2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID Complaints

WENT SHOPPING ON A SATURDAY, 4/4/15. CAME OUT TO MY CAR AND STARTED IT. ABS LIGHT AND BRAKE LIGHT CAME ON, ALONG WITH MESSAGES STATING, "SERVICE BRAKES SOON" AND "REGEN BRAKES DISABLED". BRAKES WERE SENSITIVE AND UNPREDICTABLE, BUT CAR DIDN'T NEED ANY EXTRA EFFORT TO STOP. HYDRAULIC CONTROL UNIT MADE NOISE WHEN APPLYING BRAKES, LIKE A STRIPPED GEAR SOUND. TOOK CAR TO A REPUTABLE MECHANIC WITH AN UPDATED MODIS. CHECKED CODES AND CAME UP WITH A DOZEN CODES. ( P1A0D, P1A0E, P1A0F, P1A10, P1A14, U0418, C1321, U2023, C1475, B2172, P0A0A, P1A0A) ALSO, WHEN HE TRIED TO GET CERTAIN TESTS TO WORK, THESE ERRORS CAME UP: (AN ERROR OCCURRED 34 (0X22) [#155] (MANUAL MSG - FORD (CAN) HYBRID BRAKE SYSTEM AIR BLEED CHECK) (TEST HAS ABORTED ERROR 22 - CONDITIONS NOT CORRECT. CYCLE KEY AND RETRY.) AFTER DOING THESE TASKS AND NOT BEING ABLE TO COMPLETE THEM, ANY ASSISTANCE TOWARDS BRAKING WAS GONE. THE CAR REVERTED TO FAIL SAFE MODE AND REQUIRED MUCH MORE EFFORT TO STOP. IT TOOK THE MECHANIC MUCH MORE TIME AND PERSISTENCE, BUT HE WAS FINALLY ABLE TO GO THROUGH HIS TESTS AND CLEARED THE CODES AND RESET THE BRAKE SYSTEM. AS OF NOW, EVERYTHING WORKS AS IT SHOULD. THERE'S ONLY ONE PROBLEM. NOTHING WAS ACTUALLY A CONFIRMED FIX. THE IS NO GUARANTEE THE BRAKING SYSTEM WON'T GIVE OUT AGAIN. I'M MORE THAN CERTAIN IT WILL AND I DON'T LIKE TAKING CHANCES WITH MY VEHICLE. JUDGING HOW OTHER HYBRID ESCAPE OWNERS HAVE REPORTED ON THIS PROBLEM, I GUESS I FEEL A LITTLE LUCKY THE BRAKES DIDN'T GIVE OUT WHILE DRIVING. YET. WHO KNOWS WHEN THEY WILL AND WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN THEY DO. I CANNOT AFFORD TO FIX THIS PROBLEM, AS I'VE HEARD IT'S OVER $4000. I ALSO CANNOT SELL IT AS-IS IN GOOD CONSCIENCE. I AM AT A LOSS HERE AS I AGREE WITH OTHERS THAT THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY CONCERN AND SOMETHING SHOULD BE DONE WAY BEFORE SOMETHING TRAGIC HAPPENS. *TR

THE VEHICLES WARNING LIGHT SYMBOLIZED AS AN ORANGE/YELLOW WRENCH ILLUMINATES ON AND OFF THROUGHOUT THE DAY. ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS THE VEHICLE HAS LAGGED IN RESPONSE TO APPLYING PRESSURE TO THE GAS PEDAL TO ACCELERATE, OR HAD DELAYED ACCELERATION RESPONSE. THE ISSUE IS ONGOING, AND CONTINUAL ON A DAILY BASIS STARTING APPROXIMATELY ON MARCH 2, 2015. *TR

OFTEN WHEN STARTING MY CAR, THE ABS LIGHT AND BRAKE LIGHT COMES ON AND A MESSAGE SAYS REGEN BRAKES DISABLED. THE BRAKES ARE WEAK WHEN DRIVING IN THIS STATE. WHEN I TURN THE CAR OFF AND BACK ON, THE ERROR USUALLY GOES AWAY AND THE BRAKES WORK NORMALLY. OCCASIONALLY, THE ERROR OCCURS WHILE DRIVING AND THE BRAKES GET WEAK, AND I PULL OVER AND TURN CAR OFF AND ON TO CLEAR THE ERROR. IT HAS BEEN HAPPENING WITH INCREASING FREQUENCY. THE DEALER HAD NEVER HEARD OF THE PROBLEM AND SAID THE DIAGNOSTIC CODES DID NOT GIVE CLEAR ACTION FOR FIXING IT. THE DEALER REPLACED THE BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS FOR $850 BUT THE ERROR CONTINUED. NOW THEY RECOMMEND REPLACING THE ENTIRE ABS MODULE AND HYDRAULIC CONTROL UNIT FOR $5200. I HAVE SEEN MANY OTHER COMPLAINTS DESCRIBING THIS DANGEROUS DEFECT. I THINK FORD SHOULD ISSUE A RECALL OR OFFER SOME PAYMENT FOR THIS EXPENSIVE REPAIR. *TR

