NHTSA Complaint #10438069 — 2007 FORD FOCUS

WHILE TRAVELING ON INTERSTATE 24 EAST BETWEEN NASHVILLE AND CHATTANOOGA, I HAD AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM THAT CAUSED MY ENGINE TO SHUT DOWN WHILE MY CAR WAS STILL TRAVELING AT 65 MPH. THE FIRST SIGN OF A PROBLEM WAS WHEN MY RADIO SHUT OFF UNEXPECTEDLY. THERE WERE NO WARNING LIGHTS ON THE DASHBOARD TO INDICATE THAT MY ENGINE WAS ABOUT TO SHUT DOWN. AFTER TRAVELING ANOTHER 3 TO 5 MILES, ALL THE WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED ON MY DASHBOARD AND A FEW SECONDS LATER MY ENGINE SHUT DOWN. I WAS STILL TRAVELING AT APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH AND WAS ABLE TO STOP THE CAR IN THE EMERGENCY LANE. AFTER STOPPING THE CAR, THE ENGINE WOULD NOT START. ME AND MY FAMILY WERE STUCK ON THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY UNTIL WE COULD HAVE THE VEHICLE TOWED TO THE NEAREST FORD DEALER. THE FORD DEALER RAN ELECTRICAL TESTS AND DISCOVERED THE BATTERY HAD FAILED. THE DEALERSHIP REPLACED THE BATTERY AND THE CAR DROVE FINE. ON DECEMBER 1, 2011, ONLY FOUR MONTHS LATER, I WAS TRAVELING TROUGH THE CITY WHEN MY RADIO SHUT OFF AND A FEW MILES LATER THE ENGINE DIED AND WOULD NOT RESTART. THE BATTERY WAS TESTED AND FOUND TO HAVE FAILED AGAIN. BOTH BATTERIES THAT FAILED WERE MOTORCRAFT 1BXT*96*500. SINCE THIS PROBLEM OCCURS WHILE DRIVING WITH NO APPARENT WARNING LIGHTS, AND CAUSES THE ENGINE TO SHUT DOWN, IT NEEDS TO BE INVESTIGATED. *TR