Vehicle shutting off - acting erratically

[ChrisInAustinTX]

Has anyone ever seen anything like this before? The vehicle will not start with the push button, only with the remote start key. The vehicle slowly loses power during idle and doors will not unlock or open. Eventually it shuts down and then will not restart again unless you use the remote start (in the video it was the last time we were able to start the car with the push button, the dealer was unable to start it unless they used the remote). The lights and instrument clusters flicker. No error codes at the dealership. Two day wait for service. The dealer service center employees all seemed very perplexed. I saw a software update rolled out this morning according to my FordPass app. video below

 

[LokiWolf]

Has anyone ever seen anything like this before? The vehicle will not start with the push button, only with the remote start key. The vehicle slowly loses power during idle and doors will not unlock or open. Eventually it shuts down and then will not restart again unless you use the remote start (in the video it was the last time we were able to start the car with the push button, the dealer was unable to start it unless they used the remote). The lights and instrument clusters flicker. No error codes at the dealership. Two day wait for service. The dealer service center employees all seemed very perplexed. I saw a software update rolled out this morning according to my FordPass app. video below

The update you saw is an update to the Ford Connect module. All Ford Connect vehicles get them periodically.

Replace the battery. Most likely there is a dead cell. Popular today apparently. Remote start requires less voltage, because nothing inside the vehicle has to come on. Starting from inside the vehicles requires all modules to energize, hence the flickering dash.

This is battery season...


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[ChrisInAustinTX]

The update you saw is an update to the Ford Connect module. All Ford Connect vehicles get them periodically.

Replace the battery. Most likely there is a dead cell. Popular today apparently. Remote start requires less voltage, because nothing inside the vehicle has to come on. Starting from inside the vehicles requires all modules to energize, hence the flickering dash.

This is battery season...


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But why would the car start just fine when using the remote start on the key fob?

 

[Zig10]

But why would the car start just fine when using the remote start on the key fob?

Loki mentioned it above. Remote start doesn't power up all of the interior lights, stereo, running board deployment, etc. It just starts and fires up the HVAC. When you open the door, then the rest of the electronics energize.

I'd vote bad battery too. Had something similar happen to my '16 Yukon. All of the electronic gingerbread in these vehicles is not friendly to batteries...

 

[Matthew Abrams]

Has anyone ever seen anything like this before? The vehicle will not start with the push button, only with the remote start key. The vehicle slowly loses power during idle and doors will not unlock or open. Eventually it shuts down and then will not restart again unless you use the remote start (in the video it was the last time we were able to start the car with the push button, the dealer was unable to start it unless they used the remote). The lights and instrument clusters flicker. No error codes at the dealership. Two day wait for service. The dealer service center employees all seemed very perplexed. I saw a software update rolled out this morning according to my FordPass app. video below

Must be battery. but odd for it to be faulty for being so new, right?

side note - I see we both use the wireless charging tray for hand sanitizer

 

[dlcorbett]

The battery goin bad is common, I wrote that on your YouTube comments lol. I used to work at a car lot and bad batteries was a thing on new cars cause they would sit half the time until someone turned it on to burn all the electronics on it.

 

[ChrisInAustinTX]

The battery goin bad is common, I wrote that on your YouTube comments lol. I used to work at a car lot and bad batteries was a thing on new cars cause they would sit half the time until someone turned it on to burn all the electronics on it.

I saw that, thank you! It still seems odd to me. I have Ford corporate looking into it because the vehicle’s behavior is not normal for a simple dying battery. Especially one purchased brand new, wasn’t on the lot long, + the fact that batteries like this should last 7-10 years. Still haven’t heard anything from the dealer in 2 days. I have a feeling they will replace the battery and the issue will reappear soon.

 

[Deftones]

7-10 years on a battery? I want to live on that planet.

 

[LokiWolf]

7-10 years on a battery? I want to live on that planet.

My thoughts exactly...7-10 in a modern car is an imaginary number.


