2006 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID Complaints

MY 2006 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID CUT OFF THE COMBUSTION ENGINE WHILE TRAVELING DOWN A COUNTRY RD. WAS ABLE TO PULL OFF WITH DECLINING POWER IN THE ELECTRIC ENGINE. DISPLAY READ "PULL OVER SAFELY" AND NOTHING ELSE. I BROUGHT IT IN TO BOTH A FORD DEALERSHIP WHO REFERRED ME TO A TOYOTA DEALERSHIP BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANYONE WHO KNEW ABOUT HYBRID CARS. SINCE THE PROBLEM DID NOT OCCUR AT THE TIME I BROUGHT IT IN AND THERE WERE NO PROBLEMS SHOWING ON A DIAGNOSTIC TEST THEY COULD NOT DO ANYTHING. THE SUV HAS DONE THIS NUMEROUS TIMES SINCE AND SOMETIMES SHUTS OFF BOTH ENGINES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY. I THOUGHT SPEED AND HARD DRIVING WERE THE PROBLEM WHICH IT TENDS TO HAPPEN MORE SO ON 45MIN OR GREATER DRIVES BUT HAS BEEN KNOWN TO DO THIS AT 15MPH IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS. VERY SCARY, ESPECIALLY ON CROWDED HIGH SPEED ROADS AS YOU CANNOT "PULL OVER SAFELY" WITH NEITHER MOTOR RUNNING. IF THEIR EXCUSE IS ITS A SAFETY FEATURE IT IS NOT VERY SAFE. I CONTACTED FORD VIA E-MAIL AND THEY WERE NICE ENOUGH TO REFER ME BACK TO THE ORIGINAL FORD DEALERSHIP AND SEND THE DEALERSHIP THE E-MAIL I HAD SENT TO THEIR CUSTOMER SUPPORT IN CONFIDENCE STATING I DID NOT TRUST THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SHOULD INVESTIGATE THEIR PRACTICES (FOR PREVIOUS REASONS RELATING TO OTHER CAR ISSUES). SAW MANY POSTS IN FORUMS THAT THIS PROBLEM RELATES TO THE COOLING PUMP FOR THE ELECTRIC MOTOR. ORDERING A NEW COOLANT PUMP ONLINE AS I WILL NOT GO TO THE FORD (AS I SAW A POST ELOQUENTLY PUT) "STEALERSHIP". *TR

WE WERE TRAVELING ON THE FREEWAY WHEN A WARNING APPEARED ON THE DISPLAY " STOP SAFELY NOW ". THE ENGINE LOST POWER AND WE MANAGED TO MOVE THE CAR TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. I RESTARTED THE CAR AND IT APPEARED TO WORK OK. DROVE ANOTHER 10 MILES AND THE "STOP SAFELY NOW" REAPPEARED AND THE CAR LOST POWER. WE PULLED OVER. WE WAITED FOR 10 MINUTES, RESTARTED THE CAR AND IT DROVE US HOME. LATER WHEN WE WERE DRIVING UP OUR STREET, THE SAME THING OCCURRED. *TR

DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE AND THE CAR SHUTS DOWN DISPLAYING A STOP SAFELY NOW ERROR.... APPARENTLY A FAULTY PUMP. THE SAME PUMP THAT WE'VE ALREADY REPLACED 3 TIMES..... NOT ONLY IS THIS ANNOYING BUT IT'S A HUGE SAFETY PROBLEM. THE VEHICLE LOSES ALL POWER! *TR

THE AIR BAG ASSEMBLY ON THE STEERING WHEEL HAS AN EXTREMELY THIN COVER, IT IS MUCH THINNER THAN THE ONE ON MY 2003 FORD EXCURSION OR THE ONE MY 2009 KIA. THE COVERING IS A LITTLE THICKER THAN A PIECE OF PAPER AND IT IS NOW CRACKING. IT CURRENTLY HAS ABOUT A ONE AND A HALF INCH CRACK ON THE COVERING LOCATED ON THE RIGHT SIDE. THIS SEEMS TO BE A SAFETY CONCERN. THIS VEHICLE IS GARAGED AND DOES NOT REMAIN OUTDOORS FOR EXTENDED PERIODS. WHEN IT IS OUTDOORS A SUNSCREEN SHADE IS USED ON THE WINDSHIELD TO REDUCE SOLAR DAMAGE. *TR

MULTIPLE CONTINUED INSTANCES OF COMPLETE BRAKE FAILURE. SINCE THE INITIAL OCCURRENCE, ALREADY DOCUMENTED ON THIS SITE (ODI ID NUMBER : 10349431), IT RANDOMLY RECURRED AT LEAST 10 TIMES OVER THE PAST 2 YEARS, INCLUDING 3 TIMES IN A SINGLE TRIP IN JUNE 2012 AND TWO ADDITIONAL TIMES IN JULY 2012. THE BRAKE FAILURES TYPICALLY OCCURRED DURING HOT WEATHER WHEN RUNNING THE AIR CONDITIONER, BUT NOT ALWAYS. EVERY TIME WE THOUGHT WE'D "FIGURED OUT" A PATTERN TO THE FAILURES, THE BRAKES WOULD GO OUT AT A DIFFERENT TIME THAN THEY EVER HAD BEFORE -- AT A HIGHER SPEED, OR WHILE SLOWING FOR A STOP LIGHT GOING UPHILL VERSUS WHEN WE WERE TRYING TO SLOW TO A STOP AT THE BASE OF A STEEP HILL WITH A MARINA IN FRONT OF US. WE FINALLY SOLD THE CAR FEARING FOR THE SAFETY OF OUR FAMILY, OTHERS ON THE ROADWAYS, AND OUR FINANCES. NO WONDER FORD QUIT MAKING THESE VEHICLES... *TR

