Ford Focus ST '22 Battery Drain!

[alanfp]

My eyes (and brain) are getting tired, but if you are leaving your car unlocked, can't you enter using the driver's door? 

....though not as amusing for passers-by as seeing you climbing across from the passenger side 😉

[LukeJQuinn]

Apologises on the late response due to work commitments.

Latest: The car is being collected by T.C Harrison where it was purchased from (right out the showroom I might add) sometime from 28th Dec. Ford Customer care are handling the logistics seeing as I live 3.5 hours from the showroom. Ford CC and T.C.H seem confident they can solve the issue, and I somewhat share that seeing as they are the biggest Ford dealer in the U.K - so if they can't solve it then I dread to think what can be done.

I've cancelled my service plan with M53 Ford in a calm manner, as this totally beyond chucking the toys out the pram and sitting my dummy out. Think I've been more than patient seeing as I first logged this issue back in October, and we will going into January 2023 with it still not resolved. I solely blame M53 for this and not Ford directly - they have been understanding and issued multiple refunds so no complaints on that front from me. So yes that is cancelled and F.C.C are going to make some calls to other Ford garages in Chester and Liverpool and get a new relationship going with another garage more capable and competent. 

F.C.C will be speaking to T.C.H from 28th Dec to discuss arrangements etc as the After Sales & Salesman are off until that date. Have told Ford I don't expect mountains to be moved in the week running up to Xmas so very early next year will be fine. It hasn't worked correctly for months so a few more weeks won't hurt. Below is a snippet of the email I've sent to F.C.C.

Once the car is fixed and we know the root cause of the issue, I will be logging a complaint with Ford regarding M53 Ford, and another directly with M53 Ford. 

[LukeJQuinn]

On 12/19/2022 at 10:56 PM, alanfp said:

My eyes (and brain) are getting tired, but if you are leaving your car unlocked, can't you enter using the driver's door? 

....though not as amusing for passers-by as seeing you climbing across from the passenger side 😉

No. As the use of the door causes the battery drain. This has been made pretty clear in a lot of posts. 

[alanfp]

Sorry - couldn't tell from the previous posts if it was only a problem if you opened the door from a locked state. 

[Cookey09]

Yesterday morning had mine ticking over... 🙄 Ford have become less and less reliable over the years. 

[LukeJQuinn]

@LNDR Tom saw your post and thought this might come in handy. 
 

there is quite a few pages but my last few posts will show you what I’ve discovered and the current issue. Would be interested if yours was the same?

[LukeJQuinn]

Happy New year and all that jazz.

Car being collected tomorrow by T.C Harrison Peterborough. Sent over all the testing I've done and they are in agreement its the door, and this will be the first thing they look at/test/resolve. 

They estimate I'll be without the car for roughly 2 weeks to allow for any new part deliveries etc. 

Meanwhile Ford will be paying for any fuel and refunding any car payments, so no complaints from me.

Will update again once T.C.H have looked at the car, and confirmed the issue.

 

[Gus T]

39 minutes ago, LukeJQuinn said:

Happy New year and all that jazz.

Car being collected tomorrow by T.C Harrison Peterborough. Sent over all the testing I've done and they are in agreement its the door, and this will be the first thing they look at/test/resolve. 

They estimate I'll be without the car for roughly 2 weeks to allow for any new part deliveries etc. 

Meanwhile Ford will be paying for any fuel and refunding any car payments, so no complaints from me.

Will update again once T.C.H have looked at the car, and confirmed the issue.

 

Sounds good! Looking forward to hearing the outcome. My car has been behaving as normal since my battery was replaced but it has been just under 4 weeks. Originally the car started deep sleeping after 6 weeks from brand new so I will wait and see what happens in the next month or so.

[unofix]

1 hour ago, LukeJQuinn said:

its the door, and this will be the first thing they look at/test/resolve.

Happy New "door handle" 😀

[LukeJQuinn]

Ford in Peterborough got the car at 17:00 yesterday. Already had a phone call this morning saying “The master tech (also called Luke) has looked at the drain and suspects you are indeed right and its door. More so the switch inside the car which controls the locking and unlocking above the window switching. We are going to replace the entire module and do further tests.”

3 hours vs 3 months plus. The incompetence is deafening. Should add, Luke refused to look at my email or any previous notes on the car from M53 Ford and wanted to approach the car with fresh eyes. 

[Gus T]

Crikey! I wonder if this is the case with all the new focus models and there will be mass recalling... time will tell!

[LukeJQuinn]

3 minutes ago, Gus T said:

Crikey! I wonder if this is the case with all the new focus models and there will be mass recalling... time will tell!

