2013 FORD FOCUS ELECTRIC Complaints

CAR SHUT DOWN/STOPPED WHILE DRIVING; WARNING LIGHT SAYS "STOP SAFELY NOW" BUT THERE IS NO CHOICE -- THE CAR SHUTS DOWN AND ONLY OPTION IS TO COAST TO SIDE OF ROAD. *TR

I HAVE RECEIVED A "STOP SAFELY NOW" WARNING TWICE IN THE PAST WEEK WHILE DRIVE MY FORD FOCUS ELECTRIC. WHEN THIS HAS HAPPENED I'VE LOST ALL ACCELERATION, AND ONE OF THE TIMES I LOST THE ABILITY TO STEER AND BREAK. BOTH TIMES THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED THE CAR BATTERY WAS NEAR FULLY CHARGED. --------------------------------- 1ST OCCURRENCE WAS ON OCT 7TH 2013 WHILE SLOWING DOWN TO APPROACH A STOP SIGN, I HEARD BEEPING AND RECEIVED THE "STOP SAFELY NOW" WARNING ON THE SCREEN AND IMMEDIATELY THE CAR LOST POWER (THE DASHBOARD STILL HAD POWER). I LOST THE ABILITY TO STEER, BREAK AND ACCELERATE. THANKFULLY I WAS ALREADY COMING TO A STOP (FOR THE STOP SIGN) AND WAS UNDER 5MPH. THE CAR ROLLED TO A STOP, I WAS UNABLE TO TURN THE CAR BACK ON UNTIL I OPENED THE DRIVER'S DOOR (THIS CAUSED THE DASHBOARD TO POWER OFF), AFTER THIS I WAS ABLE TO POWER THE CAR BACK ON AND CONTINUE DRIVING. ------------------------------------- 2ND OCCURRENCE WAS ON OCT 16TH 2013 WHILE DRIVING 65MPH ON THE FREEWAY, I HEARD BEEPING AND RECEIVED THE "STOP SAFELY NOW" WARNING ON THE SCREEN AND IMMEDIATELY THE CAR LOST POWER (THE DASHBOARD STILL HAD POWER), THIS TIME I WAS STILL ABLE TO STEER AND BREAK BUT HAD NO ACCELERATION. THANKFULLY THERE WAS A FREEWAY EXIT CLOSE BY, AND THE CAR HAD ENOUGH MOMENTUM THAT I WAS ABLE TO ROLL DOWN THE EXIT RAMP AND TO THE SHOULDER OF THE FEEDER ROAD. THE CAR WOULD NOT RESTART, I HAD TO OPEN THE DRIVER SIDE DOOR FOR THE CAR TO POWER DOWN ALL THE WAY. I WAS THAN ABLE TO POWER THE CAR BACK ON AND KEEP DRIVING. ------------------------------------- I HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TO THE FORD SERVICE DEPT (ON OCT 17TH); AT THIS TIME THEY ARE TELLING ME THAT THEY HAVE NOT FOUND AN ISSUE. *TR

I WAS DRIVING AND THE CAR STARTED BEEPING, AND FLASHED UP AN WARNING 'SAFELY STOP NOW'. I IMMEDIATELY PULLED THE CAR OVER TO THE SHOULDER, AND HIT THE OFF BUTTON. THE ENGINE SHUT OFF, BUT THE ERROR DID NOT GO AWAY, I COULD NAVIGATE AROUND THE COMPUTER A BIT, AND IT SHOWED A 'WARNING' BUT WOULD NOT LET ME SEE WHAT THE WARNING WAS. WHEN I OPENED THE CAR DOOR, NONE OF THE ACCESSORY POWER SHUT OFF LIKE IT SHOULD. I GOT OUT OF THE CAR (REMOVING THE KEY) AND LOCKED THE CAR. STILL ALL OF THE ACCESSORY POWER STAYED ON. I GOT BACK IN, AND TRIED TO START THE CAR, AND IT WOULD NOT START, AND FLASHED THE MESSAGE 'SAFELY STOP NOW' REPEATEDLY. I CALLED ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE, AND THEY SENT A TOW TRUCK. THE ACCESSORY POWER SAID ON FOR THE ENTIRE HOUR I WAITED, BY THE TIME THEY GOT THERE, I GOT BACK INTO THE CAR AND IT LET ME START IT. IT RAN ALL THE WAY TO THE DEALERSHIP WITHOUT ANY ISSUE (3 MILES). SO FAR, THE DEALERSHIP IS CLUELESS ON WHAT TO DO. *TR

STOPPED AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT, THE CAR DASH INDICATOR ERROR "STOP SAFELY NOW" APPEARED AND THERE WAS NO ABILITY CONTROL THE CAR--DIDN'T TO RESPOND TO THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED. I RESTARTED THE CAR SEVERAL TIMES AND FINALLY WAS ABLE TO REGAIN NORMAL DRIVING CONDITIONS. *TR

