Stop Safely Now Warning

[ashuri]

Lemon time...don't even waste your time. I am going on incident #3, 1 time stopped in freeway traffic, 1 time WHILE making a left turn (almost got T-boned), 1 time going downhill had to use emergency area to stop car...All while my 3 year old is in the car with me.


Document your incidents and ask for re-purchase. This is a serious problem being overlooked by Ford!!

 

[Josephus]

I'm about to take delivery of a 2013 FFE tomorrow. After some "Clue" style detective work I'd like to steer us toward focusing on the update that many of us here are adopting.

1) The update does involve updating the PCM which affects the regenerative braking of the car.
2) Most updates go poorly and take several days of failed attempts to work.
3) Many have noted that dealerships end up draining the battery (-ies?) during this drawn out epic fail.
4) Almost all SSN incedents occur during braking or after stopping.
5) Since a dead 12V battery effectively kills the "brain" of the car, this might explian why no code is logged, and why a few minutes later after the HV battery has a chance to charge it, the car restarts.

This points in one of two directions. Either 1) this update is an attempt to fix the SSN problem and the fix is going poorly in some cases. Or 2) The update is causing the problem, whether it is becuase the update is fundamentally flawed, or becuase it is a botched while updating.

After reading through the thread on the update, this is the most logical "occams razor" conclusion. Sparki updated his system on the June 28th and got his first SSN on the July 9th if I'm reading right. At least one other has suspected the update too. At this point we need to everyone who has had a SSN warning to chime in how close in proximity their update was. We also need those who have had no reoccurance of the SSN after the update to chime in. The sooner the better. I take delivery tomorrow.

 

[WattsUp]

This points in one of two directions. Either 1) this update is an attempt to fix the SSN problem and the fix is going poorly in some cases. Or 2) The update is causing the problem, whether it is becuase the update is fundamentally flawed, or becuase it is a botched while updating.

While it is interesting to wonder if the update contains (in part) an attempt to address the SSN issue, people were reporting various cases of SSNs long before the update was available.

 

[firewired]

My one incident occurred "before" my update and occurred several month before at that.

 

[Arthur]

I got my first "Stop Safely Now" message, this morning. My car has about 2300 miles on it, and the Sync update was completed, just YESTERDAY!

I know that some people have suspected a possible connection between driving over a big bump in the road, and, then, subsequently, getting the "Stop Safely Now" message.

Has anyone noticed the message occurring after slamming the hatch closed? That's what happened with my car. So, I restarted the car and did not get the message the second time.

I was getting ready to drive 83 miles to my house, on a single charge, with a 550-foot hill at the end of the trip. (I'm a naturally optimistic person. What can I say?)

Well, I got home with 5% left in my battery, and didn't see any more "Stop Safely Now" messages.

I'm going to have to call the dealer, so, if anyone has any similar stories, it would help if I could tell them that this particular, trunk-slamming connection has been noticed by other people, as well.

Thanks.

Arthur

 

[WattsUp]

I got my first "Stop Safely Now" message, this morning. My car has about 2300 miles on it, and the Sync update was completed, just YESTERDAY!

I know that some people have suspected a possible connection between driving over a big bump in the road, and, then, subsequently, getting the "Stop Safely Now" message.

Has anyone noticed the message occurring after slamming the hatch closed? That's what happened with my car. So, I restarted the car and did not get the message the second time.

Numerous people who have taken their car in for SSN service have reported the dealer finding or suspecting a "loose connector" (though the whole situation seems rather vague... as if most dealers have no clue what the problem is).

I wonder if one your connectors was improperly reconnected during your update? (though I have no idea if the update involves manipulating any connectors) Also, perhaps when you slammed your hatch, it temporary caused an interruption in some connection (perhaps one of them is now in a "delicate" state after the update servicing) leading to your SSN?

But boy... it's not very reassuring to think that just getting the update done (which I have not yet) could result in an increased likelihood of an SSN. :?

 

[Jasper7821]

If I remember correctly I didn't get a SSN until after the update.
I got one while driving home from the dealer after the update. But I was driving and plugged my Progressive Snapshot module back in and then got the SSN about a minute later.
The second one was a few days after that while driving down a curvy downhill road and I had to coast to the bottom and stop at the light and shut the car off and then back on and it was fine.
The third time was after coming back from vacation for a week (car was plugged in) and I got a warning then turned the car off and back on and got it again. The car was doing all kinds of weird things so I did a master reset a few days ago and everything seems to be fine now.

 

[Josephus]

Jasper, that is the first non-dealer fix anyone has suggested semi confidently. Please describe the "reset" in detail, and please keep us posted.

 

[WattsUp]

Jasper, that is the first non-dealer fix anyone has suggested semi confidently. Please describe the "reset" in detail, and please keep us posted.

I assume Jasper is referring to the master reset option that can be reached through the car's MFT menus:

1. Select the gear icon button at the bottom of the screen.
2. Select SETTINGS
3. Select SYSTEM
4. Scroll down and then accept MASTER RESET and accept both warnings.
5. Once you do the Master Reset you will need to reenter your car in My Ford Mobile.