Very early days yet, but looking promising. The switching is different as on the model I used to have (2019 Mk4 ST) the lock/unlock switch was near the door handle (like on pretty much every other Ford). On the Mk 4.5 it's directly above the the mirror adjuster, which is also part of the window switches, so it's possible they've made a new version which isn't quite working correctly. 

[Gus T]

1 minute ago, LukeJQuinn said:

Very early days yet, but looking promising. The switching is different as on the model I used to have (2019 Mk4 ST) the lock/unlock switch was near the door handle (like on pretty much every other Ford). On the Mk 4.5 it's directly above the the mirror adjuster, which is also part of the window switches, so it's possible they've made a new version which isn't quite working correctly. 

Yeh that sounds like a plausible theory!

[tomo2001]

8 hours ago, Gus T said:

Crikey! I wonder if this is the case with all the new focus models and there will be mass recalling... time will tell!

Manufacturer recalls are normally only for safety issues aren't they?

[LukeJQuinn]

Latest from T.C.H: 

They have used some new tech Ford have asked them to trial (can't remember the name of it) but every test they ran on the battery - it failed. They ran the same tests on two other cars of same model and it past every test. So they have firstly ruled that the replacement battery is totally faulty (Tested before and after it's been charged, on and off the car). They've replaced the battery with a brand new one. (they suspect M53 Ford used an older battery but can't prove it)

They have taken the part out of the door that is flagging the drain error. They installed it onto the same model Focus and left it on for over a day, used the car opening and closing the door multiple times - the car didn't flag the error via the OBD readings nor via their FordPass Portal thing. They've flagged this with Ford Technical and they said they are 95% sure that is a software bug and false positive, and plan to resolve it in the next update to Sync4. They then installed the donor part onto my car, and the car still flagged the issue, bearing in mind the donor car never flagged the error with its original part or mine. So they have pretty much ruled out the door lock module being faulty or causing a drain. During the swapping of parts they drove both cars to ensure the car didn't loose power etc.

Once that was ruled out, and the new battery installed - they tested the voltage drop when opening the door after it being locked for 10 mins. I've since found out when opening the driver door, it auto primes the pump etc ready for you to start it. They suspect the faulty battery was attempting to prime the car when that door was used, but was unable to regulate its own power and caused it to drop well below what is expected. They tested this and with the faulty battery it was 14.8 to 12.4 (same results I had). With the new battery, it was 14.8 to 14.6. They said the 0.2 drop is totally normal and can be replicated on the normal functioning donor car. 

Going forward, they are doing further tests today to ensure nothing else could be causing it. They've started, stopped, opened the door, closed the door and locked the car, then started over again over 40 times and its not drained once nor has it flagged in my FordPass app or on their Ford Portal (which shows a lot more info than the normal app).

Of course, I am on the fence as it's already had a battery replaced but this time round - they have done a massively substantial amount of testing compared to M53 so whilst I am on the fence, I am quite confident this is the fix. Time will tell of course and the car is being dropped off on Monday morning. 

Meanwhile, Ford Customer Care are refunding me for any fuel used in the loan car (EcoSport which is honestly the worst car I've driven bearing the Ford badge. They need to stop making that car immediately! My sisters KA 2016 Titanium is better by a long shot) Ford Credit are also in touch to offer a substantial amount of a refund once the matter is closed. So I can't complain about Ford this time round, they've been really supportive.

I hope to your preferred God that this is the end and I can be proven wrong, but I will remain on the fence for the next month as I've been here before. Fingers crossed though of course. 

[Gus T]

On 1/10/2023 at 6:49 PM, tomo2001 said:

Manufacturer recalls are normally only for safety issues aren't they?

Ah yes probably..

[Gus T]

5 minutes ago, LukeJQuinn said:

Latest from T.C.H: 

They have used some new tech Ford have asked them to trial (can't remember the name of it) but every test they ran on the battery - it failed. They ran the same tests on two other cars of same model and it past every test. So they have firstly ruled that the replacement battery is totally faulty (Tested before and after it's been charged, on and off the car). They've replaced the battery with a brand new one. (they suspect M53 Ford used an older battery but can't prove it)

They have taken the part out of the door that is flagging the drain error. They installed it onto the same model Focus and left it on for over a day, used the car opening and closing the door multiple times - the car didn't flag the error via the OBD readings nor via their FordPass Portal thing. They've flagged this with Ford Technical and they said they are 95% sure that is a software bug and false positive, and plan to resolve it in the next update to Sync4. They then installed the donor part onto my car, and the car still flagged the issue, bearing in mind the donor car never flagged the error with its original part or mine. So they have pretty much ruled out the door lock module being faulty or causing a drain. During the swapping of parts they drove both cars to ensure the car didn't loose power etc.

