Dead Renault Zoe with 'DANGER Electric Failure/Motor Failure' messages on the dash

The Renault Zoe is prone to displaying "Electric Failure DANGER" or "Electric Motor Failure" red warning messages on the dash when there are problems with the vehicle. Understandably, the owner can be quite alarmed by these and assume the vehicle has a major fault. However, it can often be something simple like a low 12V auxiliary battery and something that many owners can sort out themselves.
In this video, I had a customer who was experiencing this issue and was unable to start or use their Zoe. They had booked a recovery truck to get the vehicle taken on a flatbed to the local Renault dealership. But the Zoe was stuck in Park and they were unable to move it. The customer contacted me for help on how to get it out of Park, so I went out to them to assist. My suspicion was that it could simply be a low 12V battery, so I went out armed to replace that. And my suspicion was correct in this case. So I hope this video helps other Renault Zoe owners and if you experience these red error messages on your dash, it could be something that you can fix yourself or at least get your roadside recovery provider to fix on the roadside, rather than recovering it to a garage.

If you've found this video particularly useful or maybe this saved you money or time, then please do at least click the like button and add a comment. If you'd like to give a 'super thanks', you can buy me a coffee, a pint or contribute to the running costs of this channel via the Thanks button.
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#gogreenautos #evlearning #renaultzoe #electriccar #electricvehicles #gogreenautosuk

[GoGreenAutos]

I didn't explain the reason for the issues on this video. The problem when I film bits between doing the actual job, chatting to the customer etc, I end up with snippets which I have to try to edit together to make something that viewable.
Anyway, in this case when I got there the battery voltage was around 11.5V and that would normally be fine to start it and it should have worked. A vehicle will typically be ok with the battery at above 10V. But obviously this battery had previously dropped well below that level and enough to create all the low voltage triggers in the ECUs.
This Zoe was being used for a lot of short trips and obviously the car wasn't being driven for long enough to properly charge the battery. This is a common issue with vehicles that do low mileage and lot of short trips.
I've advised the customer to leave the vehicle running (i.e. in Ready mode) when she's parked up waiting for her kids, so that the 12V gets a longer charge. That should solve the situation going forward. If not, then they'll need to start using a mains battery charger/maintainer.

If you've found this video particularly useful or maybe this saved you money or time, then please do at least click the like button and add a comment. If you'd like to give a 'super thanks', you can buy me a coffee, a pint or contribute to the running costs of this channel via the Thanks button above.
YouTube shares 70% of the donations with the video creators.

[daveamies]

This is awesome customer service 👍, going out on a Sunday to help someone who bought a car from you over 4 years ago, is way above and beyond what you'd normally get in any country, i hope your customers are loyal and appreciate this level of service 🤞

[MSCURR-mo]

That’s how to look after customers, well done. You’re definitely the company to buy a car from l’m sure there aren’t many companies would go to these lengths. Every success for the future.

[bathfun]

What great customer service.. you are a star

[rangleri]

Amazing work! Sharing this will help so many people. Those "Danger, failure etc." warnings are maybe a bit too dramatic on the Zoes.

[kiae-nirodiariesencore]

Nice one Mat, you saved them a ton of money!. The whole 12v battery thing is a strange one with EVs and I found it interesting that you say the Zoe will start from 11v or just below that even. Our e-NIro is 4 years old now and the 12v battery failed last year. The car just will not tolerate anything below 12v, it simply will not start.. and for a few weeks we kept it going with one of those LiON booster batteries...As soon as 12V is available you can hear the relays clicking over which I guess means you can then access the traction battery. The original battery on e-Niro and Hyundai Ioniq was only 45Ah and my friend here in France with the Ioniq had the same problem with his car. I replaced the battery with a Bosch 52Ah which I hope will last a bit longer..We are a one car household and the e-Niro is on 78, 000 km . For anyone interested, here I am on the EV battery learning curve

[KevCon]

What an absolute gem you are. Just went to move my Zoe and got the full drama of electrical fault, danger, car acting weird, what I thought was fans… I was waiting for it to burst into flames!

Then I found your vid, checks the 12v and it is at 11.25 — so it’s now on my rapid charger for a few hours.

My journeys are all, at most 2x 25minute commutes and right now that’s in the dark with the lights and air con on.

Hopefully a new battery will fix it but for now, it’s a charge to pep it up enough for the morning.

Thanks so much!

