Stop Safely Now Stats

To get an idea as to how often this is happening I've gone through the forums here and, hopefully, put all the SSN issues into a spreadsheet.

So far I have 11 occurrences documented. If anyone is interested I can post a link to the spreadsheet (I put dates & usernames in there--although all that info is public anyway since I scrubbed it from the forums here).

5 of them happened at ~1200 miles
2 happened at <=2500 miles (not including the 5 above)
1 at 250 miles!
1 at 4300 miles.

From the given data set I'd say you'd be ok after the 2k mark..but still stay aware! LOL

(Still waiting for mine at week 10 after placing order.)

This is excellent; as the Mythbusters often say, "I love good data". I'm sure Ford is keeping this as well, but since we don't have access to it, research like this is the only way we in this forum will ever have any insight into just how much of a problem "stop safely now" really is.

Thanks for doing the homework!

I hope more folks find the forum and continue to report. As I mentioned in another post, if you take the total number of cars sold and whittle down to how many people are actually here in this forum and reporting it, it seems as if the rate of this problem is alarming high.


WP

Thanks for starting this... great idea.

While waiting to hear what the service dept finds in my case, I searched the history of this problem too. I actually count 17 users on myfocuselectric who have posted that they have received the message, in the post threads "sudden power loss while driving", "car stopped at signal", "stop safely now", and "focus electric won't start". Several posted that they received the message a few times but didn't do anything about it, and seem to have been doing fine since. But the majority have taken their vehicles for service/ diagnostics. I also count 14 users on myfordmobile who have posted experience with the SSN warning, but I assume the majority were also posted here.

I focused on what issues were found, to make sure my service guys check for known problems. Among those who had their vehicle taken to service, the problems/fixes have included replacing the battery control module, replacing the powertrain control module, an issue with a transmission sensor, repairing loose pin connections, replacing wiring damaged by rodents, and replacing the 12V battery. Some vehicles were not found to have an issue by service- at least one of those was re-serviced and eventually found to have loose connections, while others did not post follow up after a clear service check.

When I was going through the forums I was only looking for "Stop Safely Now" (e.g. issues that happened while driving). I specifically did not count the "charging fault" items (of which I think I saw 3).

For what its worth, here is my Excel spreadsheet (right click and select "save link as")

Thanks guys for keeping track and reporting this to the forum. I'm sure Ford is watching.

Thanks to dmen pointing out a few more SSN's that I missed from last year. I've updated the spreadsheet (in the link above) and am now up to 18 total SSN "failures".

The older reports don't have as much detail in them as the ones from this year so I can't break them down like above.

Thanks for putting all that data together.
Am reading such to be fore-warned; have not had the problem.

Note: 2 or 3 wrote that they revived a stalled FFE by pressing and HOLDING the start/stop button, not just the usual quick press.

One also wrote of a software update (which May have helped):
have any of you gotten such, or know about it?

(I would imagine Ford should alert us to availability, assuming it helps avoid a big safety problem.)

Thank You for the statistics.

I have 1,960 miles on my FFE with no SSN warnings so far. I have seen the posts where some were at approx 2,500 miles when it happened to them. I am anxiously watching as I get closer and closer to that mileage. Hopefully all will be well.

Thanks,

Unfortunately we will have to add our car to the list - had a great first 6500 miles too..

Saturday afternoon with about 50% charge I was sitting in a parking lot after a 5 mile drive. Turned the car off and sat for about 5 minutes. Decided to turn the car back on, to just "accessory mode" so that I could charge my tablet from one of the usb ports. That went ok, but then 2 minutes after that when I pressed the brake and then the start button again I got the dreaded SSN message and wrench. After cycling the start button a few more times I was able to drive back home. During this time, many odd things happened:

-Climate control came on by itself full blast every 60 seconds
-Info displays went black
-Windows did not work
-No blinkers
-Very loud electrical humming sound from engine bay

Parked the car, and it became quite dead. No door locks, start button, anything. I then charged the car for the rest of the day and evening on level 1. Yesterday morning it was if the incident never happened, the car woke right up and ran great for 40 miles or so. On my way back home, I got the same SSN message while driving, and then an exact repeat of the symptoms above.

Its on the way to the dealership now, and I'll let everyone know what is found.

jmueller065 said:

5 of them happened at ~1200 miles
2 happened at <=2500 miles (not including the 5 above)
1 at 250 miles!
1 at 4300 miles.

From the given data set I'd say you'd be ok after the 2k mark..but still stay aware! LOL

(Still waiting for mine at week 10 after placing order.)

Click to expand...

My wife’s 2013 focus suddenly stopped on a busy arterial road and the "Stop Safely" warning came out this morning when she was driving to work. She could not restart the car and was still stuck there until the car was towed to a dealer.

She has about 4665 miles on the car.

It is dangerous and stressful. That happened after she dropped my two year old at day care. Otherwise, she will have to deal with my son who may drive her crazier…

I have had the car back now for a week, and its been flawless. The dealership drove the car for 80 miles or so with a diagnostic computer plugged in to try and "catch" the problem in the act, but no such luck. They performed several pinpoint tests, verified and charged the 12 volt battery, and checked all grounds. They did elect to replace the instrument cluster based on info from headquarters in Michigan (the two displays and speedometer module). I was amused to hear that the dealership was being contacted by corporate as soon as the car was logged into the system at the dealership - glad to know they are actively looking out for issues with our cars.

There was one very interesting change in the car's behavior after its visit however.

