2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID Complaints

ON AUGUST 4, 2016, THE "CHECK ABS" LIGHT CAME ON. I BROUGHT THE CAR TO THE MECHANIC AND THEY SAID THE ROTOR IS RUSTED SO THEY REPLACED THE RIGHT AND LEFT FRONT ROTOR AND THE RIGHT FRONT BRAKE DISC PAD. THE MECHANIC WAS UNABLE TO GET ANY OF THE WARNING SIGNS TO APPEAR SO HE THOUGHT EVERYTHING WAS OKAY. TWO WEEKS LATER, THE "CHECK ABS" LIGHT CAME ON AGAIN, AND ABOUT 10 MINUTES AFTER THAT THE "REGEN BRAKES DISABLED" LIGHT CAME ON. THIS WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY SO THERE WASN'T MUCH I COULD DO. I NOTICED THAT EVERY TIME I BRAKED, THE CAR FELT LIKE IT WAS WOBBLING FROM SIDE TO SIDE. I TOOK THE CAR BACK TO THE SAME MECHANIC THE NEXT MORNING, AND HE SPENT TWO DAYS RUNNING TESTS ON THE DIAGNOSTICS AND SAW TWO CODES: 1) RIGHT FRONT WHEEL AND 2) COMMUNICATIONS INSIDE MODULE. THE MECHANIC BLED THE BRAKES AND TRIED TO TEST DRIVE THE VEHICLE AND ALMOST RAN INTO CARS IN THE PARKING LOT DUE TO BRAKE FAILURE. THUS HE STRONGLY RECOMMENDED THAT I HAVE THE CAR TOWED. FINALLY, I HAD IT TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP SINCE HE SAID IT IS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE. THE DEALERSHIP CONFIRMED THAT THE ABS CONTROL MODULE/HYDRAULIC CONTROL UNIT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED, WHICH THEY ARE QUOTING AT $4600. I AM THANKFUL THAT I MADE IT TO THE MECHANIC AND REALIZED THERE WAS A PROBLEM BEFORE GETTING INTO A CRASH. THIS HAPPENED VERY RAPIDLY AND I WAS IN SOME SERIOUS DANGER. I GOT LUCKY, AND OTHERS MAY BE LESS FORTUNATE THAN ME. I HAVE READ NUMEROUS STORIES ON CAR FORUMS AND THIS THREAD AND I CANNOT BELIEVE THERE HASN'T BEEN A RECALL ON THIS YET. I THINK THERE SHOULD BE AN INVESTIGATION AND I AM WILLING TO PROVIDE THE REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION AND SHARE MY STORY TO BRING ATTENTION TO THIS ISSUE, AND HOPEFULLY PREVENT SOMEONE ELSE FROM GETTING HURT.

LAST WEEK I WENT OUTSIDE AND GOT IN MY CAR TO RUN SOME ERRANDS AND WHEN I STARTED THE CAR THE RED BRAKE LIGHT, ORANGE ABS LIGHT, AND THE CHIMER STATING "REGENERATIVE BRAKE DISENGAGED" "CHECK BRAKES" BEGAN TO LIGHT. THE BRAKES ARE WORKING (KNOCK ON WOOD) BUT ARE TRICKY TO OPERATE. THIS MORNING I TOOK THE CAR TO THE MECHANIC AND THEY STATED IT WAS MOST LIKELY IN NEED OF A NEW HCU COSTING AROUND $5,000 (I AM GOING TO GET THE VEHICLE CHECKED ONE MORE TIME BEFORE PARKING IT FOR GOOD). AS I READ THE COMPLAINTS ON NHTSA'S WEB SITE, IT APPEARS FOLKS AT NHTSA ARE FULLY KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THIS SAFETY HAZARD (AS EACH PAGE IS FILED WITH SAME, IF NOT WORSE, COMPLAINTS) AND ARE NOT GOING TO ACT UNTIL SOMEONE GETS KILLED. IT IS ALSO BLATANTLY OBVIOUS THAT FORD IS NOT GOING TO ACT EITHER. THE 2008 ESCAPE HYBRID HAS BEEN A GREAT VEHICLE, UNTIL NOW (132,000 MILES). THE PRICE TO FIX THIS ISSUE IS SLIGHTLY LESS THAN WHAT THE CAR IS WORTH AND COMPARED TO ALL OTHER BRANDS MADE IT VERY FEW MILES. NOW IT IS TIME TO TURN MY OUTRAGE REGARDING THIS ISSUE OVER TO MY STATE REPRESENTATIVES. I CANNOT BELIEVE THEIR ARE NO CLASS ACTION LAWSUITS BEFORE SOMEONE GETS KILLED (IT IS A MATTER OF TIME, IF NOT ALREADY THE CASE). THIS ISSUE SHOULD WARRANT A RECALL, THEY ARE BRAKES FOR GOD'S SAKE. *TT *BF *TR

