2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID Complaints

I WAS DRIVING MY 2008 FORD ESCAPE HYBRID AT ABOUT 65MPH IN THE LEFTMOST LANE SHORTLY AFTER MERGING FROM I83 SOUTH ONTO I395 (BALTIMORE BELTWAY) WHEN, WITH NO ADVANCE WARNING WHATSOEVER, THE GAS PEDAL STOPPED RESPONDING AT THE SAME TIME AS THE TRIANGLE WITH AN EXCLAMATION POINT AND THE "STOP SAFELY NOW" (AS IF I HAD ANY CHOICE) MESSAGE APPEARED. BY THE GRACE OF GOD I WAS ABLE TO COAST ACROSS 5 LANES OF TRAFFIC TO THE BREAKDOWN LANE. I WAS ANXIOUS TO GET HOME TO FEED THE DOGS, AND MY HUSBAND WAS OUT OF TOWN, SO RATHER THAN CALL A TOW TRUCK I RESTARTED THE CAR AND KEPT GOING IN THE RIGHT-HAND LANE FOR ANOTHER 3 OR 4 MILES UNTIL THE SAME THING HAPPENED AGAIN. IT TOOK ANOTHER 2 HOURS (WITH AN 15-20 ADDITIONAL STALLING EPISODES) UNTIL BEFORE I WAS ABLE TO MAKE IT HOME TO ANNAPOLIS. THROUGH THE INTERNET (AND MY HUSBAND CRAWLING UNDER THE CAR) WE HAVE CONFIRMED THAT THE SOURCE OF THE PROBLEM IS A WELL-DOCUMENTED FAULTY OEM HYBRID DRIVE TRAIN MECS COOLANT WATER PUMP. SEEMS TO ME THAT THIS IS A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE THAT IS EVERY BIT AS SERIOUS AS THE GM IGNITION SWITCH PROBLEM, AND A FATAL ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN. IT IS UNCONSCIONABLE THAT FORD HAS NOT ISSUED A RECALL ON THIS ISSUE, AND UNCONSCIONABLE THAT NHTSA HAS NOT FORCED FORD TO DO SO. *TR

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM IN MY FORD ESCAPE HYBRID 2008 SHUT DOWN WHILE DRIVING AT HIGH SPEED (INDICATOR WITH A TRIANGLE SHAPE AND AN ADMIRATION SIGN INSIDE). THE "STOP SAFELY NOW" SIGN WAS DISPLAYED AT THE SAME TIME. I COULD NOT ACCELERATE ANYMORE, THUS LOSING FULL CONTROL OF THE CAR. I PULLED OVER TO THE SHOULDER, TURNED THE ENGINE OFF AND TURNED ENGINE BACK ON. ONCE I TURN THE CAR OFF, IT WILL DRIVE AND THEN REPEAT. INITIALLY IT ONLY HAPPENED ON THE FREEWAY BUT NOW IT HAPPENS WHILE DRIVING AT REGULAR SPEEDS (25MPH). THE FIRST DEALER I TOOK IT TO TOLD ME TO REPLACE THE ENGINE COOLANT PUMP, I DID STILL THE SAME PROBLEM; I TOOK IT TO ANOTHER FORD DEALER WHO SAID I NEEDED TO REPLACE THE FILTER TO THE COOLANT PUMP, I DID STILL THE SAME PROBLEM. TODAY I WAS TOLD THAT THE THROTTLE BODY WAS BAD SO I REPLACED THIS, STILL THE SAME PROBLEM!!!! THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION WITH NOSOLUTION. FORD, PLEASE RECALL THE MODELS IMPACTED AND FIX THIS ISSUE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE BEFORE PEOPLE GET KILLED. *TR

FOR THE LAST MONTH OR SO, MY CAR HAS RANDOMLY STALLED, IN THE MIDDLE OF DRIVING. THE "PULL OVER SAFELY" LIGHT WOULD LIGHT UP, AND THE ENTIRE CAR WOULD SHUT DOWN. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER, AND THEY SAID THAT I NEED TO REPLACE MY ELECTRONIC THROTTLE BECAUSE IT IS SHUTTING DOWN. AFTER RESEARCHING, I HAVE DISCOVERED THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM AND I WOULD LIKE TO URGE FORD TO RECALL THE PART AND ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR SELLING DEFECTIVE CARS. *TR

CAR GOES LIMP. FORD HAS TSB 08-24-05. MECP FAILS. POOR DESIGN. HAS GONE LIMP ON ME ~8 TIMES. EACH TIME CAR DRIFTS TO A STOP REGARDLESS OF LOCATION, SPEED, ETC...(EG, CAN BE GOING 75MPH ON HIGHWAY) AND IT GOES LIMP. CANNOT MOVE AFTERWARDS FOR MINUTES. MANY CASES OF THIS HAPPENING HAVE BEEN REPORTED. TSB 08-24-5 STATES THAT SOME 2005-2008 ESCAPE HYBRID AND 2006-2008 MARINER HYBRID VEHICLES MAY EXHIBIT A RED TRIANGLE LIGHT AND CODES INDICATING A TRANSAXLE OVERTEMP. THIS CONDITION MAY RESULT IN REDUCED POWER AS THE SYSTEM ACTIVATES FAIL SAFE OPERATION. CODES P1A0E, P1A0F, P0A3C, P0A3E, P0A7A, P0A7C AND P1A0D MAY ALSO BE SET. *TR

