Toronto, Ontario — Hookups can be risky and they often come with a cost far greater than wasted time—we’re talking about towing here, to be clear. An improper hookup can do some pretty significant damage to an EV and, such as in the case of one Mustang Mach-E driver, cost you thousands.
A Canadian driver posted to the online Mach-E Forum, detailing the harrowing tow experience he had while on a road trip in Florida where damage to his vehicle’s battery left him owing $28,000 in repair costs.
After seeing a “Pull Over Safely” notification flash across the dashboard, the driver did exactly that and called Ford’s Roadside Assistance who quickly dispatched a flatbed tow truck to deliver the vehicle to the nearest dealership.
As it turned out, the tow operator was unfamiliar with EV body structure and hooked a winch onto the Mach-E’s battery rail, causing damage to the batteries.
When contacted about the incident, Ford deferred responsibility to the roadside assistance provider, Agero Roadside Assistance Services, who improperly hooked up the vehicle.
Agero pushed back, claiming that the damage cannot be proven to be the fault of the company and that the battery could have been damaged at any point during the road trip.
The driver did not go into detail in their post about the potential causes of the warning notification that kicked off the series of events but is seeking to fight the hefty repair bill in court on both sides of the border.
As the adoption of electric vehicles becomes all the more prevalent on North American roads, education surrounding these vehicles and their batteries is becoming increasingly more important for all segments of the automotive industry.
