• A 2023 Mustang Mach-E owner was stranded after his EV lost power and refused to move.
  • The car’s doors and power systems failed, leaving the driver without an easy way inside.
  • Ford recalled some older Mach-Es for a similar fault but this model was never included.

“Stop Safely Now,” is the warning message one Ford Mustang Mach-E owner recently received on his dash before his electric crossover simply died. There he was, stuck in a parking lot, not even fully in a space, with a sleek metal-shaped brick. Days later, he’s still waiting on an answer as to what happened. All indications point toward a problem that his car shouldn’t have in the first place.

That owner evidently stopped the car, got out, and then realized that he could no longer get back in. Despite attempts at using FordPass, the only real solution was to gain access to the front trunk and jump start the battery. From there, the car went off to the dealer and is still awaiting a diagnosis.

A Familiar Problem With a New Twist

Some commentators on Reddit believe they’ve already figured it out though. Apparently, this behavior is common among cars where the High Voltage Battery Junction Box fails. Ford recalled some 2021 and 2022 model-year Mustang Mach-Es for that exact problem. What’s strange is that the owner in this story has a 2023 model-year car. They don’t appear to be the only ones outside of that recall population with a similar issue either.

More: New Mach-E Owner Says His Paint Looks Like An Orange Peel And Ford Dealer Won’t Help

Ford Mustang Mach-E Bricks Itself, Locking Owner Outside With No Easy Way In

The owner brings up another good point that we’ve heard all too often. In events like these, the electric nature of the door latch becomes problematic. The Mach-E has no manual release from the outside. In essence, if this problem were to occur with a child or pet inside the vehicle, the owner would face a battle.

They could break a window to gain access or go through the process of manually releasing the front trunk. Once open, they can jump-start the car to restore just enough power to unlock the doors. The problem is that the process isn’t exactly quick or even 100% reliable at times.

More: Should Governments Mandate Turn Signal Stalks And Intuitive Manual Door Handles?

In just a few searches, we’ve found examples of other owners who came out to their Mustang Mach-E with no power and without the ability to access the frunk. As a result, we’ve reached out to Ford for more information on the situation and if a new recall might be coming soon. We’ll update you here if we hear back from the automaker.

In the meantime, have you experienced a similar issue with your electric car? Should automakers be required to have manual external door releases for emergencies? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!