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2013 Ford Focus Electric Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 69 complaints with NHTSA about the 2013 Ford Focus Electric, most often about the transmission (54% of complaints, typically around 5,000 miles). It is the most complained-about Focus Electric model year since 2000 and has 3 recalls.
Most common 2013 Ford Focus Electric problems
Transmission
37 complaints · 54%Half of these problems showed up before 5,000 miles.
While operating the 2013 Ford focus EV on the highway, just after braking to enter the left turn lane, the vehicle lost all propulsion capability. The instrument gauge indicated "stop safely now" one or two seconds before this loss of power. Fortunately there was no oncoming traffic and I was able to coast to a safe…
While driving I lost the ability to accelerate the vehicle as I approached an incline in the road and a "stop safely now" and "see manual" warning light appeared on the dash. I activated the hazard lights and pulled over into the bike lane. I shut off the car, opened the door and was able to restart the car after…
Electrical
27 complaints · 39%Half of these problems showed up before 5,000 miles. Parts named most often: 12v/24v/48v battery.
While driving I lost the ability to accelerate the vehicle as I approached an incline in the road and a "stop safely now" and "see manual" warning light appeared on the dash. I activated the hazard lights and pulled over into the bike lane. I shut off the car, opened the door and was able to restart the car after…
The car wouldn't start (electric car). A instrument panel message said see owners manual along with red exclamation mark showed. Had to be towed to dealer. Was diagnosed at first with a bad high voltage battery. They ordered one ($25,000 battery). One week into waiting, Ford (factory) said its not the battery and…
Engine
16 complaints · 23%Half of these problems showed up before 5,500 miles.
Driving our electric Ford focus to work when left-most display screen flashes, "stop safely now!" message at the same moment that all drive power is completely cut off. Coasted to a stop, turned the car off, waited a minute or so, and turned car back on. Fortunately this occurred at 5:30 am on a two lane road, shortly…
While traveling down the freeway, decelerating to change lanes the stop safely now message appeared and the car lost power. This is a re-occurrence and the dealer is working to resolve it.
Fuel system
15 complaints · 22%Half of these problems showed up before 4,000 miles.
My vehicle displayed a "stop safely now" warning during my normal morning commute. The warning was preceded by a failure of the radio portion of the sync system. I briefly turned off the vehicle at a usual stop on my route and upon turning it on, the radio volume, power and tuning were all unresponsive. I attempted to…
While driving I lost the ability to accelerate the vehicle as I approached an incline in the road and a "stop safely now" and "see manual" warning light appeared on the dash. I activated the hazard lights and pulled over into the bike lane. I shut off the car, opened the door and was able to restart the car after…
Steering
9 complaints · 13%Half of these problems showed up before 19,500 miles. Parts named most often: column.
While making a left turn and accelerating out of the turn the engine, power train and breaking system stopped working. The vehicle stopped dead in the street. The dash displayed "stop safely now" and a yellow warning light symbol of a wrench appeared. I took several attempts to restart using various methods the…
Was driving at 25 MPH in a residential zone, with 48 miles on the battery when an alert dinged and the message on the screen said "pull over to safety now." I immediately pulled out of traffic into a parking space as the power steering stopped working, then steering then completely locked, couldn't turn the wheel. The…
Speed control
5 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 4,000 miles.
I braked to a stop at a busy entrance to a traffic rotary. Traffic started up and the car wouldn't respond to accelerator. I saw a stop safely now message on the left hand digital display. Car wouldn't move or start again. Had to push car out of bumper-to-bumper traffic. State of charge was good for the trip. Problem…
Stopped at a traffic light, the car dash indicator error "stop safely now" appeared and there was no ability control the car--didn't to respond to the accelerator pedal and the steering wheel locked. I restarted the car several times and finally was able to regain normal driving conditions.
Brakes
4 complaints · 6%This is for the Ford Focus Electric. Driving in the left lane of a 4 lane road in moderate traffic, my wife was slowing to make a left hand turn onto a 4 lane hwy. Suddenly the vehicle chimed once, showed an orange caution sign in the left info display that read "please stop safely now," and immediately shut down…
The car's braking system is flawed on rough / pot hole surfaces. Everytime on the way to work, there is a portion of road that is very rough/ uneven/wave like. When attempting to brake while on this portion of road the car actually speeds up while applying the brake (the car slows down in the beginning then appears…
Other or unspecified
3 complaints · 4%Stop safely now (ssn) occurred. Vehicle was parked, became inoperable, pushed to street. Started next day, dropped off at dealer on 10/25/13 for investigation.
Was driving in from la to palm spring at 11:00pm. And the drivers door ajar light came on and the door opened while driving. Had to tie it closed with rope and a bungee cord that I now have to carry in my car, because this the second latch that has broken in my car.
