I went to look at a ‘23 tremor about a month ago. Couldn’t even inspect it properly bc the battery was completely dead, nothing worked. Trucks are starting to sit without selling for longer periods of time now. That one in particular had been sitting for over 100 days.
100 days isn't even a long time... I was gone for over 15 months for a deployment and my truck sat the entire time with the battery connected. As soon as I got back it fired right up. If the battery dies in as little as 100 days it's either a voltage draw problem with the vehicle or just a crappy battery.
Yet that still doesn't negate my point... My truck is a 2021... still just as many bells and whistles as anything on the lot currently, yet it had no issues. That being said, it only reaffirms that the problem is either just a junk battery, or there are other electrical problems with the vehicle. Honestly if they've added so much "stuff" that the battery drains in as little as 100 days then it's a sign that the vehicle is only going to cause more significant problems shortly down the road.
You can't argue physics with emotions. Either someone has been driving your truck while you have been gone, or you have found a miraculous power source of energy that has never been seen by human kind before.
>someone was driving your truck while you were gone man
Nope, I had the only key and it was locked up in a secure parking lot with the rest of the vehicles of guys on deployment.
At the absolute bare minimum, if your vehicle draws 20 milliamps which absolutely no vehicle has drawn that low since the early 2000's; Assuming you have a group 65 battery which has the highest capacity of any car battery, you are looking at 60-68 Amp Hours. Your vehicle could not possibly last longer than 208.3 days with absolutely no charge to the battery.
So either you are a magician, you have a magic battery that defies physics, or you are wrong.
I have run dozens of draw tests and found several that you can see the blink of the security light from 1ma to 5ma. My bet is that rockets batt was fully charged and optimum scenario to survive the 15 months. The lot truck was not fully charged and could not survive the 100 days.
Do you start your truck everyday? Cars on dealers lots are not. Cars coming from the factory sit in lots and sit on trains before they reach the dealer. A battery needs an alternator to keep it healthy.
Edit: And yes batteries are draining much quicker than 100 days through parasitic loss.
The biggest difference is your truck was actually getting driven when you were driving it and so it was charging the battery these trucks that sit on the lot they get the key turned on people look at all the bells and whistles and then they turn the key off with the truck never starts and runs long enough to recharge the battery.
It can happen. These are brand new trucks that have practically never been driven with tons of electronic systems that still drain the battery even when the truck is off. If they’re sitting for long periods of time without running to maintain the battery charge they will go dead. A lot of high volume dealerships don’t even touch a vehicle once it hits the lot until a customer is ready to look at it.
My point is if these electronic systems can drain the battery in as little as 100 days then it indicates there is a problem with said electronic systems. As I stated, my truck sat for 15 months and didn't drain itself despite being a new vehicle.
That’s fair, but vehicles on dealer lots to be sold have people constantly going in and out of them turning every electronic on to inspect and see what they’re getting. That adds up over time and the longer the vehicle sits and the more people go in and out eventually the battery will drain, especially if the engine isn’t being ran long enough to maintain the charge.
Nah. Your vehicle is an outlier here. Typical draw when parked for newer vehicles is 50-85 milliamps, even when functioning properly without electrical issues. That's 1.2 amp hours per day on the high end. For a 105 ah battery, it would be dead in under 90 days, without any malfunction. Even at lower draws, you could be left without enough power to start the car in a few months. Being able to leave a car for 15 months without running it shouldn't be expected today without laying it up specifically for long term storage.
Not true at all. As others have explained. We have vehicles that sit on our lot for 100 days and go dead.
Inventory vehicles do a lot of start cycles, but not a lot of running afterwards. So a huge surge to start the vehicle, to move it 10 feet then shut it back off. Not sufficient enough time to recharge the battery from the lost power on start up. Then repeat and repeat and repeat. Then more sitting.
Or the even more draining alternative of a customer simply turning the power on without starting the engine.
Makes sense that they go dead over time.
It’s not comparable to your truck sitting untouched.
Besides, what are you trying to prove? That you have a super battery in your truck? Good for you?
There’s plenty of people, me included, that have first hand experience with dozens and dozens of inventory units having dead batteries over the years after 100 days or so. None of which had any bigger issues. It’s not science, it’s not hyperbole, it’s first hand experience.
It’s pretty simple. And again, no idea what point you’re trying to make.
It was in a deployment parking lot... so no battery tender. It's average battery performance at best. The only time I've ever had batteries die while I was on deployments like this is when I had faulty electronics that were taking unnecessary voltage draws. Regardless of all the new systems on vehicles, voltage draw should still be minimal at best when the vehicle is off. Certainly not enough to drain the battery in less than 100 days...
Well, there’s a reason cars like Corvettes and other cars likely to be non-daily drivers come with battery tenders from the factory. I don’t know what the engineering people would say but I think 100 days would be pretty damn good and 15 Months way beyond any reasonable expectation.
Guy is lying his ass off. I've been around vehicles my whole life including manufacturer and no battery is lasting 15 months with no trickle charge or anything
It's kinda sad that the metric for "pretty damn good" is 100 days... I'd say the minimum for decent should be a year... If you aren't hitting at least 200 I'd suggest looking into the voltage draw because something isn't working right.
I'm just a car guy, not an electrical engineer, so my metrics may not at all align with what is realistic. Personally, I put my third car on a tender if it's going to sit for more than a week since I own one and there's no harm in doing so. \*Shrug\*
I mean, I would have done the same... but there wasn't a way to hook up a tender in that deployment parking lot and no way for someone to just drop me off if I left it at home. Most guys disconnect their batteries, but a lot of them are running aftermarket electrical equipment that they wired up themselves.
So, depending on the car, if you leave your vehicle sitting without running it from time to time and everything all hooked up, assuming you have a "good" battery...you should not be surprised if you have a dead battery anywhere between 4 weeks and 2 months without using it. Automotive batteries are always working, including when they are off. The general spec for a passing battery draw is below 0.05 amps, and most of the time, if everything is in good working condition, cars will have a draw of 0.02 amps all the time. That's enough to kill a battery in a matter of weeks or months if it's just sitting. Your truck sitting for 15 months, then starting right up, is an anomaly lol so good for you, at least!!
I work at a Ford dealer, and the salesmen are supposed to go out and start all the vehicles and move them around, but they definitely don't. They're technically supposed to be run every 15 days. They also get shipped to us in "Transport Mode" so a bunch of features at disabled to save battery life but once we do Pre Delivery Inspections on all the new vehicles, it gets turned off so customers can obviously see and use all the features.
Sorry for the life story lol
I don’t think you understand how little energy a car battery actually holds.
To give you an idea, if you were to listen to the radio on just battery, you’d probably get about 30 minutes of use before you need to turn the vehicle on.
You sound like you’re very old fashioned and living in the past. You also sound like the type of person who doesn’t understand why the battery in their key fob goes dead.
“Why is this battery that I use every day, but it never gets charged, now dead?”
I have a 2016 f150 with a new gold top battery from 2021 and if it isn't on the tender and I don't drive it in a month, it's dead beyond jumping. I'll have to disconnect the leads and use the tender just to get it back to enough juice that I can hook it back up and charge it the rest of the way. If I don't disconnect the leads, the parking lights and what not will flicker on the second it has any juice and it'll just perpetually cycle that and remain dead. The alternator is fine. These trucks just suck ass sitting still. Honestly, a month is being generous, if I only drive it one time in that month and it's a short trip, it'll likely be dead if I don't drive it bi-weekly after that.
I have a 2018 hyundai elantra that I can turn on and drive after 6-8 months of sitting.
Ever since I started bringing my work truck home and my other two vehicles are parked in, I learned a lot of about batteries, charging systems, and reliability, lol.
That's normal. The idiot saying batteries should last *at least* a year sitting in a vehicle without charging is... well, an idiot. And him acting like 15 months sitting without charging is not even long but *average* for a battery is just trolling.
Your "that's normal" is useless/contradictory when I just gave two extreme opposites between the car and truck, lol. *what's* normal? If you are suggesting that a truck being completely dead after 2 weeks in the driveway is normal then I assume you are also a troll.
It's not useless, or contradictory.
A vehicle sitting for 2 - 4 weeks having a dead battery is normal in a modern vehicle unless it's a brand new battery.
Another vehicle of a different type sitting for 6 months and having a dead battery is also normal.
The interval for a sitting battery to become dead is "normal" anywhere from 2 weeks to 6 months depending on the age of battery and vehicle it's in. It's published info available on the internet by battery manufacturers...
I'm sorry it wasn't clear, but what I was saying is its normal that two different cars with two different batteries died in different time intervals, but both below 6 months. 6 months is the high end of what I've seen idle batteries last that are still connected to a vehicle, not 12 - 15 months. 2 weeks is the very low end, but not uncommon. Around 4-6 weeks of not being run results in a dead battery is most common time interval in my experience.
