Here is the letter that the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) sent to Ford Motor Company, on September 16, 2013:
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/jaxrs/download/doc/UCM444424/INIM-PE13031-57668.pdf? <-- If this link doesn't work, cut-and-paste this URL into Google. Then, click on the link that Google brings up.
Near the end of the letter, it says: "Ford's response to this letter, in duplicate, together with a copy of any confidentiality request, must be submitted to this office by October 14, 2013."
Then, of course, the government (including the NHTSA) was shut down, from September 30 to October 16:
http://www.autoblog.com/2013/10/01/nhtsa-stopping-recall-notices-safety-testing-amid-government-sh/
Finally, however, this summary of "Service Bulletin No. ASI-32226," from Ford Motor Company, has appeared on the NHTSA website (http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchVehicles):
By the way, there have been 26 complaints submitted by vehicle owners to the NHTSA website: 4 from 2012-model FFE owners, 21 (of which the latest one is MINE) from 2013-model owners, and 1 from a 2014-model owner.
Summary:
"VEHICLES MAY RECEIVED (sic) INVALID DATA FROM ACCESSORY PROTOCOL INTERFACE MODULE (DTC U0554:00) FROM GENERIC FUNCTION MODULE DURING DIAGNOSTIC SELF TESTS. MODEL 2012-2013 FOCUS ELECTRIC, C-MAX/FUSION/MKZ HYBRID, ENERGI."
Compare that with the Technical Service Bulletin that Ford published on September 23 (a week after receiving the NHTSA's letter):
http://www.fordservicecontent.com/Ford_Content/pubs/content/~WT/~MUS~LEN/3675/tsb13-09-19.htm
My translation of all of this nonsense: Our FFE's are being shut down by spurious data that is generated by "DIAGNOSTIC SELF TESTS," which are probably occurring at prescheduled intervals that have NOTHING to do with anything that is actually HAPPENING, in the REAL world of us driving our cars.
If you think Ford is probably innocent, take a look some history:
http://www.autosafety.org/sites/default/files/imce_staff_uploads/Strickland%20Recall%20Remedy.pdf
If you don't recognize The Center for Auto Safety, take a look at this Wikipedia page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_for_Auto_Safety
Ford is treating us as if our safety does not matter! We must demand that Ford IMMEDIATELY perform item 3, on their Technical Service Bulletin, referenced above:
"Reprogram the powertrain control module (PCM) to the latest calibration, using IDS release 86.04 and higher."
...and that is just the beginning. This excuse that we keep hearing, that they found no Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs), when they tested the car, is the WORST kind of dirty trick! They are using this supposed LACK of codes to justify taking no action, whatsoever.
If Ford Motor Company has not designed the FFE to save a log of trouble codes, as they occur, then they must immediately either CHANGE that design, or outfit each FFE with an external device (like a ScanGauge) that can plug into the FFE's OBD port and allow us to check for (and manually record, at the very least) the trouble codes that are generated, each time that we "Stop Safely Now."
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/jaxrs/download/doc/UCM444424/INIM-PE13031-57668.pdf? <-- If this link doesn't work, cut-and-paste this URL into Google. Then, click on the link that Google brings up.
Near the end of the letter, it says: "Ford's response to this letter, in duplicate, together with a copy of any confidentiality request, must be submitted to this office by October 14, 2013."
Then, of course, the government (including the NHTSA) was shut down, from September 30 to October 16:
http://www.autoblog.com/2013/10/01/nhtsa-stopping-recall-notices-safety-testing-amid-government-sh/
Finally, however, this summary of "Service Bulletin No. ASI-32226," from Ford Motor Company, has appeared on the NHTSA website (http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchVehicles):
By the way, there have been 26 complaints submitted by vehicle owners to the NHTSA website: 4 from 2012-model FFE owners, 21 (of which the latest one is MINE) from 2013-model owners, and 1 from a 2014-model owner.
Summary:
"VEHICLES MAY RECEIVED (sic) INVALID DATA FROM ACCESSORY PROTOCOL INTERFACE MODULE (DTC U0554:00) FROM GENERIC FUNCTION MODULE DURING DIAGNOSTIC SELF TESTS. MODEL 2012-2013 FOCUS ELECTRIC, C-MAX/FUSION/MKZ HYBRID, ENERGI."
Compare that with the Technical Service Bulletin that Ford published on September 23 (a week after receiving the NHTSA's letter):
http://www.fordservicecontent.com/Ford_Content/pubs/content/~WT/~MUS~LEN/3675/tsb13-09-19.htm
My translation of all of this nonsense: Our FFE's are being shut down by spurious data that is generated by "DIAGNOSTIC SELF TESTS," which are probably occurring at prescheduled intervals that have NOTHING to do with anything that is actually HAPPENING, in the REAL world of us driving our cars.
If you think Ford is probably innocent, take a look some history:
http://www.autosafety.org/sites/default/files/imce_staff_uploads/Strickland%20Recall%20Remedy.pdf
If you don't recognize The Center for Auto Safety, take a look at this Wikipedia page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_for_Auto_Safety
Ford is treating us as if our safety does not matter! We must demand that Ford IMMEDIATELY perform item 3, on their Technical Service Bulletin, referenced above:
"Reprogram the powertrain control module (PCM) to the latest calibration, using IDS release 86.04 and higher."
...and that is just the beginning. This excuse that we keep hearing, that they found no Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs), when they tested the car, is the WORST kind of dirty trick! They are using this supposed LACK of codes to justify taking no action, whatsoever.
If Ford Motor Company has not designed the FFE to save a log of trouble codes, as they occur, then they must immediately either CHANGE that design, or outfit each FFE with an external device (like a ScanGauge) that can plug into the FFE's OBD port and allow us to check for (and manually record, at the very least) the trouble codes that are generated, each time that we "Stop Safely Now."