STOP SAFELY NOW- CAR ASKED ME TO STOP SAFELY NOW WHILE DRIVING AND I PULLED OVER. AT THAT POINT, IT DID NOT RESTART. HAS HAPPENED 4 OTHER TIMES WITH MY WIFE AND 4 KIDS IN THE CAR WHILE TRAVELING AT SPEED. VERY UNSAFE AND HAVE REPORTED TO FORD. HAS BEEN IN SHOP FOR OVER 30 DAYS AND THEY ARE EXECUTING A BUY-BACK, BUT WITH ALL THESE OTHER CARS ON THE ROAD, IT CAN BE EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AS YOU LOSE ALL CONTROL WITH AN ELECTRIC CAR. NEEDS TO BE INVESTIGATED AND FORD NEEDS TO FIX THE PROBLEM BY FINDING A ROOT CAUSE. *TR

I WAS IN A PARKING LOT HALF WAY THROUGH MY TURN TO PULL INTO A PARKING SPOT WHEN THE CAR STOPPED AND READ "STOP SAFELY NOW". I COULD NOT RESTART THE CAR. THEN (AFTER A FEW MINUTES) SOME NICE MAN ASKED IF I NEEDED A PUSH. HE PUSHED MY CAR INTO THE PARKING SPACE AND THEN I WAS ABLE TO REBOOT THE CAR AND AFTER THAT EVERYTHING WAS FINE. THAT WAS THE SECOND TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED. THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED I WAS GOING ABOUT 35 TO 45 MPH AND GOT THE "STOP SAFELY NOW" WARNING AND AFTER ABOUT 10 OR 15 SECONDS OF COASTING IT REBOOTED WITH NO PROBLEMS. *TR

AT THE TIME OF THIS REPORT WE HAVE HAD TWO OCCURRENCES OF A "STOP SAFELY NOW" ERROR MESSAGE WHILE DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS ON THIS VEHICLE. DURING EACH FAILURE THE VEHICLE STOPPED FUNCTIONING ABRUPTLY WITH NO WARNING BEFORE THE FAILURE. ALL STEERING, CONTROL OF VEHICLE AND PROPULSION WAS LOST. ON THE FIRST FAILURE WE HAD APPROXIMATELY 7 SECONDS OF MOMENTUM BEFORE COMING TO A STOP AND ON THE SECOND OCCURRENCE WE HAD AN ABRUPT STOP AS IF THE BRAKES WERE SLAMMED ON FORCIBLY. AS A RESULT I WAS THROWN FORWARD TOWARDS THE STEERING WHEEL. IN BOTH SITUATIONS WE WERE UNABLE TO GET THE VEHICLE OFF TO A SAFE SPOT ON THE HIGHWAY. IN BOTH CASES IMPACT POSSIBILITIES WERE EXTREMELY LIKELY BOTH DURING THE INCIDENT AND THE MINUTES POST-INCIDENT AS WE ATTEMPTED TO GET TO A SAFE LOCATION OFF OF THE ROAD. FORD HAS ATTEMPTED A DIAGNOSIS ON THE FIRST OCCURRENCE, BUT WERE UNABLE TO PROVIDE A FIX. FORD NOW HAS THE VEHICLE AGAIN FOR A FINAL ATTEMPT AT REPAIR. THE VEHICLE IS APPROACHING 30 DAYS OUT OF SERVICE IN TOTAL REPAIR TIME. *TR

WHILE DRIVING, VEHICLE CHIMED THEN "STOP SAFELY NOW" CAME ON IN THE DISPLAY. VEHICLE TURNED OFF WHILE DRIVING AND I WAS UNABLE TO TURN BACK ON. ABOUT 5 MINUTES LATER I WAS ABLE TO GET THE VEHICLE TO TURN BACK ON. ON 10/7/13 WHILE NEGOTIATING A LEFT TURN, THE VEHICLE DID THIS AGAIN. I WAS ABLE TO COMPLETE THE TURN WITH THE SPEED I WAS MAKING THE TURN WITH AND PULLED OVER. IT TOOK ABOUT 7 MINUTES BEFORE I COULD GET THE VEHICLE TO TURN BACK ON. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER THE SAME DAY. TODAY, 10/8/13 SOUTH BAY FORD IN HAWTHORNE, CA CALLED ME AND SAID THAT FORD IS AWARE OF THE ISSUE BUT TO JUST COME PICK UP MY VEHICLE. I FEEL THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE THAT FORD NEEDS TO RESOLVE ASAP! *TR

WHILE EXITING A PARKING LOT IN LATE AFTERNOON, I COASTED TO A STOP AT THE SIGNAL LIGHT BEFORE EXITING ONTO THE STREET. CAR LOST POWER, AND I WAS UNABLE TO RESTART IT FOR ABOUT 5 MINUTES. I TRIED THE TRICK I'D READ ABOUT OF PUTTING THE CAR IN PARK, OPENING THE DOOR AND CLOSING IT, THEN TRYING TO RESTART TO NO AVAIL. EVENTUALLY RESTARTED AND I CONTINUED ON MY ROUTE. *TR

WHILE DRIVING TO WORK IN THE MORNING, CAR LOST POWER AND DISPLAYED "STOP SAFELY NOW" MESSAGE. I WAS ABLE TO COAST TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. AFTER SEVERAL TRIES WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE CAR SUCCESSFULLY AND CONTINUE ON ROUTE. *TR