Corsair Dead Battery Syndrome

[Peedue]

For the past 15 months I've read where many Corsair owners were plagued with dead batteries, multiple situations. I felt this was strange, especially concerning something so basic, so fundamental. Today I visited a Lincoln dealer in metro Atlanta, Ga. to test drive a brand new 2020 Reserve model, 2.3 engine, a car made in August 2020.....not that old. It wouldn't turn over, battery completely dead. Wonderful way to start a test drive. They jump started it I test drove it approx. 20 miles, plenty to recharge the battery we thought. Got back to the dealership, turned off the ignition, tried to re-start..........battery completely dead.
Question : How does the Lincoln Div. allow this to continue ??? Lincoln, trying to re-establish itself as a SERIOUS brand. A division of Ford, who builds more cars and trucks than I could keep track of. Is this problem with the Corsair with EVERY Corsair built ?? How can they survive ?? Needless to say the car is terrific in all ways..........except when you go to start it up. What the heck is going on ???

 

[bbf2530]

For the past 15 months I've read where many Corsair owners were plagued with dead batteries, multiple situations. I felt this was strange, especially concerning something so basic, so fundamental. Today I visited a Lincoln dealer in metro Atlanta, Ga. to test drive a brand new 2020 Reserve model, 2.3 engine, a car made in August 2020.....not that old. It wouldn't turn over, battery completely dead. Wonderful way to start a test drive. They jump started it I test drove it approx. 20 miles, plenty to recharge the battery we thought. Got back to the dealership, turned off the ignition, tried to re-start..........battery completely dead.
Question : How does the Lincoln Div. allow this to continue ??? Lincoln, trying to re-establish itself as a SERIOUS brand. A division of Ford, who builds more cars and trucks than I could keep track of. Is this problem with the Corsair with EVERY Corsair built ?? How can they survive ?? Needless to say the car is terrific in all ways..........except when you go to start it up. What the heck is going on ???

Hi Peedue and welcome to the Lincoln Forums.. My opinion: It would not be unusual for the battery to die in a vehicle that has been sitting for ~5 months, and which has most likely been driven very little, if at all. Especially with the pandemic going on. And even if the battery had not been completely killed by the ~5 months lack of use, a 20 mile drive may not be enough to sufficiently recharge it.

Ideally, should a Dealer try to mitigate these situations from happening? Ideally, yes. But it is not an ideal world. Especially nowadays. And the Service Department is not going to go out every day to check all the batteries in all the cars in the lot, charge weak ones, replace dead ones etc, until it is necessary. It is a lot of work for a lot full of cars. And they would not be reimbursed by Lincoln/Ford for warranty costs until the vehicle is purchased.

A better idea, would be to do what most Dealers in my area seem to do. They would send out an employee to bring the car to the door of the showroom for you. If it does not start, they immediately jump it in the lot, out of sight of the customer (in most cases anyway). In this way, the customer is not awkwardly trying to start a dead car.

I am not minimizing your concerns, and I realize it will put a bad taste in the mouth of some buyers. But Lincoln is not the only manufacturer having these issues nowadays. So I am simply pointing out a different perspective.

Good luck with your shopping.

 

[Peedue]

Hi Peedue and welcome to the Lincoln Forums.. My opinion: It would not be unusual for the battery to die in a vehicle that has been sitting for ~5 months, and which has most likely been driven very little, if at all. Especially with the pandemic going on. And even if the battery had not been completely killed by the ~5 months lack of use, a 20 mile drive may not be enough to sufficiently recharge it.

Ideally, should a Dealer try to mitigate these situations from happening? Ideally, yes. But it is not an ideal world. Especially nowadays. And the Service Department is not going to go out every day to check all the batteries in all the cars in the lot, charge weak ones, replace dead ones etc, until it is necessary. It is a lot of work for a lot full of cars. And they would not be reimbursed by Lincoln/Ford for warranty costs until the vehicle is purchased.

A better idea, would be to do what most Dealers in my area seem to do. They would send out an employee to bring the car to the door of the showroom for you. If it does not start, they immediately jump it in the lot, out of sight of the customer (in most cases anyway). In this way, the customer is not awkwardly trying to start a dead car.

I am not minimizing your concerns, and I realize it will put a bad taste in the mouth of some buyers. But Lincoln is not the only manufacturer having these issues nowadays. So I am simply pointing out a different perspective.

Good luck with your shopping.

Thanks for your input. Driving the Reserve was a treat. A beautiful machine, the battery situation was not ideal but did not kill my interest.