Once that was ruled out, and the new battery installed - they tested the voltage drop when opening the door after it being locked for 10 mins. I've since found out when opening the driver door, it auto primes the pump etc ready for you to start it. They suspect the faulty battery was attempting to prime the car when that door was used, but was unable to regulate its own power and caused it to drop well below what is expected. They tested this and with the faulty battery it was 14.8 to 12.4 (same results I had). With the new battery, it was 14.8 to 14.6. They said the 0.2 drop is totally normal and can be replicated on the normal functioning donor car. 

Going forward, they are doing further tests today to ensure nothing else could be causing it. They've started, stopped, opened the door, closed the door and locked the car, then started over again over 40 times and its not drained once nor has it flagged in my FordPass app or on their Ford Portal (which shows a lot more info than the normal app).

Of course, I am on the fence as it's already had a battery replaced but this time round - they have done a massively substantial amount of testing compared to M53 so whilst I am on the fence, I am quite confident this is the fix. Time will tell of course and the car is being dropped off on Monday morning. 

Meanwhile, Ford Customer Care are refunding me for any fuel used in the loan car (EcoSport which is honestly the worst car I've driven bearing the Ford badge. They need to stop making that car immediately! My sisters KA 2016 Titanium is better by a long shot) 

I hope to your preferred God that this is the end and I can be proven wrong, but I will remain on the fence for the next month as I've been here before. Fingers crossed though of course. 

Very interesting, hopefully the further tests put any doubt to bed! Good to hear that finally some thorough testing has been conducted. 

[Wino]

5 hours ago, LukeJQuinn said:

Latest from T.C.H: 

They have used some new tech Ford have asked them to trial (can't remember the name of it) but every test they ran on the battery - it failed. They ran the same tests on two other cars of same model and it past every test. So they have firstly ruled that the replacement battery is totally faulty (Tested before and after it's been charged, on and off the car). They've replaced the battery with a brand new one. (they suspect M53 Ford used an older battery but can't prove it)

They have taken the part out of the door that is flagging the drain error. They installed it onto the same model Focus and left it on for over a day, used the car opening and closing the door multiple times - the car didn't flag the error via the OBD readings nor via their FordPass Portal thing. They've flagged this with Ford Technical and they said they are 95% sure that is a software bug and false positive, and plan to resolve it in the next update to Sync4. They then installed the donor part onto my car, and the car still flagged the issue, bearing in mind the donor car never flagged the error with its original part or mine. So they have pretty much ruled out the door lock module being faulty or causing a drain. During the swapping of parts they drove both cars to ensure the car didn't loose power etc.

Once that was ruled out, and the new battery installed - they tested the voltage drop when opening the door after it being locked for 10 mins. I've since found out when opening the driver door, it auto primes the pump etc ready for you to start it. They suspect the faulty battery was attempting to prime the car when that door was used, but was unable to regulate its own power and caused it to drop well below what is expected. They tested this and with the faulty battery it was 14.8 to 12.4 (same results I had). With the new battery, it was 14.8 to 14.6. They said the 0.2 drop is totally normal and can be replicated on the normal functioning donor car. 

Going forward, they are doing further tests today to ensure nothing else could be causing it. They've started, stopped, opened the door, closed the door and locked the car, then started over again over 40 times and its not drained once nor has it flagged in my FordPass app or on their Ford Portal (which shows a lot more info than the normal app).

Of course, I am on the fence as it's already had a battery replaced but this time round - they have done a massively substantial amount of testing compared to M53 so whilst I am on the fence, I am quite confident this is the fix. Time will tell of course and the car is being dropped off on Monday morning. 

Meanwhile, Ford Customer Care are refunding me for any fuel used in the loan car (EcoSport which is honestly the worst car I've driven bearing the Ford badge. They need to stop making that car immediately! My sisters KA 2016 Titanium is better by a long shot) Ford Credit are also in touch to offer a substantial amount of a refund once the matter is closed. So I can't complain about Ford this time round, they've been really supportive.

I hope to your preferred God that this is the end and I can be proven wrong, but I will remain on the fence for the next month as I've been here before. Fingers crossed though of course. 

I can definitely concur that eachtime you open the door, you loose 0.2v. Our Focus does exactly the same, even when I've gone to pick the Mrs up, she opens the passenger door and it drops 0.2v on the gizmo and that's with all interior lights switched off.

