NHTSA complaint #11543466

Owner complaint summary

While driving the vehicle in the highway the service/malfunction indicator light (MIL, wrench symbol) turned on and the vehicle dramatically lost propulsion power limiting my acceleration/speed. I opened the Ford Pass App on my phone and the following messages were shown regarding the issue: "High-Voltage Battery Warning and Powertrain Malfunction/Reduce Power". The message in the app also indicated to contact the dealer immediately. I would estimate that max acceleration was instantly reduced over 30%, causing a great concern while cruising at highway speeds. Previous to the date of this incident, the warning/check engine light never turned on. I made the next exit to use secondary roads as a precautionary measure since the max acceleration was limited. I am very active in various Mach-E forums, and this is a well-known issue for Ford. These messages are the ones related to a potential design problem with the High Voltage Battery Junction Box (HVBJB) included in my vehicle (Mach-Es built on or before May 28, 2023). My production date was January 2022. This vehicle got the safety recall #22S41 (software update) at the dealer last year. The software basically allowed the driver to get these warning messages if issues with the HVBJB contactors were detected. It is noteworthy to mention that I did not get the “Stop Safely Now” message, which would have made the vehicle undrivable. Next morning the wrench symbol disappeared from my instrument cluster. Ford issued a technical service bulletin #23-2257 to address a fix, which will involve the replacement of the potentially defective HVBJB for a redesigned one. The dealer indicated the remedy Ford provided was the software update, however multiple owners have reported the replacement of the potential defective part by Ford can only be done if the vehicle is totally inoperable showing the "Stop Safely Now" message. A sudden loss of propulsion while cruising at highway speeds is a safety concern for driver and others.