2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID Complaints

RECEIVED A SAFETY RECALL NOTICE 14S05. TOOK TO LOCAL DEALERSHIP WHO PERFORMED SENSOR RESET. TWO THOUSAND MILES LATER THE POWER STEERING FAILED WHILE DRIVING AND THE VEHICLE LURCHED TO THE RIGHT NEARLY HITTING A CYCLIST IN BIKE LANE AND STARTLING ME AS I WAS BARELY UNABLE TO MANHANDLE TO NOW MANUAL STEERING VEHICLE TO AVOID THE COLLISION. I AM QUITE STRONG AND IT IS LIKELY ANYONE W/LESS BODY STRENGTH WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO COMMAND THE VEHICLE. THAT IS WHEN I REVIEWED THE VOLUMINOUS COMPLAINTS FILED AND DETERMINED FORD IS COMPLETELY UNWILLING TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR WHAT WAS A FAULTY PART SUBJECTING TO OWNERS TO GREAT RISK OF INJURY. IT APPEARS BASED ON MY RESEARCH THAT THE RECALL SERVICE DONE WAS A FARCE AND WASTE OF TIME FOR CONSUMERS W/NO REAL REDUCTION OF SAFETY RISK. FURTHERMORE, IT SEEMS THE NHTSA IS WEAK IN RESPONSE TO THE SAFETY RISK AND NOT REQUIRING FORD TO REPLACE THE PART AND REDUCE THE CHANCES OF A SERIOUS VEHICLE CRASH.

AT JUST OVER 100,000 MILES, WARNING LIGHT COMES ON TO PULL OVER SAFELY, AND ENGINE WILL STALL. THIS HAPPENS WHILE DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, AS WELL AS COMMUTER TRAFFIC. YESTERDAY I HAD TO BE PUSHED OFF THE ROAD BY POLICE WHILE AT AN INTERSECTION. AFTER TURNING CAR OFF FOR 10 MINUTES, CAR STARTED BACK UP AND I WAS ABLE TO GET HOME. FORD HAS RUN A DIAGNOSTIC ON MY CAR AND SAYS THERE IS NOTHING WRONG.

WHEN TURNING THE STEERING WHEEL 180 DEGREES EITHER FROM FULL RIGHT TO FULL LEFT OR FULL LEFT TO FULL RIGHT, THE STEERING WHEEL STICKS, THEN RELEASES. FORD LOOKED AT THE ISSUE, REPLACED THE STEERING COLUMN, REPROGRAMMED THE ELECTRONIC TORQUE SENSOR UNDER THE PREVIOUS RECALL NOTICE AND THE PROBLEM REMAINS. THE ISSUE STARTED IMMEDIATELY AFTER REPLACING THE INNER AND OUTER TIE RODS. FORD SAYS THE STEERING RACK NEEDS TO BE REPLACED, I WANT TO KNOW WHY THIS STARTED HAPPENING AFTER THE TIE RODS WERE REPLACED AS THERE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ANY INTERACTION WITH THE STEERING RACK ELECTRONICS. THIS OCCURS EVERY DAY AS I BACK OUT OF MY GARAGE INTO MY TURNAROUND AREA (SHARP RIGHT) FOLLOWED BY A FULL LEFT TO GO DOWN THE DRIVEWAY. IT ALSO HAPPENED IN LEAVING A GAS STATION ENTERING A PUBLIC STREET WHERE A FULL LEFT WAS FOLLOWED BY A FULL RIGHT IN TRAFFIC. ANY IDEAS ON WHAT WOULD HAVE CAUSED THIS?

AS I WAS DRIVING HOME FROM WORK THURSDAY 3/23/17 THE STEERING WHEEL STARTED CLICKING AND SHAKING BACK AND FORTH BY ITSELF DURING DRIVING AND AT A STOP. I INVESTIGATED RIGHT AWAY AND DISCOVERED THERE WAS A RECALL ON THE TORQUE SENSOR BUT ALL THEY DID WAS A COMPUTER UPDATE RATHER THEN REPLACE THE PART. NOW THEY WON'T HONOR THE RECALL AND THE COST IS $1700-$1900 TO FIX.

WHILE IN MOTION, THE GAS ENGINE CUTS OFF AND A RED EMERGENCY TRIANGLE APPEARS IN THE DASH STATING TO "PLEASE STOP SAFELY NOW" AND I HAVE TO COAST ALONG IN ELECTRIC MODE WITH NO POWER TILL I COME TO A STOP. I THEN CAN TURN OFF THE VEHICLE AND TURN IT BACK ON AND THE VEHICLE RUNS AS NORMAL.

