Convince me to lease- scared of "Stop Safely Now" issues

[hxbruno]

I fell in love with the FFE when I took it overnight to test drive. I was ready to sign the papers until I started reading about the Stop Safely Now warning that shuts off your car.

Is there anyone out there with good experiences with this car that has never received the SSN warning?
This scared the crap out of me but I need a new car because mine is pretty much dead and I am in the market for a new car. I don't want to pass up my great lease deal over reading reviews of peoples problems if they are rare? or if the problem has been fixed.

Thank you for all you inputs

 

[73mach1]

Have well over 2500 miles now and the only problem I have is I can't get a pop because I don't stop at any gas stations. Well that and the upgrade for the car at the dealer took forever. But new ones should be good.

 

[hxbruno]

Ha! Man, I would LOVE to have the problem of never stopping at a gas station! I am sooooo close to leasing one. I just want to be safe however. Thanks for the reply

 

[mpt]

Got a few thousand miles on ours, no issues with the 'Stop safely now'.

I've had our ActiveE do the same though. It freaked out my wife who was driving but she calmly put on the hazard lights, counted to ten and restarted, a few times and went. In the case of the BMW, they updated the software to reduce some sensor sensitivity and we've added another 30,000 miles without issue.

I wouldn't hold off leasing the car, it's a delight to own, just know your plan if it does error out. Write it down on a note and if it happens, well, it's inconvenient but it only seems to happen at standstill so, no one is in danger.

For the rest of the time, it'll blow your socks off.

MPT

 

[WattsUp]

I'm at just over 8000 miles after 6 months. No SSN.

Other than stoopid bugs in various MFT software features (that everyone sees), my car is fine. I still really, really like it.

I'm considering upgrading to the new 3.5 MFT software (I suppose I eventually will, even though others have reported dealers sometimes mess it up) and maybe that will squash some of the MFT annoyances.

 

[firewired]

I have about 5500 miles on my 2013. Owned it since February. A delight to drive. I estimate I am spending about $29 a month on electricity and my year total will be around $350 (if I am calculating right.)

I had the SSN issue occur at 1500 miles. Dealer could find no thrown codes. I had another issue several months later when car when driving at night, immediately upon starting driving after un-plugging that it was overheating and went into limp mode going about 20 mph and not very responsive. Dealer replaced my 12 volt battery and updated the Mysync software. No other problems since. I really do enjoy the car, but after these issues I am glad I leased rather than purchased. There is a risk and price to being an early adopter.

My lease terms I think were pretty favorable, $1900 down, $199 a month for 10,500. I have seen better since, as low as $149 a month. Dealer wanted me to do 3 years, but with uncertainty I am glad I pushed for 24 months.

Hope your happy with whatever you decide.

 

[v_traveller]

Just over 8K miles on mine. Today is our 6-month anniversary, and the honeymoon isn't over yet.

If I had to make a decision again today on what car to get, i.e. if my beloved Focus was stolen, I'd get an exact replacement. There's no other car out there that fits the bill, even though there are more BEVs on the market and on the horizon. Only other vehicle I'd consider is the RAV4 EV, but that's $3K more up front, $100 more per month, and much less efficient.

Only debilitating SSN event was when I actually ran out of charge a few miles from home, so it wasn't Ford's fault at all. Free roadside assistance came in handy that night.

 

[hxbruno]

thanks for all the positive posts. might be signing the papers today and I am still kind of nervous. car seems like there are still bugs that need to be worked out but that is why I am leasing. glad I found this site and hopefully i will be posting positive experiences like all of you soon thanks again

 

[MontereyEV]

Hxbruno-

I am also considering leasing a FFE soon. What lease terms have you been offered? I have been on the waiting list for a Honda Fit EV and it looks like it could be a much longer wait than I am willing to tolerate. The terms for the Honda were too good to be true:

$259 month, 36 months ,zero down, unlimited miles, free charging station, and collision insurance.

Does the fact that the 2014 Focus EV is $4000 less make you want to wait longer to see what lease offer comes up before going for the 2013 model?

MontereyEV

 

[Jasper7821]

Hxbruno-

I am also considering leasing a FFE soon. What lease terms have you been offered? I have been on the waiting list for a Honda Fit EV and it looks like it could be a much longer wait than I am willing to tolerate. The terms for the Honda were too good to be true:

$259 month, 36 months ,zero down, unlimited miles, free charging station, and collision insurance.

Does the fact that the 2014 Focus EV is $4000 less make you want to wait longer to see what lease offer comes up before going for the 2013 model?