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2013 Ford Focus Electric recalls
Equipment: electrical
Risk: An overheated cord can increase the risk of a fire.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the current cord with a new 120v convenience cord with a thermistor, free of charge. The recall began january 18, 2019. Owners may contact ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18s24.
Full defect summary
Ford motor company (ford) is recalling certain 120v convenience charge cords that were supplied with and sold for use with 2013-2015 ford c-max energi and fusion energi vehicles and 2012-2015 ford focus electric vehicles. Cords with part numbers fm58-10b706-aa, fm58-10b706-ab, fm58-10b706-AC, fm58-10b706-ad, fm58-10b706-ae and fm58-10b706-af were manufactured without thermistors, and during vehicle charging, increased resistance in the house's outlet or wiring can cause the cord to overheat and melt.
Transmission: control module (tcm/pcm/tecm)
Risk: An unexpected loss of power while driving increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the power control module, free of charge. The recall beganon november 22, 2013. Ford's recall campaign number is 13s09. Owners may contact ford motor company customer relationship center at 1-866-436-7332.
Full defect summary
Ford motor company (ford) is recalling certain model year 2012-2014 focus electric vehicles manufactured september 15, 2011, through august 23, 2013. In the affected vehicles, a powertrain control module software problem may result in a stall-like condition.
Equipment: anti-theft devices
Risk: Without an audible door chime, a vehicle owner may open the door and exit the vehicle without being reminded that the vehicle is still operational, leaving the vehicle susceptible to theft.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will update the software for the door chime, free of charge. The recall began on october 30, 2013. Owners may contact the ford customer relationship center at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's recall number is 13c07.
Full defect summary
Ford motor company (ford) is recalling certain model year 2012-2013 focus electric vehicles and 2013 c-max vehicles equipped with the intelligent access push button start system. In the affected vehicles, there is no audible chime when the vehicle is operational and the driver's door is opened. Thus, these vehicles fail to conform to federal motor vehicle safety standard (fmvss) no. 114, "theft protection and rollaway prevention."
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Pedestrian alert sounds
Summary
Nhtsa received a petition on or about july 18, 2022, requesting that federal motor vehicle safety standard (fmvss) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the united states. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under odi number 11486072. Fmvss 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 kg or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after march 1, 2021.on january 27, 2023, NHTSA opened defect petition (dp) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matt
Door latch failures
Summary
In december 2019, the office of defects investigation (odi) opened this investigation based on 235 vehicle owner questionnaires (voqs) alleging doors failed to latch when closed, and/or inadvertently opened while driving, on model year (my) 2012-2014 ford fiesta, and 2013-2014 fusion and lincoln mkz. Some voqs reported the failure occurred after the latch had been remedied under a prior recall which involved fracture of the latch pawl spring tab due to thermally induced cyclic fatigue. Other voqs alleged a similar failure in vehicles not previously recalled. A latch with a fractured pawl spring tab typically results in a ?door will not close? Condition, however in certain somewhat rare circu
Door latch failure
Summary
In january, the office of defects investigation (odi) opened this preliminary evaluation based on consumers' allegations of doors failing to latch and/or inadvertently opening on model year (my) 2012-2013 ford focus vehicles (subject vehicles).odi has received 464 unique reports related to the alleged problem, with over 200 claiming that the door(s) opened inadvertently while the vehicle was in motion.one consumer alleged an injury that occurred while driving when a door inadvertently opened and then closed on a child's arm.another alleged that a door that inadvertently opened struck a parked vehicle.in response to odi's information request, ford motor company (ford) provided 500 unique repo
Electric powertrain propulsion failure
Summary
In an october 28, 2013 letter to NHTSA, ford motor company (ford) submitted a recall notice identifying a defect in the powertrain control module (PCM) software in approximately 2,456 model year (my) 2012 through 2014 ford focus electric vehicles manufactured from september 15, 2011 through august 23, 2013 (recall no. 13v-523).according to ford, PCM software faults may cause a complete loss of powertrain torque.when this condition occurs, drivers receive a red triangle indicator and the message stop safely now in the instrument cluster.in addition, vehicle brake and steering systems will continue to operate normally and the vehicle can be restarted after going through a shutdown process.ford
Questions about the 2013 Ford Focus Electric
- What are the most common problems with the 2013 Ford Focus Electric?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: transmission (37 complaints, typically around 5,000 miles); electrical (27 complaints, typically around 5,000 miles); engine (16 complaints, typically around 5,500 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2013 Ford Focus Electric have?
- 3 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from September 10, 2018 (equipment). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2013 a bad year for the Ford Focus Electric?
- It is the most complained-about Focus Electric model year since 2000, with 69 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.