Ford Battery Recall - #25S02

[BS FE 21]

My battery is dead. They have recall to replace the battery. Pretty straight forward. Batteries are readily available. But for some reason it's a total mystery at Ford. Can't fix now, don't have any idea when we can fix it. I don't care how many they may have to check mine is dead and needs attention now. They can easily fix for cash and it's no mystery.

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[Mark S.]

Replacing a dead battery is not that hard to figure out.

You're right. But that's not the only part of the equation. As @Escape2Bronco notes, who pays for the battery matters a great deal. If Ford's OE supplier has agreed to cover all or part of the cost to complete this recall then it wouldn't make sense for Ford to purchase batteries from another supplier. Ford is sorta in the same situation we all are; we know a battery is coming for free, so it makes no sense to go out and pay out of pocket for one.

I feel for those like you who got caught in the cracks. Your battery failed AFTER the recall was issued. I know Ford has replaced batteries for some owners under warranty, but your car is well out of the 3yr/36K bumper-to-bumper coverage. Additionally, the average lifespan of an automotive battery is 3-5 years. Yours lasted 4 years. You didn't mention it, so I presume you've had no issues with it up to this point. I think Ford can make a strong argument that your battery was not defective, it simply wore out.

Probably not what you want to hear.

 

[BS FE 21]

Who pays for the dead battery is what this holdup is all about. Ford is trying to make sure they aren't on the hook. That is between Ford and their supplier and that may take years of legal wrangling to hash out. That side is not the Ford customer's concern, nor should it be. Ford has been directed to correct a defect. That means fix something Ford is responsible for. If Ford wants to point the finger at someone else that is Ford's problem not the car buyer's problem. As far as the customer is concerned the buck stops at Ford.

 

[BS FE 21]

It's true that a battery could wear out in 4 years. It's true my bumper to bumper warranty is over. The NHTSA said my car was covered by the recall. Ergo my battery would be replaced by Ford. There was no mention of factory warranty or Ford waiting to get the cheapest available battery from Albania or wherever. There isn't a warranty crack I fell through the way I read it. Ford can't just keep pushing back the timeline with lame excuses until the battery dies and then say Sorry, you fell through the cracks, your warranty expired or your battery died of natural causes. The recall does not read that way.

 

[coopny]

The recall language does not specify a time limit. Batteries sometimes do die in 3-5 years, but the recall notification does not specify any time limit.

The recall language is very specific that there the batteries are defectively manufactured and can fail with essentially no warning:
WELD AND OR CAST-ON-STRAP FAILURES, WHICH COULD LEAD TO A SUDDEN BATTERY DEGRADATION WHILE DRIVING.

Essentially if Ford doesn't replace batteries in the recall, the battery can go from testing fine and working fine to non-functional essentially instantly while the vehicle is in motion/is being driven.

Accordingly, I would be shocked (and think it would be a major legal liability) if Ford didn't replace all of the batteries in the subject population when feasible to have enough batteries, regardless of the battery age.

Personally if I was subject to the recall, I would not want to risk a loss of power while driving (potentially at highway speeds), and I would get the battery tested immediately. If the battery health tested good, I would replace it with an AGM battery anyways and then fight it out with Ford. Even if I didn't end up getting reimbursed by Ford (and I am a veryyyyy squeaky wheel) I would still pay the money to have the peace of mind that the new battery doesn't have a latent manufacturing defect in it.

 

[Mark S.]

The NHTSA said my car was covered by the recall. Ergo my battery would be replaced by Ford.

If your car had exhibited the symptoms described in the recall that indicate a faulty battery I would agree with you. You didn't indicate that in your post. What you described is the symptoms of a worn out battery.

 

[Mark S.]

The recall language does not specify a time limit. Batteries sometimes do die in 3-5 years, but the recall notification does not specify any time limit.

As I noted in my replay to @BS FE 21, I would agree completely if someone's car exhibits the symptoms described in the recall notice. That didn't happen, his battery exhibited all the symptoms of a worn out battery. You might be able to squeak enough to get Ford to pay for a new battery under these circumstances, but I think it would be an uphill battle.

