Electric Brake Came On and HyTi Wouldn't Budge

[neod192]

No. You can't do it with under 200 miles and I haven't had the car home enough to do that, as crazy as it seems. Been with the dealer mostly.

It sounds like the first 2 weeks of my life with the Fusion. After a while I refused to leave the car at the dealership and I took it home. I'm still making a list of all the things that need to be fixed and I dread calling them to make that appointment!

[RedLdr1]

Ford isn't the only one with electric Parking Brake issues. When I bought a new 2010 Subaru Outback it looked like it had a piece of a metal coat hanger neatly stored in the spare tire area. When I asked what it was for I found out it was to free the electric Parking brake if it stuck! The rear brake calipers had a small hole you could insert the rod in to release the Parking Brake.....

[Fastronaut]

Ford isn't the only one with electric Parking Brake issues. When I bought a new 2010 Subaru Outback it looked like it had a piece of a metal coat hanger neatly stored in the spare tire area. When I asked what it was for I found out it was to free the electric Parking brake if it stuck! The rear brake calipers had a small hole you could insert the rod in to release the Parking Brake.....

Priceless!

[Fastronaut]

Part expected to arrive Friday. Fingers crossed.

[hybridbear]

I've never seen anything useful in a VHR.

If I forget to release the parking brake before I run the report it gives me a warning that my brakes have failed and must be serviced immediately.

The 2010 Fusion Hybrid did that in 2009 and I verified that it still happens in my 2013.

I had this happen once too! My wife had the check engine light come on while she was driving so I changed the phone number online with Ford to her number so she could do the vehicle health report. She did it and when I opened it online I saw all these brake issues so I called her to ask about it and she said the car was driving fine from a brakes perspective so then I asked about what she was doing when she ran the report and she said parked with the parking brake on so then I discovered that issue. Fortunately she was then able to do it again and we discovered that the real issue was a bad purge solenoid.

 

No. You can't do it with under 200 miles and I haven't had the car home enough to do that, as crazy as it seems. Been with the dealer mostly.

Under 200 miles it won't allow you to? You don't need to be home to run the report. I believe the instructions even say to drive for at least 5 minutes before running a VHR

 

It sounds like the first 2 weeks of my life with the Fusion. After a while I refused to leave the car at the dealership and I took it home. I'm still making a list of all the things that need to be fixed and I dread calling them to make that appointment!

Yikes! I did the same thing. I believe I had 8 or 9 issues to start, the list grew while the car was at the dealer, and they still haven't resolved all of them because we've been waiting on one part for over 2 months now

[hybridbear]

Part expected to arrive Friday. Fingers crossed.

At least your part will arrive soon. I've been waiting over 2 months for the door trim panel that was installed wrong at the factory. My dealer tells me that they've had lots of owners who bought Fusions from them with this same door panel installed wrong and they've been waiting for months for all of the parts to come in

[Fastronaut]

At least your part will arrive soon. I've been waiting over 2 months for the door trim panel that was installed wrong at the factory. My dealer tells me that they've had lots of owners who bought Fusions from them with this same door panel installed wrong and they've been waiting for months for all of the parts to come in

I can wait for the door panel if it doesn't show up, but I'd sure like a car that moves ...

 

Sorry to hear about your long wait.

[Fastronaut]

Good News: parts arrived and were installed.

 

Bad News: HyTi still throwing diagnostic codes and its Friday end-of-day.

 

I may no more after Ford Tech Assistance responds, possibly by tomorrow.

 

This is not looking good at all. Fusion has at the dealers all week.

[malibu3105]

Good News: parts arrived and were installed.

 

Bad News: HyTi still throwing diagnostic codes and its Friday end-of-day.

 

I may no more after Ford Tech Assistance responds, possibly by tomorrow.

 

This is not looking good at all. Fusion has at the dealers all week.

 

That is really bad. First you have to wait, get the car, then have to wait for it to get fixed.

 

Not looking good for Ford. They really need to get their act together. Making me nervouse about getting my car......

[neod192]

 

That is really bad. First you have to wait, get the car, then have to wait for it to get fixed.

 

Not looking good for Ford. They really need to get their act together. Making me nervouse about getting my car......

I wouldn't worry about it. This is a rare case where something went wrong with Fastronaut's car (sorry dude).

[jeff_h]

I wouldn't worry about it. This is a rare case where something went wrong with Fastronaut's car (sorry dude).

