Stop Safely Now Warning

[Santo9]

I i am new on this forum
2 days after receiving this wild car , I stop in the middle of the street ,near my driveway, with this SSN triangle . I tried to stop and start ,Park and Drive ,Back and stop and finaly the " engine" start and i go in my driveway and no problem since.

I would not experience this on the jam traffic or highway. The SSN should be replace by NMP ( No More Power ) because this is the case.there is no time to go safely somewhere without a minimum of time and a minimum of power.

That been said it is an important safety and reliability problem .FORD should work on that sooner rather than later and remove the possibilities of a complete shutdown of the vehicule except if the battery will explose . For that reason i can understand

 

[Santo9]

.....by the way
I am a Canadian owner , were i can complain about this big safety problem because it is not minor has a safety belt .......
Thank you

 

[Arthur]

A new Safety Recall Notice has just been issued, for the Focus Electric (and probably for all the Ford gas/electric hybrids, as well):

13S09 "POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE REPROGRAM"

 

[Dave]

My FFE may be one of the first FFEs with the fix for this problem. The dealer said that there was a fix that came in overnight to address the SSN error and they reprogrammed a bunch of control modules. I am picking it up later today and should have a printout of the recall info. I didn't find much detail on the Ford site. I've had three SSNs in the first two months of operation, two of them in the last two weeks! Hoping for the best...

 

[Santo9]

Thank you Arthur

 

[slooowr6]

My FFE may be one of the first FFEs with the fix for this problem. The dealer said that there was a fix that came in overnight to address the SSN error and they reprogrammed a bunch of control modules. I am picking it up later today and should have a printout of the recall info. I didn't find much detail on the Ford site. I've had three SSNs in the first two months of operation, two of them in the last two weeks! Hoping for the best...

Thanks for posting the info. Please keep us updated on the recall info.

 

[bribarn]

My FFE, which has been at the dealer since last Friday, is also being fixed per the new recall today. They had already applied the recent TSB re-program to the car and are now doing the one associated with the recall, which they said is slightly different than the TSB process. Also, there's a new recall for re-programming the instrument cluster, 13C07, which the dealer also did to mine. I should have the car back later today, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this fixes the SSN issue for good.

 

[bribarn]

I picked up the FFE this afternoon. The dealer has re-programmed the car per today's recall. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it worked.

 

[Dave]

This is from OCR so hope it's readable and sorry for no original formatting:

TSB 13-9-19 - MODULE REPROGRAMMING FOR VARIOUS DTCS
FORD: 2012-2014 Focus
ISSUE:
Some 2012-2014 Focus Electric vehicles may exhibit one or more of the following concerns, red triangle warning lamp and Stop Safely Now displayed in
message center, illuminated wrench lamp with multiple diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs), illuminated ABS warning lamp with DTC C0044,12-volt battery
experiencing a low state of charge when not connected to 120/240 volt Electric Vehicle Service Equipment (EVSE) for 2 or more days.
ACTION;
Follow the Service Procedure steps to correct the condition.
SERVICE PROCEDURE
1. Does the 12-volt battery expenence a low state of charge when not connected to 120/240 volt Electric Vehicle Service Equipment (EVSE) for 2 or
more days?
a Yes - proceed to Step 3.
b. No - proceed to Step 2.
2 Perform individual on-demand self tests on the BECM, SOBDM, TCM, ABS, and PCM modules. Performing a Continuous Memory Diagnostic Self
Test (CMDTC) may not list all DTCs on this model vehicle. Are one or more of the following DTCs present: C0044. P0706, P0AA6, P0CF7, P1712,
P2801. U019B, U0401, P061B. U016A, U0198?
a. Yes - proceed to Step 3.
b. No - this article does not apply. Refer to the Workshop Manual for normal diagnosis
3. Reprogram the powertrain control module (PCM) to the latest calibration using IDS release 86.04 and higher. Calibration files may also be obtained
at www.motorcraft com.
WARRANTY STATUS:
Eligible Under Provisions Of New Vehicle Limited Warranty Coverage
IMPORTANT: Warranty/ESP coverage limits/policies/prior approvals are not altered by a TSB. Warranty/ESP coverage limits are determined by the
identified causal part and verified using the OASIS part coverage tool.
OPERATION DESCRIPTION TIME |
130919A 2012-2014 Focus Electric: Check DTCs, Reprogram The PCM And Appropriate Modules As Required By The Software And Clear DTCs (Do Not Use With Any Other Repairs) 0.5 Hr. |
DEALER CODING
BASIC PART NO. CONDITION CODE
RECAL 04

