Hi all,

This may be posted in wrong place so advanced apologies if it is. I’m new here. Joined just now to hear some opinions.

Purchased a 2024 1.0 Ecoboost Focus ST just last month. Just less than 10,000km on it at the time. The “low state of charge” message that I’ve read so much about on here was on the dash even as early as the first time I took it out of the dealership for a test drive. I pointed it out and was told that will “go off as you drive”. Fair enough, makes sense I thought. It didn’t. Contacted them about it, brought it in, they ran checks, battery had a dead cell. Replaced the battery,and that was that. No more message on the dash.

It lasted all of 10 days before it came up again. Now, this is where I point out that my daily routine is short trips to and from my work. Probably roughly 15 minutes of driving total a day. Other trips scattered around of course, but the general is just to and from work. Have I still got a problem with the car, such as something draining the battery, or is it simply not getting enough driving time to keep the battery ticking over at a suitable level. There’s never been an issue with starting or anything, the only thing I’ve noticed is the screen on the dash is marginally slower to boot up. But gets there nonetheless. 

Since I’ve got the fresh battery installed the low state of charge message doses go away with driving like I was originally told. Sometimes within 30 seconds of starting, sometimes 5 minutes or more. 
 

Im just interested in hearing what people think, because I’m feeling like I’ve made a mistake in what I’ve purchased. This is my 4th Ford car and I’ve never had the problems this “basically new” car has. I’ve seen people say that this is what modern cars are. That you have to get used to charging them frequently. But that’s where the title of my post comes from. Is this really it? Is this what a newer car is?

 

1 hour ago, Mick11 said:

Is this really it? Is this what a newer car is?

Pretty much, it seems. Loads of threads on here on the issue with the Mk 4 Focus (and Mk 8 Fiesta) over the last 7 years or so, such as:

https://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/148905-focus-mk-45-mhev-battery-issues/

https://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/144919-focus-mk4mk45-battery-issue-petition/

I doubt 7.5 minutes driving each way is sufficient - plenty of smart charger recommendations on here if you haven't got one!

 

33 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

plenty of smart charger recommendations on here

Can you think of anyone who might be able to recommend something for the OP ? 😉

Thanks, but I have one. Guess I should have bought an electric car, maybe it would last longer.

41 minutes ago, Mick11 said:

Guess I should have bought an electric car, maybe it would last longer.

There's quite a lot of discussion on that, such as:

https://www.speakev.com/threads/is-an-ev-suitable-for-very-low-mileage-driver.178322/

Our second small car is 11 years old but very low mileage, but a bit of a lifeline for my wife who has intermittent mobility problems. We can't see any of the (very few) remaining "city" cars being a suitable replacement in view of these sort of issues. The current one is still on its original battery!

 

Thanks, I’ll have a look. Even though the Electric car comment was a little tongue-in-cheek. 
 

Am I just sulking or is this very short sighted from Ford, and other manufacturers from what I read, to assume that everyone has a 30min plus commute or reason to drive for that length of time? I know it’s an environmental thing but jeez, poor enough.

People doing frequent short drives are the ideal market for electric cars.  You probably would have been better off with one of those, or a proper hybrid (obviously not from Ford!) as they charge the 12v battery from the hybrid battery.

One last question.What bugs me is, if I’m getting the low state of charge message when I start the car, but the car starts with no issue, everything works fine, and the message goes off on its own accord as I’m driving, am I doing harm to the car/battery by continuing like that?

6 minutes ago, Mick11 said:

I’m driving, am I doing harm to the car/battery by continuing like that?

Potentially it will reduce the life of the battery.

The real noticeable thing will be the number of items in the car that will automatically be disabled to save battery power. For example, the passenger door touch unlock, the heated front windscreen, the interior courtesy light, Hill Start Assist or Auto Hold  and of course Stop/Start will be inhibited (thank God).

17 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

or a proper hybrid (obviously not from Ford!) as they charge the 12v battery from the hybrid battery.

But then..... over 4,000 posts so far:

https://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/217673-12v-battery-maintenance-issues-etc/

 

Good thing I have all those off/don’t use (especially the auto stop/start!) apart from the windscreen heater.

Thanks for all the info this afternoon guys. Wasn’t really expecting any responses. Much appreciated.