How often do I need to desulfate my 12 volt battery...

[ZABSMAV]

That would be kind of hard truck hasn’t been out six years yet. I have a 2022 eco-boost and I’ve never touched my battery.

He didn't say that was batteries in the Maverick for 6-8 years. I am sure he meant in other cars or trucks.

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[Darryl]

They don't. Why I don't expect a fix. Think of how many warranty battery replacements are tagged as "bad battery" as only reason, instead of that being the result of an issue.

While there could be a constant low parasitic draw (instead of an intermittent higher one that causes a dead battery in a day or two), the BMS should see there was excessive draw, and apply more charging on the drive portions.
It will indeed do that sometimes - so it has the ability to charge higher.
But it normally doesn't - seems to have no interest to charge to higher battery state.
Even using it's own figures - it's willing to allow there to be more discharge than charge - that's a logic problem. Nothing to troubleshoot there.

FORD released a new SSM concerning this issue Today January 26, 2026. They acknowledge that some vehicles have an intermittent battery drain after ACCM update. In other words, the ACCM update did not fix all of the,m . However, the SSM telling us to perform the update is still there because it works in many cases. I STRONGLY RECOMMEND that you bring the Maverick back to the dealership if you still have a problem and mention SSM 54519 . Why? Because the SSM tells us to submit a global concern report to Ford concerning the particular vehicle. I suspect it is for a couple of reasons. 1. So they will know the true extent of the problem since some people haven't let them know the problem is still occurring because they simply choose to live with it. 2. (Don't quote me on this) But I suspect that EXPLICITLY puts YOUR vehicle on a list saying it has NOT been fixed. So even if the warranty is over by the time it's fixed, I suspect it will still be covered. They say that an expected release date for a fis is late Q2 2026. So . YES fordcis still working on the issue. It TRULY is intermittent. When the current draw occurs, putting the vehicle in a state where we can measure it often makes it go away. So we'll let it sit for several days with no issue. Then we'll start it up. Drive it, and it's dead within a couple of days. There are several modules that will keep another module awake. So the trick is to find the SOURCE module. I have a field service engineer working with me as I speak. He's recording all my findings to report to the engineers. We have a suspicion. But we still have to do more tests to confirm or rule out

 

[BDennis]

There must be something wrong with your settings. Take your truck to your dealership, and have them go over your problem (whatever it is) my hybrid 2022 maverick is into it's 4th year of ownership, and I still have the original flood battery in it. Yes, it in sleep mode most of the time, but I never had to jump start it, or put a trickle charger on it. There's something that needs attention on your truck.

2022 XLT hybrid and I’m still on my original flooded battery. I haven’t put my NOCO Genius 1 on it to desulfate, but I think I will. When my battery does die, I will replace it with an H5 AGM, then rest the BSM. I do use my Genius 1 on my motorhome.

 

[Darryl]

2022 XLT hybrid and I’m still on my original flooded battery. I haven’t put my NOCO Genius 1 on it to desulfate, but I think I will. When my battery does die, I will replace it with an H5 AGM, then rest the BSM. I do use my Genius 1 on my motorhome.

This is evidence that the battery drain issue is not universal. In fact, MOST hybrid Mavericks DO NOT have the problem. But for those that do, it can be frustratingly difficult to solve,.

 

[Master Blaster]

4 batteries in 2 years? I typically get 8- 9 years out of a battery and I do nothing with it but drive occasionally. Are you talking the 12v starting battery? Or the hybrid battery?

I am also on my 4th 12v battery in my 23. They have all died with critical sulfation damage due to the chronic undercharging with the defective charging algorithm code. FORD, We need the charging software fix, not another unintended draw fix.

 

[Packer Bill]

I am also on my 4th 12v battery in my 23. They have all died with critical sulfation damage due to the chronic undercharging with the defective charging algorithm code. FORD, We need the charging software fix, not another unintended draw fix.

I agree with you. I has battery issues with my 22 EcoBoost and now I have a 25 EB with a problem with constantly being under charged too. I use a battery tender every 2 weeks but I should not have to do this!!

 

[Tim d]

I am also on my 4th 12v battery in my 23. They have all died with critical sulfation damage due to the chronic undercharging with the defective charging algorithm code. FORD, We need the charging software fix, not another unintended draw fix.

Are you talking about the 12v starting battery in an ecoboost? Ours is 3 years old and no issues.

 

[Master Blaster]

Are you talking about the 12v starting battery in an ecoboost? Ours is 3 years old and no issues.

I'd bet that if you measure it, the battery is shot. Just not quite enough to trigger deep sleep yet. For unknown reasons the EcoBoosts don't see battery failure as much as the Hybrids.

