The last straw? (Vehicle down for 3+ weeks, with no end in sight.)

[Totem]

I have a little over 22,000 miles on my hybrid. Recalls of course, new cv joints. I have a great local dealer.
I Have been from Columbus, Ohio to Myrtle and back. I keep on top of the recalls and cv joints. Basic common sense stuff. Love my hybrid. Never has let me down. Not a worry wart!

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[glider]

I don't blame you one bit for being peeved and having no confidence in your hybrid Mav after what you have been through.

I am about to go on my first road trip [800 mi R/T] in my 2024 Lariat hybrid, 5k miles on the odo, and after reading what you wrote, think maybe we should take my wife's car.

One thing I hope you do is report your incident to NHTSA on their website. The more people that do, the more likely there will be pressure on FoMoCo to do something.

I'm planning a 1500 mile trip this week. So far I have only had to replace the 12v. battery. If something like the what happened to the OP happens to me, I'll get rid of the truck ASAP.

 

[Snox801]

The F150 will go into limp mode and also will die on you . Look through the complaints...
https://www.nhtsa.gov/?nhtsaId=11616100

I don't' disagree with the OP. I would feel the same way if my vehicle did the same thing and had the same response and wait time from Ford.

To say that the Hybrid leaves you dead at an intersection and an ICE will not is just not correct.

Limp mode is just that it does not die and it completely. They almost always are able to drive off the road.
But thanks for trying to equate the two.
You either didn’t read why his left him stranded or you choose not to. It clearly is a problem only the hybrid would have. Can an ice leave you stranded? Sure but his issues was specific to the hybrid. And the amount of dead in track mavericks is much higher with the hybrid.

 

[MavTime]

I had suspected that some issues with the Hybrid engine warning light or loss of power could be just a low 12v. It surprises me that people don't know the 12v is prone to running low or use the app to get Deep Sleep warnings or don't notice the interior lights no coming on or know. Being 22k miles into ownership and still not aware that you have to keep the 12v topped off or that Ford battery isn't that great is a shocker. We all know you "shouldn't have to" worry about such things, but it is just a reality of the DC-to-DC charging.

 

[JimParker256]

I had suspected that some issues with the Hybrid engine warning light or loss of power could be just a low 12v. It surprises me that people don't know the 12v is prone to running low or use the app to get Deep Sleep warnings or don't notice the interior lights no coming on or know. Being 22k miles into ownership and still not aware that you have to keep the 12v topped off or that Ford battery isn't that great is a shocker. We all know you "shouldn't have to" worry about such things, but it is just a reality of the DC-to-DC charging.

I'm glad yours has been trouble free. I've owned two Mav Hybrids now. The first (a lucky find at a local dealer) was trouble free for 8K miles. I sold it to pay for the one I had ordered with all of my preferred options and paint color. I've been driving the orange one for just over a year now. Sound system was inoperative when I took delivery (6+ months to get the part). Other than that, it was great - no issues. Until it started having issues on three consecutive out of town trips, leaving me stranded each time. The last one was the "doozy" when it crapped out in the middle of an intersection.

For what it's worth, I am well aware of the "deep sleep" issues, and the need to keep the 12V battery charged. If I'm going to be not driving for more than 24 hours, I almost always put it on a trickle charger. I haven't had any indications of a low charge state on the 12V battery since the first time I had that battery replaced.

But as I wrote in my OP, this failure happened after I drove a little over an hour (by the way - at 80 mph, the speed limit on that highway), then stopped for 15 minutes to eat lunch. The 12V battery SHOULD have been fully charged at that point. I had no indication of a "low battery" condition when I started the truck, but it "died" in the middle of an intersection less than 2 minutes later. Battery wasn't "depleted" - it had failed internally - read zero volts when they tested it.

 

[OleFordGuy]

No one should have to tolerate crap that this on a new vehicle

 

[HeyBales]

We all know you "shouldn't have to" worry about such things, but it is just a reality of the DC-to-DC charging.

Well - it's not that really.

It's the software decisions as to how low to go, how high to charge, and the rate.

DC-DC charging is just fine, and can supply plenty of power - but when batteries constantly allowed to get down to 50% SOC or less, and not go above 65% - and then not have accurate SOC values in the 1st place so in reality everything is even lower - battery killing time.

