NHTSA Complaint #10596256 — 2009 FORD FOCUS

AS REPORTED BY SEVERAL OTHERS, MY 2009 FORD FOCUS WILL UNPREDICTABLY GO INTO "LIMP? OR FAILSAFE MODE, WITH POWER SURGES OR HESITATIONS AND THE WRENCH & CHECK ENGINE LIGHT. AFTER THEN ENGINE IS RE-STARTED THE CAR WILL RUN NORMALLY FOR VARIOUS PERIODS OF TIME, SOMETIMES MILES, DAYS OR WEEKS. THIS FIRST HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES IN NOVEMBER 2012, I BROUGHT THE CAR INTO A FORD DEALER, BUT BECAUSE THE WRENCH OR ENGINE LIGHTS WERE NOT ON, THEY WERE UNABLE TO READ ANY CODES OR OTHERWISE DIAGNOSE. IN MAY 2013, I AGAIN EXPERIENCED SEVERAL INSTANCES OF THE LIMP / FAILSAFE MODE WITH ONE OR BOTH OF THE WRENCH AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS ON. ON MAY 11, 2013 CAR WAS DELIVERED TO A DIFFERENT FORD DEALER WITH THE WRENCH LIGHT ON. THIS DEALER ?CLEANED? THE THROTTLE BODY EVEN THOUGH AS I NOW UNDERSTAND THE THROTTLE BODY IS A SEALED UNIT. JUST OVER 4 WEEKS AFTER THE MAINTENANCE I AGAIN EXPERIENCED THE LIMP MODE AND WRENCH LIGHTS. AT THIS TIME I STARTED TO KEEP TRACK OF EACH INSTANCE. FOR APPROXIMATELY 1 MONTH THE CAR EXPERIENCED FREQUENT POWER SURGES/HESITATION AND INSTANCES OF LIMP MODE. THE CAR THEN WENT 1 MONTH WITHOUT ANY REPEAT OF THAT EXPERIENCE. AFTER SEVERAL MORE INSTANCES OF THE PROBLEM IN EARLY SEPTEMBER 2013, THE ISSUE DISAPPEARED FOR OVER 6 MONTHS, UNTIL APRIL 2014. I NOW HAVE A LOG DOCUMENTING APPROX 25 ? 30 INSTANCES OF LIMP MODE OVER A PERIOD OF ABOUT 8 WEEKS. THIS HAPPENS WHEN THE CAR IS BOTH WARM OR COLD, IN ANY WEATHER CONDITIONS, SOMETIMES WHEN THE CAR IS RUNNING FOR ONLY 1 MINUTE OR AFTER A LONG DRIVE. UNFORTUNATELY I HAVE HAD TO SHIFT INTO NEUTRAL AND RE-START AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. AGAIN AS OTHERS HAVE COMMENTED, THIS IS A DANGEROUS SITUATION AND SHOULD BE CORRECTED BY A RECALL. I HAVE AN APPOINTMENT IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS AT WHICH TIME THEY WILL LIKELY REPLACE THE THROTTLE BODY FOR APPROX $600, AFTER STICKING ABOUT $300 TO THE 1ST 2 SERVICE CALLS.... THANK YOU *TR