 

[HotrodLinkin]

if you do buy a Corsair, the best care for the battery when not tasked with a load is to put a low charge on it for several hours. I say don't let this gremlin get in the way of a purchase.

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[Corsart]

How did you like the car?

I bought mine in Nov., late Sept. build, and drive it infrequently bc of working from home. No battery problems. Actually, unlike some reports of earlier builds, my car is beautifully finished and assembled, no issues, and I am very critical. It's unfortunate your test car did this, but I do not think it's necessarily indicative of a chronic problem.

If you like the car, get it. Anything you get from any manufacturer will have some issue at some point. If you really like a car..whatever brand....it's easier to tolerate than an issue from a car you bought as a compromise.

 

[Peedue]

How did you like the car?

I bought mine in Nov., late Sept. build, and drive it infrequently bc of working from home. No battery problems. Actually, unlike some reports of earlier builds, my car is beautifully finished and assembled, no issues, and I am very critical. It's unfortunate your test car did this, but I do not think it's necessarily indicative of a chronic problem.

If you like the car, get it. Anything you get from any manufacturer will have some issue at some point. If you really like a car..whatever brand....it's easier to tolerate than an issue from a car you bought as a compromise.

Oh, I like the reserve model, I loved this car I test drove. Really nice. I just need to feel confident that it will be reliable, start when needed. The longest it would probably sit in the garage at any one time is probably 3 days.
Thanks for your input, I appreciate it.

 

[2DS]

I have the same issue unfortunately. My corsair is a computer nightmare. Maybe lincoln will come up with a fix.

 

[afh3]

For mine, it was all about the replacement of the body-control module. Only took 6 weeks in the shop to do so, but it resolved the entire electrical/electronic suite of issues (and there were MANY) my Corsair was experiencing. -- completely.

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[2DS]

Hill assist fail, pre collision fail, service advance trac, touch screen blanks out. Whole lower control cluster blanks out. Battery replaced, acm replaced, total software reprogram from lincoln. All with less than 5000 miles. I wish it wasn't so

 

[ForgedCrank]

For the past 15 months I've read where many Corsair owners were plagued with dead batteries, multiple situations. I felt this was strange, especially concerning something so basic, so fundamental. Today I visited a Lincoln dealer in metro Atlanta, Ga. to test drive a brand new 2020 Reserve model, 2.3 engine, a car made in August 2020.....not that old. It wouldn't turn over, battery completely dead. Wonderful way to start a test drive. They jump started it I test drove it approx. 20 miles, plenty to recharge the battery we thought. Got back to the dealership, turned off the ignition, tried to re-start..........battery completely dead.
Question : How does the Lincoln Div. allow this to continue ??? Lincoln, trying to re-establish itself as a SERIOUS brand. A division of Ford, who builds more cars and trucks than I could keep track of. Is this problem with the Corsair with EVERY Corsair built ?? How can they survive ?? Needless to say the car is terrific in all ways..........except when you go to start it up. What the heck is going on ???

I think it also needs to be said that driving 20 miles after a jump is not even close to enough to recharge the battery.
These things have all sorts of stuff going on, even when sitting idle. I can go out in the garage at night to get a coke and just walking past the thing triggers all sorts of stuff to start clicking and clacking.
Any vehicle with a dead battery needs to be put on a charger ASAP, the load is very hard on the charging system in this state, and it takes a LOT longer to fully charge a battery than most people think. It's best to use a low current charge when possible, like 2A max.
Our cars frequently sit idle in the garage for days, sometimes up to a couple of weeks, so I keep them on a battery tender most of the time. It's a PITA, but that is the standard for pretty much all new cars at this point... they are all alive most of the time, slowly draining the battery. After a couple of weeks not driven, the battery will start getting too low for comfort, and it will start causing all sorts of gremlins if the voltage isn't at desired levels.

 

[Peedue]

I think it also needs to be said that driving 20 miles after a jump is not even close to enough to recharge the battery.
These things have all sorts of stuff going on, even when sitting idle. I can go out in the garage at night to get a coke and just walking past the thing triggers all sorts of stuff to start clicking and clacking.
Any vehicle with a dead battery needs to be put on a charger ASAP, the load is very hard on the charging system in this state, and it takes a LOT longer to fully charge a battery than most people think. It's best to use a low current charge when possible, like 2A max.
Our cars frequently sit idle in the garage for days, sometimes up to a couple of weeks, so I keep them on a battery tender most of the time. It's a PITA, but that is the standard for pretty much all new cars at this point... they are all alive most of the time, slowly draining the battery. After a couple of weeks not driven, the battery will start getting too low for comfort, and it will start causing all sorts of gremlins if the voltage isn't at desired levels.

