HELP: "Stop Safely Now" message?

[Ford Motor Company]

23 Powerboost platinum. Have 5900 miles And already did this twice. Once at probably 3000 and another at 5500. First time I got out of the car and locked, walked away a couple minutes, and came back and it was fine. Second time, that didn’t work, so I had to pop the hood and disconnect the negative on the engine compartment battery And that solved it.

so now, I drive around with a 10mm socket set in the car just in case. Thankfully both of mine occurred in my driveway and not in a major hurry.

the Hybrid is a joke. Gets 15mpg on the highway at 80 and has all these other problems. Should have just got the ecoboost or stuck to GM.

I’m a first Time ford owner and have little confidence in the reliability due to this issue.
@Ford Motor Company

Good morning, Joe! I would be glad to help you out with these error message concerns. Just shoot us a direct message with your VIN and dealer name/location, and I'll get right on it. To send a DM, just click on our username and select "Start Conversation". Thank you!

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[HammaMan]

The good old "I'm from ford and I'm here to help!" routine

 

[TSGarp007]

The good old "I'm from ford and I'm here to help!" routine

They reached out to me for this problem and in the end just asked if I wanted to apply for the buyback program. I'd really just prefer the truck start reliably. But what are the odds it will ever happen again now that I am using the two-step start method, keeping the fan blower on 5, carrying two battery wrenches with me, toting around a jump pack, and pinching my left ear while pressing the start button?

 

[HammaMan]

They reached out to me for this problem and in the end just asked if I wanted to apply for the buyback program. I'd really just prefer the truck start reliably. But what are the odds it will ever happen again now that I am using the two-step start method, keeping the fan blower on 5, carrying two battery wrenches with me, toting around a jump pack, and pinching my left ear while pressing the start button?

Gremlins only seem to stick their heads out when you're not ready for them. I'd just like some forscan spots for me to control the BMS's voltage and SOC settings. Hell a static voltage setting would be nice. I'll take a solid 13.8v please for all engine-on settings, and no HVB consumption while in accessory. Sometimes I'm easy to please.

 

[Sfg57]

Well, it happened again. Tried to start the truck this morning and I received the message and it wouldn't start. The last time this happened, it started after 5 or 6 attempts. This time it didn't work. I tried the mobile app to start and the app said it was started but it clearly wasn't. I tried to jump it with the battery pack and that didn't work either. In fact the battery pack LED's kept flashing so it wouldn't deliver the charge. Yes, the battery pack is fully charged. I disconnected the negative terminal for about 5 minutes, still nothing. My son, who works at a Ford dealer, told me that the truck is throwing a low voltage code EVERY day. I brought it in to the Ford dealer where I purchased it a few weeks ago, they had it for 7 days and told me it was a software issue listed in a recent bulletin. It workd fine for a few weeks and now this, once again. The tow truck is on the way. The latest update was installed last night, 4.2.2.1. The service advisor told me that updates may have had caused this. That doesn't explain the codes being thrown every day. I'm getting very very disappointed with this truck that has less than 5,000 miles on it. My 21 Lariat PB that my wife drives has been trouble free with over 30,000 miles on it.

 

[TSGarp007]

Well, it happened again. Tried to start the truck this morning and I received the message and it wouldn't start. The last time this happened, it started after 5 or 6 attempts. This time it didn't work. I tried the mobile app to start and the app said it was started but it clearly wasn't. I tried to jump it with the battery pack and that didn't work either. In fact the battery pack LED's kept flashing so it wouldn't deliver the charge. Yes, the battery pack is fully charged. I disconnected the negative terminal for about 5 minutes, still nothing. My son, who works at a Ford dealer, told me that the truck is throwing a low voltage code EVERY day. I brought it in to the Ford dealer where I purchased it a few weeks ago, they had it for 7 days and told me it was a software issue listed in a recent bulletin. It workd fine for a few weeks and now this, once again. The tow truck is on the way. The latest update was installed last night, 4.2.2.1. The service advisor told me that updates may have had caused this. That doesn't explain the codes being thrown every day. I'm getting very very disappointed with this truck that has less than 5,000 miles on it. My 21 Lariat PB that my wife drives has been trouble free with over 30,000 miles on it.

How did you initially try to start the truck this morning?

 

[dogboye]

I think I've asked it before, on this thread. If so, I apologize. But did you try the alternate start procedure, where you pull up the liner of the forward center console cupholder, and drop the key-fob in there?

 

[Sfg57]

How did you initially try to start the truck this morning?

The way I normally start it in the garage. Get in the truck and push start.

As an update, After about 30 minutes while waiting for the tow truck, I tried once again to start via the app and it did. I jumped in pushed the start button and it kept running. I canceled the tow and headed to another dealer where they took me immediately. Their tech ran all the diagnostic tests and confirmed it is a problem that they identified a few months ago. A TSB states that they know what the problem is and are working on a fix to come in Q4.

His test showed the battery was at 81%, there were a raft of codes being thrown regarding this issue which he did not clear out so there's a record of it when the fix comes. He downloaded some updates and returned my truck.

On a related note, in my ford app I sometimes get a message stating that "remote features are disabled to preserve battery power". There is an accompaning message in my app inbox. I've had about 10 of these since I bought the truck, after a few days they disappear. All other messages about updates remain, but those that detail the above issue are gone.

 

[dogboye]

The way I normally start it in the garage. Get in the truck and push start.