Some ICE systems have had problems with the regulator being in the PCM and it having misreadings (I don't think goofy limits set) - and same issue with a clutch alternator of not charging the battery high enough but it thinks it is, or the PCM is bad.

 

[MavTime]

Well - it's not that really.

I think it is though when driving only short trips, every trip uses more 12v than the DC-to-DC charging is able to put back in, so over time it depletes down to a deep sleep state. Even a high amp 3rd party charger takes a while to charge the battery. They should consider having the HV battery continue to charge the 12v for a period after it is parked.

 

[HeyBales]

I think it is though when driving only short trips, every trip uses more 12v than the DC-to-DC charging is able to put back in, so over time it depletes down to a deep sleep state. Even a high amp 3rd party charger takes a while to charge the battery. They should consider having the HV battery continue to charge the 12v for a period after it is parked.

Every trip is using more than the software settings allows putting back in. That's not a limitation by the DC-DC. Using a scan tool you can see the wide range that is allow to go into the LowVoltageCircuit.
They could pre-load the max charging to start of each trip.
Or they could treat it like ICE auto's have for years - some trips don't recharge enough, others do.

It's charging the good old normal 13.2 to 14.8 V and more, and as many amps as the settings allow - which could be more probably with FLA.

The truck startup routine barely uses any draw compared to purely ICE vehicle and starter.
And a truck without any problem draws really isn't using that much either.

My 10A battery charger, when reporting 53% SOC (it's basing that on FLA selection and 12.1 V currently) takes about 1 hr to report 100%, then it's off to float charge amounts.

They could charge after key off - I'm just wondering how much is an engineering desire compared to requirements regarding HV systems not possibly killing someone working on vehicle.

 

[MavTime]

My 10A battery charger, when reporting 53% SOC (it's basing that on FLA selection and 12.1 V currently) takes about 1 hr to report 100%, then it's off to float charge amounts.

What is the charge rate amperage of the Mav Hybrid DC-to-DC circuit? If that takes 1hr at 10A, but you're only driving 15 minutes at a time and it is consuming 12v while driving and a little while sitting too it ends up being a net loss. But if I understand correctly, you're saying it is the charging SOC thresholds that only charge the battery within that narrow range? So it seems part of the problem is the variable charge rate that gets lower as it gets closer to 65% SOC, so driving a short trip at that point has a low SOC and a low rate of charge and more is consumed that replenished.

I agree it does seem to not ever fully charge above 12v, even if it reads 14.4v when the car is on, the battery itself isn't up to that voltage yet as it will read 11.7v in the Accessory key position.

 

[Samsin361]

Vehicle: 2023 Maverick Hybrid Lariat, purchased from Covert Ford in Austin, TX.

I went on a short trip (Cedar Park, TX to Sequin, TX - about 80 miles) in my Maverick, and stopped for lunch before going to my appointment. I finished lunch and was driving the approximately 1.5 miles to the appointment. About halfway there, I stopped for at red light at an intersection of a major road and an interstate highway. Just as I pulled to a stop, the Sync system went blank, followed by the main driver's display, then almost immediately both came back on, but with every single warning light illuminated, and pop-up messages from all of those systems coming up so fast that I lost track of how many messages I got. The gas engine, of course, was shut off (as always at a stop), but the transmission was now in "Park" (I didn't touch the shifter) and the parking brake was ON. I could not change into Neutral, nor release the parking brake. Turning the vehicle off (push-button) and back on did nothing. So I was just stuck in the middle of the intersection, with the noon "rush" flowing around me (lots of angry looks, honks, and raised middle fingers directed at me). I tried everything I could think of (including searching the Maverick Truck Club) for similar scenarios and how to resolve it) with no success.

I have a Ford extended warranty, so I called them to tow me to a dealership. But the local dealership said they had no one in their service department qualified to work on hybrid vehicles, and that I would have to have it towed to either San Antonio or Austin to get it worked on. Since my "home" dealer is in Austin, I decided to have it towed there. However, Ford's towing service will only pay for it to be towed to the nearest dealer, so I had to pay almost $300 to get it towed to Austin.