I'm just not up to date with all the new hi tech stuff in cars today, I guess. My wife's car is a 10 yr. old GMC Acadia, seldom sits more than 3 days without driving it somewhere. Never a dead battery. I drive a 10 yr. old Audi S5 Cabriolet..........bought it new.........32,000 mi. on it. It will sit 4-5 weeks often without driving it, never a dead battery. I guess I'm blessed with two trouble free cars. The only reason I was looking at the Corsair Reserve was to "downsize" from the GMC Acadia, it's big, we no longer need that size. The Corsair Reserve is a perfect size for us now.........and the quality and comfort is A-1.
Thanks for your input.

 

[Ricochet]

For the past 15 months I've read where many Corsair owners were plagued with dead batteries, multiple situations. I felt this was strange, especially concerning something so basic, so fundamental. Today I visited a Lincoln dealer in metro Atlanta, Ga. to test drive a brand new 2020 Reserve model, 2.3 engine, a car made in August 2020.....not that old. It wouldn't turn over, battery completely dead. Wonderful way to start a test drive. They jump started it I test drove it approx. 20 miles, plenty to recharge the battery we thought. Got back to the dealership, turned off the ignition, tried to re-start..........battery completely dead.
Question : How does the Lincoln Div. allow this to continue ??? Lincoln, trying to re-establish itself as a SERIOUS brand. A division of Ford, who builds more cars and trucks than I could keep track of. Is this problem with the Corsair with EVERY Corsair built ?? How can they survive ?? Needless to say the car is terrific in all ways..........except when you go to start it up. What the heck is going on ???

This is not a Lincoln problem it's a new car problem with all the electronics in these cars and leaving them sit. I work on a lot of cars, not just ford, I am a tuner by the way, and have been in the automotive field for over 30 years, I just also happen to own a Corsair 2020, I also have a Fusion 2017 that had the same problem, dealer replaced the battery twice, You can't leave these cars for extended periods without a battery tender, if you plan on leaving it for more than 3 or 4 days get a battery tender. If the problem continues get the battery replaced and make sure you update your system via a network, the updates they did for the Fusion finally fixed the problem with the dead battery syndrome. Also, I saw some posts on the autostart, if the battery becomes weak it will not operate till fully charged. The best way to avoid any issues is to make sure you keep the battery 100%. Anytime I leave my car for more than a couple of days I put the battery tender on it. I have not had any issue with it since.

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[ForgedCrank]

This is my go-to. Mine is an older model, but this is basically the same thing, just some improvements.
I keep this dedicated to the garage for this single purpose, and rotate it between cars every few days to keep voltage up and active. It works well, and won't over-charge. Avoid the cheap ones. there are various options out there, but this is the only one I can vouch for. Its reliable, and I've been using it for quite a few years now without any trouble.

https://smile.amazon.com/BatteryMinder-128CEC1-Charger-Maintainer-Desulfator-Motorcycles-Snowmobiles/dp/B01D3SWXUA/ref=sr_1_18?dchild=1&keywords=battery+minder&qid=1611512888&sr=8-18

 

[Peedue]

This is not a Lincoln problem it's a new car problem with all the electronics in these cars and leaving them sit. I work on a lot of cars, not just ford, I am a tuner by the way, and have been in the automotive field for over 30 years, I just also happen to own a Corsair 2020, I also have a Fusion 2017 that had the same problem, dealer replaced the battery twice, You can't leave these cars for extended periods without a battery tender, if you plan on leaving it for more than 3 or 4 days get a battery tender. If the problem continues get the battery replaced and make sure you update your system via a network, the updates they did for the Fusion finally fixed the problem with the dead battery syndrome. Also, I saw some posts on the autostart, if the battery becomes weak it will not operate till fully charged. The best way to avoid any issues is to make sure you keep the battery 100%. Anytime I leave my car for more than a couple of days I put the battery tender on it. I have not had any issue with it since.

You are correct. Since my original post, made with no knowledge of the problem, I've learned what you've spelled out here.
Thanks for your input.

