You probably won't like this... we have a 2019 Fusion Hybrid. It was in and out of the shop at least a half dozen times in the last 6 months. We kept getting the wrench code and the dealer was at a loss as to what the issue was. They kept messing with it, then giving it back to see if the fix worked. It never did... they pulled the entire hybrid battery control system. (the top half of the battery pack) and replaced it. God only knows how much that costs. They had the car for 3 days. Fix lasted two days... They spent a lot of time with their tech support in Detroit, trying to figure out what the issue was. Their last fix was to completely drain the battery and do a 24 hour long "trickle charge", then re-program it... Worked for about 2 weeks. What they were dealing with is that there are two halves of the hybrid battery and they are supposed to talk to each other and it wasn't... Now, it has lost the wrench code and is just throwing a check engine light. The code reader says battery modules N and M have their balancing circuits stuck in the ON position.
Codes: BECM PODDD and ABS PODE1.
The "balancing circuit" is what everyone in the lithium ion battery world calls a BMS, battery management system. It is supposed to keep all the hybrid battery's individual cells balanced, voltage wise... Apparently there is an issue with it. When I first brought this thing in for repair in May 2022 it was still under warranty, so no charge. Then the last time I brought it in they said the warranty had expired and they wanted ME to pay for it. Told them where they could put that! I brought it in UNDER WARRANTY and they screwed around with it until the warranty expired, then they wanted to charge me $600 just to "re-program" the POS. NOT! They ate the cost under some Ford consumer satisfaction fund... probably should have been the Ford, don't get sued in court, fund. So, I purchased the Ford extended warranty, on it. I had made it under the wire in getting the Ford warranty, by 3 days. 8 yrs. 100K miles.
And you think THAT is bad...?? Get this... My 2021 F-150 PowerBoost hybrid pickup has been in the shop for 6 weeks now. Another head scratcher for Ford. The driver's side headlight and parking lights stopped working at 24K miles.. They said they already have $6000 worth of parts into the repair and it still doesn't work. Headlight module $2200 ea. and the control modules are $1600 each! (if you are out of warranty, you are on the hook for it...) They change out the headlight control module it blows the headlight when they try to program the module. They were working with the Ford brain trust in Detroit on how to proceed... then Ford dibanded the group. (costs too much money) Then some times it blows the control module as well. They've changed them out at least twice, now with no success, with two more he'adlight assemblies and two more control modules on order. Even tried putting the passenger side light assembly in the driver's side. No, NO, NO! said the control module. Not allowed. You can't put a right side headlight in the left side. (how the hell does it know that?) Talked to them today... one of their mechanics took to the internet to see if they could find other instances of this behavior, since their "expert" group was disbanded. Apparently they found three instances. So the called the dealers that had experienced it. Based on that... they are going to try changing out BOTH headlights and their respective control modules. I'll bet a dollar it doesn't work. (I suggest they hire a good Priest experienced in exorcisms...) Still hoping to get it back sometime before my 8 yr. extended warranty expires. These vehicles have gotten WAY too complicated for the average mechanic to deal with, then Ford disbands their "expert" group. Go figure.
Now you know what I know... which isn't much comfort, with yours no longer under warranty. Drop me a line ([email protected]) and I'll let you know how it works out. This is a special e-mail address that is unmonitored. So let me know if you are interested in the finale to this saga.
