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Focus MK3.5 in safe mode when uphill

Mario04
Mario04
in Ford Focus Club

Featured Replies

Hi everyone, 

I have a problem with my Focus and I hope you have some idea what is going on.

When driving at higher speeds ( 90 km/h and higher) on uphill sections of the road ( usually on the highway ) my Focus dumps me in safe mode. 
The only message I get on the screen is the yellow "service engine now" and the car will not respond to the throttle at all. When I stop, turn off the car, and turn it back on it works fine until the next uphill segment of the road. 
The incline of the road is not that big, not larger than 25 - 30%.

It's a 2016 Focus 2.0 TDCI, 110kw ( 80k miles/128k km) and it would usually glide through those types of inclines like it was nothing, but in the last week it happened 4-5 times on a single trip.

Forscan DTC didn't find any errors when I scanned the car right after those problems.
It happened once before, during the winter time this year, and if I remember correctly there was an error regarding the oil pressure sensor.

Any idea what could be the problem? 

Cheers, 
Mario

Edited by Mario04
adding additional car info

  • Quote


    Has the fuel filter been replaced recently?

  • Quote
    • Author

    yes, fresh oil and all filters (air, cabin, fuel, oil) were changed less than 3 months ago. 
    EGR valve started leaking and it was replaced with an original part, and the car was fully serviced the same day. 

  • Quote
    • Like 1

    Limp mode on long uphill stretches is usually caused by a boost fault. 

    The PCM allows a few seconds of underboost or overboost before it triggers a fault warning, so you're not usually on the throttle long enough to trigger it on flat roads.

    It's difficult to suggest exactly which part needs to be replaced without any fault codes though.

  • Quote
    • Author

    That gives me some direction on where to look.
    Thanks for your help. If I don't find any error codes again I'll probably just take it to the dealership to analyze the problem.
    I love the car and this thing annoys me like crazy 🤐

  • Quote
    • Like 1

    It could just be a split or loose boost hose, but best to see if there's any stored codes.

    If there are no codes stored, take you code reader with you everywhere and next time it does it read the codes whilst the fault is showing

  • Quote
    • Like 1

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