Electrical parasite issue
2021 Ford F-150 batteries going dead due to phantom battery drain
"A population of vehicles built before we began shipping to dealers require a software update to prevent batteries from losing their charge," said Ford spokesman Said Deep told the Free Press. "Our dealers were notified last week and customer letters will go out next week as part of a customer satisfaction program for this matter."
https://www.freep.com/story/money/ca...in/6753464002/
Member
Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 75
Likes: 43
My battery is completely dead. It would sometimes go into deep sleep mode but always started no problem. Yes it is cold here but my 2016 went through much colder weather and I never had an issue. 700 miles and I have a dead truck that cannot even be jumped. Not pleased.
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 315
Likes: 50
see my post above...the issue is fairly wide spread, if you drive everyday it's a non issue...if you don't drive it every couple days, the best thing to do at this time is put it on a battery tender while we figure out a way to fix this **** show.
Also a week of cold weather is peanuts and shouldn't kill a brand new battery, if anyone is telling you otherwise they are just bsing you.
Report your issues here: https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/
Also a week of cold weather is peanuts and shouldn't kill a brand new battery, if anyone is telling you otherwise they are just bsing you.
Report your issues here: https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/
Last edited by hellb0y; Feb 15, 2021 at 04:59 PM.
5 Year Member
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 1,755
Likes: 878
From: Kingston, Ontario (Canada)
Is the 2021 F-150 the only vehicle affected by this issue? My wife's 2017 Escape worked fine when she drove to work Wednesday and Thursday, then Saturday the battery was dead. I jump started it, ran it for about 10 minutes, shut it off then restarted it and it worked. About 15 minutes later, I was able to start it with the FordPass app, then an hour later, it was dead again. Could it be an automatic update of the Sync system that caused this issue on more than just the F-150?
2017 Escape, I would think your battery is getting up there in age. Might want to have it checked.
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 14,975
Likes: 6,035
From: SE Michigan
Is the 2021 F-150 the only vehicle affected by this issue? My wife's 2017 Escape worked fine when she drove to work Wednesday and Thursday, then Saturday the battery was dead. I jump started it, ran it for about 10 minutes, shut it off then restarted it and it worked. About 15 minutes later, I was able to start it with the FordPass app, then an hour later, it was dead again. Could it be an automatic update of the Sync system that caused this issue on more than just the F-150?
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 298
Likes: 78
see my post above...the issue is fairly wide spread, if you drive everyday it's a non issue...if you don't drive it every couple days, the best thing to do at this time is put it on a battery tender while we figure out a way to fix this **** show.
Also a week of cold weather is peanuts and shouldn't kill a brand new battery, if anyone is telling you otherwise they are just bsing you.
Report your issues here: https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/
Also a week of cold weather is peanuts and shouldn't kill a brand new battery, if anyone is telling you otherwise they are just bsing you.
Report your issues here: https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/
Id like to buy a 2021 truck now, but Im not going to shell out 50K only to be stranded at the airport parking lot.
Some real dumb bustards are executives at Ford. This F150 roll out is worse than the Expedition. By the time the F150 is fully rolled out, fuel will be at least $3.00 per gallon and rising with no sign of coming down soon. I cannot believe that wont hurt Fords sales of its best selling vehicle this year and next. Ford is not getting my money anytime soon that could be invested in the stock market gaining equity. Everything that youve said makes total sense on why Claycomo had 2021 F150s stored around there like squirrels store nuts. You said there was a software issue and there definitely is.
FORD - Found Off Road Dead is finally true now.
5 Year Member
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 118
Likes: 18
I went to test drive a King Ranch this weekend and it was deader than a door nail. They had trouble finding it on the lot because it wouldn’t honk, lock or unlock. He said it was because of the cold but I had already read some complaints in here about it and knew better. Kind of dampened my enthusiasm until some of these little bugs get worked out (battery drain, alarm, settings resets, etc). Will be interesting to see how willing Ford is to send out quick OTA updates for these kinds of things. Or if they take forever to correct them.
Junior Member
Joined: Feb 2021
Posts: 20
Likes: 11
Quick update: For the second week in a row, my truck would not start after sitting in my garage Monday - Friday. Upon jump starting it, the instrument cluster display did not turn on and there were lot's of warning chimes going (but I couldn't tell what they were related to because the instrument panel display was "off"). After a short drive and letting the truck sit for about 30 minutes with the engine running, I turned the truck off and started it again. This time the instrument panel display started working again, and it was telling me that the warning alerts were related to a "Park Brake Fault". At this point, I drove it to the local Ford dealer and left it with them. Will post updates as I receive them, but given the recent posts on this forum and the ones on the Gen14 forum, it sounds like this is likely a pretty widespread issue.
Junior Member
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 27
Likes: 8
Update #2
I dropped the truck off at the dealer on 1/13. The dealer called me this morning to let me know that they were unable to reproduce the problem and would therefore not be able to assist any further since Ford hasn't issued any guidance on the matter. On one hand this makes sense, because it seems to take a good 4 to 5 days for the battery to drain, however it's a bit annoying because I had clarified that if they go to start the truck after only a couple days, there'd likely be no issue. Anyway, I acknowledged that I'd come pick it up and would just plan to come back in once Ford issues a TSB or recall.
Here's where things get even more interesting. When I got in the truck to drive home, I noticed the power mirrors were folded in and the button to open them up wasn't working. So, I shifted into Drive to pull back into the shop and as I was going through the gear selections, I also noticed that when I passed through "Reverse", a warning light came on the dashboard saying "reverse braking assist unavailable". So, now the truck will continue to sit in the shop while these new issues get worked out.
I dropped the truck off at the dealer on 1/13. The dealer called me this morning to let me know that they were unable to reproduce the problem and would therefore not be able to assist any further since Ford hasn't issued any guidance on the matter. On one hand this makes sense, because it seems to take a good 4 to 5 days for the battery to drain, however it's a bit annoying because I had clarified that if they go to start the truck after only a couple days, there'd likely be no issue. Anyway, I acknowledged that I'd come pick it up and would just plan to come back in once Ford issues a TSB or recall.
Here's where things get even more interesting. When I got in the truck to drive home, I noticed the power mirrors were folded in and the button to open them up wasn't working. So, I shifted into Drive to pull back into the shop and as I was going through the gear selections, I also noticed that when I passed through "Reverse", a warning light came on the dashboard saying "reverse braking assist unavailable". So, now the truck will continue to sit in the shop while these new issues get worked out.