Battery saver message

[hermans]

The date code is on the battery. Look for a letter code A - L. A is for January and L is for December. After the letter should be a number for the year. I just looked at my battery, the third one, and the date code is L12. This battery was manufactured December, 2012. There was a sticker on top of the battery. If there is no sticker look for it to be stamped into the battery case.

Edited March 23, 2014 by hermans

[murphy]

There are no stickers on my battery.

The following are engraved into the plastic.

 

On top of the plastic piece centered between the posts - 01653100

On the plastic at the base of the negative post - 3C 14A61 could this be March of 2013? My car was built April 1, 2013.

Left side rear edge of the top cap - CA5AA

Center rear edge of the top cap - 3C03CACB

 

The battery holds a charge sitting on my garage floor exhibiting only self discharge.

It passes the 100 ampere discharge test.

[Barsoom]

Mine is finally going back in on Wednesday for the battery saver follow-up tests by Ford.

 

I'm also having problems with the keyless entry number pad on the driver-side door. Last week, it was flashing wildly after I got out of the car and locked the door with the fob. First, all the numbers started flashing together. Then they stopped and the red light began flashing. Then the red light would stop and the numbers began flashing again. Then the numbers would stop flashing and the red light would start flashing again. It repeated this cycle until I got my keys, unlocked the car with the fob and started it up and turned it off.

 

Then, when I got out and closed the driver-side door, the trunk opened up! This is not the first time that I came back to my car and my trunk was open. The next day I went to visit a friend. I tried to use the keypad to lock the door, which was unresponsive, so I locked it with the fob. When I returned a few hours later, the trunk was open.

 

There is definitely something wrong (from Day 1, in my opinion), with the programming of the keyless entry. Given the past problems with the global one-touch, I wonder of all the related electronics on the driver side have problems. Also, could this be where the battery drain is coming from?

 

I noticed that when they reprogrammed the global one-touch, my driver mirror/seat settings were reset; my mirrors were all pointing to the ground and the Driver 1 button did not reset anything. I had to redo the seat position and mirror settings. Then, when I brought the car back to check the BS message, I got it back with the same settings undone.

 

Given that you can enter a driver-specific entry code that also sets the seat and mirrors to your settings, I can tell that the keyless entry system is linked to the driver seat and mirror settings, which might also be connected to the driver door buttons for the windows. Somewhere, there is a programming error that is corrupting the system. It shows up first on the keyless entry panel, either by locking out the 7-8/9-0 lock combination, or by accidently opening the trunk when some unrelated condition is triggered, such as locking the car.

 

I'm going to have the dealer check this out, too.

Edited March 24, 2014 by Barsoom

[hybridbear]

In December 13 after a year of nothing but problems with the BS message and lost settings and jumpstarts, the Ford Field Service Engineer determined the problem was the gear selector module. Stated that the car did not know it was in park. This is after months of being told BS message was "Normal", not driving far enough, or usb drive draining battery. Part replaced and fixed for about 2 days. Service manager kept car for about a week and battery went bad after testing ok days before. Replaced to make now on 12v number three. So after a month of no problems told dealer it looked like I would keep the car. Well, yesterday, 22 Mar 14, got the battery saver message again. Car has not yet reached 9,000 miles and has exceed my 2003 Saab in problems and visits to the dealer. However, the Saab was perfect after the first 8 months of fixes. Mine appears defective to where it is not repairable. For the 3 months of no problems since Dec 13 it was a good car. At least the dealer gives me a loaner, knowing what I have been through. Decision is to try again or cut my losses and get something else. Mental health is worth more that the loss on this last car purchase. The sad thing is I traded in a 2006 Honda Accord for the Fusion. The Honda was never in the shop for any problem.

With your multiple failed repairs on this issue you could probably pursue a Lemon Law claim. Read up on the requirements in your state and follow the process outlined in the Owner's Manual. Also, get Ashley involved.

[mrobinso8]

Car is now too old. My hoping they were getting somewhere put the age beyond one year. It was not out of service for over 30 days also. Just driving me nuts not trusting it and settings getting lost with the bs bs.

[hybridbear]

Car is now too old. My hoping they were getting somewhere put the age beyond one year. It was not out of service for over 30 days also. Just driving me nuts not trusting it and settings getting lost with the bs bs.

Multiple failed attempts to fix the same problem don't have to be all within one year do they? If you are not getting satisfactory resolution from the dealer, then you should get Ashley involved and follow the steps in the Owners Manual to work through the BBB. Perhaps you could get an extended warranty at no cost from Ford or other perk to compensate you for your issues.

[Barsoom]

I just got back from picking up my car from Ford.

 

They said that the BS message was from someone during the build of my car having taken out the 12V battery while in the process of programming other modules (I don't think this means literally while a reprogram was loading), and then recharging the battery and putting it back in, without recalibrating/resetting the monitor routines.

