Sandy Munro, a former Ford Motor Company engineer who later opened his own consulting firm and now makes some pretty fascinating YouTube content, has been in the midst of a 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E teardown in recent weeks. Most recently, that includes disassembling the frunk area to get a better look at the EV’s cooling system, which leads to some interesting discoveries.
Humorously, Munro pulls the frunk liner out and faints at what he sees, which is a bit dramatic, even by his own admission. Regardless, Munro admits that he was “shocked” to see the number of components that lie underneath. That includes the inverter, compressor, DC/DC converter, onboard charger, a total of four pumps, a heat sink, and a whole slew of hoses, to name a few.
Munro then studies the setup to try and figure out how the cooling system works but doesn’t really like what he sees. That includes a total of 31 spring clips/clamps, 14 COTS connectors, and various other connectors that Munro says tend to leak over time. He also criticizes the fact that there are so many components stuffed in this one space, which will make it difficult to work on when that time inevitably comes.
During the Mach-E teardown, Munro also compares the EV’s frunk to its main rival – the Tesla Model Y. He points out the fact that the Model Y has fewer components in the frunk liner itself, and is a more elegant design overall, without all the unnecessary holes present in the Ford’s plastic liner. Underneath, the Tesla has far less components and hoses as well, with higher quality fasteners holding it all together.
This is a stark contrast to Munro’s prior praise for the Mach-E’s suspension and undercarriage, though the former engineer does note that the Ford’s cooling system is superior to the one present in the Volkswagen ID.4, as well as the Polestar 2, which is a bit more expensive than the Mach-E.
It’s worth noting, of course, that the Ford Mustang Mach-E is The Blue Oval’s first mass-produced EV, while Tesla has been making them for nearly a decade. Little details like this are bound to improve over time, and we imagine they will. We’re also interested to see Munro get his hands on a Ford F-150 Lightning at some point in the future to see if FoMoCo makes any changes to these components in one of its next electric vehicles.
We’ll have more interesting videos like this to share soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for more Mustang Mach-E news and ongoing Ford news coverage.
Comments
Munro’s video dissection’s are always interesting to watch. One has to wonder how many parts in the Mach-E were purchased from vendors versus the Tesla, which I’m assuming was designed and manufactured inhouse. When one has so many individual components that one has to combine into a working unit, this is what can happen. When one designs for a specific application, and produces that integrated design for that specific use, it’s much easier to simplify and to his point, eliminate leak points in the future. It starts as a planning decision.
Ford dealers don’t need to worry about having less service to do on EV’s versus ICE engines.
This is what happens when bean counters insist on maximizing content from the parts bin to “keep down costs.”
As a 10 year ford certified technician here at a fantastic dealership Gary Yeomans Ford Daytona Florida (still need some trans certs to reach master) I will be interested to see how many coolant leaks I run across due to spring clips rolling off the assembly line still in the unlocked position. We all have fridays I suppose. Interesting breakdown video.
He might be right or he might not, but Munro is a huge Tesla fan. He has been quoted as saying that Tesla has no competitors, and when it does they will come from China. He’s been critical of earlier Model 3 panel gaps and paint, but that’s about all. I’m not saying there is anything untoward here, just know that this bias exists.
I don’t care about this mans opinion about the mustang Mach e. I don’t trust anything anyone say about another vehicle when you can look, listen and see that they are a huge fan of another manufacture. To me it’s so funny to hear about all of the bad things about other automobiles but never the Tesla when they have more problems than the law allows, while waiting several weeks on a flatbed to pick up your car for repair. No thank you… I would much rather drive mine in to any local dealership close by.
Indeed, an engineer playing possum isn’t trustworthy.
So true. My friend has a model X and since he doesn’t drive it but 4 times a year, he had to invest in very expensive special jack stands and jack to keep the vehicle off the tires to prevent “flat spots” which would incur very expensive tire replacement (the dealer replaced his first set free but said they won’t anymore since they warned him about it). I guess the X must be very, very heavy; almost double what my Mustang GT is.
What an electric joke. Thinking I’ll keep my diesel powered Ford truck. If Sleepy Joe and Kamel Toe ban gas/diesel I’ll run it on vegetable oil. Hmm, where’s the french fry smell comin’ from?
The worst part is the pro-EV people aren’t thinking straight. You know how long it takes you to refuel when there are long lines (Costco, etc.) yet those cars only take 5 minutes or so to refuel then it’s the next guy in line. Imagine a long line like that if everyone has EVs and no gas engines anymore; until they can come up with full-charging a battery in 5 minutes or so, they will have to build at least 100 times more charging stations than there are current gas stations. Also, where are all the worn out batteries that are replaced going to go? Landfills?