My boss was driving his Company FEH. He was going down the freeway at about 70 MPH. He suddenly got some type of "Stop Car Safely" message, but had no power. He had to coast and maneuver across 3 lanes of traffic to get to safety.

He says that he could restart the car, but it would die within a few seconds.

The car was towed back to town. Any idea what-the-heck happened???

A very, very dangerous situation.

 

While I agree this is a very dangerous situation I hope that your point is not that this is vehicle specific or more inherent to hybrids in general. This can happen in any vehicle. For instance, I've had a coil burn out and the same thing happened except I lost power brakes and power steering. Another time I had a gas line break and needed the aid of an extinguisher on the side of the road.

As to what could have happened, there are several other threads on this board discussing the error message your boss received. The computer should have logged codes that will help technicians/mechanics troubleshoot the issue.

 

Mypart: I'm an active Hybrid user... We are on our second TCH.

I didn't search before I posted ((Shame on me)).

I will give the other posts a thorough scan today. However, most of the ones that I skimmed through, seem to show a problem as slow speed, starting up, etc.

 

What year? I believe 05-07's had a battery recall that a diode needed to be changed.
Other things can cause this too & I'm sure more knowledgeable users can give more idea's.

 

It would be nice if you could report on the findings of your boss's FEH and what year is it?

 

This drive-by-wire vehicle is fairly adept at diagnosing itself. He needs to have a Ford Dealer's Service Department pull the Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) that are stored in the computer - now that a "Stop Safely Now" message was ordered. Could be one of several root causes.

 

I believe that it is an 07 FEH, possibly an 08.
I will try to get some answers, but the information may be well filtered by the time it goes from Ford Service, though our Fleet folks, to my boss and then to me. Standby.... I will report back when I hear something.

 

As I suspected, the car is back, but the info is scarce. By the time the problem resolution went from Ford to our fleet guy, and back through the boss, there wasn't much reliable information. He "thought" they were initially talking about a water pump.

... more info if I get it.