"Stop safely now" , then full power loss while driving on highway...

dbsb3233

Well-Known Member
First Name
TimCO
Joined
Dec 30, 2019
Threads
54
Messages
9,298
Reaction score
10,814
Location
Colorado, USA
Vehicles
2021 Mustang Mach-E FE, 2023 Bronco Sport OB
Occupation
Retired
Country flag
But why? Without having any diagnostic work done. It may be a serious problem, or it may a simple issue that is resolved once and for all.
Precisely for what you said... it "may be a serious problem", that could re-occur.

I'm sure it'll go into the shop, and they'll try to figure it out and fix it. We know those aren't always sure things though. We've probably all had problems that went into the shop to be fixed, only to have the same thing happen a month later.
Sponsored

 

shutterbug

Well-Known Member
First Name
Joseph
Joined
Nov 5, 2020
Threads
8
Messages
1,113
Reaction score
1,549
Location
AZ
Vehicles
Grabber Blue FE
Country flag
Precisely for what you said... it "may be a serious problem", that could re-occur.

I'm sure it'll go into the shop, and they'll try to figure it out and fix it. We know those aren't always sure things though. We've probably all had problems that went into the shop to be fixed, only to have the same thing happen a month later.
But unless you know the cause, or the cause can't be identified, driving yourself nuts is pretty pointless.
 

dbsb3233

Well-Known Member
First Name
TimCO
Joined
Dec 30, 2019
Threads
54
Messages
9,298
Reaction score
10,814
Location
Colorado, USA
Vehicles
2021 Mustang Mach-E FE, 2023 Bronco Sport OB
Occupation
Retired
Country flag
But unless you know the cause, or the cause can't be identified, driving yourself nuts is pretty pointless.
That's precisely WHEN to be concerned -- the occurrence of a major problem that you can't identify the cause of.

If you know precisely what it is, you have more faith in the fix. But if you take it in and they say "Well, we think this might have caused it, but we couldn't duplicate the problem so we're not entirely sure. We replaced that part, so try it and see.", that doesn't inspire a lot of confidence. (And I suspect many of us have had that happen at some point.)

That wouldn't make you a bit more nervous about the risk of losing power in traffic on the freeway versus knowing definitively what the cause was?
 

Brofessional

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2021
Threads
0
Messages
143
Reaction score
330
Location
Midwest
Vehicles
22 GR86, 12 Accord, 18 Yukon, 21 Mach E GT
Country flag
But unless you know the cause, or the cause can't be identified, driving yourself nuts is pretty pointless.
Well he did say he’s owned 30+ vehicles which were predominantly BMWs and Audis over the last 25 years. Sounds like he’s been attempting to drive himself nuts for decades.

And if this is indeed the first time he’s experienced a failure with that ownership history, I’d say karma finally caught up to him.

As an aside, anyone want to take a stab at what the depreciation on 30+ germans works out to? ?
 

shutterbug

Well-Known Member
First Name
Joseph
Joined
Nov 5, 2020
Threads
8
Messages
1,113
Reaction score
1,549
Location
AZ
Vehicles
Grabber Blue FE
Country flag
That's precisely WHEN to be concerned -- the occurrence of a major problem that you can't identify the cause of.
Yes, but after some attempt at diagnosing the problem. Before that, you are just making yourself crazy. Shortly after getting MME, I started getting the "Service vehicle soon" message. It turned out to be something silly related to use of powerline ethernet in my house. Now, having car fail in the middle of freeway is more serious than a spurious message, but you shouldn't expect a recurrence without at least doing some diagnosis. If they can't find the cause, that's the time to worry, but not before it's looked at.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ARK


shutterbug

Well-Known Member
First Name
Joseph
Joined
Nov 5, 2020
Threads
8
Messages
1,113
Reaction score
1,549
Location
AZ
Vehicles
Grabber Blue FE
Country flag
Well he did say he’s owned 30+ vehicles which were predominantly BMWs and Audis over the last 25 years. Sounds like he’s been attempting to drive himself nuts for decades.

And if this is indeed the first time he’s experienced a failure with that ownership history, I’d say karma finally caught up to him.

As an aside, anyone want to take a stab at what the depreciation on 30+ germans works out to? ?
30+ cars in 25 years. Might as well list dealer as your home address ;)
 

jgcom

Well-Known Member
First Name
Joe
Joined
Feb 10, 2021
Threads
8
Messages
204
Reaction score
289
Location
Louisiana
Vehicles
Mach-E 4X premium, '21
Occupation
Physics prof.
Country flag
File an NHTSA report!

There seems to be a trend where some combination of lawyers and engineers are adding watchdog logic into car components, whereby key functionality can be taken away while the driver is in traffic, presumably to prevent some error state leading to equipment damage or liability.