 

Exactly.... the 2013 model year started production last August and looking at the last 6 serials of VINs (assuming steady progression, could be wrong) they are currently producing about the 225,000th (or so) Fusion thus far. I see new users pop up now and then with the "I just experienced problem x, googled it and found this forum" and if there were widespread problems I bet there would be a LOT more of those. So yeah there were a few big SNAFUs early on with the body die/headlights/overheating recall (among other unknown 'TBD' gulags), but now aside for the "clicking" that some are concerned about, the most likely complaint one would likely hear is about MPG (and we have many threads on those). Bottom line - I would not hesitate to buy another one (however I've already bought 2 in the past 5 months and have heap long car payments, I'm not Acdii ya know), unfortunately Fastronaut is having a freak issue and maybe while his car is in the shop he should hurry out and pick up a few Powerball tickets (but don't forget me, buddy).

Edited May 18, 2013 by jeff_h

[malibu3105]

Sounds good to me, and count me in for 5 tickets !!

[fusionTX]

Sorry to hear Fastronaut. Hang in there, it really is an exceptional car.

 

I do think the problems are few and overall quality is good. But it does seem, or maybe it's my impression, that when there is a problem of this type, the dealerships are clueless, and the response is slow.

[Fastronaut]

Thanks everyone. So good to have a cheering section.

[hybridbear]

Good News: parts arrived and were installed.

 

Bad News: HyTi still throwing diagnostic codes and its Friday end-of-day.

 

I may no more after Ford Tech Assistance responds, possibly by tomorrow.

 

This is not looking good at all. Fusion has at the dealers all week.

I hope you get your car back soon. Awhile back I created a poll about maintenance issues because it seemed like our car had a lot of little fit & finish issues. I'd be curious to see with the newer HyTi owners about their results in the poll

[acdii]

 

Exactly.... the 2013 model year started production last August and looking at the last 6 serials of VINs (assuming steady progression, could be wrong) they are currently producing about the 225,000th (or so) Fusion thus far. I see new users pop up now and then with the "I just experienced problem x, googled it and found this forum" and if there were widespread problems I bet there would be a LOT more of those. So yeah there were a few big SNAFUs early on with the body die/headlights/overheating recall (among other unknown 'TBD' gulags), but now aside for the "clicking" that some are concerned about, the most likely complaint one would likely hear is about MPG (and we have many threads on those). Bottom line - I would not hesitate to buy another one (however I've already bought 2 in the past 5 months and have heap long car payments, I'm not Acdii ya know), unfortunately Fastronaut is having a freak issue and maybe while his car is in the shop he should hurry out and pick up a few Powerball tickets (but don't forget me, buddy).

So I do my own kind of car leasing, just do it MY way! :)

 

BTW the serial on my new one that was just built.

 

320009

 

I like that number.

[Fastronaut]

 

Exactly.... the 2013 model year started production last August and looking at the last 6 serials of VINs (assuming steady progression, could be wrong) they are currently producing about the 225,000th (or so) Fusion thus far. I see new users pop up now and then with the "I just experienced problem x, googled it and found this forum" and if there were widespread problems I bet there would be a LOT more of those. So yeah there were a few big SNAFUs early on with the body die/headlights/overheating recall (among other unknown 'TBD' gulags), but now aside for the "clicking" that some are concerned about, the most likely complaint one would likely hear is about MPG (and we have many threads on those). Bottom line - I would not hesitate to buy another one (however I've already bought 2 in the past 5 months and have heap long car payments, I'm not Acdii ya know), unfortunately Fastronaut is having a freak issue and maybe while his car is in the shop he should hurry out and pick up a few Powerball tickets (but don't forget me, buddy).

With my luck, I'd end up with a defective Power Ball ticket and it wouldn't be honored.

[Fastronaut]

So I do my own kind of car leasing, just do it MY way! :)

 

BTW the serial on my new one that was just built.

 

320009

 

I like that number.

Any idea how many Hybrids are in that number of builds?

[Fastronaut]

Saturday Update: Spoke again with the Service Advisor. Let me start by saying that the Service Department at my Dealership has been outstanding with their support. It's not their fault that they must go through the Ford process for all warranty approvals. So, cudos to the Service Crew, but things are beyond their control. I've been kept up-to-date with regular status reports. That means a lot when you're the customer. I have also been provided a rental car for this entire week and until the car is fixed.

