Battery Life

[sgparnes]

Hi, whats the lifespan of the original motorcraft battery that comes with the EX ?
Anyone had to
Yes.2.5 years,45k miles. Needed the door touchpad replaced and car was on computer for a while at dealer. Then it wouldn't start. Load test showed 450 cca should be 750. While there I had dealer change battery. Out of warrantyby mileage and not under ESP

 

[peterk9]

Hi, whats the lifespan of the original motorcraft battery that comes with the EX ?
Anyone had to
Yes.2.5 years,45k miles. Needed the door touchpad replaced and car was on computer for a while at dealer. Then it wouldn't start. Load test showed 450 cca should be 750. While there I had dealer change battery. Out of warrantyby mileage and not under ESP

My replacement battery says it is 650 CCA.
Free replacement for 36 months. Months 37 - 100 are prorated costs.

Had the trickle charger (2A) on it for 10 hours on the Jan. 16th and again yesterday.

Peter

 

[plumbago]

About a month ago now, had to have the battery replaced under warrantee on the 2013 XLT with about 18 months service. Dealer said it failed the tests, equated it to a bad or dying cell, which would not hold a full charge.....I've seen other threads relating similar battery problems with some EXP's ,Edge, etc. Dealer mentioned Ford got a run of bad batteries a while back and are showing up at various times....I'd keep an eye on yours. The clue for me was every time I put the key in and turned it on, just short of starting, the battery system warning came up and started shutting down the electric system. Also the outside keyless entry pad would not function properly without several tries....best regards Plum

 

[peterk9]

About a month ago now, had to have the battery replaced under warrantee on the 2013 XLT with about 18 months service. Dealer said it failed the tests, equated it to a bad or dying cell, which would not hold a full charge.....I've seen other threads relating similar battery problems with some EXP's ,Edge, etc. Dealer mentioned Ford got a run of bad batteries a while back and are showing up at various times....I'd keep an eye on yours. The clue for me was every time I put the key in and turned it on, just short of starting, the battery system warning came up and started shutting down the electric system. Also the outside keyless entry pad would not function properly without several tries....best regards Plum

Hi Plum. When I shut the vehicle off and radio turns off right away and the Batter Saver message pops up, that is when I know it is time to throw the charger on it again. The battery was tested last March and all showed 'okay'. I'll have them test it again at the end of March when I go back for service.

Peter

 

[plumbago]

Hi Plum. When I shut the vehicle off and radio turns off right away and the Batter Saver message pops up, that is when I know it is time to throw the charger on it again. The battery was tested last March and all showed 'okay'. I'll have them test it again at the end of March when I go back for service.

Peter

Yep, that sounds like what was happening to my vehicle, however even though I have the means and capability to charge my own battery, I'm not about to do it !!....Surely Ford did not build or design this vehicle to need periodic charging by the owner....Either the vehicle and/or battery system works right or not, and in this case it didn't work right, but was replaced by Ford and I'm satisfied.....Come on, No owner should have to charge their own battery off and on to keep it going especially while the vehicle is under warrantee ! Just get yours fixed right and quit hinting there is nothing wrong with Ford or their batteries....Plum

 

[peterk9]

Yep, that sounds like what was happening to my vehicle, however even though I have the means and capability to charge my own battery, I'm not about to do it !!....Surely Ford did not build or design this vehicle to need periodic charging by the owner....Either the vehicle and/or battery system works right or not, and in this case it didn't work right, but was replaced by Ford and I'm satisfied.....Come on, No owner should have to charge their own battery off and on to keep it going especially while the vehicle is under warrantee ! Just get yours fixed right and quit hinting there is nothing wrong with Ford or their batteries....Plum

The first time this happened the dealer tested the system and found it was the battery. When it started happening again about 6 months later the test showed all was good. They even spoke with Ford and could not come up with any answers. I fully agree I shouldn't have to charge the battery on a somewhat regular basis but I don't really mind since the lease is up in another 13 months and then it won't be my problem any more assuming a permanent fix isn't found in the meantime.
BTW, I'm keeping a record of the times I'm charging the battery and will bring that with me when I go in end of March.

Peter

 

[vfral1]

As a follow up, my factory battery dropped dead at almost exactly 36 months, 35k miles. The ford engineer in charge of obsolescence surely has earned a bonus for design that fails precisely at the end of the warranty.

If you have not experienced a battery failure yet in the ex, it is quite concerning because all the electronics still try to work but without the proper juice they flash on and off in rapid succession that makes you think something is about to fry.

 

[AZmom]

Battery

All of you whom reside in colder country-enjoy the longer life span on your batteries. In Arizona, it is typical (hopeful) to get 2 years on a battery due to our lovely heat. The older yellow top I had in our 2002 F150 did last an unheard of 8 years. However the new yellow tops are not built like they did back then.

So enjoy your snow and extra cha-ching in your pockets. I keep praying mine will last......