NOTE: The information in Technical Service Bulletins is intended for use by trained, professional technicians with the knowledge, tools, and equipment to do the job property and safely. It informs
these technicians of conditions that may occur on some vehicles, or provides information that could assist in proper vehicle service. The procedures should not be performed by "do-it-yourselfers".
Do not assume that a condition described affects your car or truck Contact a Ford or Lincoln dealership to determine whether the Bulletin applies to your vehicle. Warranty Policy and Extended
Service Plan documentation determine Warranty and/or Extended Service Plan coverage unless stated otherwise in the TSB article The information in this Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) was
current at the time of printing. Ford Motor Company reserves the right to supercede this information with updates. The most recent information is available through Ford Motor Company's on-line
technical resources.
Copyright O 2013 Ford Motor Company

 

[Dave]

The dealer also did the following recall today:

13C07
RECONFIGURE INSTRUMENT PANEL CLUSTER (IPC) MODULE
PERFORM RECALL

 

[Arthur]

TSB 13-9-19 - MODULE REPROGRAMMING FOR VARIOUS DTCS

FORD: 2012-2014 Focus

ISSUE: Some 2012-2014 Focus Electric vehicles may exhibit one or more of the following concerns, red triangle warning lamp and Stop Safely Now displayed in message center, illuminated wrench lamp with multiple diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs), illuminated ABS warning lamp with DTC C0044,12-volt battery experiencing a low state of charge when not connected to 120/240 volt Electric Vehicle Service Equipment (EVSE) for 2 or more days.

This TSB addresses mulitple issues. However, at least in regard to how it addresses the "Stop Safely Now" issue, my impression is that the 13S09 Safety Recall Notice (POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE REPROGRAM) calls for the same (or a newer version of the) PCM reprogram, but supercedes the TSB's instructions for detecting certain Diagnostice Trouble Codes, before going ahead with the PCM reprogram.

Essentially, Ford (by issuing the 13S09 Recall) is owning up (to what degree, time will tell) to the fact that their PCM programming was inherently flawed on all cars.

We still need to hold Ford Motor Company's "feet to the fire." Even after my car has the 13S09 Recall performed on it (which is happening, today, at my local dealer), I am going to insist on 3 things:

1) No more "Stop Safely Now" error messages, where the drive power is lost at the SAME TIME that the message is displayed. This is inherently unsafe. We can only stop safely, if we get the message BEFORE the drive power is lost!

2) If there are going to be error messages that generate Diagnostic Trouble Codes, there needs to be a way to capture that information, either with an internal log, of some sort, or with an external device, such as a ScanGauge.

3) More transparency!!! We should NOT be left in the dark, until a Safety Recall Notice (with very few details) magically appears on the "Ford Owners" website. If Ford is working on the problem, they should be giving us status updates, so we know what to expect.

 

[michael]

Essentially, Ford (by issuing the 13S09 Recall) is owning up (to what degree, time will tell) to the fact that their PCM programming was inherently flawed on all cars.

We still need to hold Ford Motor Company's "feet to the fire." Even after my car has the 13S09 Recall performed on it (which is happening, today, at my local dealer), I am going to insist on 3 things:

1) No more "Stop Safely Now" error messages, where the drive power is lost at the SAME TIME that the message is displayed. This is inherently unsafe. We can only stop safely, if we get the message BEFORE the drive power is lost!