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[ChrisInAustinTX]

My thoughts exactly...7-10 in a modern car is an imaginary number.


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Brain fart, sorry. 3-5 years. Although my 2014 Acura MDX’s OEM battery had a 108 month “warranty”. Finally just replaced it after 7.5 years.

 

[dlcorbett]

Are manufacturers putting "new" batteries in new cars or just required batteries for the vehicle to run its systems?

 

[ChrisInAustinTX]

Two days later the service center takes a look at the car and can’t replicate the issue. The advisor saw the issue when I dropped the car off, it would start. The car sat for 2 days and the issue is gone. Weird.

 

[ShawnP]

I have a 2018 F-150 Platinum as well as a 2020 Expedition Limited Special Edition....and my F-150 just started doing the flickering (not the retracting running boards issue).

 

[Paul Bird]

I have a new to me 2019 Platinum (10k miles) that was doing exactly what yours did two days after I bought it in December. Turns out that the prior owner had this happen three times (wasn't on carfax) and the their dealership replaced battery and still couldn't fix it.

My dealer has replaced the body control module and 'think' they have solved it. I am not at all convinced because it had stopped doing it before they replaced the module. I think that there is a CANbus wiring fault or a bad ground and it will come back. Super frustrating that there is not a way to isolate and troubleshoot these issues.

 

[duneslider]

My thoughts exactly...7-10 in a modern car is an imaginary number.


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Just curious, why do modern cars not have better battery life? I got 7 years out of the last battery in my jeep, considering it sees a fair bit of offroad use that seems pretty good to me but maybe 2007 isn't modern enough to suffer from poor battery life? I always assumed poor battery life was more of a crappy battery problem, and not so much the car's fault.

 

[LokiWolf]

Just curious, why do modern cars not have better battery life? I got 7 years out of the last battery in my jeep, considering it sees a fair bit of offroad use that seems pretty good to me but maybe 2007 isn't modern enough to suffer from poor battery life? I always assumed poor battery life was more of a crappy battery problem, and not so much the car's fault.

Combo of both. 2007 is 13 years old. FAR many parasitic draws in Newer vehicles. Batteries are ALWAYS being drained...

The other issue is that manufacturers engineer OEM batteries to last 36 Months or barely more. Basically so they don’t have to replace them under warranty.


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[Deadman]

Just curious, why do modern cars not have better battery life? I got 7 years out of the last battery in my jeep, considering it sees a fair bit of offroad use that seems pretty good to me but maybe 2007 isn't modern enough to suffer from poor battery life? I always assumed poor battery life was more of a crappy battery problem, and not so much the car's fault.

I can walk out to my garage at any hour of the night and I sometimes hear my Expedition running some damn electronic "thing". No clue what it is, but its all draining that battery a little at a time.

 

[Lou Hamilton]

I had my dash cam “parking mode” on until recently. I feel it was one of the main culprits of battery draw.

It’s too soon to tell if there has been any permanent damage to the battery. I’m still not driving much, if at all, most days to really get the battery re-charged.


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[Paul Bird]

This is not a battery issue. The prior owner had the battery replaced under warrantee in November in an effort to remedy the problem - which it did not. When the problem started I unhooked the battery for a night to try to clear the computer. That didn't work. I then swapped the battery with a new one that I got for my boat, and that didn't work. This is definitely a network/ground/wiring problem.

 

[MxRacer965]

My thoughts exactly...7-10 in a modern car is an imaginary number.


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My 2011 Grand Cherokee went nearly 10 years on the original battery! Just replaced it this Fall. It’s was AGM and is in a compartment under the passenger seat. It was also garaged its entire life. Wonder if those factors helped?

it only got replaced because the compressor for the suspension failed and the dealer had it for weeks struggling to get the new compressor working. They finally determined it was a bad battery, so we replaced it and all was well. Vehicle still started, ran, and worked fine other than that. So I just kept going to see how long it would last!