Stop Safely Now Warning

[JELI]

Got a 2017 FFE two days ago, I've had the SSN problem twice now. Not sure what the next step is, particularly since it's so soon after getting it. I've contacted the dealership so I'll see what they say.

My wife just got the wrench light display on the dash on our 2017 today. The car would cut off power when trying to go over 80km/h. She then pulled over since the traffic was moving much faster and she got worried. She turned off the engine, turn it on the second time and the car would barely move when pressing down on the pedal. Turned if off again, and turned it on again, it worked fine. She seem to think this is because she drove it with L selected versus D drive selection. We've had it for less than 2 weeks with just 500 kms driven. Hope this does not turn into a bigger problem. We are in Ontario, Canada.

 

[user 5595]

She seem to think this is because she drove it with L selected versus D drive selection.

Driving in L is not a problem at any time. It just doubles up the regen; it wouldn't have any impact at all on highway driving.

(I would expect a dealer to tell you exactly the opposite. Because they only understand ICE cars, they will probably say you're running the engine too fast or something if you're in L—regardless of the fact that there is only one fixed gear. )

 

[JELI]

She seem to think this is because she drove it with L selected versus D drive selection.

Driving in L is not a problem at any time. It just doubles up the regen; it wouldn't have any impact at all on highway driving.

(I would expect a dealer to tell you exactly the opposite. Because they only understand ICE cars, they will probably say you're running the engine too fast or something if you're in L—regardless of the fact that there is only one fixed gear. )

I agree. Driving in L isn't the issue and luckily the dealership didn't seem to suggest it either. They are not able to replicate the issue after the car was dropped off and have to do more testing. It is very frustrating to know that there is something going on with the car, but when the dealership has it, it's perfectly normal!!! To be fair, they do believe something is not normal, but they're having some issues with pinpointing the exact problem.

They gave us a rental, so at least I'll have something to use in the meantime (Edge), but man do I hate going back to fill up the gas tank!

 

[JTCalif]

To be fair, they [the dealership people] do believe something is not normal, but they're having some issues with pinpointing the exact problem.

Many of us are Very interested, as well as sorry to read of this. Please DO TELL here about anything useful that is learned.

 

[JELI]

To be fair, they [the dealership people] do believe something is not normal, but they're having some issues with pinpointing the exact problem.

Many of us are Very interested, as well as sorry to read of this. Please DO TELL here about anything useful that is learned.

Will do. As of this morning, they don't have any new information to share. They apparently are contacting Ford engineering for assistance, which hopefully is a good thing.

 

[JELI]

Got the car back last Wednesday. Problem solved (at least for now).

Ford said that there was a loose wire in the main harness that was chafing against another wire that caused the intermittent power.

Hopefully that's the only problem related to power loss that I have to deal with. Wife is losing confidence in the car after this experience.

 

[edriver]

Got SSN for the fist time in our 2013 FFE w 60k miles. First time Tuesday night on startup at full charge. Shutting off once and re starting removed the SSN message and the car drove normally. Wednesday morning (again on startup) the wrench and SSN came up for the second time (at about 65% SOC 30 miles away from home). No matter how many times we tried to restart the car it wouldn't move. It was solidly in SSN mode... Had car towed to dealer where they have been working on it for a couple of days now. Nothing found yet :roll:

(Yes our car has already through and fixed with the original SSN recall) How is it possible after 4 years and counting of SSN on so many cars that Ford still don't know what it is and how to solve it???

 

[davideos]

Got SSN for the fist time in our 2013 FFE w 60k miles. First time Tuesday night on startup at full charge. Shutting off once and re starting removed the SSN message and the car drove normally. Wednesday morning (again on startup) the wrench and SSN came up for the second time (at about 65% SOC 30 miles away from home). No matter how many times we tried to restart the car it wouldn't move. It was solidly in SSN mode... Had car towed to dealer where they have been working on it for a couple of days now. Nothing found yet :roll:

(Yes our car has already through and fixed with the original SSN recall) How is it possible after 4 years and counting of SSN on so many cars that Ford still don't know what it is and how to solve it???