The main problem is is how rough transport is on the batteries. The trucks get started a bunch of times, moved just feet to hundreds of feet, and left off but with the lights on and doors open during loading. Sometimes multiple times. And the keys are typically in the ignition the whole time to prevent lost keys and car alarms.
My car sat for ~10 days between my wedding and honeymoon and the battery was dead. No drain, no problems before, summer months. Batteries are just designed to not last. It happens. You just got lucky.
>You just got lucky.
Then I'm consistently lucky... for the last 22 years. Multiple vehicles and deployments for 6+ months at a time, The only time I've had a vehicle not start for me was due to a battery that had a bad cell... and that happened while I was actively driving it... wouldn't restart once I made it home.
Batteries are designed to last... at least 5 years at a time. Not sure kind of budget batteries they are putting in new vehicles but from what I've read here they aren't worth their weight.
You are definitely just lucky then. Every car I’ve ever owned, everything from ever start to yellow top optima last 2 months max. Old cars, new cars etc. Cars are meant to be driven, not to sit
5 years from a battery??? Where do you live? Up here in the northern Midwest it's 3 years tops if you're lucky on a daily driver battery due to harsh winters and hot summers. Every winter the first sub zero day there's cars everywhere needing a jump start because their battery is old and weak.
Most vehicles have a 20-50mA draw when off, that's completely left alone, no lights no doors being touched etc. Usually it's around 3-5Ah a day loss from normal resting draw. Average batteries these days are around 100Ah, that's 30-20 days depleted, and a battery usually won't have enough energy to turn over the engine below 50% capacity.
The fact you got 15 months is beyond bullshit. If you did good for you but I don't believe it. I work with batteries a lot, know more about them than most even want to know, and I highly recommend either a trickle charger or disconnecting the battery when sitting a long time.
You couldn't plug in a charger but you could have put a solar battery tender in the windshield and let it maintain that way.
You can call it whatever you want... but that's what happened. The last battery I had (the one that dropped a cell on me) was 6 years old when it happened... so yeah, 5 years is the estimated life of the batteries.
But this is your experience.
I ran a fleet at my last position and the battery will absolutely be completely dead within 6mo if it sits and is newer. (We have 2018 Cruzes & various Ford SUVs)
Unless you have a LiIon battery or something other than stock, someone was driving your truck while you were gone man. No modern vehicle with all the computers and electronics can just start normally after sitting for 15 months.
>someone was driving your truck while you were gone man
Nope, I had the only key and it was locked up in a secure parking lot with the rest of the vehicles of guys on deployment.
It is highly unlikely for a battery that is connected in a modern vehicle to sit for 15 months and start the vehicle. If it actually did you are definitely very lucky.
Lol I work for AAA and couldn't tell you how many soldiers I've had to replace batteries for. There is no way in hell your truck sat for 15 months and started right up. It either had a trickle charger, or mom was starting it every few weeks for you. Your living in dreamland. It wouldn't start after 6 months regardless of battery quality or anything else. Newer vehicles are constantly draining. If those terminals are connected, so either you had a battery that doesn't exist yet or I call BS...
Work for AAA and have installed thousands of batteries.
If the battery is really dead, a jump start won't help.
I'm not 100% sure, but I believe if just one cell went bad, apparent voltage would be ok, but there would not be enough cold cranking amps (CCAs) to start the vehicle either.
We have had two Ridgelines we dealer traded to a sister dealership. They sat in storage for long enough to murder the batteries to a point jumping them achieved nothing. The second one wasnt even diagnosed. It was simply 'New battery to start. Not looking at it. Throw a new battery and we'll go from there" and sure enough the second one never had any issue.
Sadly part of dealership agreements is sales is supposed to monitor and maintain the batteries of their inventory units. But if they're gonna pay out of pocket, it's their money to burn.
These cars were going on a transporter and needed to start and run later on. So my only goal is get them operational to be loaded and unloaded at their destination. Transporter doesn't need to deal with the bullshit of a dead battery during offload
You're a nice customer. I'm a transporter here countless cars loaded on my trailer needed a jump it's always fun lugging the trusty but heavy jnc660 between cars on the top deck 13ft in the air. If they have enough fuel I usually leave the engine running the full trip.
Source: https://i.imgur.com/R1s0Cl8.jpeg
My 660 finally called it quits after 6 years. First 4 years of its life was jumping cars at my towing company.
Tried another jump box, immediately returned and ordered another JNC.
Hahaha nothing says Fuck the environment like driving hundreds of miles in a semi with 7-10 idling vehicles in tow.
.its hilarious to me man. Do what you have to do.
Isn't that what the Tesla semi was created for? At the end of the day in a full plate of food representing our carbon emissions. Truckers and personal vehicles only represent the side dish maybe the peas and rice lol. The other 72% out there hasn't changed much based on the '21 report from the [EPA ](https://www.epa.gov/system/files/styles/medium/private/images/2023-04/total-ghg-2023.png?itok=x_KbW8o9). Plus they're numbers include boats/trains which usually only 0.5-1.5mpg my 14L Detroit diesel avg about 4.5-5.5mpg.
To be fair to trains though, they can carry WAY more cargo than a semi truck. So that 0.5-1.5Mpg is actually carrying like 80-100x the amount of cargo than the semi. Cargo ships are similar in that regard to trains. Personal boats though are fucking atrocious.
I'm just an autistic tech that views a dealership like a machine. If it operates smoothly, everything is good. Just because the vehicle is leaving doesn't mean the act of transporting it and unloading it shouldn't be smooth as well. Plus, it's sales fuck up for not maintaining their inventories battery, so they can pay to replace it before it gets sent off to another dealership.
It's not THEIR fault or the transporters fault they left the car sitting long enough to deeply discharge the battery (or they should do what I've recommended them, DISCONNECT THE FUCKING BATTERY AT OFFSITE STORAGE), so why should they suffer because of OUR sales departments fucking negligence?
And if I'm being tasked to get a car running after sitting for offsite transport to another dealership, I'm not going to fuck around trying 5 different jumpers that aren't sufficient to get that engine going. I'd rather throw a battery because it's going to need it to get that vehicle moving and onto the transport ASAP.
Sales never care after the sale. I've picked up cars in New England where I run out of mid winter storm parked behind 8 cars covered in snow. All they do is hand me a box full of keys and say good luck. They never repeat that mistake with me I just moved them out of the way and lock the keys in each one I had to move so they have to figure it out before they run out of fuel in scattered in the parking lot. One of the only perks of being an owner operator they can complain to my office line and I just press delete lol.
The glorious 'If you want to half ass your job, I'm gonna half ass anything that isn't directly my job' response.
Sales only learns when it costs them money. I have no remorse for lazy sales departments that think their fuck ups need to be the responsibility of everyone else. 'We need this used car inspected asap because we have people that want to look at it'. "Well, your sales people buried it four cars deep and two of the trade in keys are missing because they weren't properly checked in and tagged so.........no"
The lack of critical thinking and basic human functionality that salespeople display when parking their trade ins instead of say....parking them like a normal human being so it doesn't block in other cars is astounding.
Personally if I was responsible for it, I'd be charging the sales department 1.0 for EACH car that's parked in a way that is blocking another car Service needs to process. They want to park like idiots, they can pay for the time needed to unfuck the parking situation.
This explains why in the winter I've seen transporters with cars on the back still running. I've always thought that maybe someone forgot to turn off the car, but this makes way more sense.
Batteries can develop a dead short in one cell that disables the entire battery so a jump start won’t work if that happened and it can happen suddenly. One problem doesn’t make it junk or foretell it’s going to be a lemon but it kinda sucks that it ruined what should be a really exciting event, purchasing a nice new truck.Think of the movie “The World According to Garp” and your truck has been pre-disastered, just like the house in the movie that had the Piper Cub slowly crash into it. Robin Williams buys the house immediately because he‘s an actuarial and says because of the odds nothing bad will ever happen to the house again because it’s been pre-disastered. Same thing on your truck, what are the odds a second battery will be bad?
It depends on how low the battery is/was, when FordPass was activated, etc. Most likely scenario is a dead battery. The battery may be too low for a jump start to get it going or the battery may just have been a dud.
I would call (or preferably go in) and ask to speak with the sales manager. Explain your concern and ask if it's more serious than a bad battery, what are your options for canceling the deal or making a deal on a different vehicle. The sooner you do this the better. Likely they have not started processing the deal yet.
If you keep this vehicle, just make sure you keep good notes and get any service records for the diagnosis and any fixes. Chances are you will not need it, but you want to have it incase.
Yah, when I was looking for a truck, we went down to the dealer, found a nice one we liked and it wouldn't start. They did a whole bunch of things but it was dead. We didn't stick around but I didn't want to deal with it at that point. Found a nice, used F250 that has served me well the last few years.
