It happen again few months later, on that occasion the passenger tried the same adjustment of the fan speed and stopped the engine. This time was a lot worse because I just joined the main road and was going uphill. This time I managed to start the hazard lights before restarting.
The whole issue of the keyless start/stop of the engine is dangerous in this car. The button is in the wrong place, it is not protected from accidental operation and the error message from the car is irrelevant. Ford has issued a recall on other models for similar problem.
Furthermore, why don't they force the car to be in park before stopping the engine!
The start/stop button sits under the fan control in the center console of the car (see photo). As I was adjusting the fan speed I touched the start/stop button (around 10 mph) after I just joined the main road. The engine stopped, I got a message along the lines (car not in park!!) a couple of seconds later I realized what happened, the car still moving and try to re-start but it didn't do it. I finally managed to put the car in neutral and the dam thing restarted (I didn't stop because I had cars coming towards me and they almost hit me, it was an unexpected behavior)
I contacted the dealer and they told me that stopping the engine below 15 mph or so is the expected behavior, that is BS, it is a serious safety flaw of a car that is otherwise fantastic.
This is very dangerous problem, if the START button is inadvertently touched even very lightly the engine will turn off, then the only way to restart it is to put the vehicle in PARK, i.e. coming to a full stop. My prior car was an Infiniti and in this car the START button was not operational once the car was in motion. This should be fixed ASAP before a major accident happens, solutions are currently operational on other car makes.
- Michael R.,
Carlsbad, CA, US
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The car stops while in motion.
It happen again few months later, on that occasion the passenger tried the same adjustment of the fan speed and stopped the engine. This time was a lot worse because I just joined the main road and was going uphill. This time I managed to start the hazard lights before restarting.
The whole issue of the keyless start/stop of the engine is dangerous in this car. The button is in the wrong place, it is not protected from accidental operation and the error message from the car is irrelevant. Ford has issued a recall on other models for similar problem.
Furthermore, why don't they force the car to be in park before stopping the engine!
- rtim, Knoxville, TN, US