This post is already going to be long, so to shorten it somewhat, my service advisor told me the only thing wrong was that the 12V battery was absolutely dead - zero volts - and that it would not accept a charge. Something must have broken inside the disabled the entire battery. They replaced it under warranty, but the detailed explanation I got from the service manager and technician scared the hell out of me! If the 12V battery fails like this, the computer shuts down the engine (and electric power as well) and puts the transmission into Park, and applies the parking brake. Until the computer sees a normal 12V signal again, it will NOT allow the vehicle to be shifted out of Park, nor allow the parking brake to release. This seems absolutely crazy to me, given that the high-voltage battery was absolutely fine, and we all know that the HVB is what recharges the 12V battery, whose only purpose is the power the computer when the hybrid system is shut down Why the hell would Ford engineer the system such that a 12V battery (an accessory at best) would force a critical shutdown - as though it were a nuclear reactor performing an emergency shutdown? It's not only ridiculous, it's downright dangerous!

The truly scary part is that if the battery failure had occurred 2 miles prior or 2 miles after it did, I would have been on an Interstate highway, going 75 mph (speed limit in this area) when the computer decided to put the vehicle into Park and apply the parking brake. Whether it would have done so at 75 mph, I have no idea (nor did the tech), but even if it had just shut down the engine and hybrid power system and had me coast to a stop, then shifted to Park and applied the parking brake, I would have been in some seriously fast traffic with an immovable vehicle. What are the odds I might have been killed in the almost inevitable rear-end collision that would follow?

This seems like a MAJOR design flaw. My wife won't even set foot in the Maverick any longer, and doesn't want me to drive it either. We both believe this is a significant hazard - especially given the track record of the 12V battery failures that have been a chronic issue in the Maverick Hybrid, as you can definitely see from these forums... So I' will no longer drive on the freeway in my Maverick, nor take it on long trips, since it has stranded me three times now. I'm starting to investigate the Lemon Law in Texas...

To make matters even worse, I have also experienced three separate occurrences of "multiple sensor" warnings:

• Pre-Collision Assist not Availble
• Powertrain Malfunction / Reduced Power
• Blind Spot Detection with Cross traffic
• High-Voltage Battery Warning (detailed message says stop as soon as possible and contact authorized dealer)
• Service Engine Soon Warning

The first time, the dealership (280 miles from home) told me the Engine Control Module needed to have the software reloaded. Doing this seemed to return the vehicle to service. The out-of-town dealership put me at the head of the queue since I was on a trip, and got me going within a couple of hours. I was extremely grateful for their quick response.

The second time I got this rash of messages, I tried, but I could not clear the problem by shutting down and restarting. This time, the dealer reported they cleared the errors, but could find nothing wrong afterward, and the vehicle performed normally for them with no further errors. This was also at an out of town dealership. I mentioned it to my "local" dealer when I went in for an oil change, but there were no errors in the system for them to go on.

The third time it happened, I was here in town, and got the "High Voltage Warning" that basically means "park the vehicle." So I again had it towed to Covert Ford. It took two days for them to get it into the shop to actually work on it. After almost a full day of diagnostics, their tech found a "damaged" connector plug in the wiring harness where the ECM connects (apparently under the hood, in one of the back corners). When he jiggled that connector, the system threw all kinds of warning messages, including the ones above. They attempted to order a new connector, but apparently they aren't in Ford's ordering system - you can only order the complete engine wiring harness. My service advisor (good guy) told me he asked why the didn't just get a new connector from somewhere like Granger, cut the existing wires, and connect the new one... Seems the wires are short enough that if they cut them, the connector will no longer reach the plug where it needs to connect.

Two days later: Bad news, no wiring harnesses available anywhere in Ford's system, and they are back-ordered, but that Ford had agreed to upgrade the order to "Emergency - vehicle not on road" status, which should give us the highest priority when the harness became available... Two days later, I was contacted by someone in Customer Service at FoMoCo, telling me she would be following up with me, keeping me updated on all the effort FoMoCo was putting toward getting my vehicle repaired to my satisfaction, and promising the would be my primary point of contact until my vehicle was repaired and back in my hands. But basically, she told me nothing the service advisor had not already told me... Fast forward several more days, and today I was contacted by a different person at Ford Customer Service, letting me know that she had tried to contact the dealership, but wasn't able to get anyone, so she had no "dealer update" for me, but that my back-ordered part was showing "pending upgrade to emergency status". I asked why it wasn't already ON emergency status, and she said "well, they don't have any in stock, so they can't make it an emergency status until they do." (Seems to kind of defeat the purpose of allowing back-orders, doesn't it?) In any case, she was totally not helpful, except to ask if the dealership had given me a loaner car (they had not. - none available when I took it in).

