2006 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID Complaints

WE PURCHASED THIS FORD ESCAPE HYBRID IN AUGUST, 2012, AFTER PROCURING A PRE-SALE EVALUATION AT FORD DEALER 1, INCLUDING A FULL VIN SEARCH FOR ANY INCOMPLETE RECALLS.THE EVALUATION FOUND NOTHING INCOMPLETE.RETURNING HOME 6.11.14, ON OUR RESIDENTIAL STREET, THE ESCAPE WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING FLASHED 'STOP VEHICLE SAFELY' AND SIMULTANEOUSLY TURNED OFF ALL POWER. RESEARCH INDICATED A FAILED OEM MECS COOLANT PUMP (TSB 08-24-5), AND WE HAD ISSUES GETTING THE CORRECT PART FROM FORD DEALER 1 AND SOURCED A DORMAN PART FROM THE LOCAL X AUTO PARTS STORE, SUPPLYING IT TO AN ASE-CERTIFIED SHOP FOR INSTALLATION (VEHICLE INOPERABLE/ON A LIFT). ANOTHER 'STOP VEHICLE SAFELY' EVENT OCCURRED 6.24.14 WITH MY FAMILY IN THE VEHICLE ON AN EXPRESSWAY ENTRANCE RAMP, WITH THE ESCAPE TAKEN TO FORD DEALER 2 FOR EVALUATION. FORD DEALER 2'S VIN CHECK FOUND CSP 07B48 AND TSB 09-18-6, NOT AVAILABLE PREVIOUSLY. FORD DEALER 2 MADE REPAIRS CONSISTENT WITH THE CSP/TSB ON 7.12.14 AT OUR EXPENSE. THESE SERIOUS SAFETY IMPLICATIONS WELL-KNOWN TO FORD (BOTH CSP 07B48/TSB 09-18-6 AND TSB 08-24-5) WERE NOT IDENTIFIED BY FORD DEALER 1 IN OUR PRE-PURCHASE INSPECTION, OR BY FORD IN A PRIOR INVESTIGATION AND REPAIR OF THE CORROSION ISSUES IN THIS ESCAPE. WE ARE CONCERNED THAT KNOWN/IDENTIFIED SAFETY ISSUES GENERATING AN ERRANT BCM SIGNAL DISABLING THE CAR MADE THIS PARTICULAR ESCAPE A TICKING TIME BOMB. WE COULD NOT HAVE BEEN AWARE OF THE ISSUES DESPITE OUR DILIGENCE, BUT FORD HAD DIRECT ACCESS TO THAT INFORMATION.WE WERE FORTUNATE WHEN/WHERE OUR FAILURES OCCURRED. FOR ANYONE ELSE IN A SIMILAR ESCAPE WITH THE CSP 07B48/TSB 09-18-6 AND TSB 08-24-5 REPAIRS NOT ALREADY ACCOMPLISHED, THE NHTSA SHOULD COMPEL A LONG-OVERDUE RECALL FOR THE AFFECTED VEHICLES. *TR

WHILE GOING ABOUT 73MPH IN PASSING LANE-HEARD "BEEP" DASHBOARD HAD RED TRIANGLE LITE UP AND A MESSAGE TO STOP SAFELY NOW--THEN CAR JUST STOPPED!! I WAS IN THE FAR LEFT LANE--PULLED OFF INTO MEDIAN--READ MANUAL--STARTED CAR UP AND WENT--ON RETURN TRIP SAME THING--ALTHOUGH NOW I WAS ALWAYS LOOKING FOR MY "EXIT"--ALTHOUGH WAS PANICKING GOING THRU TUNNEL IN BOSTON. FORD HAD RECALL ON THIS SYSTEM THAT ENDED IN 2009--I BOUGHT THIS IN 2012. BROUGHT TO FORD DEALER--THEY SAID THERE WAS NO RECALL AND FOR A STARTING FEE OF $120/HR THEY COULD TAKE A LOOK. I CALLED FORD IN MI-TOLD TOO LATE--TOO BAD..SO NOW I HAVE PRINTED OUT RECALL AND WILL BRING TO A DIFFERENT DEALER ON MONDAY. SAW THAT THIS IS AN ONGOING SAFETY ISSUE THAT FORD WILL NOT TAKE OWNERSHIP OF. *TR