BRAKES CAN FAIL WITHOUT WARNING AFTER THE ABS LIGHT COMES ON. THERE IS NO WARNING AND NO SECONDARY BACKUP SYSTEM. THE ABS MODULE FAILURE IS THE RESULT, WHICH WILL MAKE THE VEHICLE HAVE NO BRAKES. THE REPAIR COST IS $5,000 AND MUST BE DONE AT THE DEALER. THE DEALER ALSO WITNESSED THE NO BRAKES WHILE DRIVING. *TT *AS

MULTIPLE EPISODES OF "STOP SAFELY NOW" (AFTER NEW ENGINE ($8000) WAS PUT IN 6/2014). AT TIME OF ENGINE REPLACEMENT, RECALL FOR POWER STEERING MODULE WAS COMPLETED. FAST FORWARD TO 3/2017.... MONDAY MORNING (8AM) NEW 'WRENCH' LIGHT GOES ON IN DASH. DROP KIDS AT DAYCARE AND WHEN I RESTART CAR (830AM) AND WENT TO BACK OUT OF THE DRIVEWAY - NO POWER STEERING!!! GOOD THING FORD TOOK CARE OF THAT RECALL BACK IN 2014...*SARCASM* NOW THEY SAY THAT THE ONLY WAY IT WOULD BE COVERED UNDER RECALL WAS IF LOSS OF POWER STEERING OCCURRED WITHIN 12 MONTHS OF RECALL BEING COMPLETED. THIS CAR HAS BEEN NOTHING BUT A HEADACHE AND 2 FORD DEALERSHIPS THAT DO NOT STAND BEHIND THE FORD NAME OR THEIR SERVICE!

I HAVE A 2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID, ON 03.02.17 WHEN I WENT TO LEAVE FOR WORK, A WRENCH LIGHT CAME ON IN MY CAR. WHEN I DID SOME RESEARCH I FOUND A LOT OF RECALL NOTICES OF FOR THIS-PRIOR TO THIS, WHEN AT AN IDLE MY STEERING WHEEL HAD RECENTLY STARTED TO VIBRATE-THE CAR DROVE PERFECTLY FINE TO WORK. AS I LEFT FROM WORK THAT DAY, I HAD NO STEERING!! IT WAS WORSE THAN DRIVING A CAR WITH NO POWER STEERING. I WAS SCARED AND ALMOST GOT INTO AN ACCIDENT GOING HOME DUE TO THIS!! I TOOK IT TO THE FORD DEALERSHIP THE NEXT DAY AND IT PULLED A CODE B2278-STEERING SHAFT TORQUE SENSOR MALFUNCTION-WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT THE RECALL FOR MY YEAR, MAKE AND MODEL WERE FOR. WELL, FORD STATES MY VIN NUMBER DOESN'T QUALIFY FOR THE RECALL!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!! I WAS ALMOST IN AN ACCIDENT AND IT IS THE EXACT SAME THING THAT THE RECALL WAS FOR!!! I WANT FORD TO BE HELD RESPONSIBLE TO REIMBURSE ME FOR THIS. THEY CAN'T PICK AND CHOOSE WHICH VEHICLES QUALIFY AND DON'T WHEN IT IS THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM.

MAKING A TURN TODAY MARCH 1,2017 ON A MAIN STREET THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME VERY HARD TO TURN. THE DASHBOARD ERROR MESSAGE STATED POER STEERING ASSIST FAULT. CALLED DEALERSHIP SINCE I READ ONLINE OF A RECALL FOR THIS MALFUNCTION BUT THEY SAID MY VIN IS NOT INCLUDED. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS SINCE TURNING THE WHEEL IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT AND UNSAFE TO DRIVE!!!

"CHECK BRAKES" AND "ABS" LIGHTS CAME ON, THEN "REGENERATIVE BRAKE SYSTEM DISABLED" ILLUMINATED, WARNING SOUNDED. TOOK CAR FOR REPAIR. MECHANIC PERFORMED DIAGNOSTIC, THEN BLED ALL 4 BRAKE SYSTEMS. LIGHTS WENT OFF AND BRAKES WORKED. SEVERAL DAYS LATER, SAME LIGHTS CAME ON AND WARNING BELL SOUNDED. BRAKES WERE ALMOST COMPLETELY INOPERABLE. RETURNED CAR TO MECHANIC. INSPECTED, THEN TOLD IT MIGHT NEED REGENERATIVE BRAKE SYSTEM REPLACEMENT. WARNING LIGHTS WERE OFF, BUT ILLUMINATED AGAIN A COUPLE OF HOURS LATER (02/22/17) TOOK CAR TO AUTOFAIR FORD, MANCHESTER, NH.WHERE BRAKES FAILED WHILE ENTERING DEALERSHIP AT 15 MPH. THEY KEPT CAR OVERNIGHT, SPENT 4 HOURS LABOR, BLED BRAKES, AND SAID CAR WAS FIXED (CHARGED $280). COUPLE HOURS LATER ALL LIGHTS ILLUMINATED, WARNING BELL SOUNDED AND LOST ALMOST ALL BRAKING CAPACITY WHILE ON HIGHWAY 93 SOUTH HEADING SOUTH TOWARDS BOSTON. CALLED FORD AND THEY TOLD ME THAT CAR NEEDED NEW REGENERATIVE BRAKING SYSTEM AND COMPUTER MODULE. COST OF EQUIPMENT ALONE WAS QUOTED AT APPROX. $6000 WITHOUT LABOR. AM IN THE PROCESS OF TRADING THE CAR. WITHOUT FUNCTIONAL BRAKES, CAR IS VIRTUALLY WORTHLESS. WHEN BRAKES WERE DEPRESSED TO THE FLOOR AT LOW SPEEDS, BRAKES DID NOT STOP CAR; VEHICLE COASTED TO A STOP. IN SHORT, 2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID SUFFERED CATASTROPHIC BRAKE FAILURE.