So after I got off the phone with her, I immediately called the dealership (which she said she could not reach "anyone" in the service department, and would not try again until after the weekend - this at roughly 2PM on Friday). The phone was answered immediately, and I was able to get my service coordinator on the phone in less than 1 minute. (So she was full of you-know-what...) I expressed my frustration at being without my truck for 3+ weeks, and asked if there was any possibility of getting a loaner vehicle. He escalated the case to his management, who escalated it to the sales team, and got approval for a loaner. I just got back home from picking up a 2024 F-150 that will be my loaner until my truck is fixed. My thanks to Covert Ford (Austin, TX) and William Heinrich (service coordinator - who had been great to work with every time I've been in the shop).

When I first took delivery of the Maverick (July, 2023), the entire sound system was non-functional. All the features "worked" other than the fact that there was no sound at all from the Sync system (so no sound through Apple Car Play, either). The dealership diagnosed the issue within a couple of hours (a bad hardware module in the Sync system), and told me it was back-ordered with no estimate on when it would be delivered. They offered me the choice of leaving the vehicle with them until the repair part came in (with a loaner in the meantime), or just go ahead and keep the truck until the part came in, at which time they would contact me an schedule a repair. Since I had only JUST picked up (and paid for) the Maverick, I elected to keep it until the part came in... Glad I did, because the part didn't come in until late December, 2023 - that's 6 1/2 months after it was ordered! Because it came in just as the holidays hit, they gave me a Mach-E loaner for Christmas holidays. When I got back from my son's house after Christmas, my truck was finally ready, and I got to hear the sound system for the first time. So again, I feel like Covert Ford did their best to accommodate me, but the FoMoCo parts inventory system let both of us down pretty badly.

And Ford, you've got some serious 'spraining to do... Either A) Ford has the worst spare parts inventory management of any motor vehicle company I've ever dealt with, or B) there has been a massive run on replacement engine wiring harnesses. To me, it is totally unacceptable for a truck to be "down for parts" for more than three weeks (this time) because there are no repair parts available in the system. In any case, the Maverick Hybrid that I absolutely loved at first has proven to be completely unreliable.

At this point, I cannot recommend to anyone that they purchase a Maverick Hybrid.

I'm right there with you. My hybrid broke down on September 10th and is still in the shop. To add to the WTF moment, I went to the dealership last week (to grab some of my wife's belongings under the back seat) and noticed a dent and chipped paint on the driver's door.
I am to call them tomorrow for an update.

 

[Potatomafia]

@JimParker256 I can completely empathize with you. Once a vehicle breaks your trust like that, it's really difficult to trust it again.

I've got just over 21k miles on my '23 hybrid. I haven't had any major issues but did suffer from the seemingly too common "deep sleep" issues caused by the substandard 12v battery.

Before I moved, I had a 90 mile daily commute into Tampa, FL. The speed limit on the expressway I took was 70mph but speeds of 80+ were common. My biggest fear was breaking down on the expressway. I'd be lying if I said the through never crossed my mind, especially once I started having the deep sleep issues.

In the beginning of 2024, I moved across the country. I towed a 5x8 uHaul trailer 1500 miles over 4 days. Thankfully, I had zero issues with the Maverick but I was still nervous.

The few times the 12v battery went completely flat, my Maverick was parked in my driveway. The last time it happened, it caused me to miss a very important VA appointment. I was so angry that I ripped the battery out and walked 4 blocks to the nearest auto parts store to buy a new battery.

Once the 12v battery was replaced, I stopped having deep sleep issues. But I still get random warning messages sometimes and strange behavior, like "Depress clutch pedal to start" and the transmission refusing to shift out of Park. A restart of the truck cleared that up but it doesn't exactly fill me with confidence. What's to say that something strange will happen and leave me stranded? Nobody knows but I don't like that feeling.

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