How to file · this is what actually moves it
Individually, owners get waved off — "no codes, operating as designed." But the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration tracks complaints for patterns, and a cluster of consistent, documented reports of a sudden loss of drive power is what can compel a federal investigation.
It is the one channel a dealership and a manufacturer cannot close on their own. It takes about ten minutes, it is free, and your VIN plus a plain description is all you need to start.
nhtsa.gov/report-a-safety-problem · opens in a new tab
Procedure
Go to nhtsa.gov/report-a-safety-problem and choose "Vehicle." Have your VIN and current mileage ready.
Choose "Electrical System" or "Power Train" — both fit. The written description matters most; don't overthink the category.
In plain terms: the staged power loss, the "Electric Mode Temporarily Unavailable" message, the delay before the engine catches, and the safety risk when merging or crossing intersections. State that it is repeatable and what the dealer said.
Use the sample below — copy it, then adjust the details to your vehicle.
No crash is fine — describe any near-miss in plain terms (for example, a slow merge into traffic). Keep the whole thing factual.
While you're there, check your VIN for open recalls at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Keep copies of every repair order and dashboard photo.
Sample description
This is a factual, non-accusatory description you can paste into the complaint form and adjust to match your own vehicle and experience.
While driving, my Jeep Wrangler 4xe suddenly loses drive power without warning. Electric propulsion drops in stages — to about 50%, then 25% — then the dash displays "Electric Mode Temporarily Unavailable" and the vehicle forces itself into hybrid mode. When it happens I press the accelerator and get little or no response for several seconds before the gas engine engages. This is a serious safety hazard when merging or pulling into traffic. It is repeatable and occurs during normal driving. I took the vehicle to the dealer, which found no codes and said it is "operating as designed" — but no repair was made and the condition continues.
Tip: add your own specifics where you can — the date, your speed, your battery percentage, the dealer's name, and how many times you've brought it in. Concrete, consistent detail is what makes a pattern.
FAQ
Partly. The engine assisting under hard acceleration is normal for a hybrid. What is not normal is the electric side being capped — held at 25% so you can't get more electric power even when you ask — and then losing electric entirely with an "unavailable" message. Normal assist and a power cap are two different things.
A protective software strategy that runs as programmed is not a "fault," so by design it doesn't set a code. "No codes" tells you the software is behaving as written — not that the behavior is safe or that the trigger threshold is correct.
No. Owners report it at mid-range and even high states of charge. If the reduction is governed by a defined engineering threshold, that threshold should be measurable. Two vehicles exhibiting the same behavior at substantially different states of charge raises the question of what parameter actually triggered the reduction — and whether it was ever measured.
Yes. Patterns are built from individual reports. One complaint may look like an outlier; a cluster of consistent, documented reports is what NHTSA looks for. Your report is a data point that doesn't exist until you file it.
Open the form, paste your description, answer the questions honestly, and submit. Ten minutes on the record is worth more than any number of service visits.
File your NHTSA complaint →~10 min · free · the report regulators actually count