What 228 owners told NHTSA about the 2013 Ford Cmax Energi

While driving, the Cmax displayed a red hazard, STOP SAFELY NOW, and lost all propulsion. The car was unable to be moved and is stranded in the driving lane.

NHTSA ODI 11445246

GAS LINE LEAK UNDER CAR LEADING FROM TANK TO ENGINE. REQUIRES REMOVAL OF EXHAUST SYSTEM AND TANK TO REPLACE NEW LINE. COULD HAVE CAUSED FIRE W/ FUEL LEAKING ON TO EXHAUST SYSTEM (HAVE HAD TWO PREVIOUS FIRES IN DIFFERENT VEHICLES CAUSED BY FUEL LEAKING ONTO HOT EXHAUST SYSTEM). NO APPARENT PHYSICAL CAUSE FOR LEAK - DOES NOT SEEM TO BE COMPONENT ONE WOULD EXPECT TO LEAK OR NEED REPAIR REGARDLESS OF AGE OR MILEAGE. POTENTIAL TO CAUSE SERIOUS PERSONAL AND PHYSICAL DAMAGE IF I HAD NOT SMELLED AND NOTICED LEAK. SEEMS TO ME THAT MANUFACTURER OR SUPPLIER OF APPARENT DEFECTIVE LINE WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR REPLACEMENT REPAIR. LEAK COULD RESULT IN UNANTICIPATED CATASTROPHIC EVENT. VEHICLE HAD BEEN RECENTLY DRIVEN AND PARKED WHEN GAS SMELL WAS NOTCED AND MOVED ENOUGH TO SEE FUEL PUDDLE ON DRIVEWAY.

NHTSA ODI 11413334

ELECTRIC CHARGER MELTED AND STARTED A SMALL FIRE AT THE HOUSE OUTLET. IT MUST HAVE TRIPPED THE CIRCUIT BREAKER LUCKILY SAVING OUR HOME. FORD REFUSED TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY WHEN IT HAPPENED TELLING ME IT WAS MY WIRING. NOW THERE IS A RECALL?

NHTSA ODI 11161706

PUSH TO START / STOP BUTTON FAILS TO SHUT OFF VEHICLE. VEHICLE IS STATIONARY AND IN PARK. UNABLE TO SECURE VEHICLE, UNABLE TO LOCK DOORS UNABLE TO TURN OFF LIGHTS, UNABLE TO SHUT VEHICLE DOWN. EACH TIME PUSH TO STOP PRESSED VEHICLE STARTS AGAIN, DASH FLASHES FORD LOGO. IF YOU WALK AWAY THE CAR HONKS HORN. VEHICLE LOCATED AT PARKING GARAGE LLOYD CENTER. PROBLEM SIMILAR TO RECALL 15V436000 AND FORD RECALL 15C06. CAR SHUT OFF HAS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES IN THE PAST.

NHTSA ODI 11080365

ON 12/20/2017 AT ABOUT 8:30 PM ON ROUTE 139 (HIGHWAY) EAST BOUND, AFTER STOPPING FOR A RED LIGHT, I TRIED TO ACCELERATE BUT THE VEHICLE PROPULSION SHUT OFF. NO WARNING LIGHTS OR ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. I HAD TO PLACE GEAR IN PARK, AND RESTART VEHICLE. THIS HAPPENED AGAIN ON 12TH STREET IN JERSEY CITY, NJ BEFORE I WAS ABLE TO PARK LESS THAN A MILE AWAY. IN THE MORNING I WAS ATTEMPTING TO BRING IT TO WAYNE FORD AT 444 ROUTE 46, WAYNE , NJ 07470, WHEN THE VEHICLE SHUT OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF A INTERSECTION. ON ROUTE 1(HIGHWAY) IN JERSEY CITY, NJ. AGAIN I HAD TO PLACE VEHICLE IN PARK AND RESTART VEHICLE. THIS OCCURRED MULTIPLY TIMES BEFORE I FINALLY ARRIVED AT THE DEALERSHIP, FORTUNATELY THE VEHICLE ONLY STOPPED AGAIN ON LOCAL ROADS ANS NOT ON THE HIGHWAY OF ROUTE 46 OR ROUTE 3 WHICH I HAD TO USE TO GET TO THIS LOCATION.. I EXPLAINED TO THE REPAIR PERSON MY VEHICLE SHUT DOWN WHILE IN MOTION AS I PRESSED ON THE ACCELERATOR, ONCE WHILE TURNING, ALWAYS WHEN IN MOTION. ALSO ASKED THAT ALL RECALL ITEMS OF THIS VEHICLE BE CORRECTED AT THIS TIME TOO. AS OF THIS DATE 1/01/2018 WAYNE FORD HAS YET TO TELL ME WHAT THE PROBLEM IS OR WHEN MY VEHICLE WILL BE REPAIRED.

NHTSA ODI 11057801

MY 2013 FORD C-MAX ENERGI PRODUCES A "STOP SAFELY NOW" WARNING MESSAGE AND QUICKLY LOSES ALL POWER. IT HAS HAPPENED 4 TIMES IN THE LAST 3 DAYS. WHEN IT HAPPENS, YOU HAVE TO PULL TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, TURN OFF THE ENGINE, OPEN AND CLOSE THE DOOR AND WAIT A FEW MORE MINUTES BEFORE IT CAN BE STARTED AGAIN. A WARNING LIGHT IS LEFT ON FOR ~25 MILES. IT ALWAYS HAPPENS WHEN DRIVING AT FREEWAY SPEEDS ON ALL ELECTRIC. I HAVE NEVER SEEN THIS FAILURE ONCE THE MAIN BATTERY IS DISCHARGED AND THE ENGINE IS RUNNING ON GAS.

NHTSA ODI 10993064

THE 120 VOLT, 12 AMP CHARGE CORD THAT CAME WITH MY CAR (FORD PART NO. FM58-10B706AC) IS OVERHEATING CREATING A FIRE HAZARD. THE END OF THE CORD THAT PLUGS INTO THE WALL HAS MELTED AND THE PLUG HAS LEFT BURN MARKS ON THREE DIFFERENT ELECTRICAL OUTLETS ON MY HOUSE WHERE I PLUG THE CAR IN TO CHARGE. PHOTOS OF THE MELTED CORD AND OUTLET BURN MARKS ARE ATTACHED. THERE IS A DESIGN FLAW IN THAT THE CONTROL UNIT BUILT INTO THE CORD IS TOO HEAVY AND PULLS THE PRONGS FROM THE OUTLET AND IF A PRONG IS ONLY PARTIALLY PLUGGED INTO THE OUTLET IT DRAWS MORE CURRENT THAN THE CORD CAN HANDLE. FORD IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM AND ADVISED (FORD EV HELP LINE 1-800-392-3673) THAT THE CORD SHOULD NOT BE LEFT HANGING IN MID-AIR AND NEEDS TO BE PROPPED UP WHEN PLUGGED IN. THOSE INSTRUCTIONS ARE NOT IN THE OWNERS MANUAL OR ON THE CORD, NOR WERE THEY COMMUNICATED TO CMAX ENERGI OWNERS. FORD ASSERTS THAT THE CORD IS NOT COVERED BY ITS EXTENDED 8-YEAR, 80,000 MILE WARRANTY FOR ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS FOR THE CMAX ENERGI, SO THIS PART IS NOW OUT OF WARRANTY. IT IS VERY EXPENSIVE (I WAS QUOTED $975 BY FORD TO REPLACE THE CORD). THUS IT IS HIGHLY LIKELY THAT OWNERS WILL DEFER REPLACING THE CORD AND KEEP USING IT, BECAUSE IT STILL WORKS EVEN THOUGH THE PLUG IS PARTIALLY MELTED. THIS CORD IS HIGHLY LIKELY TO RESULT IN FIRES AND MAY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE TWO CMAX ENERGI GARAGE FIRES IN FLORIDA I READ ABOUT IN THE PRESS LAST MONTH. I AM HAPPY TO PROVIDE MORE INFORMATION IF YOU WANT TO CONTACT ME.

NHTSA ODI 10904811

WHILE DRIVING ON AN INTERSTATE AT NIGHT AT 70MPH THE CAR TURNED OFF ITS PROPULSION SYSTEM WITHOUT WARNING. A RED WARNING INDICATOR CAME ON STAYING STOP SAFELY NOW. MY WIFE WAS ABLE TO PULL TO THE SIDE OF THE INTERSTATE. SHE TURNED THE CAR OFF AND IT RESTARTED. THE NEXT DAY SHE DROVE IT TO THE SUPERMARKET. ON THE 2 MILE DRIVE HOME IT STOPPED MULTIPLE TIMES WHILE THE CAR WAS IN MOTION JUST LIKE IT HAD ON THE INTERSTATE. THIS SEEMS VERY SIMILAR TO THE PROBLEMS THAT LED TO A RECALL ON THE FORD FOCUS ELECTRIC, WHICH WAS MADE IN THE SAME PLANT AT THE SAME TIME IN 2013: HTTP://INSIDEEVS.COM/FORD-FOCUS-ELECTRIC-SHUTDOWN-PROBLEMS-WHILE-DRIVING-GET-OFFICIAL-AS-NHSTA-INVESTIGATES/.

NHTSA ODI 10899097

THE LOSS OF POWER INCIDENT OCCURRED ON MAY 27, 2014, WHILE DRIVING 70 MPH IN THE FAST LANE OF THE 405 FREEWAY AT THE INTERSECTION OF THE 405 AND 5 FREEWAYS IN LOS ANGELES, CA. THE FORD C MAX 2013 SUDDENLY DROPPED FROM 70 MPH TO LESS THAN 5 MPH. THE CAR WARNING MESSAGE ON THE DASH READ: "STOP SAFELY". DUE TO THE COURTESY OF THE MANY DRIVERS ON THE FREEWAY AT 7 IN THE MORNING, THE CAR CROSSED 4 TO 5 LANES OF FAST MOVING TRAFFIC, IN A LIMITED OPERATING MODE AT APPROXIMATELY 5 MILES AN HOUR, ENDING AT THE ON-RAMP FOR CARS ENTERING THE FREEWAY. THE CAR WAS STOPPED BUT NOT TURNED OFF. AT THAT POINT THE FUEL HISTORY DISPLAY WAS BLANK FOR THE LAST FIVE MINUTES. AFTER WAITING APPROXIMATELY ANOTHER 5 MINUTES, THE CAR WAS RESTARTED AND APPEARED TO RUN NORMALLY. IMMEDIATELY, THE CAR WAS DRIVEN TO THE NEAREST FORD SERVICE CENTER, GALPIN FORD IN SHERMAN OAKS, CALIFORNIA FOR ASSISTANCE AND DIAGNOSIS. THE GALPIN SERVICE DEPARTMENT COULD NOT LOCATE A COMPUTER CODE THAT RELATED TO THE PROBLEM. AFTER LEAVING GALPIN FORD, THE CAR WAS DRIVEN 350 MILES TO WALNUT CREEK, CA WITH NO POWER ISSUES. THE NEXT DAY, THE SERVICE MANAGER WAS CONTACTED AT WALNUT CREEK FORD (WHERE THE CAR WAS LEASED ON MARCH 27, 2014). THE SERVICE MANAGER THERE INDICATED IF THERE WAS NO COMPUTER CODE FOR THE PROBLEM, NO DIAGNOSIS COULD BE MADE UNTIL THE LOSS OF POWER OCCURRED AGAIN. AS OF JUNE 11, 2014, THE LOSS OF POWER ISSUE HAS NOT RECURRED. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10597744