WHILE OPERATING THE 2013 FORD FOCUS EV ON THE HIGHWAY, JUST AFTER BRAKING TO ENTER THE LEFT TURN LANE, THE VEHICLE LOST ALL PROPULSION CAPABILITY. THE INSTRUMENT GAUGE INDICATED "STOP SAFELY NOW" ONE OR TWO SECONDS BEFORE THIS LOSS OF POWER. FORTUNATELY THERE WAS NO ONCOMING TRAFFIC AND I WAS ABLE TO COAST TO A SAFE PARKING SPOT. IN OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES THIS COULD HAVE BEEN VERY DANGEROUS.. *TR
2013 Ford Focus Electric complaints
Owner reports filed with NHTSA about this vehicle, newest first and reproduced as filed. They are unverified accounts: one proves nothing, and a pattern across many is the thing worth reading. Back to the full 2013 record →
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 B
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
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
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
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
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
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
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, 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
ON AT LEAST 8 SEPARATE OCCASIONS, WHILE DRIVING MY CAR ALL OF SUDDEN AND OUT OF THE BLUE IT DISPLAYS A "STOP SAFELY NOW" WARNING ON THE DASHBOARD AND THEN COMPLETELY LOSES ALL POWER TO THE DRIVETRAIN AS SOON AS IT SLOWS TO DOWN TO APPROX. 5MPH. FORTUNATELY, I'VE NOT BEEN KILLED YET AS A RESULT OF THIS. THE CAR HAS BEEN TO THE FORD DEALER 2 TIMES SINCE THE FIRST OCCURRENCE IN APRIL TO "FIX" THE PROBLEM AND IS CURRENTLY THERE AGAIN AFTER IT MOST RECENTLY HAPPENED ON SEPT 24, 2013. IT'S NOW BEEN AT THE DEALER FOR NEARLY TWO WEEKS AND THEY ARE STILL TRYING TO FIGURE IT OUT. *TR
DRIVING THE VEHICLE HOME WHEN WARNING LIGHTS BEGAN TO FLASH ON THE DASH SAYING TO CHECK OWNERS MANUAL AND TO PULL OVER. THE GAS PEDAL BECAME UNRESPONSIVE AND I COASTED UP TO A RED LIGHT AT A LEFT TURN SIGNAL AND STOPPED, PUT ON MY HAZARD LIGHTS. EVENTUALLY TURNED VEHICLE OFF THEN ON AGAIN AND WAS ABLE TO DRIVE IT HOME. SECOND INCIDENT WAS ON 9/29/13, AND HAD 2863 MILES ON IT. WHILE DRIVING TO DINNER THE SAME WARNING LIGHTS APPEARED ON DASH, AND WE LOST POWER. THANKFULLY NOT A LOT OF HIGH SPEED TRAFFIC AND I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER SOMEWHERE SAFE TO TURN OFF THE CAR AND TURN IT BACK ON AGAIN TO GET IT RESTARTED. WHEN WE RETURNED HOME FROM THE SECOND INCIDENT I PLUGGED IN THE CAR TO CHARGE IT SO WE COULD TAKE IT BACK TO FORD FOR SERVICE, HOWEVER THE CAR DIDN'T REGISTER THE PLUG. TRIED PLUGGING IT IN AND UNPLUGGING IT FROM THE WALL THEN PUTTING EVERYTHING BACK IN TO TRY AND GET IT TO CHARGE. IT WASN'T UNTIL I OPENED THE DRIVER SIDE DOOR THEN SHUT IT THAT IT FINALLY REGISTERED THAT IT WAS PLUGGED IN. DURING BOTH INCIDENTS THE VEHICLE BECAME COMPLETELY UNRESPONSIVE, ESSENTIALLY DEAD IN THE WATER, AND UNLESS YOU CAN PUT IT IN PARK YOU CAN'T RESTART IT. HAVE TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO FORD ON THREE SEPARATE OCCASIONS TO HAVE THEM FIX THIS ISSUE, AS WELL AS FOR AN ISSUE WITH THE ON-BOARD CHARGING SYSTEM FAULTING, CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO NOT CHARGE FULLY. *TR
I HAVE JUST OVER 1000 MILES ON MY 2013 FOCUS EV ... TOOK IT FOR ITS 1ST POWER CAR WASH TODAY @ DELTA SONIC ... ABOUT 10:00 MIN DRIVING AWAY FROM CAR WASH, VEHICLE ABRUPTLY "SHUT DOWN" REQUESTING AN "IMMEDIATE SAFE STOP" AND THE "YELLOW WRENCH" SHOWED ON DASH. AFTER ABOUT 30:00 MIN WHILE SCHEDULING A TOW FROM FORD ROADSIDE ASSIST, VEHICLE ABRUPTLY "CLEARED ITSELF" AND TURNED ON ... DROVE HOME W/O PROBLEM ? WONDERING IF "FLOOD SENSOR" SENSED TOO MUCH WATER AND DISENGAGED BATTERY PACK ? ... LIGHTS, RADIO AND ACCESSORIES WERE STILL OPERATING. SOMEWHAT CONCERNED ON VEHICLES PERFORMANCE DURING UPCOMING "COLD WET" MONTHS. YOUR SUGGESTION ? *TR
