— A Ford 12V battery recall has concluded a federal investigation opened following complaints of battery failure.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened its initial investigation after complaints from drivers of the 2021 Ford Bronco Sports.
Those drivers complained that the engines lost power and the electrical systems failed while driving, usually after the Bronco Sports stopped at stop signs/lights.
On top of these failures, Bronco drivers complained that they were unable to restart vehicles that were left dead on the roads. Dealers diagnosed the problems as the 12 volt batteries.
A few months later, Ford recalled nearly 457,000 model year 2021-2024 Ford Bronco Sport vehicles and 2022-2023 Ford Maverick vehicles due to 12V battery defects. For dealers, the body control module and powertrain control module software have been updated.
Ford also removed the existing 12V “enhanced wet battery” for the new 2024 Bronco Sports and replaced it with stronger “absorbed glass mat” batteries. However, complaints from drivers continued to be received.
Ford owners complained that the vehicles repaired by the recall appeared under-repaired because drivers were supposed to get warnings about impending battery failure, but that didn’t happen.
That’s why NHTSA opened an investigation into the Ford 12V battery recall in November 2024.
In January 2025, Ford announced another 12V battery recall for nearly 273,000 model year 2021-2023 Bronco Sport vehicles and 2022-2023 Ford Maverick vehicles. The new recall required dealers to replace all 12V batteries with absorbed glass mat batteries.
Engineers discovered that 12V boosted batteries supplied by Camel contained internal manufacturing defects that caused the batteries to fail. Ford also discovered that previous software updates did not work as planned.
The new 12V batteries are supplied by Clarios and so far are working as intended.
NHTSA has closed its investigation into Ford 12V battery failures, but continues to monitor battery failure complaints from Ford owners.
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