So 45,000 Miles In, My Ford Dealership Asks for $695 To Replace My Mustang Mach-E's 12v Battery, Which It Said Was Healthy at 94%

My Tesla 12v battery replacement was only $138 and they sent a tech to my home and he replaced it while it was in my garage in like 10 minutes.

I have an almost 4 year old Tesla Model Y with 39k miles. My local dealership replaced the 12v battery under warranty for free.

2021 Mach E owner here. Had the sa.e issue 60,000 miles on mine. I have a small jumpstarer, almost no draw but it got it started for a few days while I waited for my 90 dollar battery to come in from RockAuto, easy 30 minute replacement (few frunk part removal) and done...people are so incredibly useless sometimes it bothers me. IM NO MECHANIC, not even close.

This is a story as old as time with dealers. Having worked for 2 dealer service departments I can say with certainty that management brow beats service writers to plump up the bill... a lot.

I now take my cars to independents who are amazing and don't do that.

This is a story as old as time with dealers. Having worked for 2 dealer service departments I can say with certainty that management brow beats service writers to plump up the bill... a lot.

I now take my cars to independents who are amazing and don't do that.

EV or ICE, in Arizona if you get 3 years out of your 12V battery you are doing very well.

So, where's the Mustang part of the Mustang Mach E? Why is that vehicle such a joke, right?

12v batteries in EVs don't need cranking amps. They power peripherals and with properly developed charging algorithms they should last a long time. The battery on my 2014 Tesla caused my car to display messages a few weeks before the four year warranty ended, so Tesla replaced it for free. They also told me that they improved the charging algorithms so the replacement should last longer. When the replacement was showing messages on 2019, Tesla sent someone to replace it. He determined that the prior one wasn't installed properly so there was no cost. The car is now 11 years old and I've yet to pay for a 12v battery replacement.

I don't know if Tesla's service is still as good and there's the obvious Elon problem steering people to other brands, so "just get a Tesla" doesn't have the meaning that it once did. But it does show that companies can figure out how to make 12v batteries last -- while cars still need them, which hopefully won't be a long term concern for EVs.

I am a retired auto sales manager. Service depts train to scam customers paying handsome commissions to service writers.
Many service writers were earning 6 figures 15 years ago when I retired.

You can order the same 12v battery from Amazon for $173.89 and install it yourself. Forget the dealership! They are attempting to rip you off!

It's not a problem unique to EVs, modern 12 volt batteries are awful, I change so many batteries that have good cranking amps but won't achieve the very high charge percentage required for stop start etc.. some of them less than 2 years old. I have an old Mondeo work car with the same lead acid battery fitted that it left the factory with 23 years ago.One of the drawbacks to removing lead is that the substitutes are very poor,AGM, flooded,gel silver calcium............,all rubbish!

Planned obsolescence comes to mind. Manufacturer and the "stealerships".....

Ford apprentice tech here, when we do module programming for the mustang mach e, most customers do not know that the 12v battery is only rated for 450cca and is charged by the high voltage battery while the user uses the car. In order to do programming, we are advised to put the 12v battery on a trickle charger (15amps -30amps) in order to prevent excessive battery drain. Also when the article mentions the mach e owner's ford app showing 94% charge, that only shows the health of the hv battery and not the 12v battery (as far as I'm aware). Conventional ford ice and hybrid cars have bigger 12v batteries 760cca or more. Ford i believe doesnt offer bigger 12v battery due to the design of the battery tray, so owners would have to go aftermarket battery tray and tie down if they wish to put a larger capacity 12v battery. Hope this helps ev owners understand their cars better.

I bought my Mustang Mach-E new in March of 2021 and had 1 issue with the 12volt battery and I jumped the car like any other car and had no more issues, I now have 108500 miles with the same battery the car came with when it was new. I still love my car....

I wouldn’t trust a dealer, 200$ for a battery is more likely. 94% should be fine, get it checked at an Auto Parts store
There are way too many dealers and other repair shops trying and taking advantage of people who don’t know anything about cars.

The world was not ready with technology. THE EPA forces these technology shifts before the industry is ready. Just stop buying EVs.

This just in:
Dealerships attempt to upsell
Film at 12

Al new car brands are all junk everyone of them very cheap made quality doesn't exist anymore

All new cars seem to have remote controls where you can put the key into a slot to turn it on if the remote battery is dead.
It would really be a great idea if there was a similar slot to put one or two d cell batteries in to get the car to lock or unlock and then to start so we can recharge from the main battery pack

Why would you put a standard car battery in a vehicle that already has a 70 kilowatt battery in it?

I always tell folks , if you have 47 months on a 48 month battery, you’re in the market for a battery.

This is but just 1 of so many reasons I'll still to driving a gas vehicle.

Recently I purchased a Ford Lightning, and worried about the dirty schemes that Ford is bringing about. A replacement 12 volt battery for $600 + ?????
I also own a 2018 Tesla M3. I just replaced the 12 volt battery in it ! Tesla only charged me $79 for the complete job. AND they sent a mechanic to my house to do it.
I Hate Musk, but love Tesla.