[countryguy]

Normally after turning off the ignition, the retained accessory power will operate the windows/radio for 10-15 minutes or until a door is opened. Yesterday after turning off the ignition, I got a message less than a minute later on the touch screen saying that the system was shutting down to save the battery...and to restart the vehicle to maintain the electrical power. Is this a sign that the battery is failing? I have only had the car 21 months (29,000 km) and I have not had any previous battery issues.

 

[kmccart]

I would inquire about it. Mine was doing that and I was having issues with either the stereo amp or some of the control modules draining power more than they should, or not shutting down correctly after turning the car off. More than once I would find a dead battery in the morning. Just had the THX stereo amp replaced as it was defective and have yet to encounter the "shutting down" message.

 

[2015 MSM]

I had the exact same thing happen and it turned out to be the battery...I have had 3 batteries in my car in 18 months of ownership; the original battery; one that was changed due to constant cycling of the approach lights (TSB-Fixed), and lastly, for no good reason. I talked to the tech, he said that they are crap batteries and that I would be amazed by the amount of cars that come straight off the truck with bad batteries right from the factory. I believe your battery is still under warranty so let the dealer handle it. FYI, the last visit to the dealer took about an hour as they had to test the battery to confirm that it failed.

 

[countryguy]

kmccart, did this happen early in your ownership or did it start some time afterwards as it has done in my case 21 months after taking possession? I do not have the THX system. I did call the dealer today and added this to the list of items to be checked when I take it in next week. One week ago I noticed that all the warning chimes have changed sound....no longer the pleasing 2 or 3 tone sounds but instead a more harsh monotone sound when backing up, etc. When the rear hatch closes I can barely hear the warning sound now whereas previously it was a loud 2 tone chime.

 

[countryguy]

Thanks for the info 2015 MSM. I was thinking that it was the battery but didn't want to believe that it would be a problem already.

 

[2015 MSM]

As part of the battery issue, the chimes were different, no approach lighting, the car shut down within 90 seconds (even if on the phone- would kill the call), no chime from the hatch. On the screen it would give a progress bar stating it was shutting down.

 

[countryguy]

Yes all those things are what I have noticed! So the battery needs to be replaced? Is there a TSB? Does anything else have to be done when the battery is replaced...some kind of reset or does everything just start working normal again?

 

[kmccart]

kmccart, did this happen early in your ownership or did it start some time afterwards as it has done in my case 21 months after taking possession? I do not have the THX system. I did call the dealer today and added this to the list of items to be checked when I take it in next week. One week ago I noticed that all the warning chimes have changed sound....no longer the pleasing 2 or 3 tone sounds but instead a more harsh monotone sound when backing up, etc. When the rear hatch closes I can barely hear the warning sound now whereas previously it was a loud 2 tone chime.

I too have had at least 2 batteries replaced. Seems like it started about 9 mos. to a year in (I'm now in the third year of a 36 mo. lease). Yes, some of the tones and features change or won't work when the battery is draining.

 

[2015 MSM]

Some things will reset, it is minimal....and I don't recall what was, I was just happy to have everything working again..there is NO TSB for the battery itself, the TSB I refer to was the one that involved the cycling of the welcome lighting (TSB) that drained my battery.

 

[countryguy]

Ok thanks. I will ask about the TSB for the welcome lighting.

 

[countryguy]

Well wouldn't you know it....yesterday I started up the car and the problems with the chimes, approach lighting were still present. I drove 25 km to the mall. When I came out and approached the car I noticed the approach lighting was working again and when I got in the car all the chimes were back to the way they should be! And of course my appointment to have this looked at is on Thurs.

 

[2015 MSM]

Of course! There may be a stored code. I'd still let them stress test the battery anyway. Did you happen to record any of the anomalies? I always do.

 

[countryguy]

Oh I am definitely going to get them to test the battery. In 10 days I am going on a 2000 km trip to Kansas City, MO and I definitely don't want to have battery problems.