[LukeJQuinn]

2 minutes ago, Wino said:

I can definitely concur that eachtime you open the door, you loose 0.2v. Our Focus does exactly the same, even when I've gone to pick the Mrs up, she opens the passenger door and it drops 0.2v on the gizmo and that's with all interior lights switched off.

Cheers I'm glad that's been confirmed as normal - means the drop 14.8 to 12.4 was most certainly a fault. Will see what happens from Monday when they drop it back off.

[alexp999]

14.8 is a charging voltage. You won’t see an at rest battery over 13v. You can’t compare on charge and off charge voltages. 

[LukeJQuinn]

On 1/14/2023 at 9:07 AM, alexp999 said:

14.8 is a charging voltage. You won’t see an at rest battery over 13v. You can’t compare on charge and off charge voltages. 

Ford disagree. the 2022 Focus should hold at 14.5 in normal settings. There is a lot more stuff on the new model compared to the other versions. It needs the voltage to remain at that level to ensure all the tech still runs. 

[LukeJQuinn]

Car was delivered back today, and all is good so far. Used it around 8 times so far (in and out of it even more) and everything is functioning as expected. TCH said the 2nd battery was beyond faulty and should never have been installed, clearly a dud. So this clearly won't have helped matters. They can't answer for the original battery, but they did say they have had a spike in cars/vans needing new batteries not long after the build date, so they think there is a some sort of bad batch of batteries out there. 

I've tried to 'stress test' it sort of by having the heated seats, steering wheel etc and stop/start still kicks in, and everything like the lights and screen remain on when you switch the engine off (sounds normal but I've not had this for over 3 months ha) 

Jury is out and I'm giving it 3 weeks before getting too excited. However, so far she is behaving I am once again in love with her. Will keep you posted, but have to give it 3 weeks as this is the 3rd battery the car has had since purchasing it out of the showroom in July 2022.

(p.s I've had those awful Pirelli's removed and gone back to M Pilot Sport 4S. My other ST's had these and cannot figure out why Ford decided to swap. The bloke in Kwik Fit said a few other drivers have been swapping in the same way as they take too long to warm up and whilst cold they offer zero grip. I can confirm that as I was wheel spinning in 3rd and there was plenty of tread. Does anyone know why Ford swapped them? there is only like £20 difference between them too)

[alexp999]

8 hours ago, LukeJQuinn said:

Ford disagree. the 2022 Focus should hold at 14.5 in normal settings. There is a lot more stuff on the new model compared to the other versions. It needs the voltage to remain at that level to ensure all the tech still runs. 

Sorry mate that’s just not how batteries work and whoever told you that is completely wrong. 
The normal voltage of a 12V battery is 12-12.8V depending on charge. Once below 12V it’s in a low state of charge. Above 13V it will be being charged. 
 

At normal settings the car is ideally looking for it to hold between 12.2 and 12.6. Mine is more often not 12.4. 
 

You have to get this idea of 14V out of your head for your own benefit. If it’s over 13V it’s being charged. Anything in the 12V is good. It’s a 12V battery that’s why it’s given 12V as the nominal value!

Unofix can post the voltage table again so you can see what the voltages mean on a rested battery. 
 

The electronics in the car are typically designed to run on a range of about 9-16V. It will shut things down depending on charge level to ensure there is enough to start the car. But that’s once it goes below about 12.2V

[LukeJQuinn]

36 minutes ago, alexp999 said:

Sorry mate that’s just not how batteries work and whoever told you that is completely wrong. 
The normal voltage of a 12V battery is 12-12.8V depending on charge. Once below 12V it’s in a low state of charge. Above 13V it will be being charged. 
 

At normal settings the car is ideally looking for it to hold between 12.2 and 12.6. Mine is more often not 12.4. 
 

You have to get this idea of 14V out of your head for your own benefit. If it’s over 13V it’s being charged. Anything in the 12V is good. It’s a 12V battery that’s why it’s given 12V as the nominal value!

Unofix can post the voltage table again so you can see what the voltages mean on a rested battery. 
 

The electronics in the car are typically designed to run on a range of about 9-16V. It will shut things down depending on charge level to ensure there is enough to start the car. But that’s once it goes below about 12.2V

I’ll try get some figures off them regarding it. I wasn’t aware either but that’s what they said before dropping the car back off. 

[Wino]

On 1/14/2023 at 9:07 AM, alexp999 said:

14.8 is a charging voltage. You won’t see an at rest battery over 13v. You can’t compare on charge and off charge voltages. 

Spot on Alex, our gizmo always reads 14.8v when the car is running. If it's been stood for a few days or we've had a prolonged cold spell and used the heated seats/screens it occasionally reads 15v but only for a short while.