I think it has already been stated by someone else, but the problem is that any issue with the drive-train gets reported in the same way. Battery, connector, relay, whatever, it becomes an SSN; and unfortunately, it isn't easy to diagnose on your own. I do need to look into one of the OBDII modules for FFE.

However, I myself, just got my car back from the dealer after 2 months in the shop. I got an unrecoverable SSN and had it towed to the dealer. Battery was shipped to Michigan and Ford deemed the battery bad. A new 2017 battery was installed and then a technician was flown out to reprogram. $23,000 later, I get my car back...zero cost to me. I am hopeful for the time after the 8 year warranty expires on the drive-train, but making a backup plan .

 

[edriver]

[/quote]
I think it has already been stated by someone else, but the problem is that any issue with the drive-train gets reported in the same way. Battery, connector, relay, whatever, it becomes an SSN; and unfortunately, it isn't easy to diagnose on your own. I do need to look into one of the OBDII modules for FFE.

However, I myself, just got my car back from the dealer after 2 months in the shop. I got an unrecoverable SSN and had it towed to the dealer. Battery was shipped to Michigan and Ford deemed the battery bad. A new 2017 battery was installed and then a technician was flown out to reprogram. $23,000 later, I get my car back...zero cost to me. I am hopeful for the time after the 8 year warranty expires on the drive-train, but making a backup plan .[/quote]

two month's in the shop!? Unbelievable
So 2017 battery, good for you! Did they give you the full 33 kWh capacity or software locked to 23 kWh?

 

[edriver]

Is Ford supposed to give you a loaner while your car is in for warranty repair?

 

[EVA]

Is Ford supposed to give you a loaner while your car is in for warranty repair?

Totally up to your dealer. Since the dealer is an independent company, I don't think Ford can tell them what to do. Ford might cover the cost of a loaner if a warranty repair goes for a very long time (like the battery issue some people have had).

I think the general practice is, if you bought the car at the dealer, they will provide you with a loaner. If you bought the car someplace else, they might or might not help you out.

 

[davideos]

The first time I had a battery issue, I got the loaner right away. This time, since the 3year 36k mi was over, they wanted to make sure the battery / powertrain needed the attention before I got it. Car was in the shop 2 months total...to the day. Previous experience was 40 days. Anyway, my dealer loaned me a brand new Ford Fusion Hybrid. It had 5.7mi on it when I got it and 969 when I returned it.

The new 2017 battery is doing well so far. I just plugged it into 240 and it says it will take 5 hours to charge. I definitely got more range on the last change than before when it was new.

 

[davideos]

So 2017 battery, good for you! Did they give you the full 33 kWh capacity or software locked to 23 kWh?

It seems to be the whole capacity...not programmed down. After the battery was installed, a technician from Ford had to come in and reprogram the car for it. That took another week.

Anyway, my service adviser was awesome and kept me updated.

 

[James]

So my 2012 FFE recently turned 5 years old , and I got my first SSN message two weeks ago . My car had the wire harness modification and software update completed as soon as I got the recall notice last year.

I received the SSN message just after unplugging (it had JUST finished charging), turning it on and putting it in reverse. Along with the SSN message, it also had a yellow wrench with a message about a starting system fault (I think - it flashed very quickly and only once). I turned the car off, waited a couple of minutes and turned it back on and the messages were gone. I made a service appointment right away, but couldn't get to the dealer until today.

After approximately 8 hours of diagnostics and taking apart various components, the dealer determined that the cause was not related to the outstanding wire harness replacement recall (they said it was not the correct error code for wire harness). I was quite concerned at several points throughout the day because I could see error messages on my app, including a red "battery health" message. It also mysteriously stopped charging twice during the day, but I think the technician may have not turned the ignition off after plugging in.

Just wondering if anyone has had a similar problem? Here are the technicians notes on the repair order.

"Story: 53941 recall 15N03. Print off and go over recall. Scan system, came up with wrong code for recall, continue with normal diagnostic and repair procedures. Has 2 codes for TCM P1A0A:01-48 P1A0A:29-48. Run pinpoint test A1 through A5. Passed. Clean connectors at TCM and PCM. Reassemble and retest. Remove left inner fender for access to PCM. Bolt seized in PCM box, cut box cover off to gain access to PCM. Clear Codes, and road test, recheck system, passed"

Cut box cover off to gain access to PCM. Yikes. From what I can gather, they did a lot of poking around but did not find the cause. Which is worrisome. Very. Any technicians out there who can translate the error codes and work order? Any similar experiences?