[ncwy]

Had same issue today; scary warning messages on dashboard, my battery was 4 years old; Googled these messages, came across your video and didn't bother trying to arrange breakdown recovery, just ordered mobile replacement battery service with RAC (£180!, prob could done it myself and saved a lot, after watching one of your other videos!, but i was stranded so not really poss to go get my own battery and install myself) Mechanic said the voltage was just 9.5 volts.After new battery installed, car is absolutely fine now! Its a pity Zoe couldn't have just displayed warning message that 12V battery needs attn or replacement rather than scaring the life out of u 🤣

[michaelgoode]

Excellent video.

We bought a 2 year old ID.3 and within a couple of days the car was showing all kinds of errors, drinking range and flagging a 12v issue. The 12v battery had according to VW only been replaced in July 2022. Anyway, the 12v battery was duff and exchanged on warranty. All problems miraculously disappeared.

Apparently the ID.3 had a 12v battery replacement with a workshop software update to v2.4. Clearly VW knew that they had 12v battery issues.

I have seen also that there have been 12v battery issues with the Ioniq5. It beggars belief that manufacturers are somehow getting this basic thing so badly wrong.

[Simonskilamb]

Was about to sell my Zoe for scrap on Monday (electric motor bearing failure and just sick of the constant cost of upkeep of the car, a 2016 edition) and lo and behold 2 weeks sitting unused the car is completely dead, dying before the day it is picked up when theyve said "as long as it still switches on we will give you £X". Pain in the backside til the very end. Great video and I salute your superb customer service man.

[dougowt]

I used to get this warning and other rather dramatic messages on the last Zoe I had. It turned out to be one of the 10mm nuts under the red cover on the 12v battery had just come loose. Not the battery clamp, but one of the other connections. Easy to access and fix.

[robertblood]

All very interesting as my wife’s Zoe gets the same thing’s coming up sometimes. Her car is about the same age, gone are the days you need a toolbox with spanner’s. Bob in Kent England. Thanks again for this YouTube and expressed with the support you give to your customers.

[terryrigden]

What great customer service, you will be on my list when I decide to go electric. I had a similar problem on my Yaris hybrid after a lot of short trips

[russfoggan]

I followed these instructions to the T so now I need a video about how to retrieve the socket and extension from the undertray! Cannot believe I did that especially after your warning lol

[johnross]

Highly informative video. Has helped ease our worries and will ask garage to conduct suggested diagnostics at service later this month (oh, and take it on a few longer journeys!). Cheers

[garybibby]

These 22kwh Zoës with the newest BMS update are great. My dad gets 112 miles out of his even at this time of year! Love the dramatic error message it throws up!

[BayLuke]

Good fix. I wonder if the interior of the owner's home is as dirty as their car though. That driver's side mat is an accident waiting to happen.

[johnkeepin]

Interesting presentation. The 12V battery looks like quite a large one, compared with the relatively small one used by Toyota under the back seat in my Yaris. Anyway, the issue to do with the 12V one being low voltage reminds me of an old fault that I had in the past on a car (along with thousands of others, for the same reason). It was an old Honda Civic diesel engined one with a chunky 70Ah battery, and could flatten it overnight. The fault was a software error in a product from Bosch, which could get into a mode where it wouldn’t shut down, and just grabbed hold of the CAN bus. No obvious fault indication - until the battery was flat.

It was repaired by way of a firmware upgrade from Bosch, via the Honda dealer. I learnt a bit more about it from a nearby neighbour who worked at the Honda factory - hence my knowledge of the cause etc. It was all done under warranty then.

In either EVs or any other type of car that uses the CAN bus system, the possibility of faults in various sub systems that can run down a battery exists. I don’t know if Renault actually uses contact relays to isolate the traction motor when the power is switched off, but Toyota do that, and it’s always possible to hear them “drop out” when switching off, which is kind of reassuring that at least the main (traction) battery is disconnected when it’s out of use.

[MrWobling]

Amazing customer service. I wish I'd bought my car from you now - the MG Dealer has been awful to deal with.

[HowardLeVert]

As someone who is thinking of buying a ZOE, I found this fascinating and very useful. I too have discovered how many faults a low battery can cause on a conventional ICE car: but I was half expecting you to discover the fault was actually with the DC-DC converter from the traction battery to the 12V battery so a merely poor battery was a 'win', I'd say. Oh, and excellent customer service too.