 

I think he said that they basically did a hard reset on the car. We'll see how it goes. They think that this might also be interfering with the keyless entry.

[hermans]

That's the first time I've heard that one.

[murphy]

So he's telling you that they stopped the assembly line long enough to recharge a battery. How do these guys come up with these stories?

 

Reminds me of a mainframe computer disk drive salesman (24 platters that were 3 feet in diameter) that was asked how something worked. While he was busy answering the question I looked over his shoulder to see what he was writing in his notebook. It was "Find out how xxxxx works.".

[Barsoom]

Maybe I got the sequence wrong. What he told me was that before the car was delivered to me, they have records of the battery being removed, recharged, and put back into the car. He said that the car normally monitors the voltage level of the battery, and when it was taken out and charged without being monitored and then put back in, the recorded voltage did not match the actual voltage, and this caused a misalignment in the readings.

 

As the true voltage would reduce, the car thought that the voltage from its records was much lower, and started throwing out the battery saver message.

 

This is what he got from Ford engineeers after he put my situation on their internal hotline for things to test. This was the tests that the asked me to bring the car back for, after doing their own research. I will know soon enough if this works or not. It seems that their solution was to reset the monitors somehow, I guess a system reboot of the monitoring routines.

[Ric]

My FFH has been at the dealership for the past two days with the BS messages. Just got a call from them. They stated they found the problem, caused by the shifter assembly drawing current at all times. They ordered a new assembly, should get it back in a few days. I think I heard something about this shifter assembly in a prior message? Time will tell.

[Barsoom]

Hmm... I had the luxury package that was built with the wrong (basic rubber) shifter. There was a TSB last year to replace the shifter with the leather one, but that may have just been the knob and not the whole assembly. Still, there was shifter work done on my car.

 

For me, I was having weird behavior from my keyless entry number pad, and I suspected that it was perhaps drawing additional current from the battery. My technician thinks that the keyless entry pad is a symptom of the misalignment of readings, and should fix itself with the reboot.

 

I'm not so sure.

[jeff_h]

Hmm... I had the luxury package that was built with the wrong (basic rubber) shifter. There was a TSB last year to replace the shifter with the leather one, but that may have just been the knob and not the whole assembly. Still, there was shifter work done on my car.

 

The leather shift knob was a customer satisfaction program thing 13B03, shouldn't have anything to do with this... if it's drawing power all the time then I guess it's something with that switch there on the side, some hill assist thing? I've never used it but there's a switch there on the handle.

[Barsoom]

Yes, the switch on the side is for hill descent. It increases the simulated engine breaking from the EV when going down steep slopes.

[mrobinso8]

Ric I had my shifter replaced in December when the Ford Service Engineer found that the shifter was not properly communicating to other computers that the car was in park. Thus not a total shutdown. After two days BS message was back. Back to dealer and left car and left with service manager to drive and take home. Also told him that battery bs all the time was probably hurting the 12 volt. He had problems, and battery checked ok. He said if he found nothing else wrong he would replace battery again for number three. The next time batter checked bad and was replaced. Enjoyed car for three months and considered it cured. It was not as problem is back but has not totally died yet. Ashley notified Ford Customer Service who called. Tracy is almost as well know to me as my Ford Service Manager. We discussed and her job is basically to be sure dealer does his job. Left it with I will try and put up with car until 2015 models come out and possibly give dealer another try though I told her this is not acceptable and whatever happens this is my last Ford, the only car I have owned in 50+ years that I did not trust to drive. Next car most likely a Honda. I hope you have better luck. At least they are trying and not blaming it on a usb drive.

[Ric]

I think the dealer is doing everything they can. If the shifter replacement does not work, it may be time to bite the bullet and replace the car. I have never had this much trouble with any car I have owned as with this FFH. I guarantee it would not be another Ford.

[Wingmn]

Latest on my battery saver. After PM'n Ashley on this thread Ford called me, and I had just driven the car about 120 miles, and the battery saver condition was not present, so I told them I didn't want to schedule an appointment until it was failing, so they called me back this past Monday and left a message that they were closing my case number and to schedule a appointment if I had any probs. That evening (this past Monday) the battery saver condition returned. I scheduled a service appointment for this morning.

 

Just got my car back, they replaced the battery, and performed TSB 13-6-23.

 

I'll keep you guys up to date if anything changes.

[hermans]

 

The leather shift knob was a customer satisfaction program thing 13B03, shouldn't have anything to do with this... if it's drawing power all the time then I guess it's something with that switch there on the side, some hill assist thing? I've never used it but there's a switch there on the handle.

When the shift knod is changed out the hill assist switch is part of the shift knob and they have to reattach those wires. Looks like something didn't get hooked up right to cause a power drain.