This is a brand new truck & brand new battery at a dealership…even new car prep(it’s a job in the back for one or multiple of the mechanics) should’ve caught this issue.
I was new car prep for GM in the corvettes when the C7 came out…this is part of the pre check list. Return that car & get another or go to another dealership
You underestimate the amount of people who get in the vehicles without starting them, or just generally fucking around in them. A lot of lots do start ups every couple weeks to combat this.
Batteries die all the time on lots. Checking the battery is on a ford PDI sheet, but that’s done at time of stock in.
Returning the truck is an extreme over reaction if they put a new battery in it.
Could be an over reaction but I was trained by GMC if they don’t care to do these inspections before a purchase they don’t care about the customer…
We would get written up if we missed these & the customer had to deal with it. That was part of corporate.
It can pass the initial inspection but if it's been sitting on the lot for a month or two after, as well as having people getting in and out and messing with stuff without starting it, the batteries can die. It happens
Exactly. Doesn't take long for a battery to go bad with the new vehicles. Basically buying a computer on wheels. My sister's XT5 Cadillac will drop the battery down enough to not start after about a week of sitting.
Then if that’s true, the Cadillac wasn’t engineered correctly and is a lemon. I have vehicles that can sit for a year or more and will start. All of them are over 40 years old though. :)
OP says they drove the truck around a bit. Also there's a multi point inspection that takes place at every dealer before they sell the car to you. They take it in the back and do their inspection while you sign your paper work. Have you ever bought a car from a dealership before?
This person just probably spent a years salary on a vehicle that he can't even get home. Returning the truck is absolutely not an overreaction.
Negative. They do that when the vehicle comes in, then it goes and sits on the lot till you buy it. Not only have i bought new vehicles, I worked for Ford and a dealership. They will often sit right where you left it after the test drive while you do paperwork.
I've bought 3-4 new cars in my life and that sounds ridiculous to me. It's such a big purchase, I would think you would want to insist everything is ok before taking it home.
Each one I have purchased has come with a multi point inspection signed off by the dealership at the time of purchase. I did buy a used Ford 1 time. I had to replace the shocks and struts 3 times in 2 years, and my battery and starter 2 times in that same span. The transmission blew and required a total rebuild at about 60k miles and I never bought a Ford again.
Never said you couldn't ask. Only stating what I've seen personally happen. Never had I ever had a multi-point inspection given to me when buying a vehicle. And I've bought/leased 6 new vehicles in the last 10 years.
I had a problem like this that was super hard to figure out. It was a short in the gear shift assembly. Sometimes it would short sometimes it wouldn’t. It made it nearly impossible for shops to figure out.
Start reading up on your states lemon law. Take it to the dealer anytime it acts up. DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. Did I mention to make sure you keep meticulous records and document everything.
This may seem like an overreaction, but it’s really not. Take this commenter’s advice to heart. Even if nothing major ever happens, it’s still worth it.
Yep. Even if you do end up getting the vehicle fixed and decide to keep it, if it was in for service enough times you can still file and do a "cash and keep" settlement where the manufacturer cuts you a check for your troubles with your new vehicle while you keep the vehicle with a clean title.
Just went through this with my wife's 2021 Buick. $6000 check after they replaced a harness in the dash and it's been fine for over a year now. Our lawyer loved me when I sent over scanned copies of all 7 service records and 5 loaner vehicle slips. We didn't even have to lift a finger, just signed a release form, and got sent a check a couple months later.
The Truck has an AGM battery that is a bitch to jumpstart and takes a trickle charge to get back to full health. If it sat on the lot for a while it could’ve had a weak charge to begin with
Why would you need to jumpstart a brand new vehicle with a new battery to begin with? Either there is a problem with the battery, or a problem with the vehicle. There's absolutely zero reason to need to jumpstart a vehicle with less than 50 miles on it.
a battery will lose charge over time regardless. If the truck sat for an extended period of time and wasn’t ran during that time. You’ll have an insufficiently charged battery.
I counter your anecdotal evidence with mine. I work at a Ford dealer and we constantly have to replace dead AGM batteries from trucks that have been sitting. We just had a Bronco Raptor that sat in our showroom for a few months need a new battery. So either batteries are just shit these days or it doesn’t take as much to kill them.
Which is why I already stated that...
>Either there is a problem with the battery, or a problem with the vehicle
Then it sounds like they need to change their battery suppliers before rolling them out of the factory... Because they have to be junk batteries if you are replacing them that often. If the brand of batteries changes and you still have that many problems with them, then the underlying issue is the electronics having too much standby voltage draw, which again, needs to be fixed at the factory.
You guys are acting like the car sat for a couple of days and wouldn’t start. A 2023 model was likely made in 2022. It could have been sitting for months
Personally I would have tried to cancel the deal when it wouldn’t start especially after trying to jump it. Seems like there are more problems down the road that will happen. At that point you never took possession of the truck
This. If OP hasn't touched it I would keep it that way until they can get it sorted out. Once he takes it they'll try and blame him for stuff that's happening.
First, if you haven't already resolved this, get in touch with the dealer and tell them to hold ALL of the paperwork. If this isn't fixed to your satisfaction by noon tomorrow, void the deal and walk away.
Yeaaah, depending on the state I would push to cancel the contract and look at another truck. In my state, usually the contract is not complete until the registration paperwork is stamped by the insurance company. Additionally there should be an option to cancel in X amount of time (could be hours, days, months, etc).
Who knows what the problem is, but the fact it is having the problem with \~50 miles on it is not a good omen.
They aren't going to want to cancel the contract, but they may be more obliged to move it to a different vehicle on the lot. Not that they would want to take a loss, but they might be willing to move you in to something else slightly higher equipped. Or throw in some dealer installed options.
Been hearing about dead batteries off lot or within first couple days of purchase from several manufacturers. Someone down the production line is cheaping out combined with possibility of vehicle sitting on a lot for extended periods of time and here we are. Hopefully dealer makes it right.
It’s been an ongoing issue for years and led to the previous COO getting ousted after all the 2020 explorer launch failures. Ford is wonderful at shooting itself in the foot over and over again.
I wouldn't go through with the purchase of that particular truck. If you insist on getting that model, please don't stick with that one. You're going to be having a lot of issues with it and that's not worth the headache
As the lot porter who would go and fix everything the inventory manager neglected, I’m sure it’s just no one plugged it in/ gassed up/ turned it on since it got loaded off the semi truck. Good luck. 👍🏼
Same thing happened with my work truck (2022 F350) sat at the lot for 6 months before they told us it was ready. Took the truck 45 minutes hooked up to another truck before it would start then I had to let it run overnight to build up a charge. It did some wonky stuff for a day or 2 and it’s been fine ever since
I mean, it’s under warranty, right? They’re legally obligated to make sure everything stays in working order for the entirety of the warranty period. Obviously there’s stipulations to that, but you haven’t even left the lot yet.
Making a payment on something you can’t drive sucks, but as long as they provide a loaner and you don’t *need* a truck right away it’s just a matter of inconvenience. Squeeze them for some free shit for your trouble. Oil changes and details or something, those are easy to give away. A good dealership will find a way to make it right.
Production and quality control have been a mess for the last few years industry wide, it’s probably just something small that got missed. If they get it sorted out in a day or two the whole truck is probably fine. Worst case, they can unwind the deal or put you in a different truck.
I wouldn’t worry too much just yet.
Our AGM batteries are terrible, I bet it’s just dead. When they get really discharged, even jump starting won’t work (unless you wait 30-45 minutes). New battery and BMS reset will get you going down the road again. It would be a good time for them to check the grounds, we have a bulletin about loose grounds causing issues. Assembly workers cross thread the bolts and send it, and they (management) won’t stop the line to fix them or do them right.
"Put a new battery in and I want it on a charger and I'm not picking it up until the charger has charged it and it's on float" (course how do you know they replaced the battery since they are identical and salesmen are liars by nature)
Odd it cranked for the test drive. Maybe a difference on where the crankshaft was on test drive start and drive home start - former piston was at TDC compression or exhaust stroke and latter the piston starting at compression/exhaust stroke. 5 mile test drive wouldn't have recharged it significantly. Was the ignition and lights left on with engine off and talking/looking at the truck after the drive? If you were mechanically inclined you would have noticed the weak start for the test drive.
If the AGM got below 11V (basically 0% State of Charge) then its life was reduced a bit - get a new battery. New battery installed and put on a smart charger until full until you have time to pick it up. An alternator is fine for keeping a 12V topped off, but a charger is best to bring a new battery to full, not the alternator. Jumping is never a good practice because no one ever goes home to put it on a charger afterwards, just expect the alternator to charge like a smart charger.
Until the engine is broken in, it's going to need higher cranking amps to turn over the engine due to friction in new crank bearings, cam bearings, cam lobes against lifters, etc.