 

[JELI]

Got the car back last Wednesday. Problem solved (at least for now).

Ford said that there was a loose wire in the main harness that was chafing against another wire that caused the intermittent power.

Hopefully that's the only problem related to power loss that I have to deal with. Wife is losing confidence in the car after this experience.

Its been a while since the last time i provided an update but I am happy to say that i no longer have thr 2017 FFE.

Since the apparent fix, the exact same issue came back 3 weeks later. This time it happened to me. Out of no where, I lost power to the motor and had to pull over in the middle of driving. The yellow wrench sign popped up and it would only let me start the car intermittently before shutting down again. This would happen again 4-5 more times before I managed to get to the dealership. I dropped it off and told them to keep the car.

I've had enough with Ford playing russian roulette with me and my family's life. They clearly don't have a clue with fixing their one and only electric car. After a few tense meeting with the dealer president, I was able to get them to take the car back and get out of my lease with less than 2000 total kms on the odometer.

Picked up a Toyota Camry Hybrid instead and so far so good. While the FFE was a nice car performace wise, mine was a lemon and they have no clue how to fix it. I hope and wish no one else has to go through what I went through. Extremely dangerous and terrifying.

 

[davideos]

...
Just wondering if anyone has had a similar problem? Here are the technicians notes on the repair order.

"Story: 53941 recall 15N03. Print off and go over recall. Scan system, came up with wrong code for recall, continue with normal diagnostic and repair procedures. Has 2 codes for TCM P1A0A:01-48 P1A0A:29-48. Run pinpoint test A1 through A5. Passed. Clean connectors at TCM and PCM. Reassemble and retest. Remove left inner fender for access to PCM. Bolt seized in PCM box, cut box cover off to gain access to PCM. Clear Codes, and road test, recheck system, passed"

Cut box cover off to gain access to PCM. Yikes. From what I can gather, they did a lot of poking around but did not find the cause. Which is worrisome. Very. Any technicians out there who can translate the error codes and work order? Any similar experiences?

Sorry, no comment here on you error; however, note that any failure of any kind will result in an SSN. Before I had the SSN that got my battery replaced, I had an SSN that pointed to a bad relay. Not 100% convinced that the issues were unrelated; however, at least the dealer had a story that seemed to make sense...I'd hate it if they had no clue. And to that end, I decided to try and get a clue by acquiring the Forscan software and a Bluetooth to OBD2 dongle. Not if I have something pop up, at least I get some visibility...which paid off just a week after getting my HV battery replaced.

I started having what seemed to be charging issues. No error code, but I'd get charge faults and very long charge times. While poking around with Forscan, I noticed that the on-board charger was getting hot and the charge current would drop proportionally. Turns out the dealer forgot to put coolant back into the system . I went ahead and refilled it and got most of the air out of the lines, but the heater loop is impossible to purge without the dealer running a "burp" of the system. So when I took it to the dealer, at least I knew what I was going in there for.

 

[signal twenty]

Hi all,

I just bought a used 2014 FFE a few weeks ago, and now after putting about 1800 miles on it (15,000 total on the odometer) I got the SSN warning on my way to pick up the kid from school (super convenient). Luckily, I was not on a highway or anything. I was making a right turn, braking slightly when the SSN light came up. I pulled into a business parking lot and called the Ford dealer for a tow. After waiting abput 90 minutes, I tried starting just for kicks, and it drove fine.

Later that night, i did a diagnostic check through SyncMyRide, which showed TSBs for the High Voltage Harness and the TPMS (I also have a tire pressure light on, even though the tires have been checked multiple times and they're good).

That was a few days ago, and I've been driving the car since (very gingerly and only on necessary trips).

It is interesting to note that even though I am driving extremely gingerly (no A/c, all driving <40mph, usually 25mph, distance maybe 12 miles a day, braking/coasting way before needed...), I am getting statuses of usually -4, -5...with the odd -6 and even a +1 here and there...