As an update, After about 30 minutes while waiting for the tow truck, I tried once again to start via the app and it did. I jumped in pushed the start button and it kept running. I canceled the tow and headed to another dealer where they took me immediately. Their tech ran all the diagnostic tests and confirmed it is a problem that they identified a few months ago. A TSB states that they know what the problem is and are working on a fix to come in Q4.

His test showed the battery was at 81%, there were a raft of codes being thrown regarding this issue which he did not clear out so there's a record of it when the fix comes. He downloaded some updates and returned my truck.

On a related note, in my ford app I sometimes get a message stating that "remote features are disabled to preserve battery power". There is an accompaning message in my app inbox. I've had about 10 of these since I bought the truck, after a few days they disappear. All other messages about updates remain, but those that detail the above issue are gone.

We periodically get this message on our PB as well. But no secondary issues or problems appear to accompany it.

 

[2021ColFbn]

Did you recalibrate for the larger tires? You can do it with forscan. Your 70lb 35" tires are no good for mileage! I'd make sure your truck knows the tire size and wipe the trans learned values and see how it goes. Either way you're easily losing 20% of efficiency at speed with those things.

Can FORScan wipe the trans learned values?

 

[HammaMan]

Can FORScan wipe the trans learned values?

yes

 

[TSGarp007]

The way I normally start it in the garage. Get in the truck and push start.

As an update, After about 30 minutes while waiting for the tow truck, I tried once again to start via the app and it did. I jumped in pushed the start button and it kept running. I canceled the tow and headed to another dealer where they took me immediately. Their tech ran all the diagnostic tests and confirmed it is a problem that they identified a few months ago. A TSB states that they know what the problem is and are working on a fix to come in Q4.

His test showed the battery was at 81%, there were a raft of codes being thrown regarding this issue which he did not clear out so there's a record of it when the fix comes. He downloaded some updates and returned my truck.

On a related note, in my ford app I sometimes get a message stating that "remote features are disabled to preserve battery power". There is an accompaning message in my app inbox. I've had about 10 of these since I bought the truck, after a few days they disappear. All other messages about updates remain, but those that detail the above issue are gone.

I’m in the same boat as you. I’ve had this happen several times. It’s always happened when starting the truck the-normal way like you did. Some are hypothesizing the problem will be avoided if you put it into accessory mode first by pressing start without the brake pedal depressed. Press ok to clear out the notifications, and then start the truck fully by simultaneously depressing the brake pedal and start button. I’ve started always using the fob or app to remote start the vehicle, or if I forget I use that two step method I just described. So far no issues doing it that way, but time will tell…

 

[Snakebitten]

I've only seen one report of a Stop-Safely-Now truck actually making it on the back of a tow truck before the truck started.
So I'd be reluctant to bother.

And if it's a Powerboost in question (I think that's basically a 100% given?), disconnecting the underhood battery isn't accomplishing a 12V reset of the truck. As mentioned multiple times, you'd have to disconnect both batteries to accomplish "a reboot"

I'm convinced that a reboot is the best opportunity to get the truck to start. I base that on the one acknowledgment Ford has made concerning the issue. It's software.

While there might very well be some tricks to avoiding the software glitch from being triggered, bouncing the 12V system seems to be the one thing that has worked for everyone that's done it. (I believe so anyway. I don't remember anyone on any thread disconnecting both batteries and not successfully starting the truck)

I admit it's a ridiculous pain in the rear to have to do jump through hoops to start my truck. And I do think that my fuse for dealing with it would be tied to how often it happens and how long it takes for Ford to provide the remedy. But I wouldn't take the financial hit of a buyback if I otherwise was happy with the truck.

 

[Sfg57]

I’m in the same boat as you. I’ve had this happen several times. It’s always happened when starting the truck the-normal way like you did. Some are hypothesizing the problem will be avoided if you put it into accessory mode first by pressing start without the brake pedal depressed. Press ok to clear out the notifications, and then start the truck fully by simultaneously depressing the brake pedal and start button. I’ve started always using the fob or app to remote start the vehicle, or if I forget I use that two step method I just described. So far no issues doing it that way, but time will tell…

Thanks, if it happens again, I'll give this a try!

 

[Sfg57]

I've only seen one report of a Stop-Safely-Now truck actually making it on the back of a tow truck before the truck started.
So I'd be reluctant to bother.

And if it's a Powerboost in question (I think that's basically a 100% given?), disconnecting the underhood battery isn't accomplishing a 12V reset of the truck. As mentioned multiple times, you'd have to disconnect both batteries to accomplish "a reboot"

I'm convinced that a reboot is the best opportunity to get the truck to start. I base that on the one acknowledgment Ford has made concerning the issue. It's software.

While there might very well be some tricks to avoiding the software glitch from being triggered, bouncing the 12V system seems to be the one thing that has worked for everyone that's done it. (I believe so anyway. I don't remember anyone on any thread disconnecting both batteries and not successfully starting the truck)

I admit it's a ridiculous pain in the rear to have to do jump through hoops to start my truck. And I do think that my fuse for dealing with it would be tied to how often it happens and how long it takes for Ford to provide the remedy. But I wouldn't take the financial hit of a buyback if I otherwise was happy with the truck.

If this happens again, and the earlier recommendation doesn't work, I'll give this a try. I'd better keep the right size socket in my car. Thanks for the advise.

After it started and I drove off to the dealer, I realized how much I like this truck!

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