 

[countryguy]

So I brought the car in on 03/30/2017 to have the problem with the welcome lighting, chimes and battery draining diagnosed. They determined that 2 modules needed to be replaced. They said the parts would be here overnight but I couldn't get an appointment until 04/04/2017. On 04/04 I dropped the car off at 8 am and they drove me home as they said it would be a couple of hours (I live 25 km from the Ford dealer). At 10 am they called me to say that the parts had not arrived and were back ordered! I was not impressed...why didn't they tell me that before I dropped the car off. On top of that they had no idea when they would get the parts. As I was leaving to go to Missouri on 04/08/17 I told them I was concerned about the battery going dead somewhere along the way and leaving me stranded. I called the client relationship manager at Lincoln that I have been dealing with and she said she would investigate and find the parts somewhere, take them out of a MKC if need be. Later in the day the service advisor called and said the parts were in Edmonton, AB and hopefully would be here by 04/07/17. Yesterday she called me and said the parts arrived so I dropped the car off at 9 am this morning. An hour later the car was ready to go however when I approached the car, the approach lighting did not come on even though the doors were locked. I started the car and checked the settings to make sure the approached lighting was enabled and it was. Back inside I went to talk to the service advisor. She said she would get the technician. I waited 45 minutes and finally he came to talk to me. He said he had installed the modules, and did a reprogram for the approach lighting as directed by Lincoln so now he had no clue what was wrong and would have to go through the diagnostics with Lincoln. He said the battery was still testing OK but because I was leaving on my trip tomorrow he would install a new battery anyway. So they drove me home. I am hoping they find the issue and are able to get it fixed before the end of the day. I am now feeling anxious about driving all the way to Missouri (20 hours).

 

[2015 MSM]

countryguy- The only thing I can say is W O W!! I hope you get squared away....it does not sound like the tech/s.m. know what's really going on...best of luck...keep us posted!

 

[countryguy]

I picked up the car and the approach lighting is working with the new battery installed. The tech guy still doesn't know what the real problem is and is waiting to hear from Lincoln.

 

[ddsski]

Sounds like a supplier issue needs to change!! ON European cars, Varta batteries also have a history of being lousy so its not just us.

 

[littlepenguin]

I'm having this issue with my 2017 MKC! Leased in December 2016, has 7,400 miles on it. Left a friend's house on Friday night and took 2 attempts to start, thought it was weird but figured it was just a fluke. Came out Saturday morning to a totally dead battery. My boyfriend and I jumped the battery and drove it for a while running errands without issue. We also made sure to unplug my phone chargers and that there was nothing else on or plugged in that could be draining the battery.

On Saturday night my Lincoln Way app told me the battery level was low, so I went to check it out and had the "System Off to Save Battery" message on the display. The engine wouldn't start. We jumped it again and left it running for a bit to charge the battery. It was dead again Sunday morning (no error message from the app, though).

I took it to the dealer on Monday and they still have it. They have been really unresponsive, actually. I called this morning because I hadn't heard from them at all since Tuesday morning (it's now Thursday). They are still testing it to try to figure out where the drain on the battery is.

This is so frustrating. I've read that people have had to disable the welcome lights...which I personally really like and feel are a feature I pay for, so why should I have to turn them off?

Does anyone know if there is an actual solution for this? The guy at the dealer who checked me in told me that they had an MKC in last month with the same issue and they could never figure it out and Ford ended up buying the car back. WTF?

 

[countryguy]

There was a solution for my 2015 MKC. There were 2 modules for the approach lighting that needed to be replaced. The modules are located in the rear driver side passenger door (no idea why they are located there). There is a TSB for the issue. I haven't had any more problems since the modules were replaced.

 

[littlepenguin]

There was a solution for my 2015 MKC. There were 2 modules for the approach lighting that needed to be replaced. The modules are located in the rear driver side passenger door (no idea why they are located there). There is a TSB for the issue. I haven't had any more problems since the modules were replaced.

Thanks! I'll see if the dealer has been smart enough to figure out this is the fix. Waiting for an update from them...