 

After waiting and getting approval for a new Transmission Control Module, the Fusion Hybrid was still throwing error codes. Unfortunately, all the documentation went back to Ford Technical Support on Friday toward the end of the day and Ford Technical Support didn't respond on Friday or today. That means the earliest response will be on Monday.

 

So, even if more parts are identified on Monday, it will be another day or two before they can be obtained at the dealership due to the Ford warranty approval process.

 

It's sure my hope that none of you have to go through what I'm experiencing, but it may help to know my experience if you do. Patience is a must and customer follow-through with Ford is absolutely required. Remember the Serenity Prayer:

 

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

 

Over and out.

[jeff_h]

Any idea how many Hybrids are in that number of builds?

 

I went to a couple sources and put together a quick list... with a few caveats:

 

1 - Sales figures on the Ford site does not distinguish between 2012 and 2013 models, so on the Fusion and FFH columns assume that 99% of the August sales figures were 2012 models and as the 2012 models got cleared off it transitioned to just about all 2013 models. On the C-MAX, 2013 is first year so even I can figure out the model year mix there.

 

2 - No indication in the figures that I found to distinguish FFH from FFE, or C-MAX Hybrid from C-MAX Energi... if someone wants to dig this up feel free to report, I just was curious about the rough numbers.

 

3 - Unknown why the hybridcars.com and media.ford.com report the different C-MAX numbers from month-to-month, maybe the Ford site includes fleet orders and the hybridcars.com does not, who knows... not me.

 

[Fastronaut]

 

I went to a couple sources and put together a quick list... with a few caveats:

 

1 - Sales figures on the Ford site does not distinguish between 2012 and 2013 models, so on the Fusion and FFH columns assume that 99% of the August sales figures were 2012 models and as the 2012 models got cleared off it transitioned to just about all 2013 models. On the C-MAX, 2013 is first year so even I can figure out the model year mix there.

 

2 - No indication in the figures that I found to distinguish FFH from FFE, or C-MAX Hybrid from C-MAX Energi... if someone wants to dig this up feel free to report, I just was curious about the rough numbers.

 

3 - Unknown why the hybridcars.com and media.ford.com report the different C-MAX numbers from month-to-month, maybe the Ford site includes fleet orders and the hybridcars.com does not, who knows... not me.

 

Well, those figures suggest that hybrid production is only a small fraction of overall Fusions. Very interesting. Thanks for the research.

[Powered By Fusion]

OKAY JUST A HEADS UP FROM SOMEONE ELSE WHO HAD THIS PROBLEM

 

Okay so my Original Fusion Hybrid Titanium came April 9th...and i had it for 2 days..before this happened....turned out it was some sort of "module" that needed to be replaced and its a problem so new the dealers had to research on how to fix it...To the person who dropped your car off...let me tell you what they did to your car behind the scenes...because this is what they did to mine...

 

The light was coming on in the dash..wouldnt go out..they had to t ake apart the inside of the car...lifting panels and exposing wires all over the place....the warehouse where they fix the cars...is extremely dusty and within a day of my car being there with countless other cars being serviced on my car was filthy just sitting there...and to make it worse they had the doors all open so they could go in and out of it as they pleased...really took away the new car feeling...but seeing the inside all uprooted looked so bad...they had to do this because the diagnostic codes tell them what MAY be the problem but they have to start with the wires actually in the car and work their way to the engine and find out its the module...yay..

 

...so then they find out its our module...easy to fix right?...WRONG...the module is located deep in the back of the top part of the hybrid engine components...it took the 3 weeks to finally fix this...they literally told me they had to shut down the entire hybrid system because the slightest discharge would fry and short out electronical components throughout the car....yayyyy i hope you guys are good then! ...next they had to TAKE APART PIECES OF THE ENGINE....now right away im like...whoa whoa whoa...this is a brand new car and you're telling me you need to do major engine work on it already? just to replace a stupid little moduel...why did they place it back there? its beyond me...but thats what they had to do to mine...and thats what you said they did to yours...replaced the module...so i want to let you know...your car has had major engine work done on it already and if you have any problems in the future at all with your brand new car...you can always wonder if its because of that.

 

Next up....after they replaced the module they had to repressurize the brakes its called "bleeding the brakes" they had to take all of the wheels off the car for this...literally...i looked at my car and the wheels and rims were all on the ground...im like...to hell with this car i just put $20,000 on for a 3 year lease paid in full...almost an entire month i went without the car and drove it for only 3 days...enough to get it tinted and an alarm installed..after having problems represurizing the brakes and leaking brake fluid they finally got that fixed...