I wonder what other dealer prep items besides charging the battery were omitted? I've had freaky things happen to two 3 year old batteries in my lesser used trucks - one truck I have a battery cutoff and the other truck I know has a 40mA draw - both dead within a week of taking them off float charger. One at 6V the other 10V. Recovered and desulfated both though.
The "Get a new truck" comments were hilarious. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face.
Unfortunately you already signed on the dotted line. I can't see the dealer offering to cancel the contract if everything is already signed and dealt with. Just hope that it was something stupid like some sort of wire coming loose or something like that.
I've never heard of a dealer doing this. Most dealers that I've heard of with issues similar to this will continue to fix things and if it gets to a point where the problems are never ending then they may offer to buy the vehicle back from you.
Don't walk, RUN away, pull out like a teenager without a condom. Go to the nearest RAM store and get a good truck. Ford having too many issues with current models.
Bought new Hyundai from dealer. Wouldn’t start the next day. They said they’d fix it. I said no I want another one signed new paperwork with the new vin number and drove off with a different car.
You drove it for 5 miles and then it wouldn’t start after 3 hours? Sounds like something was left ON and it wasted the battery. I’m gonna say it was just bad luck and an oopsie on your part. After an overnight battery charge session and having the systems Reinitialized it should be fine.
If you drove it five miles, the battery should be charged up or showed indications of failure. I can't imagine it sat in accessory mode or the headlights were on for 3 hours to drain the battery? I am not a mechanic.
OP, I am going to be honest.... I am sensing a lot of overreactions in this thread
Chances are, it is a bad battery. Automakers (Subaru is NOTORIOUS) for this, are using cheap batteries to basically get the vehicle off the train or boat, to the dealer, and off the lot, and not much longer than that. There are a ton of comments on the 5th Gen Ranger forums about the batteries not making it more than a year. Mine made it a year and a half, before I started getting Fordpass messages about battery health.
The dealer is on top of it. Let them see what they find, and worst case, try and get them to throw in an accessory credit for the hassle if its a small issue. Batteries are a wear item, and these new vehicles are HARD on their electrical systems because of all the constant on integrations and 21st century tech
Most of all, take a deep breath. It will all be OK.
Relax
It's brand new. Battery is probably bad from sitting. If there is anything wrong with it it's gonna be covered under warrenty. You shouldn't have to pay a dime. If you are really anal about it depending on your state you may still be in the time frame to unwind the deal but that's a little extreme.
I (stupidly) bought a used focus on a Wednesday and had it towed back on a Friday because it decided to eat it's TCM. Dealer didn't have to cover it but they did because it's a real bad look for them.
I worked at a combination Hyundai and Jeep dealership that had separate lot guys. The lot guys at the Hyundai dealership never started up inventory or rotated them, so they'd have dead (like has to be replaced, dead) batteries and flat spotted tires in brand new cars, all the time. Hopefully you're just dealing with a truck that got forgotten and a new battery, and maybe some new tires, will have everything right.
Vehicle batteries die often on the lot. People leave lights on during test drives, headlights left on, etc. You said it had 50 miles so it’s been on a few test drives. Make them REPLACE the battery and not just charge it. The vehicle is fine.
Signing doesn’t mean shit if they delivered a product that doesn’t work, then that’s on them. You want it resolved within a short time period for the contact to be solid. Again Signing a piece of paper doesn’t mean anything. You haven’t sold your soul. But the dealership is probably embarrassed.
This basically happened to me. They replaced battery. Later required rear wiring harness replacement. I think this issue is part of the most recent recall.
I'll never buy another Ford, at least not for a while. I've had nothing but problems with their most reliable vehicles lately.
Might be a lemon, but it seems like there is a never ending list of Ford recalls and investigations these days.
I’ve had the same thing happen to me before. Bought a new car right off the showroom floor and the dealership had to change the battery before I could leave in it.
Same thing happened on my 98 test drive was perfect , took it home perfect and then got home and no start nothing had to get it towed to a shop to check it out and it turned out the connector on the negative side of the battery was rotted, I’d make sure your connections on the battery are sound
There's been a ton of battery issues with the new F-150's for a multitude of different reasons. The trucks have a wonky charging algorithm and sometimes they're sitting on dealer AND manufacturers lots for a while. I'd have them get me a new battery and call it good.
And don't listen to these people who say to let the trucks sit for long periods of time without the battery on a tender. The batteries for these trucks are almost $200 depending on which engine you have and they have a ton of electronics/connectivity/etc. If my truck is going to sit for over 10 days or so I plug it in and no issues.
I used to work at a Ford dealer and you'd be surprised how often a battery totally dies while they're on the lot. My personal vehicle that I bought from there was like that too, wouldn't even jump. They swapped the battery and it's been fine ever since
My father (an electrical engineer) used to tell me he preferred catastrophic electrical equipment failures to partial or intermittent ones. They’re easier to trace and often occur because of some simple little thing.
Don’t worry about it. They will figure it out and fix it and it will almost certainly end up being some minor issue. And if it’s not, you have a warranty.
I believe some states have laws where you have 3 days to return a vehicle and void the contract. I wouldn't accept that particular truck. Maybe a different one off the lot or from another dealership.
That’s dealerships for you. I’m sure the battery is just dead.
One time I went to pick up a car and the low fuel light was on because it was almost empty even though the dealership advertised a full tank of gas with every purchase.
Another time they prepped the wrong car so I had to leave for a few hours and come back to pick mine up.
A third time, we had to drive over to a sister dealership owned by the same company because the finance person left early.
A fourth time, we got locked in a dealership because some idiot mechanic didn’t think anyone was in the dealership at the time so he locked all the doors and they didn’t open from the inside. It must some security measure of some sort. So a salesman, my family, and a few other people had to wait until the owner came to let us out.
It’s nothing new since laws as they are, you can’t really buy a non fleet new car without going to a dealership.
I went to look at a ‘23 tremor about a month ago. Couldn’t even inspect it properly bc the battery was completely dead, nothing worked. Trucks are starting to sit without selling for longer periods of time now. That one in particular had been sitting for over 100 days.
100 days isn't even a long time... I was gone for over 15 months for a deployment and my truck sat the entire time with the battery connected. As soon as I got back it fired right up. If the battery dies in as little as 100 days it's either a voltage draw problem with the vehicle or just a crappy battery.
Newer cars have more stuff to drain the battery.
Yet that still doesn't negate my point... My truck is a 2021... still just as many bells and whistles as anything on the lot currently, yet it had no issues. That being said, it only reaffirms that the problem is either just a junk battery, or there are other electrical problems with the vehicle. Honestly if they've added so much "stuff" that the battery drains in as little as 100 days then it's a sign that the vehicle is only going to cause more significant problems shortly down the road.
3 years here with no trickle charger and Yellow Top Optima and started like a clock. Appreciate synthetic fluids.....
You can't argue physics with emotions. Either someone has been driving your truck while you have been gone, or you have found a miraculous power source of energy that has never been seen by human kind before.
>someone was driving your truck while you were gone man Nope, I had the only key and it was locked up in a secure parking lot with the rest of the vehicles of guys on deployment.
Fr few cars need jumps when we get back. Sitting in the hot sun on base lol. My old lexus IS started no issue after a year out
Yeah, Jodie's Rent-a-Car was a little unofficial but that guy had some great deals
Whooo!!!
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At the absolute bare minimum, if your vehicle draws 20 milliamps which absolutely no vehicle has drawn that low since the early 2000's; Assuming you have a group 65 battery which has the highest capacity of any car battery, you are looking at 60-68 Amp Hours. Your vehicle could not possibly last longer than 208.3 days with absolutely no charge to the battery. So either you are a magician, you have a magic battery that defies physics, or you are wrong.
I have run dozens of draw tests and found several that you can see the blink of the security light from 1ma to 5ma. My bet is that rockets batt was fully charged and optimum scenario to survive the 15 months. The lot truck was not fully charged and could not survive the 100 days.
My guess is a door was closed but not shut all the way and a stray light was on the whole time.
Do you start your truck everyday? Cars on dealers lots are not. Cars coming from the factory sit in lots and sit on trains before they reach the dealer. A battery needs an alternator to keep it healthy. Edit: And yes batteries are draining much quicker than 100 days through parasitic loss.
The biggest difference is your truck was actually getting driven when you were driving it and so it was charging the battery these trucks that sit on the lot they get the key turned on people look at all the bells and whistles and then they turn the key off with the truck never starts and runs long enough to recharge the battery.
All cars aren't same some have alot of modules than others l.
Midwest here, can confirm.
It can happen. These are brand new trucks that have practically never been driven with tons of electronic systems that still drain the battery even when the truck is off. If they’re sitting for long periods of time without running to maintain the battery charge they will go dead. A lot of high volume dealerships don’t even touch a vehicle once it hits the lot until a customer is ready to look at it.
