2024 Nautilus frequently in battery saver mode

[swindler]

There was definitely a power outage or glitch as the clock in my bedroom is blinking. That is probably what happened. I need to buy a unit that can overcome an outage. We have a unit in Florida charging a twenty year old CRV and it always works. There are always power glitches in Florida and Houston! I do think the battery is toast as driving it on the highway tonight didn’t do the trick. It’s the original battery, soon to be five years old.

Some of the units will default to a known charge state of it's not initialized after a period of time. I found most of mine don't. So I bought a NOCO 2D, as the 2A is plenty for keeping a good battery charged. It's designed for a permanent install, with NO input buttons. But I don't use it that way. I re-terminated the ring lugs with an SAE 2-pin connector which I use on all similar stuff. I can plug into leads permanently attached to the battery under the spare, but strung out to the compartment above the spare.

 

[markfm]

For actual long term storage, for the lawn tractor at our lake house I use a little $10 charger/maintainer, suitable for standard and AGM 12V batteries. Only 0.5A output, no modes/buttons/display, just a few LEDs, but it works well, automatically starts maintaining whenever it gets power.

 

[angore]

The Motorcraft AGM batteries all seem to have 36 month warranties. I have never had much luck with auto batteries lasting much longer than the warranty plus if it failed to start I am already looking for a new one.

 

[swindler]

The Motorcraft AGM batteries all seem to have 36 month warranties. I have never had much luck with auto batteries lasting much longer than the warranty plus if it failed to start I am already looking for a new one.

Odd thing for me, (maybe just me), but my factory battery has always lasted 5-7 years (except the Nautilus, of course). But my replacement battery is always kaput within 3 years, even if I get an OEM battery. And I've bought some very expensive batteries.

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[reconguru]

After watching some comparison videos that angore posted last year, I purchased a "GOOLOO Car Jump Starter, 4000A Peak 12V Battery Jumper Pack" for $90 from Walmart.com (same price as Amazon at the time, but Walmart had free next day delivery).

I've started my completely dead Nautilus with it, and it's easy to use, works great, and holds its charge (I check it every 60-90 days). I keep mine behind the driver's seat since you may not be able to open the rear hatch if the battery is completely dead.

My battery problems seem to be resolved for now, but it's small enough that I still keep it in the car for peace of mind.

I've also used Lincoln Road Service via the Lincoln Way app, and they arrived within 45 minutes and jump started my Nautilus with a unit similar to the GOOLOO and NOCO units.

I agree with others that when the need arises it is ideal to use Lincoln Road Service so that the problem is well documented, but for me it is a matter of circumstances. Am I safely parked at home or work, or am I in a less secure location with young children or elderly passengers in the car? Can I remain stranded for at least 45 minutes, or should I use my GOOLOO and be on my way in 10 minutes?

I’ve also encountered battery issues. Even after fully charging my battery with a standard battery charger, it drops to 70% or below quite rapidly. I’ve bought a jumper cable and keep it behind the driver’s seat, along with a NOCO GENIUS5, 5A Smart Car Battery Charger, to maintain the battery. The dealership verified concern but didn’t resolve the issue.

Dealers Response:

CUSTOMER STATES BATTERY WILL NOT EXCEED 70% STATE OF
HEALTHCHECK AND ADVISE
Cause:
Correction: VERIFIED CONCERN, TECH TESTED BATTERY, BATTERY GOOD, VEHICLEI S A HYBRID
AND APPEARS FREQUENT SHORT TRIPS ARE TAKEN NOT ALLOWING THE BATTERY TO FULLY
CHARGE

I drive both long and short trips, and regardless of the distance, the vehicle should be able to maintain the battery to a functional level. Gas vehicles do this daily without any issues.

This vehicle is quite luxurious and too expensive to have these problems.

 

[reconguru]

Many of those features are designed to not work if the vehicle is in battery saver mode. Try resetting the BMS — if you think the dealer might not have. It might address the issues.

The service manager at my dealer told me they have to reset the BMS with their unique tool because it is a very special battery and that I can't replace it with a typical auto parts store battery; I have to go through Lincoln service. I'm not sure if that is correct, anyone know?

 

[swindler]

The service manager at my dealer told me they have to reset the BMS with their unique tool because it is a very special battery and that I can't replace it with a typical auto parts store battery; I have to go through Lincoln service. I'm not sure if that is correct, anyone know?

I know they sell it at RockAuto.com, and suburbs else one here mentioned another store.

