Never underestimate the power of ignorance...

[CerebralPrimate]

Had a few scratches so I dropped Luna at a body shop for a week. Didn't want joy rides happening, so I left just 40 miles of range on it. Unfortunately a very bad idea. Worker took it to the paint shop, the dealership, his ex wife's house to pick up something, etc... ran it down to 0% battery left, thinking it was a hybrid and he could just add gas at the shop later. Tried to pick it up this morning, but it was bricked. Not even enuff power to get it out of Park to push it out of the shop, so the tow driver had to use dollys., Learned the hard way, after paying for it to be towed to a charger, that once you're at zero, it will not take a charge unless the dealership does a recovery charge, apparently. So $175 tow to a charger a few miles away, then another $175 to the dealership 12 miles away. The dealership had never heard of anyone ignoring all the repeated warnings the truck gives and running it to absolute zero.

I take absolute ownership tho... it wasn't a top of the line shop, and I was the one who brought it there thinking just a few scratches and rock chips should be easy.

Props to the dealership for giving me a free 2026 F150 Lariat loaner... quite nice. But I am sure the bill will be hefty as the svc mgr had to look up what the procedure even involved. He couldn't even price it on the spot (it was Sat, 30 minutes before closing). Did I mention I was 2+ hours away from the city I live in? Yeah, fun day. Thought I was just going to pick my truck up... turned into a 9.5 hour fiasco before I was home. Could I have choked the life out of the scratch and dent guy? Sure. Would it solve anything? No. We deal with life as it happens, it's all an improv, and it's a good idea to try to remain cool and allow people their mistakes with grace.

Anyway, the svc mgr will call me Monday once he calls around to find the price of what he needs to do... anyone else who has ever even heard of this issue happening, feel free to chime in. Empirical experiences welcome...

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[RickLightning]

There are numerous videos by morons and YouTubers (same thing to me) that ran to zero. See what they had to do.

 

[K6CCC]

Sounds like the body shop is going to get a really big bill for causing "damage" to your truck by taking it for a joy ride. Start with the two tows...

 

[Runaway Tractor]

I don't understand what is creating such difficulty recharging. Isn't it just a matter of putting a booster pack on the 12v battery to wake the computers up, then hooking up to a DCFC?

 

[electricpig]

Also,.leaving your high voltage battery at dead for days is a really bad ideal. Also the 12V battery likely needs replaced as well. Then there is the fact you didn't authorize them using your truck for anything else. Not to mention your lost time. You are entitled to your be paid for your lost time. Btw, informing utilities that you will be billing them for lost time if they don't show when promised will typically make them show up on time.

 

[Gimme_my_MME]

You/they should be able to just L1 charge from 0 to 5% or so and then you can fast charger from there. Depending on how low they really got it, the pack voltage may be below the DCFC station threshold to start. This can vary from station to station and even day to day. Usually not an issue, unless you let it go all the way past 0% and stop moving and get unlucky, which sounds like you certainly are.

 

[Zprime29]

They managed to get the truck to 0 or below and still managed to make it back to their shop? Did you try jump starting the 12v to get it out of park? Has the dealership tried level 1/2 charging yet?

I was not aware that DCFC had a min voltage. I would be more likely to believe the 12v died and the truck just won't turn on to begin DCFC. I recall Out of Spec ran one dead in a race with Tom. They got a tow and it charged fine.

 

[chl]

I don't understand what is creating such difficulty recharging. Isn't it just a matter of putting a booster pack on the 12v battery to wake the computers up, then hooking up to a DCFC?

Yes but...the dealership may be uninformed about how to do it, that has happened before.

I remember reading another post on another site about a dealership saying the owner needed a whole new battery and that they couldn't charge the battery...probably dealership ignorance and probably just needed the 12v boosted so the contactors will close.

The BMS can get mixed up about the actual SOC of the HVB and one can inadvertently go to 'zero' and shut down apparently after multiple charge sessions without allowing time to re-calibrate....but there is always the safety buffer down there near the bottom so never at actual zero charge.

 

[CerebralPrimate]

Between the awesome people who posted helpful responses here and the FB Group, I now have something to call the dealership about first thing in the morning.

Most recommended option- tell them to try doing a slow level 1/2 charge to see if it will start taking it into the battery. Feedback seems to be that below 2%, the vehicle battery will not accept fast charging, but will accept a low level charge. So, try that first, get it up over the 2% SOC, then go put it on the dealership chargers.

For those that asked, no, I didn't have my charge cord. It was plugged into the wall at my house where it typically stays and I was 2+ hours from home.

