[humpty dumpty]

Ok so we've had this discussion happening in two places lately I thought I would start a thread and make it easier. Double plus I think I may have found the answer or at least a partial answer. It came from MKZ.

We know MKZ uses a nearly identical gearbox setup, well not gearbox but shifter. "Brake-Shift Interlock Override" for 2013 MKZ models it is located inside the center console, just below the media connections (AUX, USB).

 

[Coyote]

I picked up a MKC on Tuesday. It is an all option dealer ordered car, so I bought it prior to it being delivered. I also have a 2014 MKZ hybrid. Saturday the new MKC was stone dead-had 34 miles on it. Car is back at the dealership. Knowing where the brake shift interlock override is was useful. Though, as I was waiting for the tow truck through Lincoln service, the battery tender that I connected earlier allowed me to start the MKC. I wasn't real happy with using stow service and drove straight to the dealer of course. Service,sales all got involved and service believes it is just a bad battery. We'll see. They had to order one which I find weird,as I don't think there is a battery shortage/uniqueness of MKC batteries.

 

[Luxocarnut]

Don't be too nervous. I worked at a dealership for Infiniti and Nissan in my early years. Dead batteries on new cars was quite common and sometimes due to various parties who handle the car during transport leaving accessory power on while moving the car on and off trucks and such. We would sometimes have to charge the battery before delivery but in some cases it wasn't noticed it was weak and unfortunately the owner would take it on a few short trips which don't allow the alternator to generate much charge and then it ends up too low on juice to start.

 

[Coyote]

Roger the new car-battery point. I never had any of the 3 likely information displays (pg.122 of the manual) related to a battery or charging issue however. Also why I put it on a tender. Anyhow dealer could not find an issue with the charging system and replaced the battery, so hopefully just bad luck battery from the factory and a one time deal...

 

[gww52]

Dead battery

Same thing for my Dad,three times now
in a month.He keeps his key fob close to the car,
8 or so feet.
I told him to move them to a spot 18 or so feet away
and give it a try.
I guess we'll see what happens.

 

[Bradford]

Same thing happened to me. MKC was on the lot for several months, I had it for a couple weeks with just very short trips and ended up with a dead battery. Service suggested I take it on a long ride to charge the battery. No issues since. I also believe it is an issue with how close you keep the key fob to the car. Integral garage that is below my kitchen where the keys are all kept. It's probably no more than 10-11 feet from the car at all times. Also, noticed while doing yard work with the keys in my pocket that the lights kept turning on and off on the MKC while walking even relatively close to the garage.

 

[dk4500]

Hi Bradford - Try washing the car with the keys in your pocket...the car goes crazy, locking, then unlocking, mirrors folding in, then out, horn beeping, etc. After about 10 minutes of trying to figure out how to stop this craziness I just left the fob IN the unlocked car and all was quiet as I continued to wash the car.


Fyi I also have a 2013 VW and their key fob is something called the "Kessy Keyless System" which ALWAYS is looking to connect with the car. I did not know about this system until the car was just 2 years old (with only 10k miles on it) and the car was having a hard time starting. The dealer said the car and fob batteries were low and he replaced both under warranty. Dealer felt it had something to do with the Kessy system but could not provide much help in how to alleviate this from happening again. Per Bradfords post above, I wonder if the MKC fob is either a Kessy System fob or works in a similar manner, hence keep the fob a good distance from the car when parked for the night.? If I'm not mistaken, I think I saw something about this situation either in the owners manual or the Lincoln YouTube instructional video's...although it was specific to the fobs distance from the car for the Welcome Mat lighting to work. I'm sure one of you technical folks know more about this than I do???

 

[ColdH2O]

The first time that I washed our MKC I noticed the same thing - electronic mayhem! It all stopped when I put the key in the cup holder. And the other folks in the other car wash bays stopped looking at me like I had stole the MKC.

Our MKC had low battery issues initially. It was parked on the showroom floor and was a favorite for the sales staff to demonstrate the electronics. And we too had drove our MKC sparingly during the first few weeks of ownership. I shut down the welcome mat and folding mirrors until I was certain that the battery had sufficient charge.

 

[2Geeky4U]

Second time for me one at 2 k and the other at 15 k. What are the odds of two bad batteries in a row?