Regarding the SoC, I'm not convinced the Nautilus attempts to keep the battery at a 100% charge. It would actually promote a longer service life if it kept the battery at 70-80% charge, and it's not used for cranking the engine. I don't know it's keeping it below top charge. But if it really had trouble keeping the SoC from dropping from 100 to 70, wouldn't it be 40 the next day, and 10 after that? I'm exaggerating the point a bit, but the vehicle seems to be content to keep it at 70 day after day. (Unless there's a true battery issue).

 

[reconguru]

Thanks for your reply. My issue isn’t that it’s not 100% charged; it’s less than 70% most of the time, unless it’s aided by a trickle charger. When the battery level drops below 70%, certain features, like Bluecruise, are disabled. I’m merely repeating what I was told by the dealer, which appears to be accurate, as many of my electrical problems manifest when the car is left uncharged.

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[angore]

What voltage do you equate with 100% and 70% SoC. If you search the internet, there is are differences in SoC charts especially at the lower end.

When I was measuring vottages, my battery would get to 12.7V (what I consider 100%) but would not stay there long. It would settle at 12.5V. Of course, you need to consider that a battery connected in vehicle it is under a slight load and one needs to let the battery rest (no door opening, etc) for an hour or so so it is stable. Opening the door (which often launches activity on 48 in display) causes the voltage to dip.

The owner's manual has the steps to reset BMS (page 389).

 

[reconguru]

Thank you so very much for the information; it is very helpful. After a full charge and while still connected, I am at 12.9V with 100%. Within 48 hours of disconnecting and no use, not even opening doors, the battery is 12V and 72%. Within another 24 hours, the battery is 11.8V and 68%. I don't let it stay off charge much longer than a few days to avoid failure of any of the systems. Hince, I have a plug-in hybrid

 

[angore]

I have done static drain tests and after all sw updates, the voltage now does not drop that fast as yours. Previously it would drop a lot.

 

[RAB]

I drive both long and short trips, and regardless of the distance, the vehicle should be able to maintain the battery to a functional level. Gas vehicles do this daily without any issues.

My Nautilus is gas, not hybrid, and it doesn't charge the 12V battery very well either, at least not enough to keep up with the systems that drain it. It's my daily driver, has all software updates, and is driven at least 25 miles per day four to six days per week.

It's ironic that my car is currently at the dealer for its first scheduled maintenance, and the service rep called me to say, "the tech changed the oil, rotated the tires, and installed the window recall update, but your car won't start. Have you had a problem with that?"

I told her, "not starting is normal for my Nautilus, it's been in your service department at least three times for deep sleep and no start issues, and I don't think they can fix it. When you buy an expensive new Nautilus you need to carry a jump starter with you to avoid being stranded."

She disagrees that it's normal, of course, and was very apologetic and promised that their best master technician will solve the problem. I'm not confident that it is solvable, but it will be harder for them to report "no problem found" when the problem occurred while in their possession.

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[Lincolnguy2]

My Nautilus is gas, not hybrid, and it doesn't charge the 12V battery very well either, at least not enough to keep up with the systems that drain it. It's my daily driver, has all software updates, and is driven at least 25 miles per day four to six days per week.

It's ironic that my car is currently at the dealer for its first scheduled maintenance, and the service rep called me to say, "the tech changed the oil, rotated the tires, and installed the window recall update, but your car won't start. Have you had a problem with that?"

I told her, "not starting is normal for my Nautilus, it's been in your service department at least three times for deep sleep and no start issues, and I don't think they can fix it. When you buy an expensive new Nautilus you need to carry a jump starter with you to avoid being stranded."

She disagrees that it's normal, of course, and was very apologetic and promised that their best master technician will solve the problem. I'm not confident that it is solvable, but it will be harder for them to report "no problem found" when the problem occurred while in their possession.

My car is going back to the dealer next week. More battery issues and sleep mode , as I am on my first battery replacement and looking for a second. As well as rear suspension noise , I have already had both rear shocks and bushings replaced , as well as my brakes are very soft and spongy. Brakes and rotors have been done as well.
Getting near the end of my rope here. Every week is something. Very seriously considering taking a bath and moving on.

 

[Steve_C]

My car is going back to the dealer next week. More battery issues and sleep mode , as I am on my first battery replacement and looking for a second. As well as rear suspension noise , I have already had both rear shocks and bushings replaced , as well as my brakes are very soft and spongy. Brakes and rotors have been done as well.
Getting near the end of my rope here. Every week is something. Very seriously considering taking a bath and moving on.

Why should you take the bath? Why not try to make Lincoln take it instead? Document the issues, and start Buy-Back request! I would fight, kick & scream and start dialogue with Lincoln noting the consistent issues you are having. You might get lucky, and it would be easier then going lemon law route by starting dialogue with Lincoln first!