WE WERE DRIVING EAST ON I-26 IN SOUTH CAROLINA AT 65 MPH IN 3 LANES OF TRAFFIC WHEN THE TRIANGLE HAZARD WARNING LIGHT ON THE DASH SOUNDED AND LIT UP SAYING "PULL OVER SAFELY NOW". AT THE SAME TIME , WITH THE GAS PEDDLE FLOORED, THE SPEED OF THE CAR WAS SLOWING BY THE SECOND! THE GAS PEDDLE DID NOT WORK. WE WERE ABLE TO PULL OVER AND TURN THE CAR OFF WITHOUT GETTING HIT BY ONCOMING TRAFFIC. PER THE MANUAL, WE WAITED AWHILE AND RESTARTED THE CAR, AND WERE ABLE TO GET IT HOME. I CALLED THE FORD CUSTOMER CARE LINE TO ASK IF IT WAS SAFE TO DRIVE THE CAR AND WOULD THIS HAPPEN AGAIN. THEY WERE NOT HELPFUL AT ALL. THEY BASICALLY TOLD ME TO TAKE IT TO A DEALERSHIP. OUR LOCAL DEALERSHIP SAID THEY KNEW NOTHING ABOUT THE ISSUE I DESCRIBED, BUT DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM AS BEING AN MECS PUMP FAILURE FOR $135. THE REPLACEMENT COST WOULD BE $800. DUE TO THE HIGH COST QUOTE AND KNOWING THAT IT ONLY TAKES 45 MINUTES OR LESS TO CHANGE THIS PUMP, WE TOOK IT ELSEWHERE. THE PART IS $277. OUR CONCERN IS THAT HOW COULD FORD DEALERS NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS DANGEROUS DEFECT, WHEN IN 3 SECONDS YOU CAN PULL UP HUNDREDS OF WEBSITES COVERING THIS FAILURE, AND THE DANGEROUS AND POTENTIALLY FATAL ACCIDENT IT COULD CAUSE. NOW I HAVE FOUND THIS US DOT WEBSITE WHICH HAS HUNDREDS OF COMPLAINTS ON THIS ISSUE ALSO,I AM HOPING MORE PEOPLE WILL COME FORWARD TO GET THESE CARS OFF THE ROAD. *TR

COMPLETELY LOST POWER STEERING WITH NO WARNING WHILE MAKING A RIGHT TURN INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC. LEFT ME IN A DANGEROUS SITUATION WITHOUT POWER TO TURN THE VEHICLE IN TIME TO AVOID THE INCOMING TRAFFIC. *TR

2006 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO VEHICLE "CAN SHUT OFF WITHOUT WARNING" INCIDENT. *SMD THE CONSUMER STATED A WARNING LIGHT IN THE SHAPE OF A WRENCH APPEARED ON THE DASHBOARD. THE VEHICLE WAS FLAT-BEDDED TO THE DEALER. IT WAS DETERMINED, THE THROTTLE BODY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. *JB

WE NOTICED BANGING COMING FROM THE RIGHT REAR WHEEL WELL. AFTER INVESTIGATING, WE FOUND A NUMBER OF SMALL RUSTED OUT HOLES INTO THE TRUNK FROM JUST THAT WHEEL WELL. THE BANGING WAS THE SHOCK MOUNT AND THE SHOCK ABSORBER HITTING THE WELL. THE RUSTED OUT AREA HAS GROWN. THERE IS NO OTHER INDICATION OF SIGNIFICANT RUST ON THE UNDERCARRIAGE. WE'VE BEEN TOLD THAT THIS IS THE RESULT OF A LEAK FROM THE HYBRID BATTERY; OTHERS, VIA MESSAGE BOARDS AND THE LIKE, HAVE REPORTED THE SAME PROBLEM. WE WERE AFRAID THAT THE SHOCK ABSORBER WOULD HIT THE WHEEL AND CAUSE AN ACCIDENT SO WE TOOK IT OFF THE ROAD. GIVEN WE NEED THE VEHICLE AND DON'T WANT TO SELL AN OTHERWISE SERVICEABLE SUV FOR SCRAP, WE HOPE YOU CAN PERSUADE FORD TO RECALL THIS MODEL AND FIX THIS DANGEROUS PROBLEM AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. *TR