[Steven_G_Moore]

BATTERY SAVER MESSAGE DISPLAYS NEARLY EVERY TIME THE CAR IS DRIVEN. I have just finished chasing my tail about this problem for several months. I have had the car to the dealer twice where the battery tested up to spec and the most current TSBs were applied - all with no impact on the problem. Whenever the Batter Saver message begins to show up, the windows also fail to roll up with a single touch of the switch (they work otherwise). The radio turns off and the message tells me to turn off the ignition switch or start the car - and the ignition switch is not on. My dealer referred me to Customer Support, who had no answer and escalated my case to the next level. The Regional Customer Support Manager told me the car is operating as designed and there is nothing to be done. I asked to referred to her supervisor, who called me back within two hours and told me essentially the same thing. The car is designed this way, it operates this way, and there is no correction in the works. So I cannot use the radio without the car running, I cannot finish a cellphone call with a Bluetooth connection without the car running, etc. - and Ford thinks this design makes sense! The supervisor claims this design is documented in the owner's manual, so I could have known before I bought the car. It is NOT clearly documented in the owner's manual and I seldom read an owner's manual before I purchase a car, in any case. My question - how do car owners go about getting manufacturers to DO something about faulty car design? No help from the dealer nor from the Customer Support people.

[Barsoom]

Steven_G_Moore, on 27 Mar 2014 - 10:58 PM, said:

The supervisor claims this design is documented in the owner's manual, so I could have known before I bought the car. It is NOT clearly documented in the owner's manual...

 

What was documented in my manual is that the replacement 12V battery was a 500CCA battery, not the 390CCA battery that was delivered with the car. I think that the original design called for a stronger battery, and a smaller battery was substituted later.

[murphy]

Which is why my car now has the following battery that is an AGM (deep cycle) battery with a CCA of 620.

 

OPTIMA^® Batteries 8040-218 D35 YELLOWTOP^® Starting & Deep-Cycle Battery

 

It's too big for the battery tray. I cut the end off of the battery tray to make it fit.

 

It's still possible to get the battery saver message but it takes a lot longer for it to appear.

 

If you don't want to spend the money for this battery then get a battery charger to keep the existing battery charged.

 

This is not a new problem.

My 2010 Fusion Hybrid had the same problem except it didn't have a battery saver to warn you that the battery was getting low.

[mrobinso8]

Steve_g_Moore Just keep pestering them. Make them open a new case number. Go to Ford's web site and complain via e-mail. Try another dealer. Or like some of us, figure are mental health is worth more than the frustration of dealing with Ford and buy something other than a Ford. The sad thing is that I bought the Hybrid since my 2011 Fusion Gas had no problems. And it did have the Battery Saver software but not the problems this Hybrid has. Good luck.

[rvlasek]

Received call from Ford Customer Service Rep about my "Battery Saver" message issue which I have had since car was new 12 months ago. I reported this to Ashley, Ford Customer Service agent who monitors this forum. I had requested battery change out the 3 previous times I brought in for battery saver issue. Ford Service either charged battery or performed one of the TSB updates on charging system. This time I was told by Ford customer service they would replace battery if it checks low. So brought in vehicle last week, battery checked LOW. They replaced battery this time at no charge. I'm sure this was done with backing of Ford customer service. NO Battery saver messages, but need to test for at least a month. I do drive a lot of short trips, 3-8 miles. But I would get message even shortly after driving long trip say Dallas to Houston and back, about 440 miles round trip. Side note, by Ford service disconnecting old battery, EV is relearning home and work locations, I seem to getting better mileage, but could be due to current warm trend here in Dallas.. Maybe the hard reset of disconnecting and reconnecting battery power does work, causing vehicle to go in re learn mode. Anyways, so far so good, Thanks Ashley for your help......................

 

My battery was replaced on February 28th,2014, see above, NO "battery saver" message so far, still testing, saw a post earlier where another owner had his replaced and message showed up 3 mos. after replacement. just wondering, If anyone with 2014 FFH has seen battery saver message......

Edited March 28, 2014 by rvlasek

[Texasota]

just wondering, If anyone with 2014 FFH has seen battery saver message......

 

I have been following these BS threads for a long time and it seems like the majority of the BS problems are affecting 2013 FFHs (at least I don't recall seeing any 2014s affected).

 

Did Ford make a change to solve the problem on the 2014s or are 2014 FFH owners also experiencing the problem?

[B25Nut]

I can think of two people that need to be fired or demoted at Ford: The one who decided the BS issue is a problem that doesn't need to be fixed and the other one who approved the insulting commercial that mimics the Cadillac ELR commercial. I don't let the BS bother me anymore. I just have gotten in the habit of charging the battery about every three weeks. It has, however, never been more of a problem than an annoyance.