As I am writing this, I am going to be going to take it down to the Ford Dealer in a few hours (it was the first available appointment since everything has been pushed back due to Hurricane Irma). When I get it back, I will be sure to post results.

 

[signal twenty]

Well, I picked my car up from the dealership this morning. Service guy says they could not duplicate the SSN, but that they disconnected, lubricated and reconnected the wiring to the Amin battery. (Ok...)

At first, I noticed that the TPMS warning light was gone. As I was driving, the status was showing +12 and +13 on a four mile drive. I realized that I left my coffee cup on the service guys desk, so I went back to get it. Stopped in and grabbed it, and told the guy that it seemed to be running well.

After I left the dealership again, I stopped at a nearby chargepoint to plug in. The blue ring around the port is not lighting up, and I asked them to fix it. I’m just glad that it’s showing such a high positive number instead of the -4s.

Problem is, I shut it off to plug in. So, i plug in and notice that the blue ring is still not lighting up. Really not a big deal compared to the SSN issue, but still a PITA.

So, now I unplug, restart it and continue home. Immediately, I notice I am back to the -4/-5s that I had before. No more +12/+13s like before.

So has anyone had this or similar issue? Now I’m probably going to develop a complex thinking that the car doesn’t like me and wants to go back to the dealership.

 

[spirilis]

Well, I picked my car up from the dealership this morning. Service guy says they could not duplicate the SSN, but that they disconnected, lubricated and reconnected the wiring to the Amin battery. (Ok...)

At first, I noticed that the TPMS warning light was gone. As I was driving, the status was showing +12 and +13 on a four mile drive. I realized that I left my coffee cup on the service guys desk, so I went back to get it. Stopped in and grabbed it, and told the guy that it seemed to be running well.

After I left the dealership again, I stopped at a nearby chargepoint to plug in. The blue ring around the port is not lighting up, and I asked them to fix it. I’m just glad that it’s showing such a high positive number instead of the -4s.

Problem is, I shut it off to plug in. So, i plug in and notice that the blue ring is still not lighting up. Really not a big deal compared to the SSN issue, but still a PITA.

So, now I unplug, restart it and continue home. Immediately, I notice I am back to the -4/-5s that I had before. No more +12/+13s like before.

So has anyone had this or similar issue? Now I’m probably going to develop a complex thinking that the car doesn’t like me and wants to go back to the dealership.

The status == -4, -5 et al isn't anything to be concerned with IIRC, it just means you're using a little more power that trip than last one. If your last trip was a +12, +13 it means you're using a lot less power than the previous trip... whereas a -4, -5 might mean you're using a little bit more. I often see a swing of anything from -8 to +8 on my trips and sometimes more depending on elevation changes/speed/etc.

Are there any settings in the Sync options for the blue ring? I know on my 2017 (it's not a ring, but rather, a vertical line of four LEDs) there's a configuration option in the Sync settings (entertainment system touchscreen) for that... someone posted in another thread how the 2017's settings don't seem to hold, and I haven't played with them, but I know the option's there.

Also is there any heat or A/C usage in play here?

 

[signal twenty]

I will look into the blue ring...thanks!

As far as the SSN, I have updates! The car has died twice since my last posting (3 times total now)...there has been no AC use, other than the one time it died while the wife was driving it. That was at night, speeds about ~35mph and light traffic. Luckily it was light traffic, becuSe she was on a 7-lane road in a commercial area. The car apparently died in the middle lane of traffic. A gas station clerk called the police, but the car started before they arrived. Lucky for her!

The next time was just this afternoon. I had just picked my son up from school and I got the SSN just down the street from my house. I literally coasted into my driveway. I was able to restart it within 10 seconds of the car shutting off.

As far as the + & - numbers showing on the status - im not sure that those numbers accurately reflect my driving. I have been driving like walking on eggshells and ive gotten -4.

What's really interesting is just now i had an anomaly at the chargepoint station. while it was hooked up to the charger, it had an inverse power surge that lasted about 10 minutes. Unfortunately I cannot post the screenshot.