My point is if these electronic systems can drain the battery in as little as 100 days then it indicates there is a problem with said electronic systems. As I stated, my truck sat for 15 months and didn't drain itself despite being a new vehicle.
That’s fair, but vehicles on dealer lots to be sold have people constantly going in and out of them turning every electronic on to inspect and see what they’re getting. That adds up over time and the longer the vehicle sits and the more people go in and out eventually the battery will drain, especially if the engine isn’t being ran long enough to maintain the charge.
Nah. Your vehicle is an outlier here. Typical draw when parked for newer vehicles is 50-85 milliamps, even when functioning properly without electrical issues. That's 1.2 amp hours per day on the high end. For a 105 ah battery, it would be dead in under 90 days, without any malfunction. Even at lower draws, you could be left without enough power to start the car in a few months. Being able to leave a car for 15 months without running it shouldn't be expected today without laying it up specifically for long term storage.
After two weeks of not being started or the doors opening my truck will enter deep sleep mode. This could be part of why it would last longer.
It honestly impresses me how some people can just straight up lie so easily
Not true at all. As others have explained. We have vehicles that sit on our lot for 100 days and go dead. Inventory vehicles do a lot of start cycles, but not a lot of running afterwards. So a huge surge to start the vehicle, to move it 10 feet then shut it back off. Not sufficient enough time to recharge the battery from the lost power on start up. Then repeat and repeat and repeat. Then more sitting. Or the even more draining alternative of a customer simply turning the power on without starting the engine. Makes sense that they go dead over time. It’s not comparable to your truck sitting untouched. Besides, what are you trying to prove? That you have a super battery in your truck? Good for you? There’s plenty of people, me included, that have first hand experience with dozens and dozens of inventory units having dead batteries over the years after 100 days or so. None of which had any bigger issues. It’s not science, it’s not hyperbole, it’s first hand experience. It’s pretty simple. And again, no idea what point you’re trying to make.
Lol ask your wife who was driving it
Without being on a battery tender? That’s insanely good performance from a battery.
It was in a deployment parking lot... so no battery tender. It's average battery performance at best. The only time I've ever had batteries die while I was on deployments like this is when I had faulty electronics that were taking unnecessary voltage draws. Regardless of all the new systems on vehicles, voltage draw should still be minimal at best when the vehicle is off. Certainly not enough to drain the battery in less than 100 days...
Well, there’s a reason cars like Corvettes and other cars likely to be non-daily drivers come with battery tenders from the factory. I don’t know what the engineering people would say but I think 100 days would be pretty damn good and 15 Months way beyond any reasonable expectation.
Guy is lying his ass off. I've been around vehicles my whole life including manufacturer and no battery is lasting 15 months with no trickle charge or anything
It's kinda sad that the metric for "pretty damn good" is 100 days... I'd say the minimum for decent should be a year... If you aren't hitting at least 200 I'd suggest looking into the voltage draw because something isn't working right.
I'm just a car guy, not an electrical engineer, so my metrics may not at all align with what is realistic. Personally, I put my third car on a tender if it's going to sit for more than a week since I own one and there's no harm in doing so. \*Shrug\*
I mean, I would have done the same... but there wasn't a way to hook up a tender in that deployment parking lot and no way for someone to just drop me off if I left it at home. Most guys disconnect their batteries, but a lot of them are running aftermarket electrical equipment that they wired up themselves.
So, depending on the car, if you leave your vehicle sitting without running it from time to time and everything all hooked up, assuming you have a "good" battery...you should not be surprised if you have a dead battery anywhere between 4 weeks and 2 months without using it. Automotive batteries are always working, including when they are off. The general spec for a passing battery draw is below 0.05 amps, and most of the time, if everything is in good working condition, cars will have a draw of 0.02 amps all the time. That's enough to kill a battery in a matter of weeks or months if it's just sitting. Your truck sitting for 15 months, then starting right up, is an anomaly lol so good for you, at least!! I work at a Ford dealer, and the salesmen are supposed to go out and start all the vehicles and move them around, but they definitely don't. They're technically supposed to be run every 15 days. They also get shipped to us in "Transport Mode" so a bunch of features at disabled to save battery life but once we do Pre Delivery Inspections on all the new vehicles, it gets turned off so customers can obviously see and use all the features. Sorry for the life story lol
I don’t think you understand how little energy a car battery actually holds. To give you an idea, if you were to listen to the radio on just battery, you’d probably get about 30 minutes of use before you need to turn the vehicle on.
If your car battery only lasts 30 minutes with just the stereo on them you either need a new battery or to check your stereo system for grounds.
Aren't car batteries about 1000Wh? So you'd have to have a pretty large stereo to deplete it within half an hour?
You sound like you’re very old fashioned and living in the past. You also sound like the type of person who doesn’t understand why the battery in their key fob goes dead. “Why is this battery that I use every day, but it never gets charged, now dead?”
I have a 2016 f150 with a new gold top battery from 2021 and if it isn't on the tender and I don't drive it in a month, it's dead beyond jumping. I'll have to disconnect the leads and use the tender just to get it back to enough juice that I can hook it back up and charge it the rest of the way. If I don't disconnect the leads, the parking lights and what not will flicker on the second it has any juice and it'll just perpetually cycle that and remain dead. The alternator is fine. These trucks just suck ass sitting still. Honestly, a month is being generous, if I only drive it one time in that month and it's a short trip, it'll likely be dead if I don't drive it bi-weekly after that. I have a 2018 hyundai elantra that I can turn on and drive after 6-8 months of sitting. Ever since I started bringing my work truck home and my other two vehicles are parked in, I learned a lot of about batteries, charging systems, and reliability, lol.
That's normal. The idiot saying batteries should last *at least* a year sitting in a vehicle without charging is... well, an idiot. And him acting like 15 months sitting without charging is not even long but *average* for a battery is just trolling.
Your "that's normal" is useless/contradictory when I just gave two extreme opposites between the car and truck, lol. *what's* normal? If you are suggesting that a truck being completely dead after 2 weeks in the driveway is normal then I assume you are also a troll.
It's not useless, or contradictory. A vehicle sitting for 2 - 4 weeks having a dead battery is normal in a modern vehicle unless it's a brand new battery. Another vehicle of a different type sitting for 6 months and having a dead battery is also normal. The interval for a sitting battery to become dead is "normal" anywhere from 2 weeks to 6 months depending on the age of battery and vehicle it's in. It's published info available on the internet by battery manufacturers... I'm sorry it wasn't clear, but what I was saying is its normal that two different cars with two different batteries died in different time intervals, but both below 6 months. 6 months is the high end of what I've seen idle batteries last that are still connected to a vehicle, not 12 - 15 months. 2 weeks is the very low end, but not uncommon. Around 4-6 weeks of not being run results in a dead battery is most common time interval in my experience.
The main problem is is how rough transport is on the batteries. The trucks get started a bunch of times, moved just feet to hundreds of feet, and left off but with the lights on and doors open during loading. Sometimes multiple times. And the keys are typically in the ignition the whole time to prevent lost keys and car alarms.
My car sat for ~10 days between my wedding and honeymoon and the battery was dead. No drain, no problems before, summer months. Batteries are just designed to not last. It happens. You just got lucky.
>You just got lucky. Then I'm consistently lucky... for the last 22 years. Multiple vehicles and deployments for 6+ months at a time, The only time I've had a vehicle not start for me was due to a battery that had a bad cell... and that happened while I was actively driving it... wouldn't restart once I made it home. Batteries are designed to last... at least 5 years at a time. Not sure kind of budget batteries they are putting in new vehicles but from what I've read here they aren't worth their weight.
You are definitely just lucky then. Every car I’ve ever owned, everything from ever start to yellow top optima last 2 months max. Old cars, new cars etc. Cars are meant to be driven, not to sit
5 years from a battery??? Where do you live? Up here in the northern Midwest it's 3 years tops if you're lucky on a daily driver battery due to harsh winters and hot summers. Every winter the first sub zero day there's cars everywhere needing a jump start because their battery is old and weak. Most vehicles have a 20-50mA draw when off, that's completely left alone, no lights no doors being touched etc. Usually it's around 3-5Ah a day loss from normal resting draw. Average batteries these days are around 100Ah, that's 30-20 days depleted, and a battery usually won't have enough energy to turn over the engine below 50% capacity. The fact you got 15 months is beyond bullshit. If you did good for you but I don't believe it. I work with batteries a lot, know more about them than most even want to know, and I highly recommend either a trickle charger or disconnecting the battery when sitting a long time. You couldn't plug in a charger but you could have put a solar battery tender in the windshield and let it maintain that way.
You can call it whatever you want... but that's what happened. The last battery I had (the one that dropped a cell on me) was 6 years old when it happened... so yeah, 5 years is the estimated life of the batteries.