THE POWER STEERING LOCKED UP ON ME AS I WAS DRIVING MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO DRIVE THE CAR. I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER AND STOP THE CAR BECAUSE I HAPPEN TO BE DRIVING VERY SLOWLY AT THE TIME AND SHUT OFF THE CAR AND THEN RESTARTED IT. AFTER I RESTARTED IT THE STEERING WORKED FINE. I LOOKED ONLINE TO SEE WHY THAT WOULD HAPPEN AND I FOUND 302 OTHER PEOPLE COMPLAINING OF THE SAME PROBLEM HTTP://WWW.ABOUTAUTOMOBILE.COM/COMPLAINT/2008/FORD/ESCAPE/STEERING. THE COMPLAINTS SAY THAT THIS WILL HAPPEN MORE AND MORE FREQUENTLY AND CAN HAPPEN WHEN DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY. FORD IS NOT DOING A RECALL APPARENTLY EVEN THOUGH THIS LACK OF STEERING HAPPENS WITH NO WARNING AS PEOPLE ARE DRIVING AT HIGH RATES OF SPEED. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS! *JS

DRIVING UP A SLIGHT HILL THROUGH A GRADUAL S CURVE WITH A SUDDEN LOSS OF THE POWER STEERING. AT THE TOP OF THE HILL THE POWER RETURNED. I AM FILING THIS BECAUSE I NOTICED THAT THERE ARE QUITE A FEW REPORTS OF INCIDENTS SIMILAR TO THIS WITH THE 2008 ESCAPE. IT COULD BE VERY DANGEROUS. *TR

I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWARY GOING ABOUT 70 MPH WHEN THE ACCELERATION WENT OUT AND THE OK TO STOP SAFELY LIGHT CAME ON. I PULLED OVER AND STOPPED AND RESTARTED THE CAR AND IT OPERATED OK. THIS IS PROBABLY THE 6TH TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED IN THE LAST MONTH. I WILL BE TAKING IT IN FOR REPAIRS. I CALLED FORD REGARDING THIS ISSUE BECAUSE THERE IS A LIMITED CUSTOMER SATISFACTION PROGRAM BUT WAS TOLD BECAUSE MY CAR WAS NOT BUILT AT A PARTICULAR FACTORY MY CAR WAS NOT COVERED BY THIS LIMITED PROGRAM, EVEN THOUGH IT IS THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM AS I HAVE SEEN ON OTHER WEBSITES. THIS IS SHOULD BE PART OF A RECALL. *JS

WHEN COMING TO A STOP THE CAR JERKED/PULSATES AND ABS INDICATOR BLINKED. THE PROBLEM IS CONTINUOUS. THIS SEEMS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM WITH FORD BASED ON INTERNET RESEARCH. *TR

POWER ASSISTED STEERING LOCKED UPON STARTING THE CAR, THIS HAS HAPPENED EVERY TIME I START MY CAR AND I HAVE TO RESTART MY CAR 6+ TIMES TO GET MY STEERING TO UNLOCK. THE STEERING WHEEL SHAKES AT STOPLIGHTS AND IS FAVORING THE LEFT WHEN DRIVING STRAIGHT. WHEN THE STEERING IS LOCKED IT IS NEAR IMPOSSIBLE TO TURN THE CAR. I HAVE TO WORRY EVERY DAY THAT THE CAR MIGHT LOCK UP ON THE FREEWAY WHEN I AM DRIVING TO WORK. I HAVE SEEN HUNDREDS OF OTHER REPORTS LIKE THIS ON THE INTERNET YET NO RECALL... *TR

CAR ENGINE TURNED OFF AT 70 MPH. I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE CAR TO THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD. PRIOR TO THE ENGINE SHUT-OFF, ONLY THE "WRENCH INDICATOR" WAS ON; IT COMES ON OCCASIONALLY. SERVICE CENTERS CAN NEVER DIAGNOSE THE ISSUE ONCE THE CAR HAS TURNED OFF. WARNING LIGHT ON DASH SAID "SAFETY MODE" AT THE TIME OF ENGINE SHUT-OFF. I WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE CAR AFTER ABOUT TWO MINUTES. DASH WARNING INDICATORS TURNED OFF. GOT BACK ON THE INTERSTATE ONLY FOR THE CAR ENGINE TO TURN-OFF AGAIN AT THE BASE OF AN OFF-RAMP ABOUT FOUR MILES FARTHER UP THE ROAD. I WAS DRIVING THE CAR AT 55-60 MPH BEFORE THE SECOND INCIDENT. I WAS ABLE TO PULL INTO THE FORD DEALERSHIP. *TR