2006 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID Complaints

I WAS ABOUT TO EXIT THE PARKING LOT OF A GROCERY STORE WHEN THE BRAKES WENT INTO A NON-POWER BRAKE MODE. I WAS ROLLING TO THE STOP SIGN. I PROBABLY WASN'T EVEN GOING 15 MPH. AS NOTHING HAPPENED WHEN I TOUCHED THE BRAKES, I HAMMERED THEM AND CAME TO A SHARP JERKING HALT. IT WAS A LITTLE FRIGHTENING AS ONCOMING TRAFFIC WAS GOING 45-50 MPH. THEN THE ABS AND BRAKE SYSTEM LIGHTING CAME ON. IF I HAD NOT KNOWN HOW NON-POWER BRAKES FELT, I PROBABLY WOULD HAVE SLID INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC. THIS COULD HAVE BEEN FATAL. I SEE ONLINE A LOT OF COMPLAINTS WITH THIS SAME ISSUE WITH THE BRAKING SYSTEMS OF THE ESCAPE HYBRIDS. I AM NOT SURE WHY IT IS NOT COVERED ON THE 100,000 MILE/ 8 YR WARRANTY AND ALSO, WHY THERE HAS BEEN NO RECALL. I SEE THERE IS A RECALL FOR WINDSHIELD WIPERS. I SERIOUSLY THINK THIS IS A LITTLE MORE OF A SAFETY ISSUE. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 15 MPH, THE ABS WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE CONTACT TRIED TO APPLY THE BRAKES BUT TO NO AVAIL. THE CONTACT HAD TO USE THE EMERGENCY BRAKE IN ORDER TO STOP THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS SHUT OFF AND RESTARTED HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION OR REPAIRS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE ISSUE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 80,000. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE.

I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY IN MY 2006 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID GOING ABOUT 65 MPH AND STARTED TO ACCELERATE TO PASS ANOTHER VEHICLE AND MY CAR SUDDENLY SHUT DOWN. IT WAS AS IF I SLAMMED ON THE BRAKES. AND I COULD NOT PICK UP SPEED AFTER THAT. THERE WAS NO WARNING ON MY DASHBOARD ONLY THE DISPLAY SAYING TO "STOP SAFELY NOW". I PULLED OVER AND LET THE CAR IDLE FOR A MINUTE. THERE WAS STILL NOT OTHER WARNING AND THE CAR WAS NOT MAKING ANY NOISES AND NO STEAM COMING FROM HOOD. I SHUT IT DOWN, WAITED A MINUTE, THEN RESTARTED IT. IT STARTED BACK UP FINE. NOTHING ON THE DISPLAY NOW AND STILL NOT MAKING ANY NOISE. I PULLED AHEAD A LITTLE TO SEE IF IT WOULD MOVE AND IT DID. I LET IT IDLE FOR ANOTHER MINUTE THEN PROCEEDED BACK ONTO HIGHWAY TO TRY TO GET HOME. I GOT UP TO ABOUT 40 MPH AND THE SAME EXACT THING HAPPENED. I PULLED BACK TO SIDE OF HIGHWAY AND CALLED AAA FOR A TOW TRUCK. WHEN THE TOW TRUCK CAME ABOUT 1 1/2 HOURS LATER, MY CAR WOULD NOT START AT ALL AT THAT POINT. TOWED IT TO A SHOP WHO THEN SAID THE CAR'S OIL WAS NOT READING ON THE DIPSTICK. I HAD MY OIL CHANGED IN MARCH BY A REPUTABLE COMPANY AND HAVE ALWAYS HAD MY OIL CHANGED CONSISTENTLY. THEY TOLD ME MY ENGINE WAS GONE AND I NEEDED A WHOLE NEW ONE. I THEN HAD MY CAR TOWED TO A FORD DEALERSHIP, WHERE I BOUGHT, IT FOR A SECOND OPINION AND HE SAID THE SAME THING THAT I NEEDED TO HAVE MY ENGINE REPLACED DUE TO INTERNAL ENGINE NOISE. THEY ALSO TOLD ME I NEEDED THE THROTTLE BODY AND COOLANT PUMP REPLACED. THEY ALSO SAID NO VISIBLE EXTERNAL OIL LEAKS AND NO INDICATION OF INTERNAL ENGINE USE SUCH AS "BLOW-BY". THEIR OVERALL ESTIMATE TO FIX MY CAR, INCLUDING A NEW ENGINE, IS $8000.00. I NEVER HAD AT ANY POINT ANY INDICATION THAT SOMETHING WAS WRONG WITH MY CAR. NO NOISES, NO WARNING LIGHTS. I BOUGHT IT BRAND NEW. I CAN'T AFFORD REPAIRS OF THAT MAGNITUDE. I CALLED FORD AND THEY SAID THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO. *TR

