P061B and Limp Mode

[AZ_Ryan]

I am confused - why should a battery last only a year or two? What is the specific of a climate, driving habits, or Mustang that causes it to quit prematurely?

Really? Its a known thing that extreme hot or cold temps can adversely effect the longevity of any battery. It's not a mustang thing.

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[jayhoogs]

I am confused - why should a battery last only a year or two? What is the specific of a climate, driving habits, or Mustang that causes it to quit prematurely?

I’m now 99% sure this is a bad battery issue. Going to test with a multimeter in a bit, maybe try to add some water and hook up a battery tender over night and see if that does anything, but more than likely it needs a new one. Now the question is whether to go to Ford and get a replacement under warranty, or just buy a better replacement myself (looking at the Odyssey option). It definitely shouldn’t only last a year or two, but for one it’s possible some batteries are defective. Additionally, it seems the Ford OEM batteries aren’t great and it’s common they die quickly. I saw several posts about ‘24 Mustangs already needing new batteries, so I guess I should count myself lucky it’s lasted this long. As far as how I use it, it’s my daily driver and I do nothing out of the ordinary. 20 miles to work, 20 miles home. It certainly should last much more than a year. In fact, my ‘17 Mustang I believe had the OEM battery still when I got rid of it in Oct ‘22 and I never had a single issue with that one, and I had an aftermarket sub hooked up to that even. Who knows, but I think it is true things have been made with poorer and poorer quality, same with batteries.

 

[AZ_Ryan]

I’m now 99% sure this is a bad battery issue. Going to test with a multimeter in a bit, maybe try to add some water and hook up a battery tender over night and see if that does anything, but more than likely it needs a new one. Now the question is whether to go to Ford and get a replacement under warranty, or just buy a better replacement myself (looking at the Odyssey option). It definitely shouldn’t only last a year or two, but for one it’s possible some batteries are defective. Additionally, it seems the Ford OEM batteries aren’t great and it’s common they die quickly. I saw several posts about ‘24 Mustangs already needing new batteries, so I guess I should count myself lucky it’s lasted this long. As far as how I use it, it’s my daily driver and I do nothing out of the ordinary. 20 miles to work, 20 miles home. It certainly should last much more than a year. In fact, my ‘17 Mustang I believe had the OEM battery still when I got rid of it in Oct ‘22 and I never had a single issue with that one, and I had an aftermarket sub hooked up to that even. Who knows, but I think it is true things have been made with poorer and poorer quality, same with batteries.

Guys, sometimes batteries just go bad. I had a brand new battery that took a dump after 8 months once. It happens. Don't over think it. Just go get a warranty replacement from Ford. That way it will be documented in case that doesnt solve the problem or if anything else happens down the road.

Also any auto parts store will check your battery for free. It takes 5 mins. No need to swim upstream here

 

[Charlemagne]

Really? Its a known thing that extreme hot or cold temps can adversely effect the longevity of any battery. It's not a mustang thing.

How extreme when it's in a garage?
Btw we have 0-5°F in winters and 95-100°F in summers here too and no-one has issues with batteries not lasting for 4-5 years with cars parked outside. Occasional charge before/after harsh weather and it's golden. I can see a problem when doing short city drives of few miles only, that needs special approach for charging.

 

[DClarkNV]

How extreme when it's in a garage?
Btw we have 0-5°F in winters and 95-100°F in summers here too and no-one has issues with batteries not lasting for 4-5 years with cars parked outside. Occasional charge before/after harsh weather and it's golden. I can see a problem when doing short city drives of few miles only, that needs special approach for charging.

It's called the "high desert". I live 80 miles north of Las Vegas. With very low humidity throughout the year, your average battery life expectancy is right around the two year mark. Doesn't matter the brand, size or manufacturer, the low humidity sucks the life out of them.

 

[Pistol_91]

I live in Florida. Bought my car brand new November of 2020. I JUST changed my original OEM battery lol. Lasted longer than I thought. Temps going down most likely killed it. Not sure how people don't know temps effect batteries.

 

[AZ_Ryan]

How extreme when it's in a garage?
Btw we have 0-5°F in winters and 95-100°F in summers here too and no-one has issues with batteries not lasting for 4-5 years with cars parked outside. Occasional charge before/after harsh weather and it's golden. I can see a problem when doing short city drives of few miles only, that needs special approach for charging.

0-5 degrees sounds pretty extreme to me. It's common for batteries to only last 2-4 years where I live. Don't know what to tell you.

 

[Charlemagne]

Temps going down most likely killed it. Not sure how people don't know temps effect batteries.

I thought that what kills lead batteries fast is discharging a lot below 50% SOC which gives like 300 cycles. But with discharging no less than 50% SOC, it can easily have 1000+ cycles. Too low or too high temperatures combined with short trips causes excessive discharging and if it's not charged back on a charger, the battery will die a lot faster. But maybe I don't know some things about temperature actually causing things in the electrolyte that take away cycles or such.

Mustang has surprisingly low battery capacity, in my other cars I usually have 70+ Ah cause it helps with shorter trips, and then occasionally charge after severe weather, and never got less than 5-6 years from a battery. But it's entirely possible your climate is much more severe (high temps harm more than freezing apparently, so summer temps cause your battery dies in a freezing winter, or perhaps any time later in never ending summer in Florida ).

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