 

[peterk9]

As a follow up, my factory battery dropped dead at almost exactly 36 months, 35k miles. The ford engineer in charge of obsolescence surely has earned a bonus for design that fails precisely at the end of the warranty.

If you have not experienced a battery failure yet in the ex, it is quite concerning because all the electronics still try to work but without the proper juice they flash on and off in rapid succession that makes you think something is about to fry.

As per my PM, I have merged your thread with this one. I believe the battery has its own warranty. See post my 38 regarding the replacement battery.

Peter

 

[huskerdude]

Had to replace battery at 26000 milles and 1 1/2 years !

 

[scotted73]

Just replaced the battery on my 2012 Limited yesterday at 101 miles out of warranty - 36,101 miles. No warranty coverage, but the dealership did waive the diagnostic fee - $100. The battery had a slight fluid seepage out of one of the vent caps and was bulging a bit on the short side. I had no indications electronically that things were wrong, just the weekly visual check I conduct.

 

[esandye]

My battery died of some congenital anomoly at about 7500 miles, now with 40000 and no more issues. Dealer replaced it under warrarty.

 

[peterk9]

Just replaced the battery on my 2012 Limited yesterday at 101 miles out of warranty - 36,101 miles. No warranty coverage, but the dealership did waive the diagnostic fee - $100. The battery had a slight fluid seepage out of one of the vent caps and was bulging a bit on the short side. I had no indications electronically that things were wrong, just the weekly visual check I conduct.

It is strange that you had to pay full price for the battery. I had one replaced under warranty and it said full replacement coverage for 36 months and then a depreciating coverage after that for months 37 - 100.

Peter

 

[dco43054]

Amazing. The Explorer started like a champ every time - until this morning when it just went click, click, click, click, click, click, click.

Funny thing is I was at Sam's Club a couple weeks back, and was ready to look at replacing it just because, but didn't have enough time to do so. Guess I should have.

Put it on the charger for an hour and all the lights are brighter, but still not enough to start. And of course, my jump pack, that I keep charged for just such occasions, has given up the ghost.

Oh well, I'll charge it for another half hour and hopefully then it will start.

Sam's is the cheapest. 36 month warranty, group 65, for $105. I've had good luck with them on my previous vehicles.

 

[peterk9]

Did you check with your dealer to see if there is any kind of warranty on your OEM battery? I had a battery replaced under warranty and the replacement had a 36 month free replacement warranty with a prorated warranty from month 37 to 100.
I guess they don't make batteries like they used to. I had a '81, 510 Datsun wagon that still had the original battery in it when I got rid of it 9 years later.

Peter

 

[blwnsmoke]

Did you check with your dealer to see if there is any kind of warranty on your OEM battery? I had a battery replaced under warranty and the replacement had a 36 month free replacement warranty with a prorated warranty from month 37 to 100.
I guess they don't make batteries like they used to. I had a '81, 510 Datsun wagon that still had the original battery in it when I got rid of it 9 years later.

Peter

Peter.. just an FYI, the OE battery you get when you buy a vehicle only has a 3yr/36k warranty.. there is no proration with it after that. If you BUY a new battery from Ford, that's when you get the 3yr/36k full and then 37 to 100 prorated.

 

[peterk9]

Peter.. just an FYI, the OE battery you get when you buy a vehicle only has a 3yr/36k warranty.. there is no proration with it after that. If you BUY a new battery from Ford, that's when you get the 3yr/36k full and then 37 to 100 prorated.

Thanks for clarifying that. I wondered why the replacement had the warranty info right on the battery but the OEM didn't. Almost leads one to think that the replacements are better than the OEMs.

Peter

 

[dco43054]

Peter.. just an FYI, the OE battery you get when you buy a vehicle only has a 3yr/36k warranty.. there is no proration with it after that. If you BUY a new battery from Ford, that's when you get the 3yr/36k full and then 37 to 100 prorated.

Yep

 

[1995E]

With batteries, my friend's X5 had a battery from 2012, straight from BMW but it died on him. Wondering why, it turns out that the car was drawing 6 Amps of current constantly, the radio was stuck on so there was an electrical issue. Even though the X5 was like 6 - 7 years old, no one noticed until that AAA guy did a diagnostic on it to check the draw of current. I doubt new batteries are meant to die so young. There must be a heavy draw from your electrical system causing the issue. I'd say check that out before getting a new battery. Not once has my Explorer died on me and I really don't drive it often. I constantly blast the radio, and I constantly sit in it with accessories mode on. I have the XLT so maybe the draw of current isn't as much. Still, if your batteries keep dying, check how much current is being drawn from the battery and find out why.

 

[peterk9]

I can verify that these new Explorers must have some kind of steady drain on them just to keep all the electronic programs operating. As with my Explorer, I am now having the same issue of the Battery Warning coming on with my MKT. I have already charged it twice in the 2 months I've had it. It seems that if you don't drive it enough the battery drains. I've only driven 430 miles in the 2 months.

Peter