 

So finally, how does it end? The cars all put together engine-wise and just like you...the lights still on...THEY DID ALL THIS WORK ON OUR CARS AND IT WASNT THE MODULE...YOU WANNA KNOW WHY THEY THOUGHT IT WAS THE MODULE..BECAUSE THE TARDS AT FORD HQ THEY CALLED KEEP TELLING THEM IT IS! AND WHEN THE WORKS DONE IT TURNS OUT ITS SOMETHING ELSE. how many cases of this problem need to be documented at ford for them to update their repair instructions to dealerships....but having major engine work done and having your car out of service for weeks within 2 days of buying it is beyond me...

 

You wanna know how i got it all fixed in the end? I made them break my lease, release me of liability of the vehicle and give me a check for $20,000 from which i could place a brand new order on a car that in my mind will be much more reliable then the crap i happened to get built from the factory. Oh yes and the next day i placed a duplicate order and that car will be here within the week....so theres how i dealt with the brake light module problem...i gave up on them after they completely made me disgusted at what they did to a car i was planning on having at least 8 years...i consider myself lucky.

 

Now for you...i dont know if you can get your money back or what lemon laws are if it takes too long...but just make sure YOU KEEP UP ON THEM or they will take their time and make it low priority and you'll find yourself in this thread more than you're in your new car. I literally made them give me a rental. If i'm putting up $20,000 on a car i can only have for a few days then you're paying for me to get around while you take an extended fix on it. I have businesses to run..and on top of that...their dates were always wrong on when it would get fixed so i told them you better suck it up and pay for gas on this rental the entire time i have it cause you better not expect me to be paying to return it to you full. I paid you for a 50 MPG vehicle not to be driving around for weeks in this 2012 Focus getting barely 20 MPG...i even went to them to refill it and drove off as if they were a gas station...i swear to god, im still heated over it. I ordered that car november 2012, arrives april 2013 and had it for 2 days....

 

No wonder they had a meeting about what customers shouldn't see afterwards in which even my sales person mentioned I shouldn't have seen that lol. But yes their service was exceptional...after i demanded the quality service i deserved...but i would of been okay with the car even though i wouldnt have been entirely sure its reliable anymore after the major engine work that was done if they had fixed the problem...but like you mine came back with errors and they did all that work for nothing which took away all credibility on the issue ever being fixed and no other issues arising and that was my last straw that made me demand my money back. The identical twin coming from the factory this week i'm buying..no leasing..they may have tricked me into leasing that first one saying it would be "cheaper" but that trick won't happen the second time. I already did my financing and the exact same car is costing me $3,000 less just from not leasing it and then buying it (suggested so i wouldnt have any monthly payments for 3 years) vs. just buying it straight out from the beginning.

 

So hang in there...good luck with this...and to anyone else that gets the dreaded "Park Brake - Limited Function - Service Required" warning or the like, may god have mercy on your Fusion because the poor thing will be undergoing extensive surgery a newborn should never have to face.

 

*UPDATE* Original fusion -delivered April 8th, 2013...-driven until April 11th, 2013....finally fixed over a month later and is now on sale as a Brand New 2013 Fusion HyTi. LOL

Edited May 19, 2013 by Powered By Fusion

[corncobs]

Ouch that was a scary post to read; thanks for sharing and good luck with order #2

[Fastronaut]

OKAY JUST A HEADS UP FROM SOMEONE ELSE WHO HAD THIS PROBLEM

 

Okay so my Original Fusion Hybrid Titanium came April 9th...and i had it for 2 days..before this happened....turned out it was some sort of "module" that needed to be replaced and its a problem so new the dealers had to research on how to fix it...To the person who dropped your car off...let me tell you what they did to your car behind the scenes...because this is what they did to mine...

 

The light was coming on in the dash..wouldnt go out..they had to t ake apart the inside of the car...lifting panels and exposing wires all over the place....the warehouse where they fix the cars...is extremely dusty and within a day of my car being there with countless other cars being serviced on my car was filthy just sitting there...and to make it worse they had the doors all open so they could go in and out of it as they pleased...really took away the new car feeling...but seeing the inside all uprooted looked so bad...they had to do this because the diagnostic codes tell them what MAY be the problem but they have to start with the wires actually in the car and work their way to the engine and find out its the module...yay..

