Hi there,

Been trying to find out why the interior lights don't work when opening the door. 2023 Fiesta 1.0 Stline 125 MHEV

The lights work manually from the roof button but on the auto setting the lights don't come on when you open the door after unlocking. This is a bit annoying on these now dark mornings.

From what I have read it sounds like it would be low battery. Don't think this is the case as I do a 28 mile round-trip to work every day. 

Another little thing I noticed is that when I used to unlock the car the front indicators would flash once and then the bottom LED light would stay illuminated. The indicator now flashes buy the LED doesn't illuminate as previous. 

I will check the fuses under the glove box tonight to see if anything has blown. I did try a new USB splitter in my USB socket the other week that didn't work so wonder if something happened then? 

I just wondered if anyone knew of any settings that may have been changed by my by accident? I don't have a manual to check these things. 

Thanks for any advice

 

2 hours ago, Casbantam said:

From what I have read it sounds like it would be low battery. Don't think this is the case as I do a 28 mile round-trip to work every day. 

....and you think that's enough ?

You could drive to the Moon and back and it would in no way ensure that your battery is fully charged. Modern smart charging systems mostly only charge the battery on engine 'over run' in other words as the engine is slowing down.

Get a multimeter and measure the battery terminal voltage at least one hour after the car has been parked and see what the SOC actually is.

5 hours ago, Casbantam said:

I do a 28 mile round-trip to work every day. 

It depends on the mix of those 28 miles. I've found journeys with lots of starting and stopping do a much better job of charging than longer runs at steady speed. It's rather counterintuitive to those of us who remember systems that kept charging the battery until it was "full", rather than what some algorithm decides, but that's progress for you. 

You can always use a smart battery charger to give it a top up every few weeks, but it will still head back to that 80% SOC as soon as it can.

5 hours ago, Casbantam said:

the lights don't come on when you open the door after unlocking. This is a bit annoying on these now dark mornings.

I've turned my interior lights to permanently "off" anyway. I won't ask what you do in the dark, but there's plenty of light in there from touchscreen, dash, etc to find the seat and the starter button!😀

Thanks all for the feedback. Will try check voltage. Yes, modern cars are great until they don't work properly!

It's a bit stop start on way to work but mainly motorway on way home. Plus I always turn off the stop start. See what happens when the heated seats, steering wheel and windscreens come into play 🙂

Not worth checking the fuses then by sounds of it. Sounds most likely low battery so will check that first.

Yes, please don't ask what I do in the dark. It's just that it's easier than in the daytime when people are about 🤣

 

 

Definitely not a low battery.  It would not cause the lights to stop working since the current draw is so tiny.  It is also not the fuse since you mentioned that it works when  you push the buttons.  Have you tried to look at the vehicle settings?  It could have been switched off accidentally.

Thanks for info. I cannot see that there is a lights setting in the dashboard controls? Is there anywhere else to look for this?

I have seen the hidden menu on the info screen but doesn't look to be in there.  Cheers

To update. The lights have now started working again.

Maybe it was a battery issue? The only thing I have done differently is unplug my dash cam from the USB overnight. I have always over the 13 months of ownership left plugged in overnight.

Last few days I have unplugged when parked overnight and the lights are now working.

Is it coincidence or has there been some battery drain even though the dash cam seemingly turns off when ignition is off?

Hopefully sorted though!

On 10/15/2025 at 1:04 PM, unofix said:

....and you think that's enough ?

You could drive to the Moon and back and it would in no way ensure that your battery is fully charged. Modern smart charging systems mostly only charge the battery on engine 'over run' in other words as the engine is slowing down.

Get a multimeter and measure the battery terminal voltage at least one hour after the car has been parked and see what the SOC actually is.

That's really useful as I've had the same problem with the interior lights not coming on at night when you unlock the car, but looking at the table, start/stop has never worked on my ST since I bought it earlier this year plus keyless entry on the passenger side doesn't work.  I hadn't suspected the battery as the engine turns over fine when you start it but it sounds from the above as though I do have an issue.

Do you know if charging the battery (with a charger) will do the trick or should I be speaking to Ford considering it's under warranty?  Also, can the battery be charged as it is or should it be disconnected first?  Sorry for all the questions.  I do pretty low mileage in it and don't use it every day, which I'm sure isn't helping.

1 minute ago, MattieF said:

Do you know if charging the battery (with a charger) will do the trick or should I be speaking to Ford considering it's under warranty?  Also, can the battery be charged as it is or should it be disconnected first?  Sorry for all the questions.  I do pretty low mileage in it and don't use it every day, which I'm sure isn't helping.

Charging the battery for a MINIMUM of 12 hours will generally sort the issues out for a short while, but the problems will come back.

Ford do not consider the battery to be covered by the warranty, they class it as consumable like wiper blades, brake pads etc. Some people have spent a lot of time and effort  auguring with the dealership and a few have even won. Trouble is they just fit the same rubbish battery again.

