This problem has been occurring more and more frequently for months. I'll be driving on the freeway (seems to happen at high speeds) and all of a sudden, the top dashboard light (an exclamation point in a starburst) comes on, and the car just jumps into neutral, effectively making my car freeze up out of the blue at high rates of speed. The engine seems to kick back in after a second or two. This can happen several times in a day, or not occur for a week or two afterwards.
I took it to a mechanic about 3-4 weeks ago who said he figured it out and replaced my DPFE (differential pressure.... something... I don't know car mechanics at all). I thought this fixed the problem, until it started occurring again a few days ago. This morning it happened at 70+ MPH and nearly killed me in the fast lane.
Please help me with an answer, and not a "Ford sucks" answer. I'm kind of scared for my life here.
2007-02-13 04:49:05 · 4 answers · asked by blacklodge77 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
Car is an automatic, and a ZETEC engine as I've been informed.
According to the manual, I've found that this light on the dash is:
Multi-function: Automatic
transaxle/cooling system
(On Zetec or automatic
transaxle vehicles only)
It suggests to have the car serviced, but I already took it to a mechanic who thought he fixed it but clearly didn't. What does this mean, outside of find a new mechanic?
2007-02-13 05:05:25 · update #1
I'd recommend taking it to a Ford dealer. The Focus had many defects problems in its early years. The differential is good bet, also your fuel pump. Could even be as simple as a problem with your gas pedal. If you could please edit your post to state whether you car is an automatic or manual, that would help diagnose the problem. Good luck and be safe.
Thanks for answering my question. Your problem lies with your cooling system. The focus has a fail safe cooling system, meaning if the car becomes too hard to operate, the engine will disable cylinders to use them as air pumps to cool the engine. It may be as simple as you needing more anti-freeze or a more complex problem. Do not drive the vehicle at freeway speeds and get it to a trained Ford mechanic or Ford dealership immediately. Your car really isn't safe anymore and will eventually stall completely. I hope this helps. Good luck.
2007-02-13 05:00:20 · answer #1 · answered by codenamex_47 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Check out this website,it may offer you some information.www.consumeraffairs.com. Check under automotive/fordfocus You may be able to find out if others are having similar problems and they can let you know if the Ford company had any recalls on your vehicle.I know my husband had trouble with our vehicle( GM product and the fuses kept blowing.It turned out to be a couple of crossed wires.Let me tell you we were afraid to be going down the highway and all of a sudden no headlights and no dashboard lights.We were lucky it was under warranty.It was such a simple problem to correct but wasn't fixed until I sent a letter to head office.) Contact your Ford head office and ask their mechanics to try give you some answers.Tell them you are a loyal customer and would like to remain so.
2007-02-13 05:18:54 · answer #2 · answered by gussie 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Have you had the recall work done on the fuel system? If not it could be fuel cut. when the engine cuts very quickly at high speed it increases the negative pressure on the transmission which can force a shift to neutral to protect itself. I would take it to a dealer and have that service done! Good luck hope thats it!
2007-02-13 05:21:48 · answer #3 · answered by Dina B 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ford Fail Safe Cooling System
2017-02-22 04:54:49 · answer #4 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