THIS IS THE SECOND TIME IN TWO MONTHS CAR WARNINGS TO "STOP VEHICLE SAFETY" IN A MIDDLE OF HIGHWAYS. WE JUST HAD A FEW SECONDS TO PULLED VEHICLE OFF THE ROAD AND IS VERY DANGEROUS MANEUVER IT. ONCE WE PULLED IT OFF WE TURNED OFF ENGINE AND WAITED FOR A FEW MINUTES TO RESTARTED AGAIN TO COMPLETE OUR DESTINATION. THIS IS A VERY DELICATE SITUATION DUE THE SHORT TIME TO REACT WHEN ENGINE SUDDENLY TURNS OFF. WE HAVE TWO KIDS AND OUR LIFE HAD BEEN IN TREMENDOUSLY DANGER TO BE HIT BY ANOTHER CAR. *TR

THE CHECK BRAKE SYSTEM MESSAGE APPEARS IN MESSAGE SYSTEM ON 2006 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID, WITH THE ACCOMPANYING BRAKE WARNING SYMBOL LIGHT COMING ON. THE BRAKE PEDAL SEEMS TO LOSE SOME PRESSURE IN THE PEDAL AND GOES FURTHER TO THE FLOOR. THE BRAKE FLUID RESERVOIR IS FULL, SO THE BRAKE FLUID IS NOT LOW. THIS HAS HAPPENED ON AND OFF NOW FOR THE LAST FEW DAYS. I HAD A BRAKE JOB DONE ON THE REAR BRAKES 2 MONTHS AGO, AND THE DEALERSHIP SAYS THE FRONT BRAKES ARE FINE. THEY RECOMMEND REPLACING THE MASTER CYLINDER FOR 1300 DOLLARS, AND THEN STATE THAT IT MIGHT NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM AND THEY WOULD THEN HAVE TO REPLACE A CONTROL MODULE FOR ABOUT 4500 TO 5000 DOLLARS. I NOTICED ONLINE THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE SEEM TO BE HAVING THIS SAME PROBLEM WITH THE FORD ESCAPE HYBRID FROM 2005 TO 2006, AND THEY ARE INCURRING THE SAME COSTLY REPAIR. SOME OF THEM COMPLAINED ABOUT LOSING POWER TO THE BRAKING SYSTEM. *TR

AUGUST 2011 - HAD DRIVEN APPROXIMATELY 200 MILES TN INTO VA WHEN STOP SAFELY NOW MESSAGE APPEARS. PULLED OVER, WAITED A FEW MINUTES AND STARTED THE ENGINE. NO HELP AVAILABLE LOCALLY AS IT WAS SMALL TOWN LATE SATURDAY. DECIDED TO CONTINUE TRIP HOME - DROVE SLOWLY IN RIGHT LANE FOR LAST 200 MILES. NO RECURRANCE THE REST OF THE WAY. MY MECHANIC COULD FIND NOTHING WRONG UPON RETURN HOME. DID NOT OCCUR AGAIN UNTIL JUNE 9, 2012 - ABOUT 150 MILES FROM HOME. SAME SCENARIO - STOPPED FOR A MINUTE THEN WENT ON. HAPPENED AGAIN ON JUNE 20, 2012. AFTER STOP AND GO TRAFFIC THEN RUNNING AT 70 MPH WHEN MESSAGE APPEARS, THIS TIME THE ENGINE SHUT DOWN IMMEDIATLY AND I BARELY GOT ONTO THE SHOULDER WITH TRAFFIC SPEEDING BY ABOUT 2 FEET OFF MY RIGHT. TRIED TO START AGAIN BUT MESSAGE THAT THE ENGINE WAS DANGEROUSLY HEATED APPEARED. AFTER SITTING FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES, IT STARTED, I TURNED ON THE HEAT (DESPITE 90+ OUTSIDE TEMP) AND GOT OFF AT NEXT EXIT AND PARKED FOR ABOUT AN HOUR. STARTED UP AND DROVE HOME. NO OTHER OCCURANCE SINCE. MY MECHANIC TELLS ME NOW THAT I NEED A COOLANT PUMP BASED ON THE STORED SERVICE CODE. WILL COST OVER $700 PART AND LABOR. JUST HOPE IT FIXES IT. IT IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS WHEN THE ENGINE SHUTS DOWN WITH ONLY SECONDS OF WARNING. IN THE AREA I LIVE, I WOULDN'T ALWAYS BE ABLE TO EVEN GET ONTO A SHOULDER SAFELY. *TT

