NHTSA Complaint #10547429 — 2013 FORD FOCUS ELECTRIC

AT THE TIME OF THIS REPORT WE HAVE HAD TWO OCCURRENCES OF A "STOP SAFELY NOW" ERROR MESSAGE WHILE DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS ON THIS VEHICLE. DURING EACH FAILURE THE VEHICLE STOPPED FUNCTIONING ABRUPTLY WITH NO WARNING BEFORE THE FAILURE. ALL STEERING, CONTROL OF VEHICLE AND PROPULSION WAS LOST. ON THE FIRST FAILURE WE HAD APPROXIMATELY 7 SECONDS OF MOMENTUM BEFORE COMING TO A STOP AND ON THE SECOND OCCURRENCE WE HAD AN ABRUPT STOP AS IF THE BRAKES WERE SLAMMED ON FORCIBLY. AS A RESULT I WAS THROWN FORWARD TOWARDS THE STEERING WHEEL. IN BOTH SITUATIONS WE WERE UNABLE TO GET THE VEHICLE OFF TO A SAFE SPOT ON THE HIGHWAY. IN BOTH CASES IMPACT POSSIBILITIES WERE EXTREMELY LIKELY BOTH DURING THE INCIDENT AND THE MINUTES POST-INCIDENT AS WE ATTEMPTED TO GET TO A SAFE LOCATION OFF OF THE ROAD. FORD HAS ATTEMPTED A DIAGNOSIS ON THE FIRST OCCURRENCE, BUT WERE UNABLE TO PROVIDE A FIX. FORD NOW HAS THE VEHICLE AGAIN FOR A FINAL ATTEMPT AT REPAIR. THE VEHICLE IS APPROACHING 30 DAYS OUT OF SERVICE IN TOTAL REPAIR TIME. *TR