Hi Lou, I own a 2015 Ford Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid that has been the subject of a North American wide recall. The recall has to do with the charging cord catching fire. Ford announced this recall early in 2018, but now a year has passed and they have yet to fix any vehicles, as the parts are unavailable. I’m unable to charge the car, totally rendering the plug-in efficiency part of this car useless. Are you able to investigate and help?
Chirag
Yours is one of the 1327 vehicles located in Canada that is affected by this recall. As with any recall, whether voluntary or government mandated, there will always be a time lag between initial consumer notification and the actual vehicle repair date. Transport Canada has very strict rules about notifying the consumer as soon as possible. In many cases when an owner receives a recall letter in the mail, a fix for the failed part may not even be developed yet. However, according to a Ford customer notification I found, your Fusion’s new charging cord was scheduled to be distributed in the first quarter of 2019. If you haven’t received an updated letter from Ford yet, I would wander into your preferred dealer and ask them to manually inquire to see whether the part is in stock at Ford Canada and ready to go.
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I have a Chevy and it recently died because I left my radio on without my engine being on. I did get a jump start and it worked fine for a day, but then my check engine light came on. Then I noticed today that when I stopped at a red light my car was shaking as if the car was going to die and this happened every stop I had to make today. What could this possibly be caused by?
Mia
On older Chevy’s, after a battery replacement or jump start, the Powertrain Control Module (PCM) can potentially lose all of its learned fuel trim and ignition timing base settings. Upon restart, this recently reset PCM immediately has to begin relearning all of these parameters again. Subsequently, those vehicle’s may experience a rough or shaky idle and on occasion, stall during its relearn period. Contemporary vehicles, with newer generation PCM’s are capable of storing this valuable information, thus the transition between battery replacement or boost is typically seamless. However, in your case your Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL) is illuminated, indicating that regardless of your vehicle’s age or model, something is likely wrong. Given that you had a day of driving without any problems, also suggests to me that your shaking issue is not related to your recent jump start. Your symptoms point to a misfiring engine. Head in for service to have the MIL diagnosed and add a battery/charging system inspection while you are there.
Lou Trottier is owner-operator of All About Imports in Mississauga. Have a question about maintenance and repair? E-mail globedrive@globeandmail.com, placing “Lou’s Garage” in the subject line.
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