Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2014 Ford Focus Electric owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Tl* the contact leased a 2014 Ford Focus Electric. After the vehicle was charged, it was discovered that the outlet had melted. The manufacturer was contacted and told the contact that there must be faulty wiring at the residence. An electrician was contacted and stated that the wiring was not faulty. The outlet was replaced, however, the failure recurred on two other occasions where the outlet melted and was replaced. The failure also occurred at the contact's office. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the charging plug was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 14,000. Updated 01/12/16 updated 02/03/16
On Tuesday, September 22, 2015, while my son was driving on the freeway at 65 MPH in the carpool lane, the car suddenly stalled on him and loss all power to the car. A message popped up on the dash in an orange triangle stated "stop safely now". Since he was in the carpool lane, he did not have enough time to get the car off to the side. He was stranded in a busy carpool lane and almost got rear end from behind when the car suddenly cut off all power and came to a stop. This has put my son in a great danger situation!!! He could have got rear ended and the stalling of the car could have caused a multi-cars accident in the carpool lane on the freeway. Somehow he managed to able to restart the car after turning the car on, off and opening the driver side door and closing it several time. The car continue to have the same problem on and off for the next couple of days. …
The vehicle was stationary with no power. The vehicle would not start and displayed a yellow tool wrench that read 'see manual' and then would change to a yellow triangle with a red exclamation mark that read 'stop vehicle safely.' had the vehicle towed to av Ford and they have been nothing but unhelpful. They state it's water intrusion to the connectors and is not covered under the manufacture warranty and to file a claim with my auto insurance company. They cannot provide any diagnostic testing to conclude their water intrusion to the connector's theory. We had a rainstorm the day before I brought the vehicle in to them. They are using water intrusion damage as a scapegoat to fixing the real issue which is a defect to the powertrain control module. Ford did however provide me a written estimate of repair for $33,160.42. This is absurd and is more than the car is even worth. …
Over the last 3 years, the vehicle displays "stop safely now" and all electrical systems shut off immediately after or soon after the message is displayed and the car has come to a complete stop. This occurs at low city speeds (20-30 MPH) as well as highway speeds (60-70 MPH) leaving the driver and it's occupants sitting vulnerable to being hit by moving traffic. This usually occurs while braking to slow or stop. This has happened 15-20 times over the last three years. We have brought in the car for service for this same problem 3-4 times each time being told that this is due to various reasons (harness, loose connections, faulty circuits, etc.). No fixes to date have permanently fixed the problem. Usually, the problem is temporarily resolved when the vehicle comes to stop, it's placed in "park" and the car turned off. After a minute or two, it can be restarted as normal. …
While driving down a major local road, the car completely lost driving power (accessories still worked) and a warning light on the dashboard came on saying "stop safely now!". My wife was barely able to pull over and we were unable to get the car moving again, eventually towing it to the dealership. When we picked the car up they stated that a connection to the high voltage battery came loose and they've fixed it. Yesterday, when attempting to start the car, the same warning message came on and the car would not start. We once again have had the car towed to the dealership. The dealer called me this morning saying the car "works fine" which makes me more concerned since clearly this issue is now totally unpredictable.
I experienced what others have called the 'stop safely now' warning light and followed by the loss power and steering issues on city street. This issue happened many times recently on the local streets (March - April, 2019). Thanks god, this didn't happen on the freeway ( otherwise, I can't image what could happen). I found the TSB 17-0045 online for this problem and brought this TSB to my dealership. They charged me $$ to get this car fixed by following the instruction of this TSB ( hopefully this got fixed). TSB 17-0045 specified the cars built 9/15-2011 to 8/15/2014 May have this issue. My car was built on June 2014. I strongly request NHTSA investigate this urgent safety issue.
On 4 separate occasions since purchasing this vehicle on 9/22/2017, the car while in motion has abruptly and unexpectedly lost all power and rolled to a complete stop. When this happens a warning indicator on the dash reads "stop safely now"! Once stopped, the car is unresponsive and cannot be turned off or restarted. Only after several minutes of waiting (5+ mins), the car responds again, allowing a restart. Thankfully, in all four instances, I have been traveling on city streets and have been able to pull to the side of the road safely, but this is a very dangerous situation, as the car loses all power and once stopped it will not respond.
I was driving along at freeway speed, in commute traffic, and the power shut down and an alert showed on the dash "pull over safely". There was no power left in my Electric vehicle, so I coasted over to the shoulder. The car wouldn't drive. Car was towed to Ford, where it has taken over 2 weeks, and they are stating the whole motor needed to be replaced. There are only 17,000 miles on this car. I "googled" the "pull over safely" alert, and have found this seems to be an ongoing problem with this car for many people, and that Ford had recalled over 2,000 Ford Focus EV cars, model years 2011-2013, for this exact reason.
Six times my car's engine has stopped working. Either I am driving and it gives me a 10 second warning before the engine shuts off or I am parked and it won't start up properly. Every time it gets towed or I take it to the dealership, they tell me they have updated the computer system and it should be fine. Ford's corporate office has said results are inconclusive and there is nothing they can do to help me. After doing research online, it seems like this is a common issue with this vehicle.
Tl* the contact owns a 2014 Ford Focus Electric. While driving at approximately 20 MPH, the engine stalled without warning. The failure occurred on several occasions. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 3,950. ...updated 07/30/15 updated 09/08/15 the consumer stated the dealer advised the failure was caused by an Electric battery failure. Updated 11/9/2015 updated 10/26/2017
NHTSA investigations
Electric powertrain propulsion failure
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.
Pedestrian alert sounds
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.
Electrical complaints in other Focus Electric years
Frequently asked questions
How common are electrical problems on the 2014 Ford Focus Electric?
NHTSA has 29 complaints about the electrical system of the 2014 Ford Focus Electric, 53% of the model year's 55 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2014 Ford Focus Electric electrical problems?
No. NHTSA lists no electrical system recall for the 2014 Ford Focus Electric, though it has 2 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2014 Ford Focus Electric electrical problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 5,000 miles, and 97% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 1 fire and 0 injuries to electrical system problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.