Second most recommended option- Another thing to try before disconnecting the battery from the vehicle and doing some lengthy recovery process, check the health of the 12V battery as it may have died in the process... and either recharge or replace it.

Bottom line, the battery mgmt system is designed to protect the battery and thus shuts off certain functionality below a certain level. As such, the truck not taking a charge from a commercial fast charging station when is it at 0% is indeed normal. I didn't know that. I doubt the dealership in Savannah knew that as they had only ever worked on a few. And obviously common sense would stop most people from running it down to that level as they would have paid attention to the multiple warnings along the way in any normal situation that wasn't an emergency.

For those that suggested taking my anger out on the old guy (maybe not so many here, but FB was full of that kind of response)... look man, I'm a 6'2 gorilla that put a few years into fight gyms before realizing how easy it is to hurt people and that it makes ya feel like sh!t when ya do, unless you're a total psychopath. I'm also a veteran and spent way too much time in conflict zones. The idea of raging at an old and ignorant body guy that's 20 years my senior and 100 pounds less than me holds absolutely no appeal. He made a mistake, as we all do... and his mistake caused a lot of frustration and effort on my end initially, but no one died, no one was seriously injured, and the problem can be resolved... no need to go ballistic under those circumstances. Just focus on the solution, not the blame.

 

[MaintGrl]

Sounds like the body shop is going to get a really big bill for causing "damage" to your truck by taking it for a joy ride. Start with the two tows...

Ya, buddy!

 

[TaxmanHog]

For those that suggested taking my anger out on the old guy (maybe not so many here, but FB was full of that kind of response)... look man, I'm a 6'2 gorilla that put a few years into fight gyms before realizing how easy it is to hurt people and that it makes ya feel like sh!t when ya do, unless you're a total psychopath. I'm also a veteran and spent way too much time in conflict zones. The idea of raging at an old and ignorant body guy that's 20 years my senior and 100 pounds less than me holds absolutely no appeal. He made a mistake, as we all do... and his mistake caused a lot of frustration and effort on my end initially, but no one died, no one was seriously injured, and the problem can be resolved... no need to go ballistic under those circumstances. Just focus on the solution, not the blame.

BRAVO

 

[Pioneer74]

He made a mistake

He sure did. He used a customers car as his personal vehicle. Not very professional in my opinion, and I don't understand how you can be so understanding and nonchalant about it.

I hope you at least insist he pays for any costs incurred because of his ignorance and unprofessionalism.

 

[Red_Lightning]

Get a GPS tracker. Always know where your truck is and where's its been. Easy to hide and the battery lasts about 6 weeks at the max update rate (with my usage pattern). The company is easy work with. You can turn the service on and off if you want to. It gives me a lot of peace of mind.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DNWT4HWF

 

[richl025]

I'm surprised no one else here has already mentioned this, but I will -

ABC - ALWAYS BE CHARGING.

You never know what will come up and when you will need the unexpected range.

No, the body shop should NOT have used your truck for anything but service-related purposes, this is not to excuse them and you ABSOLUTLEY should expect them to pay all charges related to bricking your truck.'

But just remember ABC!

 

[Zprime29]

I'm surprised no one else here has already mentioned this, but I will -

ABC - ALWAYS BE CHARGING.

You never know what will come up and when you will need the unexpected range.

No, the body shop should NOT have used your truck for anything but service-related purposes, this is not to excuse them and you ABSOLUTLEY should expect them to pay all charges related to bricking your truck.'

But just remember ABC!

He purposely left a small charge on it in hopes of avoiding exactly what happened. Similar to dropping an ICE car off with the low fuel light on. The problem was the shop worker was unknowledgeable and unscrupulous.

I had a car totaled once and opted to buy it back. I ended up out of town when they tow yard wanted to deliver to my residence. I told them when I would be back and to not deliver it until then. When I got back, I found they had left it in my driveway, without tell me, and had the keys to the car zip tied to the steering wheel. To top it off, they left it on accessory and it killed the 12v. They refused to replace my battery, claiming it was already dead. I pointed out the sticker they put on the windshield that said the car battery was good when they first got it. It took me threatening a complain with the BBB before they agreed to reimburse me.

You don't have to yell and intimidate with physical presence, but you should stand up for yourself. That body shop screwed up and I would at a minimum demand they pay for the tows, or be reported for their mishandling of customer vehicles. Part of this isn't even about getting reimbursed for your vehicle, it's about holding a business accountable. Not everyone can afford to shrug off gross negligence and move on. A business that doesn't respect the customer needs to shown that accountability is still a thing.

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