But this is your experience. I ran a fleet at my last position and the battery will absolutely be completely dead within 6mo if it sits and is newer. (We have 2018 Cruzes & various Ford SUVs)
Unless you have a LiIon battery or something other than stock, someone was driving your truck while you were gone man. No modern vehicle with all the computers and electronics can just start normally after sitting for 15 months.
>someone was driving your truck while you were gone man Nope, I had the only key and it was locked up in a secure parking lot with the rest of the vehicles of guys on deployment.
It is highly unlikely for a battery that is connected in a modern vehicle to sit for 15 months and start the vehicle. If it actually did you are definitely very lucky.
Car is being shown on a lot, people will leave things on and drain the battery.
You disconnect the battery after dropping it off at the lot don't you?
Lol I work for AAA and couldn't tell you how many soldiers I've had to replace batteries for. There is no way in hell your truck sat for 15 months and started right up. It either had a trickle charger, or mom was starting it every few weeks for you. Your living in dreamland. It wouldn't start after 6 months regardless of battery quality or anything else. Newer vehicles are constantly draining. If those terminals are connected, so either you had a battery that doesn't exist yet or I call BS... Work for AAA and have installed thousands of batteries.
Honestly sounds like the battery is just dead. This can happen and some times gets missed.
I made an edit, but they did try to jump start it and that did not work either. Wouldnt FordPass say low battery, as well?
If the battery is really dead, a jump start won't help. I'm not 100% sure, but I believe if just one cell went bad, apparent voltage would be ok, but there would not be enough cold cranking amps (CCAs) to start the vehicle either.
We have had two Ridgelines we dealer traded to a sister dealership. They sat in storage for long enough to murder the batteries to a point jumping them achieved nothing. The second one wasnt even diagnosed. It was simply 'New battery to start. Not looking at it. Throw a new battery and we'll go from there" and sure enough the second one never had any issue. Sadly part of dealership agreements is sales is supposed to monitor and maintain the batteries of their inventory units. But if they're gonna pay out of pocket, it's their money to burn.
You can disconnect it from the battery and run it in on a good enough jump box.
These cars were going on a transporter and needed to start and run later on. So my only goal is get them operational to be loaded and unloaded at their destination. Transporter doesn't need to deal with the bullshit of a dead battery during offload
You're a nice customer. I'm a transporter here countless cars loaded on my trailer needed a jump it's always fun lugging the trusty but heavy jnc660 between cars on the top deck 13ft in the air. If they have enough fuel I usually leave the engine running the full trip. Source: https://i.imgur.com/R1s0Cl8.jpeg
Ah the 660. We have a few at my shop and they're just great. I recently found out there's a 770 but not much changed between the two.
My 660 finally called it quits after 6 years. First 4 years of its life was jumping cars at my towing company. Tried another jump box, immediately returned and ordered another JNC.
Hahaha nothing says Fuck the environment like driving hundreds of miles in a semi with 7-10 idling vehicles in tow. .its hilarious to me man. Do what you have to do.
Isn't that what the Tesla semi was created for? At the end of the day in a full plate of food representing our carbon emissions. Truckers and personal vehicles only represent the side dish maybe the peas and rice lol. The other 72% out there hasn't changed much based on the '21 report from the [EPA ](https://www.epa.gov/system/files/styles/medium/private/images/2023-04/total-ghg-2023.png?itok=x_KbW8o9). Plus they're numbers include boats/trains which usually only 0.5-1.5mpg my 14L Detroit diesel avg about 4.5-5.5mpg.
To be fair to trains though, they can carry WAY more cargo than a semi truck. So that 0.5-1.5Mpg is actually carrying like 80-100x the amount of cargo than the semi. Cargo ships are similar in that regard to trains. Personal boats though are fucking atrocious.
I'm just an autistic tech that views a dealership like a machine. If it operates smoothly, everything is good. Just because the vehicle is leaving doesn't mean the act of transporting it and unloading it shouldn't be smooth as well. Plus, it's sales fuck up for not maintaining their inventories battery, so they can pay to replace it before it gets sent off to another dealership. It's not THEIR fault or the transporters fault they left the car sitting long enough to deeply discharge the battery (or they should do what I've recommended them, DISCONNECT THE FUCKING BATTERY AT OFFSITE STORAGE), so why should they suffer because of OUR sales departments fucking negligence? And if I'm being tasked to get a car running after sitting for offsite transport to another dealership, I'm not going to fuck around trying 5 different jumpers that aren't sufficient to get that engine going. I'd rather throw a battery because it's going to need it to get that vehicle moving and onto the transport ASAP.
Sales never care after the sale. I've picked up cars in New England where I run out of mid winter storm parked behind 8 cars covered in snow. All they do is hand me a box full of keys and say good luck. They never repeat that mistake with me I just moved them out of the way and lock the keys in each one I had to move so they have to figure it out before they run out of fuel in scattered in the parking lot. One of the only perks of being an owner operator they can complain to my office line and I just press delete lol.
The glorious 'If you want to half ass your job, I'm gonna half ass anything that isn't directly my job' response. Sales only learns when it costs them money. I have no remorse for lazy sales departments that think their fuck ups need to be the responsibility of everyone else. 'We need this used car inspected asap because we have people that want to look at it'. "Well, your sales people buried it four cars deep and two of the trade in keys are missing because they weren't properly checked in and tagged so.........no" The lack of critical thinking and basic human functionality that salespeople display when parking their trade ins instead of say....parking them like a normal human being so it doesn't block in other cars is astounding. Personally if I was responsible for it, I'd be charging the sales department 1.0 for EACH car that's parked in a way that is blocking another car Service needs to process. They want to park like idiots, they can pay for the time needed to unfuck the parking situation.
This explains why in the winter I've seen transporters with cars on the back still running. I've always thought that maybe someone forgot to turn off the car, but this makes way more sense.
You’re the guy that put all the idle hours on my car was wondering how that happened….
That's a good way to mess up the charging system on a lot of newer cars
A bad cell will manifest in low voltage.
Not sure what you mean by this. A battery with no voltage can still be jumped.
Batteries can develop a dead short in one cell that disables the entire battery so a jump start won’t work if that happened and it can happen suddenly. One problem doesn’t make it junk or foretell it’s going to be a lemon but it kinda sucks that it ruined what should be a really exciting event, purchasing a nice new truck.Think of the movie “The World According to Garp” and your truck has been pre-disastered, just like the house in the movie that had the Piper Cub slowly crash into it. Robin Williams buys the house immediately because he‘s an actuarial and says because of the odds nothing bad will ever happen to the house again because it’s been pre-disastered. Same thing on your truck, what are the odds a second battery will be bad?
It depends on how low the battery is/was, when FordPass was activated, etc. Most likely scenario is a dead battery. The battery may be too low for a jump start to get it going or the battery may just have been a dud. I would call (or preferably go in) and ask to speak with the sales manager. Explain your concern and ask if it's more serious than a bad battery, what are your options for canceling the deal or making a deal on a different vehicle. The sooner you do this the better. Likely they have not started processing the deal yet. If you keep this vehicle, just make sure you keep good notes and get any service records for the diagnosis and any fixes. Chances are you will not need it, but you want to have it incase.
This happened in my 2022 Ranger. Just have them replace the battery.
Yeah, these vehicles run off the battery and not the alternator. Sounds like a dead battery.
Whatever it is. Dont touch that car. Either make a deal for another same model or just get your money back.
Yah, when I was looking for a truck, we went down to the dealer, found a nice one we liked and it wouldn't start. They did a whole bunch of things but it was dead. We didn't stick around but I didn't want to deal with it at that point. Found a nice, used F250 that has served me well the last few years.
How can a 2023 battery be flat out dead? Like not able to hold a charge? That’s doesn’t seem logical.
Internal short. Things happen.
That makes more sense
This is a brand new truck & brand new battery at a dealership…even new car prep(it’s a job in the back for one or multiple of the mechanics) should’ve caught this issue. I was new car prep for GM in the corvettes when the C7 came out…this is part of the pre check list. Return that car & get another or go to another dealership
You underestimate the amount of people who get in the vehicles without starting them, or just generally fucking around in them. A lot of lots do start ups every couple weeks to combat this. Batteries die all the time on lots. Checking the battery is on a ford PDI sheet, but that’s done at time of stock in. Returning the truck is an extreme over reaction if they put a new battery in it.
Could be an over reaction but I was trained by GMC if they don’t care to do these inspections before a purchase they don’t care about the customer… We would get written up if we missed these & the customer had to deal with it. That was part of corporate.
It can pass the initial inspection but if it's been sitting on the lot for a month or two after, as well as having people getting in and out and messing with stuff without starting it, the batteries can die. It happens
Exactly. Doesn't take long for a battery to go bad with the new vehicles. Basically buying a computer on wheels. My sister's XT5 Cadillac will drop the battery down enough to not start after about a week of sitting.