AFTER DRIVING ABOUT ONE MILE FROM HOME, A TONE SOUNDED AND THE "STOP SAFELY NOW" WARNING WAS DISPLAYED ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE DASH. THE CAR DID NOT RESPOND WHEN PRESSING THE ACCELERATOR, AND I WAS ABLE TO PULL OFF THE ROAD ONTO THE SHOULDER. THE CAR'S SPEED WAS ABOUT 25 MPH WHEN THE TONE FIRST SOUNDED. IF THIS HAD HAPPENED TWO MINUTES LATER, I WOULD HAVE BEEN ON THE FREEWAY WHERE THERE ARE VERY FEW PLACES TO PULL OFF AND WOULD HAVE PRESENTED A SERIOUS DANGER. I WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE CAR AFTER A FEW MINUTES, DROVE BACK HOME, AND THEN HAD IT TOWED TO THE DEALER. *TR
MY WIFE WAS DRIVING IN HEAVY TRAFFIC AT APPROX. 30 MPH. WITH NO PRIOR AUDIBLE OR VISUAL INSTRUMENT PANEL WARNING DRIVE POWER CEASED AND THE CAR CAME TO A SUDDEN STOP WITH A LOUD AUDIBLE WARNING.SHE WAS LUCKY NOT TO BE REAR ENDED..THE GREEN INSTRUMENT PANEL ICON WHICH NORMALLY INDICATES DRIVE POWER CONNECTED WAS UNLIT. SHE RECYCLED PARKING BRAKE ON, TRANSMISSION IN PARK, FOOT ON FOOTBRAKE AND PRESSED THE POWER BUTTON (THIS IS THE NORMAL START PROCEDURE) WITH NO RESULT . SHE OPENED AND CLOSED THE DRIVER DOOR AND THEN THE CAR STARTED NORMALLY AND SHE DROVE HOME. I HAD EXPERIENCED THE SAME PROBLEM THE DAY BEFORE EXCEPT I WAS STOPPED AT A STOP SIGN ON THIS OCCASION. THE CAR WAS FLAT BEDDED TO A FORD REPAIR SHOP AND I WAS TOLD TO PICK IT UP THE NEXT DAY.THE REPAIR SHOP REPORTED THAT MULTIPLE MEMORY CODES WITH ONLY ONE TCM CODE NEAR THE MILEAGE WHERE THE EVENT OCCURRED A NETWORK TEST WAS PERFORMED AND THE SYSTEM PASSED. WE ENJOY DRIVING THIS CAR, BUT ARE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT USING IT AGAIN ESPECIALLY ON THE FREEWAY. *TR
TWO INCIDENTS OF "STOP SAFELY NOW" WARNING AND LOSS OF POWER. DEALER COULD NOT IDENTIFY PROBLEM IN FIRST INCIDENT. SECOND INCIDENT TODAY, 23 DAYS AFTER FIRST ONE. WILL TAKE (OR TOW) IT IN FOR INSPECTION MONDAY, PER SERVICE DEPARTMENT. *TR
DRIVING AT LOW SPEED IN A PARKING LOT, THE CAR LOST PROPULSION (ONLY) AND DISPLAYED 'STOP SAFELY NOW'. THIS HAS OCCURRED 3 TIMES SINCE (TOTAL OF 4) WITH 3 INCIDENTS ALSO BEING AT LOW, PARKING LOT SPEEDS. I HAD ONE INCIDENT WHERE THIS OCCURRED AT A STEADY 40MPH. THE CAR LOOSES PROPULSION ONLY. STEERING, BRAKING AND ALL OTHER ACCESSORIES ARE UNAFFECTED. *JS
I BRAKED TO A STOP AT A BUSY ENTRANCE TO A TRAFFIC ROTARY. TRAFFIC STARTED UP AND THE CAR WOULDN'T RESPOND TO ACCELERATOR. I SAW A STOP SAFELY NOW MESSAGE ON THE LEFT HAND DIGITAL DISPLAY. CAR WOULDN'T MOVE OR START AGAIN. HAD TO PUSH CAR OUT OF BUMPER-TO-BUMPER TRAFFIC. STATE OF CHARGE WAS GOOD FOR THE TRIP. PROBLEM WAS NOT EXPLAINED BY DISPLAY. OUTDOOR AMBIENT TEMPERATURE WAS MILD. CAR WAS FLAT-BEDDED TO MY FORD DEALER, WHERE IT STILL SITS TODAY. THIS COULD HAVE BEEN MUCH MORE SERIOUS IF IT HAPPENED ON A HIGHWAY, AND I HAD BEEN SURROUNDED WITH TRAFFIC BESIDE ME INSTEAD OF ONLY BEHIND AND IN FRONT.
Reading these
NHTSA publishes every complaint as the owner wrote it and investigates only a fraction. Spelling, capitalisation and judgement are the filer’s own. What carries weight is repetition: the same component failing the same way across many filings, and whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Full record for the 2013 Ford Focus Electric → · Every Focus Electric year → · How the figures are calculated →