2) If there are going to be error messages that generate Diagnostic Trouble Codes, there needs to be a way to capture that information, either with an internal log, of some sort, or with an external device, such as a ScanGauge.

3) More transparency!!! We should NOT be left in the dark, until a Safety Recall Notice (with very few details) magically appears on the "Ford Owners" website. If Ford is working on the problem, they should be giving us status updates, so we know what to expect.

[/quote]


Well put. The warning should PRECEED the action. In a regular car, even if it overheats or oil pressure is lost, the car keeps going while the alarms sound and display. Until the car actually cannot proceed, it keeps running. There is no way for the car to know what external conditions might exist that require the driver to keep moving as best he possibly can.

And I have always suspected that in many of the cases (probably not all) the SSN was triggered by some benign condition, or even a complete transient false alarm. Can you imagine if an airplane were designed to fall out of the sky whenever some bit of electronics gave a warning message?

 

[unplugged]

More transparency!!! We should NOT be left in the dark, until a Safety Recall Notice (with very few details) magically appears on the "Ford Owners" website. If Ford is working on the problem, they should be giving us status updates, so we know what to expect.

You would think that this would be the way to go. But in my conversation with Chad D'Arcy, FFE Marketing Director, a few weeks ago, all he would confirm is that Ford is that Ford is aware of this issue and is hard at work on a solution. He said that he couldn't address what the engineers were working on, or if they were close to a solution.

I guess we aren't going to get much in the way of a progress report from Ford.

 

[Santo9]

It was about time for get a recall from Ford

See:

http://insideevs.com/focus-electrics-recalled-as-ford-finally-reacts-to-the-stop-safely-now-power-loss-problem/

 

[Arthur]

... in my conversation with Chad D'Arcy, FFE Marketing Director, a few weeks ago, all he would confirm is that Ford is aware of this issue and is hard at work on a solution. He said that he couldn't address what the engineers were working on, or if they were close to a solution.

I guess we aren't going to get much in the way of a progress report from Ford.

"...couldn't address what the engineers were working on..."

I have a real problem with this. This is purely a business decision, to put THEIR market advantage and their legal position above OUR safety! When you think about the fact that they don't even advertise this car and have only sold 2600 of them, it's not a big loss for them to be a little more honest about the mistakes they made, in the software. But, I suppose it's more about their overall image as a reliable "brand."

Well, now that the recall is out, the story is out: They are not only NOT a reliable brand, they are totally unconcerned about the safety of their customers. How is THAT image BETTER than the image of a company that apologizes for being selfish and a little careless, in their software design, but, immediately upon realizing that it has jeopardized the safety of their customers, tells those customers everything that they need to know to remain safe, and updates them on the progress toward resolving the problem and returning the car to full functionality?

 

[guruuno]

So does this mean if the car remains a questionable vehicle in terms of safety, that the potential for Ford to buy them back, etc., may become a reality?
I would like opinions on this, as if it might be a reality, I can start looking at the Tesla......

 

[Arthur]

As we read stories, referring to 10 or 12 customer complaints about the "Stop Safely Now" message, we should keep in mind that, as of yesterday, there were 33 complaints submitted on the NHTSA website, although a few of them were updates from people who had submitted complaints, much earlier.

If you read through those complaints (or read through the comments on this forum), you will find some that contradict the statement that "...the vehicle’s braking and steering systems will continue to operate normally so the driver can pull safely off the road..." (http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20131031/AUTO0102/310310120/1148/auto01/Ford-recalling-2-600-Focus-Electrics-potential-power-loss)

In some cases, drivers have reported losing braking AND steering ability. So, there is still a serious lack of honesty, here.

I had the recall performed on my FFE, today, but I received absolutely NO details about what the problem was or what was done to fix it. All I know is that the PCM (Powertrain Control Module) was reprogrammed, and that doing so was connected, in some way, with the "Stop Safely Now" message.