OVER TIME MY VEHICLE HAS GOTTEN HARDER AND HARDER TO START. NOW I HAVE TO PRESS THE KEYS IN TURN TO HAVE THE VEHICLE START. AFTER SOME RESEARCH I FOUND SEVERAL USERS HAVE THE SAME EXACT PROBLEM. (HTTPS://YOUTU.BE/BV8TDCF83VC) IT APPEARS TO BE AN ISSUE WITH PLASTIC CLIPS USED TO HOLD THE IGNITION SWITCH IN PLACE. THE MECHANIC IN THE VIDEO STATES THAT IT'S THE ROD THAT ENGAGES THE SWITCH, IT BECOMES LOOSE AND REQUIRES YOU TO PUSH THE KEY IN TO START THE VEHICLE. THIS IS POOR DESIGN BY FORD AND PLACES THE ONUS ON THE CUSTOMER TO FIX IT. *TR

THE HYDRAULIC CONTROL UNIT FAILED ON MY VEHICLE. THIS SEEMS TO BE AN ISSUE THAT HAS ARISEN WITH A GREAT DEAL OF OWNERS OF FORD ESCAPE HYBRIDS OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS. I HAD TO HAVE THE ENTIRE HCU SYSTEM REPLACED AT A FORD DEALERSHIP SERVICE DEPARTMENT. AS IT WAS NOT COVERED BY WARRANTY, NOR CONSIDERED BY THE COMPANY TO BE AN ISSUE DESERVING OF A RECALL, I HAD TO PAY OUT OF POCKET FOR THE ENTIRE THING, WHICH TOTALED $4,863.00 (AND IT TOOK FIVE DAYS TO GET THE WORK COMPLETED). I ALSO HAD TO PAY TO RENT A CAR FOR THE SEVERAL DAYS IT TOOK TO GET THE PART AND PERFORM THE WORK, WHICH WAS ANOTHER $200.00. DUE TO THE HIGH COST OF THIS REPAIR AND THE FREQUENCY WITH WHICH IT IS AFFECTING CONSUMERS, I BELIEVE THAT THIS ISSUE SHOULD BECOME A RECALL AND PEOPLE SHOULD BE REIMBURSED FOR THE REPAIRS THEY HAVE HAD TO MAKE. *TR

VEHICLE GASOLINE ENGINE POWER QUITS WITH NO WARNING. I HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS ONLY WHEN DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AND ONLY WHEN DRIVING FOR MORE THAT APPROXIMATELY 20 MINUTES. A "PULL OVER SAFELY NOW", OR WORDS TO THAT EFFECT, APPEAR ON THE INFORMATION SCREEN. THE ELECTRIC ENGINE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK IF IT HAS CHARGE. THE CAR WILL RESTART ALMOST IMMEDIATELY, BUT WILL QUICKLY STALL AGAIN IF THE ENGINE IS NOT ALLOWED TO COOL DOWN. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS AS IT OCCURS ONLY AT HIGH SPEED. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V526000 (HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM) HOWEVER, THE PART NEEDED TO DO THE REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE.

PARKED THE CAR AT NIGHT, NEXT MORNING THE POWER STEERING DIDN'T WORK AT ALL. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE OPERATING THE VEHICLE IN VERY HOT WEATHER, THE BATTERY WOULD OVERHEAT AND A MESSAGE TO PROCEED WITH CAUTION WOULD DISPLAY BEFORE THE VEHICLE WOULD COMPLETELY SHUT OFF. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THEY BATTERY PUMP WAS FAULTY AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED BECAUSE THE CODE IDENTIFYING THE FAILURE WAS NOT AVAILABLE FROM THE COMPUTER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 80,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V526000 (HYBRID PROPULSION SYSTEM); HOWEVER, THE PART NEEDED TO REPAIR THE VEHICLE WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE.