FordPass disabling functions because of low battery

[DanaL]

I got the message in the subject a day after I bought the truck. The dealer checked the batteries and said they were fine. He said it was probably because it was sitting on the lot for a while. The dealer is over 20 miles away. I would think the battery would have charged itself on that trip.
I hadn't seen that message again for almost 3 months until yesterday.

The past week I've pretty much only driven to the grocery store and back, about 2 miles.
The dealer said short trips could do that.
When I drove it yesterday it started with the ICE and ran that way for about 1.5 miles, then switched to electric. It was in the 30s. That made sense.
I drove to another store and it ran all electric for a little over a mile.
Going home from there it started with the ICE and ran that way for about 1/2 mile, then switched to electric for the rest. That made sense too.

I assume it knows what it's doing and won't switch to electric until the battery is charged enough.

It was in the 40s and the truck sat for 4 hours before I got the message.

Does this sound normal?

The dealer said the battery was at 37% and recommended going for a joy ride to charge the battery or getting a trickle charger.

I don't feel like I should have to drive the car for nothing to keep the battery charged.
I don't have a garage and would not be comfortable leaving the charger connected.
I understand the short ride thing, but why would it use electric if the battery isn't sufficiently charged.

Has anyone else experienced this?
Any thoughts?

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[TwoTone]

Try a search

 

[Waterick]

No disrespect intended by my reaction. It's just that if you have followed this forum at all since you've been a member, this is probably the biggest concern of hybrid owners. Do a search on battery problems or even look to the bottom of this thread. Some have even left the Maverick community because of this problem. Hopefully, (don't hold your breath) Ford will address this situation very soon, only been going on forever with the Mav.
Edit: Try searching on "12v battery", "deep sleep", "BMS" (Battery Monitoring System) and many others.

 

[Headbanger]

That happens to me on both the Maverick and F150, but not until weeks of not driving. Unless it specifically stated so, I'm not so sure it's because of a low battery, rather a timeframe of inactivity. I keep a tender on my vehicles and the batteries never get low, yet features still become disabled.

I would think that driving 20 miles would have charged it up though.

 

[DadsLariat]

I've had my 2024 Hybrid Lariat for over a year now. I took a 16 day spring break vacation last year and this year. Truck stayed at home.

Both years, at exactly 14 days since leaving, I got the FordPass "Remote Functions Disabled", "Battery Saver" messages.

Last year, I had the standard flooded battery, this year, I have a AGM battery(different issue!). Both years, my truck started just fine and warnings went away.

 

[B. Adams]

All in all, it sounds like your truck is acting normally. I don't think the truck gives much consideration to the health of the 12v battery when it's switching to the hybrid battery.

If the 12v battery is causing problems it might just be low from lack of use, and you could put a charger on it or take it for a longer drive. 20 minutes isn’t really a long drive though.

If it's a lead acid battery you could consider changing to an AGM battery, which will perform much better over time. I think most or all of the newer ones ship with AGM batteries now.

I use my 25 hybrid for short trips for weeks at a time, and I haven't had any issues so far.

 

[DanaL]

No disrespect intended by my reaction. It's just that if you have followed this forum at all since you've been a member, this is probably the biggest concern of hybrid owners. Do a search on battery problems or even look to the bottom of this thread. Some have even left the Maverick community because of this problem. Hopefully, (don't hold your breath) Ford will address this situation very soon, only been going on forever with the Mav.
Edit: Try searching on "12v battery", "deep sleep", "BMS" (Battery Monitoring System) and many others.

You are right. I wasn't thinking. My apologies.

 

[DanaL]

You are right. I wasn't thinking. My apologies.

Is there a way to close the thread so I'm not bothering anyone else?

 

[Waterick]

You are right. I wasn't thinking. My apologies.

No need to apologize, everyone is human and there really are no unfounded questions when your frustrated. Your battery is still new enough that you might want to give it a good charge to save it. If let go at the current SOC, it will not last. Ford will warranty them thru 3/36 though, don't let them off the hook. Some people have gotten three batteries from their dealer within that period, but it may be more convenient to charge it.

 

[Connell]

Is there a way to close the thread so I'm not bothering anyone else?

Very humble of you. I appreciate that. But no need to shut a thread down!! I read the forum every day and really enjoy hearing experiences, solutions, opinions ect.
yes, this is a much talked about problem, but it’s good to keep talking about it, for at least two reasons: are people still having the problem? And are there any new solution? Without your thread, neither question gets an answer. So thanks for the question!!

 

[DanaL]

Very humble of you. I appreciate that. But no need to shut a thread down!! I read the forum every day and really enjoy hearing experiences, solutions, opinions ect.
yes, this is a much talked about problem, but it’s good to keep talking about it, for at least two reasons: are people still having the problem? And are there any new solution? Without your thread, neither question gets an answer. So thanks for the question!!

Thank you.

 

[XLent XL]

I don't drive my 23 Lariat Ecoboost much and it sometimes sends me messages it is shutting down some functions to save the battery. Every month I go for a 30 minute drive on the interstate to recharge the battery. Modern vehicles have a constant drain on the battery when parked with all of the computers and sensors.

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

I got the message in the subject a day after I bought the truck. The dealer checked the batteries and said they were fine. He said it was probably because it was sitting on the lot for a while. The dealer is over 20 miles away. I would think the battery would have charged itself on that trip.
I hadn't seen that message again for almost 3 months until yesterday.

The past week I've pretty much only driven to the grocery store and back, about 2 miles.
The dealer said short trips could do that.
When I drove it yesterday it started with the ICE and ran that way for about 1.5 miles, then switched to electric. It was in the 30s. That made sense.
I drove to another store and it ran all electric for a little over a mile.
Going home from there it started with the ICE and ran that way for about 1/2 mile, then switched to electric for the rest. That made sense too.