WAS DRIVING THE VEHICLE AND AFTER APPLYING THE BRAKES. THE ABS WARNING LIGHT CAME ON, PLUS THE INFORMATION DISPLAY INDICATED "CHECK BRAKE SYSTEM" AND "REGEN BRAKE DISABLED". I WAS STILL ABLE TO BRAKE, BUT NEEDED TO APPLY MORE PRESSURE TO STOP AND THERE WAS A NEW NOISE WHEN I DEPRESSED THE BRAKES. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO MY LOCAL FORD DEALER, THE SERVICE ASSOCIATE TOOK IT FOR A TEST DRIVE AND NOTICED THE NOISE AND NEED FOR EXTRA PRESSURE ON THE BRAKES. AFTER THE TECHNICIAN HAD CHECKED THE VEHICLE THEY INDICATED THAT I NEEDED A NEW HCU UNIT AND THE ESTIMATED COST WAS $5,200+ *TT *TR

IGNITION HAD TO TURN SEVERAL TIMES TAKE KEY IN AND OUT. THEN ONE DAY JUST WOULD NOT START. VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY.

IN AUGUST 2014 WITH 99K MILES VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO DEALERSHIP FOR REGULAR SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT EXPERIENCED ANY STEERING PROBLEMS HOWEVER, DURING MAINTENANCE DEALERSHIP INSTALLED SOFTWARE UPDATES TO PSCM AND IC MODULES PER NHTSA RECALL 14-V284000. WITHIN A FEW MONTHS THE VEHICLE BEGAN INTERMITTENTLY LOSING THE POWER STEERING DURING LOWER SPEED TURNING, THE EXACT THING THE RECALL WAS SUPPOSED TO FIX. IN AUGUST 2015 AT THE NEXT REGULAR SERVICE APPT I INFORMED DEALERSHIP OF THE PROBLEM AND COPIES OF ON-LINE RESEARCH THAT SHOWED IT AS AN ONGOING PROBLEM RELATED TO THE RECALL. I WAS TOLD THAT THEY HAD DONE THE RECALL "FIXES" AND COULD NOT SPECIFICALLY IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM BUT IF I WANTED THE STEERING COLUMN REPLACED THEY WOULD DO IT, FOR SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS, OF WHICH I DECLINED. I HAVE HAD MANY CLOSE CALLS WHEN WITHOUT WARNING THE STEERING BECOMES ALMOST LOCKED UP BUT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SO FAR MUSCLE IT AROUND THE TURNS.

THE VEHICLE STALLED AND LOST ALL POWER TO THE ENGINE WITH A "PULL OVER SAFELY" SIGN WHILE ON THE FREEWAY BACK IN SEPTEMBER 2013 WHEREIN I WAS TOLD TO HAVE THE COOLING PART FOR THE HYBRID BATTERY REPLACED. I WAS TOLD THE PART WAS FAULTY. THE REPLACED PART HAD TO BE REPLACED AGAIN THAT SAME WEEK BY ANOTHER DEALERSHIP WITH FORD. FAST FORWARD TO TODAY, AND THE SAME RED TRIANGLE WARNING LIGHTS APPEARED AND THE PART NEEDS TO BE REPLACED AGAIN. THE WARRANTY FOR THE PART IS ONLY FOR 2 YEARS, BUT AFTER 3 YEARS WITH THE PART, THE DEALERSHIP IS TELLING ME IT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED AGAIN. I FIND THIS AGGREGIOUS IN NATURE AND A RACKET THAT FORD IS TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THEIR CUSTOMERS. THE MAKE AND MODEL WERE A PART OF A RECALL SPECIFIC TO THIS VERY ISSUE, BUT MY SPECIFIC VIN NUMBER WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THIS RECALL, SO I'M OUT OF OPTIONS FOR FORD TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE THEMSELVES, TELLING ME THAT IT IS OUT OF WARRANTY AND THEY WILL NOT ASSIST ME WITH THE REPLACEMENT/COSTS AND NOW I'M EXPECTED TO COME OUT OF POCKET AGAIN FOR THE SAME ISSUE. THE ORIGINAL SITUATION OCCURRED WHILE TRAVELING 70MPH ON THE I5 SOUTHBOUND NEAR LAKE ELSINORE, CA IN THE HOV LANE ON THE FREEWAY, AND TWO DAYS AGO IT WAS STATIONARY AND COULD NOT BE STARTED AFTER DRIVING IT THAT MORNING AFTER SITTING FOR ONE HOUR.

