellphone pairing, was lost during the repair. Not a big deal but it was nice to see it still configured.

 

Summary: Any car, a new or older design, can have "weird" issues, it is how the dealer, and manufacture, handle them that really matters to me. This issue was handled in an very professional, courteous manner, my car is"fixed", so I am quite happy with the outcome. It does not diminish the car, make me nervous, or otherwise cause me any concerns. I truly suspect I had a "one off" problem, but just in case there is more than one bad Instrument Panel "floating around" in the parts system I am posting this so anyone else may be able to identify the issue quicker...

 

Today we put the C-Max to good use hauling our five rescue dogs, we picked up two more Saturday on one of those short trips, to the Vet for their annual, and initial check ups... The C-Max's carrying ability worked out like I had hoped it would...even with two more "kids" :) :dogwalk:

[Laurel]

Excellent detailed report! I am book marking it just in case. What breed are your rescue to dogs? We have had a few rescues over the years i.e. a Newfie, a Lab, a Bull Mastiff, and our current escapee from a California kill shelter who is Pom and Chi X.

[RedLdr1]

What breed are your rescue to dogs?

 

Freddy, is a male Bearded Collie mix; Penny, is a female Jack Russel Terrier / Dachshund mix; Rosie is a "Chi-Wee" Chihuahua / Dachshund "Designer Dog"; and our two new girls, Lilly the mother, and her daughter Suzie, look like 1/4 scale Corgis...the Vet thinks they may be Chihuahua / Corgi mixes... All of them are Rescues from the local shelter or Rescue groups. Their combined weight is around 110 pounds so they killed my gas mileage today... :) At least that is my story and I am sticking to it... ;)

[RedLdr1]

Duplicate Post, darn key bounce...

Edited November 20, 2012 by RedLdr1

[erwhitham]

I really appreciate your remarkably complete report. Bravo on how you dealt with such an unnerving problem.

[dtorres]

Outstanding write up that will be very useful to anyone else who experience this problem.

[zhackwyatt]

Edmunds had 12v battery problems on their 2010 Fusion Hybrid: http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/2010/11/2010-ford-fusion-hybrid-heres-the-conclusion-to-stranded.html

 

Your was due to the instrument panel, but it seems that more than one person has had problems with the 12v on this forum. And looking around at the past fusion hybrids, they had a lot of problems on their 12v batteries as well. :headscratch:

 

I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that the battery is never used to start the engine, like in a traditional vehicle. So the load on the battery is different?

[REC]

Add me to the (unfortunately) growing list of C-Max owners who go down to the garage in the morning and find that the battery is dead. Similar to other posters, there was absolutely no electric power available: no dome lights, no radio, no headlights, no lights on the dash - nothing.

 

Further, given that just about everything in the car is electric, when the battery is dead, you can't unlock the doors, nor can you shift the gear into N to roll it to a more convenient location.

 

I called Ford roadside assistance, and I will say that I was pleased with their service - it was quick and the car started right up with a jump. After the jump, everything seemed to be working find (ran fine, radio stations still there, phonebook still there, etc.). I took it to the dealer, but they couldn't find anything wrong with it.

 

Ford should follow these posts for an "early warning system" of possible problems. I think there are now 3 or 4 members of this forum with the same problem, and I think that indicates a common problem.

 

One the plus side: I got 50+ mpg driving to and from the dealer!

Edited November 20, 2012 by REC

[different drummer]

 

One the plus side: I got 50+ mpg driving to and from the dealer!

Nice way to stay positive, REC!

 

My C-max should be coming in next week. Am really hoping it will be trouble free.

[joe]

REC - One question. You said that the car had no power and not even the door locks would work. How were you able to open the front hood latch if you could not open the door to pull the hood latch? Did the Ford Road Service people have to jimmy the door open?

[RedLdr1]

REC - One question. You said that the car had no power and not even the door locks would work. How were you able to open the front hood latch if you could not open the door to pull the hood latch? Did the Ford Road Service people have to jimmy the door open?

 

If you have the key less entry option there is a physical key inside the remote fob to use in emergencies. Pop open the fob and you will find a little T-shaped key, it will unlock the drivers side door to give you access to the vehicle. I am having a spare cut to carry in my wallet as soon as the key blanks are available locally....

[joe]

thanks for the information. That's good to know. My C-Max should be arriving mid-December.

[TSapp]

I bought a 2013 Hybrid on Dec. 8. Drove it all day on the 9th. Did not get 47 mpg, but did get 35 mpg. Got ready to run errands today and flat, dead battery. The dealership is sending a tow truck. Though you are supposed to be able to jump start these, good luck finding the negative post for the cables. Furthermore, you can ruin the car doing this yourself.