 

[BS FE 21]

I don't recall symptoms described in the recall notice. The recall notice mentions some kind of defect in the battery. The recall notice does not mention the age of the battery, car warranty etc. It only says that the battery could suddenly die and would be replaced by Ford. So I guess that means the only time Ford has to replace the battery is when it quits in the middle of a drive. Oh, forgot, they don't have the parts so lucky for Ford you have to pay for the new battery. That is not what the recall says. It says Ford is required to replace the battery in the affected cars. Ford says it's waiting on parts. REALLY? The dealer says the whole situation is a great mystery and maybe someday at sometime they will get around to doing something. Don't get your hopes up

 

[Dude]

I don't recall symptoms described in the recall notice. The recall notice mentions some kind of defect in the battery. The recall notice does not mention the age of the battery, car warranty etc. It only says that the battery could suddenly die and would be replaced by Ford. So I guess that means the only time Ford has to replace the battery is when it quits in the middle of a drive. Oh, forgot, they don't have the parts so lucky for Ford you have to pay for the new battery. That is not what the recall says. It says Ford is required to replace the battery in the affected cars. Ford says it's waiting on parts. REALLY? The dealer says the whole situation is a great mystery and maybe someday at sometime they will get around to doing something. Don't get your hopes up

Yes it’s best not to be able to recall the well known symptoms and get that new AGM battery for free

Your OE Battery would need to be the EFB Battery and manufactured by the Chinese company listed in Recall 25S02 and be the Part # provided earlier and or meet all the requirements listed in a future update to Recall 25S02 because it does not yet have the full details

Meanwhile a failed OE Battery would need to get replaced by the owner with a replacement AGM Battery with all receipts kept for future reimbursement by Ford

 

[BS FE 21]

Jan 17,2025

Manufacturer Recall Number25S02

NHTSA Recall Number25V019

Recall StatusRecall Incomplete, remedy not yet available

SummaryON YOUR VEHICLE, THE 12-VOLT BATTERY MAY EXPERIENCE INTERNAL WELD AND OR CAST-ON-STRAP FAILURES, WHICH COULD LEAD TO A SUDDEN BATTERY DEGRADATION WHILE DRIVING.


Safety RiskIF THE BATTERY SUDDENLY DEGRADES DURING A DRIVE, YOUR VEHICLE MAY BE UNABLE TO RESTART AFTER AN AUTO STOPSTART EVENT OR EXPERIENCE A STALL WHILE COMING TO A STOP AT LOW SPEED. EITHER OF THESE CONDITIONS MAY BE ACCOMPANIED BY A LOSS OF ELECTRICAL ACCESSORIES, INCLUDING HAZARD LIGHTS. A LOSS OF MOTIVE POWER CAN INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH. WHEN THE REMEDY IS AVAILABLE, FORD MOTOR COMPANY WILL SEND A LETTER TO INFORM YOU TO CONTACT YOUR DEALER TO SCHEDULE A REPAIR. FORD HAS NOT ISSUED INSTRUCTIONS TO STOP DRIVING YOUR VEHICLE UNDER THIS SAFETY RECALL. WHEN THE REMEDY IS AVAILABLE, YOU SHOULD CONTACT YOUR DEALER FOR AN APPOINTMENT TO HAVE YOUR VEHICLE REMEDIED AS SOON AS PRACTICABLE.


RemedyPARTS ARE NOT AVAILABLE. FORD MOTOR COMPANY IS WORKING TO PROVIDE PARTS FOR THIS REPAIR. WHEN THE REMEDY BECOMES AVAILABLE, FORD MOTOR COMPANY WILL NOTIFY YOU VIA MAIL TO SCHEDULE A SERVICE APPOINTMENT WITH YOUR DEALER FOR REPAIRS TO BE COMPLETED FREE OF CHARGE. THE REMEDY IS ANTICIPATED TO BE AVAILABLE Q2 2025.


Manufacturer's NotesTO CHECK FOR NON-SAFETY-RELATED PROGRAMS APPLICABLE TO YOUR VEHICLE, SEE HTTP://WWW.FORD.COM/ OR CALL YOUR FORD DEALER.


If the manufacturer has failed or is unable to remedy this safety recall for your vehicle in a timely manner, please contact the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at: 1-888-327-4236 or TTY: 1-800-424-9153 or file an online complaint with NHTSA.


My wife's Bronco Sport died in the driveway. Would not start. Stopped holding a charge. What symptoms am I missing? If the metal strap slowly broke down could it not cause what I experienced. My car was on the recall list. It's a first edition so it had the battery that causes the problem. I don't really care about the free battery. I care about the way Ford treats me as a customer. Local dealer was not interested in checking or fixing my problem, especially after I mentioned the recall. I'll keep my receipt and see if Ford comes through.

One more thing. I have start/stop disabled. This means the battery failure would not stop the Bronco in stop and go traffic.

 

[BLUEOVALRACER]

Jan 17,2025

Manufacturer Recall Number25S02

NHTSA Recall Number25V019

Recall StatusRecall Incomplete, remedy not yet available

SummaryON YOUR VEHICLE, THE 12-VOLT BATTERY MAY EXPERIENCE INTERNAL WELD AND OR CAST-ON-STRAP FAILURES, WHICH COULD LEAD TO A SUDDEN BATTERY DEGRADATION WHILE DRIVING.


