“High Engine Temperature, Stop Safely” in Ford Focus. What’s This?

When your Ford Focus tells you “High Engine Temperature, Stop Safely”, it means that the sensor of the coolant temperature has just registered overheating and is telling you that it’s not safe for your engine to keep going. Your vehicle says that you should stop and let the engine cool down before you continue driving.

While sometimes, this may mean that something is wrong with your Focus, in some cases, the problem is simply with the style of driving or the road conditions.

What are the reasons for the “High Engine Temperature” message in the Focus?

Basically, there are two most common reasons why your Ford Focus will tell you that the engine temperature is high:

1. The problem with the engine temperature sensor
2. Engine overheating.

Now, the problem with the sensor is not really common for these cars. The sensor usually lasts as long as the engine and it doesn’t cause any problems or difficulties, it usually works for a long time and doesn’t require replacement or reset.

But the engine overheating can happen in a lot of cases. It’s not always about the problem with some of the engine components, sometimes overheating may happen because of driving at high RPM for a long time, towing something heavy, overlording your car, or just driving up the hill. Sometimes, your Focus engine can overheat when you are driving in a traffic jam in the summer when the temperature outside is very high and not enough cold air is blowing toward your main radiator.

If this is the case, all you need to do is to just stop your vehicle on the roadside and wait for 5 to 10 minutes to just let it cool down. Once the engine cools down, you may restart it and keep going. If the problem is with some faulty engine component, waiting for some time will also help, but the error message will reappear after some time.

So, here are the most common reasons why your Ford Focus tells you “High Engine Temperature, Stop Safely”:

1. Low coolant level

This is probably the most common reason why your engine in the Focus may overheat. You may think that you are lucky if you just find the low coolant level under the hood – so you can just add some coolant and keep going. But you need to understand why the coolant level is low.

In most cases, the coolant level couldn’t just drop by itself. There are some reasons why this may have happened:

• The leak in the system – maybe some hose or pipe is leaking and letting antifreeze out of the system;
• Head gasket problem – if the gasket is broken, it may leak some coolant directly into the combustion chamber;
• Bad quality of coolant – your coolant may not be good enough to be used in the cooling system of your car and it may just evaporate;
• The coolant was just changed – when your mechanic fills in new coolant, its level may drop after some time, just add some antifreeze;
• The coolant reservoir cap isn’t tightened – this may lead to some leaks or coolant evaporating out of the reservoir.

There are quite a lot of parts and places where coolant may leak in your vehicle. Starting with the hoses and radiators and finishing with your water pump, gaskets, and seals. While you can still check something on your own, for a proper inspection of your vehicle, you should go to a professional mechanic.

2. Thermostat problems

The thermostat in your Ford Focus is quite a simple unit. It works in two basic positions – the open position and the closed position. In the open position, your thermostat sends the coolant to the full circle. But in order to heat up the engine quickly, especially in winter, the thermostat is initially closed and it sends the coolant in the restricted circle that doesn’t include the main radiator.

The problem may be with the thermostat itself because sometimes it gets stuck in the closed position. It means that when the engine is already heated, the thermostat will not let the coolant flow into the full circle and get into the radiator. So, the coolant will keep circulating in the small circle and the engine will naturally overheat.

Unfortunately, diagnosing your thermostat and repairing or replacing this part is almost impossible without certain experience and professional tools.

3. Water pump issues

Another problem that can cause the “High Engine Temperature, Stop Safely” error message in your Ford Focus is the broken water pump. In all engines that were used in the Focus, the water pump is driven by the timing belt or the timing chain. If the pump is broken, your antifreeze just stops flowing. It means that the engine will immediately overheat and may even fail after fatal damage.

The water pump is located inside the engine, so you will not be able to see it and find the problem. Although these pumps are quite long-lasting and problem free, they may fail if they are not replaced when needed. You should replace a water pump anytime you are changing the timing belt or the timing chain kit.

4. Engine temperature sensor issues

Sometimes, the Ford Focus may show you the engine temperature error message even though the temperature of the engine is completely OK. This may be caused by a faulty engine temperature sensor. The sensor may have started glitching and its readings are incorrect, so the ECU is sure that the engine is overheating. If you ignore the message, after some time, the engine may go to limp mode.

One thing you can do if this is what happens to your car is to go directly to a trusted repair shop. Replacing the engine temperature sensor is not that hard, so the labor cost will not be very high. But replacing this sensor on your own will take you a lot of time. And in case you do something wrong, the sensor may not be working correctly.

5. Improper driving style

All engines used in the Ford Focus model are afraid of overheating. So, the manufacturer made sure that the dashboard tells you to stop the vehicle once there is a risk of fatal overheating.

But sometimes, your engine may overheat not because it’s faulty, but because the road conditions give no chance for optimal RPM and calm driving. This is especially common for Ford Focuses which are equipped with the Powershift transmission. Those are the third-generation Focuses with the two-liter engines.

If you drive your Focus at more than 3,000 RPM for a long time, the engine will overheat. But once you come back to normal driving style, the engine temperature will go back to normal, too.

This may make you think that once you see the engine temperature error message, you should just change your driving style. But this is the worst thing you can do in the Ford Focus. If you already see this nasty message, you should stop your car immediately in a safe place and stop the engine to let it cool down. Only after that, you can start inspecting your car and understanding what’s wrong with it.

What happens to the engine in the Ford Focus when it overheats?

My advice is to never let the engine in your Ford Focus overheat. And it doesn’t even matter what kind of engine is under the hood of your Ford, or what generation of the Focus you have in your possession. Overheating for quite a long time will most likely kill your engine and will make you invest money in engine replacement.

Here is what happens when the engine fatally overheats:

• First of all, your pistons and cylinders may change their shape;
• This will lead to oil consumption because the oil will get into the combustion chambers;
• Also, the change in the shape of the pistons will scratch the cylinder walls;
• The valves in the head may get stuck because the aluminum head will change its shape, too;
• All these problems will eventually lead to damage to rod bearings, camshafts, and crankshafts.

In the end, if you don’t stop the engine before it overheats fatally, it will fail. If you are lucky enough, you will be able to repair this engine for several thousand dollars. But if things go worse, the only possible way to get your Ford Focus back on the road will be to replace the engine with the new one.