TONE RING FAILURE ON ABS SYSTEM. BRAKE FADE UNTIL COMPUTER NOTED SENSOR FAILURE AND INDICATES ABS FAILURE LIGHT. TONE RING WAS BROKEN $12.45 PART LABOR $226.00 I AM TOLD IT IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE ESCAPES WHERE A PLASTIC RING COMES UNGLUED AND CAUSES THE ABS TO ENGAGE WHEN IT IS NOT NECESSARY. *TR

SINCE 2010, WHEN I'VE DRIVEN MY CAR ON THE HIGHWAY THE STOP SAFELY LIGHT COMES ON. IT STOPS RIGHT IN TRAFFIC WITHIN MINUTES, LEAVING ME KNOW TIME TO PULL OFF. I'VE TAKEN THE CAR TO THE DEALER AND HAD ALL KINDS OF WORK COMPLETED FROM BRAKES TO TUNEUP, THEN IT STARTS AGAIN. THIS WEEK WAS THE WORK, JUNE 3, 2012 THE CAR STOPPED ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY IN CHICAGO AND I WAS REALLY SCARED FOR MY LIFE AS OTHER CARS HAD TO PULL ON THEIR BRAKES. I HAVE BEEN TO SEVERAL DEALERS TO TELL ME THAT NOTHING WAS WRONG SINCE 2012, WHILE OTHERS TELL ME ONCE WE FIX THE BRAKES, THE FUEL FILTER, ETC THEN THE LIGHT WILL STAY OFF, I'VE HAD NO SUCH LUCK. I INVESTED A LOT OF MONEY FOR THIS CAR ONLY TO BE SCARED TO DRIVE IT. I'M A MOM OF FOUR CHILDREN AND I HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY HELP FROM FORD. I KEEP GETTING FIX THIS OR THAT ONLY TO HAVE THE SAME LIGHT COME ON AND BE STOPPED AGAIN, TIME AFTER TIME. *TR

ABS LIGHT AND BRAKE LIGHT CAME ON WHEN I GOT INTO THE CAR TO GO TO WORK AFTER DRIVING IT THE PREVIOUS DAY WITH NO PROBLEMS. BRAKE PEDAL BECAME SOFT AND BRAKING WAS NOT SMOOTH AND WHEN BRAKE PEDAL WAS PRESSED IT MADE A SQUEALING NOISE. DEALER DIAGNOSED IT AS A FAULTY ABS MODULE REPLACEMENT COST OF $3000. *TR

THE BRAKES FAIL ON A REGULAR BASIS WHILE SLOWING DOWN FROM SPEEDS BETWEEN 10 AND 35 MPH. IT OCCURS AS A SUDDEN RELEASE OF BRAKING PRESSURE WHILE STEPPING ON THE BRAKE PEDAL TO SLOW DOWN. AT THAT TIME A MOMENTARY WARNING LIGHT COMES ON FOR SEVERAL SECONDS AND THE SYSTEM APPEARS TO GO INTO A FAIL-SAFE MODE THAT ALLOWS MANUAL OPERATION OF THE BRAKES. THIS CAUSES A LARGE INCREASE IN BRAKING DISTANCE AND I CONSIDER IT VERY DANGEROUS. THIS FAILURE SEEMS TO BE RELATED TO THE HYBRID BRAKING SYSTEM AND MAY BE COMMON TO OTHER HYBRID VEHICLES. AFTER STOPPING THE WARNING LIGHT GOES AWAY AND THE BRAKES WILL AGAIN FUNCTION NORMALLY. THE FAILURE DOES NOT OCCUR CONTINUOUSLY BUT IT DOES OCCUR ALMOST EVERY DAY THAT IT IS DRIVEN. THE CAR HAS BEEN IN A REPAIR SHOP NUMEROUS TIMES WITH MANY PART REPLACED BUT THE PROBLEM CONTINUES TO EVADE OUR FLEET MECHANICS. THIS IS AN INHERENT PROBLEM WITH THIS VEHICLE AND COMMONLY KNOWN WHERE THERE ARE LARGE FLEETS OF HYBRID VEHICLES. MY CO-WORKER DRIVES THE SAME TYPE OF ESCAPE HYBRID AND HE HAS THE SAME FAILURE. PLEASE INVESTIGATE WITH FORD AND/OR TOYOTA. A SIMILAR PROBLEM HAS BEEN SEEN WITH TOYOTA PRIUS IN OUT FLEET. *TR CONSUMER STATED AT SOME PERIOD AROUND 2014-15 THE CAR WAS SENT TO THE FLEET DEPT AGAIN FOR BRAKING PROBLEMS AND THERE WAS SOME BREAKTHROUGH WITH REPAIRS. VEHICLE WAS TRANSFERRED TO DIFFERENT NYCDEP DRIVER FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS. VIN NUMBER NOT AVAILABLE BUT COULD INQUIRE WITH CONSUMER'S TRANSPORTATION SECTION. UPDATED 6/11/18*JB