The vehicle keeps throwing the same DTCs no matter what they do. Ford Engineering says they have never seen this pattern of DTCs so they are stumped.....but also a little preturbed. They have now suggested the Tech install a series of wiring "overlays" and then operate the vehicle and then send the recorded data back to Ford. [ like they are looking for a bad wire or connection maybe ? ] They are not very interested in what the Tech and I have to add to the discussion....like they are relying on the codes and the KAM data to tell them what's wrong (maybe too much).

As you can imagine the dealership is starting to get anxious about getting paid for all the hours they would have to burn to do all the investigative work for Ford - and they know the average customer cannot afford 5, 10, 20 hours at shop rate to diagnose every problem.

Funny thing is, I could be driving the vehicle around because I can consistently avoid the shut-down if I shift into "N" before every full stop. Maybe I should and the problem will become larger and therefore easier to diagnose.

 

My hunch is the traction motor or something related to reg braking is the problem, sending voltage spikes that is interfering with the TBCM and the PCM.

 

I agree, but I'd put a new Power Sustain Relay in it just in case. It wouldn't hurt to reflash the TCM if that has not been done either. It almost sounds like Ford is trying to rule out replacing the eCVT till the Dealership can find a simple fix. My Tech had to charge me all those man hours after ruling out the HV battery - OUCH! My '09 FEH doesn't have that relay now.

GaryG

 

Gary - I may just re-visit the Power Sustain Relay with them. Part of the delay is the Tech's attempt to limit his diagnosis hours (at shop rate) because he doesn't think its fair to charge the customer.......when Ford Engineering can't even support the problem. And Ford Engineering constantly wants the Tech to have tried more and more "fixes".

 

The Ford Hotline folks were running my service Tech ragged trying to prove with his pictures that I rigged a plug-in charger to get the mileage I was getting. They thought the codes displayed showed a bad HV battery and wanted to deny the warranty. The Tech discovered the bad relays and solved the problems. The Tech also felt bad that Ford was not going to pay for all his hours chasing the Hotlines motives for the problems. I paid a $1,200 bill but the Tech wanted me to know the truth for all his charges. He gave me the spare relay at no cost to avoid future problems and I have a great relationship with my service and parts department. I even get parts wholesale now and deal with the parts manager. The Service Manager I've known for 20 years treats me like a king and has seen me on the News and Internet for my mileage records.

One thing the Tech told me was the "Power Sustain Relay" controlled the charging to the HV battery. I think you have a bad eCVT but it might be worth trying a new relay glenn.

GaryG

 

After waiting several weeks for the dealership to get back to me on the outcome of the data that the tech sent to Ford, since I saw in an earliest post that the engineers had been furloughed, I decided to call on Friday. The service manager told me that Ford said the data/file was corrupt. It makes me mad that they never called to tell me that, and I have been thinking they had been waiting on Ford. He told me to bring it back, so I dropped it off this evening, so they can get back to working on it tomorrow morning. Luckily, after two consecutive days of the "Stop Safely Soon" coming on several weeks ago, it did not appear until a few days ago. This time, it was me who experienced and not my wife. Just like my wife, I drove it to the bus stop, turned it off, started it up several minutes later to drive back home, and the message appeared.

I will mention to the service manager/advisor or tech about the relay. I will let you all know what they say.

 

The dealer heard back from Ford Engineering. They believe the issue to be a "base engine concern." The cost to diagnose is $78.95 per hour, and, of course, the amount of time that it will take to diagnose the problem is unknown, so this good be quite expensive.

The only time the "Stop Safely Now" message appears is when the FEH is driven from my house to the bus stop (about 100-yards away), sits for about 5-minutes, ICE is restarted, and put in gear -- and it does not happen all the time.

I am not sure if I should just wait until it happens more frequently and in other situations, or let them try to diagnose it and hope that it does not take but maybe a few hours at most and is the right fix. Right now, I am scheduled to drop it off this evening, and, if I do drop it off, I will print out this string of posts for the tech. On top of a nearly $300 per month payment for the next four and one-half years and already having to pay to get the HV battery door motor replaced, this has been extremely frustrating. I might just see how much I can get to trade it in, since I am only 7-months into 5-years of payments.

 

The tech contacted "The Hotline" (Ford Engineering), and he was told to replace the throttle body. Since the owner's manual states that it is a hybrid component fault/failure that causes the vehicle to shutdown or fail to start, I told the advisor that I will just wait until the problem occurs more frequently, so they can accurately diagnose the problem rather than guess. It will cost me about $160 for the diagnosis (or lack thereof) rather than about $440 for the diagnosis and replace the throttle body.

 

If you can "live with it" and it is not permanently disabling the car, I say just wait and see myself.

 

Did you ever replace the relays mentioned earlier?