NHTSA Complaint #10521459 — 2013 FORD FOCUS

ON SUNDAY JUNE 23, 2013 AT APPROXIMATELY 3:00 PM ON OR ABOUT BUFFALOE RD AT SOUTHALL RD IN RALEIGH, NC, WE WERE HEADING WEST BOUND IN THE RIGHT LANE OF BUFFALOE RD. APPROACHING A GREEN LIGHT. APPROXIMATELY, 700 FT FROM THE LIMIT LINE, THE LIGHT CHANGED TO YELLOW AND WE SLOWED TO STOP. STOPPING WAS A LITTLE MORE FIRM THAN THE SLOW PACED REGENERATIVE CHARGING, A NOISE WAS FROM THE FRONT WAS HEARD, RESEMBLING THAT OF A LOOSE BRAKE PAD HITTING METAL AND THE VEHICLE THEM SOUNDED A WARNING AND FLASHED "STOP SAFELY NOW" VISUAL WARNING AS WE CAME TO A FULL STOP AT THE LIMIT LINE AT THE LIGHT. ALTHOUGH THERE WAS NO POWER TO THE MOTOR, THE SYSTEM WAS ACTIVE AND THE GREEN GO CAR WAS NOT VISIBLE. WE ATTEMPTED TO RESET THE VEHICLE BY POWERING OFF AND POWERING ON TO NO AVAIL. THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN AND CARS BEGAN TO SOUND THEIR HORNS. I IMMEDIATELY ACTIVATED THE EMERGENCY FLASHERS AND STEPPED OUT THE VEHICLE TO DIRECT TRAFFIC AROUND THE STALLED VEHICLE (NOT RECOMMENDED UNLESS PROPERLY TRAINED). TRAFFIC ON SEVERAL INSTANCES CAME DANGEROUSLY CLOSE TO COLLISION AS THIS SITUATION PRESENTED A HUGE RISK TO PERSONAL SAFETY. HAD WE JUST SAT IN THE VEHICLE, WE SURELY WOULD HAVE EXPERIENCED A COLLISION. SEVERAL MINUTES PASSED AND WE ATTEMPTED TO RESTART THE VEHICLE FROM A COLD START. IT WAS ONLY AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN, RESTED AND POWERED ON THAT WE WERE ABLE TO PROCEED. HAVING A VEHICLE JUST STOP IN TRAFFIC FOR NO REASON PRESENTS A HUGE RISK NOT ONLY TO THE OWNER BUT THOSE AROUND. *TR