 

[Jasper7821]

Yes the above directions are how to do it. Everything in the car works perfect now. I did lose all my saved data but my car is only a few months old so it wasn't a big deal. I was scared to hit the rest but I figured if it messed anything up then I'd just take the car back to the dealer.
The only quirk I've had and only happened one time was when I was backing out of the garage a warning message popped up on the touch screen and said rear view camera unavailable but it was working.
It went away when I put it back into drive.

 

[mabock]

Mine was almost 1 year old and over 10k miles before first SSN just a couple of days after the software update was applied.

 

[robochimp]

Hi All...

... please add me to the "Stop Safely Now" club - it's an ironic message because there nothing safe about the way it happens, either.

2700 miles into a 2013 FFE - no major problems other than the "12v accessory battery dead car issue" which was replaced about a month ago by the dealer.
Last Sunday was a whole new experience with my beloved FFE...driving with the wife and it gave the dreaded warning beep and SSN message and I made a surprise emergency rolling stop into the middle of an intersection.. hit the thottle and it was dead. Only way I found to work around it was to try to power cycle the car...eventually I found you *sometimes* can take your foot off the brake, hit Start (to shut off) then open and close the door - which fooled the car into thinking it should power down. This happened to me 5 more times on the same day (I have video of the last 3x)

I just think how this would have gone down on the LA 110 freeway carpool lane at 80 MPH - for those that know the section called FASTRACK, there is really no turn out lane for emergencies.

Car is "Stopped Safely Now" at the dealers (i'm in a rental) and unless there is a guarantee in writing from Ford this won't happen again (which no one would dare do due to the obvious liability if it does) I'll be looking into alternatives.

So sad, I pretty much fell in love with this car...it is the best looking one of the bunch and I really enjoyed the drive.

submitted to NHTSA this AM...I'll be #8

 

[Dreaming-in-Focus]

Quick question for you Robochimp - do you charge primarily with 120v included charger?

 

[robochimp]

Yes.. Have only been charging with a 120volt level 1 (supplied)

Have you found this makes a difference in the occurance
of SSN?

 

[Dreaming-in-Focus]

Through my experience of 5 SSN instances over the past few months and 4 trips to the dealership, I decided to try something different. I had charged the car exclusively over the previous 8 months with the included charger. I ended up with a malfunctioning instrument cluster and coolant pump. Its pretty clear that the systems on the car cannot be properly powered by the included charger when charging over the course of several hours when the temperatures are above 90 degrees. Its all theory right now, but the car has been performing quite well with my Leviton 240 volt EVSE. This is clearly the way the car was meant to be charged..

Yes.. Have only been charging with a 120volt level 1 (supplied)

Have you found this makes a difference in the occurance
of SSN?

 

[robochimp]

Thanks for the charger info...

I do have Bosch Powermax on back order - Been trying for 2 months to get this all installed properly (working through my utility company, too)
Initially went the "Geek Squad" route as ford suggested only to be $100 poorer and surprised at the $3500 quote from their contractor...Looks
like Ford didn't like Geek Squad either (now with AV)

 

[jeffand]

I do have Bosch Powermax on back order - Been trying for 2 months to get this all installed properly (working through my utility company, too)
Initially went the "Geek Squad" route as ford suggested only to be $100 poorer and surprised at the $3500 quote from their contractor...Looks
like Ford didn't like Geek Squad either (now with AV)

This seems twice as much as it should cost to have the station installed.
Does this installation require trenching, or a long wire run?

My installation was under $2000 and included the Ford charging station. The wire run was about 35 feet long.

 

[robochimp]

Yes.. I thought $3500 was outrageous for
what was essentially running wire to another wall
on the side of my house - no trenching.. Basic 40a
double breakers and emt conduit run through
through my crawl space. I'm still amazed
at the cost of the EVSEs as well - which is basically
A glorified switch since the charger is in car. Bosch
Powermax is one of the best deals going now (if you can
wait for the backorder)

I ended up going with Bosch and one of their contractors
It is scheduled to be installed in the next couple weeks for
about 2K.

My FFE is still at Ford.. They are reprogramming
basically everything possible with firmware
upgrades... I will be asking if there was an exact
error diagnosis, what it was, and what patch
fixed the SSN message.. If they can't answer and
show me a printout, I won't be taking delivery of
the car until they can do so.

 

[jeffand]

I have always used level 2 charging on my car, and never had an issue. I did use the Level 1 charging cord for about 5 minutes just to check to see if it works.

Now when you are charging in a hot environment, this will make the cooling system work harder to keep the electronics and batteries cool. After hearing about hot battery issues when charging, I would recommend level 2 charging when ambient temperatures are over 80 degrees. It's possible if the temperatures in the garage climb above 80 degrees it may require air conditioner to run to effectively keep the battery cool.

I did discover it seems that the cooling fan for the radiator will run at different speeds.

 

[mstubbs007]

Had the new software update completed by the dealer. First issue after the software upgrade was the MyFordMobile applicatin no longer worked and now we have an additional issue. Today the car just quit in the middle of traffic after giving a warning of stop safely now. Just great right in the middle of traffic we could have caused a serious accident. Loved the car but now I'm not so sure anymore. Ford has been trying to get the My Ford Mobile application to work for weeks now and this just tops it off. Never had any problems with the car until now other than a bad 12 volt battery and rear camera failure. Oh well they just lost another customer