Ford Just Recalled Almost 50,000 Mach-E's
Ford just recalled nearly 50,000 Mustang Mach-E EVs. What is the story behind the recall?
Written by Andrew Kidd
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
Recall after recall hitting the auto industry? Tell us something new.
Recalls
are a relatively common part of life for any vehicle owner. Now, nearly 50,000 Ford Mustang Mach-E
owners can experience for themselves the unmatched joy of waiting to drive again.What's the reason for the new Ford Mustang Mach-E recall?
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (
NHTSA
), Ford is recalling 48,924 Mustang Mach-E crossover SUVs in the U.S. because of defective high-voltage battery main contactors that could overheat, resulting in a loss of driving power. The issue covers Mustang Mach-Es manufactured between May 2020 to May 2022.The NHTSA described the issue in recall documentation:
"Direct Current (DC) fast charging and repeated wide-open pedal events can cause the high voltage battery main contactors to overheat. Overheating may lead to arcing and deformation of the electrical contact surfaces, which can result in a contactor that remains open or a contactor that welds closed."
Essentially, fast-charging and flooring it are sending so much current to the battery contactors that they're melting some of them, which could cause the
Mach-E
to lose power and increase the likelihood of an accident. Ford informed NHTSA that it wasn't aware of any accidents caused by this issue.
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Is there a fix for the faulty battery contactors?
Yes, and thankfully it won't require a visit to a mechanic. Ford plans to remedy the issue in vehicles (ones with as-of-yet unmelted battery contacts) by deploying an over-the-air software update sometime in July.
Per NHTSA documentation, this update will tweak the secondary onboard diagnostic and battery energy control modules. The updated secondary onboard diagnostic module will monitor contactor temperatures to maintain battery power at a safe level to avoid overheating.
The updated battery energy control module will monitor the contactor's resistance to identify whether it has overheated and, if so, reduce vehicle power to keep it from being damaged.
How do I know if my vehicle is affected?
For most recalls, you'll typically get a notification from your vehicle's manufacturer. Ford is expected to send letters to owners in mid-July, while the update itself will deploy around the same time.
In this case, a recall like this is a great opportunity for the Blue Oval to tout its over-the-air capability. It's not the first to implement remote vehicle updates, but by adopting them, the automaker is saving its customers the usual headache of visiting a Ford or Lincoln dealership for repair work or to flash a software update.
Not that Mustang Mach-E owners will mind too much; the electric crossover was received pretty warmly by customers and automotive media alike. So well, in fact, that Ford is having
trouble meeting demand
for new orders of the electric pony.Where else can I learn about recalls?
Watch out for recall alerts from NHTSA to see if your vehicle is affected in the near future, as the agency reports them before automakers send letters to customers. You can find the agency's recall lookup tool
here
. You can also report safety problems on your vehicle to bring to the agency's attention.
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