 

[Tim d]

It better not be shot lol. The factory battery in my dodge lasted 9 years.

 

[Darryl]

I am also on my 4th 12v battery in my 23. They have all died with critical sulfation damage due to the chronic undercharging with the defective charging algorithm code. FORD, We need the charging software fix, not another unintended draw fix.

But it's the unintended draw that's at the root of the problem. The draw is what pulls the battery below a certain level. EVERY vehicle that has the problem has an intermittent draw when it comes to the dealership. The vehicles that don't have the INTERMITTENT excessive draw do not go through multiple batteries. And the battery fully charges. The charge rate may not be that high. But it would not need to charge so quickly if there was no excessive drain.

 

[Master Blaster]

But it's the unintended draw that's at the root of the problem. The draw is what pulls the battery below a certain level. EVERY vehicle that has the problem has an intermittent draw when it comes to the dealership. The vehicles that don't have the INTERMITTENT excessive draw do not go through multiple batteries. And the battery fully charges. The charge rate may not be that high. But it would not need to charge so quickly if there was no excessive drain.

That's not the primary issue. The never getting charged up to 100% ever is guaranteed to cause early battery failure by sulfation damage. Ford has so far not been working on this primary problem for unknown reasons.

 

[Darryl]

I work on all Fords, not just Mavericks. The Maverick hybrid ultimately charges to the same level as every other Ford. And if that's the problem with yours, yours is unique. Because every other Maverick that we have encountered with an issue has drained the battery intermittently if it sat long enough. Those that get driven daily or almost daily still drain the battery more than they should. So the battery cycles more or doesn't run long enough to fully recharge. Those that may sit for several days but sometimes completely drained the battery even if it is fairly new. Ford had another vehicle that would enter into deep sleep mode because the battery was not being charged enough. And they did make an adjustment to the charging level. So it is not as if they won't do it when required. It is impossible for me to believe that they address this issue on another vehicle where the problem was a lot less common and would completely overlook it in a vehicle that has a fairly common issue. Again, many of these vehicles will actually pull the battery either too deep sleep level or completely dead. That has happened even when we installed a brand new battery, charge it fully, then run it, then let it sit. Ford would not be installing multiple batteries under warranty for a simple charging level issue when that is simply a software issue. And a simple one at that.

 

[Master Blaster]

I work on all Fords, not just Mavericks. The Maverick hybrid ultimately charges to the same level as every other Ford. And if that's the problem with yours, yours is unique. Because every other Maverick that we have encountered with an issue has drained the battery intermittently if it sat long enough. Those that get driven daily or almost daily still drain the battery more than they should. So the battery cycles more or doesn't run long enough to fully recharge. Those that may sit for several days but sometimes completely drained the battery even if it is fairly new. Ford had another vehicle that would enter into deep sleep mode because the battery was not being charged enough. And they did make an adjustment to the charging level. So it is not as if they won't do it when required. It is impossible for me to believe that they address this issue on another vehicle where the problem was a lot less common and would completely overlook it in a vehicle that has a fairly common issue. Again, many of these vehicles will actually pull the battery either too deep sleep level or completely dead. That has happened even when we installed a brand new battery, charge it fully, then run it, then let it sit. Ford would not be installing multiple batteries under warranty for a simple charging level issue when that is simply a software issue. And a simple one at that.

FL, EFL, AGM and gelcel batteries all have severe sulfation issues when they are not charged to something close to full charge. AGM and gelcel ones are a bit more resistant to that type of damage, but it just takes a bit longer. If you watch the full charge cycles you will notice that Ford only cycles between 60% and 80% charge, guaranteeing that the battery fails really early. This problem is totally independent of any unintended discharge issues that you are incorrectly claiming is the primary issue. Monitor the charge for a week if you don't believe this. The only owners who are not seeing these sulfation issues are those who routinely drive hundreds of miles per day, where the typical 1/2A charging current eventually gets it to maybe 95% and never 100%. Modern batteries last most of a decade when properly charged, not one new battery every year with Ford's incorrect algorithm.

Disclaimer: I'm now on my 4th battery in under 3 years, with every module updated, one replaced, every 50ma draw removed, and my normal charge level is only 60% of what it should be. Part of that deficit is Ford deciding that 80% by their weird calculation is actually 100%, so it never stops sulfating.

 

[Darryl]

FL, EFL, AGM and gelcel batteries all have severe sulfation issues when they are not charged to something close to full charge. AGM and gelcel ones are a bit more resistant to that type of damage, but it just takes a bit longer. If you watch the full charge cycles you will notice that Ford only cycles between 60% and 80% charge, guaranteeing that the battery fails really early. This problem is totally independent of any unintended discharge issues that you are incorrectly claiming is the primary issue. Monitor the charge for a week if you don't believe this. The only owners who are not seeing these sulfation issues are those who routinely drive hundreds of miles per day, where the typical 1/2A charging current eventually gets it to maybe 95% and never 100%. Modern batteries last most of a decade when properly charged, not one new battery every year with Ford's incorrect algorithm.