Safety RiskIF THE BATTERY SUDDENLY DEGRADES DURING A DRIVE, YOUR VEHICLE MAY BE UNABLE TO RESTART AFTER AN AUTO STOPSTART EVENT OR EXPERIENCE A STALL WHILE COMING TO A STOP AT LOW SPEED. EITHER OF THESE CONDITIONS MAY BE ACCOMPANIED BY A LOSS OF ELECTRICAL ACCESSORIES, INCLUDING HAZARD LIGHTS. A LOSS OF MOTIVE POWER CAN INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH. WHEN THE REMEDY IS AVAILABLE, FORD MOTOR COMPANY WILL SEND A LETTER TO INFORM YOU TO CONTACT YOUR DEALER TO SCHEDULE A REPAIR. FORD HAS NOT ISSUED INSTRUCTIONS TO STOP DRIVING YOUR VEHICLE UNDER THIS SAFETY RECALL. WHEN THE REMEDY IS AVAILABLE, YOU SHOULD CONTACT YOUR DEALER FOR AN APPOINTMENT TO HAVE YOUR VEHICLE REMEDIED AS SOON AS PRACTICABLE.


RemedyPARTS ARE NOT AVAILABLE. FORD MOTOR COMPANY IS WORKING TO PROVIDE PARTS FOR THIS REPAIR. WHEN THE REMEDY BECOMES AVAILABLE, FORD MOTOR COMPANY WILL NOTIFY YOU VIA MAIL TO SCHEDULE A SERVICE APPOINTMENT WITH YOUR DEALER FOR REPAIRS TO BE COMPLETED FREE OF CHARGE. THE REMEDY IS ANTICIPATED TO BE AVAILABLE Q2 2025.


Manufacturer's NotesTO CHECK FOR NON-SAFETY-RELATED PROGRAMS APPLICABLE TO YOUR VEHICLE, SEE HTTP://WWW.FORD.COM/ OR CALL YOUR FORD DEALER.


If the manufacturer has failed or is unable to remedy this safety recall for your vehicle in a timely manner, please contact the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at: 1-888-327-4236 or TTY: 1-800-424-9153 or file an online complaint with NHTSA.


My wife's Bronco Sport died in the driveway. Would not start. Stopped holding a charge. What symptoms am I missing? If the metal strap slowly broke down could it not cause what I experienced. My car was on the recall list. It's a first edition so it had the battery that causes the problem. I don't really care about the free battery. I care about the way Ford treats me as a customer. Local dealer was not interested in checking or fixing my problem, especially after I mentioned the recall. I'll keep my receipt and see if Ford comes through.

One more thing. I have start/stop disabled. This means the battery failure would not stop the Bronco in stop and go traffic.

If you have Start/Stop disabled it wouldn't stop it in stop and go traffic so what's the difference?

 

[Escape2Bronco]

If you have Start/Stop disabled it wouldn't stop it in stop and go traffic so what's the difference?

I believe they are referring to the auto shutting off off the engine, not stopping vehicle in traffic.

 

[coopny]

Too long; didn't read: Ford knows if the vehicles were produced with Camel batteries, the dealer notification says to contact Ford internally if a recalled vehicle is not within the warranty period, Ford's general recall reimbursement policy is for repairs prior to the owner notification letter being sent, but in this case the remedy was not immediately available so it's unclear how Ford will handle existing battery replacements that occurred outside the bumper to bumper warranty.

My wife's Bronco Sport died in the driveway. Would not start. Stopped holding a charge. What symptoms am I missing? If the metal strap slowly broke down could it not cause what I experienced. My car was on the recall list. It's a first edition so it had the battery that causes the problem. I don't really care about the free battery. I care about the way Ford treats me as a customer. Local dealer was not interested in checking or fixing my problem, especially after I mentioned the recall. I'll keep my receipt and see if Ford comes through.

One more thing. I have start/stop disabled. This means the battery failure would not stop the Bronco in stop and go traffic.

You should get reimbursed by Ford, IMO (my opinion does not compel Ford to do anything). Ford knows the population of affected vehicles.

Also, the failure isn't just on automatic start/stop while driving:

In affected vehicles, the 12V battery may experience internal weld and/or caston-strap failures, which could lead to a sudden battery degradation while driving. If the battery suddenly degrades during a drive it can lead to a vehicle that is unable to restart after an auto stop/start event or experience a stall while coming to a stop at low speed. Either of these conditions may be accompanied by a loss of 12-volt accessories, including hazard lights.

And the 2024 BCM/PCM recall fails to detect this condition:

Prior software released as part of FSA 24S24 is unable to detect certain electrical signatures present on failed batteries and/or failed to disable stop/start functionality quickly enough.