I assume it knows what it's doing and won't switch to electric until the battery is charged enough.

It was in the 40s and the truck sat for 4 hours before I got the message.

Does this sound normal?

The dealer said the battery was at 37% and recommended going for a joy ride to charge the battery or getting a trickle charger.

I don't feel like I should have to drive the car for nothing to keep the battery charged.
I don't have a garage and would not be comfortable leaving the charger connected.
I understand the short ride thing, but why would it use electric if the battery isn't sufficiently charged.

Has anyone else experienced this?
Any thoughts?

Yes, quite a few members have experienced this problem with their hybrid and EcoBoost.
One of the options that some of us have used to keep the battery from draining down. Is to turn off all Wi-Fi connected options on the truck. That includes Ford pass to your phone along with removing fuse 11/12. It is located in the passenger side footwell underneath the plastic panel that just pops out.
I had one occurrence last October where my interior lights didn't come on. A indication that deep sleep mode had happened and the truck was shutting down non-essential stuff.
I charged the 12 volt battery and turned off any communication device within the truck that I could find.
I haven't had a problem since.
In reality it comes down to two inconveniences.
1. A low or dead 12 volt battery.

2. Turning off the truck's Telecommunications.
I can live without my truck sending updates to my phone.

 

[HeyBales]

I got the message in the subject a day after I bought the truck. The dealer checked the batteries and said they were fine. He said it was probably because it was sitting on the lot for a while. The dealer is over 20 miles away. I would think the battery would have charged itself on that trip.
I hadn't seen that message again for almost 3 months until yesterday.

The past week I've pretty much only driven to the grocery store and back, about 2 miles.
The dealer said short trips could do that.
When I drove it yesterday it started with the ICE and ran that way for about 1.5 miles, then switched to electric. It was in the 30s. That made sense.
I drove to another store and it ran all electric for a little over a mile.
Going home from there it started with the ICE and ran that way for about 1/2 mile, then switched to electric for the rest. That made sense too.

I assume it knows what it's doing and won't switch to electric until the battery is charged enough.

It was in the 40s and the truck sat for 4 hours before I got the message.

Does this sound normal?

The dealer said the battery was at 37% and recommended going for a joy ride to charge the battery or getting a trickle charger.

I don't feel like I should have to drive the car for nothing to keep the battery charged.
I don't have a garage and would not be comfortable leaving the charger connected.
I understand the short ride thing, but why would it use electric if the battery isn't sufficiently charged.

Has anyone else experienced this?
Any thoughts?

Couple of your phrases bolded above point out there is some confusion between the 12V battery that you got the warning about, and the High Voltage Battery (HVB) that is driving the truck in EV mode.

Also be aware your dealer is most likely lacking knowledge on the whole thing so his advice is indeed suspect. He was speaking of non-hybrid and past car experience.

Short trips are just fine to charge the 12V in the hybrid as much as it's going to get.
It starts the charging strong each time you turn it on (after it's been off more than a couple minutes), then after a few minutes drops down to about worthless level.

So keep those points in mind as you read the overwhelming number of threads about the 12V battery problems.
And actually the HVB too as it's good to know.

 

[DanaL]

I don't drive my 23 Lariat Ecoboost much and it sometimes sends me messages it is shutting down some functions to save the battery. Every month I go for a 30 minute drive on the interstate to recharge the battery. Modern vehicles have a constant drain on the battery when parked with all of the computers and sensors.

Couple of your phrases bolded above point out there is some confusion between the 12V battery that you got the warning about, and the High Voltage Battery (HVB) that is driving the truck in EV mode.

Also be aware your dealer is most likely lacking knowledge on the whole thing so his advice is indeed suspect. He was speaking of non-hybrid and past car experience.

Short trips are just fine to charge the 12V in the hybrid as much as it's going to get.
It starts the charging strong each time you turn it on (after it's been off more than a couple minutes), then after a few minutes drops down to about worthless level.

So keep those points in mind as you read the overwhelming number of threads about the 12V battery problems.
And actually the HVB too as it's good to know.

Couple of your phrases bolded above point out there is some confusion between the 12V battery that you got the warning about, and the High Voltage Battery (HVB) that is driving the truck in EV mode.

Also be aware your dealer is most likely lacking knowledge on the whole thing so his advice is indeed suspect. He was speaking of non-hybrid and past car experience.

Short trips are just fine to charge the 12V in the hybrid as much as it's going to get.
It starts the charging strong each time you turn it on (after it's been off more than a couple minutes), then after a few minutes drops down to about worthless level.

So keep those points in mind as you read the overwhelming number of threads about the 12V battery problems.
And actually the HVB too as it's good to know.

The dealer didn't specify which battery. My mind just went to the hybrid. It all makes sense now.

Couple of your phrases bolded above point out there is some confusion between the 12V battery that you got the warning about, and the High Voltage Battery (HVB) that is driving the truck in EV mode.

Also be aware your dealer is most likely lacking knowledge on the whole thing so his advice is indeed suspect. He was speaking of non-hybrid and past car experience.

Short trips are just fine to charge the 12V in the hybrid as much as it's going to get.
It starts the charging strong each time you turn it on (after it's been off more than a couple minutes), then after a few minutes drops down to about worthless level.

So keep those points in mind as you read the overwhelming number of threads about the 12V battery problems.
And actually the HVB too as it's good to know.

The dealer didn't mention which battery. My mind just went to the hybrid. It all makes sense now. Someone above mentioned an AGM battery. I will talk to my dealer about that.
Thank you.

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