Factory battery life

[Alwaysthinkin]

Just an update on me: all the local shops are booked a week out. We decided just to change the battery and see. Got back to AutoZone and the guy that tested it this time said it showed the battery dead dead dead. I don't know if the young guy put in the wrong parameters for my battery or what. The old battery was a 750 cold crank and this one is 850. Everything seems back in order now!

Sorry battery was dead, but glad you got it replaced before traveling. Don't forget the charger once you get home Thanks for the update.

 

[JessOTR]

Don't forget the charger once you get home

It'll be here tomorrow!

 

[GlennSullivan]

We have battery tenders for all of our vehicles (car guy) anything that does not get driven weekly is on a tender. They keep the batteries topped up and another important thing not mentioned, in states that have emissions testing, if the battery goes low or dead, the emissions monitors will go into a not ready state and set DTC codes for same. Once these codes are set, the vehicle will not pass emissions until a drive cycle test has been completed. Depending on make, model and year, completing a drive cycle and getting all monitors back online can be a super PITA.

 

[lobsenza]

I put all of my vehicles on a trickle charger about once per month. My 2019 still has the original battery and it is fine. ASS works normally. I just replaced a 2014 battery earlier this year following this strategy.

 

[Meeker]

One thing not mentioned or discussed much here is the charging system. These are not your old-school systems where if the engine is running the alternator is supplying a charging current to the battery. These are much more "clever"... (these days I associate the term "clever" with "designed to fail")

Anyway, I'm on year 5 of the original battery in my 2018 XLT. Since year 2 I've rarely had the ASS activate, and looking at the ASS status screen it usually shows disabled due to vehicle charging.

Once after having the door handle unlock feature unavailable (except on the driver door) I attached a smart charger overnight and everything worked again the next day. It was only about a month before things returned to the same state.

My usual usage is 25 minutes each way commuting, plus small trips. Occasionally though we do a very long trip, sometimes towing.

Long trips always seem to restore full charge. Just this week we came back from camping (towing 7200lb trailer) and everything was up again.

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Now for some 2nd-hand info - while researching a lithium-iron-phosphate battery upgrade to my trailer, I talked to a few people at RV dealerships and investigated online, and the consensus seems to be that modern vehicles can't be trusted to charge trailer batteries anymore. This is because they often decided to optimize their current for minimal power usage and battery life, leaving little left over to charge the trailer battery.

As part of my lithium upgrade, I have a bluetooth battery management system, and can monitor current to my battery while driving. I am getting about 2.3A from the truck at all times while towing, so it's possible that either they are wrong, or in tow/haul mode (or maybe when a trailer is connected) the alternator is being told to supply charging current all the time.

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All that said, my gut feeling is that these batteries will last a lot longer if you just accept the low voltage shutoff issues and run with it. Obviously if you can't start the vehicle then that's a bad battery or electrical system and you have to deal with that. But I'm not replacing the battery just because of the low-voltage shutoff - I may attach the smart charger for a day, and see how long it stays up there. Maybe resetting the power mgmt system is also useful once in a while - TBD. We also don't have emissions testing where I live so no idea if that's really being affected. All I know is, my truck starts the same whether it's +30C or -30C so the battery is still in good shape!

In the end, this might be a flaw in Ford's overall electricall design, where the charging system ends up maintaining the battery at a "full" level that is below the low-voltage feature disable. I would hate to keep throwing new batteries at that problem...

Sorry for the long-winded post. Any facts about this would be much appreciated!

 

[JohnT]

Mine lasted 3.5 years (Alberta winters too) before replacing but even with a new AGM, battery monitor reset etc the low voltage cutoff kicked in on the new battery after about a year. I have a battery tender that's AGM compatible but I agree with the above, Fords low voltage logic vs letting the battery discharge while driving to save 0.00001 mpg vs driving habits leave me feeling decidedly unsure of where the problem lies. Is it the battery or is it the car. My Mustang on the other hand is still running strong on a 4 year old battery despite only being driven once or twice a week but when it's driven, it is driven! But no auto stop start either. hmmmmmm

 

[2020-MAX-Limited]

One thing not mentioned or discussed much here is the charging system. These are not your old-school systems where if the engine is running the alternator is supplying a charging current to the battery. These are much more "clever"... (these days I associate the term "clever" with "designed to fail")

Anyway, I'm on year 5 of the original battery in my 2018 XLT. Since year 2 I've rarely had the ASS activate, and looking at the ASS status screen it usually shows disabled due to vehicle charging.

Once after having the door handle unlock feature unavailable (except on the driver door) I attached a smart charger overnight and everything worked again the next day. It was only about a month before things returned to the same state.

My usual usage is 25 minutes each way commuting, plus small trips. Occasionally though we do a very long trip, sometimes towing.

All that said, my gut feeling is that these batteries will last a lot longer if you just accept the low voltage shutoff issues and run with it.

In the end, this might be a flaw in Ford's overall electricall design, where the charging system ends up maintaining the battery at a "full" level that is below the low-voltage feature disable. I would hate to keep throwing new batteries at that problem...

100% agree. We purchased our 2020 after it had been sitting on the lot for several months and the battery was not in "optimal" condition. Never had a problem starting the car, but some convenience features not working. I disabled wifi and auto-updates and only use the USB stick method to update SYNC 3. But I think the car still "talks" to the FordPass App for door locking and remote starting among others. Anyway, I recently left my trickle charger attached for days at a time (it's not my daily driver) and suddenly the other day, the AS/S kicked on! I was shocked that after owning the car for 9 months, all of a sudden I had AS/S.

 

[Calidad]

I just replaced my September 2019 build battery today. I didn’t notice anything suggesting it as failing till today baking in the sun all day the rear hatch wouldn’t power open. Truck started fine. I tested the rear hatch a few times over 2 hours running errands with the same issue however starting performance didn’t seem impacted. I picked up a H7 AGM from Costco. Took 5 minutes to swap em. The accessories seemed far more zippy and the rear lift gate is once again happy to do its thing.

As for factory batteries life can vary given you have no idea how long it may have sat at a dealer with a weak charge in poor weather conditions that can greatly shorten battery life. Thats one reason why 3yr warranty is pretty standard.

 

[Scottorama]

Well, this happened today. My 2018 expedition (Bought new in March 2019) texts me and said its going into hibernation mode, even though i drove it 2 hours over the weekend. Its still on the original battery(Or so I thought).... i figured after 5 years it had a good life and its time to replace....i pull the battery out and this is what I find..... anyone else see something wrong with this picture?

 

[Mr Big]

Well, this happened today. My 2018 expedition (Bought new in March 2019) texts me and said its going into hibernation mode, even though i drove it 2 hours over the weekend. Its still on the original battery(Or so I thought).... i figured after 5 years it had a good life and its time to replace....i pull the battery out and this is what I find..... anyone else see something wrong with this picture?

That's normal. It's like purchasing a 2023 that was manufactured in 2022. The warranty on the battery started at the vehicle purchase date, if the vehicle was purchased new. And 5 years is great, depending on where you live. My 5 year batteries last 2 1/2 if we are lucky, due to the A/C running 11 months out of the year.