rdhilgeman

I just purchased a new Edge specifically for towing behing a motor home. With less than 600miles on the car, I left for a trip. I followed book instructions exactly and have towed other vehicles for over 200,000 miles without an incident. I have towed a vehicle for days behind the motor home and never experienced a dead battery. When I arrived at my destination, the battery was totally dead and I had to call AAA to start. When I returned home a week later, I once again was greeted with a totally dead battery. I have experienced the tailgate opening 3 times while unattended, the parking lights coming on a half dozen times for no apparant reason, the radio being dead one day and ok the next, the car recognizing my key and unlocking the door for me only to sound the alarm when I opened the door, and the automatic day/night mirror deciding it was night time in the middle of the day. The Dealer believes that the "odd stuff" that has been going on all relates to when the battery went completely dead. That effects the computer and strange things can happen. At this time, the car has been at the dealer the past 10 days with no cure yet in sight. We have determined (Dealer and myself) that the battery drain is coming from putting the car in the Accessory position in preparation for towing. Initial battery drain runs about 6 amps/hour and long term drain (after initial hour) is running about 3 amps/hour. This is enough to totally drain the battery in no time at all. For those RVers who consider towing an Edge, I would recommend that you have the Dealer test the car you are purchasing for excessive battery drain when in Accessory position. We checked one other new Edge with the same accessories on the car as mine and it too had the same excessive drain. I have contacted Ford and am awaiting for a solution. UPDATE: Just received information from Ford Dealer that the drain of 6 amp and 3amps on the battery in the accessory position is the standard draw for the Edge. That means that anyone wanting to tow the Edge behind an RV can expect the battery to go dead in about 8 hours. I am now being told that I should stop the vehicle every 2-3 hours, start the car, go through the gears, and run it for around 10 minutes. REDICULOUS. Do not purchase an Edge until Ford corrects the problem if you plan to tow it behind an RV. My research has indicated that the amperage draw should not exceed .5 Amps even on the new, computer driven autos.

I have a new ford edge and have experienced the battery going dead after 6-7 hours towing just as you have. I have also had my tailgate come open on three different occasions while shopping and not connected to the RV. My Edge has been in the shop for a week now with no solution in sight. Seems that Ford should put out a bulletin for those that tow the Edge. I am so disgusted that I'm ready to ask for a refund. So far it is always "the wiring" for the tow vehicle, or the computer needed to be reprogrammed, or the FOB's needed reprogramming, etc. Thanks to your article, I can at least see a temporary cure and can tell the dealer "IT IS A FORD PROBLEM. That does not excuse Ford for not letting the Service department know of this "temporary" cure. My Edge has been in the shop almost as long as I have owned it.

Thanks for the input. I had similar problems. Our first trip resulted in a dead battery 2 times. Had to call AAA. Battery totally dead after 6 hours of towing. Also other strange happenings--rear door opening by itself 3 different times, radio quitting, parking lights going on at random intervals. Ford dealer in St George Utah found that once the battery goes dead, you must program battery saver mode again or problems continue. Mine not solved yet but working on problem. Seems like battery draw in accessory mode runs about 3.4 amps which will drain any battery relatively quickly. I touched the battery terminal while car in accessory mode and it was so hot that I blistered my finger. In their testing they found if you just turned on your engine, put it in neutral, and then just turned off your engine without going to accessory mode, draw on battery was down about 75%. They are waiting for ok from ford to tell me to tow that way instead of in accessory mode.