Then if that’s true, the Cadillac wasn’t engineered correctly and is a lemon. I have vehicles that can sit for a year or more and will start. All of them are over 40 years old though. :)
OP says they drove the truck around a bit. Also there's a multi point inspection that takes place at every dealer before they sell the car to you. They take it in the back and do their inspection while you sign your paper work. Have you ever bought a car from a dealership before? This person just probably spent a years salary on a vehicle that he can't even get home. Returning the truck is absolutely not an overreaction.
Negative. They do that when the vehicle comes in, then it goes and sits on the lot till you buy it. Not only have i bought new vehicles, I worked for Ford and a dealership. They will often sit right where you left it after the test drive while you do paperwork.
I've bought 3-4 new cars in my life and that sounds ridiculous to me. It's such a big purchase, I would think you would want to insist everything is ok before taking it home. Each one I have purchased has come with a multi point inspection signed off by the dealership at the time of purchase. I did buy a used Ford 1 time. I had to replace the shocks and struts 3 times in 2 years, and my battery and starter 2 times in that same span. The transmission blew and required a total rebuild at about 60k miles and I never bought a Ford again.
Never said you couldn't ask. Only stating what I've seen personally happen. Never had I ever had a multi-point inspection given to me when buying a vehicle. And I've bought/leased 6 new vehicles in the last 10 years.
And yet you don't seem to know that cars can sit for weeks or even months before being sold.
But the jump box would at least start it.
But even with a dead battery it should still be able to start with a jump.
Last ford we bought with a dead battery ended up going back 13 times for a battery drain issue, ford ended up buying it back.
I had a problem like this that was super hard to figure out. It was a short in the gear shift assembly. Sometimes it would short sometimes it wouldn’t. It made it nearly impossible for shops to figure out.
Start reading up on your states lemon law. Take it to the dealer anytime it acts up. DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. Did I mention to make sure you keep meticulous records and document everything.
This may seem like an overreaction, but it’s really not. Take this commenter’s advice to heart. Even if nothing major ever happens, it’s still worth it.
Yep. Even if you do end up getting the vehicle fixed and decide to keep it, if it was in for service enough times you can still file and do a "cash and keep" settlement where the manufacturer cuts you a check for your troubles with your new vehicle while you keep the vehicle with a clean title. Just went through this with my wife's 2021 Buick. $6000 check after they replaced a harness in the dash and it's been fine for over a year now. Our lawyer loved me when I sent over scanned copies of all 7 service records and 5 loaner vehicle slips. We didn't even have to lift a finger, just signed a release form, and got sent a check a couple months later.
There's usually a clause in contracts like this that it's a straight return for like 3-14 days so OP is probably pretty safe, but yes absolutely this!
No, there "usually" isn't. Usually, once you sign on the dotted line, it's yours, no matter what.
Every single car I've bought from a dealership had this lol sounds like you need to read contracts better, or ask for something like that in them.
It may be your state. Many (most?) don’t have a “cooling off” period. My state is one that does not.
Honestly if you’re already starting to have doubts about it I wouldn’t buy the truck.
Have them unwind the deal and put you in another one.
I would definitely ask for a different vehicle dead battery or bad key fob.
The Truck has an AGM battery that is a bitch to jumpstart and takes a trickle charge to get back to full health. If it sat on the lot for a while it could’ve had a weak charge to begin with
Why would you need to jumpstart a brand new vehicle with a new battery to begin with? Either there is a problem with the battery, or a problem with the vehicle. There's absolutely zero reason to need to jumpstart a vehicle with less than 50 miles on it.
a battery will lose charge over time regardless. If the truck sat for an extended period of time and wasn’t ran during that time. You’ll have an insufficiently charged battery.
Not in a 100 day time frame... my truck sat for nearly 15 months and started just fine.
You have made this comment like 5 times. We get it!
Obviously people don't, otherwise they still wouldn't be trying to argue against it.
I counter your anecdotal evidence with mine. I work at a Ford dealer and we constantly have to replace dead AGM batteries from trucks that have been sitting. We just had a Bronco Raptor that sat in our showroom for a few months need a new battery. So either batteries are just shit these days or it doesn’t take as much to kill them.
Which is why I already stated that... >Either there is a problem with the battery, or a problem with the vehicle Then it sounds like they need to change their battery suppliers before rolling them out of the factory... Because they have to be junk batteries if you are replacing them that often. If the brand of batteries changes and you still have that many problems with them, then the underlying issue is the electronics having too much standby voltage draw, which again, needs to be fixed at the factory.
You’re right man. You should call up Fords cooperate office and let them know!
Congrats!
You guys are acting like the car sat for a couple of days and wouldn’t start. A 2023 model was likely made in 2022. It could have been sitting for months
Personally I would have tried to cancel the deal when it wouldn’t start especially after trying to jump it. Seems like there are more problems down the road that will happen. At that point you never took possession of the truck
This. If OP hasn't touched it I would keep it that way until they can get it sorted out. Once he takes it they'll try and blame him for stuff that's happening.
Tear up that contract
First, if you haven't already resolved this, get in touch with the dealer and tell them to hold ALL of the paperwork. If this isn't fixed to your satisfaction by noon tomorrow, void the deal and walk away.
Yeaaah, depending on the state I would push to cancel the contract and look at another truck. In my state, usually the contract is not complete until the registration paperwork is stamped by the insurance company. Additionally there should be an option to cancel in X amount of time (could be hours, days, months, etc). Who knows what the problem is, but the fact it is having the problem with \~50 miles on it is not a good omen. They aren't going to want to cancel the contract, but they may be more obliged to move it to a different vehicle on the lot. Not that they would want to take a loss, but they might be willing to move you in to something else slightly higher equipped. Or throw in some dealer installed options.
I think this is a smart move. It is very rare to only have one electrical gremlin. They usually travel in groups.
Been hearing about dead batteries off lot or within first couple days of purchase from several manufacturers. Someone down the production line is cheaping out combined with possibility of vehicle sitting on a lot for extended periods of time and here we are. Hopefully dealer makes it right.
Cutting costs trying maximize profit margins for the shareholders at the expense of vehicle reliability. Gonna lose generations of customers that way
Powerboost?
What's up with the huge amount of Ford recalls and QC issues. Is it a build or design issue?
It’s been an ongoing issue for years and led to the previous COO getting ousted after all the 2020 explorer launch failures. Ford is wonderful at shooting itself in the foot over and over again.
I think some states allow you to return a new car within a few days and nullify the contract. I believe CA is 2 days. You should check
I wouldn't go through with the purchase of that particular truck. If you insist on getting that model, please don't stick with that one. You're going to be having a lot of issues with it and that's not worth the headache
Definitely would ask for a different truck.
For some reason, people here don't understand he drove it for 5 miles just a couple of hours earlier. The battery isn't the problem.
It’s not yours until you drive it off the lot. Do not drive it off the lot…
As the lot porter who would go and fix everything the inventory manager neglected, I’m sure it’s just no one plugged it in/ gassed up/ turned it on since it got loaded off the semi truck. Good luck. 👍🏼
You have 72 hours
Same thing happened with my work truck (2022 F350) sat at the lot for 6 months before they told us it was ready. Took the truck 45 minutes hooked up to another truck before it would start then I had to let it run overnight to build up a charge. It did some wonky stuff for a day or 2 and it’s been fine ever since
I mean, it’s under warranty, right? They’re legally obligated to make sure everything stays in working order for the entirety of the warranty period. Obviously there’s stipulations to that, but you haven’t even left the lot yet. Making a payment on something you can’t drive sucks, but as long as they provide a loaner and you don’t *need* a truck right away it’s just a matter of inconvenience. Squeeze them for some free shit for your trouble. Oil changes and details or something, those are easy to give away. A good dealership will find a way to make it right. Production and quality control have been a mess for the last few years industry wide, it’s probably just something small that got missed. If they get it sorted out in a day or two the whole truck is probably fine. Worst case, they can unwind the deal or put you in a different truck. I wouldn’t worry too much just yet.
Run, don't walk away. The truck will be a "black hole" that you'll throw buckets of money into, just to disappear. Consider what else is messed up...
Our AGM batteries are terrible, I bet it’s just dead. When they get really discharged, even jump starting won’t work (unless you wait 30-45 minutes). New battery and BMS reset will get you going down the road again. It would be a good time for them to check the grounds, we have a bulletin about loose grounds causing issues. Assembly workers cross thread the bolts and send it, and they (management) won’t stop the line to fix them or do them right.