Disclaimer: I'm now on my 4th battery in under 3 years, with every module updated, one replaced, every 50ma draw removed, and my normal charge level is only 60% of what it should be. Part of that deficit is Ford deciding that 80% by their weird calculation is actually 100%, so it never stops sulfating.

Most people aren't having to replace their batteries that often even in hybrid Mavericks. There's no way Ford would be eating that many batteries if a simple software update to charge the battery to a higher level was all that was needed. Also, 80% is not the upper charging limit. 80% is simply the level that's considered "full" in the sense of allowing things like auto start stop (in conventional vehicles) to operate. It's the minimum. You probably have an INTERMITTENT BATTERY DRAIN that's difficult to catch. Ford has 46 Mavericks they are analyzing. I have one at my dealership that is baffling us. Weve had it in our possession for over 3 months. It arrived after being driven for over an hour at 95%. Stayed charged for several days. Had us thinking they'd brought it in unnecessarily. I started it and drove it . Let it sit again. Within 2 days it was in deep sleep. Started it again. Let it run for about 30 minutes. Let it sit. 2 days later it was dead. Performed draw test. It pulled. 0.8 A. But the way the under hood fuse box is arranged, it has to be disconnected in order to access the fuses making it impossible to remove fuses one at a time. Ford informed me how to get around it. Then the drain disappeared that day. But the battery was again low the next morning. Customer refused to take vehicle unless fixed . Eventually Ford sent an field service engineer. We tackled it together until lunch. Thought we'd found the problem. Drain returned then went away. We would have missed it if we hadn't been looking. When it happened. We disconnected one module. I won't name it until we're sure that's it. But it has been a week. I started it and let it run for just a minute to wake up all modules. Then immediately shut it off , so it won't have time to charge too long it's been over a week. So we're going to replace that module and see what happens. If that's it. We'll share findings with Ford so they'll see if it works for others. If so. I'll share the info here.. Again, 80% is full charge only in the sense that EVERY feature is allowed to function fully. But they don't stop charging at 80%. If all Ford batteries were perpetually undercharged, the every battery would be failing early. That's simply not the case.

 

[Master Blaster]

Most people aren't having to replace their batteries that often even in hybrid Mavericks. There's no way Ford would be eating that many batteries if a simple software update to charge the battery to a higher level was all that was needed. Also, 80% is not the upper charging limit. 80% is simply the level that's considered "full" in the sense of allowing things like auto start stop (in conventional vehicles) to operate. It's the minimum. You probably have an INTERMITTENT BATTERY DRAIN that's difficult to catch. Ford has 46 Mavericks they are analyzing. I have one at my dealership that is baffling us. Weve had it in our possession for over 3 months. It arrived after being driven for over an hour at 95%. Stayed charged for several days. Had us thinking they'd brought it in unnecessarily. I started it and drove it . Let it sit again. Within 2 days it was in deep sleep. Started it again. Let it run for about 30 minutes. Let it sit. 2 days later it was dead. Performed draw test. It pulled. 0.8 A. But the way the under hood fuse box is arranged, it has to be disconnected in order to access the fuses making it impossible to remove fuses one at a time. Ford informed me how to get around it. Then the drain disappeared that day. But the battery was again low the next morning. Customer refused to take vehicle unless fixed . Eventually Ford sent an field service engineer. We tackled it together until lunch. Thought we'd found the problem. Drain returned then went away. We would have missed it if we hadn't been looking. When it happened. We disconnected one module. I won't name it until we're sure that's it. But it has been a week. I started it and let it run for just a minute to wake up all modules. Then immediately shut it off , so it won't have time to charge too long it's been over a week. So we're going to replace that module and see what happens. If that's it. We'll share findings with Ford so they'll see if it works for others. If so. I'll share the info here.. Again, 80% is full charge only in the sense that EVERY feature is allowed to function fully. But they don't stop charging at 80%. If all Ford batteries were perpetually undercharged, the every battery would be failing early. That's simply not the case.

It appears to affect 100% of the Hybrids, and some small number of EcoBoosts. I'll bet that every other battery issue that you've been looking at have been on vehicles with alternators, so you're not comparing apples to apples. I'd also bet that the only people NOT having the issue all drive long distances, so the 1/2A charging current eventually gets the battery up to 80% charge and they last a bit longer.

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