MontereyEV

I would jump on that least. $259 and unlimited miles. It doesnt sound possible

 

[v_traveller]

Does the fact that the 2014 Focus EV is $4000 less make you want to wait longer to see what lease offer comes up before going for the 2013 model?

Lease deal just came out on ford.com for the 2014 FFE, it's $298/mo, 36 mo, $943 at signing, 10.5K miles/year, plus tax and fees. That's really close to the advertised lease deal when I got mine last February, and nowhere near the current deal on the 2013. Might want to make a decision sooner than later...

 

[hxbruno]

MontereyEV -

I was checking out the Honda fit EV as well. That is such a great deal because it includes the charging station. But there is a waiting list and I need a car now so I didn't even look further into it. Also, fell in love with the FFE and I am getting and incredible deal on it. I am getting 11750 in rebates including 2000 more in a competitive leasing rebate and another signing lease rebate. I have a trade in and the dealer is giving me 1750 back in cash so I can put a charger in. No money down besides my trade. 36 month lease 225 a month! It's a steal and I think it's because the 2014 is coming out at the end of sept. my car is junk too!

That's why I don't want to pass this up! I am afraid of the stop safely now warning but might just take my chances!

 

[Henry]

Have 3600 miles on my FFE that I bought in February. No problems other than the update that took several days (dealer problem). Would highly recommend it.

 

[JTCalif]

About 12 months, 10k miles on our FFE. We really like the car, drive it much more than our gasoline one.
Only problems: nail in tire (twice, 33$ to fix), and plastic fastener needed for bumper (2$, at ANY Ford dealer) (same body et al. as other Focus.)
Many more Ford service places around than Tesla (or ...).

3.5 update: have avoided that, because a few have written of problems after getting that done.

Do not leave lights on, or anything plugged into and drawing from 12 V outlet in center: a dead 12 volt battery means no-go, regardless of charge in main high-V battery.

 

[mlct88]

Just signed a 36 month lease, 15,000 miles per year. The biggest variable will be your negotiated sales price. The rest seems sort of fixed right now: $12,750 rebate ; .25% APR; 42% residual; your sales tax on rebate; license and registration fees for your state. I used Truecar.com as my targeted sales price. The rest is just plugging the numbers into a car lease calculator you can find on line.

 

[Josephus]

I was totally in the same boat, 1 day before signing lease found out about the SSN issue. I was more concerned about my wife becoming stuck and regreting the lease. After I told her about it, and she was adventurous enough to want to take the risk, it was enough for me to seal the deal. Plus, we're only leasing, and if the SSN warning happens too often then lemon laws apply. 1000k, loving the car, no SSN warning. Our 2013 already received its update prior to signing.

 

[Josephus]

In regards to the 2014 MSRP being less, this does not translate into a cheaper lease payment. If anything it is higher, because the difference between selling price and a lower residual on 14 is greater than incentive price with higher residual on a 13.

 

[yakers]

Have our 2012 FFE for 4500 miles, had the SSN message arise a few times and took it into the dealer. Has not happened since. It did not cause any real (non psychological) problem. Came on when starting, shut it off and restarted without message. Just didn't like seeing it. Our lmonthly payment is $282 a and includes state fees, license and taxes, the car part is $259, zero down, 10.5mi per year, 3 yr lease. We would buy another one in a minute, although there are some other interesting vehicles like the Ford C-Max Energi. Depending on what Ford charges we will be looking to buy it after the lease. But if incentives are avialable on new ones it may not pay to buy used.

 

[Kung Fu Panda]

Leased my 2013 FFE in Feb. for $299/mo., 36. mo., 10.5K mi./yr., 0 down and 0 driveoff. No SSN issues to date after 6 months and 2500 miles.

Only major issue has been the 3.5 update which somehow killed the 12V battery.

Various other "minor" issues:
- Occasionally after starting the car will not move if drive select is moved to "R" or "D", even though the car is clearly started (green Car LED lit in the dash). Electric steering is not powered either and is very heavy. Power cycling a few times usually fixes this issue.
- MFT has trouble keeping the correct time (a few times the clock displayed a random time, and this was set to GPS sync - and GPS time is always off by one hour)
- Value Charge schedule times in MFT or MFM never seem to correspond to the programmed times (but sometimes it charges at the right time, others not)
- Brakes make a loud squealing or chirping sound when cold in the morning (Ford says this is normal)

 

[jdeciccio]

I am most likely going with the lease, then buy option so that I can afford the payments. My father-in-law is in the business and gave me a 39 month lease for $258, $0 down, and I believe 15,000 miles. Sees right and that is about what I pay or gas a month so it makes sense for us. Hope the SSN does become an issue for us as well.