ERROR CODE IS "STOP SAFELY NOW". I WAS DRIVING, AND ALL IN THE SUDDEN - AN ERROR MESSAGE CAME UP ON DASH DISPLAY "STOP SAFELY NOW". IMMEDIATELY, THE CAR WAS TOTALLY SHUT DOWN RIGHT AFTER, LOST THE ABILITY TO STOP, AND I HAVE NO CONTROLS OF ANY THING. I WAS LUCKY THAT I'M IN A MIDDLE OF A PARKING LOT. I ALMOST GOT HIT WITH THE CAR DROVE RIGHT BEHIND ME. WHAT IF THIS INCIDENT OCCURS ON A FREEWAY AT A HIGH SPEED. MY CAR IS FULLY WELL MAINTENANCE WITH SUCH LOW MILES FOR 2006. *TR

WHILE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY MY CAR LOST ALL POWER AND SAID STOP SAFELY NOW. I PULLED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND 10 MINUTES LATER THE CAR STARTED UP AND I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE HOME. THE CAR DID NOT DO THIS AGAIN FOR OVER A YEAR. AT THAT TIME I WAS DRIVING IN TUCSON AZ AND IT LOST ALL POWER IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INTERSECTION.FORTUNATLY IT STARTED RIGHT AWAY AND I WAS ABLE TO GET TO A PARKING LOT.AFTER A LOT OF RESEARCH WE REPLACED THE ELECTRIC COOLING MOTOR ONLY TO HAVE IT CONTINUE TO SHUT DOWN WITH THE STOP SAFELY NOW DISPLAYED. AFTER MORE RESEARCH WE REPLACED THE BLEND DOOR ACTUATOR WITH NO RESULTS. FORD REALLY NEEDS TO DO A RECALL AND FIX THIS PROBLEM BEFORE PEOPLE DIE. THE CAR SHUTS DOWN WITH NO WARNING AND IT HAPPENS SO FAST. IF THERE IS NO WHERE TO PULL OVER YOU ARE STUCK IN THE ROAD AND A TARGET FOR OTHER VEHICLES TO RUN INTO. *TR

AT APPROXIMATELY 1:30PM, I WAS DRIVING IN SACRAMENTO MAKING A RIGHT TURN MERGING INTO TRAFFIC WITH MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE PEDAL WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THE PETAL DROPPED TO THE FLOOR WITH NO HYDRAULIC PRESSURE IN IT. THE ABS LIGHT CAME ON, THE BRAKE LIGHT CAME ON, AND THE PANEL SAID "SERVICE BRAKE SYSTEM." I HAD MY SON IN THE CAR WITH ME AND I PULLED OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD PRESSING EXTREMELY HARD ON THE BRAKE PEDAL TO GET IT TO STOP. I IMMEDIATELY WENT TO PEP BOYS AROUND THE CORNER WITHOUT BRAKES (EXCEPT WHEN I PRESSED HARD ON THE BRAKE PEDAL ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR). PEP BOYS LOOKED AT IT AND SAID IT MIGHT BE THE MASTER CYLINDER BUT THEY WERE NOT WILLING TO SELL ME ONE UNTIL I HAD A FORD DEALER LOOK AT THE VEHICLE. WHEN I TURNED THE CAR BACK ON, THE ABS LIGHT WAS OFF, THE BRAKE WARNING LIGHT WAS OFF, AND THE SERVICE WARNING WAS OFF. FORD DEALER LOOKED AT THE VEHICLE, DROVE IT AROUND FOR 22 MILES AND NOTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY HAPPENED. I ADVISED FORD THAT PEP BOYS HAD ADVISED ME THERE WAS A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN (TSB) ON INTERMITTENT BRAKE LOSS FOR 2006 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID. THE FORD REPRESENTATIVE IMMEDIATELY SNAPPED BACK AT ME "THAT DOESN'T MEAN ITS COVERED UNDER WARRANTY?" I THEN SAID, I CARE ABOUT MY SAFETY AND WANT TO KNOW WHY OUT OF THE BLUE MY BRAKES FAILED. WHEN I WENT BACK TO SEE IF THEY FOUND A PROBLEM, THEY STATED EVERYTHING WAS IN NORMAL WORKING ORDER AND THERE WERE NO CODES IN THE SYSTEM TO INDICATE BRAKE FAILURE. *TR

CAR WENT FROM A HIGH SPEED 60KM TO NO ACCELERATION IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC. THE ENGINE WAS STILL RUNNING BUT THE CAR WOULD NOT ACCELERATE. THE ERROR CODE INDICATE A THROTTLE BODY ISSUE. *TR