WHILE TRAVELING ON AN INTERSTATE HWY AT 70 MPH AND PASSING A SEMI, THE ENGINE SHUT OFF AND THE STOP SAFELY NOW WARNING CAME ON. THERE WAS NO WARNING, I LOST SPEED AND BARELY MOVED OUT OF THE WAY OF THE TRUCK. THIS FAILURE ALMOST COST ME AND MY PASSENGER OUR LIVES. THE CAR STARTED AGAIN ABOUT HALF AN HOUR LATER BUT ONLY RAN LONG ENOUGH TO LIMP TO A GAS STATION. WE CALLED AAA, HAD THE CAR TOWED TO A DEALERSHIP WHERE THEY DIAGNOSED IT AS EITHER THE IGNITION SWITCH OR THE PCM...I HAVE TWO SONS WHO ARE TOP MECHANICS. THIS IS NOT THE PROBLEM. THEY BELIEVE A WIRING HARNESS FOR THE HYBRID BATTERY IS DEFECTIVE, AND THAT THERE WAS A LETTER SENT TO ALL HYBRID OWNERS. I TOOK THIS LETTER TO THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP WHEN I RECEIVED IT. THEY SAID IT DIDN'T PERTAIN TO MY VEHICLE AND DID NOT PERFORM THE REQUIRED MAINT. REALLY? THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY HAZARD. HOW MANY ACCIDENTS, DEATHS, OR NEAR MISSES MUST HAPPEN BEFORE FORD REACTS AND ACTUALLY OWNS UP? FYI BLOGGING IS OUT THERE FOR US ALL! *TR

WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY AT HIGH SPEED (55MPH), ENTIRE POWERTRAIN (GAS ENGINE AND HYBRID MOTOR) COMPLETELY SHUTDOWN WITH NO WARNING LEADING TO AN ABRUPT LOSS OF POWER AND CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE, AND WAS UNABLE TO COMPLETELY PULL OFF THE ROAD SAFELY. THE DASHBOARD INFORMATION CENTER JUST DISPLAYED "STOP SAFELY NOW." THERE WAS NO WARNING OF THIS AT ALL. VEHICLE WOULD NOT RESTART. AFTER SITTING FOR ONE HOUR, VEHICLE RESTARTED AND DROVE PERFECTLY FOR ANOTHER 3 DAYS, THEN THE SAME THING HAPPENED AGAIN ON LOCAL STREETS, LEAVING THE CAR IN A VERY DANGEROUS POSITION IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET. BROUGHT INTO SHOP AND THEY COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH IT. I AM ALMOST AFRAID TO DRIVE THIS VEHICLE ANYMORE. *TR

WHILE DRIVING AT 70 MPH ON THE HIGHWAY, VEHICLE SUDDENLY STOPS WITHOUT WARNING AND DISPLAYS A "STOP SAFELY NOW" MESSAGE. THIS HAPPENS ON LONGER TRIPS. IT IS VERY DANGEROUS AS THERE IS NO WARNING AND NO WAY TO GET OFF THE HIGHWAY. WE ARE NO LONGER SAFE TO TRAVEL ON THE HIGHWAY IN THIS VEHICLE. THIS IS A DANGER TO ALL ON THE ROAD AND HAS BEEN REPORTED OVER AND OVER HAPPENING WITH THESE VEHICLES. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 FORD ESCAPER HYBRID. THE CONTACT STATED THAT A TRIANGLE WARNING SYMBOL ILLUMINATED AS THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER AND THE FAILURE WAS DIAGNOSED AS THE ELECTRONIC MOTOR COOLING PUMP TRANS AXLE HAVING OVERHEATED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND A COMPLAINT WAS TAKEN. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE BATTERY HAD ALSO FAILED SEVERAL TIMES. THE DEALER PERFORMED A DIAGNOSTIC THAT WAS UNABLE TO LOCATE A FAILURE CODE. IN ADDITION, THE AIR CONDITIONER, WATER PUMP, ELECTRONIC BATTERY AND THE COOLING FAN WERE REPLACED BUT THE FAILURE WAS NOT CORRECTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT FURTHER REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 73,000.

AT 65 MPH ON HWY 5 IN LOS ANGELES THE VEHICLE DIED AND THE " STOP SAFELY NOW" MESSAGE CAME ON. FORTUNATELY, I WAS ABLE TO SAFELY GET FROM THE 3RD LANE TO THE SHOULDER. AFTER PUTTING THE CAR IN PARK AND TURNING OFF THE KEY I WAS ABLE TO RESTART AND CONTINUE. ABOUT 15 MILES LATER IT DID THE SAME THING AGAIN WITH THE SAME MESSAGE. AGAIN ABLE TO SAFELY PULL OFF THE FREEWAY AND AFTER PUTTING IT IN PARK TURNED THE KEY OFF AND BACK ON AND WAS AGAIN ON MY WAY. BOTH TIMES THE CRUISE CONTROL WAS ON SO AFTER THAT I DID NOT USE THE CRUISE AND HAVE NOT HAD ANOTHER OCCURRENCE. *TR