My last Ford product, the 2011 MKZ, did something similar a few times, removing all power assist from the steering while beeping at me and flashing messages on the screen, while I was trying to, you know, drive the car. Eventually, they sold me a new rack assembly for $2000, fixing the problem. Motivated get my money back, I put in a strongly-worded complaint here:

https://www.nhtsa.gov/report-a-safety-problem

I emphasized that the safety risk was not from the rack itself, but rather from the foolish choice by Ford to throw their customer into unknown traffic conditions without steering, without notice, but with noisy distraction. I explained that had traffic been just a bit different, or had my arms been weaker, the watchdog function's action could have killed people.

I'm happy to report the the gov't pushed them to recall the MKZ racks, plus people like me got a check from Ford for the full amount we paid for the fix.

I still don't have my Mach-Z, but it sounds like this engineering approach continues. If enough affected customers fill out the nhtsa form, maybe things can change.
 

peoples1234

Well-Known Member
First Name
Chris
Joined
Mar 11, 2021
Threads
1
Messages
82
Reaction score
152
Location
NC
Vehicles
2021 Mach-E FE GB
Country flag
Ford, if you're actually reading any of this, I had reserved a Lightning to replace another vehicle, but will not move forward with that & was thinking of a few Mavericks for my business, will skip those as well.
I get it, it’s still fresh. But overreact much? You haven’t even given Ford an opportunity to figure out what is wrong and to fix it yet. There is really no incentive to help you if you have already thrown them out with the bath water.

I hope they get you all fixed up, but I dare you to find one manufacturer who where the risk is zero before you write them off.
 

JamieGeek

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2019
Threads
82
Messages
3,556
Reaction score
6,746
Location
Southeastern Michigan
Website
spareelectrons.wordpress.com
Vehicles
Mach-E, old: Bolt, C-Max Energi, Focus Electric
Country flag

EVS

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2021
Threads
2
Messages
226
Reaction score
344
Location
California
Vehicles
spark EV.
Occupation
Engineer
Country flag
Ford, if you're actually reading any of this, I had reserved a Lightning to replace another vehicle, but will not move forward with that & was thinking of a few Mavericks for my business, will skip those as well.
This seems a little far fetched,. Maverick is a hybrid technology while this is electric.
Electrical failures are like that - sudden in nature. I've heard of many such abrupt power losses in Tesla cars when the contactors failed connection. So your conclusion seems rather illogical.

But glad that everyone is OK. What dealership did you take the car towed to?
 

GrumblesTheDog

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2020
Threads
7
Messages
394
Reaction score
605
Location
Ohio
Vehicles
2021 Mustang Mach-E GB FE
Country flag
What a bummer, OP. Sorry to hear, and glad you're safe.

Out of curiosity, since you're driving an FE and presumably had a pretty early build date, did you ever get the 12V battery TSB applied for any reason? Probably unrelated, since no one with 12V troubles has described a 'Stop Safely Now' message here, but it does make you wonder especially after reading about the Focus electric experience...
 

timbop

Well-Known Member
First Name
Tim
Joined
Jan 3, 2020
Threads
63
Messages
6,729
Reaction score
13,758
Location
New Jersey
Vehicles
Solar powered 2021 MME ER RWD & 2022 Corsair PHEV
Occupation
Software Engineer
Country flag
That sucks for the OP and I get his anger and dissatisfaction.

His isn't the first car to break down on the road, and it won't be the last. It sucks and I don't want it to happen to me, but it happens on rare occasions. To ALL carmakers.
 

dbsb3233

Well-Known Member
First Name
TimCO
Joined
Dec 30, 2019
Threads
54
Messages
9,298
Reaction score
10,814
Location
Colorado, USA
Vehicles
2021 Mustang Mach-E FE, 2023 Bronco Sport OB
Occupation
Retired
Country flag
Yes, but after some attempt at diagnosing the problem. Before that, you are just making yourself crazy. Shortly after getting MME, I started getting the "Service vehicle soon" message. It turned out to be something silly related to use of powerline ethernet in my house. Now, having car fail in the middle of freeway is more serious than a spurious message, but you shouldn't expect a recurrence without at least doing some diagnosis. If they can't find the cause, that's the time to worry, but not before it's looked at.
I don't follow that logic at all. If I have the car die on me in the middle of the freeway, I'm gonna be EVEN MORE concerned it might happen again before I get it into the shop to have it looked at. Not less. That's why people want to get the car into the shop ASAP when they have a scary experience like that.
 

OlyPen

Well-Known Member
First Name
Stephen
Joined
Jun 13, 2021
Threads
8
Messages
241
Reaction score
458
Location
Washington
Vehicles
2021 Mustang Mach E Premium Extended
Country flag
@Ford Motor Company actively hangs out in this forum and is interested in learning from MME owners. Tag them with specific details so they can work on fixes. I understand the challenges of new technology--sometimes I feel like we're all just beta testers when we buy any product these days--but with some objectivity, open dialogue, and some good old fashioned human compassion, I think we can change the paradigm to benefit us all.... But certainly file an NHTSA report as well when an issue is beyond an annoyance or preference. Personally I'm choosing to give Ford the benefit of the doubt for the first year or so until there's a track record of how they're handling software updates and fixes.
Sponsored

 
 




Top