The battery should be charged while still fully connected to the vehicle. It is very important that the 'Smart' charger positive lead is connected directly to the battery positive post, and that the negative lead of the 'Smart' charger is connected to the chassis earth point and NOT to the battery terminal. - Failure to do this will mean that the Battery Monitor System (BMS) will not know that the battery has been charged.

With all modern cars, the charging system is designed to put only the bare minimum of charge in to the battery, and in any case only charge it to a maximum of 80% Therefore the need to charge up the battery with a Smart charger every 6 to 7 weeks is quite normal.

 

26 minutes ago, unofix said:

Ford do not consider the battery to be covered by the warranty, they class it as consumable like wiper blades, brake pads etc. Some people have spent a lot of time and effort  auguring with the dealership and a few have even won. Trouble is they just fit the same rubbish battery again.

Many thanks for the useful info.

They state in black and white that they are covered for 3 years here so I'll take that up with them: https://www.ford.co.uk/support/how-tos/warranty/warranties-and-coverage/what-is-the-ford-warranty-on-the-battery

Haven't had any issues with batteries on other new cars - last was a Leon Cupra ST 2020 model - had that for 4 years, no battery issues.  Hope it's not a Ford thing.  Maybe it just needs a better battery full stop rather than what Ford fit.

1 hour ago, MattieF said:

They state in black and white that they are covered for 3 years here so I'll take that up with them: https://www.ford.co.uk/support/how-tos/warranty/warranties-and-coverage/what-is-the-ford-warranty-on-the-battery

That's an old web page, it even tries to link to ETIS which was decommissioned by Ford about 3 years ago.

You might get a new battery out of them but I doubt it. They will just point out you don't use the car enough and that the battery is 'fine'

38 minutes ago, unofix said:

They will just point out you don't use the car enough and that the battery is 'fine'

Very likely. This topic has been running over many threads since the Mk 8 Fiesta appeared, so we've covered the same ground many times since.

2 hours ago, MattieF said:

Haven't had any issues with batteries on other new cars - last was a Leon Cupra ST 2020 model - had that for 4 years, no battery issues. 

Coincidentally a Leon was also my last car not to.have a battery issue!

 

 

Quote

While our warranties are comprehensive, there are some things we do not cover. 

Ford is not responsible for any repair or replacement that is required as a direct result of:

• Damage caused by neglect, flooding, accident, rallying, racing or any other improper use.
• Normal wear and tear.

If you follow the "Ford warranty coverage and exclusions" link on the warranty page you get to a page containing the information quoted above. It will be very hard to prove that the battery was faulty and has not simply declined through normal wear and tear. Most battery warranties from any manufacturer cover manufacturing defects but exclude wear and tear from using the battery. 

On 10/15/2025 at 8:11 PM, Casbantam said:

Plus I always turn off the stop start.

Pointless in your case.  SS uses the MHEV battery to restart a warm engine, that doesn't take any power from the 12v battery.

FYI - The "cigarette lighter" socket in Fiestas are NEVER OFF.  They are made such that is is always on. 

36 minutes ago, lilbleh said:

The "cigarette lighter" socket in Fiestas are NEVER OFF

I don't think that's true. I've had 3 Fiestas (including the one I have now) where the "cigarette lighter" sockets only work with the ignition. I know this because I use them to pump up the tyres and I have to switch on the ignition to do so. They may have a delayed switch off where they go off 20 minutes after the ignition is switched off, some Fords do, but I don't have the Fiesta with me today to check that.

2 hours ago, pcaouolte said:

I don't think that's true. I've had 3 Fiestas (including the one I have now) where the "cigarette lighter" sockets only work with the ignition.

Certainly my experience is the same. In my last 4 Fiestas (including the present one) it's only been live when the ignition is "on".

Coincidentally just used it while driving around this morning to charge the ancient Nokia I keep in the car for emergencies.

I don't think there's a delay - the charger goes off as soon as the ignition is switched off.

 

7 hours ago, lilbleh said:

FYI - The "cigarette lighter" socket in Fiestas are NEVER OFF.  They are made such that is is always on. 

I assume that statement is in regards to your own 2014 Fiesta 1.0 EcoBoost - Non UK model ?

Could very well be.  It is always on in mine.

Curious one, this. I had a quick search of the web the other day on the cigarette lighter question. Across various models -  Fiesta, Focus, Kuga, Transit, etc  - people have reported every variation. Some say always live, some say goes off immediately, some say stays on for various periods from 10-30 minutes. I'm going to double check mine with the multimeter!

Interesting! Gone through this sequence several times:

1. Ignition off, socket dead.

2. Ignition on, socket live 

3. Ignition off, socket still live until the door is opened

4. Close door, socket dead again until ignition switched on again

So it does stay live after switching off the ignition - don't know how long, though, without sitting in the car and not opening the door. Might try it I can't find anything better to do sometime!

Obviously this only applies to my Mk 8.5 Fiesta - can't comment on other models.

Mk2 Focus socket was live all the time.

But the later models do go off.  To further complicate it, I think they may also depend on battery SOC, so measuring your own may not provide a definitive answer.

On my 2012 Fiesta Titanium the cig lighter/power socket stays on permanently.