 

I left nothing on, but the phone charger was plugged into the 12v receptacle. Does anyone know if this will drain the battery? There are no warnings in the manual or online.

 

Thanks

 

T

[darrelld]

I bought a 2013 Hybrid on Dec. 8. Drove it all day on the 9th. Did not get 47 mpg, but did get 35 mpg. Got ready to run errands today and flat, dead battery. The dealership is sending a tow truck. Though you are supposed to be able to jump start these, good luck finding the negative post for the cables. Furthermore, you can ruin the car doing this yourself.

 

I left nothing on, but the phone charger was plugged into the 12v receptacle. Does anyone know if this will drain the battery? There are no warnings in the manual or online.

 

Thanks

 

T

 

Jump starting is covered on page 255 of the manual. I leave cell phones and iPods plugged in all the time without a problem.

 

There is definitely something wrong and you are not the first person to report a dead battery.

[RedLdr1]

I left nothing on, but the phone charger was plugged into the 12v receptacle. Does anyone know if this will drain the battery? There are no warnings in the manual or online.

 

I leave an iPod, cellphone chargers, and occasionally a camera battery charger plugged in with no issues...

[andrewwx]

My Cmax also suffers from the dead 12V problem. I thought I had it cured when the dealer found that there was a short in the 12V battery and they put a new one. But yesterday afternoon I found it dead. The good news is that it since you do not have to power a starter motor when you jump it - it is very easy to do so. I now carry my trusty Costco self powered jumper box with me - it works like a charm.

 

I will take it to the dealer again after xmas and mention the dash display. I am still happy with the car, but I would like this annoyance gone.

[dtorres]

After 4000 miles and three months it happened to me for the first time this morning. I opened the tailgate and the electric motor lifted it. When I hit the button to close it nothing happened. I noticed though that the brake lights and interior dome lights were very faintly rapidly flashing. When I opened the driver's door no dash display or radio lights and the car would not start. After I jumped it with my wife's car everything seemed fine. Unfortunately I'm now added to the list of people with ghost battery drainage.

[Laurel]

Maybe somebody should copy this thread and the one below it and send it to Ford?  Sounds like nearly everyone has had it happen.  I am waiting for my turn.  Do you think there will be a re-call over this issue?

[dtorres]

Andewwx

 

Do you happen to have the Costco item number for the self starter you bought? ;-)

Edited December 27, 2012 by dtorres

[andrewwx]

It is not on costco.com. I bought it at a warehouse. Sorry I do not have the item number its full name is

 

PowerStation PSX Multi-Purpose Rugged Vehicle Utility Jump Starter and Air Compressor

 

I saw a pallet full of them last friday. the air compressor is great too especially since I am a soccer coach.

 

Cheers

[PWBarrett]

I went with one of these http://www.pepboys.com/product/details/9912232/ which was $29 after a $10 rebate.

Unfortunately it's too big to fit in that recess under the back deck, but it can be made to fit in the cargo net.

 

But from what I'm reading here though, it may be that one of the smaller ones you plug into the cigarette lighter jack / power port could be enough.

[darrelld]

I have been looking at this;

 

http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-Simple-Start-Battery-Booster/dp/B005GO5E10/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1356620300&sr=8-3&keywords=cigarette+lighter+jump+starter

[valkraider]

Isn't there a 12v air pump in the tire kit?

[dtorres]

Maybe Ford could swap out our air compressor / tire inflator under the passenger seat for an air compressor/tire inflator/emergency jump start unit.

 

Darrelld I saw that one on Amazon too and it looks pretty compact. Here was another one I was considering.

 

Auto Emergency Jump Start Battery, Start Me Up 2

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000TN2BFA/ref=cm_sw_r_an_am_ap_am_us?ie=UTF8

[darrelld]

Maybe Ford could swap out our air compressor / tire inflator under the passenger seat for an air compressor/tire inflator/emergency jump start unit.

 

Darrelld I saw that one on Amazon too and it looks pretty compact. Here was another one I was considering.

 

Auto Emergency Jump Start Battery, Start Me Up 2

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000TN2BFA/ref=cm_sw_r_an_am_ap_am_us?ie=UTF8

 

My only concern with these lighter jump starters is how it works when the accessories auto shut off. Now you have no source to power the relays/SCR's that turn the aux circuits back on.

 

Might need this too;

http://www.amazon.com/Roadpro-Battery-Clip-On-Cigarette-Lighter/dp/B00065L2D8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356623897&sr=8-1&keywords=lighter+to+jumper+cables

Edited December 27, 2012 by darrelld