On people who replaced the batteries themselves being unable to prove that their battery was one from Camel (the defective manufacturer), Ford knows which vehicles had the Camel batteries because this information is tracked during vehicle production. This in turn flags the recall on the VIN in Ford's OASIS system:

The Ford process is capable of tracing 12V battery production to the vehicle in which the 12V battery is installed.

For people who still have the factory battery and the recall flagged in OASIS, Ford's remedy isn't even to check that the battery is from Camel. The remedy is just to pop the hood, check for an AGM, and if it isn't an AGM replace it with an AGM battery:
on the VIN in Ford's OASIS system:

Owners will be notified by mail and instructed to take their vehicle to a Ford or Lincoln dealer to have their vehicle inspected for the presence of a Ford Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) 12V battery. If there is not a Ford AGM battery present, one will be installed. There will be no charge for this service.

Oh, but with the battery gone, you can't prove that the battery failed due to a cast on strap failure! This is immaterial. A, it's completely unreasonable to expect a consumer to save their defective battery in hopes that Ford may find out that the batteries fail from latent manufacturing defects and get recalled later. B., Ford is not going to take apart every battery to determine if there are signs of bad welds/cast on strap failure at the point where they know a non-negligible number of these batteries are going to fail, potentially very dangerously. They are just going to eat the cost of supplying a new battery and supplying it.

In terms of warranty coverage or not, this is what the notification to dealers said:

NOTE: For vehicles presented that are exhibiting the concern identified for this Program, and no longer have applicable warranty coverage, contact the SSSC for further direction. Prior to contacting the SSSC, if 24S24 is open, ensure repairs for that program have been completed.

I would say there's probably some slack in there depending on how far out of warranty the battery replacement was and where it was. NHTSA docs say that higher heat environments lead to failures sooner. (People always worry about their batteries in the winter, when heat can be just as bad for them...)

Normally dealer notification letters highlight the labor codes, how to charge the recall cost to Ford if the vehicle is not in warranty, etc. but since this was very initial, this dealer notification letter lacks it.

So it is a toss-up on getting reimbursed. Going back to the filing with the NHTSA, Ford does acknowledge that they have a "general reimbursement plan" that was filed in May of 2023 that will also apply to this 2025 battery recall:

(Ford provided the general reimbursement plan for the cost of remedies paid for by vehicle owners prior to notification of a safety recall in May 2023. Owners who have paid to have these repairs completed at their own expense may be eligible for reimbursement, in accordance with the recall reimbursement plan on file with NHTSA.

Said May 2023 recall containing the general reimbursement plan:

Pursuant to the requirements set forth in 49 CFR Part 573 and Part 577 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Ford Motor Company (Ford) is submitting required information pertaining to our general reimbursement plan for the cost of remedies paid for by vehicle owners before they are notified of a related safety recall. Set forth below is Ford's general plan to reimburse owners and purchasers for costs incurred for remedies in advance of notification of potential safely-related defects or noncompliances pursuant to Part 573.6 (c)(8)(i). This plan has not changed since our February 20, 2019 submission.

So Ford's general policy is that only repairs for a recall that predate the owner notification letter are eligible, meaning any battery failure after the letter was mailed for 25S02 would not be eligible for reimbursement. I imagine Ford may have some slack on this because this is not a recall where the remedy was immediately available and this is really an initial recall notification letter, not availability of a fix.

 

[Dude]

Too long; didn't read…

Very good points!! My battery was replaced under warranty with an AGM

Can’t wait to see how this all shakes out

 

[Mark S.]

My wife's Bronco Sport died in the driveway. Would not start. Stopped holding a charge. What symptoms am I missing?

Summary: ON YOUR VEHICLE, THE 12-VOLT BATTERY MAY EXPERIENCE INTERNAL WELD AND OR CAST-ON-STRAP FAILURES, WHICH COULD LEAD TO A SUDDEN BATTERY DEGRADATION WHILE DRIVING.

These two failure modes are different.

If the metal strap slowly broke down could it not cause what I experienced. My car was on the recall list. It's a first edition so it had the battery that causes the problem.

It could, certainly. But given the age of your battery and the fact you reported no issues with the battery previously, it's more likely the battery simply wore out.

If the manufacturer has failed or is unable to remedy this safety recall for your vehicle in a timely manner, please contact the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at: 1-888-327-4236 or TTY: 1-800-424-9153 or file an online complaint with NHTSA.

If I were you, I would call Ford (FMC, not your dealership) and tell them what's going on. Tell them you can't start your car. If Ford doesn't offer an immediate cost-free remedy then ask for guidance on what kind of battery you should install. Hold on to the old battery. If the failure is related to the recall it should be easy to prove via an inspection of the old battery. If you can show the old battery failed due to the defect described in the recall you have a case for reimbursement for the replacement battery. If Ford declines to reimburse you then contact the NHTSA.

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