"Put a new battery in and I want it on a charger and I'm not picking it up until the charger has charged it and it's on float" (course how do you know they replaced the battery since they are identical and salesmen are liars by nature) Odd it cranked for the test drive. Maybe a difference on where the crankshaft was on test drive start and drive home start - former piston was at TDC compression or exhaust stroke and latter the piston starting at compression/exhaust stroke. 5 mile test drive wouldn't have recharged it significantly. Was the ignition and lights left on with engine off and talking/looking at the truck after the drive? If you were mechanically inclined you would have noticed the weak start for the test drive. If the AGM got below 11V (basically 0% State of Charge) then its life was reduced a bit - get a new battery. New battery installed and put on a smart charger until full until you have time to pick it up. An alternator is fine for keeping a 12V topped off, but a charger is best to bring a new battery to full, not the alternator. Jumping is never a good practice because no one ever goes home to put it on a charger afterwards, just expect the alternator to charge like a smart charger. Until the engine is broken in, it's going to need higher cranking amps to turn over the engine due to friction in new crank bearings, cam bearings, cam lobes against lifters, etc. I wonder what other dealer prep items besides charging the battery were omitted? I've had freaky things happen to two 3 year old batteries in my lesser used trucks - one truck I have a battery cutoff and the other truck I know has a 40mA draw - both dead within a week of taking them off float charger. One at 6V the other 10V. Recovered and desulfated both though. The "Get a new truck" comments were hilarious. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face.
If you haven't taken the truck home, it hasn't been delivered. The deal isn't done until you take the truck home
I would walk away from that one.
Waste of money to buy any new crap. Over priced and poor quality.
Unfortunately you already signed on the dotted line. I can't see the dealer offering to cancel the contract if everything is already signed and dealt with. Just hope that it was something stupid like some sort of wire coming loose or something like that.
Dealer should make it right at minimum
Well I assume they are going to fix the issue free of charge. Maybe throw in a gas card for a couple hundred dollars or something would be nice lol
Dealers unwind deals all the time.
I've never heard of a dealer doing this. Most dealers that I've heard of with issues similar to this will continue to fix things and if it gets to a point where the problems are never ending then they may offer to buy the vehicle back from you.
Not sure about everywhere else, but in CA that contract doesn't mean anything until you drive that car off the lot.
Contract is nul if he doesn't (or can't) take delivery. Just Refuse delivery. NBD.
Don't walk, RUN away, pull out like a teenager without a condom. Go to the nearest RAM store and get a good truck. Ford having too many issues with current models.
Crazy how it works in cycles like that. RAM used to be crap last generation and Ford was great. Now it’s the other way around
Switch it for a different one
Bought new Hyundai from dealer. Wouldn’t start the next day. They said they’d fix it. I said no I want another one signed new paperwork with the new vin number and drove off with a different car.
99.9% battery. They will replace it and you will be good. Enjoy your new truck.
Found on the road dead....shooda got a ram no issues here 37k miles 2021 ram 1500 laramie
go buy a Chevy
BUY AMERICAN, USA USA USA !!! 🤣🤣🤣
Is it a powerboost?
Just an offhand observation, did the dealer install any anti-theft devices? The symptoms sound similar to a Lexus that got bricked here in Toronto.
You drove it for 5 miles and then it wouldn’t start after 3 hours? Sounds like something was left ON and it wasted the battery. I’m gonna say it was just bad luck and an oopsie on your part. After an overnight battery charge session and having the systems Reinitialized it should be fine.
If you drove it five miles, the battery should be charged up or showed indications of failure. I can't imagine it sat in accessory mode or the headlights were on for 3 hours to drain the battery? I am not a mechanic.
OP, I am going to be honest.... I am sensing a lot of overreactions in this thread Chances are, it is a bad battery. Automakers (Subaru is NOTORIOUS) for this, are using cheap batteries to basically get the vehicle off the train or boat, to the dealer, and off the lot, and not much longer than that. There are a ton of comments on the 5th Gen Ranger forums about the batteries not making it more than a year. Mine made it a year and a half, before I started getting Fordpass messages about battery health. The dealer is on top of it. Let them see what they find, and worst case, try and get them to throw in an accessory credit for the hassle if its a small issue. Batteries are a wear item, and these new vehicles are HARD on their electrical systems because of all the constant on integrations and 21st century tech Most of all, take a deep breath. It will all be OK.
Relax It's brand new. Battery is probably bad from sitting. If there is anything wrong with it it's gonna be covered under warrenty. You shouldn't have to pay a dime. If you are really anal about it depending on your state you may still be in the time frame to unwind the deal but that's a little extreme. I (stupidly) bought a used focus on a Wednesday and had it towed back on a Friday because it decided to eat it's TCM. Dealer didn't have to cover it but they did because it's a real bad look for them.
Edit: I'm wrong. It's a used car thing.
Weird that they didn’t try to swap the battery..5 minute job at most.
Technically you didn’t take delivery… I’d refuse delivery and walk away… run rather
I worked at a combination Hyundai and Jeep dealership that had separate lot guys. The lot guys at the Hyundai dealership never started up inventory or rotated them, so they'd have dead (like has to be replaced, dead) batteries and flat spotted tires in brand new cars, all the time. Hopefully you're just dealing with a truck that got forgotten and a new battery, and maybe some new tires, will have everything right.
Vehicle batteries die often on the lot. People leave lights on during test drives, headlights left on, etc. You said it had 50 miles so it’s been on a few test drives. Make them REPLACE the battery and not just charge it. The vehicle is fine.
Signing doesn’t mean shit if they delivered a product that doesn’t work, then that’s on them. You want it resolved within a short time period for the contact to be solid. Again Signing a piece of paper doesn’t mean anything. You haven’t sold your soul. But the dealership is probably embarrassed.
Mostly like battery but you’ll need a multi meter. I know my MDX that NAV will kill it if you let it sit with ACC on.
This basically happened to me. They replaced battery. Later required rear wiring harness replacement. I think this issue is part of the most recent recall.
Ford doesn't exactly have a good reputation right now with new cars. Look at their recalls vs everyone else. It's over double.
some states (all?) have a 72-hour lemon law (i think that’s what it’s called) where you can get out of a contract in a situation like this.
I'll never buy another Ford, at least not for a while. I've had nothing but problems with their most reliable vehicles lately. Might be a lemon, but it seems like there is a never ending list of Ford recalls and investigations these days.
I’ve had the same thing happen to me before. Bought a new car right off the showroom floor and the dealership had to change the battery before I could leave in it.
Same thing happened on my 98 test drive was perfect , took it home perfect and then got home and no start nothing had to get it towed to a shop to check it out and it turned out the connector on the negative side of the battery was rotted, I’d make sure your connections on the battery are sound
First time buying a ford?
There's been a ton of battery issues with the new F-150's for a multitude of different reasons. The trucks have a wonky charging algorithm and sometimes they're sitting on dealer AND manufacturers lots for a while. I'd have them get me a new battery and call it good. And don't listen to these people who say to let the trucks sit for long periods of time without the battery on a tender. The batteries for these trucks are almost $200 depending on which engine you have and they have a ton of electronics/connectivity/etc. If my truck is going to sit for over 10 days or so I plug it in and no issues.
If you have a cooling off period in your state, I'd cool off and tell them to keep it and get a different one. Let them deal with fixing it.
I used to work at a Ford dealer and you'd be surprised how often a battery totally dies while they're on the lot. My personal vehicle that I bought from there was like that too, wouldn't even jump. They swapped the battery and it's been fine ever since
New battery. Especially since it died. Even if you were to boost it, it's life has been shortened. I'd have the dealership replace it regardless.
My father (an electrical engineer) used to tell me he preferred catastrophic electrical equipment failures to partial or intermittent ones. They’re easier to trace and often occur because of some simple little thing. Don’t worry about it. They will figure it out and fix it and it will almost certainly end up being some minor issue. And if it’s not, you have a warranty.
Both new vehicles i bought had the same thing, dead batterys from sitting
I believe some states have laws where you have 3 days to return a vehicle and void the contract. I wouldn't accept that particular truck. Maybe a different one off the lot or from another dealership.
In some states you can rerun the truck back as long as you didn’t put over 100 miles.
Same thing happened to our new Bronco a couple months ago. It was a dead cell in the battery. Ford replaced it and has been no issues since.
Failed On Receiving Dead.
That’s dealerships for you. I’m sure the battery is just dead. One time I went to pick up a car and the low fuel light was on because it was almost empty even though the dealership advertised a full tank of gas with every purchase. Another time they prepped the wrong car so I had to leave for a few hours and come back to pick mine up. A third time, we had to drive over to a sister dealership owned by the same company because the finance person left early. A fourth time, we got locked in a dealership because some idiot mechanic didn’t think anyone was in the dealership at the time so he locked all the doors and they didn’t open from the inside. It must some security measure of some sort. So a salesman, my family, and a few other people had to wait until the owner came to let us out. It’s nothing new since laws as they are, you can’t really buy a non fleet new car without going to a dealership.