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Car started and ran in battery mode only, gas engine wouldn't start


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I have a 2013 C-Max with over 60,000 miles on it.  Yes, I drive a lot!!  I have had zero problems with it (other than one of the Michelin tires blowing out) until recently.  I started the car as usual, i.e. step on the brake and press the "on" button.  The green light came on and I started driving.  A few seconds later, a warning light came on saying "Stop Vehicle Immediately".  I wasn't able to do that so I kept driving until I got to a place where I could pull over.  I noticed a loss of power but the gas engine did not start.  I was driving with the battery power only.  The power kept draining before I was finally able to reach a place to stop, with almost no battery power left.  I barely made it off the road under power.  I stopped, put it in park, turned it off and waited a minute or so before restarting the car as usual. This time the gas engine came on just like normal and everything has been fine since. The situation has never repeated.  Anyone have an explanation??

 

 

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Welcome aboard.

 

Members have had the "stop vehicle immediate" message but I don't recall whether issues were ever found or if any diagnostic codes were stored. Of course a trip to the dealer would answer that question. But you might have to pay for a diagnostic scan. My guess is there was an anomaly in the control logic that couldn't be reconciled and a restart of the car cleared the anomaly and you may never see the message again.

 

There's a OBDII diagnostic program called ForScan that can be loaded on a IOS smartphone or windows computer from ForScan.org. With the correct wireless adapter ($20) to plug into the OBDII port on the car, you can run a scan of virtually all the control modules in the car for fault codes. Search the forum for ForScan for more info.

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I have to believe a diagnostic scan would be covered by the drive-train warranty.  I'd take the car to a dealer.

 

BTW, there's an engineering mode (search the forums) that can be used to gather some diagnostic code info.  I would try that, too.

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I have a 2013 C-Max with over 60,000 miles on it.  Yes, I drive a lot!!  I have had zero problems with it (other than one of the Michelin tires blowing out) until recently.  I started the car as usual, i.e. step on the brake and press the "on" button.  The green light came on and I started driving.  A few seconds later, a warning light came on saying "Stop Vehicle Immediately".  I wasn't able to do that so I kept driving until I got to a place where I could pull over.  I noticed a loss of power but the gas engine did not start.  I was driving with the battery power only.  The power kept draining before I was finally able to reach a place to stop, with almost no battery power left.  I barely made it off the road under power.  I stopped, put it in park, turned it off and waited a minute or so before restarting the car as usual. This time the gas engine came on just like normal and everything has been fine since. The situation has never repeated.  Anyone have an explanation??

Was there a check engine light as well? I recall this problem being the MECS (Electronics cooling pump) on my Escape Hybrid, but I don't think that part has been a problem on the C-Max.

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Was there a check engine light as well? I recall this problem being the MECS (Electronics cooling pump) on my Escape Hybrid, but I don't think that part has been a problem on the C-Max.

I don't recall seeing the Check Engine Light, but I was driving when the warning light(s) came on.  Check engine could have been there, I just don't remember.  It's been about a month since the incident and all has been normal.  An odd coincidence (????), my friend had driven the car just prior to the incident.  He drove to the house, stopped, then I drove away and the incident happened.  I was riding in the passenger seat while he was driving and I didn't notice him doing anything odd.  I walked him through the start up procedure (step on the brake, push the start button).  He did have a problem getting it out of Park, he pushed the Grade Assist button a couple of times thinking that was the Park release.  Maybe something told the car's computer to run in battery only mode.  

             I remember when I first got the car I somehow got it into "Delivery" mode and it wouldn't run over 40 mile per hour.  (Evidently when the cars are shipped, they are in delivery mode so the drivers who load the cars can't abuse them).  I called the dealer who walked me through the steps of getting it out of that mode. It was comical the sequence required......hit start twice, step on brake three times.....turn on left blinker.....back up 10 feet.....something like that.  My wife and I were laughing so hard following the mechanics directions!!    She asked if we had to spin around three times and throw salt over our left shoulder, but he assured us that wouldn't be required!!

             Anyway, all seems to be well now.  I posted this just to ask if anyone else had experienced the same problem. 

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  • 1 month later...

I had something very similar occur in my car, only it didn't occur while driving. I never could get the gas engine to start, so the Li-ion battery took quite some time to drain. The problem was the starter battery had been drained. You may want to check your starter battery, or have the new CSP run. Luckily, your car did start again and maybe the starter battery recharged, but it could be a sign it will happen again soon.

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I had something very similar occur in my car, only it didn't occur while driving. I never could get the gas engine to start, so the Li-ion battery took quite some time to drain. The problem was the starter battery had been drained. You may want to check your starter battery, or have the new CSP run. Luckily, your car did start again and maybe the starter battery recharged, but it could be a sign it will happen again soon.

Starter battery? Do you mean the 12v?

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I had something very similar occur in my car, only it didn't occur while driving. I never could get the gas engine to start, so the Li-ion battery took quite some time to drain. The problem was the starter battery had been drained. You may want to check your starter battery, or have the new CSP run. Luckily, your car did start again and maybe the starter battery recharged, but it could be a sign it will happen again soon.

 

Just to be clear, the ICE is started by the Electric Motor, which is run by the HVB (Li-ion). The 12V battery is used to start the various computers on the car, at start up, and to power some of the accessories. Additionally, once the car is On, the HVB should charge the 12V battery. If you start the car and just sit, the car will stay in electric mode until the HVB is at a low power level, at which point it will turn on the ICE to recharge the HVB.

 

Forgive me if you meant something else.

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