ONE MORNING, NO PRIOR WARNING, OR ISSUES WITH BRAKES OR MECHANICAL SYSTEMS WHAT SO EVER, I START TO DRIVE TO WORK AND AFTER TURNING OUT OF MY NEIGHBORHOOD ONTO A MAJOR STREET MY BRAKE LIGHTS LIGHT UP AND AT THE NEXT STOP SIGN MY BRAKES DON'T WORK! I PRESSED ALL THE WAY DOWN AND ENDED UP USING THE EMERGENCY BRAKE NOT TO GO THROUGH THE STOP SIGN. SOMEONE COULD HAVE DIED FOR SURE, AND IT WAS A HEART STOPPING SCARE! I PULLED OVER AND WALKED BACK HOME. LOOKED UP ONLINE AND FOUND MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS VEHICLES BRAKES SUDDENLY GOING OUT AND THAT IT IS A $5K FIX!! I HAD THE ESCAPE TOWED BACK TO MY HOUSE. THE NEXT MORNING I WANTED TO TRY A FEW THINGS TO ELIMINATE CERTAIN PROBLEMS I FOUND ONLINE. NOW, THE KEYLESS ENTRY DOESN'T WORK, I MANUALLY OPEN THE DOOR, STICK THE KEY IN, NO LIGHTS, NO SOUND, NOTHING. I TURN THE KEY AND AGAIN ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. WE HOOK UP CABLES AND IT STARTS RIGHT AWAY AND EVERYTHING WORKS. NO BRAKE WARNING LIGHTS SO I TRY A SLOW DRIVE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, BRAKE LIGHTS GO ON AFTER ABOUT 1/2 A MILE AND THE BRAKES ARE VERY SOFT, HAVE TO DEPRESS TO THE FLOOR JUST TO SLOW DOWN FROM 15 MPH. I CALLED FORD AND THEY SAID JUST BRING IT IN FOR DIAGNOSIS, FOR $200/HR MINIMUM 2 HOURS JUST TO TELL ME WHAT'S WRONG WITH IT!! NO THANK YOU, $400 TO TELL ME IT'S A $5K PROBLEM WHEN THE CAR'S WORTH MAYBE $6K PRIVATE PARTY! SO I NOW HAVE A WORTHLESS HYBRID SITTING IN MY DRIVEWAY. DO NOT BUY A 2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID!!! READ ALL THE COMPLAINTS MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE - FORD HAS NOT RECALLED!! *TR

WHEN I PUSH DOWN ON THE GAS PEDAL THE CAR WOULD SHUT THE ENGINE OFF AND GIVE ME A RED TRIANGLE SYMBOL AND TELL ME TO PULL OVER SAFELY. I WOULD THEN TURN THE CAR IGNITION OFF AND RESTART THE ENGINE AND IT WOULD BE FINE AGAIN. I THEN DID SOME RESEARCH AND FOUND THAT THIS WAS AN ISSUE WITH 2008-2011 FORD ESCAPES AND THE ISSUE WAS A FAULTY THROTTLE BODY WHICH FORD ISSUED A RECALL FOR. I WENT TO THE DEALER TO HAVE IT REPLACED, BUT THE RECALL THAT WAS ISSUED ONLY APPLIED TO FORD ESCAPE NON HYBRIDS EVEN THOUGH IT WAS THE SAME ISSUE. THIS ISSUE HAD BEEN GOING ON FOR 1 YEAR BEFORE I HAD IT REPLACED IN NOV OF 2014.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID. WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED AT APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, THE PEDAL EXTENDED TO THE FLOORBOARD. THE VEHICLE FAILED TO STOP WITHIN A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE HYDRAULIC CONTROL UNIT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 85,000. UPDATED 11/29/16*LJ

THE SAFETY RECALL NOTICES 14S05 / NHTSA RECALL 14V-286 AND 14S09 / NHTSA 14V526000 WERE PERFORMED ON MY 2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID. HOWEVER, THE PROBLEMS DID NOT GO AWAY. SINCE THE RECALLS, THE CAR HAS HAD ISSUES WITH REDUCED STEERING RANGE, KEY/IGNITION NOT TURNING, POWER SURGE WHILE DRIVING, LOCKING STEERING WHEEL, AND THE WORST: A COMPLETE SHUT DOWN OF THE POWERTRAIN WHILE DRIVING, RESULTING IN A STALL-LIKE CONDITION, PUTTING OUR LIVES AT RISK. ON JUNE 11, 2016 THE CAR WAS SERVICED AND STEERING HOUSING REPLACED. WE ASKED FOR SERVICE TO CHECK THE ENTIRE CAR-- EVERYTHING!!!!-- AS THE CAR HAD BEEN ACTING STRANGELY WITH POWER SURGES AND LOCKING STEERING WHEEL WHILE DRIVING. TODAY, JULY 10 2016, WHILE DRIVING SOUTH ON INTERSTATE-5 IN CA, HEADING FROM HOME (DANVILLE, CA) TO COLLEGE (SAN DIEGO, CA) THE CAR'S SYSTEM COMPLETELY FAILED WHILE DRIVING UP THE GRAPEVINE, A SECTION OF FREEWAY THAT IS EXTREMELY CROWDED AND FULL OF LARGE 18 WHEELERS. MY POOR DAUGHTER (WHO NOW OWNS THE CAR) CALLED ME, SCREAMING HYSTERICALLY, FULL OF TERROR AND FEARING FOR HER LIFE. SHE HAD NO POWER, WAS UNABLE TO STEER, DID HER BEST THE DODGE THE 18 WHEELERS AND "LIMP MODE" OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE FREEWAY. SHE'S NOW ON THE WAY WITH TOW TRUCK DRIVER TO DROP THE CAR OFF AT FORD OF VALENCIA CA. I TOLD HER DO NOT EVER DRIVE THAT CAR AGAIN. IT IS A SERIOUSLY DANGEROUS VEHICLE.