 

...so then they find out its our module...easy to fix right?...WRONG...the module is located deep in the back of the top part of the hybrid engine components...it took the 3 weeks to finally fix this...they literally told me they had to shut down the entire hybrid system because the slightest discharge would fry and short out electronical components throughout the car....yayyyy i hope you guys are good then! ...next they had to TAKE APART PIECES OF THE ENGINE....now right away im like...whoa whoa whoa...this is a brand new car and you're telling me you need to do major engine work on it already? just to replace a stupid little moduel...why did they place it back there? its beyond me...but thats what they had to do to mine...and thats what you said they did to yours...replaced the module...so i want to let you know...your car has had major engine work done on it already and if you have any problems in the future at all with your brand new car...you can always wonder if its because of that.

 

Next up....after they replaced the module they had to repressurize the brakes its called "bleeding the brakes" they had to take all of the wheels off the car for this...literally...i looked at my car and the wheels and rims were all on the ground...im like...to hell with this car i just put $20,000 on for a 3 year lease paid in full...almost an entire month i went without the car and drove it for only 3 days...enough to get it tinted and an alarm installed..after having problems represurizing the brakes and leaking brake fluid they finally got that fixed...

 

So finally, how does it end? The cars all put together engine-wise and just like you...the lights still on...THEY DID ALL THIS WORK ON OUR CARS AND IT WASNT THE MODULE...YOU WANNA KNOW WHY THEY THOUGHT IT WAS THE MODULE..BECAUSE THE TARDS AT FORD HQ THEY CALLED KEEP TELLING THEM IT IS! AND WHEN THE WORKS DONE IT TURNS OUT ITS SOMETHING ELSE. how many cases of this problem need to be documented at ford for them to update their repair instructions to dealerships....but having major engine work done and having your car out of service for weeks within 2 days of buying it is beyond me...

 

You wanna know how i got it all fixed in the end? I made them break my lease, release me of liability of the vehicle and give me a check for $20,000 from which i could place a brand new order on a car that in my mind will be much more reliable then the crap i happened to get built from the factory. Oh yes and the next day i placed a duplicate order and that car will be here within the week....so theres how i dealt with the brake light module problem...i gave up on them after they completely made me disgusted at what they did to a car i was planning on having at least 8 years...i consider myself lucky.

 

Now for you...i dont know if you can get your money back or what lemon laws are if it takes too long...but just make sure YOU KEEP UP ON THEM or they will take their time and make it low priority and you'll find yourself in this thread more than you're in your new car. I literally made them give me a rental. If i'm putting up $20,000 on a car i can only have for a few days then you're paying for me to get around while you take an extended fix on it. I have businesses to run..and on top of that...their dates were always wrong on when it would get fixed so i told them you better suck it up and pay for gas on this rental the entire time i have it cause you better not expect me to be paying to return it to you full. I paid you for a 50 MPG vehicle not to be driving around for weeks in this 2012 Focus getting barely 20 MPG...i even went to them to refill it and drove off as if they were a gas station...i swear to god, im still heated over it. I ordered that car november 2012, arrives april 2013 and had it for 2 days....

 

No wonder they had a meeting about what customers shouldn't see afterwards in which even my sales person mentioned I shouldn't have seen that lol. But yes their service was exceptional...after i demanded the quality service i deserved...but i would of been okay with the car even though i wouldnt have been entirely sure its reliable anymore after the major engine work that was done if they had fixed the problem...but like you mine came back with errors and they did all that work for nothing which took away all credibility on the issue ever being fixed and no other issues arising and that was my last straw that made me demand my money back. The identical twin coming from the factory this week i'm buying..no leasing..they may have tricked me into leasing that first one saying it would be "cheaper" but that trick won't happen the second time. I already did my financing and the exact same car is costing me $3,000 less just from not leasing it and then buying it (suggested so i wouldnt have any monthly payments for 3 years) vs. just buying it straight out from the beginning.

 

So hang in there...good luck with this...and to anyone else that gets the dreaded "Park Brake - Limited Function - Service Required" warning or the like, may god have mercy on your Fusion because the poor thing will be undergoing extensive surgery a newborn should never have to face.

 

*UPDATE* Original fusion -delivered April 8th, 2013...-driven until April 11th, 2013....finally fixed over a month later and is now on sale as a Brand New 2013 Fusion HyTi. LOL

Thanks for sharing this. I sure want to talk to you at greater length. Mine is not a lease. PMed you.

[Powered By Fusion]

Won't let me PM you back until i get to 5 posts...give me a few minutes lol.