 

[Lincolnguy2]

Being in Canada we do not have the luxury of either Lemon Law or Lincoln buy back. Canada operates much different than Lincoln USA.

 

[Steve_C]

Being in Canada we do not have the luxury of either Lemon Law or Lincoln buy back. Canada operates much different than Lincoln USA.

Oh, did not realize you are in Canada.
It really sucks to have to put up with your issues with little recourse, hopefully the dealer can sort it all out.
The 2023 Canadian built Nautilus is such a great trouble free vehicle, sadly followed up with a problematic model that now bears the Nautilus name!

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[Lincolnguy2]

I had an Oakville Built 2016, 2019 and 2021 Nautilus . Each one only had the hood raised for oil changes. They were excellent vehicles.
This one made in China. Not so much!

 

[Sharbotcom]

Being in Canada we do not have the luxury of either Lemon Law or Lincoln buy back. Canada operates much different than Lincoln USA.

I'm in Canada also. I fought with Lincoln and went through CAMVAP on my complaint. Eventually, CAMVAP ruled in Lincoln's favor. However, Lincoln relinquished and did an assisted buy-back to put me in the Nautilus. It is not the same as full buy-back but it took most of the depreciation away so I was happy.

BTW the reason I had to get rid of the '23 Corsair GT was two-fold: Sync 4 consistently failed to work right with my phone (I have bluetoothed hearing aids and Sync always got confused with the call audio going to never never land - worked fine on Sync 3.4 and 5). The second is my PHEV charge and performance results averaged between 25 and 40 percent less than our '22 GT and they never got it figured out.

 

[NateTee]

I live in the Midwest so we're cold right now. I'm finding that the car is frequently going into battery saving mode. I can go 2 or 3 days without driving it or driving it for just 10 minutes or so. Yesterday, I drove the car 30 miles and immediately upon arriving at my destination the car went into battery saver mode. It was about 10° at my destination and I stayed there for 1 hour. I then drove home another 30 miles. The car sat overnight in a garage that is about 20° inside. This morning, the car is back in battery saver mode.

I can imagine that if I don't drive the car for 2 or 3 days that the battery is not full and a relatively short drive of 30 mi that is using the battery during the drive probably is not providing it with much of a charge.

Here's what I don't understand. I put a 10 amp Noco Genius on the battery terminals under the hood and it took less than 5 minutes for it to go to fully charged maintenance mode status. So if the battery is back to full charge in such a short time then why is it going into battery saver mode so quickly?

my 2024 reserve Nautilus has merely 4K miles, I live in SW FLorida and had 2 deep sleep modes in the past 6 weeks. This in my opinion is unacceptable for a new car. The dealer only charged my battery rather than replacing it with a higher powered battery. In my humble opinion there is clearly a problem here with all hybrid Nautilus'. The dealer would like us to believe that my driving frequency is insufficient to recharge the battery. In my opinion as a customer, no other car in my stable experiences this battery behavior and suggests its a design flaw. Perhaps common to other luxury loaded hybrid SUV's.

If Ford doesn't do something effective, soon, I'll dump this SUV and never go Lincoln again. Anyone with me. Let's let Ford know.

 

[swindler]

my 2024 reserve Nautilus has merely 4K miles, I live in SW FLorida and had 2 deep sleep modes in the past 6 weeks. This in my opinion is unacceptable for a new car. The dealer only charged my battery rather than replacing it with a higher powered battery. In my humble opinion there is clearly a problem here with all hybrid Nautilus'. The dealer would like us to believe that my driving frequency is insufficient to recharge the battery. In my opinion as a customer, no other car in my stable experiences this battery behavior and suggests its a design flaw. Perhaps common to other luxury loaded hybrid SUV's.

If Ford doesn't do something effective, soon, I'll dump this SUV and never go Lincoln again. Anyone with me. Let's let Ford know.

What is your gap between drives? It will go to sleep in 14 days regardless of the voltage. As far as a higher powered battery, I'm not sure one would fit.

Another thing to realize is that the 12V battery is used quite a bit differently in a hybrid. It doesn't start the engine, and it isn't charged by an alternator. It's manly used when the HV battery cannot power the electronics. The HV battery can directly power the entire car through it's DC converter when the car's running. Some of that power is used to charge the 12V battery which acts as the electronics power source when the vehicle is not running (and the converter is inactive).

We drive ours most days, maybe 4 days off at the worst. We're in North Texas, and have had two cold snaps where it didn't get above freezing, but those only lasted 3-4 days each. So far we're clean for sleeps.