NHTSA complaint #11742262

Owner complaint summary

Shortly after a recall repair was completed, I experienced a sudden loss of motive power while driving approximately 45 mph on a public roadway. At the time of the incident, the vehicle had approximately half a tank of gasoline remaining. I observed the high-voltage battery gauge reach approximately 1% state of charge. Immediately after the battery gauge reached that level, the vehicle suddenly lost power and appeared to stall while in motion. I received no warning before the failure occurred. At the time of the event, a battery system failure warning appeared along with a plug icon on the dashboard. I was forced to pull off the roadway and bring the vehicle to a complete stop. The vehicle had to be placed in Park and restarted before it would operate again. Fortunately, there was a safe area available to pull over. Had this occurred in heavier traffic or where there was no safe shoulder, it could have created a serious safety hazard. I returned the vehicle to the dealership. The dealership retained the vehicle for approximately one week but advised they could not duplicate the failure and could not identify a cause. I was told to keep the vehicle charged. My concern is that the incident occurred immediately after the battery gauge reached approximately 1% state of charge. Based on the timing of the event, I am concerned there may be a problem related to the transition from electric/hybrid operation to gasoline engine operation when the high-voltage battery reaches a very low state of charge. I am not claiming this is the cause, only that the timing appears significant. To my knowledge, the vehicle was kept charged during dealership testing, and I do not know whether the battery was allowed to reach the same low state of charge that existed when the failure occurred. A sudden loss of motive power while driving creates a significant safety risk, and I have not received a clear explanation for the cause of the failure or assurance that it will not happen again.