Nobody from Ford has said anything about the potential, continued use of the "Stop Safely Now (SSN)" message, or whether this recall was a fix of certain TYPES of problems that cause invalid SSN messages, while, perhaps, there are other types of problems that will CONTINUE to cause simultaneous SSN messages and drive power shutdowns, possibly including loss of brake and steering power (depending on the cause).

So, I am left to conclude that I will find out whether I am safe, or not, at some point in the future, when I lose power, as a truck is heading toward me, at high speed.

 

[davideos]

I had my first SSN situation 2 weeks ago and although I love the car, it hit home real hard the insecurity of continuing to use the car. I found myself contemplating emergency manuvers in the event of power failure in less than convenient locations. I took the car to the dealer for the 13C07 recall and reported the SSN as an issue to my dealer as well as the NTSA. As expected, they came back with no Defect found (they were hoping 13C07 fixed it). Therefore, I am glad there is an official fix (hopefully) with the SSN listed as an issue addressed. I appreciate all those who put some pressure on Ford to work the issue.

On the flip side, I do work for an industry that also has hardware and software and can understand some of the less than forthcoming information from Ford as well as delays in getting results. Hopefully, the delays in releasing the software update was preceeded with an extensive root cause analysis, comprehensive software code review, and finally an equally extensive validation...including testing all aspects of the car (wouldn't want the fix to break something else) and reproducing the failure criteria and ensuring it is completely repaired. I work with data storage and our tests involve hundreds of hours of environmental and performance testing before any software is released...even for small changes.

Personally, I would like to know what the exact failure/failures was/were so I can be better assured that the car isn't going to suddenly stop again.

 

[Arthur]

On the flip side, I do work for an industry that also has hardware and software and can understand some of the less than forthcoming information from Ford as well as delays in getting results. Hopefully, the delays in releasing the software update was preceeded with an extensive root cause analysis, comprehensive software code review, and finally an equally extensive validation...including testing all aspects of the car (wouldn't want the fix to break something else) and reproducing the failure criteria and ensuring it is completely repaired. I work with data storage and our tests involve hundreds of hours of environmental and performance testing before any software is released...even for small changes.

Yes, I'd like to think that "Quality is Job 1," at Ford and that their software development process is as rigorous as what you describe.

Unfortunately, we live in a time period where even the best companies are pushed to the limit, to try to remain competitive with the rest of their industry. In Ford's case, their labor costs are higher than most of their competitors, particularly Nissan (where a large fraction of the U.S. workers are temps, with no health or retirement benefits).

Then, there is the sad, little website that Ford provides "for us" (MyFord Mobile). Let's just hope that their development process for the FFE's internal software is leaps and bounds ahead of the obvious lack of effort that the totally dysfunctional MyFord Mobile website demonstrates. From what I see, the website appears to be something that was thrown together with very little time investment. Ford benefits (by collecting valuable usage data, from those of us who consent to it), but, for us, the website is buggy and poorly supported.

It might lead one to suspect that the explanation for the FFE's "Stop Safely Now" problems is a similar lack of effort on the car's software. Let's hope not!

Davideos's closing comment sums things up very well: "Personally, I would like to know what the exact failure/failures was/were so I can be better assured that the car isn't going to suddenly stop again."

I absolutely agree! Ford is going to have to be more transparent, if they want to maintain any level of respect for their "products" or their "brand."

 

[unplugged]

Then, there is the sad, little website that Ford provides "for us" (MyFord Mobile). Let's just hope that their development process for the FFE's internal software is leaps and bounds ahead of the obvious lack of effort that the totally dysfunctional MyFord Mobile website demonstrates.

For better or worse, as has been mentioned before, a subcontractor provides the MyFord Mobile site and app. That being said, it is not known (and hasn't been asked to my knowledge) whether a subcontractor is also providing the software management for the FFE.

We do know that a subcontractor provides the batteries and all of the electric powertrain for the FFE. Ford merely installs the assembled parts.