Why would a 2014 Ford Fusion still on new car lot need a jump start? Are batteries fully charged that are put in these new cars? Why would a new car sitting in a dealer lot have sluggish driving ?
5 Answers
From sitting at the factory and on the lot without being started. No the batteries are not always fully charged new. I have had several at the dealership that I had to put on 2 amp slow charge and let it charge overnight to bring it up to full charge.
Thank you for your response. This is very helpful. Could you address the issue of a sluggish engine after it has warmed up for 10 minutes? Thanks
If it was bitter cold it takes time for everything to warm up and if the battery was flat the ECM has to relearn the system too. Takes a complete drive cycle. Cold start drive until good and warm (30 minutes) then shut off. Next drive it should operate normally.
My opinion (Former Ford Dealer Tech): The batteries from the factory are junk to start with - not because of the manufacturer but because they sat in a warehouse for God- knows-how-long before they were installed and sat again in the Dealer's lot for God-knows-how-long. A Dealer's main interest is in selling cars - not maintaining them. Second: When assembled, the vehicle is shipped with 1/4 tank (or less) of fuel. Once again - there's no telling how old the fuel is or if a stabilizer was added to it. The dealer is supposed to add fuel to the vehicle when it hits the lot but never do because they don't want to spend the money. As far as Adaptive strategies: Ford vehicles do not have a concern with starting and running well when the Computer is reset. Computer Controlled - fuel injected vehicles do not ever require a "warm up" period" - they warm up faster if you drive them and have strategies to make the perform properly when cold. My advice to the car shopper: Go to a lot that at least checks on condition of their inventory once a week - these people obviously don't.
I work at a assembly plant for Ford and we stopped warehousing parts 10yrs ago its a on time ondemand type for all of our parts now. hope this helps...