I'll start a new thread regarding that.

Happend to me again today, twice.
I have about 3200-miles on the car and its the 4th time.

IDK about you guys, but this problem needs attention and swift resolution.
I might just try to get my money back from ford and buy a model S.

jpc1818 said:

Happend to me again today, twice.
I have about 3200-miles on the car and its the 4th time.

IDK about you guys, but this problem needs attention and swift resolution.
I might just try to get my money back from ford and buy a model S.

Click to expand...

Sorry to hear. Keep us posted on what you end up doing. Have you heard anything from Ford corporate or EV division?

It took three week days for the dealer to fix my wife's car. My wife had to drive a rental car for 5 days which definitely did not provided same level of service to the leased FFE.

The dealer found some circuits/wire damage under the seat. We only leased the car for about two months and it had less then 5000 thousand miles.

Is this a serious quality and safety issue?

Add me to the list (see new topic posted in this forum)

georgek said:

Thanks guys for keeping track and reporting this to the forum. I'm sure Ford is watching.

Click to expand...

Do any of you have evidence that Ford is watching such reports, and following up?

It sure would help to see good feedback.

I have just had my 3rd SSN message at 3900 miles, the car was in the dealer for 5 more days but they still say it checked out OK. Very worrying as this time I was in the outside lane and the police had to come. My wife will not ride in the car!

Please add me to the list.

Miles: 2000
Car Year: 2012

This morning I was driving down a bumpy road about 6 km (4 miles) into my trip at 60kph (40mph) (26C, 79F outside temp), came to a stop at a stop sign, attempted to turn right and merge onto a busy highway with an 80kph (50mph) speed limit, the car started to go and then all power cut out without warning and the Stop Safely Now and Refer To Owners Manual warnings came up on the left screen! Luckily, I was not fully into the traffic yet as there were several semis coming. I veered to the shoulder and stopped. It scared me because if I had got going even for a second more I would have been out in traffic in the path of a semi coming at over 80kph (50mph).

It took a few minutes of trying to turn it off. Eventually I opened the drivers door and that seemed to free it up to turn it off. I was then able to start it back up again and carry on with my day.

I just had the 3.5.1 update done 1 week prior and they had troubles with the update. It took 5 attempts and required a reinstall of 3.1.1 before the 3.5.1 update would take. I am confident that my case is not 12V battery related. I suspect it may have been the bumpy road as several others have had similar driving conditions prior to the SSN.

Interestingly, the trip ending in the Stop Safely Now did not record kW usage or mileage driven (it should have been 6 km) on MyFord Mobile.

It is now at the dealership. Hopefully there is a code that will give the dealership something to go on.

This is a 2012 FFE in Canada with 2900 kms on the odometer (about 2000 miles).

Add me too. Posted on the thread under technical discussions...

Details...
miles: 300
year: 2013
most recent software as of 7/7/13 (date of occurrence)

Summary (as posted in official NHTSA complaint):
THIS COMPLAINT APPLIES TO THE FOCUS ELECTRIC. WHILE TURNING INTO A PARKING LOT, GOING APPROXIMATELY 5MPH, THE VEHICLE ABRUPTLY LOST POWER, THE "STOP SAFELY NOW" WARNING LIGHT CAME ON, AND I COASTED THE CAR TO A HALT AT THE SIDE OF THE LOT ENTRANCE. NO OTHER WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED. ALTHOUGH THE VEHICLE WAS INOPERABLE, IT ALSO COULD NOT BE TURNED OFF. USUALLY, PRESSING THE POWER BUTTON TO TURN THE CAR OFF DISCONNECTS THE HIGH VOLTAGE BATTERY FROM THE REST OF THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM AND SHUTS THE CAR DOWN, BUT IN THIS SITUATION IT WOULD JUST CAUSE THE WARNING BELL AND "STOP SAFELY NOW" LIGHT TO POP UP AGAIN IN THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. AFTER MAYBE 45 MINUTES, RIGHT AS THE TOW-TRUCK DRIVER ARRIVED, I WAS SUDDENLY ABLE TO TURN THE CAR OFF BY PRESSING THE BUTTON. IT THEN FUNCTIONED NORMALLY WHEN TURNED BACK ON. LUCKILY I WAS IN A REASONABLY SAFE SITUATION WHEN THE FAILURE OCCURRED. HOWEVER, MANY SIMILAR COMPLAINTS EXIST FOR THE FOCUS ELECTRIC (MANY MORE IN PUBLIC FORUMS THAN HERE), AND THE FAILURE HAS OCCURRED ON THE HIGHWAY AND IN TRAFFIC FOR SOME PEOPLE. CLEARLY THE ISSUE NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED.

Resolution:
After incident, the car drove just fine for a few days. Went to the dealership today (7/10/13) to check error codes and see what's what. Will update with final resolution.

Nick

First and hopefully never again, SSN yesterday. 561 miles. Wife driving 45 mph, in heavy traffic on 4 lane road, with 13 year-old daughter. All drive power immediately and abruptly dropped. I don't even want to think about the scene if she hadn't been in the right lane, and an open driveway appeared immediately in front of her, and she had wits enough to pull in.

She could barely speak when she called me on the phone, it was such a terrifying experience. And now researching on this forum and elsewhere, realizing that Ford -- and the NHTSA, it appears -- have known about this "bug" for almost a year and are only now admitting there's a problem..? This does not do a lot for the Ford brand in my mind.

I really hate to say this ... I think I just got knocked off of Cloud Nine.