 

[mercoj]

Have same problem with mine working intermittently on 2020 Corsair since May. Twice in service dealer said "nothing is wrong with it, working fine". Third time I complained, dealer claimed low battery causing start/stop not to engage. Blamed it on me leaving my key too close to vehicle when parked because the vehicle is reading it and draining battery. My keys are about 20 feet away inside the house and vehicle is in garage. That was end of December. Has not engaged once since then, and I even moved my keys to over 30 feet away. Because of snow storm, have not driven since Saturday. Well today, got in vehicle and got a warning message that battery is low. Something is draining the batteries, and it is not the key being in proximity. While I don't like the start/stop system, and glad it does not engage, I am afraid it is only a sign of a deeper problem and dread that time I get in and vehicle is completely dead. Will be calling dealer to complain again. Maybe need a class action against Ford/Lincoln for them to finally listen and act!! By the way, had a 2017 MKC that also kept going dead. Dealer (different one) did some program changes under a technical service bulletin and the problem did resolve.

 

[Peedue]

Here's an interesting question :
Out of ALL 2020 Lincoln Corsair's sold in America, what % NEVER had a dead battery issue........ever.........none ??
How could we find the answer to that question ??

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[bbf2530]

Here's an interesting question :
Out of ALL 2020 Lincoln Corsair's sold in America, what % NEVER had a dead battery issue........ever.........none ??
How could we find the answer to that question ??

Hi Peedue. Not sure if it was a rhetorical question. So in case it was not, just so you won't feel like your question has been overlooked: There is no way to access that information, for many reasons. Here are just three:
First...Online polls will obviously be inaccurate, as you are only polling people who are part of whatever particular forum you are polling. So inaccurate results.
Second...Many of those owners are online specifically to find a solution to a problem. People who are happy with their vehicle do not usually come online, unless they are simply a vehicle enthusiast. So again, the results would be inaccurate.
Third...No manufacturer publishes that type of warranty information.

Good luck.

 

[Peedue]

True, all your points.
Well, let's hear from Corsair owners who visit here.
I really like the Corsair, we're retired.....old......and just wouldn't like a continuous battery issue. I'm probably being overly cautious but with the 10-12 NEW cars I've had in my lifetime I NEVER had a battery drain issue, ever. But...........those cars didn't have the endless electronic/electrical bells and whistles that exist today.
Would love to hear from Corsair owners who NEVER had a battery drain issue, if you're out there.
Thanks for listening to this worried old man. LOL

 

[ForgedCrank]

True, all your points.
Well, let's hear from Corsair owners who visit here.
I really like the Corsair, we're retired.....old......and just wouldn't like a continuous battery issue. I'm probably being overly cautious but with the 10-12 NEW cars I've had in my lifetime I NEVER had a battery drain issue, ever. But...........those cars didn't have the endless electronic/electrical bells and whistles that exist today.
Would love to hear from Corsair owners who NEVER had a battery drain issue, if you're out there.
Thanks for listening to this worried old man. LOL

the answer is going to be the same, almost all new cars are like this, and the Corsair is no different.. they all behave this way. It's not a fault or design flaw. My Focus ST does the same thing (2018), and it has no where near the complexity of new-aged devilry on it compared to the Lincoln. Even half million dollar supercars have the same habits, and some even come with a charger when you buy them for this very reason. All the wireless doo-dads and keyless remotes and radios and wi-fi that consumers demand come with consequences.
I highly rec. you get a battery minder and have someone install it, they are only like 50 bucks. you can permanently install it under the hood and hang the cord out of the grill or something and just plug it in if you are going to be leaving it for more than a few days.
Now, if you battery goes from fully charged to dead in 2-3 days, then you have an unusual problem to deal with. Normally, it takes about a week of sitting before the battery will start to get into the "medium" territory. It might get dangerously low in a couple of weeks. I just like to keep mine charged so it takes the load off of the alternator and regulator. I suggest you do the same. It'll make your charging system happy and last longer and you won't need a new battery every couple of years either. Folks who drive every day won't have any issues at all and will never have to deal with this... they won't even notice.

 

[Corsart]

Here's an interesting question :
Out of ALL 2020 Lincoln Corsair's sold in America, what % NEVER had a dead battery issue........ever.........none ??
How could we find the answer to that question ??

Me. My Corsair, purchased in Nov. and made in Sept. has never had a dead battery. Me.

That's not the issue, though, it's why your Corsair has this condition. A dead battery..and multiple dead batteries.... in new car is not normal, even with all the electronics and even infrequently driven. Yours has a drain somewhere. There's an explanation for it. The dealer should be able to pin point it.